The transitional period was a result of steady and gradual progress moving on from the

second Egyptian cannon. The significant developments that occurred up to the

transitional period are the growth of dynamism or Rythmos, an increase in features, and
an overall development of the understanding of the human body and greater anatomical
accuracy.
The development of Rythmos is clear, and can be attributed mostly to the development
of the process of the disappearing wax, or ‘bronze casting’. This is excellently portrayed
with the statue of Artemision Zeus (460BC), who shows the concept of Rythmos clearly,
the statue stands with its arms outstretched, highlighting the capabilities provided by this
development in ability and technology. When contrasted to archaic statues such as
Kleobis and Biton (580BC), the stance is both more dynamic and realistic. This is a clear
development in the possibilities afforded by the introduction of bronze casting.
Further to this, there is an increase in features of the statues. Looking at archaic statues,
such as the New York Koroui (600BC), the hair is a very simplistic and repetitive pattern,
whereas the hair on transitional (early classical) statues, such as the blonde boy are
much more intricately detailed and far more realistic. Further to this end, the archaic
smile and almond eyes are gone, replaced by the severe style, giving a more lifelike
design and structure to the faces. On the female statues this is also true, whilst the
faces are not so central to the statue, they are still of a much higher standard of
sculpting as time progresses.
Another way that the statues become better and more realistic is an overall increase in
the accuracy of the body’s anatomy. The movement away from etched muscular
features, such as the likes of that seen on the New You Kouroi. This was replaced by a
much smoother and believable style, see clearly in the Pireus Apollo (525BC), who has
refined and accurate muscular details. The process of leaving stone rather than etching
in leaves a marked difference in the quality and accuracy of human anatomy, making
statues much more lifelike, and progressing the accuracy significantly
On the other hand, there were some areas whereby the developments did little to add to
the style, and archaic was better than transitional. The simplicity of very early statures, in
how they follow the second Egyptian cannon can create a serene and peaceful statues,
this is seen most evidently with the Nikandre (650BC). The motionless and
expressionless figure could be seen in many ways as better than later statues, and the
attempts made to improve the facial qualities having failed make the statues look
overdramatic and unbelievable. The Nikandre for example has a serene and natural
beauty in a motionless and refreshing style. Avoiding the necessity for features such as
balance (symmeteria) and Isonomia.
The statues also initially see a dip in quality. As the style shifts away from the second
Egyptian cannon, the concept of sculpting breaks away from the standards, and struts
like that seen on Pireus Apollo (525BC) are needed to give stability to the statue. This is
inherently inaccurate, and until bronze sculpting becomes the norm in the transitional
period, many statues are much less accurate and natural. Further to this, the statues
look worse as they shift away from a piece of art representing and person, and towards
an attempt at replicating the human body. The inaccuracies in some of the statues mean
that some look off and inaccurate. The Berlin standing goddess for example, is meant to
be a Goddess, however, because the sculptor and the technology is not capable, the
statue look wrong. Whereas the Nikandre for example doesn’t look like a human, but
rather a representation of. The inaccuracies can therefore be overlooked and the statue
can be seen as an overall humanoid piece of art.
Overall, whilst there are a few ways that it could be argued there were areas that the
statues did little to improve quality of design, the transition into the early classical period
heralded the beginning of the use of bronze, a factor that boosted the gradual
development of sculpture, and helped to provide some of the most iconic statues visible
today. The period was full of small and steady progress, with it being impossible to state
a single year that showed significant and meaningful improvement.