Ancient Greek Art
What do you know about life in ancient Greece?
Ancient Greek Art
Ancient Greece is called 'the birthplace of Western civilization'.
About 2500 years ago, the Greeks created a way of life that other
people admired and copied. The Romans copied Greek art and Greek
gods, for example.
The Ancient Greeks invented democracy, started the Olympic Games
and left new ideas in science, art and philosophy (thinking about life).
The Ancient Greeks lived in mainland Greece and the Greek islands,
but also in what is now Turkey, and in colonies scattered around the
Mediterranean sea coast. There were Greeks in Italy, Sicily, North Africa
and as far west as France. Sailing the sea to trade and find new land,
Greeks took their way of life to many places.
Ancient Greek Art
Unlike Egyptian gods, the Greek gods were like humans, but
immortal.
The Greeks believed that a family of gods and goddesses lived above
Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. The gods looked
down to watch what people were doing, and from time to time,
interfered with what went on.
Do you know any of the
ancient Greek gods or goddesses?
Greek gods and goddesses
ZEUS
King of gods, ruled the sky,
weapon was a thunderbolt
HERA
Wife of Zeus, goddess of
marriage
POSEIDON
Lord of the sea, weapon is the
trident
ARES
God of war, son of Zeus and
Hera, lover of Aphrodite
ATHENA
Goddess of wisdom
APOLLO
God of light and music, son of
Zeus
APHRODITE
Goddess of love and beauty
HADES
Lord of the Underworld, god of
the dead
Ancient Greek Art
The Greeks placed human beings at the center of their
culture
Art focused on the idealized, beautiful and perfectly
proportioned human form
Ancient Greek Art
Periods: Archaic
BC: 750-500
Classical
500-336
Hellenistic
336-14
Archaic Period
The human form is given greater
prominence during the Archaic
period.
Sculpture of this period most
often shows a figure of a young
boy, or a Kouros.
The figure is stiff and unnatural,
arms held rigidly at his sides, with
a slight "Archaic" smile on his
lips.
Ancient Greek Sculpture
Statue of a kouros (youth)
590–580 BC, marble, Archaic period
These life-size nude youth statues
represented either Apollo (Greek God of the
sun) or an ideal athlete.
Figure is stylized and does not represent
real people.
Classical Period
During the Classical Period there was more
interest in art, imagination and buildings.
The Classical Greek art style represents a quest that
the Greeks had for perfection and balance. The art
glorified the beauty of the body
The art of the Classic Greek style is characterized by:
A joyous freedom of movement
A celebration of mankind as an independent
individual.
Artists quest for ideal beauty leads to their
depicting the human figure in a naturalistic manner.
Classical Period
Kritios Boy
480 BC, marble, 34”
Made by Athenian sculptor Kritios
He stands on his own, not attached
to block it’s carved out of
Openings between arms and legs
Relaxed natural stance
Beginning of Classical Period
An example of Contrapposto:
Sculpting a human figure with the
weight of the body on one leg, the
shoulders and hips counterbalance so
that figure does not fall over.
Contrapposto
Contrapposto is sculpting a human figure in a natural pose with the weight on
one leg, and the shoulder and hips counterbalancing each other
When a sculpture is in contrapposto, it shows more natural movement and can
stand up on its own
What is Contrapposto?
40 points
Mycerinus and
His Queen
2470 BC, slate
Kritios Boy
480 BC, marble,
34”
Greek sculptures have more movement, they can
stand on their own, they are more naturalistic
Statue of a kouros (youth)
580 BC, marble
Archaic
590–
Kritios Boy
480 BC, marble, 34”
Classical
Three Goddesses
East pediment of the Parthenon 438-432 B.C.
The Parthenon is a temple in Athens dedicated to
the Greek goddess Athena (Goddess of wisdom),
whom the people of Athens considered their
protector. It is the most important surviving building
of Classical Greece.
Three Goddesses
East pediment of the
Parthenon, 438-432 B.C.
The east pediment of the Parthenon showed the birth of goddess
Athena from the head of her father Zeus.
From left to right, their posture varies in order to accommodate the
slope of the pediment that originally framed them.
The sculptures that represented the actual scene are lost, only some
of the figures survive.
Artists created a naturalistic rendering of anatomy
Complex draperies create a sense of visual movement.
They are perhaps, from left to right, Hestia, goddess of the hearth and
home, Dione, and her daughter Aphrodite.
Lysippus, Statue of a Victorious
Athlete 330 BC, Bronze, life size
What characteristics of this
statue are “Classical”?
