CNE354ClassGr5

Classical Greece 5: 

Classical Greece 5 CNE/ART 354 3/29/06

Porch Metopes: 

Porch Metopes 12 sculpted metopes decorated the front and back porches Subject: 12 labors of Herakles, founder of the Olympic Games.

Olympic Oracle: 

Olympic Oracle There was an oracle, but we don’t hear much about it. Famous families of seers lived in Elis and interpreted the gods’ will by looking at flames and smoke.

Stadium: 

Stadium What you see today is the 3rd of the stadia built at Olympia. Kept getting bigger/grander with increasing popularity of the Games. Foot races were held here. Races for men were panhellenic; but the women’s footrace was for the unmarried women of Elis only. The women’s footrace was in honor of Hera, founded by Hippodameia (mythical founding).

Other Agones: 

Other Agones

Nike of Paionios (420 BCE): 

Nike of Paionios (420 BCE) Inscription on statue base in the sanctuary says that Paionios made it and that he was also commissioned to make the acroteria (roof sculpture) for the Temple of Zeus. 6 feet 5 inches tall, set on top of a triangular pillar, 33 feet in the air. Dedicated to celebrate a military victory. Drapery is carved so as to illustrate the rush of her flight through the air, accentuates her body.

Nike of Paionios, Continued: 

Nike of Paionios, Continued The action shown: the moment of her landing. Her wings would have been outspread. Important piece of sculpture: High quality carving Stylistically midway between the Parthenon sculptures and the ‘wet look’ drapery of the Athena Nike parapet sculptures.

Changes in Votive Patterns: 

Changes in Votive Patterns Archaic Period: large numbers of small metal objects, often personal possessions of individuals (“raw” offerings, primary function unrelated to their place in a sanctuary). Classical Period: Large drop in number of metal statuettes dedicated. Shift to terracotta votives? Personal possessions no longer seemed appropriate to give to the gods. Shift to “converted” offerings (objects specially made to be votives).

Vase-painting, 5th-4th Centuries: 

Vase-painting, 5th-4th Centuries J.D. Beazely spent his life analyzing Greek fine-ware pottery and assigning styles to painters. Published Athenian Black-Figure Pottery, Athenian Red-Figure Pottery. His system is based on 3 categories of naming.

Beazley’s Categories: 

Beazley’s Categories We actually know who the painter was because he signed the pot (so and so painted this; ἔγραφεν). Rare. The potter says, “so and so made this; ἐποίησεν). Also rare. Descriptive name: Name of museum holding the pot (Berlin Painter) Description of subject matter or characteristic style/pose (“The Achilles painter, the Elbows Out painter)

Brief Review: 

Brief Review By the 6th c. Athens had begun to export her pottery far and wide. By mid 6th c.: Athens established as the chief ceramic center of the Mediterranean. Corinth had been eliminated from the market. Tombs and sanctuaries all over the Med. World (especially Etruria) contained Attic vases. Athens’ ceramic dominance lasted c. 150 years.

Changes in Greek Drawing: 

Changes in Greek Drawing Until mid 6th c: figures were purely two dimensional, drawn either in full profile or with full front trunk attached to profile arms and legs. Draperies: stiff and lifeless. Depth: suggested by overlapping forms.

Changes in Greek Drawing: 

Changes in Greek Drawing Circa 530: a change begins. Attempts made to show figures in three quarter views. Drapery folds became more natural. By 450 three quarter views are mastered. Depth suggested by receding views.

Changes in Greek Drawing: 

Changes in Greek Drawing By the 4th century: the attainment of depth is fully realized. Vase-painting now reflects the achievements of wall painting.

Plain Wares: 

Plain Wares Athenian potters also made lots of plain wares for daily use. High Classical Period (5th c.) vases of all kinds were decorated in a plain, shiny black gloss. These were very popular.

Attic Plain Black Glaze Ware: 

Attic Plain Black Glaze Ware

Pottery Uses: 

Pottery Uses 8th-7th c: huge Attic vases were used for elite burial markers. Other painted wares were used for utilitarian purposes: Amphorae/hydria for storage Kraters for mixing wine, oinochoe for holding wine, kylikes & kantharoi for drinking wine Lekythoi for olive oil (cleansing), aryballoi for gym olive oil, alabastra for perfume. White-Ground Lekythoi: grave offerings

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Nessos Painter (620-530) Beginning of ABF Figures are large-scale, with big features. Monsters and animal friezes still appear.

