Art of Ancient Greece

Art of Ancient Greece

Prompt / Do Now Describe and support three important beliefs from eras / civilizations we have studied. 7 min. Textbook Discovery: What created the dark ages of ancient Greece and how did they eventually have a rebirth? 10 min.

VOCABULARY All major Greek gods, Geometric period, krater, amphora, meander or key pattern, kore, Daedalic, kouros, Archaic smile, encaustic, peplos, cult statue, Doric and Ionic orders, caryatids, peripteral, ridgepole, entasis, gorgon, gigantomachy, black-figure painting, incise, red-figure painting, Salamis, Thermopylae, Marathon, contrapposto, bronze hollow-casting, Polykleitos, canon of proportions, acropolis, Delian League, symmetria, chryselephantine, Athena Parthenos

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS How does Greek art develop over its history? What elements / ideas make Greek art the foundation of western European art? What were the strengths and weaknesses of Greek society? What significant advancements did the Greeks make in sculpture and architecture? How did the Greeks portray human dramas on their vases? What technological advancements in art did the Greeks provide? What brings about the end of Greek culture, and how did art reflect that end?

Map of Ancient Greece

Geometric Krater from the Dipylon Cemetery, Athens, Greece ca. 740 BCE 3 4 1/2 high The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA Characterize the art of the Geometric period. What is the narrative on this krater? How is the human figure portrayed on the krater? What is a meander, and how is it used on this krater?

2 Lady of Auxerre or statue of a goddess or kore ca. 650-625 BCE limestone 2 1 1/2 high Louvre, Paris, France Define kore and kouros. How is this seventh century sculpture arguably Geometric? How is it not? What other works that you have studied does this sculpture remind you of?

3 Metropolitan Kouros ca. 600 BCE marble approx. 6 1/2 high Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York In what ways is this kouros figure still a part of the block from which he was sculpted? In what ways is he released from the block? In looking at this kouros, what evidence is there that the artist was actually studying a real person as his model?

4 Anavysos Kouros from Anavysos, Greece ca. 530 BCE marble 6 4 high National Archeological Museum, Athens Anavysos Kouros is only 70 years younger than his Metropolitan counterpart. What has changed in the representations of human beings over those 70 years? In what ways does this kouros figure still seem part of the block from which he came?

5 Peplos Kore from the Acropolis, Athens, Greece ca. 530 BCE marble approx. 4 high Acropolis Museum, Athens What can we conclude about how the Greeks viewed men and women by looking at their figurative sculpture?

Temple of Hera I; Paestum, Italy; ca. 550 BCE Define: stylobate, stereobate, shaft, drum, metope, triglyph. Does this temple seem sturdy or not? Explain your answer.

Temple of Hera I (plan) Define: cella naos, pronaos, peristyle.

Greek Architecture

8 Françoise Vase (Attic black-figure volute krater) Kletias and Ergotimos from Chiusi, Italy ca. 570 BCE approx. 2 2 high Museo Archeologica, Florence, Italy What narrative is represented on the Françoise Vase?

Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game (detail from black-figure amphora) from Vulci, Italy Exekias ca. 540-530 BCE whole vessel approx. 2 high Vatican Museums, Rome, Italy How does this painting reveal Ajax and Achilles as great warriors? How does it humanize them? What kinds of weapons and armor did these great Greek warriors have at their disposal?

Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game (Attic bilingual amphora); from Orvietto, Italy; Andokides Painter; ca. 525-520 BCE black-figure side (left); red-figure side (right) approx. 1 9 high; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

B A Compare figures. 1. A; 2. B Which figure might be the oldest? Newest?

Dying Warrior from the east side of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece; ca. 490-480 BCE marble; approx. 6 1 long; Glyptothek, Munich, Germany How do the Greeks, with the passing years, continue to render figures in more and more humanistic ways? How is this figure, sculpted in this way, a successful solution to a difficult problem? What is the archaic smile?

Temple of Hera II Paestum, Italy ca. 460 BCE What order was used to create this structure? Label the significant parts of the building.

Greek Philosophers Pre-Socratics vs. Classical Philosophy Archaic Classical QUICKWRITE How does the basic ideas of the Pre-Socratics relate to the unifying principles of humanism?

From Classical to Hellenism Prompt: What traits make Classical figures different from Archaic? Classical Philosophy Socrates, Plato, Aristotle Practice / Discuss Architecture What are the traits of Hellenism?

Kritian Boy from the Acropolis, Athens. GR ca. 480 BCE marble approx. 2 10 high Acropolis Museum, Athens, Greece What has the artist done that makes Kritian Boy such a believable representation of a human? What is contrapposto?

Riace Warrior ( Warrior A ) from the sea off Riace, Italy ca. 460-450 BCE bronze approx. 6 6 high Archeological Museum, Reggio Calabria What is striking about Riace Warrior, in light of the other figurative sculptures that precedes it?

Zeus (Poseidon?) from the sea off Cape Artemision, Greece ca. 460-450 BCE bronze approx. 6 10 high National Archeological Museum, Athens

Discus Thrower (Discobolos) Roman copy after original bronze by Myron ca. 450 BCE approx. 5 1 high Museo Nazionale Romano How does Myron create a sense of balance in a sculpture that is, by its own posture, unbalanced? What would the main difference have been between this Roman copy and the original Greek sculpture?