Sense of movement
Relaxed natural pose
Idealized human figure
How was this statue made?
It was cast using a mold.
Lysippus, Statue of a Victorious Athlete
330 BC, Bronze, life size
Also known as the Getty Bronze
Victorious athlete crowning himself
with a laurel wreath
S-curve of body, (contrapposto) weight
on right leg
Face, hands, muscles are exact in detail
Hair is natural and unruly
Hellenistic
Period
During the Hellenistic period Artists became
concerned with action and emotion.
This is a great time of prosperity that
encourages the production of art of a more
secular nature.
Instead of depicting ideals such as perfect
beauty, the artists explore reality.
Humane themes such as childhood, old age,
ugliness, and suffering are now of interest.
Artists expand their work with:
•dramatic poses and emotions
•sweeping lines
•high contrasts of light and shadow.
For instance, "the Boxer" shows the boxer's
bleeding knuckles after the fight.
Secular: not concerned with religion
Dying Gaul, 230-220 BC, Roman marble copy of
bronze Greek original, Hellenistic Period
Dying Gaul, 230-220 BC, Roman marble copy of
bronze Greek original, Hellenistic Period
Life-size Roman copy in marble of a Greek bronze statue
Shows the struggle of a wounded man about to die
Leans on arms because his legs can’t move
Agony in the face and pose of the warrior
Death seems more real, not as heroic as it was shown in earlier
artworks
Kritios Boy
480 BC, marble, Classical
Dying Gaul, 230-220 BC, Roman marble copy of
bronze Greek original, Hellenistic Period
Nike of Samothrace, 190 BC, Marble, 8’
Nike of Samothrace, 190 BC, Marble, 8’
One of the greatest of the
Hellenistic sculptures
Greek goddess Nike (Victory)
The winged goddess of Victory
stands on the prow of a ship
Force of the wind whips the
drapery into animated folds
Highly theatrical
Nike of Samothrace, 190 BC, Marble, 8’
Old Market Woman, 2nd c. BC,
Marble, 49 ½ “
Ancient Greek Architecture
The architecture of ancient Greece has influenced building styles
today.
The best examples of Greek architecture are found in temple
buildings.
Ancient Greek temples were dedicated to a divinity (god) and
featured a statue of that divinity
Parthenon
Temple of the Greek goddess Athena
On the hill of the Acropolis at Athens, Greece
Architects were striving for ideal proportions in a Doric Temple design
Built in the mid-5th c. BC
Ancient Greek Architecture
The Greeks developed three architectural systems,
called orders, each with their own distinctive proportions and
detailing.
The Greek orders are:
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
Capital
Column
Shaft
Doric Order
The Doric style is rather sturdy and its top (the capital) is plain and it
does not have a base. The Greeks used it first during the Archaic Period
and the most famous Doric temple is the Parthenon.
Column- Fluted pillar that supports the
entablature
Flute-Vertical groove along the length
of the column.
Triglyph
Metope
Entablature-Section composed of the
architrave, the frieze and the cornice;
it supports the pediment
Doric Column
Doric Order
Doric Order
Doric Order
Parthenon
Ionic Order
The Ionic style is thinner and more elegant than the Doric. Its capital is
decorated with a scroll-like design (a volute). It stands on a base and
has a continuous frieze.
Ionic Column
Ionic Order
Temple of Athena Nike
Temple of Athena Nike (Victory) is in the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.
420 B.C. by the architect Kallikrates and is in the Ionic order
Ionic Order
The White House
Corinthian Order
The Corinthian style is seldom used in the Greek world, but often seen
on Roman temples. Its capital is very elaborate and decorated with
acanthus leaves.
Corinthian Column
Corinthian Order
Temple of the Olympian Zeus
174 BC, completed by the Roman emperor Hadrian
Only a small portion survives today
Ancient Greek Orders
Ionic Order
Doric Order
Corinthian
Order
Ancient Greek Orders
Name that Order
Ionic Order
Name that Order
Doric Order
Name that Order
Corinthian Order
Design your own Temple
http://www.ancientgreece.co.uk/acropoli
s/challenge/cha_set.html
Why are all of the Greek statues and
buildings white?
Many of the Greek statues and
buildings were originally painted, but
over time they have lost their color
In early periods bright garish colors
were applied to statues.
In the Classic period colors were
more subtle and used on eyes, lips,
hair
10. Doric
1. Cornice
2. Frieze
3. Architrave
4. Capital
5. Column
6. Entablature
7. Pediment
8. Base
9. Shaft
10. Doric
11. Triglyph
12. Metope
13. Ionic
14. Corinthian
cornice
triglyph
metope
14. Corinthian
13. Ionic
pediment
entablature
frieze
architrave
capital
column
shaft
base
Ancient Greek Pottery
We are studying Ancient Greek sculpture,
architecture, and pottery.
