Dr. Schiller: AP History of Art
PART 1 OF 2
Greek Art:
Gods, Heroes, and Athletes
Greek Art: 1200-30 BCE
Periods
Dark Period:
Geometric Period:
Orientalizing Period:
Archaic Period:
Severe Style:
Classical Period:
Late Classical Period:
Hellenistic Period:
Dates:
1200-800 BCE
800-700 BCE
700-600 BCE
600-480 BCE
480-450 BCE
450-400 BCE
400-325 BCE
325-30 BCE
Greek Art: 1200-30 BCE
•
This chapter introduces you to the Greek world and its
contribution to Western civilization.
• For the Greeks the body was the visible means of
conveying perfection
•
We’ll see the figure developed as:
--a representation of the humanity of the Greeks
--their attempt to gain perfection.
•
There are 3 big tenets of Greek art:
1. balance
2. harmony
3. symmetry.
•
These ideals are reflected in architecture as well as sculpture.
Greek Art: 1200-30 BCE
•
A complication peculiar to the study of Greek art is that we have 3
separate and sometimes conflicting sources of information:
1. the works themselves
2. Roman copies of Greek works
3. literary sources
Greece
Chapter 4: THE RISE OF THE GREEKS, 1000-500 BCE: Introduction:
Greece
Since water was scarce, the Greeks used olive oil to clean
themselves
The Greek Dark Period
•The Greek “Dark Age” was a period during which Greece and the
whole Aegean region were largely isolated from the rest of the
world
•It began around 1200 BCE
It ended around 800 BCE when Phoenician ships began to visit the
Aegean Sea, reestablishing contact between Greek and the Middle
East
Phoenicia
Greece
Mediterranean Sea
•
Geometric Period:
BCE
800-700
One of the major differences between this early period and its
counterpart in the Ancient Near East (remember Assyrian art?)
is the fascination the human body had for the Greeks
Mesopotamian
Greek
Geometric Period:
BCE
800-700
* Even in the 8th C. BCE, the Greeks were interested in the
depiction of anatomy and detail natural movement
* We know Geometric Style only from painted pottery and smallscale sculpture:
--the two forms are intimately related
--pottery was often adorned with figurines just
like the forms from sculpture
--sculpture was made of clay or bronze—probably
learned metal-working from the Mycenaeans
Geometric Sculpture
•
The figure of Hero and Centaur (Herakles and Nessos?)
illustrates the sense of volume and natural movement.
Stokstad plate 5-6
Hero and centaur (Herakles and Nessos?), ca. 750-730 BCE.
Bronze approx. 4 ½ “ high.
Geometric Sculpture
•
•
•
This bronze sculpture illustrates the anatomy, even though one
figure is a mythic creature, centaur
The artist represents both figures as naked.
A more natural representation of the figures is presented by
showing the curving of the anatomy
Geometric Sculpture
•
Note the lower torsos of both figures depict a primitive attempt
at showing the form (human figure).
Geometric sculpture, continued
•
•
The Greek artist has attempted to show the scene, thought to
be the battle between Herakles and Nessos, by aligning the
arms of both figures as if in a wrestling match.
The elbows of both figures are cocked (i.e. bent) and tense as if
in battle.
Geometric sculpture, continued
•
Following the Herakles and Nessos, is the Mantiklos Apollo.
[Gardner plate 5-3]
Mantiklos Apollo, statuette of a youth
dedicated by Mantiklos to Apollo, from
Thebes, Greece, ca. 700-680 BCE.
Bronze approx. 8“ high.
Geometric sculpture, continued
•
•
•
•
This work continues to illustrate the focus of the Geometric
artist with an emphasis on human anatomy.
The upper torso is showing more anatomical
naturalism, from the shoulders to the stomach,
the artist has been engaged in illustrating a more
realistic presentation of the human male figure.
This figure is naked as well.
NOTE: Although some art historians put this work in the
Geometric Period, Gardner puts this work in the
Orientalizing Period; its pretty much on the cusp
between Geometric and Orientalizing
•
•
Geometric art
The Geometric artist did not confine his work to the threedimensional medium alone.
Greek Dipylon Vase painting reflects the development of figural
representation in a two-dimensional format.
Stokstad plate 5-5
Geometric krater from the Dipylon
cemetery, Athens, Greece, ca. 740 BCE.
Approx. 3’ 4½“ high.
[mixing bowl for wine and water]
•
•
Geometric art
Again the figures on the body of the krater are almost
schematic in shape.
The important factor in this depiction is the narrative value this
vase contains.
•
Geometric art
The funeral of the individual is shown and the mourners are
demonstrating their grief by the gestures of raised arms.
•
•
Geometric art
Unlike the Egyptians, this is a straightforward depiction of a
funeral; no mythic creatures are present.
The difference is the representation of a funeral and the
absence of gods escorting the deceased along the journey.
•
•
Geometric art
Another feature of vase painting is the use of the entire surface
of the object as a platform for depiction
This can be seen in an oinochoe (wine pitcher) which details
the “Shipwreck of Odysseus”
“Shipwreck of Odysseus”
Late Geometric Oinochoe (wine jug), c. 725 BCE.
Neck has scene of shipwreck (Odysseus?).
•The neck of the pitcher
shows the shipwreck, the
crew helter skelter in
space
•The ship is shown as a
series of oar ports
•Odysseus, the largest
figure, is behind the ship
as if the last to leave the
sinking vessel
•
•
•
•
Geometric art
The body of the pitcher has a series animals used as
decorative motifs that cover the entire body of the pitcher.
The vase painter involved the whole surface of the vessel and
used figurative as well abstract bands to cover the surface.
This is a departure from previous
and contemporaneous traditions.
The human figure has the place
of importance in both of the
vessels.
Orientalizing Period, continued:
• The Orientalizing style (700-600 BCE) was experimental and
transitional compared with the Geometric style.
• "Orientalizing Style" of Greek painted vases is marked by the
imagery of the Near East, including zoomorphic imaginary
animals and other designs traditionally identified as
originating "east" of Greece.
• Orientalizing was inconsistent: partly solid silhouettes, partly
in outline, combinations.
Orientalizing Period, continued:
•Sphinxes and other
Mesopotamian or Egyptian
designs seen here indicate an
"Orientalizing style.“
Orientalizing Period, continued:
The Blinding of Polyphemus and Gorgons,
on an Orientalizing (proto-Attic) vase,
“Eleusis Amphora”, c.675-650BCE, Ht.
56”
[an amphora was a storage jar]
Orientalizing Period, continued:
• The Orientalizing style reflects powerful
influences form Egypt and the Near East,
stimulated by increasing trade with these
regions
• The change is very clear in the Eleusis
Amphora, if you compare it with the Dipylon
Krater from 100 years earlier
Orientalizing Period, continued:
Orientalizing Period, continued:
•Geometric ornament has not disappeared from this vase
altogether, but it is confined to the peripheral zones: the foot, the
handles, and the lip
Orientalizing Period, continued:
•Geometric ornament has not disappeared from this vase
altogether, but it is confined to the peripheral zones: the foot, the
handles, and the lip
•New curvilinear motifs—such as spirals, interlacing bands,
palmettes, and rosettes—are conspicuous everywhere.
Orientalizing Period, continued:
• On the shoulder we see a frieze of fighting
animals, derived from the repertory of Near
Eastern art.
