Greek Art

GREEK ART

2500 – 80 BCE

THEME: ACH

ACH is the acronym for:

ARCHAIC

CLASSICAL

HELLENISTIC

These are the later and most important three of the five styles, in chronological order throughout classical Greek art.

Proto-Greek:

Cycladic – Cycladic Islands, burial mounds, 2500 BCE

Minoan – Island of Crete, Place of Knossos, 1500 BCE

Mycenaean – mainland Greece, citadel at Mycenae, 1200 BCE

Periods of Greek Art:

Orientalizing – 700 BCE -influenced by styles of the East, which featured animals and people. This lasted for about 150 years, it inspired the Greeks to add motifs within their geometric patterns.

Archaic – 600-500 BCE – Greek city states emerge.

Early Classical (Severe) – 500-480 BCE – Greeks win second Persian War 480 BCE

Classical – 480-404 BCE – Peloponnesian Wars end in 404 BCE

Late Classical (4th Century) – 404-323 BCE – Alexander the Great dies in 323 BCE

Hellenistic – 323-80 BCE – Romans make Greece a colony century. 80 BCE.

The art of Ancient Greece and Rome is grounded in civic ideals and polytheism. Etruscan and Roman artists and architects accumulated and adapted Greek objects and forms to create buildings and artworks that appealed to their tastes for eclecticism and historicism (social and cultural phenomena determined by history).

Archaeological models and artworks are identified by periods based on stylistic changes and assigned to periods according to styles (archaic, Classical, Hellenistic). Art considered Ancient Greek is not defined by politics, governments, or dynasties. Artists were influenced by earlier Mediterranean cultures.

Ancient Greek architecture and figural representations are characterized by ideal proportions and spatial relationships, expressing the society’s values of harmony and balance. Their art provides the foundation for the later development of European and Mediterranean artistic traditions.

From the 18th century on, Europe and America admired Ancient Greek ethical and governmental systems: art and architecture that could be associated with political elites and cultural capitals. The Greek culture had a tradition of epic storytelling that glorified the exploits of gods, goddesses, and heroes. They had a highly developed rhetorical tradition that prized public oratory and poetry.

ARCHITECTS:

Parthenon: Iktinos & Kallicrates

Propylaea: Mnesikles

Erechtheion: Mnesikles

Temple of Athena Nike: Kallicrates

SCULPTORS:

• Polyclitus
• Praxiteles
• Phidias
• Myron
• Kritios
• Lysippos
• Scopas
• Alexandros of Antioch-on-the-Meander

PHOTOS

Historical Background

After the collapse of Mycenean Society in 1100 BCE, a major community did not rise together again until Greek city-state in 900 BCE. Although politically separated, they were united in language and culture.

By the 6^th century BCE, Athens began to assume a cultural and commercial presence.

The Greeks united to defeat Persia at the Persian War (499- 449 BCE)

In 359 BCE Greece is overtaken by the Macedonian Kingdom.  Later Alexander the Great led a united Greece against Persia.

MAP

Artistic Innovations

Artists started to sign their names to their works, in an act of both pride and to advertise.

“X made it.”

“X decorated it.”

Artistic Styles                           

Archaic (600 -448 BCE)

Classical (480-320 BCE)

Hellenistic (320-30 BCE)

Greek Pottery

Some vessels were created for everyday use. Others were for tombs and monuments. Almost all were designed for a purpose.

• Examples of Greek Pottery

Notice how each part of the pottery work is named after a human body part.

Sculpture

Greek sculpture was a way of idealizing the human form. Contrapposto replaced the mobile look of Egyptian art. It evoked a range of emotions.

The work was created in bronze or marble. The marble works were cut away from the stone behind.

An interest in nudity was prevalent in Greek art. Egyptian art only portrayed children naked. Mesopotamians considered this an act of debasing.

 Architecture

Ancient Greek architecture has proven to be enduring. Today, throughout the Unites States, you will see buildings that are based on Greek works, such as a city hall, theatre, bank, or library. One of the main things that draws the eye to these classical styles are columns. These includes Doric, Iconic and Corinthian columns.

All three varieties or orders, share the same fluted column or drum. The top is called the capital.  This is where each column is different. Doric is the simplest variety with a tapered disc supporting a square top. Iconic has curls on the top. Corinthian is a fancy filigree that looks like a symmetrical plant trying to grow. This varies and takes on many ornate forms.

