Aegean and Ancient Greek Art Summary

Aegean and Ancient Greek Art: Introduction

  • Chronological and geographical contexts.

  • Periods and artistic styles.

  • Religion and mythology.

Aegean Art

  • Reconstructing the past through archaeology.

  • Minoans: Knossos (mural paintings, architecture, pottery, writing).

  • Mycenaeans: Mycenae and Tiryns (layout, Lion Gate, palace and megarons).

Geometric and Orientalizing Periods

  • Geometric pottery:

  • Early temples.

  • Orientalizing pottery: Orientalizing jug.

Cities and Buildings of Ancient Greece

  • City organization and architecture (polis): Sparta and Athens.

  • Urban constructions: stoa, theatre, bouleuterion, house, stadium, gymnasium, palaestra, temple.

Architecture of the Archaic Period

  • Temple architecture and characteristics of Doric temples.

  • Examples: Temple of Zeus, Olympia; Parthenon of Athens.

  • Introduction to classical orders.

Sculpture and Painting of the Archaic Period

  • Kore and Kouros: Cleobis and Biton, Peplos Kore.

  • Evolution of the Kouros over time.

  • Painting and pottery: black-figure and white-figure pottery.

  • Transition from Archaic to Classical sculpture: Charioteer of Delphi; Artemision bronze (lost bronze technique).

Key Periods

  • Minoan Civilization (c. 3500-c. 1100 BCE).

  • Mycenaean Civilization (c. 1750 – c. 1050 BCE).

  • Geometric Period (c. 800–700 BCE).

  • Orientalizing Period (c. 700–650 BCE).

  • Archaic Period (c. 650–480 BCE).

  • Classical Period.

    • Early Classical Period (c. 480–c.450 BCE).

    • High Classical Period (c. 450–c. 420 BCE).

    • Late Classical Period (c. 420–c.323 BCE).

  • Hellenistic Period (c. 323–c.31 BCE).

Minoans

  • wCity of Knossos, Crete, founded in the Neolithic era.

Fresco Painting

  • Painting of colour pigments on wet lime plaster.

  • Paint absorbed by plaster is fixed and protected from fading.

Geometric Period / Style

  • (c.900−700BCE)(c. 900-700 BCE)

  • Dipylon amphora (Athenian funerary amphora) Late geometric period, (c.760−750BCE)(c. 760- 750 BCE). Painted terracotta, 155155 cm high

  • Geometric period = period of Greek Art characterized by geometric shapes and highly stylized, geometric human figures in art, especially pottery.

Orientalizing Period / Style

  • (c.700−600BCE)(c. 700-600 BCE)

  • Corinthian orientalizing jug, (c.620BC)(c. 620 BC)

  • Orientalizing period = period distinguished by international influences (Ancient Near East, Egypt, and Asia Minor) that contributed a distinctive Eastern style to Greek art. Pottery often includes animal motifs.

Acropolis

  • Highest point of a city, settled area built on elevated ground for defense.

Stoa

  • Covered walkway or colonnade for public use.

Theatre

  • Large, open-air structure for dramatic performance.

Bouleuterion

  • Meeting place of the boule (citizen council).

House

  • Centered on a courtyard, separate quarters for men, women, and children.

Stadium

  • Location for foot races, long and narrow with a horseshoe shape.

Gymnasium

  • Training center for athletes.

Palaestra

  • Exercise facility for wrestlers, rectilinear with a central, open space.

Temple

  • Main place of worship, basic form is a rectangular room with projecting walls.

Archaic Period

  • (c.650−480BCE)(c. 650 - 480 BCE)

Doric Temples

  • Wood and adobe replaced by stone.

  • Triglyphs may echo old construction methods.

Classical Orders

  • Assemblage of parts subject to uniform proportions.

  • Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders.

Doric Order

  • Oldest of the three Greek orders.

  • Column has no base, rests on the stylobate.

  • Shaft has grooves (fluted columns), short and wide.

  • Capital formed of three parts.

  • Entablature divided into triglyphs and metopes.

  • Metopes often decorated with low relief sculpture.

Parthenon

  • Use of geometry and proportion, possibly in the Golden Ratio.

Sculpture in the Archaic Period

  • Kouros: Greek for “young man”.

  • Kore: Greek for “young woman”.

Painting and Pottery in the Archaic Period

  • Black-figure and red-figure pottery.

Early Classical Sculpture

  • Transition from Archaic to Classical, also known as "Severe Style".

Early Classical Sculpture Characteristics

  • Move towards naturalism.

  • Competitive individualism.

Sculpture : Canon of Proportions

  • System of mathematical ratios to create ideal proportions.

Contrapposto

  • Positioning the body so weight rests on one leg, creating a relaxed curve.

Ionic Order

  • Developed in Ionia, transmitted to mainland Greece.

  • Column has a base, topped by a capital with a volute.

  • Slender and graceful columns.

  • Entablature has a running frieze of continuous sculptural relief.

Sculpture for the Parthenon

  • Athena Parthenos: gold and ivory statue.

Relief Sculpture

  • Pediments, metopes, and frieze.

Late Classical Period

  • (c.420–c.323BCE)(c. 420–c.323 BCE)

Alexander the Great

Corinthian Order

  • Most elaborate order, ornate capital with acanthus leaves.

Lysippos

  • Canon of proportions: 8 heads tall.

Praxiteles

  • Sculptor known for Hermes and the Infant Dionysos, Aphrodite of Knidos.

Characteristics of Late Classical Greek Sculpture

  • Greater naturalism, portraiture, female nude appearance.

Hellenistic Period

  • (c.323–c.31BCE)(c.323–c.31 BCE)

Hellenistic Centers

  • Pergamon, Alexandria, Rhodes.

Hellenistic Sculpture Characteristics

  • Greater naturalism and realism.

  • Advancements in portraiture.

  • Dynamism, movement, and drama in poses.

  • Representation of emotion in the face.

Wet Drapery

  • Sculptural style where clothing appears transparent and clings to the body.