GREEK
ART
The
Ideal
in
Everything
The Ideal in Everything
Dates
Archaic Greece 900 – 510 BC
n Classical Period 510 – 404 BC
n Hellenistic Period 404 – 146 BC
n
About The Greeks
n
The Ancient Greeks are known for three main
items; their sculptures, their temples, and their
vase paintings. The art work embodies much of
what made the Greek civilization great. The
Ancient Greeks were organized into independent
city-states. In these states the ideas of courage,
valor, and independence where strongly held
values. These themes can be seen very clearly
in their human depictions.
n
The Greeks idealized humans, showing the
strong and youthful depiction of men and
women. The topics shown in their vases
reflect the importance of strength, athletic
competition, and battles. Their temples
reflected their religious beliefs in the
gods.
The
"Agamemnon"
Mask
Gold, from
Tomb V at
Mycenae
Sixteenth
century BC
National
Archeological
Museum,
Athens
Mythology/Belief
Greek mythology is the body of
stories belonging to the ancient
Greeks, concerning their gods and
heroes, the nature of the world and their
own cult and ritual practices.
n Their ways of life, traditions, art and
architecture is based on their strong belief
in their gods.
n
n
Greek mythology consists, in part, of a
large collection of narratives that explain
the origins of the world and detail the lives
and adventures of a wide variety of gods,
goddesses, heroes, heroines, and other
mythological creatures.
n
Central Greek concept is the human figure
was the principle motif of Greek art.
Greek Art
n Their
style progressed from a stiff
looking structured style and rendering
(Archaic Period) to a more free
flowing action depiction.
(Hellenistic Period)
n Successive
styles increase in Ideal
Human proportions, realistic
features, movement.
Characteristic’s of Their
Painting
Geometric Style
(c. 900-700 BC)
characterized by
stylized motifs
n Simple black figures.
Geometric Shapes
n The purpose was
to tell a story rather
then perfect the
human form.
n
Famous Pottery
Their figures improved as
time went on.
n Vase with Ajax and
Achilles Playing Morra.
540 BC
n Vase painting told
stories about gods and
heroes of Greek Myth.
n Figures more life like.
n Exekia’s , uses detail
to make the scene as
realistic as possible
n
Ajax and
Achilles
•Intricate design on
garments , facial features,
hands, faces carefully
drawn.
•It shows great
compositional skill, centre
to the eye is the board
game.
•Figures lean forward and
curve of their backs-repeat
the curve of the vase.
Red Figure
n
Black figure Pottery
Black Figure
(c. 600-480
BC) black
coated surface
that was
scratched into,
example: Ajax
Commiting
Suicide by
Exekias, 525
B.C
Sculpture
The Evolution of Greek Sculpture
Archaic Period
n
The Archaic period was the earliest period
in Greek Sculpture which started around
600 B.C. and lasted until 480 B.C. These
works have a stiff and ridged appearance
similar to that of the Egyptian sculpture.
Archaic Period
Famous Sculpture
Grave Sculpture
Similar to the Egyptians,
but not supported, and nude.
Kouros
600 BC
statue
National
Museum,
Athens
Kouros
Characteristic of the Kouros
n The Kouros male represented a god
or athlete.
n The only suggestion of movement is
in the left foot.
n Symmetrically balanced
n
The Ideal Man
Characteristic of
Sculpture
nBeautiful,
young
nIntelligent
nStrong/physically
fit
The Ideal Woman
n Demure
(eyes looking down)
n Beautiful (good hair, good
clothes)
n Ready to serve, have babies, do
as she is told.
n Young
Korai were clothed women, often goddesses
Hera of Samos c. 570-560 b.c. 6 “ tall
Style –straight vertical lines
repeated, folds gently over the
subtle curves of the figure
Over six feet tall-impressive
symbol of authority and dignity
Humanism
Human proportions were used
in architecture, math
calculations
Classical Sculpture
n
Characterisitcs showed joyous freedom of
movement and expression, while
celebrating mankind as an independent
entity
n
The Classical age could be seen as a
turning point in art.
n
Showed joyous freedom of movement and
expression, while celebrating mankind as
an independent entity.
•Life size statue
• Sculptor Myron
•Skillfully captured an athlete in
action.
•Strength into a mighty throw-face
completely calm
•Throwing arm is frozen for a split
second
•Details shows Myron had
thorough understanding of
anatomy
•The athlete's right leg bears ll his
weight.
Discobolos
c. 450 BC
Roman marble copy after
the bronze original by
Myron
height 155 cm (61 in)
Museo Nazionale,
Contrapposto
A famous sculptor by the name of
Polyclitus started creating
sculptures in a certain kind of
pose.
n A pose in which the weight of
the body is balanced on one leg
while the other is free and relaxed.
n
Polyclitus, Doryphoros
( spear bearer)
c.440 B.C.
