Transcript ART and ARCHITECTURE - MISD

GREECE
Greek art: works of art produced in the Aegean basin.
This PowerPoint is a brief overview of art of Greece from
its early styles through the Hellenistic period.
Greek architecture: the art of building that arose on the
shores of the Aegean Sea and flourished in the ancient
world.

Greek art influenced the culture of many countries
 Simplicity and rationality
 Imitation of nature
 Nude human figure in sculpture
 Roman Empire art largely derived from Greek models
 Greco-Buddhist art blended Greek, central Asian, and Indian cultures
 Humanist standards inspired European artists

Another Greek legacy the West inherited is architecture
 Many structural elements, decorative motifs, and building types that
were established in Ancient Greece are used in architecture today

Early Greek Styles [Minoan and Mycenaean]

Archaic Period [700 – 480 BCE]

Classical Period [480 -323 BCE]

Hellenistic Period
[323 – 30 BCE]

Influenced by Eastern Mediterranean cultures

Subjects of Minoan works of art include:
 Vivid images of nature
 Images of court and religious life
 Large frescoes [wall/ceiling painting on fresh plaster]
 Ceramics
 Small figurines of terracotta and stone
Flying Fish Fresco
Scene from nature at Palace at Knossos
Bull-Vaulting Fresco
Religious ritual culminating in the sacrifice of the bull
Woman known as La Parisienne
From processional scene located at the palace at Knossos
Minoan style of depicting humans
In the Early Minoan period
ceramics were
characterized by linear
patterns of spirals,
triangles, curved lines,
crosses, and fishbone
motifs.
In the Middle Minoan
period naturalistic
designs such as fish,
squid, birds, and lilies
were common.
Snake Goddess

Two female figurines of faience were
found at Knossos. Faience is
earthenware decorated with colored
opaque metallic glazes consisting of
crushed quartz. The figurines were
probably used as votive offerings in
the Minoan religion. Most were made
of terracotta.

The women wear the typical skirts
and apron of the Minoans along with
a bare-breasted bodice. They are
shown with snakes, which may be
symbolic of household divinities.

Subjects of Mycenaean works of art include:
 Tomb and palace murals and frescoes
 Military and mythology themes
 Painting, sculpture, and metalwork glorified rulers
 Ornamental weapons
 Precious jewelry
 Geometric patterns on ceramics and pottery
 Glass ornaments
"Lady of Mycenae" accepts a
gift of a necklace.
Mycenaean vase in terracotta with
chariot scene.
When two horses are meant to be
represented, the painter, in an
attempt to show perspective,
depicts only one body, with
two tails, two pairs of hind legs
and forelegs, as well as two
heads.
Most clay figurines are female
and seem to represent
goddesses. Some were placed
in sanctuaries, where they
were used as votive offerings,
or in tombs, where they may
have served as protective
goddesses.
Like these three figurines, many
of them are crowned, wear
long dresses, and stand in
conventional poses with
hands raised, resting on hips,
held between the breasts, or
with elbows raised and fists
brought against the top of the
chest.
Geometric belly-handled
amphora used to hold the
cremated remains of the
woman from the “Tomb of a
Rich Lady” in the Athenian
Agora.
An amphora was a two-handled
vessel used for carrying ,
transporting, and storing
commodities, such as grapes,
olive oil, and wine.
Agamemnon was the mythical leader
of Greek forces during the Trojan
War. Agamemnon led the Greek
expedition to Troy to take back his
brother's wife, Helen.
The Mask of Agamemnon is an
artifact discovered in 1876. The
artifact is a funeral mask hewn
in gold. It was found over the face
of a body.
Modern archaeological research
suggests that the mask is from
1550–1500 BCE [before the
legendary life of Agamemnon].
Mask of Agamemnon
 Life-sized statues expressed idealization of human figure:
 kouros and kore statues (young men and maidens) show Egyptian influence
 Draped female sculptures suggest Middle Eastern influence
 The art of vase painting reached artistic and technical excellence
 Vase painters depicted mythological and contemporary scenes
 Assimilation of foreign styles and motifs from Egypt and Near East
 Egyptian-like stance (left-foot forward), smile, and helmet hair (patterned)
 Black-figure pottery originated in Corinth
 Pottery shifted from geometric style to oriental style
 Eastern pictorial motifs were introduced
 Palm and lotus compositions
 Animal hunts
 Beasts such as griffins (part bird, part lion)
 Sphinxes (part woman, part bird)
Volute-krater (vase for mixing
wine and water)
Attributed to Sophilos
Sophilos is the first known
artist from the Athenian
potters' quarter to have
signed his name on his
work.
The geometric style features a variety
of patterns, including checkers, repeated
shapes, and meanders. [A meander is a
pattern formed by a single continuous
line]
Dinos [bowl for mixing wine
and water]
This period of Greek painting
is referred to as
"orientalizing", due to the
adoption of images from the
east.
Vase from the region of
Corinth is decorated with
panthers, sphinxes, goats,
and lions.
Tomb of the Diver
Fresco painting of the Archaic period is flat and sharply outlined
Flat frescos
Marble tomb statue
Berlin Goddess
Kore with the pomegranate
Kore is a female youth
Standing Youth
Statue of a kouros [male youth]
characteristically depicted
nude with the left leg striding
forward and hands clenched at
the side.
Most kouroi served as grave
markers or as dedications in
the sanctuary of a god.
Statuette of Herakles
The Greek god Herakles is
presented as a hero of
extraordinary strength and as
a beautifully groomed and
civilized individual. This
aspect is emphasized in
Archaic art.
The bronze statuette was
probably commissioned for
dedication in a sanctuary.
The Archaic smile was used by Greek Archaic
sculptors possibly to suggest that their subject was
alive. The smile is flat and quite unnatural looking. It
has been theorized that artists felt it either represents
that they were blessed by the gods in their actions or
that it is similar to fake smiles in modern photos.
 Sculptors sought to represent the ideal human figure
 Works were characterized by elegance of proportion and
graceful beauty
 Increased emphasis on the expression of emotion in art
 New feeling for individualization
 Three-dimensional movement appeared
Red-figure amphora
Red-figure vase painting replaced
the previous style of black-figure
painting. Its name is based on the
figures depicted in red color on a
black background, in contrast to
the previous black-figure style
with black figures on a red
background.
The red-figure technique allowed
the artist to draw contours and
details of anatomy.
The Charioteer of Delphi
The style is more natural than the Archaic period,
but the pose is still very rigid when compared
with later works of the Classical period.
One departure from the Archaic style is that the
head is inclined slightly to one side. The
naturalistic rendering of his feet was greatly
admired in ancient times.
This sculpture displays several advancements on
Archaic style - the introverted expression does
away with the old 'Archaic smile' and he would
not have been clothed in the Archaic period.
Discobolos [The Discus Thrower]
The best example showing freedom of
movement is the Discobolos by Myron.
This is one of the most famous classic
Greek statues from this period.
Doryphoros [Spear-Bearer]
This figure was the absolute ideal in the
eyes of the Greeks.
Contrapposto means counter-pose. It
is used to describe a human figure
standing with most of its weight on one
foot so that its shoulders and arms twist
off-axis from the hips and legs. The
stance communicates movement and
great strength. The muscles are carefully
modeled and the proportions are
mathematically perfect.
Grave stele of a little girl
Grave stele erected in Greek cemetery
in memory of the deceased.
Children often appear with their pets
on Classical grave reliefs, and these
doves must be the little girl's
favorites.
Abduction of Persephone
A fresco in a Macedonian tomb painted by a Greek artist
Realistic frescoes
Athena Parthenos [Athena the Virgin]
Sculpture made of gold and ivory by
Phidias and housed in the
Parthenon. The Parthenon is a
temple on the Athenian Acropolis
dedicated to the Greek goddess
Athena.
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Sculpture made by Phidias and
housed at the Temple of Zeus,
Olympia, Greece. It was one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient
World.
Roman copy inspired by Greek ivory and gold
statue of Zeus at Olympia by Phidias
 Hellenistic art sought to portray the inner emotions and
details of everyday life instead of the heroic beauty
 The style changed from dramatic to melodramatic, using
dramatic poses and theatrical contrasts of light
 Sculptures showed extreme expressions of pain, stress,
wild anger, fear, and despair
 Tendency toward heightening spatial illusionism
Winged Victory of Samothrace
also called Nike of Samothrace
It was created to honor Nike, the
goddess of victory. It also celebrated
a naval victory by Rhodes, a powerful
state in the Aegean.
Aphrodite of Milos [Venus de Milo]
Marble sculpture that is believed to
depict Aphrodite [Venus to the
Romans], the Greek goddess of
love and beauty.
Laocoön and his Sons
with the Sea Dragon
This monumental sculpture in marble
depicts an event in Vergil's Aeneid
The Trojan priest Laocoön was
strangled by sea snakes, sent by
the gods who favored the Greeks.
Because Laocoön had tried to warn
the Trojan citizens of the danger of
bringing in the wooden horse, he
incurred the wrath of the gods.
Alexander Mosaic
Shows confrontation of the young conqueror and King Darius III