A basic Greek temple is a rectangular shaped building with a long, angled roof.  This peaks to form a triangle called a pediment. These areas were adorned with life sized sculptures.

The roof rests upon an even plane called an entablature. This spanned the gaps between columns and  provided a solid surface. As temple buildings became more advanced, the entablature was decorated with what was called metopes. These were separated by three lines called triglyphs.

Later still, as temples became bigger, a second row of columns was added and decorated along the top in what is called frieze.

ARCHAIC PERIOD: 600- 400 BCE

Greek city-states, especially Athens, grew and flourished, particularly in the arts.

Sculptures

Kouros and Kore: grave monuments

Sculptures from temples

Marble; bronze (hollow); limestone; terra cotta; wood; gold

Often painted.

Pottery

Potters and vase painters began to sign their works.

Black-figure; red-figure; white ground.

Stiffness and monumentality.

Architecture

Doric and Ionic orders of architecture emerged.

Roofed, columnar, stone temples.

Altars were positioned in the east end of temples.

Temples were shrines to hold the cult statues and votive offerings.

Temples were built on elevated sites.

Canonical plan—order, compactness, symmetry.

(2) 27. Anavysos Kouros

Greek. 530 BCE. Archaic Greek.

Learning Objective: Archaic male sculpture

Themes:

Funerary
Ideal male
Nudity
Commemoration
Cross-cultural
War
Violence
Death

Museum: National Archaeological Museum, Athens

This marble statue stands 6 feet 4 inches tall and is from the archaic period. This sculpture in the round would have been painted and there are still traces of paint in the hair.  As was typical of this period, it is a kouros, or young man, represented in the ideal of perfect, male form.

During this period in art, there was increasing interest in a more lifelike rendering of the human figure. The torso and limbs have greater anatomical accuracy. The figures are more rounded and there is swelling in the hips, calves, abdomen, and cheeks.

Archaic Kouros characteristics

• Pose: left leg out with weight evenly split (just like Menkaure)
• Sharp shins
• Heavily delineated abs
• Traditional braiding of the hair with traditional headband
• Archaic smile (figure transcends this world; nobility; knowledge of the peace of the afterlife)
• Hands are stuck to the sides creating a sense of stability and even rigidity.

These sculptures were used offering to the gods as grave markings, as this one was.  It also comes with an inscription:

“Stay and mourn at the monument of the dead Kroises who raging Ares slew as he fought in the front ranks.”

This signifies that the young man Kroises, was killed in war, as Aries was the god of war. This was the most noble way to die, and these men were considered heroes.

Kouros could also be gods. The most frequently portrayed was Apollo.

Comparing the Athenian Kouros

An Athenian Kouros is identified in several ways. It is nude, muscular, has braided hair worn down, and arms by its side. With a single step forward, it reveals sharp knees. The kouros always has an Archaic smile.

By contrast the female kore is never nude. She is depicted as soft and never muscular. Her braided hair is also worn down and her hands are in fists by her side. Her legs are not visible, and she does not step forward. She also wears an archaic smile.

The Athenian kouros figure shares qualities with Egyptian statuary. It has even weight, a single step forward, arms down by side and an idealized, muscular body.

PHOTO OF EGYPTIAN SCULPTURE

(2) 28. Peplos Kore

Greek. 530 BCE. Archaic Greek

Peplos Kore
© Gianni Dagli Orti/The Art Archive at Art Resource, NYSee how the original work was once painted in vibrant colours?

Learning Objective: Archaic female sculpture

Themes:

Ideal woman
Deity
Offering
Religion
Community

Museum: Acropolis Museum, Athens

A peplos is a Greek costume that is made from a rectangular cloth that is pinned at the shoulders. A kore is a clothed female figure. This work is four feet tall and made from marble that was once painted. It was found at the Acropolis, in Athens, Greece.  

The work has similar characteristics to other archaic kores. There is the archaic smile that signifies well-being and is considered transcendent. It is immobile, with arms by the side.

Her clothing is different than other similar figures that were left as offerings to the goddess Athena, at the Acropolis. Under special light, one can detect painting and patterns on her costume. There were patterns of small animals painted vertically down the center of her dress.

Is Peplos Kore Really Artemis?

