GREEK ART

Time Period

Geometric art 900 – 700 B.C.E

Orientalizing art 700 – 600 B.C.E
Archaic art 600 – 460 B.C.E
Classical art 480 – 400 B.C.E
Late classical art 400 – 320 B.C.E
Hellenistic art 320 – 30 B.C.E

 Historical Background

The collapse of Myrenaean society around 1100 B.C.E. left a vacuum in the
Greek world until a reorganizatien took place around 900 B.C.E. in the form of city—
states. Places like Sparta, Corinth, and Athens defined Greek civilization in that they
were small, competing political entities that were united only in language and the fear of
outsiders.

In the fifth century B.C.E. the Persians threatened to swallow Greece, and the
city–states rallied behind Athens' leadership to expel them. This was accomplished, but
not before Athens itself was destroyed in 480 B.C.E. When the Persians were
effectively neutralized, the Greeks then turned, once again, to bickering and trying to
dominate one another.

This did not end until the reign of Alexander the Great, who, in the fourth century
B.C.E., briefly united the Greeks, this time establishing a mighty empire that eventually
toppled the Persians. But because Alexander died young and left no clear successor, his
empire crumbled away soon after his death The remnants of Greek civilization lasted
for another hundred years or so, until it was eventually absorbed by Rome.

 Patronage and artistic life

So many names of artists have come down to us that it is tempting to think that
Greek artists achieved a distinguished status hitherto unknown in the ancient world.
Artists signed their work, both as a symbol of accomplishment and as a bit of adver-
tisement. Greek potters and painters signed their vases, usually in a formula that
resembles "so and so made it" or "so and so decorated it."

Many artists were theoreticians as well as sculptors or architects. Polyldeitos

wrote a famous (no longer existing) book on the canon of human proportions. Iktin os
wrote on the nature of ideal architecture. Phidias, who was responsible for the artis tic
program on the Acropolis, supervised hundreds of workers in a mammoth workshop
and yet still managed to construct a complex with a single unifying artistic expression.
This was a golden age for artists, indeed.

 Innovations of greek sculpture

There are three ways in which Greek sculpture stands as .a departure from the civi -
lizations that have preceded it:

1.Greek sculpture is unafraid of nudity. Unlike the Egyptians, who felt that nudity was
debasing, the Greeks gloried in the perfection of the human body. At first, only men
were shown as nude; gradually women were also depicted, although there was a
reluctance to fully accept female nudity, even at the end of the Greek period.

2.Large Greek marble sculptures were cut away from the stone behind them. Large-
scale bronze works were particularly treasured; their lighter weight made
compositional experiments more ambitious.

3.Greek art in the Classical and Hellenistic periods used contrapposto, which is a
relaxed and informal way of standing with knees bent and shoulders tilted. The
immobile look of Egyptian art was replaced by a more informal and fluid stance,
enabling the figures to appear to move.

 Characteristics of greek archaic sculpture

What survives of Greek archaic art is limited to grave monuments, such as

kouros and kore figures, or sculpture from Greek temples. Marble is the stone of
choice, although Greek works survive in a variety of materials: bronze, limestone, terra
cotta, wood, gold—even iron. Sculpture was often painted, especially if it was to be
located high on the temple façade. Backgrounds were highlighted in red; lips, eyes, hair,
and drapery were routinely painted. Sculpture often had metallic accessories:' thunder-
bolts, harps, and various other attributes.

Bronze sculpture was hollow. Eyes were inlaid with stone or glass, and lips, nip-
ples, and teeth could be made of copper or silver highlights.

Kouros and kore figures stand frontally, bolt upright, and with squarish shoul-
ders. Hair is knotted, and the ears are a curlicue. Figures are cut free from the, stone
as much as possible, although arms are sometimes attached to thighs. As in Egyptian
works, kouros figures have one foot placed in front of the other, as if they were in mid-
stride. The shins have a neat crease down the front, as Egyptian works do. To give the
figures a sense of life, most kouros and kore figures smile.

