4th century Greek culture was a time of disillusionment and political upheaval.

More focus on the “INDIVIDUAL” and the world of REAL appearances.

SLIDE - Praxiteles. Aphrodite of Knidos.

Roman copy of original. 350 BCE. Marble. 6’ 8” tall.

2 Major sculptors of the period: Praxiteles and Lysippos.

5th century artists hinted at the female form beneath clothes (Athena Nike).

This is first statue by a well-known Greek sculptor to depict a fully nude woman

Nudity among young, athletic men was accepted & admired

Considered a sign of low character in women.

Nude images of Aphrodite first became acceptable during this period

Later other female nudes became acceptable

This piece set a new standard.

This is the goddess preparing to take a bath.

She has a well-toned body, square shoulders, a thick waist, and slim hips –

Looks athletic and strong.

The townspeople of Knidos, where it was made, placed it in an open shrine

Could be seen from every side.

The original statue was so enchanting, so realistic

Legend has it that the goddess herself heard about it, traveled to Knidos to see it Supposedly she asked, “When did Praxiteles see me naked?!?”

There were probably about 100 copies made of it; nearly 50 are still around today.

SLIDE - Praxiteles. Hermes & the Infant Dionysos. Temple of Hera, OlympiaGreece. 340 BCE. Marble copy of Original. 7’ 1” tall.

4th century accepted the standards & canons set by Pheidias and Polykleitos

But also modified them – made a new canon for male nudes

Figures are 8 heads tall, not just the 6 ½ or 7 like 5th century sculptors.

Facial expressions change from calm/noble/aloof, to “dreamy, wistful, or anxious.

Instead of mighty gods, athletes or war heroes, they made minor deities

In “lighthearted” moments.

This sculpture stood in the temple of Hera at Olympia. (it is probably a copy)

Compared to older Greek sculpture, Hermes’ head smaller,

S-curved body is sooff-balance he has to lean on a post.

Has a more youthful body.

Humanizing subject: 2 gods, loving adult & playful child.

Natural gestures, not stiff or formal.

Smooth body contrasts with the crumpled drapery and rough hair (even the baby’s)

Less severe looking than 5th century Classical deities.

SLIDE - Lysippos - The Scraper.

Roman copy of original bronze. 330 BCE. Marble. 6’ 9” tall.

There is a fair amount known about Lysippos’ life.

Claimed to be entirely self-taught.

This sculpture depicts an athlete - scraping dirt and oil from his body with a scraper.

The typical Classical male nude athlete would have just been standing aloof

This one is working and sweating, doing the dirty part of being an athlete.

Has a dreamy expression, his thoughts seem far off.

Head is small in proportion for body than in older sculptures, can see the new cannon. Compare to spear bearer.

SLIDE - Head of Alexander the Great, copy of the 4th century original. Possibly by Lysippos. 200 BCE. Bronze. Marble. 16”.

Lysippos made a statue of Zeus that was very impressive.

So good, it got him this commission of Alexander the Great.

The rest has been lost, only have the head left.

Was once a full-standing figure w/upraised arm holding a scepter,

The same way Lysippos had posed his sculptures of Zeus.

Alexander looks young, ruggedly handsome

Very large Adam’s apple

Long, tousled hair characteristic of his portraits

Not an absolute portrait - still idealized a little, but does resemble him closely.

Very deep-set eyes, low, lined forehead

as though contemplating important decisions.

Meditative expression.

Many heads like this one of Alexander the Great were found.

So many copies were made, that historians aren’t sure which one is most like the original.

SLIDE - Gnosis - Stag Hunt.

Pella, Greece. 300 BCE. Pebble mosaic. 10’ 2” high.

This was originally the floor of a wealthy home.

Good example of how Greeks decorated their homes during Alexander’s reign.

This piece is actually signed, “Gnosis made it”, earliest mosaic artist signature known.

This is just part of the mosaic floor.

Features hunting scenes with decorative borders.

Borders made from blossoms, leaves, spiraling tendrils, etc.

Visible modeling in figures.

Made from pebbles, not cut marble or glass. More difficult.

SLIDE - Alexander the Great Confronts Darius III at the Battle of Issos - by Philoxenos of Eretria, or Helen of Egypt.

310 BCE. Roman mosaic copy of original painting. Mosaic. approx. 9” x 17”.

We are looking at a mosaic, but the original picture of this was a painting.

It is possible that this was painted by a female artist.

When discussing Greek painting, we usually talk about pottery decoration

Only because very few paintings in any other medium have survived.

Look at Roman copies & combine what we know of Greek figure paintings.

Greeks began to acquire a growing taste for narrative subjects in painting

Alexander challenges a Persian leader (Darius III) in helmet & armor

Leading his army into battle against the Persians.

