The transition to Fourth Century Style coincided with the end of the creative phase of tragedy and the disintegration of the Greek world as it passed into the political orbit of the Macedonians’ King Philip, father of Alexander the Great. Sculpture remained innovative, since each generation seemed to produce a master who challenged the prevailing aesthetic rules, and free expression continued as a leading principle of Fourth Century style. But sculptors like Praxiteles now expressed such new ideas as beauty for its own sake and a delight in sensuality.
Here, Hermes' small head, soft facial features, and extra-long legs contributed to the Praxitelean canon for the male figure. The fluidly shifting planes of Hermes’ figure became widely imitated as the "Praxitelean curve," a posture highly popular today among photographers of international supermodels. Praxiteles new vision strongly influenced sculptors of the following Hellenistic Age, who became interested in more frankly sensual portrayals of the human figure. Hermes' missing right hand held a bunch of grapes just out of the baby’s reach.
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