Download ART 381, HANDOUT 3: ARCHAIC GREEK ART AND

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ART 381, HANDOUT 2: ORIENTALIZING GREEK ART AND
ARCHITECTURE
Orientalizing
Orientalizing Period: in art, the period between ca. 725/700 and 600 B.C., when Greek
artists adapted many motifs from the art of the ancient Near East. Corinth was the artistic
leader in this period.
Protocorinthian: a style of painting at Corinth ca. 725-625 B.C. Primarily miniature and
decorative, but included the earliest works in the black-figure technique (ca. 675 B.C. or
earlier). The earliest Protocorinthian uses outline drawing and dates to the late 8th century
(Aryballos, c. 720), but the developed style is black-figure and usually features animal
friezes with any empty spaces filled with floral motifs (olpe, 625 BC). The best
Corinthian painting tends to be miniature. The finest painted pots are rendered in black
figure with much added colored slip, and are thus polychrome. They date around 650-640
BC. The “MacMillan aryballos” has a molded lions head mouth for pouring, and has a
fight between warriors on its body. It is only 3” tall. The “Chigi vase,” an olpe or pitcher
that is 10” tall, has three friezes on its body, of which the top shows a hoplite phalanx (or
heavy infantry formation). The middle frieze shows a cavalcade, the bottom a rabbit hunt,
including a scene in which a Greek and his dog surprise a black man! Beneath the handle
is the only mythological scene, of the Judgement of Paris, in which the Trojan prince
judged Aphrodite the most beautiful goddess, and thus started the Trojan War (since
Aphrodite gave Paris Helen, Queen of Sparta, as his award for favoring her).
Black-figure: a style of vase-painting in which the figures are drawn in silhouette with the
black gloss, and internal details then incised through the gloss with a graver.
Protoattic: an exuberant style of vase-painting used in Attica and the nearby island of
Aegina ca. 700-625 B.C. Characterized by large and monumental figures drawn in
outline. Initially the style is “sub-geometric. “ The Analatos amphora of c. 700-675 shows
a chariot procession on its body, while its neck has a dance of men and women, and a
frieze of marching Sphinxes. Most of the figures are drawn in outline, but there is much
sort of geometric fill, and male figures are rendered in silhouette. The Eleusis Amphora,
ca. 650 BC, a 5’ tall grave marker, has the Blinding of Polyphemus the Cyclops (from
The Odyssey?) on the neck, while the body has two Gorgons pursuing Perseus after he
has killed Medusa. A conemporary amphora may have been made on Aigina, where it
was found, and shows Odysseus escaping from Polyphemus’ cave beneath a sheep. By
625-600 BC Attic potters had learned the black-figure technique from Corinth. A 4’ tall
amphora called the “Nessos Amphora” shows the Gorgons pursuing Preseus on the body,
while the neck has Herakles killing Nessor the Centaur.
Cycladic: the seventh century was the last period when the Greek islands were major
sources of Greek art. The potters of Rhodes created a handsome outline style with animal
friezes called “Wild Goat” from the most common beast depicted. One of the best painted
vases is a pitcher with a plastic griffin head mouth, and subgeometric scenes on the body
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of animals and animal combats. The most interesting Cycladic vases, however, are not
painted. A 41/2’ tall vase found on Mykonos has relief panels (imitating enlay?) with
scenes of the Fall of Troy (including the wooden horse on the neck). It seems to date
around 650 BC, and is not unique (although other vases are only known in fragments).
Daidalic sculpture: Greek sculpture in the 7th century, so-called because the earliest
sculptor was believed to be the mythic artist Daidalos. Daidalic sculpture is characterized
by simple forms, triangular faces, large eyes, and wig-like hair. The relief of “The Lady in
the Window” found at Mycenae (c. 64) shows the facial type well. The drapery swaths the
anatomy of the females, and feet and arms peek of the cloth. Male sculp[ture strats out as
stylized nudes and ends up more anatomically correct.
Kouros : Greek for youth. In Archaic art, a statue of an ideal nude young man, shown
striding and frontal. Used in Archaic art for dedications/ tomb statues, and cult statues (of
male gods); the exact meaning therefore depended on context. In the Orientalizing period,
generally seen in statuettes of warriors, who wear a belt (and occasionally a helmet):
Mantiklos “Apollo” (700-675), Delphi Kouros (c. 625).
