art hist identifications - hellenistic period

Great Altar of Zeus from Pergamon

- 180-150 bce (high hellenistic pd)

- from pergamon/pergamum (asia minor)

- built by King Emends II

- built to mark successful victory over Gaul revolt; made to thank Zeus for victory

- reminiscent of Athenian Acropolis

- Ionic colonnade surrounded by friezes

- center has sacrificial altar

Gigantomachy Frieze

- 180-150 bce (high hellenistic pd)

- from great altar of zeus from pergamon (asia minor)

- nearly 200 figures

- depicts fights between gods (athena, zeus) and giants; figures with wings denote nikes (shows victory)

- faces show pathos/strong feelings of emotion (new feature)

Laocoon

- 3rd-1st cent. bce (debated due to discovery of figures from a cave at Sperlonga, which confuses chronology)

- by hagesandros, athanadoros, and polydoros

- from rome (italy)

- depicts Laocoon and his two sons getting attacked by snakes (called on by poseidon since Laocoon was going to warn Troy about the Trojan Horse)

Gaul Ludovisi

- 220 bce (high hellenistic pd)

- from Pergamon (where victory was against Gauls)

- made by Epigonus

- "dying gaul" (Gaul denoted by mustache)

- roman copy; part of bigger group of dedications known as the Large Gauls (included Gaul and his wife)

- man is trumpeter (broken trumpet on ground)

Gaul and his Wife

- 220 bce (high hellenistic pd)

- from Pergamon (where victory was against Gauls)

- made by Epigonus

- depicts Gaul man (mustache) killing himself after killing his wife to prevent her from becoming a slave

- roman copy of bronze original

Votive offering for Victory over the Gauls

- 150 bce (high/late hellenistic pd)

- from acropolis (athens)

- pergamene king attalos II dedicated votive offering at acropolis celebrating the victory over the Gauls

Nike of Samothrace

- late 3rd-early 2nd cent bce (high hellenistic pd)

- from samothrace

- by Pythokritos

- depicts nike landing from flight, wings still outstretched

- likely a ship battle due to her landing on a ship

- back is poor quality, not meant to be seen from all angles

Terme Boxer

- 100-50 bce (late hellenistic pd)

- from rome (Italy)

- found with hellenistic ruler statue

- bronze original

- broken nose, swollen ears, bleeding wounds (debated whether or not he won or lost the fight)

- pose and hair is reminiscent of classical style

Marsyas's Punishment

- late 2nd cent. bce (high/late hellenistic pd)

- from rome (Italy)

- made of red/purple stone

- depicts Marsyas, a satyr, being hung and skinned because he said he was a better flute player than Apollo

Drunken Old Woman

- 3rd cent bce (early/high hellenistic pd)

- from Smyrna (asia minor)

- made by Myron

- roman copy

- old woman is seated holding a vessel of wine (maybe prostitute??)

- comparison can be made to Dancing Maenad --> maenads are related to Dionysos, god of wine, and woman is drunk

Old Woman

- 2nd cent bce (high/late hellenistic pd)

- from Smyrna (asia minor)

- made by Myron

- woman is likely a merchant; shoulder exposed alludes to sexual undertones, maybe an old prostitute?

- purpose is unknown, votive?? humorous??

Old Fisherman

- 200 bce (high hellenistic pd)

- from Aphrodisias (Asia Minor)

- depicts an elderly fisherman

- depicting elderly common people became popularized during the hellenistic period

Demosthenes

- 280 bce (early hellenistic pd)

- from Agora in Athens

- by Polyeuktos

- depicts Demosthenes, greek statesman who played lead role in uprising against Alexander the Great

Homer

- 2nd cent bce (high/late hellenistic pd)

- from rome (Italy)

- depicts Homer, blind poet who created the Iliad and the Odyssey

- statue is blind, lack of pupils

- headband and full beard = important figure

Hellenistic Ruler

- 150 bce (high/late hellenistic pd)

- found in Roman house on the Esquiline (italy)

- bronze original

- depicts young hellenistic ruler with heavy and over-muscular body

- has thin/short beard depicted by carvings in the face

Bronze Boy Jockey

- 200-150 bce (high hellenistic pd)

- recovered from shipwreck off of Cape Artemision, likely headed to Rome

- Boy is depicted as foreigner, therefore small in size compared to the Roman horse

- horse is branded with inscription of Nike crowning victory

Attic red figure pelike

- 360-350 bce (late classical pd)

- by Marsyas Painter

- from athens???

- depicts peleus, thetis, eros, and nymphs

- interest in fully nude female figures (new)

- white is used to signify nudity (clothed women are depicted in red figure)

Aphrodite by Doidalsas

- 200-150 bce (high hellenistic pd)

- from Anatolia (asia minor)

- by Doidalsas

- roman copy

- new crouching pose

- aphrodite is surprised at her bath, hence why she is crouched and covering herself

Aphrodite from Melos

- 125-75 bce (late hellenistic pd)

- from Melos (cyclades)

- by Alexandros of Antioch

- depicts praxitelean S-curve; face and anatomy is late classical type

- "venus de milo"

Aphrodite with Slipper from Delos

- 100 bce (late hellenistic pd)

- from clubhouse of the Poseidoniasts of Berytos (Delos)

- by Dionysios of Beryttos

- "slipper-slapper group"

- depicts aphrodite, pan, and eros; nude aphrodite rebuffs an importunate Pan, one hand sheilding genitals while another holds a slipper; Eros is seen between the two playfully pushing Pan away

- mood is good humored and gently erotic

Sleeping Hermaphrodite

- 2nd century BCE (high/late hellenistic pd)

- found in Rome (Italy)

- original sculptor is unknown; Bernini sculpted the mattress the figure lays on in 1600s

- depictions of hermaphrodites was increasingly common in hellenistic period

- you have to look from back side of sculpture to really see that it is a hermaphrodite (common in this period for pieces intended to be viewed from different angles)

Satyr and Hermaphrodite

- 2nd cent bce (high/late hellenistic pd)

- from rome (italy)

- depicts satyr and hermaphrodite in a shuffle

Faun Barberini

- 220 bce (high hellenistic pd)

- from Pergamon ??

- by Giuseppe Giorgetti ??

- depicts a sleeping faun, roman equivalent of the greek satyr

- shows mind at rest & body relaxed

- restored by Bernini in 1600s

Mount Nemrut

- 50-35 bce (late hellenistic pd)

- in southeastern Turkey (asia minor)

- built by King Antiochus I of Commagene

- summit where a number of large statues are erected around what is assumed to be a royal tomb

- statues include King Antiochus I, two lions, two eagles, and various greek & iranian gods (including herakles, apollo, hermes, and zeus)

- at one point, the heads of the statues were removed and are now placed variously all over the site

Tyche of Antiocheia

- 290-280 bce (early hellenistic pd)

- by Eutychides (pupil of Lysippos)

- from rome (italy)

- roman copy of bronze original

- full of symbols; female figure represents the wealth and good fortune of Antioch, a city in modern day turkey

- the man beneath her feet represents the Orontes river