Skopas of Paros between archaistic revival and anticipation of the hellenistic form

Skopas' art is often reduced to a stereotype. The search for pathos, in the visible forms of the movement and in the tormented expressions of the faces, thus becomes the synthesis of the artist, his "brand". Alongside this line of development in the search for the most effective expression of pathos, that is of the aspect that will have more luck in Hellenism, Skopas also cultivates the taste of revival, that leads him to look at the past. His ability to move between two extremes: innovation and tradition, seems subordinate to the different subjects and the different commissions of his works. But if everything depends on external and contingent factors, what then is the distinctive element of Skopas in the art of its time? The artistic production of Skopas, one of the most complex artists of the fourth century, as we know, seems to include the reference to archaism precisely in the diversified search for the expression of moods, thus demonstrating its different personality.