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Greece 2
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SLIDE - Classical art is based on:
Greek Classical Art is based on 3 concepts: Humanism, Rationalism, & Idealism.
Humanism – Concept that man is the measure of all things.
Even gods & goddesses were physically portrayed as perfect human beings.
Rationalism – Reason triumphs over emotion –
Greeks saw logic & reason in natural processes
A time of great philosophers: Sophocles, Plato, Aristotle.
All things (even art) should have meaning & pattern to it.
Idealism was produced by the first 2 principles.
They generalized art, searching for universal ideas, not individualistic details.
**Art was developed THIS way:
1. They carefully observed nature, they studied the human form, (Humanism),
2. Then devised a system of perfect mathematical proportions of the body (Rationalism),
3. And then created a perfect specimen. (Idealism).
SLIDE - Greek Art Periods
Amazing thing about Greek art - such huge stylistic changes in such a short time.
Greeks established standards of beauty that endure in Western art to this day.
Classical period lasted less than 200 years, but evolved so much.
Expanding Persian Empire attacked the Greek city-states, destroyed city of Athens.
Greek city-states formed alliances & triumphed over Persians.
This filled them with self-confidence - They rebuilt their cities
This confidence accelerated the development of Greek Art –
They wanted ways to express their cities’ accomplishments.
Artists sought anatomical accuracy and ideal forms - Perfection, really.
SLIDE - Pediment from the Temple of Zeus.
Olympia, Greece. 470 BCE. Marble. 87’ long.
In Olympia they built a new Doric temple for Zeus, was the site of the Olympics.
Considered first Classical Art monument (architecture & sculpture).
Temple is now in ruins, but we know about the floor plan & look.
More refined proportions (center row of columns gone)
Built from local stone, but decorated with marble.
The pediments have freestanding sculptures that are like actors in a play
THEME: the power of Zeus, Apollo & Athena.
They tell stories:
The East pediment - A chariot race (the story is in the Garnder text)
The West pediment - Apollo helps a local clan defeat the Centaurs.
Archaic smiles are gone. Lots of natural drapery on the figures.
SLIDE - Metope (Met - uh - pee) relief - Athena, Herakles, & Atlas,
from the Temple of Zeus. Olympia, Greece. 460 BCE. Marble. 5’3” tall.
Metopes are square panels in the frieze of Doric order temples.
The Metopes in the Temple of Zeus illustrate the “12 Labors of Herakles”
King of Tiryns made him do them
Herakles accomplished these impossible tasks & earned immortality.
Had the aid of the gods, & his own phenomenal strength
One of the labors was to steal golden apples from a garden guarded by nymphs.
He got help from Atlas, whose job was to hold up the heavens on his shoulders.
Herakles offered to hold up heavens while Atlas fetched the apples for him.
Herakles is at the center with the heavens on his shoulders.
Atlas, on the right, holds out the gold apples to him.
We can see goddess Athena, supports the sky with one hand, effortlessly.
Atlas cannot see her behind him
Athena is clothed, though her body presses through the cloth.
But the 2 males are nude.
This is carved in very high relief, strong sense of realism.
SLIDE - Kritios Boy. Acropolis, Athens. 480 BCE. Marble. 2’10” tall
Sculptors quickly moved away from the rigid frontal presentations of Kouros & Kore.
This looks natural and lifelike. (Even though smaller than life-size)
One of the earliest and best freestanding Marble figures that appears natural.
Is thought to carved by Kritios, a Greek sculptor.
Visible weight shift, Contrapposto (counter-balance)
Separates Classical style from the Archaic.
An easy, relaxed pose, weight on left leg, shift of hips,
Spine curved, head slightly turned. Very stylized hair.
No “Archaic smile”. A transitional piece from the Kouros to ideal figures to come.
SLIDE - Charioteer, From Sanctuary of Apollo. Delphi, Greece. 470 BCE.
Bronze, with colored glass eyes. 5’11” tall.
Hard to make freestanding sculpture that doesn’t tip over. Has to balance carefully.
Hollow-casting bronze technique was developed, lighter, so it controls balance. Pg 131.
Made it easier to create figures with outstretched arms and legs, even off balance poses.
Figures in action poses became popular.
After this the Greeks could render more life-like movement.
Few of the incredible bronzes survive today though,
They melted down old statues to create new ones (recycled the metal).
This one was buried in an earthquake so it survived.
Buried near fragments of a bronze chariot and horses too.
