Ancient Greek Art

700 BCE – 100 BCE

Early History of Greece

• 2900 BC2900-2000 BC: The Bronze Age when Early Aegean cultures start to emerge

• 2500 BC The great Minoan civilization• 1240 BC The Trojan War and the destruction of Troy

(Ilium)• 1050 BC1050-750 BC: The Dark Ages of Greece and

the fall of the Mycenaean culture• 850 BC - 700 BC: Development of the first Greek

Alphabet• 776 BC The First Olympic Games are staged• 750 BC750 -700 BC: Homer writes the Iliad and the

Odyssey• 730 BC730-710 BC - the First Messenian War and the

Spartans conquer southwest Peloponnesia• 650 BC The Rise of the Greek tyrants

Culture of Ancient Greece• Sparta:

– Monarch (basileis) is a single ruler that opposed tyranny…sort of

– Large population of serfs (helots) are slave farmers.

• Athens:– Growth of democracy due to military

advancement– Women and ordinary people (demos) did

not play a direct role in the polis until the Solonic reforms of 594 BCE. STILL ruled by oligarchies and tyrants

– Slavery an accepted practice everywhere.

Pottery Styles

1. Amphora2. Stamnos (pelike)

3. Volute Krater

4. Krater

5. Hydria

6. Lekythos

7. Oinochoe

8. Kylix

9. Skyphos

10. Kantharos

11. Aryballos

Geometric Style Pottery

1100-700 BCEAthens

Geometric Art

• Early patterns of shapes and lines.• Toward 800 BCE, human and

animal figures began to appear within the framework.

Geometric Krater

from the Dipylon cemetery, Athens

ca. 740 B.C.E.

ceramic

40 1/2 in. high

09/13 Warm-Up

• Transliterate the following (extra credit for correctly speak and/or translating words).1. ἀεὶ ὁ θεὸς γεωμετρεῖ

2. ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός

3. ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς

4. ἦλθον, εἶδον, ἐνίκησα.

5. Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ

6. μολὼν λαβέ!

Orientilizing Period

• Advanced trade with the Egypt and Near East (Orient)

• Blend of Mesopotamian and Egyptian motifs

• Proto-Attic and Proto-CorinthianThe Blinding of Polyphemus and Gorgons, on a Proto-Attic amphora. C. 675 BCE. 56”. Archaeological Museum, Eleusis, Greece

• Athena,• Artemis,• Demeter, and• Hera.• Asclepius,• Heracles,• Hestia,• Persephone, and• Hades

Greek Mythology and Pantheon

• Apollo,• Ares,• Dionysus,• Hermes,• Hephaestus,• Poseidon,• Zeus.• Aphrodite,

Archaic Period

• Orientalizing period is a transition into the Archaic Vase

• Architecture begins to develop in its classical style (late 5th century)

• Black Figure and Red Figure distinctions (advancement in pottery technology and depiction need)

Black Figured Pottery

Psiax. Herakles Strangling the Nemean Lion, on an Attic black figured amphora from Vulci, Italy. C 525 BC. 19 ; Cristiana, Brescia, Italy.

Euthymides

Three revelers

from Vulci, Italy

ca. 510 B.C.E.ceramicapproximately 2 ft. high

Red Figured Pottery

• Psiax is theorized to have invented the more expressive style.

• Allows for greater detail of foreshortening

• Reverses the black, Attic glaze to the outside

The Symposium

• The basis of western thought and ideas on philosophy, debate and argument.

• Exclusive drinking party where these decrative vases were utilized.

• Participants reclined on couches around the edges of a room; in the middle was a large mixing bowl

• Music, poetry, story-telling and word games.

• Usually ended in…lovemaking

Symposium on Friday

• Search online for an ancient Greek phrase or question that has interest to you or is provocative in some way

• Bring in a food or drink for a team of four to try. Connect your item with your quotation during the dialogue time. Be CREATIVE

• Develop an opinion about the following topics:– Where does morality come from?– What is the nature of Love?– What makes an item or person beautiful?– How do we know something is True?

The Symposium

• In teams of four:– Answer the questions from our Greek

panel of philosophers.– Go around the table taking turns for one

minute without interruption.– To the person sitting across from you: ask

them three questions about their position.

• CARPE Questioning for 5 minutes

Euthyphro (399 BCE)

• “Is the pious (τὸ ὅσιον) loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?“

• If an atheist: “can goodness exist without the gods, and where does it exist?”