Upon further inspection there has been conjecture that the figure is not a simple woman but the goddess Artemis.  The goddess that was later called Diana, by the Romans and was known as the goddess of the hunt.

There has been speculation that she was once carrying a crossbow. Her left arm is bent at the elbow, which indicates that she might have been carrying a bow. The right hand is closed in a fist, that may have held an arrow.

This sculpture goddess or not is considered one of the best examples of sculpture from the archaic period.

CLASSICAL PERIOD

480-320 BCE

 The Greeks establish the ideals of beauty, which endured in the Western world. The classical period was divided into three phases:

• Early Classical period, 480-450 BCE
• Mature Classical period, 450-400 BCE
• Late Classical period, 400-325 BCE

 The Classical Period Introduced:

• The weight-shift or contrapposto, stance in statues of standing figures
• An appearance of a more relaxed and natural look
• Highly idealized figures
• Muscular male figures

Working with Proportions

During Mature Classical period Polykleitos created the canon of proportions. This stated that the head of the figure should be one-seventh the length of the body. This altered the tension and relaxed the figure.

Praxiteles used the head as one-eighth the proportion of the body is his Late Classical period sculptures. This resulted in languorous bodies, with sensual, long lines and an s-curve.

The Mystery of Greek Paintings

During the Classical Period artists painted large wooden panels that were displayed in public spaces. All have been lost today, and historians are only certain of their existence through literature.

 Classical Vases

 Painting techniques on classical vases include:

Black Figure Technique

• Formed by covering the whole pot with black slip, then scraping it off to reveal the red clay below.

Red Figure Technique

• Formed by covering painting the design on the pot in black slip.
• More popular because it gives the artist the chance to create greater detail.

(2) 34. Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

Greek (Roman copy). Polykleitos. Roman marble copy after a bronze original. 450–440 BCE. Greek (Classical).

• Formed by covering painting the design on the pot in black slip.
• More popular because it gives the artist the chance to create greater detail.

Learning Objective: Archaic male sculpture

Themes:

Funerary
Ideal male
Nudity
Commemoration
Cross-cultural
War
Violence
Death

Museum: National Archaeological Museum, Athens

This marble copy, with remnants of paint is a work after a bronze originally by artist Polykleitos. In the sculpture’s hand there was once a spear.

Polykleitos was working in Athens, in the Golden Age of Athenian history and art. There were three philosophical ideas that affect Polykleitos’ work.

• Idealism: pursuit of perfection (intellectual and physical)
• Rationalism: reason and emotion, with calm stoicism and control over the body.
• Humanism: the basis for the canon for an ideal man’s height is seven heads.

Canon of Proportion

Polykleitos sought to create the perfect human body ideal through mathematical form. Canon of proportion: head is one-seventh of entire body.

Contrapposto

He used contrapposto, an uneven weight distributed to the legs, which causes the hips to dip and the shoulders to counterbalance. This is how the body of a real figure would stand.

Harmony of Opposites

This theory suggested if both symmetrically and action were achieved in sculpture, it would take on beauty. To achieve a look of movement, it had to look natural, by using the harmony of opposites. If one leg of the sculpture appeared to be moving , then the rest of the body must respond and act accordingly.

Alternating twisting

• Head to left.
• Shoulders/hips to right
• Knees to left.
• Ankles to right

Alternating angles

• Angle of eyes and shoulders go from top right to bottom left.
• Angle of hips go from top left to bottom right.
• Angle of knees go from top left to bottom right.
• Angle of ankles go from top right to bottom left.

His right-side vs his left side

• Right side is straightened limbs.
• Left side is bent limbs.

Alternating relaxed vs. engaged body parts.

• Right arm and left leg are relaxed.
• Left arm and right leg are engaged.

 What is the Lost Wax Method?

The original bronze was made using a process called lost-wax method.

The first step in the lost wax method is to make a clay model. Then, it needs to be covered with wax.  The wax clay model is put inside a clay case. A hold is cut at the bottom. Next, the model is heated.  The wax will drip out and leave a small space between the clay interior and the clay case.

Once complete, the artist tips the entire work upside down so that the hole faces upward and pours in liquid bronze. It will fit into that small space where the wax was originally.

Once dry, the artist tilts it back upward again and cracks the clay.

This is called the lost wax method, as the wax is lost when it drips out of the clay case.

Also, the process was “lost” after the fall of the Roman Empire.  It was not “discovered” again until Donatello in the 15^th century during the Southern Renaissance.