Origins

Orders [styles]

The Greek Temple

Other Structures
Parthenon
Palace at Knossos on Crete
Artist’s Impression
The Lion Gate of Mycenae was the entrance to the city.
Doric columns are the simplest.
Earliest of the three column styles
found in Greece, the Doric order is
very plain.
The capital [top or crown] is made of a
circle topped by a square.
The shaft [tall part of the column] is plain
and has 20 sides.
There is no base in the Doric order.
Parthenon in Athens
Temple of Zeus at Olympia
Model
The Ionic style is a little more decorative
than the Doric.
The Ionic order developed in the Greek
colonies of the Asia Minor coast and
demonstrates Asian influences. This
style has slender proportioned columns
and carved enrichments.
Ionic capitals consist of a scroll above the
shaft.
Ionic shafts were taller than Doric ones.
This makes the columns look slender.
They also had flutes, which are lines
carved into them from top to bottom.
The bases were large and looked like a set
of stacked rings.
The Erechtheum is an ancient Greek temple on
the north side of the Acropolis of Athens.
Temple of Athena Nike in Athens was the first Ionic
structure to be built on the Acropolis.
The Corinthian order is the most decorative.
Although little used in Greece, the Romans
used the Corinthian style extensively.
The Corinthian capitals have flowers and leaves
below a small scroll.
The shaft has flutes and the base is like the
Ionian.
Unlike the Doric and Ionian cornices, which are
at a slant, the Corinthian roofs are flat.
Temple of Zeus at Athens

The most important and
widespread building type
in ancient Greece was the
temple.
The purpose of a Greek
temple was usually to
house a statue. The
temples were primarily
monuments to the gods.
Religion did not require
people to gather inside
the temple to worship.
The Temple of Hephaisteion is probably the
best preserved of Greek temples.
Ancient Agora [public meeting place] with Acropolis on top
The Greek stoa was a colonnaded shelter surrounding a temple. Later, they
were used in the front of civic buildings, where public business was
conducted in them.
Entrance to stadium at site of Ancient
Olympic Games [Olympia, Greece]
Stadium ruins at Delphi
The Theatre and Temple of Apollo in mountainous country at Delphi