 Major Works of Greek Archaic Sculpture

Konros, c. 600 B.C.E., marble, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

(Figure 5.1)

 Grave marker, replacing huge vases of the Geometric period

 Not a real portrait, but a general representation of the dead
 Rigidly frontal
 Emulates stance of Egyptian sculpture, but is nude; arms

 and legs largely cut free from the stone

 Freestanding and able to move, in contrast to many Egyptian works that are
reliefs or are attached to stone
 Hair is knotted and falls in neatly braided rows down the back

CalfBearer, c. 560 B.C.E., marble, Acropolis Museum, Athens (Figure 5.2)

  Rhonbos the Calf Bearer bringing an offering to Athena in thanksgiving for his
prosperity
 Thin coat draped over figure
 Two figures are united; tightly woven composition
 Archaic smile, knotted hair

Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, Acropolis Museum, Athens (Figure 5.3)

 Broken hand used to carry offering to Athena

 Hand emerges into our own space, breaks out of the mold of static Archaic
statues
 Tightened waist
 Breasts revealed beneath drapery
 So-called because she is named for the peplos, the garment she is wearing
 Rounded and naturalistic face

 Much of the paint still remains, animating the face and hair

Gods and Giants from the Siphnian Treasury, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, Delphi,
Greece

 Mythic battle between the Greek gods and the giants, called a gigantomachy
 Shows contemporary military tactics and weapons
 Undercutting of forms creates shadows around legs
 Varying relief depth; attempt at placing figures one behind
the other; however, they are all on the same ground line

Dying Warrior from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, c. 500-490 B.C.E., marble,
Glyptothek, Munich, Germany (Figure 5.5)

 Warrior dying, fits neatly into the corner of the pediment

  Hair in rows of tight curls
 Rigid musculature
 Pose of the crossed legs is awkward and unnatural, especially given the life-
and-death struggle the dying warrior is undergoing
 Archaic smile
 Characteristics of greek hellenestic sculpture

Hellenistic sculptors offer a wider range, of realistic modeling and a willingness to

show more movement than their classical colleagues. Figures have a great variety of
expression from sadness to joy. Themes untouched before, such as childhood, old age,
despair, anger, and drunkenness, are common subjects in Hellenistic art. To be certain,
there are still Hellenistic beauties, like the Venus de Milo (150-125 B.c.E.) (Figure 5.18),
but the accent is on a variety of expressions sweeping across the range of human emotion.
Moreover, sculptors carve with greater flexibility, employing negative space more freely. The
viewer is meant to walk around a Hellenistic sculpture and see is from many sides; hence,
the workis not meant to be placed against .a wall.

 Major Works of Greek Hellenistic Sculpture

Dying Gosh from Pergamon, 2307220 B.C.E., marble copy of a bronze original,
Capitoline Museum, Rome (Figure 5.15)

 Trumpeter from Gaul collapsing on his instrument; blood oozing from his
wound; shows defeat of the Gauls
 Seen as a herd by the Greeks, which in turn glorifies their conquest
 Represents a barbarian foe: hair kept in an uncultivated manner
 Figure meant to be seen in the round
 Negative space
 Great emotion shown on face

Athena Battling Alkyoneos, from the Pergamou Altar, c. 175 B.c.E., marble, State
Museum, Berlin (Figure 5.16)
  Describes the battle between the'gods and the giants; the giants, as
helpless tools, were dragged up the stairs to worship the gods
 The gods' victory over the giants offers a parallel to Alexander the Great's
defeat of the Persians
 Deeply carved figures overlap one another; masterful handling of spatial
illusion,
 Dramatic intensity of figures, movement; heroic musculature

Nike of Samotkrace,c. 190 B.c.E., marble, Louvre, Paris (Figure 5.17)

Meant to sit on a fountain as a figurehead of a boat; the fountain would splash water on
the figure

 Wet drapery look imitates the water playing on the wet body
 Built to commemorate a naval victory in 191 B.C.E,
 Dramatic twist and contrapposto of the torso
 Monumentality of the figure
Her missing right arm may have raised a victory crown; perhaps she was landing on
the prow of a ship

Venus de Milo (Aphrodite of Melos), c. 150-125 B.C.E., marble, Louvre, Paris

(Figure 5.18)