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Kleitias, chief painter of the second quarter of the sixth century. He and potter Ergotimos signed the Francois krater. Master storyteller.

Kleitias, Continued: 

Kleitias, Continued With his juxtaposition of the killing of Troilos by Achilles with a scene of daily life (women at the fountain house), he conveys something of the same kind of pathos Homer achieved in his account of the death of Hektor.

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Exekias (550-540) Potter & painter Considered the finest BF artist. Mythological scenes Elegant style Ex. Ajax & Achilles playing game. Outline of the backs of the figures echoes the curve of the vase.

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Amasis Painter, c. 540. Painted both large and small pots Some of his most famous are scenes of daily life (women working wool, wedding procession).

Red-Figure Technique: 

Red-Figure Technique 530-400. Within a decade or two of its invention, RF was dominant. In the early part of this period, masterful painters produced decorated vases as the Peisistratid tyrants ruled, the reforms of Kleisthenes, and the early days of Athenian radical democracy.

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Euphronios (510-500) Outstanding drawing ability Improvements in the rendering of figures Ex. Herakles and Antaios wrestling, Death of Sarpedon

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Kleophrades Painter 500-475 Painted over 100 extant vases, mostly amphorae/hydriai Highly individual style; firm flowing line, spaciousness of composition, monumental quality.

Kleophrades Painter, Continued: 

Kleophrades Painter, Continued Used mythological illustrations to convey new ideas and depth of feeling. Ex. Fall of Troy scenes emphasize brutal, pointless destruction, suffering of non-combatants. Heartfelt indictment of war, during the Persian Wars.

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Berlin Painter 500-480 More than 200 vases have been attributed to him, none are signed. Graceful/flowing figures with much anatomical detail, love of pattern. Single groups “spotlighted” against black background.

Continued Use of BF: 

Continued Use of BF Until the mid 5th c: BF was used as a secondary technique, mostly for small lekythoi, neck-amphorae, and oinochoae. From the mid 6th c., the Athenians had awarded amphorae of olive oil as prizes in the Panathenaic Games. Religious conservatism required that these were always BF, with Athena on one side, and a scene from the Games on the other. These continued in use, looking very archaic, until late in the 4th c. We know exact dates of pots when painters began inscribing the names of archons on pots.

475-450 BCE: 

475-450 BCE A new spirit enters RF vase-painting. Some artists, evidently inspired by the wall paintings of Polygnotos and his associates, produced ambitious compositions on large vases with figures placed on different levels in hilly landscapes. Combats of Lapiths/Centaurs and Greeks/Amazons are favorite themes.

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists The Brygos Painter (499-475) Superb at rendering everyday scenes Style catches both the emotion and movement of his figures.

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Niobid Painter 460-450 Incorporates depth representation from wall painters. Sets figures on different ground lines up and down the field of the picture.

“Free Style Period”: 

“Free Style Period” 450-420 BCE Coincides with Perikles’ political power and the Parthenon sculptures. While the greatest artists were used in this period to work on sculpture, architecture, and wall-painting, some excellent vase-painters were still at work.

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Achilles Painter 450-440 “quiet grandeur” Over 200 vase-ptgs are attributed to him. Master of WG style. Mood: close to the ideal calm of Parthenon sculptures. Ancient writers don’t mention WG vases (minor works at time).

Achilles Painter WGL: 

Achilles Painter WGL

Famous Artists: 

Famous Artists Meidias Painter Circa 410, his style was adopted by many. Decorated a hydria in London with 2 mythological scenes: rape of the Leukippidae and Herakles in the Garden of the Hesperides.

Meidias Painter, Continued: 

Meidias Painter, Continued Graceful figures with clinging draperies are counterparts to the reliefs on the Athena Nike parapet (agonizing end stage of Pelop. War). Herakles is depicted as the late 5th c. liked to see him, not fighting monsters or his fate, but peacefully at rest, rewarded for his labors.

