Greek Art Scholars

Boardman on Delphic Charioteer

“far from being the best”

Neer on Delphic Charioteer

“flagrantly inconsistent in rendering the chiton”

Barringer on Artemission Zeus

“impressive skill in metal chasing”

Mitropolous and Snook on Artemission Zeus

“demonstrates his power”

Woodford on Diskobolos

“brought to his new aesthetic ideal the refinement of mathematical proposition” “harmony”

Boardman on Diskobolos

“standing on the threshold of realism”

Zucker and Harris on Doryphoros

“perfection of human form”

Woodford on Aphrodite of the Agora

“virtuoso rendering of exuberant drapery”

Woodford on the Caryatid from the Erechtheion

“decorative detail to replace naturalism”

Woodford on Eirene and Ploutos

“It is not simply an image, but also an idea embodied in sculptural form”

Harris and Zucker on Antikytheran Youth

“Distorting the body in order to express a kind of nobility”

Woodford on Antikytheran Youth

“athletic and robust”

Neer on Antikytheran Youth

“distorts anatomy for effect”

Boardman on Hermes and Dionysus

"the relaxed languor of the figure just stops short of effeminacy to our eyes."

Woodford on Hermes and Dionysus

"The whole figure is dominated by the swing rhythm of curve and counter curve."

Pliny on Aphrodite of Knidos

Finest statue “not only by Praxiteles but also in the whole world”

Woodford on Aphrodite of Knidos

“gracious goddess…seems very human”

Boardman on Apoxymenos

“ideal male figure”

Barringer on Apoxymenos

“encourages the viewer to walk around”

Woodford on New York Kouros

“sacrificed the smooth naturalism…for the sake of creating a more aesthetically satisfying work”

Boardman on New York Kouros

“pattern conscious”

Woodford on Kleobis and Biton

“more interested in giving an impression of robustness”

“expression made their faces look more alive” b

Boardman on Kleobis and Biton

“idealised representations of…masculine strength”

Woodford on Anavyssos Kouros

“suggestive of soft flesh rather than hard stone”

Woodford on Aristodikos Kouros

“unnaturally stiff”

Boardman on Aristodikos Kouros

“it remains almost embarrassingly inert”

Neer on Berlin Standing Goddess

“drapery consists chiefly of vertical lines and muffles the body”

Woodford on Berlin Standing Goddess

“drapery and hair provided an excellent field on which a gifted sculptor could develop his talent for decorative organisation”

Woodford on Peplos Kore

“enlivened by slight irregularities”

“understates base for the radiant, sensitively carved head”

Neer on Peplos Kore

“does not wear a peplos and she is not a kore”

Cook on Perseus and the Gorgons

“well planned and executed, but tame”

Woodford on Perseus and the Gorgons

“capable of convincing action and expression”

Woodford on Wedding of Peleus and Thetis

“rather carelessly”

Boardman on Wedding of Peleus and Thetis

“first time we see a long multifigure frieze”

Osborne on Wedding of Peleus and Thetis

“parade a full selection of Gods”

Woodford on Francois Vase

“Kleitias was a master story teller”

Williams on Francois Vase

“a wealth of elegant miniature painting”

Woodford on Dionysus and the Maenads (BF)

“decorative delight”

Osborne on Dionysus and the Maenads (BF)

“bright and cheerful”

Woodford on Achilles and Ajax play dice

“eye-catching”

Pedley on Achilles and Ajax play dice

“excellence of draughtsmanship and brushwork”

Woodford on Dionysus and the Pirates

“unmatched in the whole of Greek Art”

Boardman on Dionysus and the Pirates

“Exekias skimped nothing and planned every detail”

Woodford on Herakles (or Dionysus) feasting

“fundamental differences” between RF and BF

BF “seems crowded”

Woodford on Three Men Carousing

“brilliantly drawn”

Pedley on Three Men Carousing

“attempts at new poses and views”

Woodford on Herakles and the Amazons

“rich and complicated”

Woodford on the Pioneers

“The period of Euphronios and Euthymides was a time of bold exploration and lively experimentation”

Boardman on Herakles and Antaios

“uncouth giant, eyes rolling, teeth bared, hair and beard wild”

Woodford on Achilles vs Memnon/Hector

Berlin Painter has described verses from the Iliad “without literally illustrating them”

“reaped the harvest sown by the brave pioneers”

Osborne on the Fall of Troy

“Ajax’s hesitation is palpable, but so are Cassandra’s erotic charms”

“defenceless Priam”

“composition has no single focus”

Woodford on Dionysus and the Maenads (RF)

“all are cleverly used to convey a state of mind”

Woodford on Boreas pursues Oreithyia

“one of those powerful, sad muffled figures with which Greek Art opened up a whole new hitherto unimagineable world of feeling”

Woodford on Siphnian Treasury friezes

Gigantomachy - “carefully characterised”

Assembly of the Gods - “virtually identical”

Emerson on Siphnian Treasury friezes

Gigantomachy - “strong narrative theme” “one of the most extraordinary works of sculpture”

Emerson on the Acropolis friezes

“frieze is the diametric opposite of struggle: it expresses co-operation”

Neer on Acropolis friezes

“spectacular”

Emerson on Temple of Apollo friezes

“rich and dynamic”

Pedley on Temple of Apollo friezes

“quality of worksmanship varies”

Neer on Temple of Apollo friezes

“carving is unrefined”

Woodford on Herakles and the Kerkopes

“dominated by emphatic verticals and horizontals”

Woodford on Heroic Cattle Raid

“repetition rather than symmetry…to give the composition decorative coherence”

Boardman on Heroic Cattle Raid

“brilliant impression of receding places”

Woodford on Nemean Lion

“as human, suffering, exhausted, humiliated, and yet bravely enduring”

“beyond the confines of mortality”

“revolutionary”

Woodford on Cleaning of the Augean Stables

“Confident, in the midst of motion”

Andronicus on Cretan Bull

“deeply exciting…with its conflict of forces”

Osborne on the Apples of the Hesperides

“Athene is supportive, yet distant”

“Herakles…trapped between the weight of heaven as he tenses his muscles and forces back his shoulders to maintain the balance”

Woodford on Centaurs and Lapiths metope

“their poses have been carefully arranged to fill the entire space”

Woodford on Metope XXVI

“work of a less accomplished sculptor”

“awkward”

Woodford on Metope XXVII

“telling description of rippling muscles and tensed bodies”

Woodford on Metope XXVIII

“sensitively rendered body crumbled pathetically in death”

Pedley on West Pediment at the Temple of Artemis

“metaphor for the conquest of barbarians by the civilised world of Greek deities and heroes”

Woodford on West Pediment at the Temple of Artemis

“decorative effectiveness, and narrative richness”

Neer of West Pediment at Temple of Aphaia

Reclining figure - “his pose is stiff; the abdominal muscles do not twist convincingly”

Pedley on West Pediment at Temple of Aphaia

“topic allows for unity of scale”

Pedley on East Pediment at Temple of Aphaia

“pediments complete one another”

Neer on East Pediment at Temple of Aphaia

“central figures are massive”

Pedley on West Pediment at Temple of Zeus

“presenting the restless struggle in a single, timeless moment”

Neer on West Pediment at Temple of Zeus

“fate of bad guests…attack the wives and daughters of their hosts”