Transcript Classic Greek and Roman Art

Classical Greek
and Roman Art
Greek Temple of Poseidon
Roman Colosseum
The art of Ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into three
periods: the Archaic, the Classical and the Hellenistic. The Archaic
age is usually dated from about 1000 BC, although in reality little is
known about art in Greece during the preceding 200 years
(traditionally known as the Dark Ages). The onset of the Persian
Wars (480 BC to 448 BC) is usually taken as the dividing line
between the Archaic and the Classical periods, and the reign of
Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC) is taken as separating the
Classical from the Hellenistic periods.
Art historians generally define Ancient Greek art as the art
produced in the Greek-speaking world from about 1000 BC
to about 100 BC. They generally exclude the art of the
Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations, which flourished from
about 1500 to about 1200 BC. Despite the fact that these
were Greek-speaking cultures, there is little or no continuity
between the art of these civilizations and later Greek art.
At the other end of the time-scale, art historians generally
hold that Ancient Greek art as a distinct culture ended with
the establishment of Roman rule over the Greek-speaking
world in about 100 BC.
Archaic Art
The Archaic sculptures are silent witnesses
to the extraordinary development western
society was about to undertake. The Kouros
and Kore statues stand before a cultural
revolution, all muscles tense, like a spring
about to burst with energy into an
extraordinary wave of classical thought. They
stand with smiles frozen with meaning as if
they knew what was about to occur
Kouros
Lifesize, circa 540 B.C.
From the island of Melos.
The Classical Period
From the National Museum of Athens:
“The ancient Greek Artist invented his
own self and became the creator of
god and man alike in a universe of
perfect formal proportions, idealized
aesthetic values and a newly found
sense of freedom. This was a freedom
from barbarism and tyranny.”
Zeus of Artemision
Bronze, circa 460 - 450 B.C.
2.09 m (6' 10.5") high,
2.10 m (6' 10.75") fingertip to fingertip.
Found in the sea near cape Artemisio
Hellenistic Art
The subtle implications of greatness and
humility of the high Classical era are
replaced with bold expressions of energy
and power during the moments of
tension as evident in the poses depicted
during the Hellenistic era.
Poseidon of Melos
Marble, circa 140 BC.
ARCHITECTURE:
Temples were Post and Lintel constructions made mostly of stone and
marble. The base of the temple was called the stylobate. The Peri-style was
a row of columns that surrounded all four sides of the temple and supported
a lintel area called the entablature.
The top most element of the entablature, the cornice, supported a peaked
roof. It was made of a continuous band of carved stone called moldings. At
each end, the horizontal cornice of the entablature and the raking (slanted)
cornices of the roof defined a triangular gable called the pediment. There
were three basic orders of columns during this period: the Doric, Ionic, and
Corinthian.
The Greeks developed three architectural systems,
called orders, each with their own distinctive
proportions and detailing. The Greek orders are:
Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
The Doric style
is rather
sturdy and its
top (the
capital), is
plain. This
style was used
in mainland
Greece and the
colonies in
southern Italy
and Sicily.
The Ionic style
is thinner and
more elegant.
Its capital is
decorated with
a scroll-like
design (a
volute). This
style was
found in
eastern Greece
and the
islands.
The Corinthian
style is seldom
used in the
Greek world,
but often seen
on Roman
temples. Its
capital is very
elaborate and
decorated with
acanthus
leaves.
The Doric order columns were formed of round
sections called drums which were joined by metal
pegs. A fluted shaft rose from the stylobate without a
base. At the top of the shaft was the necking. The
capital sits on the necking; it is made of the rounded
echinus and the tablet-like abacus.
The entablature of the column included the
architrave, the frieze, and the cornice.
The height of Ionic order columns was about nine
times the diameter of the column at its base; the
Doric order had a five and a half to one ratio. The
flutes in the shaft were deeper and closer together
and were separated by flat surfaces called fillets. On
top of these columns was a thin cushion-like abacus
with scrolled volutes.
The Corinthian order had elaborate capitals
decorated with acanthus leaves and rosettes. They
often had scrolled elements at the corners and a
boss, or projecting ornament at the top center of
each side.
Greek
Ancient Greek art is mainly in five forms: architecture, sculpture, painting, painted
pottery, and music.
