AP History of Art
Unit Two:
GREEK AND ROMAN
ART
Prepared by: D. Darracott
Plano West Senior High School
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
AEGEAN ART
CYCLADIC
Cycladic female figurine (Syros)
c. 2500-2300 BCE, marble
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Cycladic
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neolithic statues
•
schematic figures
MINOAN
Palace of Knossos c. 1700-1400 BCE
•
Arthur Evans
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King Minos and Pasiphae
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Theseus and the Minotaur
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Ariadne and the island of Naxos
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central court
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unfortified
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system of terracotta pipes
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bulbous columns
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wet or true fresco
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“La Parisienne”
Toreador Fresco (Knossos) c. 1450-1400 BCE
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bull leaping
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elongation
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depiction of women
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
Kamares Ware jar (Phaistos) c. 1800-1700 BCE
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love of nature and the sea
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zoomorphic motifs
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Barbotine decoration
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polychromatic
Harvesters Vase (Hagia Triada)
c. 1500 BCE, steatite
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rhyton
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winnowing fans
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sistrum
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static repetition shunned
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interest in muscular and skeletal structures
Snake Goddess (Knossos) c. 1600 BCE
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faience
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exposure of breasts
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use of snakes
MYCENAEAN
Lion Gate (Mycenae) c. 1300-1250 BCE, limestone relief
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cyclopean structures
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megaron
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relieving triangle
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influence of the Hittites
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tholos (beehive tomb)
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dromos
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corbelling
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
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STUDENT NOTES
Treasury of Atreus
Funerary Mask (Grave Circle A, Mycenae)
c. 1600-1500, beaten gold
•
Henrich Schliemann
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repousse
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life-size proportions
Vaphio Cups (Vaphio) c. 1500 BCE, gold
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evidence of Mycenaean and Minoan trade and contact
Warrior Vase (Mycenae) c. 1200 BCE
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krater
•
same pattern repeated without variety and detail
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compared to the Harvesters Vase
GREEK GEOMETRIC PERIOD
Dipylon Master. Dipylon Vase c. 750 BCE
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amphora
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use for funerary ceremony (prothesis)
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angular motifs (meander pattern)
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abstract, simplified figures
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horror vacui
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use of a krater at a symposium
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
GREEK ORIENTALIZING PERIOD
Mantiklos Apollo (Thebes) c. 700-680 BCE
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Apollo and the island of Delos
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“The Healer”
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stylized triangular torso
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exposure to Eastern art through trade
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Apollo’s sanctuary at Delphi
Lady of Auxerre c. 650-625 BCE
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Daedalic style
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fondness for pattern
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gesture of prayer
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oldest recorded provenance
GREEK ARCHAIC PERIOD
Kouros (Attica) c. 600 BCE, marble
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beginning of Archaic period
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liberation from the block of stone
(compared with Egyptians)
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appearance of the nude
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traces of Orientalizing period still remaining
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use of statuary as a grave marker
Calf-Bearer (Moschophoros) (Athens)
c. 560 BCE, marble
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suggestion of noble perfection in a scene of sacrifice
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“Archaic smile”
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increased naturalistic rendering
Peplos Kore (Athens) c. 530 BCE, marble
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kore
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peplos
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
Kore from Athenian acropolis c. 510 BCE, marble
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chiton
Temple of Hera (Paestum) c. 550 BCE
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stylobate
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cella
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entablature (architrave, frieze, and pediment)
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pediment
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pronaos
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opisthodomos
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cornice
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metopes and trigylphs
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Doric order
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love of proportion and numerical relationships
(Golden Mean)
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Pythagoras
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entasis
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classical architecture in relation to classical music
The two Dying Warriors Temple of Aphaia (Aegina)
east: c.490-480 BCE; west: c. 500-490 BCE
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Battle of the Greeks and the Trojans
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Paris and Helen of Troy
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Menelaus and Agamemnon
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Clytemnestra vowing revenge
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development of a “Classical” figure
Exekias. Ajax and Achilles playing