Kneeling Youth ivory: once part of a lyre, this kneeling nude youth of c. 625 was found at
the Heraion on Samos, and is heavily influenced from the Near East. It probably shows a
worshipper.
Kore : Greek for a young girl. In art a statue of an ideal draped girl. A characteristic
Archaic sculptural type used for dedications, tomb statues, and (probably) cult images of
goddesses: again meaning of a particular figure depended on context )and sometimes on a
surviving inscription). In the Orientalizing period, seen in works such as the Dedication
of Nikandre (640), and the Lady of Auxerre (640).
Orientalizing architecture: basically still religious only, the 7th century saw the evolution
of the later orders, but only in wood and clay. The Temple of Apollo at Thermon (c. 640
BC) preserves painted terracotta metopes and antefixes, and therefore shows the basic
evolution of the Doric order. The metopes painted style looks similar to contemporary
(Proto) Corinthian. The temple itself is very long and narrow, with a single row of
columns down the cella, and a 6 X 15 column peristyle. A small temple at Prinias (625600) on Crete has sculptured decoration, including a continuous frieze of horsemen. Its
sculpted lintel is highly unusual, and shows that this was period of experimentation; the
style of the sculpture is Daedalic, but shows Near Eastern influence. The earliest Ionic
sanctuary is preserved on Samos, where the temple was rebuilt with a 6 X 18 peristyle
around 650 BC. The temple was still long and shedlike, but had a double row of columns
across its front. The sanctuary there also has the earliest stoa, a long open colonnade with
wooden columns. Megara Hyblaia in Sicily preserves the earliest planned Agora or civic
center (market and governmental center, dated 650-625. Finally, the Sanctuary of Athena
in Asia Minor c. 600 preserves a large number of variant capital types, which shows that
the architectural orders were not standardized during the Oreinetalizing age.
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ART 381, HANDOUT 2: ARCHAIC GREEK ART AND ARCHITECTURE
I. Temples and other architecture
Temple of Hera, Olympia: Doric, built ca. 590 BC. Columns were originally of wood,
later replaced gradually by stone. 6 X 16.
Temple of Apollo, Corinth: Doric, built ca. 560 BC. 6 X 15, with stumpy proportions
(height of the façade columns is 4.15X the lower diameter) . Has a curved stylobate.
Temple of Artemis, Corcyra: 8 X 17 Doric temple built c. 580 BC. Best known for its
pedimental sculpture.
Aphaia Temple, Aigina: well-preserved late Archaic temple built ca. 500-490 BC.
Features nearly Classical proportions (6 X 12 columns), slender columns (H 5.3 LD). Its
pedimental sculpture is important.
Athenian Treasury, Delphi: a small Doric building built ca. 490 BC. Features sculpted
metopes.
Rhoikos Temple of Hera, Samos: Ionic, built ca. 570-560 B.C. Architects were Rhoikos
and Theodoros. Had doubled colonnade (8 X 21) around it, hence called a "dipteral" (two
passageways around) temple. Was 109 X 55 yards on its top foundation course! Burned
ca. 540-30 B.C.; its replacement (the "Polykrates" Temple) took four centuries to
complete!
Temple of Artemis, Ephesus: Ionic, begun ca. 560. Again huge (8 X21, 55 X 126 yards)
and dipteral. Had sculpted column bases.
Temple C, Selinus: Doric, built ca. 560 B.C. Shows Ionic influence (from the Rhoikos
Temple, Samos??) in that has doubled colonnade across east (entry to cella), and an
exceptionally wide passageway between the colonnade and the inner building (as if it
were dipteral). 6 X 17.
Siphnian Treasury, Delphi: an elaborate small Ionic building featuring a sculpted frieze,
pedimental sculpture, and caryatids (statues of girls serving as columns). Dated to 530525 B.C.
Temple of Hera I, Paestum: often called the "Basilica," built ca. 550, has an Archaic plan
(only one row of interior columns, 9 X 18 columns), but features entasis of its columns
(they are cigar-shaped) and an Ionicizing molding at the base of the capitals.
Agora, Athens: the marketplace at Atme\ns had been built up into a civic center that
included a council house (bouleuterion), a stoa, a lawcourt, and temples. A public
fountain house therewas built in the late 6th century that is seen on a number of blackfigure vases.
