Evolution of Art

Geometric Period, ca. 950-700 B.C.E.

Social and political context Time of expansion, so-called colonies. Land-based wealth Monarch advised by few aristocrats War conducted in hand-to-hand combat Art and literature Decorated pottery for elite use and for grave markers Bronze figurines, shields and tripods Iliad, attributed to blind poet Homer, composed as oral work around 750 B.C.: Assault by Greek leaders on Troy to recapture Helen, wife of Menelaus. War lasts nine years. Expresses values of Geometric period society Odyssey, account of the return from Troy of the hero Odysseus composed toward the end of the 8th century or perhaps in the early decades of the seventh century

Pottery Basics
Amphora jug with two handles used for wine or oils Krater bowl for mixing wine and water.

Hydria water pitcher with three handles

Archaic Greece (700-490 B.C.): so-called Orientalizing Phase (700600 B.C.)

Social and Political Context
Intensified contact with the Orient Development of Ionian natural philosophy Importance of the individual

Art and Literature

Introduction of fantastic and monstrous beasts Decorative and sensuous elements: patterning and surface effects Individual feelings, accomplishments and ideas Architecture and sculpture to mediate relationships with the gods

Ivory youth from Samos, c. 600 B.C.E.

Exekias, Achilles and Ajax Playing a Board Game, c. 540-530 B.C. (LEFT) and Exekias, Suicide of Ajax, c. 540-530 B.C. (RIGHT)

Women at a Fountain House

520-510 BCE
Black figure decorationcomposed of black figures against red background on Hydra The Priam Painter added white pigment to process (faces of women often painted white) Show interest in new motifs: everyday life

Death of Sarpedon
515 BCE

Red-figure decorationcomposed of red figures on black background on calyx crater- named because its handles curve up like a flower, calyx; used to mix wine & water, to cool down wine Euphronius well-known red-figure painter known for study of human anatomy

Temple of Hera at Paestum, ca. 560 B.C. and Temple of Apollo at Corinth, ca. 540 B.C.

Kore/ Korai- maidens

Votive offerings to Athena, gifts to goddess Hide anatomy w/ peplos- sturdy cloth, usually wool, folded at neck, pinned at shoulders, & belted Chiton- linen garment, becomes more popular; clingy material allows artists to show off virtuosity Himation- mantel draped diagonally from one shoulder

PEPLOS KORE, FROM THE Kore, from the Acropolis, ACROPOLIS, ATHENS, Athens, Greece, ca. 520-510 GREECE, 530 BCE. MARBLE BCE. Marble

Statues as mediators between men and gods

Maiden from Auxerre, ca. 650 B.C. Kore dedicated to Apollo by Nikandre at the Sanctuary on Delos, ca. 650-626 B.C. So-called Peplos Kore, Ca. 530 B.C.

Kore from Chios, ca. 510 B.C.

Early Sculpture

Kouros- young man Related to Apollo Cult of the body, uniquely Greek Believed body & mind are linked Borrowed much from Egyptians Naturalism- desire to represent the human body as it appears in nature examples of Archaic style Moved from static to contrapossto, the S-curve

New York Kouros, ca. 600 B.C.; Kouros from Tenea, ca. 570 B.C.; Kouros from Anavysos, ca. 530 B.C.; Kritios Boy, ca. 480 B.C.

Calf bearer- 575-550 B.C.E.

The Classical Period 480-323 B.C.E.Humanism, Realism, and Idealism

expressions of Greek values: order, harmony, balance Realism freed from incidental detail: human imperfections are purged in favor of flawlessness, striving for ideal Ideal figure not too young, old, thin, or fat; rather, eternally youthful, serene, dignified, liberated from all accidents of nature Polyclitus, Phidias High Classical- Parthenon, Praxiteles

Sculpture
Human Forms
Greek sculptors among finest world has ever known

Particularly adept at sculpting human form; studied people at rest, moving

Tried to re-create what they saw, paid particular attention to muscles

Lifelike, Not Realistic

Greeks wanted statues to look lifelike, active, not necessarily realistic Portrayed subjects as physically perfect, without blemishes, imperfections Greek statues almost all depict figures of great beauty, grace

Roman Copies
Few original works remain; most copies made a few hundred years later
Roman artists made many copies of greatest Greek statues Many copies survived even after original statues destroyed

Polyclitus eminent sculptor in Golden Age

Concerned with symmetria, having a common measure Sculpture reflects mathematical order Author of manual on proportion; defines module to measure body proportion- 10:1 (his manual no longer exists; we look to Vitruvius Pollio) Embodies ideal harmony between natural world & intellectual or spiritual realm Doryphorus (c. 450440 bc;

Phidias

Riace Warrior Example of advanced contrapossto, high degree of naturalism Bronze material of choice, allows a closer degree of perfection than is attainable in stone Embellished w/ copper-colored lips, ivory/glass eyes, teeth of silver

Myron, 5th C. - Classical Period

it strives (and achieves) perfection; because it eschews movement and instead evinces harmony - depicting that point in the athlete's swing when when rotation is at its maximum and release is imminent, when backswing and release are in equilibrium; creating the classical ideal: a single rhythmic pose of a movement without freezing the motion.