Theaetetus

• “What is Knowledge?”• “What are sub-

categories of knowing something?”

• “How do we know anything at all?”

• “What can we know?”

09/20 Warm-Up• Copy the Greek

Alphabet and Label the letters you know.

• Try and translate the following: ἄνθρωπος μέτρον

Plato’s Aesthetic: Love and Art

• Plato’s allegory of the Cave

• Plato’s theory of Forms

• Questions: – What are different

categories of Love? List them in order from most primitive to highest.

– What is Art? Is Art only imitation?

09/13 Warm-up

• Give me one modern example of both an Apollonian and Dionysian Male.

• List 20 adjectives to describe Greek sculpture from your readings.

• Lastly, write your Greek phrase, idea or concept and how it connects to your food item (5 sentences).

Greek Art Outline

• Orientalizing Phase - 735-650 B.C.   Early Archaic - 700-600 B.C.   High Archaic - 600-520 B.C.   Late Archaic - 520-480 B.C.

• Classical Art - 480-323 B.C.– Early Classical - 480-450 B.C.   – High Classical - 450-400 B.C.   Late

Classical - 400-323 B.C.

• Hellenistic Art - 323-31 B.C.   Early Hellenistic - 323-250 B.C.   – High Hellenistic - 250-100 B.C.  –  Late Hellenistic - 100 -31 B.C.

Where we are Going?

• Archaic Statuary (750-450 BCE)

• Classical Architecture (450-330 BCE)

• Symposium (Snacks and Philosophy)

• Classical Sculpture• Hellenistic Sculpture (330-

50 BCE)

Archaic Sculpture

• Rise of monumental architecture and sculpture in stone about 650 BCE

• Possible Egyptian influence• Kouros and Kore• Same cubic body types, parallel hips,

but freestanding• The “archaic smile”

Kourous

ca. 600 B.C.E.marble72 1/2 in. high

Calf Bearer (Moschophoros)

from the Acropolis, Athens, Greece

ca. 560 B.C.E.marble65 in. high

Kroisos

from Anavysos, Greece

ca. 530 B.C.E.marble76 in. high

Peplos Kore

from the Acropolis, Athens, Greece

ca. 530 B.C.E.marble48 in. high

Architectural Sculpture• Greeks originally make

Architecture that is similar to Egypt and Sumer; Low relief columns and lintel Decoration

• With developments from Assyria and Hittite culture: High relief column sculpture

• Greeks, starting in Mycenea, start fill the pediment with separate, interegrated stone sculpture.

Medusa at the center of the pediment of the Temple of Artemis at Corfu, c. 580 BCE.

09/18 Warm-Up

• Gesture Drawings:– 5 different

students stand on a chair.

– Complete 3 Gestures for each

– Pathos types

1. Tragedy

2. Exultation

3. Love

4. Fury

5. Honor

Dying Warrior• The end of the Archaic

period (750-450 BCE) is typified by the East pediment of the temple of Aphaia, Aegina), p. 123

• Magnificent emotional quality of gesture, with

• Yet, Archaic resolve in the face. Emphasizes the theme of fate

Doric and Ionic Orders

Temple Plan Outline

• The core of an ancient Greek temple plan (was the naos, or cella, a room with no windows that usually housed the cult statue of the deity.

• It was preceded by a pronaos, or porch, often with two columns between the antae, or extended walls (columns in antis).

• A smaller second room might be placed behind the cella, but in its canonical form, the Greek temple had a porch at the rear set against the blank back wall of the cella. The purposewas not functional but decorative, satisfying the Greek passion for balanceand symmetry.

• A colonnade could be placed across the front of the temple across both front and back, or, more commonly, all around the cella and its porch(es) to form a peristyle,

Pericles and the Acropolis

• In his portrait of Pericles, Kresilas was said to have made a noble man appear even nobler. Classical Greek portraits were not likenesses but idealized images in which humans appeared godlike.

Kresilas, Pericles. Roman marbleherm copy of a bronze original of ca. 429 bce. Full herm 6 high; detail 4 61–2 high.Musei Vaticani, Rome.

Restored view of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece (John Burge).(1) Parthenon, (2) Propylaia, (3) pinakotheke, (4) Erechtheion,(5) Temple of Athena Nike.

The Acropolis and Parthenon

• The architects of the Parthenon believed that perfect beauty could be achieved by using harmonic proportions. The ratio for larger and smaller parts was x = 2y 1 (for example, a plan of 17 8 columns).

