Praxiteles

Praxiteles, son of the sculptor Cephisodotus the Elder, worked in Athens during the 4th century BC and became the most celebrated carver of his age. He was the first to sculpt the nude female form at life scale, a threshold moment in classical art. Though not a single piece stands today with certain attribution, Roman-era copies of his works circulated widely, ancient writers like Pliny cataloged his achievements, and coins bore silhouettes of his famous figures. A rumored liaison with Phryne, a courtesan from Thespiae who may have modeled for him, became its own legend - resurfacing centuries later in paintings, operas, and plays. Some scholars proposed two sculptors shared the name across generations, but the evidence remains inconclusive.