Richter, Gisela M.A. A Handbook of Greek Art- A Survey of the Visual Arts of Ancient Greece (9th ed.). New York: Phaidon Limited Press, 1987.
This book is mainly a detailed survey of Greek art and architecture. The book is divided into chapters devoted to the different classes of Greek art. The most helpful to my study were the chapters on large sculpture, small statuettes, terra cotta statuettes, paintings and mosaics, and pottery. There were additional chapters on architecture, jewelry, coins, and gem carving that I found interesting, but not valuable to my study of the human form in art.
The evolution of the figure in Greek art and what factors brought this evolution about were interesting to read about. Richter begins with the Early Archaic period, giving explanations for certain materials and tools used by the artists. She explained the use of bronze for large cult figures, called "chryselephantine" due to their size and the use of ivory for the head.
Other parts of the book that were helpful to me were the explanations of the Lost-Wax technique, where the artist cast the figure in hollow bronze. Another technique described was the pointing method, invented and used by the Romans to copy Greek bronzes in marble.
The Middle Archaic period shows the first evidence of the figure turning in space. The Kritos Boy is the earliest known statue that gives of this evidence. Richter did a great job of positioning the photographs in the book to compare different sculptures from various periods. In an attempt to show the evolution of the human form in Archaic Sculpture, she dedicated four pages entirely to photos. These photos show the progression from the Early Archaic period through to the Late Archaic or Transitional period. It was great to be able to compare the different sculptures without having to flip through many pages in several books.
Gisela Richter was a renowned archaeologist and was for many years, the Curator of Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.