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II. Architectural Sculpture
Pedimental Sculpture: the pediment, or triangular space defined by the cornice of a
temple, was regarded as a proper place for sculptural adornment. The problem posed by
this triangular space to Greek sculptors was how to fit human figures of the same scale
(or size) into it while telling a story. The earliest examples of pedimental sculpture do not
attempt these goals, rather show paratactic (means: standing side by side without
interaction--the Geneleos' Group on Samos shows a family posed in a paratactic
composition) scenes, often of monsters meant to guard the temple (Medusa from the
Temple of Artemis, Korkyra, ca. 580 BC, Three-Bodied Feller from the Athenian
Acropolis, ca. 560 BC). The Siphnian Treasury's East Pediment is the earliest pediment to
show figures of approximately the same scale in a unified story (Apollo and Herakles
Contest Possession of the Delphic tripod, ca. 530). By the time of the pediments of the
Temple of Aphaia on Aegina (ca. 500-480 BC) sculptors have mastered the problem of
fitting humans into the compositional space, and begin to refine the psychology of the
myth depicted and the unity of the overall composition (compare the West to the East
Pediment of the Aphaia Temple).
Sculpted Metopes: generally seen in the Archaic period only on smaller Doric buildings
such as Treasuries. Most of the surviving examples from the sixth century BC come from
Sicily or southern Italy: Temple C at Selinus, ca. 560 (Herakles and the Kerkopes, c. 560
BC), Temple of Hera at Foce del Sele near Paestum (Herakles and the Kerkopes; Suicide
of Ajax, c. 570-560 BC) The examples from the Sikyonian "Treasury" at Delphi (ca. 560
BC, Cattle Raid of the Dioskouroi) show that the type was used early on the Greek
mainland. The metopes from the Athenian Treasury at Delphi (ca. 490 BC, Herakles and
the Hind) show daring three-dimensional poses which can be paralleled on contemporary
red-figured vases, and herald the transition to Classical art.
Sculpted Friezes: as with sculpted metopes on Doric buildings, rare except on smaller
Ionic buildings in the sixth century. The Siphnian Treasury at Delphi (ca. 530) preserves
the best example of this type, and, on its eastern and northern sides, shows an interest in
three-dimensional figural groupings that looks towards the metopes of the Athenian
Treasury: Battles at Troy and the Battle of Gods and Giants.
III. Freestanding and Relief Sculpture
Kouros: a striding nude male, generally seen in the prime of life (i.e. ca. 18-25 years of
age). Generally dedicated to a god as an offering, or used on a tomb. May at times
(particularly if he holds an attribute) depict a god. Meant to be seen from the front only,
these figures do not twist or turn at all, rather march rigidly towards the direction they
look. Initially appears in statuettes in the seventh century BC, but beginning around 600
BC, the pose was borrowed from Egyptian sculpture, and early features such as the belt
worn by Daedalic examples disappears. Early examples are quite schematic in their
anatomy (New York Kouros, Sounion Kouros, Kleobis and Biton, all ca. 600-580 BC),
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During the sixth century the depiction of musculature etc. is consistently improved from
generation to generation (Ischys Kouros from Samos, 580-570 BC, Calfbearer, ca. 560
BC, Kroisos or the Anavysos kouros, ca. 530 BC), until by the early fifth century the male
form is depicted as it is seen in Nature (Aristodikos, ca. 500 BC). Almost all Archaic
kouroi are carved in marble, but the earliest bronze kouros, probably an Apollo, survives
from Athens and dates around 520 BC.
Kleobis and Biton: two Argive lads who hauled their priestess mother's cart to a festival
and who expired that night. Illustrates the Greek belief that a lucky human dies at the time
of his or her greatest achievement and fame. Statues (kouroi ) of the two boys were
dedicated at Delphi ca. 580 B.C.
The Rampin Horseman: the earliest surviving equestrian statue, depicting a nude
aristocratic youth on horseback c. 560 BC. Named after the Frenchman who first found
the head.
Kore: a draped female in the prime of life, generally dedicated to a god as an offering (a
priestess of ideal worshipper), but also used on tombs. May at times (particularly if she
holds an attribute) depict a god. Meant to be seen from the front only, just as the kouros.
Like the kouros series, Archaic sculptors consistently improved the depiction of the
female anatomy from generation to generation. Daedalic examples simply stand, and
often hold an offering or make some gesture of veneration (Nikandre's Dedication, ca.
650 B.C., Dame d'Auxerre , ca. 625 B.C). This continues to around the middle of the 6th
century BC. The Dedication of Cheramyes from Samos, ca. 560, and the Berlin kore, ca.