Alexander SO confident, doesn’t even wear a helmet.

Impaled an enemy on his sword, but looks at Darius

Darius’s arm is stretched out in defeat, echoed by the shape of the dead tree.

Darius retreats - his chariot whisks him back to safety, but he looks back

Very violent, dramatic action

Radical foreshortening increases the sense of drama. (Horse’s butt)

Scared face reflected in the mirror-like shield below Darius

You can see the illusion of 3-dimensionality.

The artist modeled the figures with shading.

Shadows cast on the ground.

SLIDE - Pectoral. 4th cent BCE. Gold. 12” diameter.

From a Scythian tomb. Russia.

Found in Scythian burials

This is the most elaborate example ever found

The upper register has figures of people, cows & horses.

The bottom has scenes of animal combat: griffin-like beasts attack a group of horses. Could be a lesson to justify the domestication of animals

Implies that domestication keeps them safe from the dangers of the wild.

The piece was created by a master Greek artist

Greek goldsmithing was at an unprecedented height during this time.

The individual figures are worked in the round

Much of the other highly plastic ornament is soldered in place.

SLIDE - Theater, Epidauros. Polykleitos the Younger. Greece. 350 BCE.

Theaters were a vehicle for the communal expression of religious belief

Through music, poetry, and dance.

Dramas were presented open-air, on a steep hill for elevated seating.

First used natural hill theaters, then cut tiers for seats,

Finally improved them with stone block seats.

Plays were often tragedies in verse, based on popular myths,

Sometimes performed at festivals, like those dedicated to Dionysus.

Theatres wereconstantly used and modified, so none remain in their original form.

SLIDE - Epidauros Theater Plan.

This plan had 55 rows of seats.

It provided uninterrupted sight, good acoustics

Efficient entry & exit for up to 12,000 spectators. (281 people per row).

No better design has ever been created.

SLIDE - The Tholos. Delphi, Greece. 375 BCE.

Probably built by Theordoros of Phokaia, function unknown.

Buildings with a circular plan had a long history in Greece

Date back to the Mycenaean beehive tombs.

A tholos, (or tholoi, plural) is a circular building,

Used for shrines, monuments, or administrative buildings.

This one unusual, has a Doric Order exterior, but interior columns are Corinthian.

Corinthian capitals resemble the curling leaves of the “a-CAN-thus” plant.

Tendrils & flowers at the top.

Same thin, graceful columns as Ionic order.

These columns were used for the interiors of temples until the Hellenic era.

They are the most ornate of the 3 capital orders.

Hellenistic art

HELLENISTIC PERIOD: Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE,

Had no clear successor & his guards turned against each other fighting for power.

Empire began to break apart.

Local leaders tried to rule the individual city-states.

Classical artists sought idealism & generality

Hellenistic artists sought the individual and specific.

People are less heroic, more “everyday”.

Fewer gods, more mortals.

Less aloof serenity, more emotion and melodramatics.

Bodies more often IN MOTION, and no empty gazes.SLIDE - Reconstructed West Front Altar of Zeus.

Pergamon, Turkey. Marble. 175 BCE.

Much of Hellenistic sculpture was radically anti-classical

(called Pergamene, after city of Pergamon.).

Pergamon is a cultural center in Asia Minor (now Turkey)

In 3rd century BCE, the Gauls attacked Pergamon, and the Greeks fought them off.

(Gauls were a Celtic people from Northern Europe)

Single story structure (Ionic order colonnade) on a raised podium, reached only by stairs.

Stairs are 68’ wide, and 30’ deep.

The running frieze decoration depicts the battle between the Gods & Giants

TheGreeks probably used as a metaphor for Pergamon’s victory of the Gauls.

The battle scenes are a mythological disguise

Frieze is 7 ½ feet high, can see Greek gods fighting the giants,

But also monster hybrids emerging from the bowels of the earth.

They crawl out of the frieze onto the steps.

Visitors had to pass them on their way to the shrine. They invade your space.

This interaction of space & form is a characteristic of Hellenic art. Imposes on viewer.

SLIDE - Athena Attacking the Giants, from Altar of Zeus.

Frieze height 7’6”.

The goddess Athena grabs the air of a winged male monster & forces him to his knees. Monster’s mother rises from the bottom right, and reaches up to Athena

She pleads for her son’s life.

On the right, Nike rushes to crown Athena the victor.

VERY high relief. Deeply carved to create strong shadows. DRAMATIC.

SLIDE - Gallic Chieftain Killing Himself & Wife, Dying Gallic Trumpeter, by Epigonos? Roman copy of original bronze. Made for the sanctuary of Athena in Pergamon, Turkey. 220 BCE. 6’ 11”

A monument to the defeat of the Gauls

This was part of a larger sculpture that included the trumpeter (next slide) and another.