• The major areas, however, are given over to
narrative, which has become the dominant
element
Orientalizing Period, continued:
• On the shoulder we see a frieze of fighting
animals, derived from the repertory of Near
Eastern art.
• The major areas, however, are given over to
narrative, which has become the dominant
element
• This is the blinding of the giant one-eyed
cyclops Polyphemus, by Odysseus and his
companions, whom Polyphemus had
imprisoned
Orientalizing Period, continued:
• On the shoulder we see a frieze of fighting
animals, derived from the repertory of Near
Eastern art.
• The major areas, however, are given over to
narrative, which has become the dominant
element
• This is the blinding of the giant one-eyed
cyclops Polyphemus, by Odysseus and his
companions, whom Polyphemus had
imprisoned
• Center register: Gorgons chase Perseus
who has just decapitated Medusa
Orientalizing Period, continued:
• On the shoulder we see a frieze of fighting
animals, derived from the repertory of Near
Eastern art.
• The major areas, however, are given over to
narrative, which has become the dominant
element
• This is the blinding of the giant one-eyed
cyclops Polyphemus, by Odysseus and his
companions, whom Polyphemus had
imprisoned
• It is memorably direct and dramatically
forceful on this vase.
• Their movements have an expressive vigor
that makes them seem thoroughly alive.
Orientalizing Period, continued:
• This olpe (an
earthenware vase or
pitcher without a spout)
is similar to plate 5-4 in
Gardner
Stokstad plate 5-8
Pitcher (olpe) from Corinth, Greece,
ca. 600 BCE.
Approx. 1’ high.
Ceramic with black-figure decoration
Orientalizing Period, continued:
• This olpe (an
earthenware vase or
pitcher without a spout)
is similar to plate 5-4 in
Gardner
• Compare with the Ishtar
Gate from earlier
Mesopotamian Art
and notice the
Mesopotamian Art
influences:
Neo-Babylonian, 6th century BCE
Greek, 7th century BCE
Archaic Period: 600-480 BCE
• The Archaic style emerged around 600 BCE and was
dominant until 480 BCE (the time of the Greek victories over
Persia).
• Big difference was a new sense of artistic discipline of the
latter, compared with the inconsistencies of the Orientalizing
Style
• Three categories of artwork in the Archaic Period:
1. sculpture
2. architecture
3. vase painting
• Many people view this period as the most vital phase in
Greek art, because of its vitality and freshness.
Archaic Period: 600-480 BCE
Archaic Sculpture:
• We know that Greece imported ivory carvings and metalwork
that was Phoenician or Syrian, also Egyptian.
• But how do we explain the rise of monumental sculpture
around 650 BCE?
• Had to have gone to Egypt!
• There were small colonies of Greeks in Egypt then
• Who knows for sure; but oldest surviving Greek stone
sculpture and architecture show that Egyptian tradition had
already been assimilated and Hellenized.
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore:
• large figures of standing male nudes and slightly smaller
statues of clothed maidens
• began to appear as dedications in
religious sanctuaries and as grave
markers
• form of kouros:
Stokstad plate 5-17
Kouros, ca. 600 BCE. Marble, approx. 6’½ “ high
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore:
• large figures of standing male nudes and slightly smaller
statues of clothed maidens
• began to appear as dedications in
religious sanctuaries and as grave
markers
• form of kouros:
--standing with one leg forward
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore:
• large figures of standing male nudes and slightly smaller
statues of clothed maidens
• began to appear as dedications in
religious sanctuaries and as grave
markers
• form of kouros:
--standing with one leg forward
--arms held down to the side
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore:
• large figures of standing male nudes and slightly smaller
statues of clothed maidens
• began to appear as dedications in
religious sanctuaries and as grave
markers
• form of kouros:
--standing with one leg forward
--arms held down to the side
--firsts clenched
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore:
• large figures of standing male nudes and slightly smaller
statues of clothed maidens
• began to appear as dedications in
religious sanctuaries and as grave
markers
• form of kouros:
--standing with one leg forward
--arms held down to the side
--firsts clenched
--looking rigidly ahead
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore:
• large figures of standing male nudes and slightly smaller
statues of clothed maidens
• began to appear as dedications in religious sanctuaries and
as grave markers
• form of kouros:
--standing with one leg forward
--arms held down to the side
--firsts clenched
--looking rigidly ahead
• probably inspired by Egyptian Sculpture: stances and
proportions very similar
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore, continued:
• notice in the Egyptian statue, spaces between arms and
sides are filled by stone block and figure adheres to stone
slab behind him—conveys sense of permanence
• however, Egypt one
seems more lifelike
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore, continued:
• at this point, Greek sculptor is more interested in
pattern than appearance:
--face of kouros is play of contrasting curves that
can be traced in eyebrow, too-large eyes, lips,
wig
--regular series of rolled forms, textured to contrast
with smoothness of skin
--Muscles represented by triangular shapes, more
decorative than anatomical
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore, continued:
• but kouros is separated form the block—fully in the round
and more capable of movement
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kouros and Kore, continued:
• the kouros tight silhouette is less fleshy, more energetic and
alert.
• seems lively and eager to move, only
incapable of doing so because muscles
are decorative, not functional, and body
is trapped in rigid stance
Kroisos:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Stokstad plate 5-18
Kroisos, from Anavysos, Greece, ca. 530 BCE.
Marble, approx. 6’ 4” high.
Kroisos:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• identified on base as funerary statue of Kroisos, who had
died a hero’s death in the front of line of battle
Kroisos:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• identified on base as funerary statue of Kroisos, who had
died a hero’s death in the front of line of battle
• originally painted (can still see traces of color)
Kroisos:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• identified on base as funerary statue of Kroisos, who had
died a hero’s death in the front o line of battle
• originally painted (can still see traces of color)
• now swelling curves, greater awareness of
massive volume, also new elasticity, more
anatomically correct
Kroisos:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• identified on base as funerary statue of Kroisos, who had
died a hero’s death in the front o line of battle
• originally painted (can still see traces of color)
• now swelling curves, greater awareness of massive volume,
also new elasticity, more anatomically correct
• like the transition from black-figured to red-figured pottery ,
which we’ll see later
Calf-bearer:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Stokstad plate 5-22
Calf Bearer (Moschophorus),
dedicated by Rhonbos on the
Acropolis, Athens, Greece, ca.
560 BCE. Marble, restored
height approx. 5’ 5”.
Calf-bearer:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• votive figure of donor with the calf he is offering to Athena
• thin cloak fits like second skin
Calf-bearer:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• votive figure of donor with the calf he is offering to Athena
• thin cloak fits like second skin
• face more realistic
• lips draw up in a smile (“Archaic smile”)—
same radiant expression occurs throughout
6th c. BCE Greek sculpture, even on
Kroisos
Calf-bearer:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• lips draw up in a smile (“Archaic smile”)—
same radiant expression occurs throughout
6th c. BCE Greek sculpture, even on
Kroisos
• The significance of the convention is not
known, although it is often assumed that
for the Greeks this kind of smile reflected
a state of ideal health and well-being. It has
also been suggested that it is simply the
result of a technical difficulty in fitting the
curved shape of the mouth to the somewhat
blocklike head typical of Archaic sculpture.
