To Engage the Viewer:
The Relationship between Narrative and the Viewer in
Hellenistic Art
Jennifer Kozerawski
T
he act oflooking at a work of art entails much more than simply our sense
of sight, rather it involves a complex interplay between what we see and
how we perceive it. The process by which we "see" a work of art not only
establishes a point of contact between the viewer and the work but also produces
an immediate response, as it were, a dialogue within the viewer's mind: 1 judgments
are made, questions are asked and interest is decided. As a result, the viewer no
longer simply "sees" a work of art but comes to understand it, as a mode of
communication is established and a relationship to the work of art takes shape. As
simple as the act of looking may seem, the effects of this process of "seeing" on
the viewer and on the work of art have far reaching consequences.
Perhaps nowhere else in the history of ancient art was the relationship
between the viewer and the work of art so explored and exploited as in the
Hellenistic period. 2 Celebrated for its artistic developments in the spheres of
naturalism, illusionism, spatial composition and movement, it is no surprise that the
Hellenistic period inspired both its Roman successors and modern scholars and
connoisseurs alike. But what exactly is it about the characteristics of Hellenistic art
1. Richard Brilliant, Visual Nan·atives: Storytelling in Etruscan and Roman Art (Ithaca and
London: Cornell University Press, 1984), 16.
2. The Hellenistic period is generally relegated to the years between the death of Alexander
the Great in 323 B.C. and the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.
33 To Engage the Viewer
Jennifer Kozerawski 34
that appeal to both ancient and modern viewers? \Xlhat inspired Hellenistic artists
desires to the viewer. As a result, he is attempting to initiate a dialogue with the
to infuse their work with a sense of animation? For what purpose, and for whom?
outside world, but most importantly, a narrative is being conveyed and established
The strategies the artist used to transcend the limitations of his medium,
be it sculpture or painting, in order to produce a realistic and lifelike effect is
with the viewer.
It is, however, the Boy and Goose that exemplifies how an intimate
certainly part of its appeal. By endowing works of art with those qualities naturally
relationship between viewer and art takes shape. This work actively engages the
inherent in the viewer's physical, spatial and visual experiences, Hellenistic artists
viewer in a mode of communication, not only by emulating the behavior and
increasingly engaged their audience by creating an ambiguity between the "real" and
appearance of the living, but also by involving the viewer directly in an unfolding
the "unreal". The interest of Hellenistic artists in the development of more
story. The intimate and authentic relationship this creates between the viewer and
naturalistic modes of representation was coupled with the heightened awareness of
the work transforms the act of "seeing" a work of art into "experiencing" a work
the spectator, and the viewer, as spectator and recipient of information, provides
of art. It is thus, not surprisingly, in an age characterized by a keen interest in the
the key to understanding the motivation and creation of many Hellenistic works of
individual, that many significant artistic innovations developed in the Hellenistic
art. For example, the Terme Boxer (Fig.1; 1" Century BC) is infused with a sense
period were directly rooted in modes of narrative that appealed to the viewer's
of life not simply because of the accurate representation of his wounds and
natural experience of reality. Not only do many examples of Hellenistic art employ
physiognomy but also by the awareness he exhibits of his surroundings. The sharp
a realistic depiction of the figural form as an entity existing in three-dimensional
turn of the Terme Boxer's head suggests that some external stimuli has caught his
space (a characteristic of the Lysippian tradition),3 they also seek to implicate the
attention: he acts as an animate being. He is aware of his environment and
viewer through a temporal and physical experience. As a result, narrative art
interacts with the world in the same way we do. It is this which captures our
extends between the viewer and a work of art.
attention and instills the figure with life.
This same sense acknowledgement of the outside world, and the sense of
realism it conveys, can also be seen in the Boy and Goose (Fig.2; 2nd Century BC).
Here the boy actively responds to something "out there," beyond himself. Sitting
on the floor, the little boy looks up and reaches out with his right arm to the viewer
standing above him. His body is open and excited rather than closed. His gesture
reveals a sense of urgency as he desperately tries to communicate his needs and
3. Although the years iu which Lysippos worked actively as an artist are variously debated,
(anywhere from a period beginniug as early as 370 B.C. and finishiug as late as 305 B.C.) it is
certain that he held a prominent position as court sculptor for Alexander the Great within
the years 336-323 B.C. The work of Lysippos and his school had a profound influence on
the form and composition of Hellenistic sculpture. His famous Apoxyomenos (Man
Scraping Himself) introduced a new canon of proportions in the representation of the
human form based on optical perception. By reducing the size of the head and elongating
the length of the torso, Lysippos was able to impress a greater sense of height in the figure.
