Key terms for free standing sculpture

Archaic period

Archaic period

early period of Greek history from 600 to 490/480 BC

a man scraping off oil from his body

Apoxyomenos

Canon

title employed by the sculptor Polykleitos for his treatise (written work) on statue proportions

clothed female figures used to up architecture in place of columns

Caryatid

the curve that an idealized chain or cable forms when hanging freely from two fixed points

used to describe u shaped folds in drapery

Catenary

Chiton

a rectangular piece of linen clothing, worn by both men and women, which is sewn and buttoned along the shoulders to make sleeves

Classical period

middle period of ancient Greek history

early classical = 490 to 450 BC

high classical = 450 to 400 BC

late classical = 400 to 323 BC

Contrapposto

literally meaning COUNTER POSE in italian

the figures shoulders and hips are angled in different directions because it’s weight is on one foot

Cult statue

a statue that embodied and depicted a specific deity

often situated within the main room of a temple

an athlete throwing a discus

Diskobolos

a spear bearer

Doryphoros

a sculptural technique where a grid was drawn on a stone block to determine the figure’s proportions

adopted by the Greeks in the mid 7th century BC

Egyptian grid block technique

statues carved in the round so detached from any background

free standing

frontal

a sculpture can be described as frontal when it has a definite orientation towards the prospective of the viewer

i.e. the front of the statue is the intended view

geometric style

an influential style from 8th and 7th centuries where geometric motifs were employed in greek art

e.g. on statues we see triangular torsos and ovoid heads

himation

a cloak worn by both men and women consisting of heavy fabric, probably wool

usually worn draped diagonally over one shoulder and wrapped around the body

Iliac crest

the v shaped crest of muscle that seperates the groin from the hips

often exaggerated in greek sculpture

In-the-round

a sculpture meant to be viewed from all sides

3 dimensional with all it’s parts fully rendered

this causes the viewer to work around the figure

Kore

plural = korai

literally meaning a maiden or unmarried girl in greek

a type of draped female sculpture from the archaic period

Kouros

plural = koroi

literally a male youth in greek

a type of male sculpture from the archaic period

Lost wax carving method

a sculptural technique where wax is employed to create a space between inner and outer clay moulds

which allows the casting of large- scale hollow bronze statues

this method was employed from the late archaic period onwards

Modelling lines

sculptural technique, in which ridges of stone in sweeping curves at right angles to a rounded , model the forms

Motion lines

long, double-curving lines in drapery suggestive of movement

Orientalising

a transitional period of c 750 - 650 BC

greek artists were heavily influenced by near eastern art most notably from Egypt, Syria and Phoenicia

human and animal figures become more significant

MOST IMPORTANT the idea of using stone for monumental architecture and sculpture was embraced

Peplos

a rectangular piece of woollen clothing without sleeves worn by women

pinned at the shoulders,

belted at the waist

and worn either alone or over a chiton

plinth

slab like bottom section of a marble statue immediately beneath its feet

planes

flat or rounded

an area of two dimensional surface

e.g. early kouroi display flat planes whilst later ones have more rounded planes

Polychromy

the multicoloured painting of sculptures

marble, limestone, bronze, terracotta or wood

principal colours = blue and red

yellow, green, brown, black and white to a lesser degree

Severe style

the transitionary period between the archaic and classical periods

dating roughly between 490 and 450 BC (sometimes also called the early classical period)

thick eyelids

heavy and simple drapery

increase in characterisation

tensile strength

the resistance of a material to sideways stress and it’s liability to break

e.g. marble has a low tensile strength and bronze has a high tensile strength

torso

the trunk of a human body which remains when the head and limbs are removed

Transparency or the wet drapery technique

sculptural technique which leaves ridges standing up to otherwise nude forms to suggest they are covered by a thin veil of drapery

volute

a spiral, scroll like pattern often seen in the hair of Greek sculptures