Rampin Head:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Rampin Head from the
Athenian Acropolis, Archaic
Style, Greek, c.550 BCE
Rampin Head:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• Archaic smile more famous here
Rampin Head:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• Archaic smile more famous here
• probably belonged to body of
horseman
Rampin Head:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• Archaic smile more famous here
• probably belonged to body of horseman
• eyes are also smiling
• to give it expression
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kores:
• female: kore
[Gardner plate 5-7]
Lady of Auxerre, statue of a
goddess or kore, ca. 650-625 BCE.
Limestone, approx. 2’ 1½“ high.
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kores:
• female: kore
• kore type more variable –had to deal with
how to relate figure and drapery
• also reflected changing habits or local
differences in dress.
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kore in Peplos:
Stokstad plate 5-20
Peplos Kore, from the Acropolis, Athens,
Greece, ca. 530 BCE, Marble, approx.
4’ high.
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kore in Peplos:
• more of a linear descendant of first kore, though carved a full
century later
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kore in Peplos:
• more of a linear descendant of first kore, though carved a full
century later
• blocklike rather than columnar, with
strongly accented waist
• new organic treatment of hair
• full, round face with softer more natural smile
• kind of like Kroisos
Hera of Samos:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
Kore Figure Dedicated by Cheramyes to Hera,
from the Sanctuary of Hera, Samos, circa 570560 BCE. Marble, 6 ft. 3 ½ in
Hera of Samos:
Archaic Sculpture, continued
• found in temple of Hera on Island of Samos
• May have been image of goddess because of great size and
extraordinary dignity (she’s more than
6 feet tall, and that’s without a head!)
• like a column come to life
• smooth, continuous flow of lines uniting limbs
and body
• blossoms forth into swelling softness of a living body
• several separate layers of garments
Hera of Samos:
• drapery is architectonic* up to knee regions, turns into
second skin as in Calf-bearer
*having qualities, like design and structure, that are characteristic
of architecture
Archaic Period: 600-480 BCE
Archaic Architectural Sculpture:
• Egyptian relief was shallow carvings that didn’t disturb the
continuity of the wall surface; no weight or volume of their
own
interchangeable with Egyptian wall paintings
Archaic Period: 600-480 BCE
Archaic Architecture Sculpture:
• But the Mycenaeans, possibly influenced by the
Mesopotamians, brought in something new:
--The Mycenaean lion gate sculpture is carved on a thin,
light slab,
not like the heavy, Cyclopean blocks around it
Archaic Period: 600-480 BCE
Archaic Architecture Sculpture:
--they filled the hole--
Hittite lions gate
Archaic Period: 600-480 BCE
Archaic Architecture Sculpture:
--they filled the hole--with a light weight triangular relief
panel
•this was something new--a sculpture that was integrated with
the structure yet also a separate entity, rather than a modified
wall surface or block
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• The earliest pediment—Archaic Temple of Artemis, erected
soon after 600 BCE on the island of Corfu
Stokstad plate 5-11
Greece
Island of
Corfu
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• The earliest pediment—Archaic Temple of Artemis, erected
soon after 600 BCE on the island of Corfu
• a pediment is the triangle between the horizontal ceiling and
the sloping sides of the roof. To protect the wooden rafters
behind it from moisture; later to take some weight off the door
frame
pediment
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• The earliest pediment—Archaic Temple of Artemis, erected
soon after 600 BCE on the island of Corfu
• a pediment is the triangle between the horizontal ceiling and
the sloping sides of the roof. To protect the wooden rafters
behind it from moisture; later to take some weight off the door
frame
• related to Mycenaean Lion’s gate because here, sculpture is
also confined to a zone that is framed by structural members
but is itself structurally empty
Stokstad plate 5-12
West pediment from the Temple of Artemis, Corfu, Greece, ca. 600-580 BCE.
Limestone, greatest height approx. 9’ 4” .
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• The pediment here is in high relief, but the bodies are
strongly undercut so as to detach them from the background
• purpose—the Greek sculptor wanted to assert the
independence of his figures from their architectural setting
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• The pediment here is in high relief, but the bodies are
strongly undercut so as to detach them from the background
• purpose—the Greek sculptor wanted to assert the
independence of his figures from their architectural setting
• The head of the central figure actually overlaps the frame
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• central figure is a Gorgon:
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• central figure is a Gorgon:
--any of the three hideous sisters in Greek legend
--including Medusa whose face turned beholders to stone
• to serve as guardian, along with 2 huge lions/panthers
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• central figure is a Gorgon:
--any of the three hideous sisters in Gk. legend
--including Medusa whose face turned beholders to stone
• to serve as guardian, along with 2 huge lions
• to ward off evil from the temple and the sacred image of the
goddess within
• an extraordinarily monumental and frightening hex sign—
smile is hideous grin
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• represented running or flying in a pinwheel stance that
conveys movement without locomotion to emphasize how
alive and real she is
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• represented running or flying in a pinwheel stance that
conveys movement without locomotion to emphasize how
alive and real she is
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• represented running or flying in a pinwheel stance that
conveys movement without locomotion to emphasize how
alive and real she is
• also, number of smaller figures in spaces left between or
behind huge main group (some sort of narrative)
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• the design of the whole shows two conflicting purposes in
uneasy balance:
1) the heraldic arrangement
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• the design of the whole shows two conflicting purposes in
uneasy balance:
1) the heraldic arrangement
2) juxtaposed with narrative arrangement.
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
Besides the pediment, the Greeks put architectural sculptures
of free-standing figures (often of terra-cotta):
1. above the ends and center of pediment to break the
severity of its outline
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
Besides the pediment, the Greeks put architectural sculptures
of free-standing figures (often of terra-cotta):
1. above the ends and center of pediment to break the severity
of its outline
2. in the zone immediately below the pediment
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
Besides the pediment, the Greeks put architectural sculptures
of free-standing figures (often of terra-cotta):
1. above the ends and center of pediment to break the severity
of its outline
2. in the zone immediately below the pediment
3. in metopes
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
Besides the pediment, the Greeks put architectural sculptures
of free-standing figures (often of terra-cotta):
1. above the ends and center of pediment to break the severity
of its outline
2. in the zone immediately below the pediment
3. in metopes
4. into columns by elaborating the columns into female
statues (reminiscent of the columnar Hera Kore).
Greek friezes:
they evolved into a “frieze”-a continuous band of painted or
sculpted decoration
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
Doric friezes:
• a Doric frieze consists of alternating triglyphs* and metopes,
,the latter often sculpted
Dipteral colonnade: the term used
to describe the architectural
feature of double colonnades
around Greek temples.
*The space between triglyphs in a Doric frieze.
*An ornament in a Doric frieze, consisting of a projecting block having on its face
three protruding vertical bars and two half grooves on either vertical end.
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• an Ionic frieze is usually decorated with continuous relief
sculpture
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
Stokstad plate 5-13.
Reconstruction of the façade of the Treasury of the Siphnians
in the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. c. 530 BCE
• Temple for storing votive gifts
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
Reconstruction of the façade of the Treasury of the Siphnians in
the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.
• On the north frieze, Battle of Gods and Giants
• Erected by the Ionians, just before 525 BCE
Stokstad plate 5-14
Battle between the Gods and the Giants (Gigantomachy), from
the north frieze of the Treasury of the Siphnians, Delphi, c.530-525
BCE, Marble, ht 26”
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
Reconstruction of the façade of the Treasury of the Siphnians in
the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi.