You can recognize these are foreigners because of longer bushy hair & moustaches –

They are considered “Barbarians”

But we supposed to admire their bravery, & pity their circumstances.

Made to commemorate a victory over the Gauls

Sows dignity & heroism of the defeated enemies

This Gallic chieftain supports his dead wife as he plunges his sword into his chest.

He has killed her to prevent her from being raped and sold into slavery

Can see the blood spilling from his wound.

It has been separated from the Trumpeter,

They were mean to be viewed together, and from every angle – walk around it.

SLIDE – Trumpeter (see above)

This separated piece was found in Caesar’s garden in Rome.

Sows the demise of a Gallic soldier, he has been fatally wounded and he’s bleeding.

Struggles to rise, but we can see he’s near death.

Suffering. Looks defeated, but still noble.

He’s athletic and mighty

So those who defeated him (Pergamene Greeks) must be even mightier.

Both this and Dying Gaul are dynamic, emotional, full of movement.

The artist deliberately tries to evoke an emotional response ----> expressionism.

Typical style of Hellenistic art

SLDE- Nike (Victory) of Samothrace. (SAM-uh-thrus)

190 BCE. Marble. 8’ 1” tall.

Originally set in a hillside niche high above the city of Samothrace

Was a sanctuary to the gods.

Perhaps drenched with spray from a fountain – real water sprayed on her.

Alighting suddenly on a warship - probably commemorated a naval victory.

Wings in motion.

Wind-blown dress & raised wings

Indicates that she has just landed on the prow of the stone ship

Large open movement, strong dark/light contrast from deeply sculpted forms.

Theatrical. Thrusting herself into the viewer’s space

Textures of feathers, fabric & skin. Fine example of Hellenistic art.

The Nike has lost her head and arms, but a fragment of the ship were discovered later.

One of the most popular attractions in the Louvre.

SLIDE–Old Market Woman

2nd century BCE. Marble. 4’ 1’ tall.

True opposite of Classical Greek art – NOT beautiful, idealistic, perfect human.

Not just gods and goddesses or athletes shown.

Common woman. Never appropriatesubject before Hellenistic period.

WHY OKAY NOW?

The classical world was characterized by relative cultural unity.

The Hellenistic world was more varied & multicultural.

In this environment, artists turned away from Idealism

Attempted to show the world as they saw it.

Portraiture or real people became popular during the Hellenistic period

Representing people from every level of society.

Strong emotional content in Hellenistic art.

Chicken & fruit in her basked.

Wrinkles, sunken cheeks, breast has slipped out, she doesn’t care or notice. Bent posture.

SLIDE -Aphrodite of Melos (Venus de Milo). by Alexandros of Antioch-on-the-Meander. Melos,Greece. Marble. 150 BCE. 8’ 1”

Not all Hellenistic artists followed the trend toward realism & expressionism

Some Hellenistic artists borrowed from earlier Classical styles

Looked to Praxiteles and Lysippos for inspiration.

This Aphrodite recalls the Aphrodite of Knidos, there is a strong resemblance…...

The artist most certainly saw it or a copy of it.

Same heavy proportions, dreamy gaze, and smoothness of skin as Knidos

But the twirling pose more Hellenistic. Knee sticks out farther.

She is more modestly draped than Praxiteles’ Aphrodite, but more sexual too.

The drapery is about to slip off, this is designed to “tease” the viewer,

Erotic tension – state of getting naked more sexy than all naked

This would have been improper in Classical art. Totally nude goddess not teasing.

The original appearance of the statue’s missing arms has been hotly debated.

She was dug up in a field in 1820, some broken pieces were found with it (now lost) Indicated she had been holding and apple in her right hand. Hold drapery w/Left.

She has been restored many time,

often by people who very badly wanted her to be a “Classical” era sculpture,

they posed her shifting her weight and turning her torso to the S shaped curve (torso & legs are 2 separate pieces).

Again, one of the most popular attractions in the Louvre.

SLIDE - Laocoon and his Sons. by Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes. Probably a variation of the original, a Roman work inspired by Greek Hellenistic (Pergamene) sculpture. 8’ tall.

Maybe the most representative piece of “Hellenistic” sculpture

This illustrates an episode from the Trojan War.

The Trojan priest Laocoon warned his city not to take in the giant wooden horse.

The gods who supported the Greeks (hiding in the horse) retaliated

Sent sea serpents to destroy Laocoon & his sons as they walked on the seashore.

Sons have adult proportions, just smaller.

Harsh punishment.

Struggling movements. Anguished expressions. Emotional, dramatic.

Diagonal movements. Invades spectators space.

Michelangelo saw this when it was found & brought to Italy, see its influence on him.