How does the sculptor Lysippos alter the Classical esthetic in The Weary Hercules?

Answer 1

I love this question! Lysippos did many great things for the Greek sculpture tradition, and you're right, a lot of that can be seen in Herakles Farnese (which we have today through Glykon).

The following are, I think, the most poignant shifts in classical sculpture that we see in this statue:

1. You'll notice that Herakles is not doing anything in this sculpture. Herakles is a hero, and divine at that, but his form (body) is not being showed in a context of battle; rather, it's being shown after a battle. He is, as a dear professor of mine once said, "a big hulking body not being used for anything great."
2. The other important shift around the 4th c. BCE is the emerging dynamic aspect of sculpture. Herakles is holding something behind his back--something you the viewer are unable to see until you walk around the sculpture. Earlier Greek sculpture, influenced by Egyptian sculpture traditions, prioritizes statues that you can 'get the general gist of' while looking at it head-on. It's only really after Lysippos in the 4th century that this shifts, and sculpture becomes more dynamic.