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Ancient Greek Sculpture
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First created 15 Mar 2012. Version 1.1 - 5 Apr 2012. Jerry Tse. London.
Cycladic
2500-2000 BCE
The story of Greek sculpture began
around 4000 years ago in the Greek
islands, where they made simple white
marble models of gods and goddesses.
Minoan
1700-1500 BCE
There were few statues found in Minoan
Crete. This is the ‘Snake Goddess’ found
in a family shrine.
Mycenean
There was no sculpture found in
Mycenae. This female painted plaster
head is believed to be the head of a
sphinx.
Archaic
700-500 BCE
This statue was amongst some of the
earliest Greek statue. It depicted an
archaic goddess. Statues at this time
were stiff, unlike those of Ancient
Egypt and often carried an Archaic
smile.
The Lady of Auxerre. 650-625 BC.
75 cm. Limestone. Archaic. Cretan.
Musee du Louvre.
Archaic
Most of the sculptures were created primarily
for the purpose of idol worships. Most were
less than life-size.
Demeter, goddess of fertility on a throne. 6C
BC. Terracotta. Archaic. Cretan. Found in
Grammichele, Sicily.
Funeral markers begin to
appear
in
Greece.
The
similarity with the Egyptian
sculpture can be seen here.
But the Greek sculpture
carries a smile and the genital
is clearly shown. The Greek
statue is slightly larger than
life-size.
Archaic
By the Middle Archaic period from
580 BC – 535 BC, attentions were
shifted to kouros and kore
sculptures of young men and
women, with emphasis on bodily
beauty but the poses were still
stiff
and
conformed
to
stereotypes.
Archaic
Kore. 530-520 BC. Marble. Height
2.01 m. Archaic. Acropolis Museum
Athens.
Archaic
Unlike her male counterpart, she
is fully dressed, with elaborate
drapery and hair style. She still
carries the archaic smile.
Kore (no 680). 530-520 BC. Marble.
Archaic. Acropolis Museum Athens.
Archaic
This was an unusual subject matter,
showing a man from Attic, who came to
Athens to make a sacrificial offer of a calf to
the goddess.
It is a pleasing sculpture with the calf gently
carried on the shoulder of the owner.
The Calf-Bearer (The Moschophoros). 570
BC. Marble. Height 1.65m. Archaic. Acropolis
Museum Athens.
Archaic
Wounded Warrior from Temple of Aegina. C490-480 BC. Marble. Length 1.78m (Life-size). Late Archaic. On the East
Pediment of Aegina Temple. Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, Munich.
Archaic
The arrival of the Severe Style marked the
beginning of the end of the Archaic style.
Greek society underwent a transformation to
become a leading civilisation in the eastern
Mediterranean.
During this time, the Mediterranean markets
were flooded with Greek pottery. Schools of
philosophy were flourishing.
The city of
Athens was in the ascent. Greek art was
changing.
The Athena of Aegina, wearing a helmet. c460
BC. Aeginetan. Greek. Musee du Louvre.
Archaic
This is a well proportioned and beautifully
sculpted Kore, in severe style. It is called
‘sulky’ because she does not carry the
Archaic smile. Carved by the same artist
who made the Kritios Boy (on a later slide).
The Sulky Kore. 480 BC. Marble. Height
1.65m. Archaic. Acropolis Museum Athens.
Classical
480-336 BCE
The concept of beauty was an expression of
the inner beauty. Artists used their power of
observation, created even more naturalistic
sculptures with increasing details.
Blond Boy. 480 BC. Marble.
Acropolis Museum Athens.
Classical.
Classical
Kritios Boy or Critin Boy marked the emergence
of a new sculptural style, the Classical style. The
proportion of the boy’s torso was near perfection,
with life-like accuracy.
Sculptures began to shift away from the stiffness
of the archaic style to a more life-like posture.
The weight of the sculpture was supported by the
left leg, while the right leg was bent at the knee.
The spine acquired an “S” curve and the shoulder
line dipped to the left to balance the action at the
pelvis.
Classical
These ‘movements’ were
achieved by dividing the
body into four main
sections. The arms and
the
legs
were
bent
independently. The body
above the waist was
twisted to produce a more
natural posture.
Ares Borghese. 5C BC
(Roman
copy).
Marble.
Classical.
Height 2.1m.
Musee du Louvre.
The two horses’ heads summarised the advances made by the
Classical Greek. The horse of Selene (above) had just pulled the
chariot of Selene across the sky. It was absolutely exhausted, with
bulging eyes. Its veins were clearly visible, with opened mouth and
nostrils enlarged, grasping for air.
Horse head. Archaic Style from
the Acropolis Museum, Athens.
Classical
Horse head of Selene from the pediment of the Parthenon,
Athens. 447-432 BC. British Museum, London.