Rebuilding the AcropolisPericles project

Architecture- planned
so that buildings contrast & complement each other

Sculpturesymmetry,proportion, contrapossto

The Acropolis

Chief architects: Ictinus, Callicrates, & Mnesicles

The Acropolis: Architecture

Parthenon as centerpiece Propylaiaentryway

Erectheion
Temple of Athena Nike

The Parthenon

Athena goddess of war; wisdom & rationality Golden Section- represents ratio of 8:5, 0r 1.618:1

The Parthenon
patron deity Athena, goddess of wisdom, rationality

Carefully integrates sculptural decoration; overall sense of harmony, proportion, balance Golden Section most beautiful of proportions, ratio of 8:5 Rectangle based on this ratio may be divided into sections (golden rectangles) Represents (perfect)Doric order Columns swell 1/3rd of way up- entasis, gives breath to stone No true verticals or horizontals lends

Phidias, c. 493-430 B.C. - High Classical Period: Athena Parthenos

40 ft. Statue reflects both sides of Athena in harmony: *warrior w/ spear & shield *model of Greek womanhoodparthenos, or maiden in standard Doric peplos made of removable gold

 Slender Ionic columns Designed by Callicrates Construction on the Temple of Athena at the Acropolis was begun around 427 BC during the tumultuous times of the Peloponnesian War that lasted for almost 30 years Surrounded by parapet low wall w/ panels depicting Athena together w/ Victories

Temple of Nike Athena

The Greeks developed three architectural systems, called orders, each with their own distinctive proportions and detailing.

Doric

Ionic

Corinthian

The Doric style is rather sturdy and its top (the capital), is plain. This style was used in mainland Greece and the colonies in southern Italy and Sicily.

The Ionic style is The Corinthian style is thinner and more seldom used in the elegant. Its capital is Greek world, but often decorated with a scrollseen on Roman like design (a volute). temples. Its capital is This style was found in very elaborate and eastern Greece and the decorated with acanthus islands. leaves.

The Greek Orders

Frieze- runs across top outer wall of cella Metopessquare panel between the beam ends under a roof & on a frieze Pedimenttriangular area over porch

 Designed by Mnesicles

Erectheion

Surrounds legendary spring Dedicated to Erectheus, 1st King of Athens

Porch of Maidens faces Parthenon

Caryatids- female figures serving as columns Salt Sea of Erectheusroom on west side

Lyric Poetry
Sappho, hailed as 10th muse Daughter of aristocrat, married w/ a daughter, left it all to settle in Lesbos Joined cult of Aphrodite, the Lesbian cult Poetry revered in Classical world, only fragments survive Believed in immortality through works and deeds Reading 5.2

Odes
Songs of praise; public eulogies Pindar- men can achieve immortality through greatness of mind/ or body Reading 5.3

Sensuous Sculpture of Praxiteles

Praxiteles very wealthy, very skilled Reputation as womanizer Frank celebration of the body humanistic appreciation of humans and gods Favored the use of marble

Praxiteles

Aphrodite of Knidos
commissioned to portray in role as protector of sailors & merchants; portrays her as goddess of love Frank celebration of body possibly 1st fully nude woman in Greek sculpture elevated female nudity from sign of low morals to sign of beauty, truth

Hellenistic Art
Hellenistic sculptures were more realistic and natural, more emotional portrayed inner character, feelings and experiences secular viewpoint became more important, also concerned with scenes witnessed in daily life expressionism- the Hellenistic realism expressed temporary emotional conditions, pain and suffering. emphasize religious and moral values The underlying trend of this period was an attraction towards eroticism, violence, but above all to provide a truthfulness. (Realism) High-relief Dyong Gaul, Laocoon, Nike Samothrace, Altar of Zeus, Hecuba

Heroic Sculpture of Lyssipus

Hired for all portraits of Alexander, because of his aptitude for realism Job was to embody the greatness that is Alexander! Dramatized; represented animatedly, a man of action! Preferred to work in bronze Chose to represent heroes, athletes, gods

Lyssipus
The Scraper breaks free of formal restrictions: invites 360degree viewing look of detachment, slenderer, longer legs, shorter torso Appears both physically & mentally unrestrained by space

Altar of Zeus: A New Sculptural Style

Classical sought balance, order, and proportion This aims toward expressionism- attempt to illicit emotional response in viewer Attempt to evoke Aristotles catharsis

Dying Gaul

Among earliest examples of Hellenistic expressionism Brutal realism combined with heroism & nobility

Nike of Samothrace

Laocoon and His Sons