In the EC I-II phase we can identify the Louros figures (plate 13), so called, as their provenance is the site called Louros on the island of Naxos. They show the first evidence of the triangular shaped head, now with a differentiation from the neck. Unlike the later examples and indeed its predecessors, there are no facial details at all. Anatomical detail, usually shown as inscribed lines seen in the EC I and EC II phases, is also not evident in these figures. The pointed stumps are possibly representative of arms outstretched and the figure has lost some of its plasticity, with the exception of the legs that are almost fully rendered. The Louros figures still demonstrate an animated quality although the pose appears constrained compared to the later folded arm figures.

The example shown in plate 14 is one of the more important of the Cycladic figures in relation to minimalism. It shows a resolution of a somewhat monumental problem the Cyladic sculptors may have faced, which I propose is that of expressing the human spirit. This identification with the human spirit is all the more extraordinary because we know that what we are looking at is not, in biological terms, alive. Yet we may see or feel vitality in the object that is not normally associated with the raw material that it is made from. This is exemplified in the Louros example, carved from cold white marble. Yet, the expression of its essence is evident in the minimal form which it takes. The unencumbered face, meditative gaze and the vertical pose allude to the expression of life’s essence, the human spirit.

In this example, the representation of the human spirit is achieved by a paring back of figurative detail, reducing the form to its essence. By this I mean a recognition or connection felt by the viewer with the object. The human spirit, being the non-physical aspect of a person or people, is not an entity that is seen as texture or hue but can be recognised as the invocation of emotion or an empirical understanding with ones own spirit. I refer to spirit as the essence of human life as it is our core and something that we all share and may recognise in others. In demystifying the term spirit, Kromer (1987 p.67) states ...

"The animation of spirit seems logical where that which can move independently is considered to be endowed with spirit, but it also reflects the fact that the spirit of a phenomena is seen to be that which touches or moves a person".

In this chapter, I have discussed the development of figurative sculpture from late Neolithic to the EC II phase of the early Bronze Age. I have described particular examples of Cycladic artefacts that show qualities of simplicity, expression of essence and reduction of form. In the next chapter on Minimalism, this will be discussed within a contemporary context. .