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New York Kouros
• Grave marker
• Frontal
• Cleared from block of stone, but hands attached to hips
• One foot in front of the other
• Bent arms
• Sharp shin lines
• Smile
• Knotted treatment of hair
• Nudity
Many art historians feel that knowledge of Egyptian sculpture was critical to the beginnings of Greek monumental sculpture. Support this claim by an analysis of the styles of these two works. It is also true that the Egyptian work presents a more striking likeness of an individual. Explain this difference in relationship to the different functions of the two statues
Greek Archaic Art
Peplos Kore Peplos: belted
garment Figure looks like a
column Some of painted
surface survives Hair falls in heavy
knotted strands Archaic smile One hand raised,
breaks the symmetry
Greek Archaic
Art
Calf-Bearer Bearded Left foot forward Thin coat Rhobos the Calf-
Bearer who brings offerings to Athena as thanks for his prosperity
Archaic smile
Dying Warrior, Temple of Aphaia, Aegina
• Pediment sculpture
• Tight curly hair
• In action
• Stiffness
• Archaic smile
Dying Warrior, from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina
• Pediment sculpture
• Tight curly hair
• In action
• Stiffness
• Archaic smile
• Bronze arrow in chest, no signs of pain on body
• Complex cross-legged pose
Greek Classical Art
Kritios Boy Slight contrapposto Hips turned, knees
bent Head slightly turned Breaking down of
the strict symmetry that dominates Archaic art
Polykleitos, Spear Bearer• Ideal male nude• Canon of proportions• Head 1/7 of body• Expressionless face• Left arm relaxed, right arm flexed• Left leg flexed, right leg relaxed• Roman copy of a Greek bronze
PolykleitosSpear Bearer c. 450 – 440 BCE
Zeus or Poseidon
• More fully developed contrapposto
• One foot lifted up
• Hurling an object (thunderbolt? trident? javelin?)
• Classically developed body
• Older head in keeping with the older gods
• Height and breadth nearly equal: hands are 6 feet apart
• Flowing beard
Greek Classical Art
Myron, The Discus Thrower No Greek originals exist by
him Impossible to throw the
discus this way, but optically satisfying view
Meant to be seen only from the front
Face is expressionless Complex contrapposto Roman copy of a Greek
bronze
Exekias, Ajax and Achilles Playing Dice
• Greek Archaic art• Black figure style• Legs, spears and poses mirror
each other• Spears show depth• Decorative curly-cues
dominate legs• Cloaks elaborately engraved• Amphora
Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, c.490 BCE
Medusa and Chryasor between leapords, Temple of Artemis at Corfu c. 600-580 BCE)
Treasury of Siphnians
c 530 BC
From Delphi
The plan of a typical Greek temple is the same for all orders (Doric, Ionic, etc.) The innermost room (cella, or naos) contains the cult statue of the god. A single or double peristyle colonnade surrounds the cella. The temple is roofed in terracotta, with wooden beams and rafters – fire is a constant hazard. Public worship is carried on outside the temple, which is designed and situated for maximum impact in the context of the surrounding landscape. In the plan to the left, A = Antae (pilasters). The opisthodomos is a false porch behind the cella, often added for reasons of symmetry. Its place might alternatively be occupied by an enclosed adytum (treasure room, sometimes interpreted as a "holy of holies.") The pteroma is the side passage between colonnade (pteron) and cella. An X marks the location of the cult statue. A typical formula for the column dimensions in a temple is n = 2d +1, where d is the number of columns wide and n is the number of columns on a side. For example, a temple six columns wide might be ideally thirteen columns long, but in practice this could vary, depending
on other factors.