Final Flowering of ARF: 

Final Flowering of ARF RF continued to be produced, but demand declined. Fewer and fewer signatures of painters; by end of 4th c., signatures of potters had disappeared as well. Circa 350 - final flowering of Athenian RF. By 325, other markets such as North Africa began to import Southern Italian pottery instead of Athenian. Circa 320: RF stopped being made in Athens.

South Italian Vases: 

South Italian Vases A serious rival to Attic pottery was the RF ware produced in Southern Italy from about 440 BCE. Earliest examples closely reflect contemporary Attic style, especially that of the Achilles Painter. By the turn of the century, local schools developed their own styles. It continued through the 4th century to supply local needs. South Italian glaze is not such an intense black, nor as lustrous, as Attic. Decoration is more florid.

Leda, Zeus, Aphrodite, South Italian Ware (Apulian), 4th c.: 

Leda, Zeus, Aphrodite, South Italian Ware (Apulian), 4th c.

Developments in Sculpture: 

Developments in Sculpture Circa 520: development of hollow bronze sculpture, using the ‘lost wax’ method. Huge technological leap forward. Bronze is lighter than marble; this technique enabled a different type of sculpture to arise. Poses could be made with different centers of gravity.

“Lost Wax” Technique: 

“Lost Wax” Technique If necessary, make an armature for the clay model.

Lost Wax Method #2: 

Lost Wax Method #2 Apply clay to the armature, if there is an armature.

Lost Wax Method #3: 

Lost Wax Method #3 Apply wax to the clay model.

Lost Wax Method #4: 

Lost Wax Method #4 Put a mold over the wax-covered model; secure it.

Lost Wax Method #5: 

Lost Wax Method #5 Apply heat, melting the wax. Gap made between clay model and mold.

Lost Wax Method #6: 

Lost Wax Method #6 Pour molten bronze in, filling the gap.

Lost Wax Method #7: 

Lost Wax Method #7 Remove mold, reveal bronze statue. Break the clay model on the inside, remove in pieces.

Lost Wax Method #8: 

Lost Wax Method #8 Add details. Because both the material and the process of casting were so expensive (much more so than marble), the figures were usually not cast in one piece, but in several. If the casting went wrong for one piece, all would not be lost.

Piraeus Apollo: 

Piraeus Apollo Greeks developed monumental bronze statues, like this over-life-sized one of Apollo, found in the Piraeus in 1959. Kouros-like stance, but arms are separated from the body and held out, unsupported. Held bow in left hand, another attribute in right.

A Look Back: Kritios Boy: 

A Look Back: Kritios Boy Statues start “coming to life” after the kouroi. Kritios Boy c. 480 Anatomy still fairly stylized, but changed pose. Weight shifts onto back leg, head turned slightly. Kenneth Clark: “The first beautiful nude in art.” Theseus? Athletic victor?

Kritios Boy: 

Kritios Boy Gone: archaic smile, rigid stance, formal symmetry. New, relaxed, asymetrical pose of a person at rest. Influence of bronze statues: hair is inscribed in shallow lines; inserted eyes. Pollitt: seems as if he might turn and ask you a question, uncertainty.

Blond Boy: 

Blond Boy Head shows a tilt which accompanied a pose much like that of Kritios Boy. Broken remains of the Kritios Boy and the Blond Boy were found on the Acropolis.

Roman Copies: 

Roman Copies Most bronze statues were melted down and the material reused, but we do have Roman marble copies of the most famous Greek bronze statues. Marble lacks the strength of bronze, so sculptors had to add supports to hold up the top-heavy stone and prevent the statues from breaking at the ankles. Most were made using plaster casts from molds taken from the originals.

Tyrannicides: 

Tyrannicides Roman marble copy of original bronze group. Depiction of action. Original: technological innovations of the preceding generations used to convey inner life and character in a way not seen before in sculpture.

Tyrannicides: 

Tyrannicides The two men are carefully differentiated (all kouroi were ideals of youth and vigor). Tyrannicides are representations of specific ages and personalities. Sought to reveal the minds inside the bodies, thoughts that determine actions. Depictions of the polarities of movement and rest.