Has inscription saying it was made to commemorate a victory in a chariot race.
Highly realistic, sullen-looking, he has toenails & visible feet veins.
Some indication his feet were cast from live models.
Even individual eyelashes.
SLIDE - Warrior A, offshore Riace, Italy. 460-450 BCE. Bronze. 6’6”.
In 1972 sea divers recovered a pair of larger-than life-size bronze warriors from the sea.
Found in the cargo hold of a shipwreck offshore in Southern Italy.
They’d been underwater for nearly 2000 years, but intact & in fairly good condition.
Were restored to repair damage of the saltwater & sea life growing on them,
Now in excellent condition.
Very athletic musculature, looks like a youthful body, but a mature face.
Belly button, veins in hands, realistic but very idealized. Hair very stylized.
Distinct weight shift - the poses from Egyptian & Archaic age seems totally gone.
Stands naturally. No stiffness.
Lips & nipples made from pinkish copper, teeth from silver.
This ALSO hollow-cast bronze - actually found clay from the molds inside them.
SLIDE – Myron, Discus Thrower. 450 BCE. Original was Bronze.
This is a marble copy of the original. 5’ 1”.
An idealized athlete, perfect face & body.
Emotionless, no look of exertion or effort.
Original was made of bronze. Romans made marble copies – less expensive.
Marble is a LOT heavier, plus it’s not hollow.
Has to have supports to hold up the weight of the off-balance figure.
The copies are inferior to the originals, but They’re still valuable simply because they’re all we have left to study.
SLIDE - Spear Bearer, by Polykleitos.
Roman marble copy of the original bronze.
Pompeii, Italy. 450-440 BCE. 6’11” tall.
The original was destroyed, but Romans made many copies before its destruction.
Around 450 BCE Polykleitos developed a set of rules to construct the ideal human figure.
He called it the “Canon” (means rule or law.)
His canon was a set of ratios between a basic unit and the length of various body parts.
Unit could have been index finger, width of hand, height of head, etc.
The original sculpture & his written cannon have been lost.
No one knows for sure what the unit of measurement & exact proportions were.
Of course had to have symmetrical facial features and smooth skin.
**Polykleitos created the mathematical formula for beauty.
Contrapposto pose - cross-balancing body weight.
Compare the pose to Warrior A, very similar.
SLIDE - Acropolis. Athens. 400 BCE.
Built from the vision of Pericles, a leader from city-state of Athens.
The Greek city-states banded together to defend against Persian invaders.
All city-states contributed funds to finance the defense.
Pericles used money left over from fund to embellish the Acropolis in Athens.
Felt justified because the Persians had destroyed it.
This caused incredible outrage from other Greek leaders,
Used money that belonged to all of the Greek allied states
Build an opulent acropolis in Athens, dedicated to Goddess Athena.
Visitors would enter from a ramp on the west side.
Pass through the gate house.
See a statue of Athena the defender holding a spear.
The sun would reflect off her helmet, could be seen by sailors out in the sea.
The biggest building, Parthenon, dedicated to the Virgin Athena (Athena Parthenos).
Inside of the Parthenon was a colossal gold & ivory statue of Athena.
Created by sculptor, Pheidias.
SLIDE - The Parthenon, by Kallikrates and Iktinos. 447-438 BCE.
This temple was built as an elegant new home for Athena Pathenos
Athenians believed Athena helped the Greeks defeat the Persians
So the temple honors her.
Made from the finest white marble, even on roof (no ordinary terra cotta tiles, here)
Required great mathematical & engineering skills to build it.
Uses a ratio of 4:9 in its width to length (Golden Mean)
4:9 in the width of the columns to the space between them.
It has a slightly arched base & entablature. Columns lean in slightly.
Deliberately curved and slanted to correct optical distortions.
The Parthenon isn’t just a building - it is the ESSENCE OF ARCHITECTURE.
Iktinos even wrote a book on its “perfect proportions”.
It symbolizes Athens, its power & wealth, its victory over foreign invaders.
Over the years, the Parthenon has been:
a Christian church, an Islamic mosque, a Turkish storage facility,
an excavation site, and a tourist attraction.
SLIDES - Parthenon: East Pediment.
438 - 432 BCE. By Pheidias, or someone working in his style. 4’ 5” tall.
Much of the pedimental sculpture lost/destroyed.
The East pediment is the best preserved - commemorates the birth of Athena.