 Elegance of pose, long S-shaped curve; sensuous; erotic

 One hand held an apple, her symbol; the other hand probably held up her robes
 Softly modeled forms; light and shadow softly play on surface

Rhodes Sculptors, Laocoon, 1st century, Vatican Museums, Rome (Figure 5.19)

 Story from the Aeneid of the Trojan priest who tried to warn his people of the
dangers lurking inside the horse given to Troy by the Greeks; snakes were sent by
the gods to prevent him from speaking

 High drama; emotional

 Twisting, curving forms; the eye cannot rest, wanders around the composition; viewing
the composition from many angles is encouraged
 Heightened musculature accentuates, pathos of the moment
 Negative space

 Major works of Greek Classical Sculpture

Kritios Boy, C. 480 B.C.E., marble, Acropolis Museum, Athens (Figure 5.6)

 Introduction of contrapposto, body standing naturally

 Slight turn to the body, head not strictly frontal but a bit to one side
 Transitional piece between Archaic and Classical art

Athena, Herakks, and Atlas from the Temple of Zeus, c. 470-456 B.C.E., marble,
Archaeological Museum, Olympia (Figure 5.7)

 Atlas returning to Heraldes with the apples of the Hesperides; Heraldes held the
world (with a cushion to soften the discomfort) for Atlas while he was gone
 Transitional phase between the stiff Archaic and the more relaxed Classical
forms

 Athena's body revealed under her clothes; idealized forms on the bodies of
Heraldes and Atlas
 Archaic smile gone
 Figures appear to be able to think

Myron, The Discus Thrower, c. 450 B.C.E., marble copy from a bronze
original, National Roman Museum, Rome (Figure 5.8)

 In-between motion, mid-swing

 Impossible pose to throw the discus, but optically the pose works
 Viewpoint mainly from the front
  Expressionless face, or perhaps thinking
 Use of negative space opens large areas in the sculpture
 Idealized heroic body

Polykleitos, Spear Bearer, c. 450-440 B.C.E., marble copy from a bronze

original, National Museum, Naples (Figure 5.9)

 Closed stance
 Alternating tense and relaxed elements of the body
 Blocklike solidity
 Broad shoulders, thick torso, muscular body
 Movement restrained, Spartan ideal of body
 Warrior and athlete
 Hand once held a spear
 He averts his gaze; you may admire him, but he does not recognize the admiration

Three Goddesses, from the Parthenon, c. 438-432 B.C.E., marble, British

Museum, London (Figure 5.10)

 Figures are related to one another in their poses, positions, and interconnected
meaning

 Clinging, "wet" drapery reveals the voluptuous bodies beneath; deeply cut
drapery
 Figures sit naturally within the framework of the pediment
 Poetic pose

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal' from ,the Temple,d Athena Nike, c. 410 B.C.E.,
marble, Acropolis'Museum, Athens (Figure 5.11)

 Graceful winged figure modeled in high relief

 Deeply incised drapery lines reveal body, wet drapery
Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos, marble copy, c. 350-340 B.C.E., Vatican
Museums, Rome (Figure 5.12)

 Statue once was housed in a round temple and could only have been
seen by someone through peeking around columns; voyeuristic view
 Novel in its approach to nudity for females; not openly erotic, but sensual
 Aphrodite steps into a bath
 She is admired, but averts her gaze
 She is taking a cloak off a water jar
 Sensuous S-curve to the body
 Gentle, dreamy quality
 Modest—hand that is missing would have covered her pelvis

Praxiteles, Hermes and the Infant Dionysos, from the Temple of Hera, Olympia,
marble copy, c. 340 B.C.E., Archaeological Museum, Olympia (Figure 5.13)

 Shallow S-shaped curve; subtle modeling of musculature

 Soft shadows play on body surface
 Dionysos perhaps reaching for grapes
 Hermes with a dreamy expression, a deep reverie Lysippos, Scraper,
marble copy from a bronze original, c. 330 B.C.E.,

 Vatican Museums, Rome (Figure 5.14)

 Breaks down the dominance of the frontal view

 Thin forms, smaller heads, elongated bodies, sleek lanky look, eyes
closely set
 Athlete is scraping off oil after a competition
 Arms are straight out, extended into space
 Head one-eighth of the body
  -Twist of the knee, torsion of the body; leans back into a contrapposw
stance
 Far-away look

 Innovations in Greek architecture

Like the Egyptians, the Greeks designed their temples to be the earthly homes of
the gods. Also like the Egyptians, the Greeks preferred limited access to the deity. This
is one reason why such grand temples had doors that were removed from public view. In
fact, architecturally the front and back of Greek temples look almost identical; only the
sculptural ornament is different.

