Greek Art: Free Standing Sculpture Key Terms

archaic period

archaic period

early period of Greek history, c. 600 - 480 BCE

apoxyomenos

a man scraping oil off his body

canon

the title of Polykleitos’ treatise on statue proportions

caryatid

clothed female figure used to hold up architecture instead of columns

catenary

the curve that an idealised chain or cable forms when hanging freely from two fixed points, used to described u-shaped folds in drapery

chiton

a rectangular piece of unisex clothing which is sewn and buttoned along the shoulders to make sleeves

classical period

middle period of Greek history, spanning 490 - 323 BCE

early classical period

490 to 450 BCE

high classical period

450 to 400 BCE

late classical period

400 - 323 BCE

contrapposto

pose where the figure’s shoulders and hips are angled in different directions because the weight is on one foot

cult statue

a statue which embodies a specific deity

diskobolos

an athlete throwing a discus

doryphoros

a spear-bearer

egyptian grid block technique

a sculptural technique used in the archaic period where a grid was drawn onto a stone block to determine the figure’s proportions

free-standing

statues carved in the round and so detached from any background

frontal

when a sculpture has a definite orientation towards the prospective viewer

geometric style

a style from 8th - 7th BCE where geometric techniques were employed

himation

a unisex cloak made of heavy fabric, usually worn draped diagonally from one shoulder

iliac crest

the v-shaped crest of muscle which separates the groin from the hips, often exaggerated in Greek sculpture

in the round

a sculpture meant to be viewed from all sides that is three-dimensional with all parts fully rendered

kore

a draped female archaic sculpture

kouros

a male archaic sculpture

lost wax casting method

a sculptural technique where wax is used to create a large space between inner and outer clay moulds, allowing the creation of large-scale hollow bronze statues, used from the late archaic period onwards

modelling lines

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

motion lines

long, double curving lines in drapery suggesting movement

orientalising

a transitional period, c. 750 - 650 BCE, where Greek artists were heavily influenced by Near Eastern art, causing human and animal figures to become more prominent, and widespread use of stone for monumental sculpture

peplos

a sleeveless piece of rectangular women’s clothing, which was pinned at the shoulders and belted at the waist, and could be worn with or without a chiton

plinth

slab-like section beneath the feet of a marble statue

planes (flat or rounded)

the area of a two-dimensional surface, which in sculpture can be flat or rounded

ploychromy

the multicoloured painting of sculpture, using mainly blue and red, but also yellow, green, brown, black and white, regardless of material

severe style

the transitionary period between the archaic and classical, c. 490 - 450, characterised by thick eyelids, simple, heavy drapery, and an increase in characterisation

tensile strength

the resistance of a material to sideways stress and its liability to break

torso

the trunk of the human body

transparency/the wet drapery technique

sculptural technique which leaves ridges standing up on otherwise nude forms to suggest thin drapery

volute

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