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Greek Sculpture

Greek Sculpture Early Classical into the Fourth Century Types of Sculpture Architectural Sculpture: Pedimental groups, carved metopes. Free-standing sculpture: Funerary Cultic Civic Relief Plaques or Stelae. Architectural Sculpture Early Classical = Severe Style

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Greek Sculpture

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  1. Greek Sculpture Early Classical into the Fourth Century

  2. Types of Sculpture • Architectural Sculpture: Pedimental groups, carved metopes. • Free-standing sculpture: • Funerary • Cultic • Civic • Relief Plaques or Stelae.

  3. Architectural Sculpture • Early Classical = Severe Style • Temple of Zeus at Olympia: Pediments • Metopes: Labors of Herakles • High Classical • Parthenon pedimental sculpture. • Doric frieze, Ionic frieze. • Fourth Century • Temple of Apollo Epikourios, Bassae • Mausoleum of Halikarnassos

  4. Temple of Zeus at Olympia • In the Altis, approach from the west. • 470 - 456 BCE. Inscription mentions a shield set on the gable of eastern pediment to celebrate victory over the Argives, Athenians, and Ionians at Tanagra. • 6 X 13 Columns, Doric peripteral temple • Stylobate: 27.68 by 64.12 meters. • Height of Columns: 10.43 meters. • Width of Columns 2.25 meters.

  5. Sculptural Program • West Pediment: Lapiths and Centaurs. • East Pediment: Chariot Race of Pelops and Oinomaus. • Metopes (over the porch): Twelve Labors of Herakles.

  6. Lapiths and Centaurs • Theseus at the wedding of Perithoos, a Lapith. • Drunk Centaurs abduct the women and try to rape the bride. • Apollo decrees an end to the violence.

  7. Severe Style • Idealized form. • Non-emotional expression. • Emotions in body posture. • Folds of clothes, musculature, very rounded, almost “doughy.” • Contrast of serenity of Lapith women and violence of Centaurs.

  8. Chariot Race of Pelops and Oinomaos • Suitor must win chariot race with Hippodameia’s father, Oinomaos. • Oinomaos cheats. • So does Pelops. Charioteer of Oinomaos involved in plot. • Does Hippodameia, the daughter, know? Does the mother, Sterope? • Pelops wins the chariot race as Oinomaos’ bronze lynchpin melts, the wheel falls off, and he plunges to his death. • Aetiological myth for site and for Peloponnesos.

  9. Order of figures in West Pediment • Psychological tension. Order of figures in the pediment changes gaze and glance. • To whom does Zeus give the nod? • Age of figures indicated by fine details; nerves by posture. • River gods, Alpheios and Kladeus, in the corners: defines geography.

  10. Labors of HeraklesDodekathlos • Peloponnesian Labors: Nemean Lion, Lernean Hydra, Erymanthian Boar, Stymphalian Birds, Keryneian Hind, Augeian Stables • Non-Peloponnesian Labors: Mares of Diomedes, Cretan Bull, The Cattle of Geryon, The Girdle of Hippolyta, Cerberus, Apples of Hesperids

  11. Interpretation of Metopes • Four metopes with Athena: Lion, Birds, Stables, Apples. • Herakles grows up as does Athena. • Symbol of hard work earning virtue and reward to the young athletes (ephebes) at Olympia. • Herakles is a military god and a god of ephebes.

  12. Sculptural Themes • West Pediment: Struggle of Athena and Poseidon for control of Athens. • East Pediment: Birth of Athena. • 92 Metopes. East: Gigantomachy. West: Amazonomachy. South: Centauromachy. North: Fall of Troy. • Ionic Frieze: Peplophoros OR the Sacrifice of the Daugthers of Erectheus.

  13. Apollo Epikourios at Bassae • Northeast of Olympia • Doric peripteral temple; 6 by 15 columns. • 38.24 meters by 14.48 meters • Designed by Iktinos. • 450 - 425 BCE • Exterior Doric metopes survive only in fragments. • Interior Ionic frieze above the Ionic and Corinthian columns of the cella. • Rediscovered in 1765; sculptures removed to British Museum in London.

  14. Exterior Metopes, Bassae • Dionysiac in nature. • Maenadic women. • Chubby satyrs. • Agitated or dancing figures.

  15. Interior metopes • All slabs survive but attachment and placement in temple is still debated. • Frieze would have been impossible to see. • Amazonomachy with Herakles and Theseus. • Centauromachy. • Apollo and Artemis. • Style: Big headed, squat, Polyclitan proportions.