In addition, by the projection of the arm into space, Lysippos' Apoxyomenos broke open
the conventional closed envelope composition of Greek sculpture and urged the viewer to
contemplate the figure from various points of view.
35 To Engage the Viewer
As such, a work of art no longer simply functions as an end in itself, as
Jennifer Kozerawski 36
continuous narrative is clearly represented on the Telephos frieze surrounding the
"meaning in a work of narrative art is a function of the relationship between the
inner colonnade of the interior court located on the Great Altar of Zeus at
two worlds, the fictional world created by the author and the real world." 4. Its
Pergamon. Dated around 180-60 B.C. and erected by Eumenes II, the frieze
point of reference is the viewer, who exists beyond the work yet within the reality
depicts the story of the foundation of the city of Pergamon by its self-proclaimed
to which the work is referring. Consequently, the meaning and purpose of a work
ancestor Telephos, son of Herakles and Auge. \X'hat is particularly distinctive
are dependent on the viewer. This relationship between the viewer and a work of
about the pictorial mode of continuous narrative is the repetition of one or more
art is not only crucial to understanding the work's overall meaning, it is also a key
figures (in this case Telephos) across the pictorial expanse, performing actions that
consideration during the work's initial conception and creation.s
are clearly intended to take place at different moments in time. The story is
In contrast to statues, however, the challenge to create a narrative artistic
represented as unfolding in a continuous and uninterrupted sequence of space and
language based on human experience is perhaps most telling in the spheres of
time with a clear beginning and end. This is facilitated by a continuous, albeit
painting and relief due to the inherent problems of translating the three-
shifting background,10 in which compositional elements such as trees and columns
dimensional world into a language of two-dimensional visual images that would be
serve to delineate changes in locale, such as the cities ofTegea and Mysia in the
both comprehensible and believable.6 George Hanfmann notes that "all human
Telephos story. Atmosphere, depth and perspective are realistically rendered by
actions unfold in time and are carried out in space." 7 The solution was both
the diminution of certain figures and also, as in the case of Auge and her retinue, by
convincing and innovative, in contrast to the principles of classical narrative art,
placing the figures higher up on the picture plane to imply the recession of space. II
where figures are generally isolated from one another, events occur in a timeless
The frieze is thus constructed as a two-tiered composition; figures that are meant
moment, and the background provides little indication of space or depth. 8 The
to appear closer to the viewer are placed in the foreground while those figures
development of continuous narrative in Hellenistic art aimed to unify all of these
further away are placed higher up and are rendered on a smaller scale.12 This is at
pictorial elements into a logical and coherent whole. 9 The employment of
once a significant departure from the classical tradition, where ftgures often occupy
the entire height of a frieze, and a conscious acknowledgement on the part of the
4. Brilliant, 16.
5. Andrew Stewart, "Narration and Allusion in Hellenistic Baroque," in Nan·ative and Event in
Ancient Art, ed. Peter J. Holliday (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 132.
6. Peter H. von Blanckenhagen, "Narration in Hellenistic and Roman Art," American Journal
ofArchaeology 61 (1957): 83.
7. George M.A. Hanfmann, "Narration in Greek Art," American Journal ofArchaeology 61
(1957), 71.
8. R.R.R. Smith, Hellenistic Sculpture (London: Thames and Hudson, 1991), 164-165.
9. von Blanckenhagen, 79-82.
artist as to the principles of optical perception and experience.
10. Pollitt, 200.
11. Andrew Stewart, "A Hero's Quest: Narrative and the Telephos Frieze," in Pet:gamon: The
Telephos Frieze from the Great Altar, Vol. 1, edited by Renee Dreyfus and Ellen Schraudolph
(San Francisco, California: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1996), 40-42.
12. Smith, 165.
37 To Engage the Viewer
The Telephos frieze was originally situated at eye level, and was 80 to 90
Jennifer Kozerawski 38
with the Telephos frieze, scenes are depicted one after the other, and the figures are
meters in length. Along with the realistic portrayal of perspective, proportion and
repeated in a forward moving sequence. However, there is little in terms of detail,
scale, 13 this format urged the spectator to view the story consecutively as he or she
differentiation among figures, or delineation oflocale as on the Telephos frieze. It
walked along adjacent to it. This involved the viewer both physically and
is, rather, the bowl inscriptions, located above the figures' heads, which identify the
temporally, as one had to walk along the frieze in order to understand its whole
stories being depicted.
meaning. By physically following the frieze, the viewer can mentally engage with
The Telephos frieze influenced classical painting in its use of continuous
the events of the Telephos narrative. 14 Peter von Blanckenhagen has observed; the
narrative and its consequent appeal to the viewer. 18 The Odyssey Landscapes (Fig.