Where the Roman Marble Copy was Found

This sculpture was found in a palestro, an area where athletes worked out, in Pompeii, Italy. In one hand, the sculpture once held a sphere.  It is thought that this idealized male form, standing at 6 feet 11 inches, was an inspiration of fitness to the athletes.

The Use of Marble

Romans liked to work in marble because of its sense of permanence. Bronze is easily damage.  However, the hard part of working with marble is that it is heavy, and figures cannot always stay standing upright and unsupported.

To help support these figures, Romans used struts, a piece that joins the arm to the hip, and tree trunks acted as kick stands.

Canon, a Treatise

How to create an ideal statue of a male nude.

Statue should have perfect proportions.

 All parts must relate well to one another.

Statue should have symmetria.

• Balance of all parts
• Action and reaction
• Balance and counterbalance
• No action is isolated.

Proportion + symmetria = harmony/beauty

Ideologies in Classical Greek Art

Humanism

• “Man is the measure of all things.”
• Seek an ideal based on the human form, not an arbitrary number.
• Man is literally the measure of man himself.
• Focus on natural, observed human body.

Rationalism

• “Reason over emotion”
• Expressed by philosophers Sophocles, Plato, and Aristotle
• Pursuit of control
• Calm stoicism and restraint in face/body

Idealism

• “Pursuit of perfection”
• Intellectual capacity to understand and execute perfection.
• Physical ability to become perfect through discipline.

Lost-Wax Casting Process

This method was used to caste bronze sculptures.  

1. Make a clay model.
2. Cover dried clay in wax.
3. Put wax clay model inside a clay case and cut hole in top/bottom.
4. Heat up the model and flip it upside down – the wax will drip out and leave a small space between the clay interior and clay case.
5. Tip the entire work upwards and pour in liquid bronze into the space where wax was originally.
6. When dry, crack off clay case.

 

(2) 26. Athenian Agora

Greek. Plan. 600 BCE- 150 CE. Archaic through Hellenistic

Learning Objective: Greek civic center

Themes:

Civic
Community
Architecture
Religion
Public

The Athenian Agora, located in Athens, Greece, was a public space, in a flat low area with a rocky Acropolis nearby. It was traversed by an ancient roadway called Panathenaic way and held various purposes making it the most important space in Athens at that time. It was used for dramatic performances, cultural or religious events. It was also used as a market through evidence of shops and pieces of pottery, bronzeware and sculpture found at the site.

There was also a council’s chamber, magistrate’s office, mint, and archive. The Athenian agora is  where public elections were had and a place of experimentation in Athenian democracy.

Panathenaic Procession

Most buildings were “outlined” with stoas. This was a covered walkways or porticos, typically with Doric order. It helped to define the edges of the building and were used as a framing device.

Agora was the main site of a festival, held every four years, called the Panathenaic Procession to honor the goddess to Athena. Procession marched across the Agora at a diagonal and culminated on the Acropolis. The culmination of the ceremony was a new woven peplos (robe) that was sewn for Athena’s cult statue, in the Parthenon.

Persian Destruction of Athens

In 480 BCE, the Persians destructed Athens. Buildings had to be rebuilt or reconstructed.  Many more were added to accommodate the Athenian democracy.

 

(2) 35. Acropolis

Greek. Marble. 447 – 410 BCE. Athens, Greece. Greek (Classical).

Learning Objective: Greek classical religious complex

Themes:

Religious complex
Victory
War
Deities
Civic
Community
Site-specific
Place of worship
Politics
Architecture
Religion
Appropriation (Parthenon as church/mosque)
Devotional object
Status

An Acropolis, is a rugged rock, in the center of the city that creates a raised platform. Buildings were built here, making the space a major and central religious complex to glorify Athens and Athena. In ancient times there were several buildings built on the site of the Acropolis. Only fragments of many remain today. The most famous one is the Parthenon.

Fit for a Goddess

The Parthenon was created by architects Iktinos and Kallikrates. It is 1,150 feet long. Interior décor was provided by artist Phidias.

The Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena. It glorified Athena Parthenos, the later word meaning virgin, which was highly valued in Athenian society. The goddess was an enforcer of such modesty. The Panathenaic Procession was a celebration of Athena’s birthday.