  16. Maussolleion at Halikarnassos • Monumental tomb structure with interior tomb chamber; pyramidal roof. • Burial chamber for Mausolus, who died in 353/2 BCE. • 355 - 340 BCE. Built by wife, Artemesia. • Sculptors: Skopas, Bryaxis, Leochares, and Timotheos. One of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. • Podium dimensions: 32 by 26 meters. • Undamaged until 12th century CE. Destroyed in a 15th century earthquake and then by the Knights of St. John. • Sculptures taken to the British Museum. Freestanding warrior and hunting scenes. Amazonomachy and Centauromachy friezes.

  17. Reconstruction of Maussolleion

  18. Sculptural Style • Duels and Triads. • Very feminine Amazons and desperate Greeks. • Action scenes that are moving and expressive. • Details in features and anatomy.

  19. Types of Sculpture • Architectural Sculpture: Pedimental groups, carved metopes. • Free-standing sculpture: • Funerary • Cultic • Civic • Relief Plaques or Stelae.

  20. Kritios Boy (480) Delphi Charioteer (478/4) Tyrannicides (477/6) Riace Warriors (460/50) Artemision Zeus (460/50) Diskobolos (450) Doryphoros (440) Diadoumenos (430) Nike of Paionios (420) Hermes and Dionysos (340) Aphrodite of Knidos (350) Apoxyomenos (330) Farnese Herakles (325) Antikythera Bronze(350) Marathon Boy (340) Athena from Piraeus (350) Scopas heads(340/30) Free-standing Sculpture

  21. Kritios Boy • 490 - 480 BCE • Half life-sized • Shift of weight • Precursor to contraposto stance • Indications of a sculptor comfortable working in bronze.

  22. Delphi Charioteer • Dress of a charioteer: long chiton, shoulder cords, bits of reins in his hands. • Part of a chariot group, bits of which have been found. • Eyes inlaid with glass, sliver for headband, copper on the lips. • 1.80 meters high. • Dedicated for a victory in 478 or 474 BCE. • The base reads: “Polyzalos, victorious with his horses dedicated me, son of Deinomens, whom make prosper, Honored Apollo.” • Archaic head; Slight twist in body, columnar chiton.

  23. Tyrannicides • Harmodios and Aristogeiton, tyrant slayers. • Copy of the original group of 475 BCE. • Commemorative monument - base excavated in the Agora. • Views of interest from many angles, not just a frontal perspective. • From the front, viewer in the position of victim. • Poses copied in many media.

  24. Riace Warriors • Severe style in stance, but more advanced in treatment of anatomy. • 460 - 450 BCE. • Found off coast of Sicily in 1972. • Brash arrogance of a young warrior vs. the mature strength of an older man. • Part of a group of Athenian warriors at Delphi or Achaean heroes at Olympia. • Expression in the set of the whole body - goes far beyond contemporaneous marbles.

  25. Artemision Zeus • Rescued from an ancient shipwreck off Cape Artemision in 1926. • Zeus rather than Poseidon. • Restoring a trident would be awkward and unprecedented. • 460 - 450 BCE. • 2.09 meters in height. • Bronze. Copper details.

  26. Closeup • Total nudity is awesome. • Realistic only in spirit - lack of proportions. • Plait and hairstyle are late archaic survivals. • Vigorous, yet static in its perfect balance.

  27. Discobolos • Roman copy of a 5th century original (450 BCE) of Myron. • Myron - Sculptor attested by Pliny. • Myron on the “threshold of realism.” • Primitive but respected for his honesty, vigor, and novel poses. Has only one viewpoint. • Lucian’s description: “stooping in the pose of one preparing to throw, turning towards the hand with the discus and gently bending the other knee, as if ready to rise and cast.”

  28. Head of Discobolos • Treatment of hair mentioned by Pliny. • Only copy with head preserved. • Touches of the archaic style - shallowly carved ringlets.

  29. Doryphoros • Sculptor was Polykleitos, from Argos, contemporary of Pheidias and student of Ageladas. • Roman copy from Pompeii. • Naples Museum. • 2.12 meters in height. • Date of original 440 BCE. • One of at least six surviving copies of the piece. • Doryphoros means “spear carrier.”

  30. Polykleitan Canon • Polykleitos wrote a treatise on the proportions of the human body and the symmetry in sculpture, called the Kanon. • Set proportions for the head to the body (1:8). • Broader, thicker set and larger headed than earlier Pheidian sculptures. • Loose leg trails more. • More movement forward, but figure is in balance. • Other masterpiece is the Diadoumenos.