447 B.C. – 438 B.C. Classical Period
Greek Architecture: The Parthenon
Parthenon Greek Classical
architecture Mathematical proportions Curvature of the base and
entablature Pediment contains
sculpture Doric temple, but some
Ionic elements Housed Athena Only priests allowed inside No windows Post and lintel
Metopes
Lapith and Centaur• Greeks: youthful and
brave, although not always victorious
• Centaurs: barbaric, often vicious in victory
• Symbolic connection of the war between the Greeks and the Persians
• Emotional facial rendering
Metope in perspective
Reconstruction of the West Pediment
Pediment Sculpture
Parthenon Sculpture
Three Goddesses Greek Classical Art Rich folds of drapery Curved forms of female bodies Wet drapery clings to bodies and creates a flow from one figure to
the other Pediment figures on the Parthenon
East Pediment
Nashville Parthenon, east pediment
The Parthenon’s frieze is a striking demonstration of the Athenian artists' mastery of the representation of the human figure. No two figures in the work are identical with the artists capturing the rich variety of human movement. Figures are shown turning in space and from a variety of points of view. An interesting comparison can be made by juxtaposing a detail from the Panathenaic Procession from the nearly contemporary procession decorating the Persian citadel in Persepolis (c. 521-465 BCE).
Parthenon Sculpture
Panathenaic Frieze Frieze on the inside
entablature of the Parthenon
Festival took place every four years in Athens
Figures are more stoic at the center of the frieze, where the gods watch the procession
At further areas the figures are more animated, on horseback, or walking
Animals carried for sacrifices
Relief sculptures Contrapposto Complicated
overlapping of figures
Detail from the Panathenaic Frieze of the Parhtenon
Late Classical Art
4th Century BC
Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos First nude woman in Greek art Very popular in its own time,
people came from far and wide to see it
Placed in a round temple surrounded by columns: effect of sneaking a peek at her
Not openly erotic Female sexual power suggested Genitals lacking Steps into a bath One side of her has an open
form, the other closed S curve Gentle dreamy quality
Praxiteles, Hermes and Dionysos
• S curve• Dionysos reaches for now
missing grapes; he is the god of wine
• Hermes has a dreamy expression
• Slender nude• Smooth modeling• Soft shadows• Smaller head than 5th Century
BC sculptures: 1/8 of body
Late Classical Art
4th Century BC
Lysippos, The Scraper Athlete scraping off oil Arms straight out Very subtle body Small head to 1/8 the
body, eyes closely set Looks away as if in a
far-away gaze Roman copy Lanky and languorous
Pergamon Altar
Pergamon Altar Altar on elevated platform Sculptural frieze 400 feet
long Alludes to the turning
back of an invasion by the Gauls in the 3rd Century BC
High relief Source of inspiration:
Parthenon sculptures Deep shadows Dramatic presentation Sensuous forms Wind effect on drapery
Athena Battling Alkyoneos
• Athena is copied from the Parthenon
• Defeated are dragged up the stairs to worship at Zeus’ altar
• Negative space
• Heroic action
• Overlapping figures
• Emotion
• Heroic bodies
• Twisting of bodies in space
Epigonos
Epigonos, The Dying Gaul Trumpet at his feet Gaul in defeat, with wound
in his side and dripping blood
Sword on ground before him
Gallic style of hair Expressive face Muscular body Battles heroically fought in
the nude Sculpture can be
appreciated in the round: front and back have satisfying views
Roman copy
Hellenistic
Sculpture Nike of Samothrace Nike alighting on a boat Water cascading on boulders Commemorated a naval victory
in 191 BC Twist of torso Drama Monumental Fountain creates the illusion of
rushing waves Missing right arm might have
once raised crown to naval victor Wet drapery flowing around legs
and sticking to the body To be seen from several angles
Venus de Milo• Leaning forward• Basically frontal• Contrapposto• Elongated figure• Slender proportions• Graceful curve of body• Missing right hand held
drapery to tease viewer• Left hand preserved
separately holds an apple• More representative of
classical than hellenistic work
Hellenistic Sculpture
Laocoön and His Sons Negative space Many viewpoints, eyes
wander everywhere Laocoön trying to tell the
Trojans that the Greek horse was booby-trapped
Strangling of figures by snakes sent by the gods to silence them
Deep cutting into stone to create shadows
Extreme musculature Agonizing expressions Figure to the right added
later
Hellenistic Sculpture
Old Market Woman
Not idealized: old and beaten by age
Poverty Exaggerated line in
drapery Dramatic
representation Meant to be placed in
the middle of the room Exaggerated
contrapposto Enhanced age lines