• Here we see part of battle of the Greek gods (without armor)
against the giants (with armor)
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• 2 lions pull chariot of Cybele and are tearing apart an
anguished giant
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• 2 lions pull chariot of Cybele and are tearing apart an
anguished giant
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• 2 lions pull chariot of Cybele and are tearing apart an
anguished giant
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• on left, 2 lions pull chariot of Cybele and are tearing apart an
anguished giant
• In front of them, Apollo and Artemis advance together,
shooting arrows
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• on left, 2 lions pull chariot of Cybele and are tearing apart an
anguished giant
• In front of them, Apollo and Artemis advance together,
shooting arrows
• A dead giant, despoiled of his armor, lies at their feet while 3
others enter form the right
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
• on left, 2 lions pull chariot of Cybele and are tearing apart an
anguished giant
• In front of them, Apollo and Artemis advance together,
shooting arrows
• A dead giant, despoiled of his armor, lies at their feet while 3
others enter from the right
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
High relief with deep undercutting, like Corfu pediment, but this
one takes full advantage of the spatial possibilities offered by
this technique:
• Projecting ledge at bottom of frieze is used as a stage to
place figures in depth.
• In nearest layer, arms and legs completely in round
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
High relief with deep undercutting, like Corfu pediment, but this
one takes full advantage of the spatial possibilities offered by
this technique:
• Projecting ledge at bottom of frieze is used as a stage to
place figures in depth.
• In nearest layer, arms and legs completely in round
• in second and third layers, forms more shallow, but never
merge with background
Archaic Architectural Sculpture
High relief with deep undercutting, like Corfu pediment, but this
one takes full advantage of the spatial possibilities offered by
this technique:
• Projecting ledge at bottom of frieze is used as a stage to
place figures in depth.
• In nearest layer, arms and legs completely in round
• in second and third layers, forms more shallow, but never
merge with background
• Result: limited and condensed by convincing space that
permits a dramatic relationship between the figures that
we’ve never seen before in narrative reliefs
New dimension in physical and expressive sense!
Transition to the Classical Period
By the time we get to the Temple of Aphaia (40 years later),
• relief has been abandoned
Transition to the Classical Period
By the time we get to the Temple of Aphaia (40 years later),
• relief has been abandoned
• separate statues are placed side by side in complex dramatic
sequences designed to fit the triangular frame.
Transition to the Classical Period
• West pediment: ca. 500-490 BCE; East pediment: 490 BCE
Stokstad plate 5-15 (Bottom one)
Transition to the Classical Period
• West pediment: ca. 500-490 BCE; East pediment: 490 BCE
• Height but not scale varies with sloping sides of the triangle
Transition to the Classical Period
• West pediment: ca. 500-490 BCE; East pediment: 490 BCE
• Height but not scale varies with sloping sides of the triangle
• center accented by standing symmetrically diminishing
fashion
Transition to the Classical Period
• West pediment: ca. 500-490 BCE; East pediment: 490 BCE
• Height but not scale varies with sloping sides of the triangle
• center accented by standing symmetrically diminishing
fashion
• balance and order from corresponding poses of the fighters
on the two halves.
Transition to the Classical Period
• West pediment: ca. 500-490 BCE; East pediment: 490 BCE
• Height but not scale varies with sloping sides of the triangle
• center accented by standing symmetrically diminishing
fashion
• balance and order from corresponding poses of the fighters
on the two halves.
• forces us to see the statues as elements in an ornamental
pattern and robs them of individuality
Transition to the Classical Period
• more individual one by one, e.g. Dying warrior
Stokstad plate 5-16
Dying warrior, from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, ca. 490-480 BCE.
Marble, approx. 6’ 1” long.
Transition to the Classical Period
• more individual one by one, e.g. Dying warrior
• on left, fallen warrior, on right, Kneeling Herakles who once
held bronze now
Transition to the Classical Period
• more individual one by one, e.g. Dying warrior
• on left, fallen warrior, Kneeling Herakles who once held
bronze now
• Both lean, muscular, bodies very functional and organize,
very firm shapes
Transition to the Classical Period
• more individual one by one, e.g. Dying warrior
• on left, fallen warrior, Kneeling Herakles who once held
bronze now
• Both lean, muscular, bodies very functional and organize,
very firm shapes
• really move us: nobility of spirit: they are suffering or carrying
out what fate has decreed with tremendous dignity and
resolve
Archaic Period: 600-480 BCE
Archaic Vase Painting:
• The unique quality of Archaic vase painting is the quality of
the painting—they are truly works of art
• Archaic vases were smaller than their predecessors because
they no longer used pottery for grave monuments (they
switched to stone for that)
• Black-figured vase painting technique
• Then red-figured vase painting technique
Archaic Vase Painting, continued:
• After the middle of the 6th c. BCE, the finest vases bore the
signatures of the artists who made them
• shows that individual potters and painters took pride, and
also that they could become famous, e.g. :
--Exekias (black-figured)
Archaic Vase Painting, continued:
• After the middle of the 6th c. BCE, the finest vases bore the
signatures of the artists who made them
• shows that individual potters and painters took pride, and
also that they could become famous, e.g. :
--Exekias (black-figured)
--Psiax (black-figured)
Archaic Vase Painting, continued:
• After the middle of the 6th c. BCE, the finest vases bore the
signatures of the artists who made them
• shows that individual potters and painters took pride, and
also that they could become famous, e.g. :
--Exekias (black-figured)
--Psiax (black-figured)
--Douris (red-figured)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Archaic Vase Painting, continued:
After the middle of the 6th c. BCE, the finest vases bore the
signatures of the artists who made them
shows that individual potters and painters took pride, and
also that they could become famous, e.g. :
--Exekias (black-figured)
--Psiax (black-figured)
--Douris (red-figured)
Other kinds of Archaic Greek painting were murals and
panels.
Like the vases, all Archaic Greek paintings were essentially
drawing filled in with solid, flat color
According to literary sources, Greek wall painting came into
its own around 475-450 BCE
After the Persian wars, there was a gradual discovery of
modeling and spatial depth, and the importance of vase
painting declined
Archaic Vase Painting, continued:
kylix
Archaic Vase Painting, continued:
Black-figured Style
First developed was the “black-figured style”:
• entire design is silhouetted in black against the reddish clay
• internal details incised with a needle
• sometimes white or purple added on top of the black
Virtue of this style was a decorative, two-dimensional effect
Black-figured Style, continued:
Nessos Painter, Nessos Amphora, Attic black figure Amphora,
last quarter of the seventh century B.C.E.
• early black-figure attic amphora
• the neck of the vase bears the representation of Herakles
killing the Centaur Nessos.
• on the belly, two fearsome Gorgons are
depicted running to the right and behind
them the mythical Medusa, decapitated
by Perseus
Black-figured Style, continued:
Nessos Painter, Nessos Amphora, Attic black figure Amphora,
last quarter of the seventh century B.C.
• early black-figure attic amphora
• the neck of the vase bears the representation of Herakles
killing the Centaur Nessos.
• on the belly, two fearsome Gorgons are depicted running to
the right and behind them the mythical Medusa, decapitated
by Perseus
• It was found in Athens and is most characteristic work of the
Nessos Painter. Dated to ca. 620 BCE.
Black-figured Style, continued:
Exekias, Dionysus in a Boat, interior of Attic black-figured kylix,
c.540 BCE, ceramic, diameter 12”.
Black-figured Style, continued:
Exekias, Dionysus in a Boat, interior of Attic black-figured kylix,
c.540 BCE, ceramic, diameter 12”.