a game (Vulci) c. 540-530 BCE
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Exekias
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Achilles and the slave girl Briseis
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Corinthian vases from the Orientalizing period
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
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black-figure technique
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three-phase firing process: oxidizing,
STUDENT NOTES
reducing, and reoxidizing
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engobe (or slip)
kiln
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depiction of the “calm before the storm”
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shapes of the figure
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linear painting style
Exekias. Dionysos in a Sailboat c. 540 BCE
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Dionysos (and the ecstasis)
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kylix
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sail blowing in the wind
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comparison with decoration of
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Geometric style amphoras
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other types of Greek vases: the lekythos
and the oenochoe
Andokides Painter. Ajax and Achilles
playing a game, c. 525-520 BCE
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red-figure technique
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bilingual vase
Euthymides. Three Revelers (Vulci)
c. 510 BCE
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foreshortening
Onesimos. Girl going to wash (Chiusi)
c. 490 BCE
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genre scene
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
GREEK CLASSICAL PERIOD
Kritios Boy (Athens) c. 480 BCE, marble
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contrapposto
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sophrosyne and hubris
Charioteer (Delphi) c. 470 BCE, bronze
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cire perdue
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emphasis of calm and reason
Myron. Diskobolos c. 450 BCE
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Olympic games (pentatholon)
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naked contestants
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degree of concentration and calm
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realization of the idealized human
form and universal ideals
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intersecting arcs
Polykleitos. Doryphoros c. 450-440 BCE
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Canon of Polykleitos
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harmony of opposites
(rhythmos and symmetria)
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four stages of man in Greek life
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education of an ephebe (or ephebos)
Athena, Herakles, and Atlas …
metope from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia
c. 470-456 BCE, marble
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Zeus and Olympia
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metopes, trigylphs, and a frieze
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the guttae and the acroterium
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Severe Style
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Twelve labors of Herakles (Individualism and the Greek hero)
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
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STUDENT NOTES
the golden apple of the Hespirides
Iktinos and Kallikrates.
Parthenon (Athens acropolis) 447-438 BCE
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Athena
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The Persian Wars and the Delian League
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Pericles
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Peloponnesian War
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Acropolis
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Propylaea
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destruction in 1687
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Phidias
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x= 2y + 1
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illusion of uniformity and stability
(concept of architecture as an
arrangement of masses in space)
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use of the Ionic order in the cella
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Panathenaic procession
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Arrephorion
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statue of Athena with the Python
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(representing the “logos”)
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aegis
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east pediment: birth of Athena
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west pediment: contest of Poseidon and Athena
Parthenon sculpture (Lapiths vs. centaurs,
Three Goddesses, Seated gods and goddesses,
Procession of elders and maidens)
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lapiths and centaurs
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creation of relaxed, organic forms
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use of drapery to suggest movement
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
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gods depicted as spectators
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interest in creating weight
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use of repetition to mimic architectural elements
Erechtheion (Athens) c. 421-405 BCE
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contest between Athena and Poseidon
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caryatids
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irregular plan
Temple of Athena Nike (Athens) c. 427-424 BCE
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parapet
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Nike
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use of drapery to define anatomy and movement of the figure
Grave stele of Hegeso c. 410-400 BCE
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depictions of the deceased
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role of women in Greek society
LATE CLASSICAL
Praxiteles. Aphrodite of Knidos c. 350-340 BCE
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Praxiteles and his love Phryne
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appearance of the female nude in Knidos
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increased focus on the individual
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hydria
Praxiteles. Hermes and the Infant Dionysos c. 340 BCE
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Hermes (and a herm statue)
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caduceus
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prototype of the Good Shepherd
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sinuous, shallow S curve
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tender human interactions
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
Leochares (?). Apollo Belvedere c. 330 BCE
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reaching into space
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a Roman work of the 2nd century CE?
