Greek Art

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Greek Art

• Introduction
• Greeks were interested in creating beauty and
  harmony with their art.
• Human beings were central to the Greek culture.
• A lot of their art focuses on the idealized human
  form.
• They gave their gods perfect human form, though
  they were shown to be a bit larger than real
  people
• The Greeks considered the human body beautiful,
  perfectly balanced and harmonious.

The Archaic Period 600-480 BCE The Classic
Period 480-323 BCE-Began after 480 BCE when
the Greeks defeated the Persian fleet at
Salamis. Hellenistic Period 323-150 BCE
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ARCHAIC PERIOD-Sculpture

• PEPLOS KORE (4)
• Most Greek sculptures were painted, not
• white as we
• see them today

KOUROS, STATUE OF A YOUTH (600 BCE) (6 4)

• Figure is stylized
• Wearing an archaic smile (close lipped)
• A youth- he is not a child but he is also not a
  man
• Rigid, standing figure of a man (and girl) facing
  forward
• The left foot is slightly forward, kneecaps
  slightly carved
• Both arms are held stiffly at his side
• The hair is stylized into small ringlets.
• Unlike Egyptian statues the youths are
  freestanding, with lack of supports to hold the
  figure at the legs

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Contrast and Compare
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Amor Greece Trip 2007
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Statue of a Sphinx from around 500 BC
Sphinx Greek Mythology A winged creature having
the head of a woman and the body of a lion, noted
for killing those who could not answer its
riddle.
sphinx - one of a number of large stone statues
with the body of a lion and the head of a man
that were built by the ancient Egyptians
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CLASSICAL PERIOD-Sculpture
KRITIOS BOY (480 BCE) 1.17 m (3 ft 10 ins)

• Over the next 75 years, sculptures became more
  natural and realistic representations of the
  human figure. They began to sculpt what they saw,
  rather than ideal forms.
• The Archaic smile is replaced by a look of calm
  and self control. The features and pose remain a
  bit rigid and severe

• Accurate sculptured muscles and skeletal (bones)
  structure
• This figure is able to stand on its own his
  back leg is not bound to a block for balance

• CONTROPOSTO The position of a human figure in
  painting or sculpture in which the hips and legs
  are turned in a different direction from that of
  the shoulders and head the twisting of a figure.
  Especially a way of sculpting a human figure in a
  natural pose with the weight of one leg, the
  shoulder, and hips counterbalancing each other.
  This allows the sculpture to stand on its own.
• The body has a faint S-curve
• Natural stance, the body is relaxed (at ease as
  opposed to attention)

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340 BC bronze statue found in the Antikythera
shipwreck attributed to the sculpturer Euphranor
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THE THREE GODDESSES (435 BCE)
Found in the eastern pediment of the Parthenon
(see Architecture next section) Pediment- a
triangular area on top of the entablature (which
is on top of the columns), where sculptures can
be placed.

• Marble, over life size
• Drapery clings to their bodies it is no longer
  stylized or severe.
• Folds create visual movement.
• The Parthenon is dedicated to the birth of Athena
  and the goddesses are looking towards a sculpture
  portraying this birth.
• The Greek legend states that Athena burst out of
  her fathers head as an adult wearing full body
  armor.

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Sphinx?
340 BC
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HELLENISTIC PERIOD- Sculpture
- Concerned with action and emotion
Dying Gaul (230-220 BCE)
This is a Roman copy of the original Greek
sculpture
Nike of Samothrace (190 BCE)
Marble, 8 (244 cm ) high Movement. Drama.
Dynamism. Nike- Goddess of Victory, she
considered to represent the victory of the
Olympians over the Titans

• Life size
• Shows the struggle of a wounded man about to die
• Figure leans heavily on his arm
• There is agony in the pose

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Aphrodite of Melos (Venus de Milo)(150-100 BCE)

• The marble statue is one of the most recognizable
  works of art from the ancient world.
• Also referred to as Venus de Milo (Venus is the
  Roman version of Aphrodite's name), the goddess
  of love
• elegantly twisting pose (and of course, those
  memorable missing arms), has become an icon of
  Western art
• though created during the Hellenistic period,
  the form of the statue recalls the grand
  achievements of the Classical style
• one Hellenistic detail is the drapery around
  Aphrodite's hips and legs. This drapery, with its
  intricately carved folds, resembles the swirling
  garments worn by another famous Hellenistic
  statue - the glorious Nike of Samothrace.

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contrast
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Acropolis
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ARCHITECTURECLASSICAL PERIOD
The Parthenon (448-432 BCE)

• The most famous surviving building of Ancient
  Greece and one of the most famous buildings in
  the world
• Temple of Athena, located on the Acropolis in
  Athens

• Structure known for its balance and unity
• Doric columns (strength and stability)

Made of marble, transported from Mount Pentelicus
about 16km from Athens Though the pure white
marble survives today, like all ancient
buildings, wasat least partially painted (though
scholars do not know which colours were used)
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The temple originally contained a 40 foot tall
statue of Athena sculpted by Phidias.
In 1801 Lord Elgin of Britain asked the Turkish
rulers for permission to take the sculptures from
the Parthenon which had inscriptions in order to
save them from destruction. Lord Elgin took many
more sculptures than the Greeks anticipated, and
today the majority of the sculptures from the
Parthenon are housed in the British museum. The
frieze, in fact, was virtually stripped of all
its sculptures.
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Temple of Athena Nike (425 BCE) Also found on
the Acropolis Ionic columns Like the Parthenon
dedicated to Athena Goddess of War
Porch of the Maidens (421- 405 BCE)
Also found on the Acropolis Columns are six
female figures, called a Caryatid-which is a
support or column in the form of a human figure)
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HELLENISTIC PERIOD
Temple of Olympian Zeus (174 BCE) Corinthian
columns Acanthus leaves are at the top of each
column Decorative and graceful
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Acropolis
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Mrs. Amors way to remember the different columns
Doric- D is for dull and these are the plainest
columns. Ionic- sounds like an eye and the
swirly tops look like crazy spaced out
eyes Corinthian- fine Corinthian leather is very
expensive and these are the fanciest columns
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Parts of Greek Architectural Buildings
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PAINTINGS AND ART OBJECTS
The Greeks were proud if the large and colourful
paintings decorating their walls, but not even
one remains today Therefore, people study the
paintings on vases to study their style Also
Roman copies of the paintings (sometimes done in
mosaics) to help us understand the earlier Greek
artwork
Death of Sarpedon (512 BCE)

• Painted terrracota 18
• Red figure vase- vases made out of red clay with
  black backgrounds and black brush lines to
  outline and detail the red figures and
  decoration.
• Shows the body of Sarpedon (Trojan warrior who
  was killed in battle) being carried off the
  battlefield by Sleep and Death