• slender, sharp-edged forms have a lacelike delicacy, yet also
resilience and strength
• the composition adapts itself to the circular surface without
becoming mere ornament
• sail was once entirely white
• boat moves with the same ease as the dolphins, whose lithe
forms are counterbalanced by the heavy clusters of grapes
According to a Homeric hymn:
--Dionysus the god of wine was once abducted
by pirates
--he caused vines to grow all over the ship
--the frightened captors jumped overboard and
were turned into dolphins
seven dolphins and seven
bunches of grapes for good luck
spare elegance is reminiscent of
Geometric style
Black-figured Style, continued:
[Gardner plate 5-19]
Exekias, Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game (detail form an
Athenian black-figure amphora), ca. 540-530 BCE. Whole
vessel approx. 2’ high
•
•
•
•
Black-figured Style, continued:
Exekias master of black-figure
his vases were widely exported and copied
Exekias signed this one as both painter and potter
one single large framed panel is peopled by figures of
monumental stature
•
•
•
•
•
•
Black-figured Style, continued:
Exekias master of black-figure
his vases were widely exported and copied
Exekias signed this one as both painter and potter
one single large framed panel is peopled by figures of
monumental stature
at left, Achilles, fully armed
plays dice game with his friend Ajax.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Black-figured Style, continued:
Exekias master of black-figure
his vases were widely exported and copied
Exekias signed this one as both painter and potter
one single large framed panel is peopled by figures of
monumental stature
at left, Achilles, fully armed
plays dice game with his friend Ajax.
classic case of “calm before the storm”
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Black-figured Style, continued:
Exekias master of black-figure
his vases were widely exported and copied
Exekias signed this one as both painter and potter
one single large framed panel is peopled by figures of
monumental stature
at left, Achilles, fully armed
plays dice game with his friend Ajax.
classic case of “calm before the storm”
Exekias has no equal as a black-figure painter-extraordinarily intricate engraving of the patterns of the
heroes’ cloaks (highlighted with delicate touches of
white) and in the brilliant composition
Black-figured Style, continued:
• the arch formed by the backs of the two warriors echoes
the shape of the rounded shoulders of the amphora
• vessel’s shape is echoed again in
the void between the heads and
spears of Achilles and Ajax
Black-figured Style, continued:
• the arch formed by the backs of the two warriors echoes
the shape of the rounded shoulders of the amphora
• vessel’s shape is echoed again in the void between the
heads and spears of Achilles and Ajax
• Exekias used the spears to lead the viewer’s eyes toward
the thrown dice, where the heroes’ eyes are fixed
• the eyes don’t really look down
as but stare out from the profile
heads in the old manner
Black-figured Style, continued:
Stokstad plate 5-24
"François Vase", volute krater signed by Kleitias as painter and
Ergotimos as potter, 570 BCE. Approx. 2’2” high.
Black-figured Style, continued:
"François Vase”:
• Athenians learned the black-figure technique from the
Corinthians, then became known for and exported blackfigured vases
• It’s actually signed by both the painter and potter 9twice!)
• More than 200 figures in 6 registers
• Only one band is Orientalizing repertoire of animals and
sphinxes
• The rest constitutes a selective
encyclopedia of Greek mythology,
especially Peleus and his son Achilles
and Theseus
Black-figured Style, continued:
Stokstad plate 5-24
"François Vase“: detail of Lapith and centaur,
• Here, Lapiths (a northern Greek tribe) and centaurs battle
(centauromachy) after a wedding celebration where the
centaurs (who were invited) got drunk and tried to abduct the
Lapith maidens and young boys
• Theseus was one of the centaurs’ Greek adversaries
• His heroes conforms to the age-old composite type (profile
heads with frontal eyes frontal torsos, and profile legs and
arms
Black-figured Style, continued:
"François Vase“: detail of Lapith and centaur,
Gardner plate 5-18
• The centaurs are much more believable
• Notice his centaurs are top/bottom rather than front/back
Black-figured Style, continued:
Psiax, Herakles Strangling the Nemean Lion, on a black-figured
amphora, c.525 BCE, ht 19½“
Black-figured Style, continued:
Psiax, Herakles Strangling the Nemean Lion, on a black-figured
amphora, c.525 BCE, ht 19½”
• Psiax’ work was the direct artistic
outgrowth of the Orientalizing style of the
Blinding of Polyphemus on the Eleusis
Amphora
Black-figured Style, continued:
Psiax, Herakles Strangling the Nemean Lion, on a black-figured
amphora, c.525 BCE, ht 19½”
• Psiax’ work was the direct artistic outgrowth of the
Orientalizing style of the Blinding of Polyphemus on the
Eleusis Amphora
• Like the sound box of the harp from Ur, it shows a hero
facing the unknown forces of life embodied by terrifying
mythical creatures
Black-figured Style, continued:
Psiax, Herakles Strangling the Nemean Lion, on a black-figured
amphora, c.525 BCE, ht 19½”
• Psiax’ work was the direct artistic outgrowth of the
Orientalizing style of the Blinding of Polyphemus on the
Eleusis Amphora
• Like the sound box of the harp from Ur, it shows a hero
facing the unknown forces of life embodied by terrifying
mythical creatures
• Lion also underscored hero’s might and courage against
demonic forces
Black-figured Style, continued:
Psiax, Herakles Strangling the Nemean Lion, on a black-figured
amphora, c.525 BCE, ht 19½”
• Psiax’ work was the direct artistic outgrowth of the
Orientalizing style of the Blinding of Polyphemus on the
Eleusis Amphora
• Like the sound box of the harp from Ur, it shows a hero
facing the unknown forces of life embodied by terrifying
mythical creatures
• Lion also underscored hero’s might and courage against
demonic forces
• Scene is grim and violent
• The 2 heavy bodies are truly locked in combat, so they
almost grow together into a single, compact unit
Black-figured Style, continued:
Psiax, Herakles Strangling the Nemean Lion, on a black-figured
amphora, c.525 BCE, ht 19½”
• incised lines and subsidiary colors added with utmost
economy to avoid breaking up the massive expanse of black
• figures show wealth of knowledge of anatomical structure
and skillful use of foreshortening—gives amazing illusion of
existing in the round
• note the abdomen and shoulders of Herakles
Black-figured Style, continued:
Psiax, Herakles Strangling the Nemean Lion, on a black-figured
amphora, c.525 BCE, ht 19½”
• incised lines and subsidiary colors added with utmost
economy to avoid breaking up the massive expanse of black
• figures show wealth of knowledge of anatomical structure
and skillful use of foreshortening—gives amazing illusion of
existing in the round
• note the abdomen and shoulders of Herakles
• Only in the eye of Herakles do we still find the traditional
combination of front and profile view
Black-figured Style, continued:
“Bilingual Painting”:
• created by the Andokides Painter (the anonymous
painter who decorated the vases signed by the potter
Andokides)
• Same composition on both sides:
--one in black-figured technique
Black-figured Style, continued:
“Bilingual Painting”:
• created by the Andokides Painter (the anonymous
painter who decorated the vases signed by the potter
Andokides)
• Same composition on both sides:
--one in black-figured technique
--one in red-figured technique
Black-figured Style, continued:
“Bilingual Painting”:
• created by the Andokides Painter (the anonymous
painter who decorated the vases signed by the potter
Andokides)
• Same composition on both sides:
--one in black-figured technique
--one in red-figured technique
• bilingual style didn’t last long—people moved to redfigured
Archaic Vase Painting, continued:
Red-figured Style
• next developed was the “red-figured style”
• the figures are left red and the background is filled in with
black
• details on figures painted in with a brush
• this style gradually replaced the black-figured style toward
500 BCE
• “red-figure” works look more 3-d to us—close to the way we
see light than black-figured, which looks more like a
photographic negative
Red-figured Style, continued:
• Attic red figure kylix. A warrior about ready to leave home.