Greek music includes the lyre, pipes, and singing, and around 500 BC gradually
developed branches like Greek plays (which always involved music) and Greek
philosophy, which tried to figure out how music and numbers related to each other.
Architecture includes houses, religious buildings like temples and tombs, and
public building like city walls, theaters, stadia, and stoas.
Sculpture includes small figurines and life-size statues, but also relief sculptures
which were on the sides of buildings, and also tombstones.
We have very little Greek painting from the Classical period; most of what we have
is from the Bronze Age. The paintings were painted on walls, as decoration for
rooms, like murals or wallpaper. On the other hand, we have a good deal of painted
pottery from all periods of Greek history (down to the Hellenistic).
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/art/greekart.htm
Acragas, Temple of Concord
The Acropolis at Athens
View of the entire complex
Athens, Parthenon, East facade
Temple of
Poseidon
60 x 19.55 m (196
x 64 ft)
Consisting of 39
columns and a
cella with three
naves
c. 450 BC
This kouros is one of the earliest marble
statues of a human figure carved in
Attica. The rigid stance, with the left leg
forward and arms at the side, was
derived from Egyptian art. The pose
provided a clear, simple formula that
was used by Greek sculptors throughout
the sixth century B.C. In this early
figure, geometric, almost abstract forms
predominate, and anatomical details are
rendered in beautiful analogous
patterns. The statue marked the grave of
a young Athenian aristocrat.
Marble statue of a kouros (youth),
ca. 590–580 B.C.; Archaic Greek, Attica
On the shoulder, a seated
woman, perhaps a goddess, is
approached by four youths and
eight dancing maidens; on the
body, women are making
woolen cloth. One of the most
important responsibilities of
women in ancient Greece was
the preparation of wool and the
weaving of cloth. Here, in the
center, two women work at an
upright loom. To the right, three
women weigh wool. Farther to
the right, four women spin wool
into yarn, while between them
finished cloth is being folded.
The Amasis Painter is named
after the potter, Amasis, who
produced the vases.
Terracotta lekythos (oil flask),
ca. 550–530 B.C.; Archaic
Attributed to the Amasis Painter
Greek, Attic
Bronze diskos thrower,
ca. 480–460 B.C.; Classical
Greek
Bronze; H. 9 5/8 in.
This superlative bronze embodies the
highest achievements of the early
Classical period. The athlete is about to
swing the diskos forward and over his
head with his left hand, then transfer it to
his right hand, and finally release it with
the force of the accumulated momentum.
The beauty of the statuette lies in the
calm and concentrated physiognomy that
forms part of a perfectly developed and
disciplined body.
This hydria, like all Greek art, is
marked by clearly defined parts
organized into a harmonious wellproportioned whole. The plain body
swells gently to the shoulder zone,
which turns inward with a soft
cushionlike curve. The shoulder is
decorated with a simple shallow
tongue pattern that echoes the
vertical ribbing on the foot. The neck
shoots from the shoulder to a flaring
mouth from which the bust of a
woman seems to emerge. The figure,
which belongs to the vertical handle
of the vessel, wears a peplos and her
serene face is framed by carefully
detailed hair. Rotelles with a rosette
pattern give a semblance of
outstretched hands. The inscription
on the mouth indicates that this
hydria was a prize awarded at games
for the goddess Hera at her
sanctuary in Argos in the
Peloponnesos.
Bronze hydria (waterjar), mid-5th
century B.C.; Classical
Greek, Argive
Marble grave stele of a
little girl, ca. 450–440 B.C.;
Classical
Greek
Marble, Parian; H. 31 1/2 in.
This stele was found on the
island of Paros in 1775. The
gentle gravity of the child is
beautifully expressed through
her sweet farewell to her pet
doves. Her peplos is unbelted
and falls open at the side, and
the folds of drapery clearly reveal
her stance. Many of the most
skillful stone carvers came from
the Cycladic islands, where
marble was plentiful. The
sculptor of this stele could have
been among the artists who
congregated in Athens during the
third quarter of the fifth century
B.C. to decorate the Parthenon.