• Golden Ratio: 1.6

Iktinos and Kallikrates,Parthenon (Temple of AthenaParthenos, looking southeast),Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 447–438 bce.

Temple of Hera I (“Basilica”), Paestum, Italy, ca. 550 bce.

Donald in Mathmagic Land.mp4

Porch of the Maidens

• The Erechteum, Akropolis, Athens. 421-405 BCE

• Built by Mnesikles on an irregular, sloping site.

• Roof is held up by six female caryatids on a high parapet, instead of by columns.

• Represents, according to Vitruvius, the Feminine quality complimenting the masculine Parthenon

Monument of Lysikrates

• Tholos: Athens, c. 334 BCE at Delphi by Tehodoros of Phocaea (author of the Corinthian style)

• Round base, engaged columns• Elaborate support for a tripod

won by Lysikrates in a choral contest at the Athenian theater.

Greek Theater

• Between Peloponesian War and the Roman Conquest, no new development

• The basic forms of Greek arrchitecture increased in only one respect: – The open-air theater took on a

regular shape.– Auditorium, Amphitheater

The Kritios Revolution!

• Beginning the Classical Period (500 BCE)

• Kritios Boy. C. 480 BCE. Marble, height 46” Akropolis Museum, Athens

• This free standing sculpture stands in the full sense of the word.

• The symmetry of the Achaic Kouros has given way to calculated nonsymmetry. Reverse S-curve called Contraposto.

Greek Artist Outline

• Myron (480-440 BCE)• Polykleitos (450 BCE)• Phidias (480-430 BCE)• Praxiteles (364 BCE)• Lysippos (300 BCE)

Diskobolos

• Roman marble copy after a bronze orginal, c.450BCE. Life size. Museo delle Tereme, Rome

• Same artist as Zeus (Myron) • Condensing an action to a single

pose without freezing its complexity• Violent twist of the torso in order to

bring the arms into the same plae as the legs.

• Focus on composition and balance

The Severe Style (480-450)

• Exercise in abstract gemoetry. It embodied not only symmetria (proportion and structure), but also rhythmos (composition, movement).

• Naturalistic rhythm with idyllic proportions. A sense of rest

Riace Warriors

• Found in the sea off Riace, Italy. 450BCE Bronze, height 6’8”

• Owe their importance to their fine workmanship

• Intact bronze statues (not copies)

• Ivory and glass-paste eyes, bronze eylashes, and copper lips.

Zeus (460-450 BCE)

• Movement in statues at its climax with freestanding and contraposto. Expression increases

• Almost seven feet tall, shows the heroic proportions

• Not true motion, but perfect commentary on gestural power of the gods.

• Not so much about the adversary, but the act symbolic act of throwing the bolt.

Atlas Bringing Herakles the Apples of the Hesperides• Narrative scens had been a feature of

metopes since the early sixth century B.C.E

• At Olympia the pictorial and dramatic possibilities are fully exploited for the first time.

• Atlas and Herecles• Herecles is contemplative, part of the

classical ideal for heroes and gods

Pop Quiz!

• Label and fully identify the three following works.

• What unique pose does the first statue exhibit?

Temple of Zeus in Olympia• Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, from the west pediment of the

temple of zeus at Olypia. C. 460 BCE Marble, slightly over-lifesize. Archaeological Museum, Olympia

• Pelops founded the games at Olympia (an important Classical anchor date)

• However, his descendants were cursed because of his actions and trickery (including Heracles and Agemnon), The pediment serves as a warning to parading atheletes.

• Centaurs drunken debauchery • Emphasis on Apollo, representing the severe style

conteplation.• He has a calculated tenseness in his calm, develops a

juxtaposition of his godly might, yet godly restraint.

Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, from the west pediment of the temple of zeus at Olypia. C. 460 BCE Marble, slightly over-lifesize. Archaeological Museum, Olympia

Dying Niobid. C. 450-440 C.C.E. Marble, height 59”. Museo delle Terme, Rome

• Earlier pedimental sculptures have not been in the round.

• Niobid Apollo and Artemis kill her children out of revenge

• What is different about this female?

• Facial features as eloquent as emotional gesture

9/21 Warm-Up

• Compare and Contrast the expressions

• Which one more shows the Greek ideals regarding death?

• What are the Greek ideals regarding death?