5th century BCE, British Museum.
• [The “white” part is red in real life; this is a black and white
photo—sorry!]
Red-figured Style, continued:
• Attic red figure kylix. A warrior about ready to leave home.
5th century BC, British Museum.
• Details are now freely drawn in with the brush, rather than
laboriously incised
• now we have more details of costume, facial expression
• figure almost seems to burst from the circular form
Foundry Painter, Pankratiasts, boxers and other athletes, redfigured cup, Greek, about 500-475 BCE
Made in Athens, Greece; found at Vulci (now in Lazio, Italy)
Stokstad plate 5-29
Foundry Painter, Pankratiasts, boxers and other athletes, redfigured cup, Greek, about 500-475 BC
Made in Athens, Greece; found at Vulci (now in Lazio, Italy)
• Athletic achievement was highly valued in ancient Greek society
Foundry Painter, Pankratiasts, boxers and other athletes, redfigured cup, Greek, about 500-475 BC
Made in Athens, Greece; found at Vulci (now in Lazio, Italy)
• Athletic achievement was highly valued in ancient Greek society
•Physical fitness was important, as all adult males had to be
prepared to serve in the army if required.
•Sports of all types were a major part of Greek education, and
athletic competitions took place at many of the major festivals.
•The most famous games were held at Olympia, and the
pankration, illustrated here, was an Olympic sport
•It was a type of all-in wrestling in which practically anything,
including kicking or trying to strangle your opponent, was allowed
Foundry Painter, Pankratiasts
•The only activities that were banned were biting and trying to
gouge out your opponent's eyes.
•The right-hand pankratiast in this group appears to be committing
both kinds of foul, and the trainer behind him is about to bring his
stick down hard upon the his back.
•To the left of the pankratiasts are a pair of boxers
•on the other side of the cup are a youth preparing to race in armor,
more boxers and a trainer, and a youth stretching a thong of the
type boxers wrapped around their hands and wrists.
Red-figured Style, continued:
Euphronios (painter) and Euxitheos (potter), Death of
Sarpedon, c.515 BCE, Red-figure decoration on a calyx
krater. Ceramic, nt. 18”
Stokstad plate 5-28
• Euphronios—well known
red-figure artist who was
praised especially for his
study of human anatomy
According to Homer's Iliad:
• Sarpedon--a son of Zeus and
a mortal woman
• was killed by the Greek warrior Patroclus while fighting for
the Trojans.
Red-figured Style, continued:
Euphronios shows:
• the winged figures of
Hypnos (Sleep) and
Thanatos (Death) carrying
the dead warrior from the
battlefield
Red-figured Style, continued:
• Watching over the scene is Hermes, the messenger of the
gods—
--identified by his winged hat and caduceus, a staff with
coiled snakes (caduceus--now used as a medical symbol)
--Hermes is there in another important role, as the guide who
leads the dead to the netherworld.
Red-figured Style, continued:
Euthymides, Three Revelers (Attic red-figure amphora), ca. 510
BCE, approx. 2’ high
Gardner plate 5-22
• Euthymides was a contemporary and competitor of
Euphronios
• subject appropriate for a wine storage jar—three tipsy
revelers
• theme was little more than an excuse
for the artist to experiment with the
representation of unusual positions of
the human form
Red-figured Style, continued:
[Gardner plate 5-22]
Euthymides, Three Revelers (Attic red-figure amphora), ca. 510
BCE, approx. 2’ high
• Euthymides was a contemporary and competitor of
Euphronios
• subject appropriate for a wine storage jar—three tipsy
revelers
• theme was little more than an excuse for the artist to
experiment with the representation of unusual positions
of the human form
• no coincidence that the bodies do not overlap, because
each is an independent figure study
Red-figured Style, continued:
Euthymides, Three Revelers
• Euthymides rejected the conventional frontal and profile
composite views
Red-figured Style, continued:
Euthymides, Three Revelers
• Euthymides rejected the conventional frontal and profile
composite views
• instead he painted torsos that are not 2-d surface
patterns but are foreshortened (i.e. drawn in a ¾ view)
Red-figured Style, continued:
Euthymides, Three Revelers
• Euthymides rejected the conventional frontal and profile
composite views
• instead he painted torsos that are not 2-d surface
patterns but are foreshortened (i.e.
drawn in a ¾ view)
• most remarkable is the central
figure, shown from rear with a
twisting spinal columnar and butt
in ¾ view
Red-figured Style, continued:
Euthymides, Three Revelers
• Euthymides rejected the conventional frontal and profile
composite views
• instead he painted torsos that are not 2-d surface patters
but are foreshortened (i.e. drawn in a ¾ view)
• most remarkable is the central figure, shown from rear
with a twisting spinal columnar and butt in ¾ view
• understandable pride: “Euthymides painted me as never
Euphronios [could do]”
Greek Architecture:
• Three classical Greek Architectural orders:
1. Doric (most basic)
2. Ionic
3. Corinthian (variant of Ionic)
• “Architectural order”:
--term used only for Greek architecture and its
descendants
--elements are extraordinarily constant in number, kind, and
relation to one another
--so Doric temples all belong to same clearly recognizable
family, like Kouros statues
--they show an internal consistency, mutual adjustment of
parts, that gives them a unique quality of wholeness and
organic unity.
Greek Architecture:
• in general, Greek architecture could be summed up with the
word “perfect”, whereas Egyptian architecture would be
“forever”
• the Greek orders were considered so beautiful for so long
because:
--the expression of force and counterforce were
proportioned so exactly
--that their opposition produced the effect of a perfect
balancing of forces and harmonizing of sizes and
shapes
Greek Architecture:
To study architecture, have to look at:
• actual purposes of building
2. aesthetic impulse as motivating force
Doric Order:
• Doric order is:
--the standard parts
--and their sequence
--constituting the exterior of any Doric temple
• three main divisions:
Gardner p. 113
Doric Order:
• the whole structure was built of stone blocks fitted together
without mortar, so needed extreme precision to achieve
smooth joints
• where necessary, fastened together with metal dowels or
clamps.
•columns usually composed of sections called “drums”.
•Roof consisted of terra-cotta tiles supported by wooden rafters
and wooden beams were used for the ceiling.
Doric Order:
Typical plan of a Greek temple:
• nucleus is cella (room in which the image of the deity is
placed: also called naos) and the porch (pronaos) with its
two columns flanked by pilasters.
Doric Order:
Typical plan of a Greek temple:
• nucleus is cella (room in which the image of the deity is
placed: also called naos) and the porch (pronaos) with its two
columns flanked by pilasters.
Doric Order:
Typical plan of a Greek temple:
• nucleus is cella (room in which the image of the deity is
placed: also called naos) and the porch (pronaos) with its two
columns flanked by pilasters.