Winged Victory of Samothrace
Greek
Marble, h. 3.28 m (11 ft)
Found on the island of Samothrace
Around 190 BC
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Bronze statue of Eros sleeping, 3rd century B.C.–early 1st century
A.D.; Hellenistic or Augustan period
Greek or Roman
Venus de Milo
Greek
Parian marble, h 2.02 m (6 1/2 ft)
Found at Milo
130-120 BC
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Ancient sculpture was painted. Although faint
remnants of polychromy can be discerned on
some objects, the original effect has been lost.
This vase provides a rare example of the actual
painting process, in which the encaustic
pigments were mixed with wax. On the obverse,
an artist paints a lion-skin on a marble statue
of Herakles, surrounded by two assistants,
Zeus and Nike. To the left of the statue, a youth
tends a charcoal brazier on which the wax
mixture and the tools are being warmed. The
artist, to the right, is recognizable by his cap
and by his garment worn so as to afford
maximum coolness and freedom of movement.
A small container in his left hand holds the
pigment, which he applies with a tool like a
knife or spatula. Zeus and a Nike
(personification of victory) watch from on high,
and at the far right Herakles himself
approaches. On the reverse of the krater,
Athena is seated with one of Dioskouroi.
Terracotta column-krater (bowl for
mixing wine and water), ca. 360–350
B.C.; Late Classical
Hagesandros, Athenodoros and
Polydoros of Rhodes
Laocoon and his sons
c. 175-150 BC
Marble, height 242 cm (95 1/2
in)
Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican
Roman Art
Fragments of Constantine - Capitoline Museum in Rome
The Arch of Constantine, though, is a
little different from the earlier arches,
because Constantine was reminding
people about a civil war, not a war
against foreign enemies. Titus had
conquered the Jewish revolt, and
Septimius Severus had conquered the
Germans, but Constantine had
conquered another Roman emperor.
On top of the arch, Constantine had an
inscription carved that reminded people
of his victory. It's carefully phrased, so
that while it refers to God, it doesn't
specify which god - a Roman god like
Jupiter, or the Christian God? In 312
AD, Constantine was already a
Christian, but he wasn't ready to put it
on a public monument yet.
Around the lower part of the arch, just
over the side archways, Constantine
put pictures of the battle itself.
Arch of Constantine, 315 C.E., Rome
The Forum
The site of ancient government
buildings in the center of Rome.
The
Colosseum
When Vespasian became the new Roman Emperor in 69 AD, he wanted everyone
to know that he cared about the people and was going to take care of them and
not live luxuriously as Nero had. He tore down a lot of Nero's Golden House and
made the land into a public park.
Vespasian also used his share of the gold from the looting after the First Jewish
Revolt to pay for the construction of a new amphitheater where the Golden House
had been. Because Vespasian's architects used the new method of building in
concrete, he was able to build quickly and cheaply. We call this amphitheater the
Colosseum, after the giant statue of Nero that stood near it. But its ancient name
was the Flavian Amphitheater. Building the amphitheater made Vespasian very
popular in Rome.
The Colosseum was a place where a lot of people could sit and watch
entertainment. The entertainment was mostly people killing animals, or people
killing each other. It was almost exactly like a football stadium today. It was built of
concrete and marble and limestone.
The reason it looks so terrible in this picture is that a lot of the seats were made of
marble and people have stolen them away over the years and burned them in lime
kilns to make mortar and cement. The floor has also been taken away, so you can
see the rooms in the basement where the Romans kept the animals and the
equipment and stuff.
Discobolos (Discus Thrower)
c. 450 BC
Roman marble copy after the bronze
original by Myron
height 155 cm (61 in)
Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome
During his lifetime, Augustus did not wish to
be depicted as a god (unlike the later
emperors who embraced divinity), but this
statue has many thinly-veiled references to
the emperor's "divine nature", his genius.
Augustus is shown barefoot, which indicates
that he is a hero and perhaps even a god, and
also adds a civilian aspect to an otherwise
military portrait. Being barefoot was only
previously allowed on images of the gods, but
it may also imply that the statue is a
posthumous copy set up by Livia of a statue
from the city of Rome in which Augustus was
not barefoot.
The small Cupid (son of Venus) at his feet
(riding on a dolphin, Venus's patron animal) is
a reference to the claim that the Julian family
were descended from the goddess Venus,
made by both Augustus and by his great uncle
Julius Caesar - a way of claiming divine
lineage without claiming the full divine status,
which was acceptable in the Greek East but
Prima Porta Augustus 1st Century
not yet in Rome itself.