The north side was the temple of earlier sects and dedicated to earlier gods. The south side contained temples dedicated to Athena. All Athenians citizens were able to take part in the festivals. Only priests were allowed inside.

The building was also a celebration of the Greek victory over the Persians, while showcasing the Athenian wealth and power.

 

The Build

The front and back look the same, which was entirely intentional.

Marble at the time was cheap and available. The roof was originally made with wood and capped with marble tiles. It would have been brightly painted at the time, so viewers could easily see and interpret the decorations.

Architectural  Focus

Peripteral temple is a temple with a colonnade on all four sides and based on peristyle.

The types of orders or columns used in this building are Doric and Ionic. Doric was used for is the exterior, with fluted shafts, simple capitals, and entablature of triglyphs and metopes. Ionic was used is the interior and used fluted shafts, volute capitals, with an entablature of frieze.

It was very unusual to combine orders. Art historians believe this was to show a united Greece, with the Doric representing the mainland style and the Iconic the preferred style of the Greek islands.

The building’s pediment, a triangular part at the top front of the building that supports the roof was highly carved.

A Series of Optical Illusions

Adjustments were made in the architecture to compensate for optical illusions. A stylobate or continuous base supporting the row of columns curves upward from the center, as does the entablature. This acts to deflect the appearance of sagging in the middle.

Columns lean inward slightly. If the lines were continued, they would all meet 1.5 miles above the temple. Columns are not evenly spaced to prevent the look of them being clustered.  Entasis is a slight convex curve in the shaft of a column. The columns bulge out in the middle, and this works to give the illusion that they are straight and taper upward.

The columns in the corners were often surrounded by light. This made them look thinner. To remedy this, the columns here were made 2 inches thicker.

 A Visual of Strength

All decorations are a symbol of strength. The metopes between the channeled triglyphs are carved. The west metopes are depicted with Amazonomachy, a mythical battle between the Amazons and Ancient Greeks. The east metopes illustrate the mythical battle between the gods and giants called Gigantomachy. The northside shows the Trojan war, while the south represents Centauromachy, the battle between the mythical centaurs with the Lapiths.

The pediments too provide stunning visuals. The east shows the birth of Athena, while the west is all about Poseidon vs Athena.

The cella or main room housed a massive chryselephantine statue of Athena, made from gold and ivory. She was fully armed with a shield, spear, and helmet. In her hand, she held Nike, the winged personification of Victory.

Notable Architectural Element at The Parthenon

 Doric Exterior

• Triglyphs and Metopes
• Doric capitals with no base

Ionic Interior

• Entablature contains a continuous frieze.
• Iconic capitals with no base

 Column Spacing

• Not evenly spaced to give an illusion of even spacing.

Entasis

• Adjusted the bending look of columns using a bulge or entasis to make them look straight.

Corner Columns

• Built to be 2 inches thicker at the corner to counteract the slimming illusion from light.

The Backgrounder

The Parthenon was converted into a Byzantine church, then a Catholic church, in the Middle Ages. Next, it was made into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Greece. In 1678, Venetians attacked the Turks who were using it for storage for ammunition.

Venetian rockets hit the Parthenon and an explosion blew out the center of the building. Today car exhaust is damaging the marble which is very porous.

 SUB-IMAGE 2: Helios, horses, and Dionysus (Herakles ?)

These figures were part of the pedimental sculpture on the East pediment that depicts those gathered around the Birth of Athena on Mount Olympus.

From Left to Right

• Helios (sun god) now missing, on horses.
• Dionysus or Herakles (?)

This symbolizes rationalism, idealism, humanism.

• Demeter and Persephone
• Unknown standing figure
• Athena and Zeus would have been in the middle.

Athena is born from Zeus’s head who complained about a headache to Hephaestus who split Zeus’s head open to find Athena popping out fully armed.

• The right-hand side shows three goddesses probably Hestia (domesticity), Artemis/Diana (hunt, chastity, nature) and Aphrodite/Venus (love).

How Phidias Addresses the Awkward Pediment

Typically, sculptors ignored the corners since the space was too small to put any full-sized figures in. Phidias, however, uses the bottom line as a horizon line that figures can move through effortlessly. These are extremely life-like in terms of energy and form. The integration of the figures with one another makes them a complicated composition.

A Sense of Modesty

Wet Drapery, in sculptural terms, is defined as the cloth that appears to cling to the body, is animated with numerous folds. This reveals the contours of the body underneath. It also defines the musculature of the body while maintaining propriety for women.