Parthenon Pediment Sculptures• Three Goddesses. From the east pediment

of the Parthenon. C. 438-432 BCE. Marble, over-lifesize. The British Museum, London

• Drapery is emphasized and referred to as “Wet”

• Use of the pediment space seen as limitation of the artist.

Figure of Iris from the west pediment of the Parthenon

Phidias

• Continuation of the wet drapery style.

• Large Scale statues come to a halt during the Peloponnesian war.

• Many famous artists were in commission for the parthenon, which took only ten years to complete.

Late Classical Art

Mausolos

• Late Classical sculpture doesn’t have much emphasis on individuality, except this work.

• Stiff drapery that seems to encapsulate and imprison the body, much like the body to the soul.

9/23 Warm-Up

• What are some modern expectations of the masculine?

• What are some positive and negative traits that are displayed in society’s masculine (or hyper-masculine ideal?)

Demeter, from Knidos

• Praxiteles Artwork• Deep-set eyes gaze into

the distance• Seated with heavy and

voluminous drapery similar to Mausolos.

Praxiteles

Aphrodite of Knidos

ca. 350-340 B.C.E.Roman marble copy after a bronze original80 in. high

Hermes 320-310 BCE

• Praxitelean beauty• Depicts Hermes with the infant Bacchos• Sensous, Lithe proportions, the curve of the

torso, the play of gentle curves, the sense of complete relaxation

• Interaction with the negative space around it

Apollo Belvedere

• Very popular in the 19th century Greek Revival movement.

• Seen for its perfect pose and beauty.

• Not as well admired today…

Lysippos

Apoxyomenos (Scraper)

ca. 330 B.C.E.Roman marble copy after a bronze original81 in. high

9-30 Warm-Up• Compare these two

works:

Weary Herakles, c. 4th BCE

• Like other Hellenistic sculptures, it is full of pathos as seen plainly in the face of the hero, "the most often copied and imitated Lysippan Herakles in Antiquity" with its heavy, dramatically exaggerated musculature

• But where Hellenistic sculpture often infuses a new dynamism by contrast into Greek art this giant statue

• does not offer a restless narrative but its antithesis.

9/25 Quiz: Fully Identify

Philoxenes of Eretria

Battle of Issus

From the House of the Faun, Pompei, Italy

ca. 310 B.C.E.tessera Mosaic8 ft. 10 in. x 16 ft. 9 in.

Philoxenes of Eretria (detail)

Battle of Issus

From the House of the Faun, Pompei, Italy

ca. 310 B.C.E.tessera Mosaic8 ft. 10 in. x 16 ft. 9 in.

• Roman Mosiac copy of the Battle of Issos (315 BCE)

• Thought to be Alexander the great against the Persians

• This scene is historical in nature, a unique feature of Greek painting during the Classical period

Philoxenes of Eretria

Battle of Issus (detail)

From the House of the Faun, Pompei, Italy

ca. 310 B.C.E.tessera Mosaic8 ft. 10 in. x 16 ft. 9 in.

Polykleitos the Younger

Theater

Epidauros, Greece

350 B.C.E.

Choragic Monument of Lysikrates

Athens, Greece

334 B.C.E.marble

• Reconstruction of the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos. 359-351 BCE

Hellenistic Art (323-146 BCE)

Dying Trumpeter• Human conception in

sculpture groups.• Celebrated Attalos I

and his victories over the Cets

• Ethnic type is depicted

• Torque worn around the neck is Celctic

• Heroic nudity of Greek warriors

9/27 Warm-Up

• Analyze the creative project. Give a one paragraph summary of the culture you may consider doing and why.

Nike of Samothrace

from Samothrace, Greece

ca. 190 B.C.E.marble97 in. high

Alexandros of Antioch-on-the-Meander

Aphrodite from Milos (Venus de Milo)

ca. 150-125 B.C.E.marble79 in. high

Alexandros of Antioch-on-the-Meander

Aphrodite from Milos (Venus de Milo)

ca. 150-125 B.C.E.marble79 in. high

Aphrodite, Eros and Pan

from Delos, Greece

ca. 100 B.C.E.marble52 in. high

Sleeping Satyr (Barberini Faun)

ca. 230-200 B.C.E.marble85 in. high

Old Market Woman

ca. 150-100 B.C.E.marble54 in. high

Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes

Laocoön and his sons

1st century C.E.marble94 1/2 in. high

Creative Project 4

• Teammates: 4• Length: Two Weeks• Content: Egyptian-Rome• Directions: See

Worksheet