composition of the Telephos frieze, much like events in reality, cannot be viewed in
3) exemplify these characteristics. The Odyssey paintings are often referred to as a
a single moment but must unfold over time. 15 The use of an uninterrupted and
frieze and regarded as a whole, although the scenes depict several of Odysseus's
forward moving story provides cohesiveness, despite the changes in time and place.
adventures from Books 10 and 11 of Homer's Odyssey, divided by illusionistically
However, this is only achieved by the direct involvement of the viewer, who
painted pilasters, suggesting the idea of an exterior view. It is thought that in the
actualizes the frieze through his or her viewing of it. 16 The frieze itself does not
Hellenistic original, on which these paintings were based, the scenes were
narrate the story but provides the necessary visual cues for narration. It is the
conjoined as one continuous landscape painting. Unlike the Telephos frieze, in the
viewer who narrates the story and "must change the imagery into some form of
Odyssey paintings the landscape is the main element, and almost envelops the small
internalized verbal expression." 17 This relationship between the viewer and the
figures of Odysseus and his men, who are minute in relation to the overall pictorial
work of art is fundamental in all works of narrative art.
space. The use of soft colours and atmospheric perspective adds a lively quality
Possible antecedents for the continuous narrative found on the Telephos
now missing in the Telephos frieze, which, it should be mentioned, was also once
frieze remain uncertain and are a topic of much debate. One fertile source may
painted. While the Telephos frieze aims to portray a convincing sense of time and
have been a group of Megarian bowls, known more commonly as the 'Homeric
place with its limited use of landscape elements and focus on the protagonists, the
Bowls' (ca. 175-125 B.C.). These drew their subject matter from Greek epic poetry
Odyssey landscapes employ nature as their primary vehicle for presenting pictorial
such as the Il!iad and the Odyssey and dramas such as the tragedies of Euripides. As
narrative.
The Hellenistic artists' awareness of the limitations of their media was not
13.
14.
15.
16.
von Blanckenhagen, 82.
Holliday, 10.
von Blanckenhagen, 79.
Pollitt, 200.
17. Holliday, 4.
lost in their attempts to bring a story to life. While the Telephos frieze occupied
39 To Engage the Viewer
Jennifer Kozerawski 40
the inner court of the Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamon, closed off from the world,
before our vety eyes, making it present by representing the situation as if in a state
the Gigantomachy frieze (ca. 180 B.C.) that adorned the outer walls of the altar
of actuality," 21 and thus directly implicating the viewer. Nike's head, which is now
offers a strikingly different solution to the questions of realism. The frieze is
lost, would have originally turned to the left, and, like the Terme Boxer, would
occupied by the Gods and Giants who are carved in such high relief that they seem
appear engaged by something. Andrew Stewart proposes that she would have been
to protrude and loom over the viewer. 19 The technique seems to defy the restricting
facing the viewers. 22 As a result, the focus of the composition implies its
two-dimensional medium. Even more striking is the way in which the artists have
spectators, who are transformed into active participants.
made the figures on the east side of the frieze share the space of the viewer; the
Directly including the viewer in the composition of a three-dimensional
sculpted figures emerge onto the real stairs of the altar (Fig. 4). This
sculptural narrative is also pivotal to the Lesser Attalid Dedication on the Akropolis
acknowledgment of the outer physical world results in an unusual and unique state
in Athens (ca. 200 B.C.). Representing several historical and mythological battles,
of ambiguity. But paradoxically, as opposed to representing a continuous narrative,
the dedication depicts dead and dying Giants, Amazons, Gauls and Persians. The
the Gigantomachy frieze presents a single event in a dramatic, dynamic and
extant figures were originally accompanied by nearly a hundred other sculptures
timeless moment. 20 The viewer is ultimately unable to comprehend it as such with
and were placed on or near the south wall of the Akropolis. Although the
the frieze running along the three sides of the altar; rather, the work can only be
composition of the group is uncertain, it is clear that the figures were placed on
understood sequentially, by walking along beside it, rather than in a single glance.
plinths directly on the ground rather than on bases. The most controversial aspect
As a result, despite the realistic depiction of movement, action and theatricality
of this sculptural group was whether or not victors were depicted. With the figures
facilitated by the deep carving and animation of the figures, the extended scene
placed directly on the ground, the viewer is thus encouraged to walk around and
seems frozen in a suspended moment of indefinite time.