The Backgrounder

The sculpture was damaged when the building was converted into a church.

It was once nicknamed the Elgin Marbles when purchased in 1803 by Lord Elgin, the British ambassador to Constantinople. He was accused of “stealing culture” as they are still owned by the British Museum. The work would have almost certainly been destroyed had he not removed them.

SUB-IMAGE 3: Plaque of the Ergastines

Greek. 445-438 BCE. Greek (Style)

Louvre, Paris

This marble work is part of the 525 feet long frieze on the inside of the Ionic part of the Parthenon. This section is 96 feet by 2 feet and 7 inches. It is carved in low relief. All the figures stand in contrapposto. The right knee breaks the fall of drapery.

The artist does not use hierarchy of scale and shows all on the same ground line through isocephalism. The work would have originally been painted. The backgrounds were painted blue, and the figures’ hair were highlighted in gold.

Who Does This Work Represent?

The original theory is that it shows the Panathenaic Procession. For this event, the citizens of Athens honor Athena, by weaving a peplos. Six Ergastines, or young aristocratic women in charge of weaving the peplos, are greeted by two priests. They all walk in procession towards the Parthenon.

A new theory suggests it could be the depiction of the legendary Athenian king, Erechtheus, who sacrificed one of his daughters to save the city of Athens. An ancient wooden idol of the goddess Athena was said to have fallen from the skies during his reins. The sacrifice was under the guidance of Oracle of Delphi.

With either theory, the mood of the artwork is sombre as the people wear grave expressions. It shows the religious piety of the upper class, and Athenians at large. It symbolizes the elite community in Athens coming together.

SUB-IMAGE 4: Temple of Athena Nike

This temple as was dedicated to Athena Victorious (Athena Nike), not to be confused with the goddess Nike.

This Amphiprostyle temple has four columns on the front and back of temple. It is Ionic in order.   It sits oddly on the edge of the Acropolis and there were concerns about it falling off. Around it is a parapet or low protective wall or barrier, 4 feet tall that acted as a guard rail.

Temple of Athena Nike was built over the ruins of a previous temple to Nike, the Persians had destroyed in 480 BCE.  It was built to commemorate the Greek victory over the Persians in the Battle of Marathon, in 490 BCE.  Part of the frieze is also dedicated to this battle.

Inside the temple there was a statue of Athena Nike. Nike’s image is repeated dozens of times. She often holds a pomegranate, a symbol of wealth.

SUB-IMAGE 5: Nike Adjusting Her Sandal

This work depicts an image of Nike, made to be a part of the decorative program of the Temple of Athena Nike. The graceful figure is modeled in high relief. Deeply incised drapery lines reveal body. Wet drapery gives a sense of the weight of the cloth and the gathering around parts of the body. The awkward posture rendered elegant and graceful.

Nike adjusts her sandal while her dress slips off one shoulder.

This was built over the ruins of a previous temple to Nike that the Persians destroyed in 480 BCE.

Location Choice

Why was the Acropolis chosen? For royal, divine, and physical reasons. Temples have been here since Neolithic times. The elevation  is high up, central, and visible.

A Historical Look

Persians destroyed original complex in the Persian War (499 – 449 BCE). It was the site of Delian League Treasury or collection of money from Athenian city states, that was used for combat in the Persian War.

It was constructed under leadership of Pericles, after the Persian sack of Athens, in 480 BCE, and   destroying the original Acropolis. Pericles used the extra funds from the Delian League in the Persian War treasury to build the Acropolis.

The Greek allies were furious, and this caused the Peloponnesian War.

 

(2) 36. Grave stele of Hegeso  Kallimachos.

Greek. 410 BC. Greek (High Classical)

Learning Objective: Classical Greek funerary sculpture

Themes:

Funerary
Domestic
Ideal women
Status
Commemoration
Portrait
Private
Male-female relationships

Museum: Archaeological Museum, Athens

This marble and paint stele, at 5 feet tall,  was crafted to represent the life of a wealthy woman named Hegeso. She is seated on a chair, as her servant presents her with an opened box of jewelry. What the piece was is unclear, as it was painted into Hegeso’s hands and not carved. The image has long since disappeared.

