greece ap art history

greek sculpture (in general)

• depicts mythology and greek polytheistic religion

• depicts perfect male athletes (bodies)

• humanism

  • gods look like perfect humans

  • humans worshipping

  • humans doing human things

  • revolves around the human

• art had both civic and religious function

• female nudity = rare

• male nudity = everywhere

• mainly marble and bronze (some wood and terra cotta)

• often painted

• incredibly influential on future european art

greek sculpture: archaic stylistic traits/conventions

• 700-400 BCE

• kouros

• archaic smile

• similarities to egyptian sculpture

• marble and cast bronze

• rigid and stylized

• kore

• symmetry

• pie crust hair

• painted

greek sculpture: classical stylistic traits/conventions

• 430-323 BCE

• goden age

• marble and cast bronze

• contrapposto

  • s curve

  • weight shift

• no more archaic smie

• no longer symmetrics

• no longer strictly frontal

• vase paintings (amphora or krater, black or red figure)

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classical contextual history

• begins w end persian wars

• athens rebuilt after destroyed

• age of pericles

• internal struggles between city-states

• peloponnesian war

• time of great achievements in democrac, philosophy, math/science, art, architecture, theater, etc

greek architecture: classical

• post and intel temple structures

• limited access to deities

• exterior of temples heavily decorated w sculpture, balance, harmony, proportion and order

• symmetry

• 3 orders of greek columns:

  • doric → grooved columns w no grooved based and an upper story w square sculpture (not as detailed)

  • ionic → columns with scrolled capitals and upper story with sculptures in friezes (detailed)

  • corinthian → similar to ionic but capitals carved in tiers of leaves (super detailed)

Greek Sculpture: Hellenistic stylistic traits/conventions

• no longer about one perfect, ideal figure

• broader range of age, physical types

• showing darker side of life

• extreme realism

• more drama, action, motion, emotion

  • suffering , playfulness, flirtation, anguish, pathos, melodrama

• sculpted drapery

• beginnings of female nude

• greeks no longer see world as perfect

Hellenistic Contextual history:

• death of alexander the great

• new philosophies

• library of alexandria (science and scholarship)

Anavysos Kouros

• ~530 BCE

• marble w remnants of paint

• archaic

• grave marker

• archaic smile

• pie crust hair

• similar to egyptian sculpture

• negative space → diff. from egyptian

kouros

an archaic greek sculpture of a male youth

(in the round, reestanding, grave markers for important ppl, life size, marble, painted)

Peplos Kore from the Acropolis

• c. 530 BCE

• marble

• originally painted

• archaic

• peplos: a garment worn by women in ancient greece, usually full length and tied at the waste

• not sure who she is (most likely athena)

• hand missing

• in the round

• freestanding

• archaic smile

• was prob holding smthn like a bow and arrow

encaustic

a type of painting in hich color is added to hot wax to affix to the surface

kore

an archaic greek sculpture of a female youth

Niobides Krater

• artist: Niobid Painter

• c. 460-450 BCE

• clay, red figure technique

• classical greece

• side a → apollo and artemis killing children of Niobide for her pride (hubris)

• side b → heracles story

• ground lines

• in the round

• depth

• naturalism

Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

• artist: polykleitos

• c. 450 - 440 BCE

• roman copy - marble

• greek og - bronze

• classical perfection of greek sculpture

• idealized perfection

• perfect male body and face

• in the round

• not meant to be frontal or symmetrical

• prob had spear in hand

• canon to set ratio of statue’s features

Athenian Agora

• c. 600 -150 bce

• place rather than building

• archaic-hellenistic greece

• athens

• agora → lower level marketplace of a greek city-state where commercial social and civic activities were conducted

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panathaneic way

ceremonial road for a procession to honor Athena during a festival

stoa

covered walkway w columns on one ide and a wall on the other

The Acropolis: parthenon

• acropolis = high city

• THE acropolis in athens

• artists → Iktinos and Kallikrates

• c. 447 - 410 BCE

• marble

• classical

• theater of dionysus carved into side of acropolis 9into hill)

• rectangular marbe temple dedicated to goddess athena

• on acropolis in athens

• phidias designed sculpture inside

• brightly painted

• optical illusions

 Acropolis: Helios, Horses, and Dionysus

• large life size

• int he round

• attached to deep shef of east pedimnt

• missing center figures

• 
  

Acropolis: Plaque of the Ergastines

• ergastines → group of young women chosen to weave new peplos for the statue of Athena on the Acropolis

• ergastines brining peplos to athena

• bas relief

• asymmetrical

• contrapposto

• part of inner frieze of parthenon

• painted to make more visible

Acropolis: Nike Fastening Her Sandal

• from a temple

• classical

• clinging drapery

• sense of body - but still no nude

• high relief - very deep relief

• realism

Acropolis: the Temple of Athena Nike

• temple commemorating victory - athena = goddess of victory

• athena nike = athena’s victory

• small temple

caratids

female figures used as columns

Grave Stele of Hegeso

• artist: attributed to Kallimachos

• c. 410 bce

• marble and paint

• classical greece

• part of tradition of marking graves

• shallow relied

• 2 women - not citizens, no rghts, no role outside home

• inscription defined relationship to men

• one servant, other is Hegeso (lady)

• classical because

  • contrapposto

  • drapery

  • serene

  • realistic idealized image

genre

scene of everyday life

Winged Victory of Samothrace

• c. 190 BCE

• marble

• heenistic

• in the round

• naval victory

• contrapposto

• living drapery

• dramatic

• painted

Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

• c. 175 BCE

• marbe

• hellenistic

• asia minor (turkey)

• prussia disassembled and took

• figures depicting battle between greeks and giants for cotnrol over eart

• depiction of athena fighting giants

• drama

• motion

• emotion

• theatrical

• twisting bodies and diagonals

• exaggeration and energy

• high relief

• swirling

• overlapping

• facial exressions

gigantomachy

a mythical ancient greek war between giants and olympian gods

Seated Boxer

• bronze

• c. 100 bce

• hellenistic

• melted into mold and cooed

• emotion

• story

• age

• copper create illusion of blood

• nude