Doric Order:
Typical plan of a Greek temple:
• nucleus is cella (room in which the image of the deity is
placed: also called naos) and the porch (pronaos) with its two
columns flanked by pilasters.
Doric Order:
Typical plan of a Greek temple:
• nucleus is cella (room in which the image of the deity is
placed: also called naos) and the porch (pronaos) with its two
columns flanked by pilasters.
• often has a second porch added behind the cella to make the
design more symmetrical.
Doric Order:
Typical plan of a Greek temple:
• nucleus is cella (room in which the image of the deity is
placed: also called naos) and the porch (pronaos) with its two
columns flanked by pilasters.
• often has a second porch added behind the cella to make the
design more symmetrical.
• in larger temple, entire unit is surrounded by a colonnade
and the structure is then known as a peripteral.
☻
Doric Order:
Typical plan of a Greek temple:
• nucleus is cella (room in which the image of the deity is
placed: also called naos) and the porch (pronaos) with its two
columns flanked by pilasters.
• often has a second porch added behind the cella to make the
design more symmetrical.
• in larger temple, entire unit is surrounded by a colonnade
and the structure is then known as peripteral.
• very large Ionian Greek temples may even have had a
double colonnade
Doric Order:
Typical plan of a Greek temple:
• nucleus is cella (room in which the image of the deity is
placed: also called naos) and the porch (pronaos) with its two
columns flanked by pilasters.
• often has a second porch added behind the cella to make the
design more symmetrical.
• in larger temple, entire unit is surrounded by a colonnade
and the structure is then known as peripteral.
• very large Ionian Greek temples may even have had a
double colonnade
• the earliest stone temple known to us shows that the
essential features of the Doric order were already wellestablished soon after 600 BCE.
Doric Order:
Egypt, Mycenae, and pre-Archaic Greek architecture in wood
and mud brick were the three distinct sources of inspiration of
early Greek builders in stone:
Greek Architecture:
Egypt, Mycenae, and pre-Archaic Greek architecture in wood
and mud brick were the three distinct sources of inspiration of
early Greek builders in stone:
Egyptian:
a. shaft of Doric column tapers upward not downward;
Doric
Egyptian
Greek Architecture:
Egypt, Mycenae, and pre-Archaic Greek architecture in wood
and mud brick were the three distinct sources of inspiration of
early Greek builders in stone:
Egyptian:
a. shaft of Doric column tapers upward not downward;
b. peripteral temple could be interpreted as the common
court of an Egyptian sanctuary but turned inside out;
Greek peripteral
Egyptian hypostyle
hall
Greek Architecture:
Egypt, Mycenae, and pre-Archaic Greek architecture in wood
and mud brick were the three distinct sources of inspiration of
early Greek builders in stone:
Egyptian:
a. shaft of Doric column tapers upward not downward;
b. peripteral temple could be interpreted as the common
court of an Egyptian sanctuary but turned inside out;
c. stonecutting and masonry techniques from the Egyptians,
along with architectural ornament and the knowledge of
geometry needed to lay out temple and fit the parts together
Greek Architecture:
Egypt, Mycenae, and pre-Archaic Greek architecture in wood
and mud brick were the three distinct sources of inspiration of
early Greek builders in stone:
Mycenae:
a. megaron led to cella and porch
Greek Architecture:
Egypt, Mycenae, and pre-Archaic Greek architecture in wood
and mud brick were the three distinct sources of inspiration of
early Greek builders in stone:
Mycenae:
a. megaron led to cella and porch
b. entire Mycenaean era had become part of Greek
mythology (Homeric epics; walls of Mycenaean fortresses
were believed to be he work of Cyclopes)
Greek Architecture:
Egypt, Mycenae, and pre-Archaic Greek architecture in wood
and mud brick were the three distinct sources of inspiration of
early Greek builders in stone:
Mycenae:
a. megaron led to cella and porch
b. entire Mycenaean era had become part of Greek
mythology (Homeric epics; walls of Mycenaean fortresses
were believed to be he work of Cyclopes)
c. Lions gate relief led to sculptured pediments on Doric
temples
Greek Architecture:
Egypt, Mycenae, and pre-Archaic Greek architecture in wood
and mud brick were the three distinct sources of inspiration of
early Greek builders in stone:
Mycenae:
a. megaron led to cella and porch
b. entire Mycenaean era had become part of Greek
mythology (Homeric epics; walls of Mycenaean fortresses
were believed to be he work of Cyclopes)
c. Lions gate relief led to sculptured pediments on Doric
temples
d. Doric echinus and abacus closer to Minoan/Mycenaean
capital than Egyptian
Minoan capital
Doric capital
Greek Architecture:
Egypt, Mycenae, and pre-Archaic Greek architecture in wood
and mud brick were the three distinct sources of inspiration of
early Greek builders in stone:
PreArchaic Greek:
a. Greek architecture in wood and mud brick
b. didn’t survive because of their building materials
Greek Architecture:
What is the possible purpose for which certain architectural
elements were derived?
• triglyphs: could have been to mask the ends of the wooden
beams
Greek Architecture:
What is the possible purpose for which certain architectural
elements were derived?
• triglyphs: could have been to mask the ends of the wooden
beams
2. guttae: descendants of wooden pegs
Greek Architecture:
What is the possible purpose for which certain architectural
elements were derived?
• triglyphs: could have been to mask the ends of the wooden
beams
2. guttae: descendants of wooden pegs
3. flutes on columns:
Greek Architecture:
What is the possible purpose for which certain architectural
elements were derived?
• triglyphs: could have been to mask the ends of the wooden
beams
2. guttae: descendants of wooden pegs
3. flutes on columns:
• could have been the adz (tool used to
cut/shape wood) marks on a tree trunk?
Greek Architecture:
What is the possible purpose for which certain architectural
elements were derived?
• triglyphs: could have been to mask the ends of the wooden
beams
2. guttae: descendants of wooden pegs
3. flutes on columns:
• could have been the adz (tool used to cut/shape
wood) marks on a tree trunk?
• bundles of reeds?
papyrus column at Luxor
Greek Architecture:
What is the possible purpose for which certain architectural
elements were derived?
• triglyphs: could have been to mask the ends of the wooden
beams
2. guttae: descendants of wooden pegs
3. flutes on columns:
• could have been the adz (tool used to cut/shape wood)
marks on a tree trunk?
• bundles of reeds?
• may have been way to disguise horizontal joints between
drums and stress continuity of the shaft as a vertical unit. A
fluted shaft looks stronger, more energetic and resilient than
a smooth one
Greek Architecture:
B. Archaic Architecture:
• Best preserved 6th c. BCE Doric temple is the “Basilica” at
Paestum in southern Italy, 550 BCE/Stokstad plate 5-9
Greek Architecture:
B. Archaic Architecture:
• (next to Temple of Poseidon/Hera II, built 100 years later,
around 460 BCE)
[Gardner plate 5-29]
Archaic Architecture:
B. “Basilica” at Paestum, Italy:
• “Basilica” low and sprawling not only because much of the
entablature is missing; while Temple looks tall and compact.
Greek Architecture:
B. Ionic Order:
Greek Architecture:
B. Ionic Order:
• Ionic architrave generally had a continuous sculpted frieze
instead of triglyphs and metopes.
Greek Architecture:
B. Ionic Order:
• Ionic architrave generally had a continuous sculptured frieze
instead of triglyphs and metopes.