amongst them. This not only allowed for the physical three-dimensional
The technique of representing one eternal moment is also illustrated by
interaction between the work of art and the viewer, to a greater extent than in the
the Nike ofSamothrace (4'h Century BC). As a sculpture in the round, Nike, the
works discussed thus far, but most importantly it enabled the viewer to both
personification of Victory, alights upon the prow of a victorious ship, the wind
identify with the defeated enemy and with Attalos himself. 23 As a result, a close
dramatically blowing in the drapery behind her. The Rhodian artists set "the scene
relationship between the viewer and the sculptural group of the Lesser Attalos
Dedication was achieved. Physically, by directly placing the figures in the immediate
18. Stewart, "A Hero's Quest," 42.
19. "The massive Zeus appears to burst out of the east frieze and the Giants threaten to
seize the viewer." Brilliant, Arts, 347.
20. Smith, 164.
21. Stewart,143.
22. Stewart,143.
41 To Engage the Viewer
space of the viewer; temporally, by situating the work within an eternal moment as
Jennifer Kozerawski 42
What is common in all of the modes of narrative composition discussed
with the Nike of Samothrace; and finally psychologically, by appealing to the
here is the correlation between the viewer and the work of art. The realism of a
empathy of the viewer. Unlike the Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamon, where the
narrative created by "calling on the senses other than sight" 2 5 calls upon the
narrative is condensed into a single moment, the Dedication, with its many figures
viewer's imagination or phantasia26 in the telling of a story. The emphasis placed
in varying stages of dying, encourages the viewer to continue the narrative in his or
upon this intimate correlation between the viewer and a work of narrative art
her mind.
reveals the deliberate and underlying motivations of the Hellenistic artists.
The idea of extending a moment in time and employing the imagination
Through means of a realistic visual language, the artists were able to elicit a
of the viewer to complete or extend a narrative is perhaps most forcefully explored
particular emotional response and/ or impress a point of view by invoking familiar
in the sculptural group of Marsyas and the Scythian slave. The figures of Marsyas
conditions of perception in their work. This objective, being the intended meaning
and the Scythian slave are usually represented as separate figures, although they are
or message within a narrative, is fulfilled, as we have seen, by the presence of the
meant to tell the story of Marsyas and his musical competition with Apollo (ca.
viewer whose physica~ emotional, and psychological attention is specifically
200-150 B.C.). It is the figures' interrelation as a three-dimensional sculptural
directed by the narrative composition. 27 The goal of this visual orchestration is to
group that activates their narrative and their psychological meaning. This effect is
lay stress upon those aspects of the narrative that serve to highlight its purpose.
heightened by the fact that their composition does not direcdy represent a
For example, in the sculptural group of Marsyas and the Scythian slave, it is not
definitive event but an impending one, which gives the group a particular visual
explicidy the recreation or manifestation of the well-known story that is of interest
power. Rather than showing the musical competition itself or the subsequent
to the artist, rather it is the pathos exhibited by Marsyas as consequence of having
punishment, the artist has chosen to depict an intermediary moment. While the
challenged a god. In both the Telephos frieze and the Lesser Attalid Dedication,
Scythian looks up at Marsyas, Marsyas himself, who is hung from a tree, in turn
the message was a highly political one; the frieze promotes a rule based on divine
looks down at him. It has often been interpreted that the Scythian is watching
origin, and the Dedication depicts the efforts expended to overcome a strong and
Marsyas while he is sharpening his knife but, as Anne Weis has convincingly argued
noble enemy. 28 To the ancient and modem viewer, who is invited to engage and
from the posture of his body, the Scythian is in fact looking up at Marsyas for the
participate in the telling of these narratives, his or her role is one of both activator
first time as he rises to complete his abominable task. 24
23. Pollitt, 96.
24. Anne Weis, The Hanging Mar.ryas and its Copies: Roman Innovations in a Hellenistic Sculptural
Tradition (Rome: Giorgio Bretschneider Editore, 1992), 99.
25. Weis, 99.
26. Weis, 99.
27. Stewart, 151:
28. Pollitt, 96.
43 To Engage the Viewer
Jennifer Kozerawski 44
and bearer of meaning. In the effort to close the gap between viewer and art,
Hellenistic artists were able to reflect the viewer's experience of the world while
shaping a part of it as well.
Fig 1: Bron'(! Boxer, 2nd or early 1st century B.C.. Rome, Museo National delle
Terme.
Fig 2: Bl!)' and Goose, 2nd century B.C.. Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum.
45 To Engage the Viewer
Fig. 3: Odyssey Landscape, c. 50 B.C.. Rome, Musei Vaticani.
Fig. 4: Gigantomachy, c. 180 B.C.. Berlin, Pergamon Museum.