560) are examples of early Archaic korai. About 550 B.C. (Geneleos' Group, Samian
Heraion, has the first surviving examples) Korai begin to stride. Athenian korai still
stand quietly until around 530 BC (Phrasikleia). A notable series survives from the
Athenian Acropolis, of which the charming Peplos Kore (ca. 530) wears Dorian dress and
stands quietly, but the others wear the Ionian chiton and mantle, and stride (such as the
so-called Kore fro Chios, c. 520). These include Acropolis 682 (ca. 520), and the late
Acropolis 674 or La Delicata , which corresponds to Aristodikos in the kouros series (ca.
500). Around 485 BC, Euthydikos' Kore (Acropolis 686) marks the shift from Archaic to
Early Classical style. She is the last true kore; although statues of young girls remained
popular in later Greek art, they use different and more naturalistic poses. All lifesize
Archaic korai are carved in marble, although a statuette of the type survives in Samos
(height 11”).
Chiton: a linen dress, pinned at the shoulders and usually worn with a woolen mantle or
shawl (called a himation. Typical of Ionian women.
Peplos: a woolen dress, pinned on one side and belted at the waist. Has an overfold over
the older body for modesty. Typical of Dorian women.
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The Geneleos Group: portraits of a wealthy family, set up in a row near the Temple of
Hera on Samos around 550 BC. The group included two striding korai, and a clothed
kouros, but also a seated matron (Phileia) and her reclining husband.
Naxian Sphinx: a statue of an (originally) Egyptian monster, a winged and lion-bodied
woman was put on top of a tall column at Delphi by the people of Naxos around 560 BC.
The Sphnix was used by the Greeks to mark graves.
Grave stele of Aristion: carved by Aristokles in Athens around 510 BC, this shows a
warrior in armor in profile.
Polyxena Sarcophagus: found in the Troad, this carved coffin of 520-500 BC, this shows
Neoptolemos, Achilles’ son, cutting the Trojan princess’ Polyxena’s throat over Achilles
tomb.
III. Painting and Vasepainting
Black-Figured technique: a mode of decoration of painted pottery. The figures were
painted in silhouette in the black gloss, then details were incised through the gloss after it
has dried. The background to the scenes is left the color of the clay (called the "ground").
Lends itself to decorative compositions. Invented in Corinth around 675 B.C., it was
adopted by Attic artists around 625 B.C. After red-figure was invented ca. 530 B.C.,
black figure gradually declined in popularity, and disappears (save in very special cases)
ca. 475 BC.
Red-Figured Technique: invented ca. 530 BC in Athens, it is the reverse of black figure.
The artist painted the figures in outline and their inner details with a brush on the clay
ground (Attic clay fires red). The background is painted with the black gloss, which
makes the figures stand out.
Sophilos: Attic artist active around 580 BC. Used a style based on contemporary
Corinthian pottery (animal friezes) together with a typically Attic interest in depicting
myths (Dinos with the Marriage of Peleus and Thetis).
Francois Vase: a large "volute" krater potted by Ergotimos and painted by Kleitias ca.
570-560 B.C. in Athens. It shows in a miniaturistic style friezes of scenes from myth,
especially those associated with Achilles and his father Peleus. The vase is named after its
first owner.
The Amasis Painter: black-figured painter who worked for the potter Amasis ca. 560-525
B.C. (they are almost certainly the same person). He was probably an Ionian, and was
named after an Egyptian Pharoah (king) of the late 7th century B.C. He often painted
scenes of Dionysos and his entourage whooping it up in a highly decorative style
(Dionysos and Maenads, c. 540-530). .
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Exekias: the greatest of Attic black-figured artists, active ca. 550-525 B.C. He was able,
within the decorative black-figured technique to invest his figures with monumentality
and emotion (Achilles Kills Penthesilea, Ajax and Achilles Game, Suicide of Ajax, all
540-530 BC).
Corinthian Vasepainting: continued the Protocorinthian style after 625, but tended to
mass production due to the popularity of the ware. Corinthian was the leading school of
Greek vase-painting around 600 B.C., gradually supplanted by Athenian work during the
first half of the 6th century BC. Notable for its use of animal friezes, the friezes are less
well-drawn and fill ornament more profusethan in Protocorinthian (amphora, c. 625-600
BC). Figural scenes with humans were not common in Corinthian, but were well done
(krater with marriage procession by the Three Maidens Painter, c. 560). Some painted
clay plaques from near Corinth provide some evidence for the style of panel or wallpainting during the 6th century B.C. (Procession to Altar, ca. 530?). Corinthian vasepainting disappeared around 550.