The gown she is wearing is tight against her figure, as the fabric, swirls, and drapes intricately, giving the artist the ability to show a mastery of skills. Gentle scenes such as this one was often selected to show the refinery of the woman who had passed away.

History

During the Greek Archaic period, kouros and kore were used as grave markers. Later all efforts were put into great public buildings like the Pantheon. During the fifth century BCE a grave stele or marker started to gain popularity.

This is  a good example of private sculpture and not part of a state commission. It illustrates the greater statue of free-born women with a servants and jewelry; however, it was still a restrictive life. Women’s sphere was in the home, hence the domestic setting.

Women were not considered citizens and were defined by their relationships to men (daughter of Proxenos).

(2) 33. Niobides Krater

Niobid Painter. Greek. 460-450 BCE. Greek (Classical)

Learning Objective: Greek vase

Themes:

Deities
Utilitarian
Violence
War
Status
Family
Victory
Decorative arts

Museum: Louvre

The Niobides Krater, is by the artist known only as the Niobid Painter. This is a clay work. Using red- figure technique with white highlights. It stands two feet tall.  The piece was found in necropolis Crucfissio Del Tufo in Orvieto, Italy.

What is a Calyx-krater?

A Calyx-krater is a punch bowl, with two handles on the side. It was used to mix strong wine with water. It is classified within the decorative arts, meaning it is both beautiful and functional. Greek vases are described using human anatomical parts such as wide mouth; handles on the base of the body; or wide foot.

A Closer Look at the Images

On one side of the Greek vase, directly in the centre of the krater is the god Herkules, who is identifiable by the club and lion skin he carries. Around him are warriors, looking for his blessing before leaving for battle. Although the artist may have been aiming for a sense of depth by depicting the figures at various height, all are the same size. The figures are also very stiff and unnatural, as was the style of the time.

On the back of the krater is the story of the mortal Niobe. She bragged that her seven daughters and seven sons were more beautiful than those of the goddess Letos. The goddesses two children, Apollo, the god of arts and music, as well as Artemis, the goddess of the hunt extract revenge on the children by shooting and killing them with bows and arrows.

Context

Niobides Krater  was found in an Etruscan tomb. The Etruscans were Grecophiles. Greek vases were tremendously popular. There were a huge variety of design and function available. The more decorative, the greater the expense.

 Hellenistic Period

• •  Begins after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE) 
  • Empire divided up after Alexander’s death among his Greek generals.
  • Cultivated a new, cosmopolitan, Greek-based culture, called Hellenistic. 
  • Changes in Greek architecture results in of the expansion of the Greek world.

An enormous variety of work in wide range of emotions, materials, techniques, and styles.

• • • • Great variety of expression, from sadness to joy.
      • Wider range of realistic modeling; willingness to show more movement.
      • Sculptors use negative space.
      • The viewer is meant to walk around Hellenistic sculpture.

Period marked by two broad and conflicting trends:

• • • • • The move away from classical models and toward experimentation with new forms and subjects (practiced in Pergamon)
        • A return to Classical models; artists selecting aspects of favored works and incorporate them into new styles.

(2) 38. Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

Greek. 175 BCE. Greek (Hellenistic)

Learning Objective: Hellenistic religious complex

Themes:

Religious complex
Deities
Politics
Architecture
Commemoration
War
Ceremony
Victory

Museum: Pergamon Museum, Berlin

This marble work was built on the Pergamon acropolis, 800 feet above the city below and about 20 miles from the coast. It was once part of Greece, but today is Turkey.  A panorama of nature was a dramatic background to the action in the altar that measures 117 by 109 feet.

Pergamon was the capital of Attalid Kingdom (Asia Minor). This was one of the four breakup kingdoms from Alexander the Great’s large empire. Today, it is part of Turkey.

The Architecture

The temple was an enclosed courtyard with two sides extending out into arms, with an iconic colonnade. It also has acroteria: sculptures in the round placed on a roof. A frieze measuring 7 and a half feet high over 400 feet long wraps around the entire monument. The temple was on a massive podium with a large flight of stairs, verticality toward the heavens.

Surrounding it was a great library, a garrison for soldiers and a royal palace for the king.  Of course, a fire would have been lit in the center for the gods.

The Depictions

This alter carved from marble is a depiction of Greek Olympian gods, versus the monstrous offspring of primordial gods Gaia, the earth goddess, and Uranos, the sky god, for world domination.