Roman Copy of Greek
Original
The left leg is bent and the
toes lightly touch the
ground
Body turns slightly gives the
figure a freer more lifelike
look
Right hip and left shoulder
are raised; head tips forward
and turns right
Action is kept to a minimum,
feeling of athletic strength
Procession of Horsemen, from
the west frieze of the
Parthenon.
c. 440 B.C. 43” high
British Museum, London,
England
Moving figures bunch up in some places and spread out in
others.
Strong sense of movement in the spirited prancing of the
horses.
Movement is suggested by pattern of light and shadow in the
carved drapery.
Hellenistic Sculpture
Sculptures become more knowledgeable about
the human form and thus become more skillful
and confident.
n They created dramatic movement and
often violent images.
n The sculptors were particularly interested
in facial expressions and emotions.
n Because of this breakthrough. The Sculpture
lacks the symmetrical balance and harmony of
the archaic and classical period.
n
Hellenistic Sculpture
There also came more detail and fully
clothed figures carved to show deep
folds of the drapery
n the Hellenistic period, started a little
before 300 B.C.
n
Athena
Marble, h. 173 cm (5 1/2 ft)
First-century copy after a fifth-century BC
original by Myron
Found in the Gardens of Lucullus, Rome
Liebighaus Museum, Frankfurt
Hagesandros,
Athenodoros and
Polydoros of
Rhodes
Laocoon and
his sons
c. 175-150 BC
Marble, height
242 cm (95 1/2 in)
Museo Pio
Clementino,
Vatican
The Dying Gaul
The Dying Gaul
Head of a Blond
Youth
Marble
Around 485 BC
Acropolis
Museum, Athens
Venus de Milo
Parian marble, h 2.02 m (6 1/2
ft)
Found at Milo
130-120 BC
Musee du Louvre, Paris
Nike, or Winged Victory of
Winged Victory (Nike) of
Samothrace
Marble, h. 3.28 m (11 ft)
Found on the island of
Rhodes
Around 190 BC
Musee du Louvre, Paris
Architecture
Progression of Architecture
Purpose
Built in honor of Gods and
Goddesses.
n Rituals and sacrifices took place on
the steps of many of the temples to
pay tribute to the God or Goddess the
temple was built for.
n
No ordinary people were allowed on the
inside since the building was held so
sacred.
n Therefore the temples were more
decorative on the outside rather than the
inside.
n
n
The progression of architecture can
easily be determined by the columns.
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
The Parthenon, Acropolis Athens Greece, c. 447 B.C.
The Golden Section
Scholars believe that Greek Architects use
the concept known as the golden Section
to design and construct buildings.
n The Golden section is a mathematical
process in which shapes grow larger
according to a fiexed ratio as they rotate
around a cetral axis.
n This helps determine the proportions of a
building elements such as columns.
n
•The Parthenon. It is the most important and
characteristic monument of the ancient Greek
civilization and still remains its international
symbol.
• It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the
patron goddess of Athens. It was built between
447 and 438 B.C. and its sculptural decoration
was completed in 432 B.C.
•Post and lintle construction, Doric Order for
columns
•The Parthenon is carefully planned to be
balanced, harmonious and beautiful.
•The construction of the monument was initiated
by Perikles, the supervisor of the
whole work was Pheidias, the famous Athenian
sculptor, while Iktinos and Kallikrates
were the architects of the building.
•The temple is built in the Doric order
and almost exclusively of Pentelic marble.
It is peripteral, with eight columns on each of the
narrow sides and seventeen columns
on each of the long ones. The central part of the
temple, called the cella, sheltered the
famous chryselephantine cult statue of Athena,
made by Pheidias.
The Turks used the Parthenon as a powder
magazine when the Venetians, under Admiral
Morosini, sieged the Acropolis in 1687.
One of the Venetian bombs fell on the
Parthenon and caused a tremendous
explosion that destroyed a great part of the
monument which had been preserved in a
good condition until then.
The disaster was completed in the
beginning of the 19th century, when the
British ambassador in Constantinople,
Lord Elgin, stole the greatest part of the
sculptural decoration of the monument
(frieze, metopes, pediments), transferred
them to England and sold them to the
British Museum, where they are still
exhibited, being one of the most
significant collections of the museum.
The Temple of Athena Nike
was constructed in ca. 420 B.C. by the architect
Kallikrates. It is built in the Ionic order, and it is
amphiprostyle with a row of four columns in front of
each of its narrow sides. The relief frieze on the upper
section of the walls depicts the conference of gods on
the east side, and scenes from battles on the other
three. A marble parapet decorated with the relief
representation of Nikae (Victories), protected the edge
of the Bastion on which the temple was erected.