Grave stele of a young hunter
c. 340-330 BCE
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influence of Skopas
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emotional mood
Lysippos. Weary Herakles c. 320 BCE
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Lysippos, Alexander the Great’s favorite
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attributes of Herakles
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rejection of stability and balance
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expression of dejection
Polykleitos the Younger. Theater at Epidauros c. 350 BCE
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three days of drama
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orchestra
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theatron open to the sky
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skene
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cavea
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the chorus and actors wearing masks
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focus on fate (man in conflict with the gods)
Philoxenos of Eretria. Battle of Issus
c. 310 BCE (Roman mosaic copy)
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tesserae
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cast shadows (skiagraphia)
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Philoxenes and Pliny
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the Battle of Issus
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Alexander the Great and Darius III
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Hephaestion
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
GREEK HELLENISTIC PERIOD
Stoa of Attalos II (Athens)
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Hellenistic period
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stoa
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agora
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colonnades of the stoa
Temple of Zeus (Pergamon) c. 175 BCE
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Attalos I and the Gauls
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gigantomachy
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Pergamon in Asia Minor
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high relief
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violent movement
Epigonos. Dying Gaul c. 230-220 BCE
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theatrical, moving, and noble
representations of an enemy
(Compare with dying warriors from
the Temple of Apahia)
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pathos
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tubicen with a torque
Nike of Samothrace c. 190 BCE
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suggestion of movement
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effect of statuary amplified by its setting
Alexandros of Antioch-on-the-Meander.
Venus de Milo c. 150-125 BCE
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teasing the spectator
Seated Boxer 100-50 BCE
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using art to appeal to the
emotions rather than to the intellect
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addressing the subject of defeat
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
Polyeuktos. Demosthenes c. 280 BCE
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using art to capture a likeness and
personality
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Demosthenes
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realistic depiction vs. an idealized one
Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and
Polydoros of Rhodes. Laocoon and
his Sons, early 1st century AD
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Virgil’s Aeneid
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Laocoon
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art as a theatrical device
ETRUSCAN ART
Fibula with Orientalizing Lions (Cerveteri)
c. 650-640 BCE
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fibula
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Eastern influences
Apollo from the roof of the
Portonaccio Temple (Veii) c. 510-500 BCE
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Etruscan temples
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animated figures
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terracotta
Sarcophagus with reclining couple
(Cerveteri) c. 520 BCE, painted terracotta
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Etruscan tombs (tumuli)
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Etruscan use of a banqueting couch
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freedoms of Etruscan women
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
Capitoline Wolf, c. 500-480 BCE, bronze
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Tarquinius Superbus
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ferocity of the she-wolf
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Romulus and Remus
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Aeneas and Rhea Silvia
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Romans and the Sabines
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mixture of stylization and naturalism
Chimera of Arezzo,
early fourth century BCE, bronze
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vitality of the chimera
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Bellerophon
Mars of Todi, early fourth
century BCE, bronze
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Etruscan interpretation of
the Polykleitan canon
Aule Metele (Sanguineto)
early first century BCE, bronze
•
self-confidence of a Roman
magistrate with an Etruscan name
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resemblance to contemporary
Roman portraits
ROMAN REPUBLIC
Temple of Fortuna Virilis (Rome)
late second or early first century BCE
•
accessible by only the front
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use of stucco
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engaged columns
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Tiber River
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
Head of a Roman patrician (Otricoli)
c. 75-50 BCE, marble
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imagines
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patrician
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painstaking realism (veristic)
Basilica (Pompeii) late second century BCE
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forum
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basilica
EARLY ROMAN EMPIRE
Frescoes (Pompeii and Herculaneum)
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Mt. Vesuvius
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First Style (Masonry Style)
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Second Style
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Villa of the Mysteries
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a megalography with maenads