1. Describe in detail this figure. 2. How is it different from earlier Greek sculpture? Be prepared to read aloud your writing.

Spear-Bearer (Doryphoros) Roman marble copy from Pompeii after original bronze by Polykleitos ca. 450-440 BCE approx. 6 11 high Museo Nazionale, Naples Define: canon of proportions. What makes the Doryphoros contrapposto particularly noteworthy? How does Polykleitos achieve a sense of movement? What contributes to the Doryphoros sense of humanity?

Parthenon or the Temple of Athene Parthenos (northwest view) Iktinos and Kallikrates, architects 447-438 BCE Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Parthenon (plan)

Compare these works. How are they different?

Three Goddesses (Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite?) from the east pediment of the Parthenon ca. 438-432 BCE marble; greatest height approx. 4 5 British Museum, London What adjectives would you use to describe the drapery of the clothing of these goddesses? What might explain their posture?

Erecthion (view from the southeast) ca. 421-405 BCE Acropolis, Athens, Greece What is the Porch of Maidens? To whom is this temple dedicated?

Temple of Athene Nike (view from the northeast) Kallikrates ca. 427-424 BCE Acropolis, Athens, Greece Many consider this the finest example of the Ionic order. What are the differences between the Ionic order and the Doric order?

Athene Adjusting Her Sandal from the south side of the parapet of the Temple of Athene Nike ca. 410 BCE approx. 3 6 high Acropolis, Athens, GR How would you describe the drapery of this relief?

AP Art History Prompt: Identify the 3 periods of Greek Art so far discussed, give basic dates and 1 example for each. Discuss among peers. Review.

Aphrodite of Knidos Praxiteles, sculptor after a Roman marble copy of ca. 350-340 BCE approx. 6 8 high Vatican Museums, Rome What distinguishes Praxiteles work from Polykleitos? How is Praxiteles an advancement from the work that comes before it? Why is this work important?

Compare these two works.

Hermes and the Infant Dionysos Praxiteles, sculptor from the Temple of Hera, Olympia, Greece marble copy after an original ca. 340 BCE approx. 7 1 high Archeological Museum, Olympia Imagine these figures have arms. What do you suppose they are holding? Why?

Weary Herakles Lyssipos, sculptor Roman marble copy from Rome, Italy signed Glykon of Athens, after a bronze original; ca. 320 BCE approx. 10 5 high Museo Nazionale, Naples

Hellenistic Period

Battle of Issus Philoxenos of Eretria, artist ca. 310 BCE Roman copy of the Alexander Mosaic from the House of Faun, Pompeii, Italy; tessera mosaic; approx 8 10 x 16 9 Museo Nazionale, Naples How does the artist use foreshortening in this mosaic?

Theater at Epidauros, Greece Polykleitos the Younger, architect ca. 350 BCE

Athene battling Alkyoneos (detail of the gigantomachy frieze) from the Altar of Zeus, Pergamon, Turkey ca. 175 BCE; marble; approx. 7 6 high Staatliche Museen, Berlin Characterize the Pergamon style and describe how this relief is made in that style.

Dying Gaul Epigonos (?), sculptor Roman marble copy after bronze original from Pergamon, Turkey ca. 230-220 BCE; approx 3 1/2 high Museo Capitolino, Rome

Nike of Samothrace Samothrace, Greece ca. 190 BCE marble approx. 8 1 high Louvre Museum, Paris How does the artist achieve a sense of movement in this large statue of Nike? What does Nike mean?

Venus of Milos Alexander from Antioch-on-the-Meander, artist; from Melos, Greece ca. 150-125 BCE marble approx. 6 7 Louvre Museum, Paris How has the sculpture eroticized this Venus figure?

Laocoon and His Sons Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes, sculptors; from Rome, Italy early first century CE marble approx. 7 10 1/2 high Vatican Museums, Rome Who is Laocoon, and what is the story being told in this sculpture. What words best describe this sculpture?

Aegean / Greek Exam 1. 20 multiple choice questions (40 pts.) 2. 3 slide identifications (30 pts.) 3. 3 short essays (60 pts.) 4. 5 questions on architectural orders (20 pts.) 150 pts. 60 minutes

Key Concepts Greek art s beginnings are found in the bronze age art on the island of Crete, in the Cyclades, and in Mycenaea. Greece comes out of a period of cultural stagnation around 8th century, when its art has a distinctly geometric quality about it, as well as a strong Egyptian influence. The next phase of Greek art is known as archaic, and its art has a severe quality about it. Archaic Greek art also fails to create sculpture in human likeness, which will characterize the art of the 5th century. The Classical Period, generally considered the highest achievement in Greek art, if not in all art, comes in a highly compressed 100 year period, in and around the 5th century. In both sculpture and architecture, Greek art has a harmonious, ideal quality about it. The fourth century sees art that is more emotional and less ideal, and as the third century arrives, with the campaigns of Alexander, Greek art strikes a dramatic tone. Pergamon, a city in modern day Turkey, reveals the best examples of third and second century Greek art, some representing powerful emotional states.

Prompt: How do ideas manifest in Greek art and architecture? Pick one work and write a short response. Review 1. Review Significance, century/period 2. Review basic philosophy including humanism 3. Quiz each other on questions 30 minute review with partner