It is evident that much of the formal elements in art of a minimal or reduced nature of the modernist period bear little relation to the formal elements of Cycladic figurative sculpture. However, the ideas that are conveyed and devices used to express these ideas show similarities. I have shown that the device of reduction and the resulting expression of essence can be applied in the interpretation of Cycladic figurative sculpture.

Archaeological commentary suggests a deistic meaning of these ancient artefacts, deduced from the fact that they have been found in graves and tombs. I also suggest that a minimal representation of the human form is one way in which the vital qualities of human existence, that of the spirit, can be expressed.

It is the function of reduction and the expression of essence used within the minimalist genre that I have related to Cycladic figurative sculpture. By not only reducing human form to a minimum, but also using this reductive process in the physical manifestation of their figurative sculptures, the Cycladic sculptors have created a vitality, expressing the essence of a life force in these works.

In placing these ideas of minimalism into an interpretation of an ancient art that has, to date, been predominantly viewed from an historical and archaeological perspective, brings an alternative understanding to Cycladic figurative sculpture. While they have been described as idols or indeed primitive and crude deities we are also able to view them as highly sophisticated and minimal works of art.