The Art of Ancient Greece The Art of Ancient Greece

1. The Art of Ancient GreeceThe Art of Ancient Greece

2. MAP OF ANCIENT GREECE: Sphere of Influence

3. DARK AGE1100-700 BCE • Dorians invade Achaeans in Greece • Art & writing largely forgotten • Many flee to Asia Minor where they are exposed to Middle Eastern & Egyptian civilizations through trade & travel

4. ARCHAIC PERIOD700-480 BCE • Post Dark Age • “Archaic”=“old-fashioned” • Characterized by limited number of viewpoints

5. Greek Sculpture: The Archaic Period

6. Statuette of a Man & Centaur 750 BCE Metropolitan Museum of Art

7. CHARACTERISTICS • Metalworks was also an art (made from bronze) • Centaur is Nessos • (half man, half horse) = uncivilized • Man is Herakles • man = civilized, superior • Notice taller height of the man & spear in centaur’s left flank…man is the victor in this battle

8. Kouros / Koroui 590-580 BCE • “Kouros”= nude male youth • made of marble • Style borrowed from the Ancient Egyptians • grimaced smile known as the “Archaic Smile” • clenched fists Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York, NY

9. CHARACTERISTICS • All stand in same stiff posture, left foot forward • Mixing human & divine (Naturalism & Idealism) • more than 100 survived • from the Archaic period

10. PURPOSE? • Votive offerings in sanctuaries • Funerary monuments ORIGINS? • Olympia runner • Idea of the “naked soul” rid of any “earthly trappings”

11. Kore / Korai: • Female equivalent to the Kouros (means young girl) • made of marble • This kore wears a peplos — a rectangular garment that is folded at the top, and then pinned at the shoulders and allowed to hang but is bound at the waist or bust. • This kore is beginning to show individual features in comparison to earlier kore.  Peplos Kore: C. 530 BCE

12. Peplos Kore: C. 530 bce • Note the remnants of paint on the kore, the hairstyle and braids, the facial features, and the faint outline of the female figure.

13. Youth from the Acropolis, known as both “Kritios Boy” or “Kritian Boy” About 490-480 BCE

14. Sculpted by Kritios in late Archaic period, new advances in sculpture, end of Kouroi statues Sculpture is made of marble Body was painted at the time it was sculpted (hair blond, whiskers of beard painted brown) muscle groups are described with accuracy, skeletal system of the figure is well understood as a shaping force.

15. vs. What differences between the two sculptures do you see? Kouros Kritios Boy

16. KUOROS vs. KRITIOS BOY • Stiff posture vs. more relaxed posture • Empty facial expressions vs. animated face • Symmetrical torso vs. more natural torso Both still are tributes to the beauty of the human body... What Greek Ideal is BEST represented by the depiction of the two previous sculptures?

17. Vase Painting • Decorative: told stories, placed upon graves, in tombs, in homes • Source of history: told stories about wars, gods & goddesses, heroes of Greek myths, sporting events, parties, death, birth. • Usefulness: held water for bathing & drinking, olive oil (for cooking, bathing, funeral preparation) and wine (drinking)

18. Dipylon Krater 8th Century B.C.

19. WHAT DO YOU SEE? • Funeral-carrying body • Animals-probably for sacrifice • Abstract shapes-men & women • Geometric patterns-organized

20. PURPOSE? • Served as grave markers • Dipylon is a cemetary outside of Athens • Had holes at the bottom to allow offerings of oil & wine to seep through the ground

21. Amphora - Theseus killing the Minotaur. Theseus holds the Minotaur by the horn with his left hand and drives his sword into his rib cage with the right. The Minotaur sinks on his right knee, holding a stone in his upraised left hand. Behind Theseus stands a youth holding a spear. Behind the Minotaur stand a girl and a youth

22. Odysseus’ journey through Hades. He meets Elpenor, who rises out of the dead asking for a proper burial

23. Achilles & Ajax Playing a Game by Exekias 540-530 BCE

24. CHARACTERISTICS • Painting on an amphora (storage jar) • Dramatic & animated scene • Balanced composition (placement of helmets) • Inscriptions found on vase: • “Onetorides is beautiful.” • “Exekias painted me and made me.” Achilles & Ajax Playing a Game by Exekias 540-530 B.C.

25. CLASSICAL PERIOD480-323 BCE • Post Persian Wars-Athens emerges the leading power • Flowering of artistic & intellectual activity • “Classical”-of a superior class/provided models of excellence • Oddly enough, more Greek sculptures remain from the Archaic period • Influenced Roman art & architecture

26. The Parthenon 447-438 B.C. Acropolis of Athens

27. THE PARTHENON Religious Doric temple built under Pericles Bold & sophisticated yet not overpowering Glorified Athens & honored gods Emphasis on exterior Notice optical illusions

28. Models Showing Symmetry of the Parthenon

29. THE PARTHENON: A DORIC TEMPLE • Origins are obscure…probably derived from carpentry (tapered column takes shape of tree trunk) • Simplest form

30. The Parthenon: A Frieze of Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, & Eros

31. The Parthenon: Metope of Centaur Seizing a Woman

32. The Propylaea 437-432 B.C. Acropolis of Athens

33. WHAT IS THE PROPYLAEA? • Ceremonial entrance-way to the Parthenon was built next • Never finished due to Peloponnesian War • Doric & Ionic columns

34. IONIC COLUMNS • Taller & more slender than Doric • Has a base • More decorative-scrolls on the capital • Seen in The Propylaea, The Temple of Athena, & The Erechtheum

35. Temple of Athena Nike 427-424 B.C. Acropolis of Athens

36. The Erechtheum 421-405 B.C. Temple to Athena & Poseidon Acropolis of Athens

37. Another View of the Erechteheum Acropolis of Athens

38. View of the Acropolis of Athens

39. The Delphi Charioteer 478-474 BCE From the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi

40. THE DELPHI CHARIOTEER • Part of pediment, made of bronze • Eyes were made of glass and inserted into the sculpture • Was cast to record a victory in the athletic games • Simple statue-represents “nothing in excess”(famous saying inscribed in the temple at Delphi) • Notice the folds & wrinkles in his tunic

41. THE DELPHI CHARIOTEER • What Greek Ideal would best apply to this sculpture of a VICTORIOUS charioteer? • What Greek Ideal can we attribute his victory to?

42. Olympia: Sculptures from the West Pediment of the Temple of Zeus Apollo, the god of order and reason, is shown breaking up a riot which has broken out between Lapiths and Centaurs at a wedding feast. The exact arrangement of the individual pieces is a matter of debate.

43. The War between the Gods, Lapiths & Centaurs From the West Pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia

44. Statue of Apollo 468-460 BCE From the West Pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia

45. vs. Charioteer Apollo

46. CHARIOTEER VS. APOLLO • Reserve vs. boldness in posture • Clothed vs. naked • Three-dimensional vs. limited number of viewpoints

47. Diskobolos: CA 260-450 BCE • Sculpted by Myron: Diskobolos • Roman copy • Original sculpted around 450 BCE Rome, Museo Nazionale

48. Diskobolos: CA 260-450 BCE What Greek Ideal is BEST associated with Myron’s Diskobolos? Can you think of any other Greek ideal that would apply to this sculpture? Rome, Museo Nazionale

49. Greek Funerary Stele • Purpose: to honor & commemorate the departed (the dead) • Grave Stele of Hegeso, Dipylonca. 400 BCE • Hegeso seated—(a girl), presumably her servant is handing her jewelry from her jewelry box

50. The Hellenistic Period323-146 BCE