Laconian painting: interesting local school of painting during the first three quarters of
the sixth century B.C. Laconian painting is best known for its cups, which have the
painted decoration on the interior. Its most interesting vase shows King Arkesilas of
Cyrene supervising the loading of a cargo, ca. 560. Laconian cups often feature weird
excerpted compositions (Boar Hunt, c. 550).
Caeretan Hydriae: a group of water jugs painted by an Ionian artist (or an artist trained by
an Ionian) in Etruria around 530-520 BC. These show a lot of added color and a lively
style (Herakles and Cerberus).
The Andokides Painter: a pupil of Exekias who invented the red-figured technique ca.
530 B.C. Painted at least the red-figured sides of "bilingual" vases (one side red, the other
black figure, such as Herakles Driving a Bull, c. 520 BC).
Euphronios: great red-figure painter active ca. 520-500 B.C., later apparently exclusively
a potter (from ca. 500-480 B.C.). One of the "Pioneers." Euphronios’ krater with Herakles
wrestling Antaeus, c. 510 is typical of that group’s mythological work.
Euthymides: another member of the "Pioneers." A pupil and rival of Euphronios active
ca. 515-500 B.C. He shows more wit than Euphronios ("As never Euphronios"), and an
interest in three-dimensional poses (Three Revelers, or “Three Drunk Guys”).
The Pioneer Group: a group of red-figure painters ca. 520-500 B.C. who show an interest
in monumental compositions using three-dimensional poses, and who try to invest their
figures with emotional impact. Include Euphronios and Euthymides..
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The Brygos Painter: red-figure cup painter active ca. 500-480 BC. Notable for his elegant
style. Often painted scenes of symposia (drinking parties), but also created notable
mythological scenes. Named after a potter he often worked for.
The Berlin Painter: red-figured painter of precise and elegant figures (Reveler, c. 490
BC). He often isolates these against the black gloss on the bodies, at times without a
ground line, to create striking compositions. Active ca. 500-470 BC.
Amphora: a two-handled storage jar.
Krater: a deep bowl with two handles. Used to mix water and wine.
Kylix: a wine cup with a broad, spreading bowl and two handles. Usually the foot is
stemmed (like a wine glass).
IV. Places
Aegina: island in the Saronic gulf near Athens. Dorian, its inhabitants disliked the
Athenians.
Delos: one of the Cycladic islands in the Aegean Sea. Has a sanctuary of Apollo.
Eleusis: town in Attica which has a sanctuary of Demeter.
Ephesos: Ionian city in Asia Minor with a sanctuary of Artemis.
Miletos: Ionian city in Asia Minor. At nearby Didyma is a sanctuary of Apollo.
Samos: island off the coast of Asia Minor (between Ephesos and Miletus). Has a
sanctuary of Hera.
Selinus: city in western Sicily notable for its many temples.
Paestum: city in southern Italy with notable temples of Hera.
Syracuse: city in eastern Sicily. The most important of the Greek cities on Sicily.
Sparta: city in the Peloponnese (in a region called Laconia) notable for its army.
Controlled politics in the Peloponnese throughout the 6th and 5th centuries B.C.
Delphi: sanctuary of Apollo in central Greece, notable for its oracle.
Athens: city in central Greece notable for its artistic, cultural and political achievements.
Its district is called Attica.
Olympia: sanctuary of Zeus in the western Peloponnese.
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Corinth: city in the northern Peloponnese; notable for its wealth and trade from ca. 650550 B.C.
Acropolis : in Greek means "high city," the citadel of each polis . The Acropolis is used to
refer to that of Athens, due to its many important buildings and works of art.
V. People
Solon: Athenian poet and politician of the first half of the sixth century B.C. (d. ca. 560
B.C.). He promoted industry and commerce in Attica, leading to the Athenian
achievement in the arts during the Archaic period.
Peisistratos: Athenian tyrannt (dictator) from 546-527 (and two short periods earlier).
Notable for his promotion of things cultural. His son Hippias controlled Athens until 510
BC.
Xerxes: Persian king who invaded Greece unsuccessfully in 480-479 BC. Although he
captured Athens and sacked it, his fleet was defeated in the Battle of Salamis near Athens
in 480 B.C. and his army was defeated in 479 BC at Plataea.