Classical
On the tympanum of the Temple of Marasa. Late 5C BC, Marble. National Museum of Reggio di Calabria
Classical
The statue was offered by a tyrant of Gela
(Sicily) to the Delphic sanctuary to
commemorate his victory in the chariot race
at the Games.
The Charioteer of Delphi. 474 or 478 BC. Bronze.
Height 180cm. Classical. Delphi Museum.
Classical
The original was made by Myron
Classical
Bronze head of Apollo (?), found in the Tamassos, Cyprus. 470-460 BC. Bronze.
Classical. British Museum.
Classical
An exceptional bronze
with arms fully extended,
an achievement showing
the advance made by only
a generation of sculptors
later, since the austere
Archaic style.
Artemision Bronze (Zeus
or Poseidon). 460 BC.
Bronze.
Height
2.1m
Classical.
National
Archaeological Museum of
Athens.
Classical
Classical
Two full size bronzes of exceptional quality were found in 1972
off the coast of Italy. They are known as the Riace Bronzes.
Classical
The Riace
Bronzes
Classical
The Riace Bronzes had gone beyond
the depiction of life-like proportions,
as in the Kritios Boy. The grove in
the back was exaggerated to show a
‘an ideal’ body form.
Classical
Philosopher of Porticello. 420-410 BC.
Bronze.
Classical.
Museo
Archaeologico Nazional di Reggio
Calabria.
Classical
Pericles was a prominent Athenian
statesman, who successful created
the Athenian Empire.
Bust of Pericles. c430 BC. Marble.
Classical. Vatican Museum, Rome.
Classical
Classical
Praxiteles was a well-known 4C BC
sculptor.
Hermes Farness. Roman copy of a c325 BC
sculpture. Marble. Height 2.01m. Classical.
Original by Praxiteles. Greek. British Museum.
Classical
Praxiteles was the
first to sculpt the
nude female in life
-size statue.
Classical
Aphrodite or Venus
Classical
Dancing Satyr. Roman copy of a 4C BC statue.
Marble. Attrib to Lysippus. Classical. Greek.
Galleria Borghese, Rome.
Hellenistic
336-146 BCE
With the arrival of Alexander the Great,
Greek sculptors had taken their art to
another level of realism and exaggeration.
Their sculptures became even more
expressive.
The head showed a new level of realistic
individualized features, with a hint of an
emotional expression.
The Bronze Head of Delos. Mid-Late 2C BC.
Bronze.
Hellenistic.
Greek.
National
Archaeological Museum Athens.
Classical
The bronze was found in Olympia,
sculpted by Silanion. It is an exceptional
piece, showing the battered bruised face
of a boxer, marked by swellings and
wrinkles.
Head of a Boxer. 330-320 BC. Bronze.
Hellenistic . Greek. National Archaeological
Museum Athens.
Hellenistic
Sleeping Hermaphrodite, showing the female (top) as well as the male side (bottom). Roman copy of a 2C BC Greek
sculpture. Marble. Hellenistic . Greek. Musee du Louvre.
Hellenistic
Hellenistic
This is the story telling
sculpture of Laocoon with its
exaggerated feeling of pain.
Laocoon & His sons. Roman
copy of a 175-150 BC sculpture.
Marble.
By
Agesander,
Polydorus and Athenodorus of
Rhodes.
Hellenistic . Greek.
Vatican Museum, Rome.
Hellenistic
Hellenistic
Winged Victory of Samothrace. c190 BC. Marble.
Span 3.3m. Hellenistic . Greek. Muses du Louvre,
Paris.
Hellenistic
Hellenistic
The Greek sculptors extended their
expressive
portrait of human to
animals. Only five Roman copies of
this Greek bronze are known to exist.
Molossian Hound. Probably 2C BC.
Marble. Hellenistic . Greek. British
Museum, London.
Hellenistic
Venus de Milo. c120 BC. Marble. Height 2.02m. Alexandros of
Antioch. Hellenistic . Greek. Musee du Louvre, Paris.
Hellenistic
Lely’s Venus (Aphrodite Crouching at her
Bath). Roman copy of 1C BC Greek original.
Marble. British Museum, London.
Hellenistic
Lely’s Venus (Aphrodite Crouching at her
Bath). Roman copy of 1C BC Greek original.
Marble. British Museum, London.
Amongst the ancient civilisations of the
world, only the Greek had produced
such naturalistic and life-like sculptures.
Some 1500 years later, with the arrival
of Michelangelo, these sculptures were
finally surpassed.
The End
All rights reserved. Rights belong to their respective owners.
Available free for non-commercial and personal use.
Music – Zobra, the Greek composed by Mikis
Theodorakis.