Download Art History 1 Greece Art Study Guide After Aegean cultures

Art History 1
Greece Art Study Guide
After Aegean cultures Transformation Phase.
DARK AGES:
1100-700 BCE. Formative period. Little information. No written record.
Probably a great deal of warfare going on as Dorians and Ionians consolidate their positions.
776 BC is the first specific date for the Greeks.
GEOMETRIC PERIOD: 8th c. BCE. So-called because of the geometric style of art at this
time. This was the first truly “Greek” style and can be seen in the “Dipylon Vase.” It was at this
time that Homer was writing.
ARCHAIC PERIOD: 675-480 BCE. Art is becoming increasingly realistic. This period is
sometimes called “the great age of ceramic painting” because of the masterful ceramic painters
then at work, many of whom we know by name. Sculpture at this time is made of marble for the
most part and eventually life size. It also shows Egyptian influences, as can be seen in the socalled “kouros” (KOO-ros) figures (nude male athletes) of the time. Some artists signing their
work.
499 BC: War with the Persian Empire. By 478 BCE the Persians have been defeated (though
not conquered) and driven from Greece. This conflict is called the Persian Wars.
EARLY CLASSICAL PERIOD: 480-450 BCE. Kouros figures of the Archaic Period is
sometimes wore a smile in order to make them appear more alive, but this has now
disappeared, giving the figures a stern or severe expression (This period is sometimes called
the Severe Style). Greek artists can now handle the human figure so convincingly that the
smile is unnecessary. The most important sculpture of this time-and one of the most important
of all time-is the “Kritios Boy” (sometimes called the “Standing Youth”). It was made about 480
BCE and named after the artist that sculpted it.
CLASSICAL PERIOD: 450-404 BCE. This is the golden age of Greece, especially in and
around Athens, which gave the world its first important democracy. It is at this time that the
Acropolis, destroyed by the Persians, is rebuilt, with its Parthenon and other temples. The
Parthenon is regarded as the most perfect of all Greek temples and the best example of the
Doric order or style of architecture. It was dedicated to the patron goddess of Athens, Athena,
but when Greece was converted to Christianity it became a church, and later when Athens was
overrun by Islam forces, it served as a mosque. Our greatest collection of original classical
Greek sculpture is sculpture taken from the Parthenon, all of which was under the direction of
Phidias. Greek art has now progressed beyond realism- describing Man as he really looks-and
is seeking an ideal or “classical” form for him. It is Humanism of the Greeks that urges them
toward this. They are the world’s first true dedicated humanists and it is this humanism that
most distinguishes them from earlier peoples. Artists: Pericles, Myron, Polycleitos.
PELOPONNESIAN WAR: 431-404BCE. This was a clash between Athens and its chief rival,
Sparta. Sparta was victorious.
PRE-HELLENISTIC (LATE CLASSICAL): 404-325 BCE. Praxiteles (Prax-it-tuh-leez), one of
the best known of the Greek sculptors is working at this time. Most “Greek” sculptures that we
have today are actually not Greek but are Roman copies. Original sculptures from the
classical are rare, but the “Hermes” by Praxiteles may be one.
HELLENISTIC PERIOD: 340-146 BCE. The Greeks called themselves “Hellenes,” after the
goddess Helena, and their spreading influence into other areas of the world from the 4 th to the
2nd c. is called the Hellenistic period. This was a time when the Greeks, or Hellenes influenced
others and vice-versa. Alexander the Great is the most famous Greek of this period (356-323
BCE) and the most responsible for spreading Greek influences. Art was a hodge-podge of
styles at this time and there are a few masterpieces, the “Winged Victory” and “Laokoon” (Layah-ko-AHN) being exceptions. Meanwhile the Romans are growing ever stronger.
146 BC: Greece added to the Roman Empire.
SOME TERMS: ENTASIS, FACADE, CARYTID, PEDIMENT, FRIEZE, CONTRAPPOSTO,
ARCHITECTURAL ORDERS (OR STYLES): DORIC, IONIC, CORINTHIAN, CELLA (1 ALTER)
HERE ARE SOME DATES THAT YOU WILL NOT BE TESTED ON:
484 BCE: The historian Herodotus is born.
468 BCE: Sophocles is writing plays.
460 BCE: The physician Hippocrates is born.
455 BCE: The first tragedy of Euripides is performed.
399 BCE: Socrates drinks hemlock.
343 BCE: Aristotle is tutoring Alexander the Great.