Riace Bronze Warrior A (460-450): 

Riace Bronze Warrior A (460-450) Statues found off the coast of Riace in So. Italy. Show the new formula of the relaxed pose further developed and refined. Weight on right leg. Left leg bent, in front. Held shield on left arm. Right hip higher than left. Upper body unresponsive to the different degrees of tension in the 2 arms.

Riace Bronze Warrior A: 

Riace Bronze Warrior A Head is turned alertly; figure seems alive with potential energy. Statue looks different from every side; a slight S curve runs through it. 6 feet 9 inches tall.

Riace Bronze Warrior A: 

Riace Bronze Warrior A Face is intense: Inlaid eyes Bronze eyelashes Red copper lips parted to show silver teeth Ringlets and curls cast separately, attached to head. Now in Reggio Museum.

Riace Bronze Warrior A Face: 

Riace Bronze Warrior A Face

From the Marathon Monument at Delphi (c. 450)?: 

From the Marathon Monument at Delphi (c. 450)? Pausanias tells of a monument honoring those who fought at Marathon. Miltiades (heroized) strategos of Marathon, stood by Apollo & Athena. 10 other figures, 7 Eponymous Heroes reflecting the tribal order of battle.

Riace Bronze Warrior B: 

Riace Bronze Warrior B

Riace Bronze Warrior B As Found: 

Riace Bronze Warrior B As Found

Riace Bronze Warrior B: 

Riace Bronze Warrior B Helmeted Younger than A Copper lips and nipples Inlaid eyes 6 feet 6 inches.

Tipped Back Helmet: 

Tipped Back Helmet style adopted by posthumous portraits of Athenian Generals Example: portrait of Perikles

Riace Bronzes Back View: 

Riace Bronzes Back View Other theories: Group of 10 Greek heroes waiting to see who would fight Hektor (by Temple of Zeus at Olympia) [works for A, Athenian helmet odd for B) Eponymous Heroes in Agora (too warlike) Marathon Monument at Delphi (B fits with this)

Artemision Zeus (460-450): 

Artemision Zeus (460-450) Found off Cape Artemision, now in National Museum in Athens. 6’10. God shown hurling thunderbolt (now missing) at unseen enemy. Artist contrasts the straight arm with the bent, weight-bearing leg with the free leg.

Zeus: 

Zeus 2 problems: The torso is not affected by the action of the limbs (could be a quietly standing figure like the Kritios Boy, or Riace Warrior) Statue only really works from the front or back; the sides don’t do much for the viewer.

Diskoboulos, c. 450: 

Diskoboulos, c. 450 Made at the same time as the Artemision Zeus, became v. famous. Highly praised by ancient writers, much copied for Roman admirers. Myron chose to depict an instant of stillness in the midst of action; the split second pause between back swing and forward thrust.

Diskoboulos : 

Diskoboulos Archaic period: beauty = symmetry and formal repetition Discus thrower: systematically negates both principles, now out of fashion. Right side dominated by the sweep of a continuous curve; left is a zigzag of straight lines.

Diskoboulos : 

Diskoboulos Myron has brought to his new aesthetic ideal the refinement of a mathematical proposition: Curved vs. straight Smooth vs. angular Closed vs. open Chest is seen from the front, legs from the side. But torso still a study of static anatomy, no response to limb actions. Side views don’t work so well.

Doryphoros by Polykleitos: 

Doryphoros by Polykleitos Polykleitos developed a theory of proportions in a book called The Canon, illustrated it with his “Young Man Carrying a Spear.” Circa 440.

Doryphoros: 

Doryphoros Spear-bearer is shown pausing for a second as he steps forward. Action is slight compared to Myron’s Diskobolos, but the torso is fully responsive to it.

Doryphoros: 

Doryphoros Left shoulder tensed and slightly raised. Left leg bears no weight, the hip drops, the torso extends. Right arm hangs relaxed at side, shoulder lowered. Right hip raised to support weight; torso contracted. Contraposto or balance of opposites; side views work well.

Diadoumenos, c. 430: 

Diadoumenos, c. 430 Polykleitos was famous for his statues of men. Bronze youth tying a ribbon around his head. Roman copy. Same contraposto pose as Doryphoros (dynamic equilibrium).