GREEK ART
__________ ______were central to Greek culture.
They gave their gods human form. The Greeks
were interested in beauty, harmony, and ideal
form.
 The Archaic Period (600-480 BCE)
 The Classic Period (480-323 BCE)
 The Hellenistic Period (323-150 BCE)
Exekias, Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game,
Archaic Period
An amphora is a large storage jar with handles.
Pictorial subjects of mythology showing grouped
figures were incised (scratched) into the
background. Painted with ________________slip
and scratched to reveal the _________________
clay. Exekias was considered by the Greeks to have
been a master of black figure painting. There is not
a series of horizontal bands- instead a simple large
band that contains the image.
This image depicts the calm before the storm (the
Trojan War).
Kritios Boy, marble, Classical
Like Egyptian sculpture, early Greek sculpture was
_______________. The Kritios Boy is the first Greek
sculpture that departs from this stylization. The
Kritios Boy really stands ______________. He is
not bound to a block for balance. Openings are
seen between the arms and legs. The young man
stands in a relaxed, natural contrapposto pose. The
Italian word contrapposto is used to describe the
position where the engaged leg is in a __________
position. Only when the Greeks had mastered a
natural pose could they begin to show the body in
motion.
Statue of a Youth, Kouros, marble, Archaic
Compare the Kritios Boy to the Statue of a Youth,
Kouros. The Kouros figure is stylized, faces
forward, and appears stiff. Notice the
______________smile on the Kouros.
The Kritios Boy (slide before) marks the end of the
Greek Archaic period in 480 BCE.
Remember Archaic sculptures are rigid and stylized,
such as the Kouros.
Three Goddesses, East Pediment Sculpture of
the Parthenon, Classical
The Classic Period began after 480 BCE. The
Athenians decorated the most prominent
building in their city, the Parthenon. Both the
east and west ends were filled with sculptures
that were larger than life. Sculptures were
designed to fill the pediment, or flat
rectangular area, at each end of the
Parthenon. The clothing of the Three
Goddesses falls in_____________ folds and
creases, and the drapery seems to cling to
their bodies. These folds create visual
____________.
Nike of Samothrace, Hellenistic
The Hellenistic period came after the Classical
period. The art of the Hellenistic period
became more concerned with ___________
and ____________. In art of the Classic
period, these elements would have been
under tight control. The Nike of Samothrace is
the symbol of Winged Victory, her great wings
spread wide as she lands on the prow of a
ship.
Old Market Woman, Hellenistic
In contrast to the sweeping motion and
energetic forward movement of the Nike is the
Old Market Woman, whom is bent and almost
dragging. The artist portrays her with stark
_________________, a painful portrayal of a
tired, burdened woman. The focus of Greek
art during the Hellenistic period is no longer
perfectly beautiful, ideal beings.
Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, Classic
Period, The Acropolis, Athens
The Parthenon depicts beautiful proportions
and ______________. The columns are equally
spaced; with slender shafts that are a more
refined version of the earlier squat and bulging
Doric columns of the earlier Archaic period.
This structure demonstrates the belief that
beautiful proportions resulted from strict
adherence to harmonious numerical ratios
Architecture was based on Egyptian ways, but
a difference in materials and tools enabled the
Greeks to refine the pure forms and classical
designs that have influenced architects ever
since. For one, Greek marble was easier to
carve then Egyptian sandstone.
The Parthenon sits on the Acropolis, which is a
hill and the ______________ spot in the city of
Athens. The highest point in the city was the
preferred location for temples.
Most temples had columns around the outside
and an inner room (cella) where statues were
kept. However, people worshiped outside of
the temple. Only priests and priestesses were
allowed in the ________________.
Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian columns from left
to right/ top to bottom
Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian Columns. Greek
columns were made of drums stacked on top
of each other and held together with metal
pieces, then ___________________.
READ BELOW.
Answer the following questions with at least three sentences per topic to receive full credit on this assignment.
Which preceding Greek art piece do you find the most interesting or significantly draws you in to its
presence? Why?
What would say are the most prominent characteristics of classic Greek art, and how might these
characteristics be unique to this art movement?