  31. Diadoumenos • Roman copy of Polykleitan Diadoumenos from Delos. • Original of 430 BCE. • H 1.95 meters in height. • Diadoumenos means “head binder”. • Pensive, athletic sensibility.

  32. Nike of Paionios • Nike, goddess of victory, alighting, but still airborne onto a triangular pedestal. • 1.95 meters in height. • 420 BCE. • An accompanying inscription read: “The Messenians and Naupactian dedicated this to Olympian Zeus , a tithe from the spoils of war. Paionios of Mende made this, and was victor to make the akroteria for the temple.” • One of the few contemporaneous statues from the same period as Parthenon outside Athens.

  33. Praxiteles • Son of Kephisodotos who worked from 375 - 355 BCE. • More famous for marbles than bronzes. • Introduction of the female nude as a sculptural type. • Delicate, more feminine look in male form. • Dionysos and Hermes; Knidian Aphrodite

  34. Hermes and Dionysos • Dionysos and the baby Hermes. • Holding out bunch of grapes to entertain baby. • Praxitelean original or Hellenistic copy? • 2.15 meters in height • S-curve of Praxiteles. • Strut, tree trunk, baby, sandals are Hellenistic. • Ultra-realism of cloth.

  35. Aphrodite of Knidos • The goddess surprised while bathing. • Only copies survive - probably do not do the original justice. • Made for Cnidus in East Greece; a clothed version went to Cos. • Explicit religious function but has erotic appeal. • 2.05 meters in height • 350 BCE

  36. Apoxyomenos • Athlete scraping himself after oiling. • Sculptor is Lysippos. • New proportions, smaller head, slimmer body. • Invites an all-round view. • True contraposto. • Statue was coveted by Tiberius. • 2.05 meters in height. • 330 BCE

  37. Farnese Herakles • Lysippos favored Herakles. • 3.15 meters in height. • Roman copy from the Baths of Caracalla. • 325 BCE

  38. Antikythera Youth • Found in a shipwreck off Antikythera. • Authentic. • Polykleitan in stance, Lysippan in proportion. • 1.94 meters in height. • About 340 BCE. • Thought to be a Perseus, but lacking attributes. • Catching a ball?

  39. Marathon Boy • Found in the sea off the coast of Marathon. • 1.3 meters in height. • Praxitelean in pose, but a little stiff to be associated with him. • About 330 BCE. • Leaf attached to crown. • Youth or satyr pouring out wine?

  40. Piraeus Athena • Cache of statues found in excavation in Piraeus, port of Athens. • Perhaps a shipment overtaken during the sack of Greece by Sulla (86 BCE) • 2.35 meters in height • 350 - 340 BCE. • Relaxed, gently turning, associated with sculptor Euphranor.

  41. Scopas Heads • Head of Telephos from the frieze of the Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea. • Scopas was architect and sculptor. • Intense, pathetic quality. • 330 - 320 BCE

  42. Herakles of Scopas

  43. Types of Sculpture • Architectural Sculpture: Pedimental groups, carved metopes. • Free-standing sculpture: • Funerary • Cultic • Civic • Relief Plaques or Stelae.

  44. Relief Plaques and Stelae • Young Athlete from Sounion (470) • Mourning (Epigraphical?!) Athena (470) • Ludovisi Throne Reliefs (480 - 470) • Cat Stele (430 BCE) • Hegeso Stele (400) • Echelos and Basile (410) • Dexileos Stele (390) • Ilissos Stele (330) • Alexander Sarcophagus (320)

  45. Sounion Athlete • A young athlete crowning himself - remains of holes for bronze crown. • 0.59 meters in height. • Found at Temple of Poseidon. • 470 BCE • Shallow modeling, unpatterned body.

  46. Mourning Athena • Athena contemplating a stele (reading an inscription?) • Pillar has been interpreted as a terma (racing turn) or horos (boundary stone). • 0.48 meters in height. • 470 BCE • Deeply modeled. • Pensive introspective figure. • Effect depends on the collusion of viewer and piece. • Votive piece - civic.

  47. Ludovisi throne • Birth of Athena. • End pieces: flute girl and incense-burning matron. • H 1.04 meters • Detail of body with transparency of wet clothes. • Has the plumpness and naivete of Late Archaic. • Artist has a strong feeling for dress and space filling composition.

  48. Cat Stele • Youth reaches towards a bird cage; boy leans against a pillar topped by a cat. • Parthenonian dress of youth. • Flame palmettes on frame. • 430 BCE

  49. Hegeso Stele • A woman picks jewelry from a box held by a serving girl. • Transparent drapery. • Labeled with the name Hegeso. • Full pediment and antae give the appearance of a doorway.

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