There are three types of Greek temples: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian (Figure
5.20). Greeks in mainland Greece and in the places they settled, like Sicily, preferred
the Doric style, with its simplified capitals and columns with tapered shafts that sit,
without a base, directly on the floor of the temple. Doric temples have unadorned
architraves and alternating trigyliihs and metopes, the latter depicting episodes frcim
Greek mythology. Greek island architects preferred the Ionic style, with its volutelike
capitals, columns that sit on bases, and friezes of sculpture placed along the
entablature. Later, the Corinthian order was introduced, in which the capitals had
leaves and the straight columns had bases that transitioned to the floor. The different
orders of Greek architecture were occasionally freely mixed, as in the case of the
Parthenon, where a Doric temple has Ionic features, like a frieze, introduced on the
inside.

Elaborate Greek temple complexes were placed on a high hill, or acropolis, over-
looking the city. Gateways, called propylaea, prepared the visitor for his or her
entrance into the complex.

Greek temple architecture showed a reliance on few forms and developed these.
However, there were two previously unseen innovations of note. The first was the circular
shrine, called a tholos (Figure 5.21), which represented perfection to the geometry-
minded Greeks. The second was the introduction of columns carved as figures, the
female version of which are called caryatids (Figure 5.22). These columns had to be
carefully executed because the weight of the building rested on the thin points of a
body's structure: the neck and the legs. This meant that all caryatids had to have long
hair and solid gowns in order to stabilize the building above.

Besides temples, the Greeks built a number of other important buildings, such as
shopping centers, called stoas, and theaters for the presentation of Greek plays. The
theaters were marvels of construction, possessing incredible acoustics, especially
considering that the performances were held in the open air. Some 12 ‘000 people
seated at the theater at Epidauros (Figure 5.26) could hear every word, even if they
were seated 55 rows back.

 Characteristics of Greek architecture

Except for the rare tholos shrines, Greek temples were rectangular and
organized on an inventive, although rigid, set of geometric principles, which
tantalized Greek thinkers and philosophers. Temples were built with the post-and-
lintel system in mind, the columns never too widely set apart. Pediments, which
projected over the tops of columns, contained sculpture representing the heroic
deeds of the god or goddess housed inside. A cornice separated the upper and
lower parts of a Greek temple (Figure 5.23).

The doors were set back from the facade, sometimes by two rows of
columns, so that little light could enter these generally windowless buildings. This
increased the sense of mystery about the interior, where few could go and the
deity serenely reigned.

 Major Works of Greek Architecture

Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, 447-438 B.c.E., Athens, Greece (Figure
5.24)

 Constructed under the leadership of Pericles after the Persian sack of Athens in
480 B.C.E. destroyed the original Acropolis
  Pericles used the extra funds in the Persian war treasury to build the Acropolis;
Greek allies were furious
 Greek predilection for algebra and geometry omnipresent in the design of this
building: Parts can be expressed as x = 2y + 1; thus, there are 17 columns on the
side (x) and 8 columns in the front (y), and the ratio of the length to the width is
9:4. Proportions are the same for the cella
 Unusually light interior had two windows in the cells
 Floor curves upward in the center of the façade to drain-off rain water and to
deflect appearance of sagging at the ends
 The columns at the ends are surrounded by light, which alters their appearance,
so they are made thicker in order to, look the same as the other columns
 Ionic elements in a Doric temple: rear room contains Ionic capitals, frieze on
interior is Ionic
 Interior built to house a massive statue, of Athena, to whom the building was
dedicated