• Came into its height during the Classical period. Its most
striking feature is the volute: a double scroll capital
Greek Architecture:
B. Ionic Order:
• Ionic architrave generally had a continuous sutured frieze
instead of triglyphs and metopes.
• Came into its height during the Classical period. Its most
striking feature is the volute: a double scroll capital
• compared with Doric order, Ionic columns differed in body
and spirit. Rests on ornately styled base. Capital shows
large double scroll under the abacus. In general the Ionic
columns look lighter and more graceful: not muscular.
Evokes growing plantlike formalized palm tree. All the way
back to papyrus columns.
Greek Architecture:
B. Ionic Order:
• Ionic architrave generally had a continuous sutured frieze
instead of triglyphs and metopes.
• Came into its height during the Classical period. Its most
striking feature is the volute: a double scroll capital
• compared with Doric order, Ionic columns differed in body
and spirit. Rests on ornately styled base. Capital shows
large double scroll under the abacus. In general the Ionic
columns look lighter and more graceful: not muscular.
Evokes growing plantlike formalized palm tree. All the way
back to papyrus columns.
• Earliest Ionic buildings were small treasuries in pre-classical
times.
Greek Architecture:
Corinthian Order:
• A Corinthian capital is in the shape of an inverted bell
covered with curly shoots and leaves of the acanthus plant.
[Gardner plate 5-72]
Polykleitos the Younger,
Corinthian capital, from the tholos
At Epidauros, Greece, ca. 350 BCE
tholos -- in ancient Greek architecture, a circular building with a conical
or vaulted roof and with or without a peristyle, or surrounding colonnade
Stokstad plate 5-54
Tholos, Santuar of Athena
Pronaia, Delphi, Greece,
ca 400 BCE
Greek Architecture:
B. Corinthian Order:
• A Corinthian capital is in the shape of an inverted bell
covered with curly shoots and leaves of the acanthus plant.
• the earliest known use of a Corinthian capital on an exterior
was in 334 BCE, in a monument of Lysicrates in Athens: an
elaborate support for a tripod won by Lysicrates in a contest.
Mini-version of a tholos.
• But the Romans used Corinthian capitals the most
Severe Style (Early Classical Period:
Severe Style
• really just a difference in the sculpture
• we don’t know of any portraiture in this period
Severe Style:
Severe Style
Kritios boy was made just before 480 BCE and survived the
Persian destruction of the Acropolis. It differs from the
Archaic Kouros figures as follows:
Gardner plate 5-33
Kritios Boy, from the Acropolis, Athens,
Greece, ca. 480 BCE. Marble, approx.
2’ 10” high.
Severe Style:
Severe Style
Kritios boy was made just before 480 BCE and survived the
Persian destruction of the Acropolis. It differs from the
Archaic Kouros figures as follows:
• stands in the full sense of the word, as opposed to an
arrested walk.
• Earlier ones look military, as if soldiers standing at attention
Kritios is clearly standing still.
• Strict symmetry has given way to calculated nonsymmetry.
• Knee of forward leg is lower than other, right hip thrust down
and inward, left hip up and outward, axis of body not straight
vertical line but faint reversed s-curve.
• Shows us that weight of body rests mainly on left leg and
right leg is a buttress to make sure the body keeps in
balance.
Severe Style:
Kritios Boy
• This is “contrapossto”. Italian word for counterpoise, set
against. A method developed by the Greeks to represent
freedom of movement in a figure.
* The disposition of the human figure in which one part is turned
in opposition to another part (usually hips and legs one way,
shoulders and chest another), creating a counter-positioning
of the body about its central axis. Sometimes called “weight
shift” because the weight of the body tends to be thrown to
one foot, creating tension on one side and relaxation on the
other.
•
•
•
•
Severe Style:
Kritios Boy
This is “contrapossto”. Italian word for counterpoise, set
against. A method developed by the Greeks to represent
freedom of movement in a figure.
The parts of the body are placed asymmetrically in
opposition to each other around a central axis, and careful
attention is paid to the distribution of the weight.
The leg that carries the main weight is commonly called the
“engaged leg”. and the other the “free leg”. Very basic
discovery
see also Donatello’s David
Gardner plate 5-33
Donatello, David, c. 1450 CE,
Bronze, ht ~5’2”
Stokstad plate 17-53
•
•
•
•
•
Severe Style:
this was an important discovery, because only by learning
how to present the body at rest could the Greek sculptor gain
the freedom to show it in motion, in a less mechanical and
inflexible way than Archaic art.
Here, we feel the emotion.
Not only a new repose but an animation of the body structure
that evokes the experience of our own body, because
contrapossto brings the subtle curvatures—knee, swiveling,
compensating curvature of the spine, adjusting tilt of the
shoulders.
Like Parthenon, the variations have nothing to do with
statue’s ability to maintain itself erect but greatly enhance its
lifelike impression.
Even in repose, still seems capable of movement; in motion,
of maintaining its stability.
Severe Style:
• Now the archaic smile, the “sign of life” is no longer needed.
• Given way to serious, pensive expression characteristic of
the early phase of Classical sculpture, also called the Severe
style.
• Describes the character of Greek sculpture between 480 and
450 B.C.E..
•
•
•
•
Severe Style:
Riace warriors: made of bronze, ~450 BCE. We don’t know a
lot about them.
Second is a warrior, not an athlete.
Faces very real, not idealization. More ethnic/. Maybe
heroes?
Rare to find extant Greek bronze statues
at all, and these still have ivory and
glass-paste eyes, bronze eyelashes,
copper lips and nipples.
Stokstad plate 5-35
Warrior on right, from the sea off Riace, Italy,
Ca. 460-450 BCE. Bronze, approx.
6’ 6” high.
Severe Style:
• Charioteer: Unique.
• Drapery reflects the behavior of real cloth.
• Body and drapery transformed by new
understanding of functional relationships,
gravity, shape of body, belts or straps
construct the flow of the cloth.
Stokstad plate 5-34
Charioteer, from a group dedicated by Polyzalos of Gela
In the Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi, Greece, ca. 470 BCE.
Bronze, approx. 5’ 11” high.
More animated expression than Kritios Boy: color inlay of eyes and slightly parted lips.
Charioteer
Kritios Boy
Severe Style:
• Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, from west pediment of the
Temple of Zeus at Olympia, c. 460 BCE marble, slightly over
life-size.
Stokstad plate 5-31
• You can tell the central figure is a god because the
outstretched right arm and strong turn of the head show
active intervention. He wills the victory but does not
physically help to achieve it.
• Tenseness, gathering of forces in powerful body that make
outward calm doubly impressive.
Severe Style:
• It was harder to infuse the freedom of movement that we see
in the pedimental sculpture at the Temple of Aphaia at
Aegina, into free-standing statues, because it ran counter to
age-old tradition that denied mobility to these figures. So the
unfreezing had to be done is such a way to safeguard their
all around balance and self-sufficiency. Needed
contrapossto to tackle it.
• The most important achievement of the Severe style was the
large, free-standing statues in motion. Finest example—
recovered from the sea near the coast of Greece—nude
bronze, almost 7 feet tall. Probably Poseidon hurling trident
(or Zeus, thunderbolt?).
• “Stability in the midst of action becomes outright grandeur.” –
Janson
[Gardner plate 5-36]
Zeus (or Poseidon?),
From the sea off Cape Artemsion, Greece, ca. 460-450 BCE. Bronze, approx.
6’ 10” high.