The central figures are missing (probably Zeus & Athena).
On the sides - groups of goddesses
Reclining male figures on the ends, fit the slope of the pediment.
The 3 female figures that were on the right side, probably goddesses:
Hestia (goddess of earth, Zeus’s sister),
Aphrodite (goddess of love),
Aphrodite’s mother Dione (in Homer’s Iliad).
They seem to be awakening from a deep sleep.
Female forms visible beneath draperies, clinging fabric.
Unites the figures nearly into a single mass.
SLIDE - Erechtheion, by Mnesikles. (Pronounced Uh-wreck-thee-on)
Acropolis, Athens, Greece. 421-405 BCE.
Designed by architect Mnesikles, 2nd largest building in the Acropolis.
Named after Erechtheus, a legendary Athenian King.
Has an asymmetrical plan (3 porches), and has several levels Made to fit the sloping land it sits on – on very uneven ground.
Built around sacred olive tree, that Athena gave Athens as a gift
And a spot where Poseidon supposedly hit the Acropolis with his trident.
Has 3 different shrines within it.
Architects today think the North porch has the most perfect interpretation of Ionic Order.
Elegant & delicate compared to the Parthenon, which is balanced & majestic.
Those columns & capitals are widely copied.
The South porch, “Porch of the Maidens” is the most famous part of the Erechtheion.
SLIDE - Porch of the Maidens, Erechtheion. Acropolis. 421-405 BCE.
The porch is raised on a high base, with 6 stately Caryatids (maidens)
Maidens have simple Doric capitals (column tops).
Each has her weight on one leg, free leg is bent, which looks relaxed & effortless.
The 3 on the left side raise their left legs,
Those on the right raise their right legs (more symmetrical)
The drapery of their dresses looks like a fluted column.
Their necks are the weakest part of the column because they’re thin
So they are reinforced by the bulk of their hair knot, to make them thicker.
SLDE - Temple of the Athena Nike, by Kallikrates. 27’ x 19’
Acropolis, Athens. 425 BCE.
Honors Athena Nike, the goddess of war.
Classic Ionic order temple, very small though – smallest at the Acropolis.
Has a porch at each end with columns, not peripteral.
Some relief fragments found inside.
SLIDE - Nike Adjusting her Sandal, from Temple of Athena. Acropolis.
410 BCE. Unknown sculptor. 3’ 6” tall.
This is a fragment of a relief panel from the Temple of Athena Nike.
The carved drapery appears very light & delicate, clings to her as if it’s wet.
Often called “one of the most discreetly erotic images in ancient art”.
Artist maybe more interested in the challenge of carving the drapery,
Less interested in the female form itself, such deep carving in the folds of cloth.
Pose is awkward, has to put one wing out to steady herself as she adjusts her sandal.
Despite that, the pose is still lovely
Shows the artist's mastery of the human figure and balance.
SLIDE - Grave Stele of Hegeso.
Dipylon Cemetery, Athens. 400 BCE. Marble. 5’2” high.
This is a low-relief carving.
Steles in the 5th century featured domestic scenes of women
Personal monuments for the deceased.
Respectable Greek women had no role in politics or civic life But they did hold very respected positions in the family.
In this stele, Hegeso chooses jewelry to wear from a box presented by a maid.
(maid is identifiable by the simpler dress & hairstyle.)
Faces & bodies idealized (look the same), but individual costumes & hairdos.
SLIDE – Achilles Painter, White Ground Lekythos (lek-uh-thos)
440 BCE High Classical, Terracotta
A lekythos is a flask containing perfumed oils.
White-ground decoration became a popular style of vase decoration, BUT Very fragile, so favored for non-utilitarian vessels, like funerary vases for graves.
The term "white-ground" refers to vases on which a white slip is used for the background.
Artists draw the figures in outline with darker glaze
complete the scene with added colors in tempera paint.
Tempera paint is fragile, & the colors tend to fade over time.
Give us an idea of what now-lost monumental wall painting must have looked like.
Used to make a burial offering.
Funerary vases - feature somber scenes, serious daily life of the deceased,
Similar to the grave steles.
Quiet and dignified, calm and serene, yet suffused with emotion.
Serious scene appropriate for gravesite.
Young married couple, he’s going off to war (see his helmet & shield)
Things hanging on the wall indicate it is the interior of their house.
Eyes are now rendered in PROFILE! (Big one on the shield.) No frontal eye.