Rome
The Pantheon
In the time of the Roman Emperor Augustus, about 10 BC, one of his generals,
a man named Agrippa, built a temple in the middle of downtown Rome "to all the
gods". A temple to all the gods was called a Pantheon, which means all gods
(pan= all, theon=of the gods, in Greek). Now this temple was probably very fine,
but we don't really know, because in 80 AD, in the reign of Titus, it burned down
in a fire. Domitian built a new temple there, and THAT one burned down too.
Around 120 AD Hadrian built a THIRD temple there in a more modern style
(modern for 120 AD anyway!). This is the temple we have today. But to honor
Agrippa, Hadrian left a message over the door saying that Agrippa had built the
temple, as you can see in the picture. You might think, well, that doesn't really
look like much of a place. And from the outside it really doesn't seem very
impressive. The Pantheon is built like a Greek temple on the front, with eight
columns across the front like the Parthenon, and a pediment on top of that.
But on the INSIDE the Pantheon is one big giant dome, the largest dome ever
built in the world up to that time - 43 meters in diameter (142 feet), and 43
meters from the floor to the top of the dome.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/architecture/pantheon.htm
To hold up this dome, the walls had to be made of brick and concrete six meters
thick - about twenty feet! The coffering in the dome lightens it a little, but it's still
very heavy. No dome anything like this size was built anywhere in the world until
the Duomo of Florence in the 1400s, more than a thousand years later. Even
then, the Duomo dome is about the same size, and no other one of that size has
ever been built, until the 1800s with reinforced concrete.
The hole in the top of the dome - the oculus- is open to the sky. Some people say
the dome is so high that rain evaporates before it hits the floor, but that's not true on rainy days, the marble floor just gets wet.
The reason the Pantheon is in such good shape is that the Roman Emperor
Phocas gave the building to the Popes in 609 AD for a Christian church, and the
Popes since then have taken good care of it.
Cubiculum (bedroom) from the
Villa of P. Fannius Synistor, ca.
40–30 B.C.; Republican; Second
Style Roman Fresco
Room M of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale,
buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, functioned
as a bedroom.
Bronze portrait statue of a boy,
late 1st century B.C.–early 1st
century A.D.; Early Imperial,
Augustan
Roman
This bronze figure portrays a
young member of a wealthy
Roman family. The style of
the idealizing portrait clearly
indicates that the subject
wished to be shown in the
guise of a prince of the
imperial family.
Marble bust of a bearded man,
ca. A.D. 150–175; Mid-Imperial,
Antonine
Roman
This masterful portrait bust
represents a vigorous middleaged man who turns his head
slightly to his right and stares
into the distance with a critical,
penetrating gaze. The broad,
square face is carefully modeled;
wide furrows cut into the low
forehead and at the corners of
the eyes, adding to the intensity
of the expression. One assumes
that the sitter was a
contemporary man in the guise
of a thinker rather than this
being a portrait of a practicing
philosopher.
Marble portrait of the emperor
Caracalla, ca. A.D. 217–230;
Mid-Imperial, Severan
Roman
Marble; H. 14 1/4 in.
This head is from a statue,
other fragments of which
survive. Caracalla abandoned
the luxuriant hair and beard
of his predecessors for a
military style characterized
by close-cropped curls and a
stubble beard. Often finely
carved, his portraits look
compact but convey an
explosive energy
Aqueducts - Roman architects and
hydraulic engineers built the magnificent
water-transporting bridge known as Pont
du Gard 2,000 years ago. Photo credit: ©
Samo Trebizan/iStockphoto
Is it Greek or is it Roman?
Preferred Structure
Greek
Temples to Glorify Gods
Walls
Made of cut stone blocks
Trademark Forms
Rectangles, straight Lines
Roman
Civic Buildings to honor
empire
Concrete with ornamental
facing
Circles, curved lines
Support System
Post and Lintel
Rounded arch, vaults
Column Style
Sculpture
Doric and Ionic
Idealized gods and
goddesses
Stylized figures floating in
space
Mythology
Corinthian
Realistic human beings,
idealized officials
Realistic images with
perspective
Civic Leaders, military
triumphs
Painting
Subject of Art