Why are we not studying Ancient Greek paintings?
Ancient Greek Pottery
Very few Greek painted pictures have survived the 2500 years
since they were painted. Pottery, even if it gets broken, can be put
back together. So most of what we know about Greek art comes
from the pictures they painted on fancy pottery. These pictures
provide insights into many aspects of Athenian life.
Black-Figure
Pottery
During the Archaic period, Athenian potters
began to paint people in silhouette: this is called
black-figure, because the people are all black on a
red background.
Actually black figure is done all with one type of
clay.
The clay found near Athens has a lot of iron in it,
so it looks black when it is wet.
But if you fire it in a kiln, letting air get in, the
iron mixes with the oxygen and turns red
If you fire it in a kiln with no air getting in, the
iron can't mix with oxygen, and the pot stays
black.
One of the greatest potters was Exekias who
developed narrative scene decoration and
perfected the style
Fire-To bake in a kiln. Firing is a term used for cooking the clay.
Kiln-The oven for firing the clay
Black-Figure Pottery
So how do you get a picture on the pot?
You make a pot using the potters wheel, and let it dry a little ("leather-dry").
Then you mix the wet clay with water, to make a kind of paint (slip), which
you use to make the black figures.
When your pot is dry, you fire it in a kiln.
First you give it a lot of air, so the whole pot turns red, slip and all.
Then you shut off the air supply at the end of the firing. When the air runs
out, the fire sucks oxygen out of the clay pot.
The slip is thinner and easier to suck air out of. So the slip turns black (the
color of iron without oxygen) faster than the rest of the pot (which is red, the
color of iron with oxygen).
At first the Athenian potters didn't know much about drawing people, and
their people look a little funny. Later they got better at it. They began to care
more about drawing the muscles and the eyes right.
Black-Figure Pottery
Exekias, Black-Figured Amphora, 530 BC, 24”
The amphora, large storage jar with
2 handles, was signed by Exekias
He considered it one of his finest
works
The inscription reads, Exekias
painted and made me, indicating that
he both formed and painted the
amphora.
Black-Figure Pottery
Exekias, Black-Figured Amphora, 530 BC, 24”
Black-Figure Pottery
This famous amphora, signed
by Exekias shows Achilles and
Ajax in armour intent on playing
a dice game.
The amphora is one of the
most refined products of the
black-figure style.
The moment when the two
heroes, having temporarily laid
down their arms during the long
siege of Troy, devote themselves
to play.
Exekias, Black-Figured Amphora, 530 BC, 24”
Red-Figure Pottery
Red-figured water jar (hydria),
signed by Meidias as potter, about
420-400 BC
Around 530 BC, Athenian potters were more and more frustrated by the
black-figure way of vase-painting.
They wanted to paint figures that overlapped and they wanted to be able
to depict the muscles better
So instead of painting the people black, they began to paint the background
black and leave the people red (Red-figure pottery).
This is harder because you have to carefully paint all around the people in
the picture, but it makes the people look much more real.
Some of the greatest vases are in red figure.
Red-Figure Pottery
Red-figured water jar (hydria), signed by Meidias as potter, about 420-400 BC
Black-Figure Pottery
Red-Figure Pottery
Black-Figure Pottery
Red-Figure Pottery
Types of Ancient Greek Pottery
Painted vases were often
made in specific shapes for
specific daily uses—storing
and transporting wine and
foodstuffs, drawing water,
drinking wine or water and
for special, often ritual
occasions
Types of Ancient Greek Pottery
An amphora was used to store wine and water,
"amphora" means "with two handles"
A krater was a large bowl used for mixing
water and wine.
A hydria, was used for carrying and storing water.
A kylix is a drinking cup.
A Lekythos was used to store perfume oil.
Ancient Greek Pottery
Why is ancient Greek pottery important?
The pottery of the ancient Greeks was important for its beauty and
decoration and for the light it sheds on the life and culture of ancient
Greece.
Because fired clay pottery is highly durable—and few or no Greek works
in wood, textile, or wall painting have survived—the painted decoration
of this pottery has become the main source of information about the
process of Greek artists learning to represent three-dimensional objects
and figures on a flat or curved surface.
The Greeks used pottery vessels primarily to store, transport, and drink
such liquids as wine and water. Smaller pots were used as containers for
perfumes and ointments.