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Third Style
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Fourth Style
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marriage portraits
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exedra
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appearance of still life painting
Roman domestic architecture
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atrium
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fauce
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compluvium
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impluvium
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insulae
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peristyle
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tabernae
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
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STUDENT NOTES
country villa vs. domus
Augustus of Primaporta c. 20 BCE, marble
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a barefoot pontifex maximus:
Octavius becomes Augustus
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Pax Romana
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production of a god-like image
that never ages
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Cupid and Ovid’s Art of Love
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use of art as propaganda
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cuirass with allegorical figures
Ara Pacis Augustae (Rome) 13-9 BCE
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tribute to peace
•
two zones
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Tellus
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procession with children
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Livia, Julia, and Marcus Agrippa
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Aeneas sacrificing a sow
(an adult female swine)
•
comparison to the Panathenaic
procession of the Parthenon
Pont-du-Gard (Nimes) c. 16 BCE
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Roman aqueducts
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use of the arch
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voussoirs
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keystone
Colosseum (Rome) 79-80 CE
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freestanding Flavian amphitheater
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Nero, Claudius, and Agrippina
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a fire in the Circus Maximus
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
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Vespasian
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use of concrete
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velarium
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height of a modern-day 16 story building
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use of three architectural orders
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supported by arches instead of columns
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easy access in and out
•
Roman gladiators
STUDENT NOTES
Arch of Titus, after 81 CE
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triumphal arch
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Via Sacra
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use of gilded bronze statues
•
composite engaged
columns and spandrels
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honoring the god Titus
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conquest of Judea
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Josephus and the Diaspora
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high relief carving
HIGH EMPIRE
Column of Trajan 112 CE
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Trajan
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commemorating victory over the Dacians
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a continuous spiral narrative frieze
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emphasis on the emperor
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emphasis on superior organizational skills
Funerary relief of a circus official (Ostia)
110-113 CE, marble
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Circus Maximus
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
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STUDENT NOTES
depiction of the working class
compared to that of Roman nobility
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distorted perspective
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continuous narration
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handshake between man and woman
Pantheon (Rome) 118-125 CE
•
Hadrian
•
Sabina and Antinous
•
traditional portico
•
intersection of two circles
•
pumice used to create a dome with coffers
•
oculus
•
niches dedicated to planets
and the luminaries (sun and moon)
•
emphasis on enclosed space vs.
Greek emphasis on mass
•
a villa in Tivoli (Hadrian’s villa)
•
Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius
c. 175 CE, bronze
•
Marcus Aurelius, a “philosopher king”
•
Meditations
•
equestrian statue
•
thought to have been Constantine
•
Faustina
Portrait of Marcus Aurelius c. 175-180 CE
•
revelation of a sad, worried emperor
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
STUDENT NOTES
Mummy Portrait of a Man (Faiyum, Egypt)
160-170 CE, encaustic on wood
•
encaustic and tempera
•
sensitive characterization
LATE ROMAN EMPIRE
Heroic Portrait of Trebonianus Gallus,
251-253 CE, bronze
•
Trebonianus Gallus, one of the “soldier emperors”
•
body of a wrestler and of brute force
Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus (Rome)
c. 250-260 CE, marble
•
practice of inhumation over cremation
•
battle between Romans and possibly the Goths
•
dissatisfaction with the Classical style
•
fearless central figure
•
Mithras
•
writhing and emotive figures to
express the vagaries of war
Four Tetrarchs c. 305 CE, porphyry
•
Diocletian
•
tetrarchy
•
porphyry
•
overt display of concord
•
schematic cubical design
•
use of the human figure (or figures) as an icon
Peristyle court of Diocletian c. 300-305 CE
•
strongly fortified imperial residences
•
castrum
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Unit TWO: Greek and Roman Art
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peristyle court
•
“gable of glorification”
STUDENT NOTES
Arch of Constantine (Rome) 312-315 CE
•
Constantine
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Maxentius and the Milvian Bridge
•
Edict of Milan
•
St. Helena
•
Constantinople
•
triple-passageway arch
•
mechanical repetition of forms
•
spandrels and roundels/ attic
Head of Constantine (Rome)
c. 315-330 CE, marble
•
colossal image of eternal authority
•
orb
Basilica Nova (Rome) c. 306-312
•
use of basilica in Roman times
•
apse
•
barrel vault
•
groin vault
•
nave
•
fenestration
•
richly marbled and
stuccoed interior
•
20 feet thick wall
buttresses used for reinforcement
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