The Etedftheion, 4217405 B.C.E., Athens, Greece

 Honors Erechtheus, an early king of Athens, during whose reign an ancient

wooden idol of Athena was said to have fallen from the heavens
 Also marks the spot where Athena and Poseidon competed to be patrons of the
city of Athens
 Because it incorporated a few sites, the building has an irregular, asymmetrcal
plan, unusual in Greek architecture
 Caryatids walk toward the Pafthenon in a procession
 Ionic temple

Polykleitos, Theatet, c. 350 B.C.E., Epidauros, Greece (Figure 5.26)

 Theaters often had a view of the, sea; the sea plays,an important role in Greek
drama
 Acoustics were excellent; every one of the 12,000 spectators could hear
  Stage juts out and is encircled by the audience on three sides
 Stage had removable and modest sets
 Plays, typically held on feast days and as part of contests

Perganton Altar; c. 175 B.C.E., State Museum, Betlin (Figure 5.27)

 Altar placed on an elevated platform up a dramatic flight of stairs

 Conscious effort to be in dialogue with the Panathenatic. Frieze on the Parthenon
 7/4-foot-high frieze over 400 feet long Wraps around monument Figu'e 5.27:
Pergam" Altar, c. 175
 Contains an altar dedicated to Zeiss
 B.C.E., State Museum, Berlin
 Ionic columns frame monument
 Prallels made between the Pergamon victories Over the Barbarians iri a recent
war, Alexander the Great's defeat, of the Persians, and the gods' defeat over the
giants in mythology

 Innovations of greek pottery

Much of what is known about Greek painting comes from pottery, which ,
survives in surprising quantities, even though mural painting has almost totally
disappeared. Professional pottery had been practiced in Greece from its origins in
Aegean society throughout the entire span of the Greek period. Some vessels were
everyday items, others served as tomb; monuments. Massive kraters had holes at the
bottom so that when libations were poured liquid could run out the bottom of the pot and
onto the grave itself. Pots that were used for these purposes often had a scene of the
deceased lying on a bier surrounded by mourners. Chariots and warriors completed the
grieving procession (Figure 5.28). .

Form followed function in Greek pottery. Most pots were designed for a particular
purpose and were st, shaped. The portable amphora (Figure 5.29) stored provisions like
oil.. Or wine with an opening large enough to admit a ladle. The lamer (Figure 5.30) was
a bowl' for mixing water and wine Geometric lamer because the Greeks trey& drank
their wine straight. A kyliet, with its wide mouth and shallow dimensions, was a drinking
cup, ideal for the display of scenes on the relatively flat bottom.

Painters wrote a Myriad of inscriptions that were sometimes literally addressed to

the viewer of the, pot, saying things like "I greet you." Inscriptions could explain the
narrative scene represented or identify people or objects. The underside of vases, usu -
ally indicated, the selling transaction of the pot.

 Characteristic of greek pottery

Earliest pots done during the Geometric period are largely composed of horizontal
lines with minimal.,fignres (Figure' 5.30).

In the next period, called Orientalizing, there is much influence from Egyptian anti
Mesofrotimian 'aft; so eastern floral motifs and exotic animals take their place next to the
geometric bands of ornament (Figure 5.32).

In the Archaic period, artists painted in a style called blackfigure, which empha-
sized large figures drawn in black on the red natural surface of the day. Other colors would
burn in the high 'temperature of the kiln, so after the pot had been fired, details were
added in highlighting colors. The bright glazing of Greek pottery gives the surface a
lustrous shine. At the end of the Archaic period, red figure vases were introduced; in effect,
they are the reversal of black figure style pots: The backgrounds were painted in, blatk, ancl
the natural red of the day detailed the forms.

Archaic pottery has the same stiffness and monumentality of Archaic sculpture.
Achievements in Classical sculpture, such as contrapposto, were paralleled in pottery as
well. Similarly the dynamic movements of the Hellenistic period were reflected in Greek
Hellenistic pottery.