On one panel, the goddess Athena is in the centre. She is battling Alcyoneos, hand grasping his hair, while one of her snakes attacks. At the same time, she is being crowned by winged Nike. Gaia, emerges from the ground to plead for the life of her son.

On another panel Zeus is depicted with a strong chest, abdominal muscles, and arms as he battles other giants. He has the help of his eagles and thunderbolts.

The gods drag them, physical up the stairs, to show that they will be made to worship to Zeus. Sculptural elements protract outward and use each stair as resting places.

In Detail

Hellenistic art began after the death of Alexander the Great. The Hellenistic qualities of this work includes energy, dynamism, movement, emotion, and height of the narrative.  Hellenistic sculpture rejects the rationalism of the Classical era, but retains the idealism , characterized by exaggerated forms, dynamic poses, emotional drama.  This is a high relief frieze, with deeply carved figures, that creates shadows and bursts of light.  There are over 100 figures, all of which would have been vividly painted.

Function

This work built by Eumenes II, commemorates the defeat of the invading Gauls, led by King Attalos in 3^rd century BCE. It is dedicated to and honors Zeus.

It also has parelells to Pergamon victories over the Barbarians (Gauls) in 3^rd century BCE, as well as Alexander the Great’s defeat of the Persians.

This made a clear statement about Greek victories not only against other culture, but of the unknown. It also established a patriarchal culture with Zeus winning over Gaia.

Animals were sacrificed inside the main temple complex on feast days/festivals.

Today

Altar was removed from Pergamon in the 19^th century by a German archaeologist. It was then reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum, in Berlin.

 

(2) 37. Winged Victory of Samothrace.

Greek. 190 BCE.  Greek (Hellenistic).

 Museum: Louvre, Paris

Winged Victory of Samothrace is a deeply carved figure of marble, standing a monumental 9 feet tall. It is work full of energy. There is a display of movement. Note the dramatic twist and contrapposto of the figure. The wet drapery imitates the look of water upon the body.

Found on the island of Samothrace in a sanctuary in a harbor, she faces the way that the wind typically blows, which explains the flutter of the drapery.

Function

Winged Victory of Samothrace was built to commemorate a naval victory by the Greeks. Which battle remains unclear, but many scholars point to the Battle of Cos between Macedonians and Egyptians

Nike the Goddess of Victory

This work was meant to sit on a fountain, as a figurehead on a boat. The fountain would splash water on the figure as if the waves were dashing up against the ship. The statue would have reflected off the water, giving it a sense of movement.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace, is the messenger goddess of victory, Nike. Her missing right arm may have raised a victory crown or been held up in greeting. A fragment found in 1948 seems to be from this statue and indicates her arm was raised.

Her clothing is pulled tightly across her abdomen and left leg. It bunches up in thick layers around her front right leg. This makes the figure seem to be alive and breathing. The work is  intensely emotive.

A Backgrounder on Hellenism

Hellenism began after the death of Alexander the Great (323 BCE). At this point, the strain and change in Greek life prompted artists to explore a wider range of emotion. This was most apparent in sculpture.

These new works had a greater variety of expression in sculpture, with motion, movement, and energy.

 

(2) 41. Seated Boxer

Greek. 100 BCE. Greek (Hellenistic)

Learning Objective: Hellenistic male sculpture

Themes:

Athlete
Ideal male
Psychological

Museum: National Museum, Rome

This work is a bronze sculpture which measures four feet six inches.  In this work the artist added copper to show the red wounds of the boxer. While his body is still muscular, years of abuse in the sport show a broken nose, wounds, and a swollen ear.

The artist wants the viewer to be captured by the emotion of the sculpture. The man is exhausted, his posture is stooped.

Historical Perspective

This work was originally placed in Baths of Diocletian and may have been part of a larger group of works. It is from Hellenistic period, after Alexander the Great.

Sculptures of this time frame differed from classical works. The subjects moved from young, perfect images of the ideal and the heroic to more realistic images. After this period, the Romans conquered Greece and expensive bronze was melted down. Sculptures were then made with marble. This is a rare piece of art.

 

Other works for your interest…

 

Old Market Woman.  150–100 BCE. Marble.

 

Epigonos.  Dying Gaul. Roman marble copy of a bronze original. 230–220 BCE

 

Hagesandros. Laocoön.  1st century CE.  Marble.