 Major Works of Greek Pottery

Klietias, Francois Vase, c. 570 B.C.E., Archaeological Museum, Florence (Figure
5.33)

 Signed by the potter and the painter twice

  More than two hundred figures represented in six superimposed rows and
two rows on each handle
 Nearly every feature is labeled, even horses, dogs, and water jars
 Mythological subjects, among which are a boar hunt, a dance of maidens
rescued from the minotaur by Theseus, a chariot race at the funeral of
Patroklos, arrival of the gods at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, a row of
animals and monsters, and Ajax carrying the dead body of Achilles (on the
handle)
 Separate themes on each band of the vase echo one another; parallels
draw meaning from various mythological episodes
 Said to have every Greek god on the vase

Exekias, Ajax and Achilles Playing Dice, C. 540-530 B.C.E., Vatican Museums,
Rome (Figure 5.34)

 Concentration on two competing figures on a Greek amphora

 Subdued emotions portrayed
 Spears suggest depth; spears at the ready, enemies will not catch them unaware
 Legs mirror the reflective pose
 Black figure style with decorative band of geometric designs
 Left: Achilles wins by saying "four"; Right: Ajax says "three"; it is ironic that Ajax
will live and bury his dead friend Achilles, who will eventually lose in a battle

 Major Work of Greek Mosiac Art

Battle of Issas, c. 100 &GE, National Archaeological Museum, Naples (Figure

5.35)

 Alexander at left: young, brave, forthright, assured of success

 Darius in center right on chariot: horrified, weakly ceding the victory; his
charioteer commands the horses to make their escape
  Crowded, with nervous excitement
 Roman floor mosaic based on an original Greek mural painting
Vocabulary
Acropolis: literally, a "high city," a Greek temple complex built on a hill over a city
Amphora: a two-handled Greek storage jar

Architrave: a plain, unornamented lintel on the entablature

Caryatid (male: adantid): a building column that is shaped like a human figure

Cella: the main room of a Greek temple where the god is housed

Contrapposto: a graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips
and bent knees

Cornice: a projecting ledge over a wall Entablature: the upper story of a Greek temple)
Frieze: a horizontal band of sculpture

Kiln: an oven used for making pottery

Koutos (female: kore): an archaic Greek sculpture of a standing youth (Figures 5.1 and
5.3)

Krater: a large Greek bowl used for mixing water and wine (Figure 5.30) Kylia: a Greek
drinking cup (Figure 5.31)

Metope: a small relief sculpture on the facade of a Greek temple (Figure 5.23)

Mosaic a decoration using pieces of stone, marble, or colored glass, called tesserae,
that are cemented to a wall or a floor (Figure 5.35)

Pediment the triangular top of a temple that contains sculpture (Figure 5.23)
Propylaeum (plural: propylaea): a gateway leading to a Greek temple

Relief sculpture: sculpture that projects from a flat background. A very shallow relief
sculpture is called a bas-relief (pronounced: bah-relief) (Figure 5.11)

Shaft the body of a column (Figure 5.23)

Tholos: an ancient Greek circular shrine (Figure 5.20)

Trigylph: a projecting grooved element alternating with a metope on a Greek temple

Summary

The Greeks have had such a powerful influence on history that we have dubbed
their art "classical," 'a word that means, among many other things, 'a standard of
authority.

Greek temples are typically surrounded by an imposing set of columns that

embrace the cella where the god is housed. The temple itself is set apart from the rest
of the city, sometimes located on an adjoining hill called an acropolis. Greektheaters,
like the temples, are built of cut stone carefully carved into an important site.

Greek sculpture and pottery (little painting survives) is divided into a number of
periods. Geometric pottery is characterized by linear designs and abstract patterns. The
next style, called Orientalizing, shows an influence of Egyptian and Mesopotamian art.

Greek Archaic art is known for its bolt upright figures and anhnating smiles. The
Classical period is characterized by the use of contrapposto, a figure placed in a relaxed
pose and standing naturally. Fifth century B.C.E. art irknown for its idealized body types;
however, more humanizing expressions characterize fourth century B.C.E. work.

The last phase, called Hellenistic, shows figures with a greater range of
expression and movement. Often sculptures look beyond themselves, at an
approaching enemy perhaps, or, in the face of an unseen wind.

Whatever the period, Greek art has provided a standard against Whieh other
classicizing trends in art history have been measured.