Detailed Study Notes on Ancient Greek Art and Architecture

Ionic Decorative Style

• Introduced in the middle of the fifth century BCE

• Characteristics:

  • Continuous friezes

  • Made of terracotta

  • Features repetitive patterns

The Artemision of Ephesus

• Further developed the Ionic style

• Utilized marble for construction

• Depicted battle scenes

The Treasure of Delphi

• Developed at the end of the fifth century BCE

• Featured the first instances of an Ionic frieze

• Frieze placement:

  • Positioned between the architrave and cornice

• Became a standard architectural element

Architectural Structures in Ancient Greece

Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi, Greece (ca 530 BCE)

• Notable restoration:

  • Restored view of Siphinian Treasure

Temple of Olympian Zeus, Agrigento, Italy (480 BCE)

• Important temple reflecting early architectural styles

Pottery Developments in Ancient Greece

Emergence of Corinthian Pottery (VII Century BCE)

• Chronology:

  • Emerged before Attic production

• Characteristics:

  • Proto-Corinthian vases

  • Elaborate designs

Proto-Attic Vases

• Evolution:

  • Maintained a geometric style until the century's end

• Transition:

  • Gradual adoption of a mixed decoration style

  • White surfaces

  • Incised black figures

Notable Artworks and Artists

Klettas and Esgotimos

• François Vase (Athemian black-figure volute krater)

  • Origin: Chiusi, Italy

  • Date: ca. 570 BCE

  • Height: 22 inches

  • Location: Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence

Exekias

• Artwork:

  • Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game

  • Type: Athenian black-figure amphora

  • Origin: Vulci, Italy

  • Date: ca. 540-530 BCE

  • Height: 28 inches

  • Location: Musei Vaticani, Rome

Kleitias and Ergotimos

• François Vase

  • Type: Athenian black-figure volute krater

  • Origin: Chiusi, Italy

  • Date: ca. 570 BCE

  • Height: 22 inches

  • Location: Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence

The Acropolis of Athens

• Features:

  1. Parthenon

  2. Propylaia

  3. Pinakotheke

  4. Erechtheion

  5. Temple of Athena Nike

• Representational overview of classical architecture

Kritios Boy

• Date: 480 BCE

• Origin: Acropolis, Athens, Greece

Sculpture of Zeus or Poseidon

• Date: 460 BCE

• Height: 7 feet

• Location: National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Discus Thrower by Myron

• Date: 450 BCE

• Height: 5 feet

• Type: Roman copy of a bronze statue

• Location: Nazionale Romano, Rome

Laocoon and His Sons

• Attribution: Pliny the Elder to sculptors Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes

• Historical context:

  • Thought to have been created in the early first century CE

• Comparison to Virgil's description of Laocoon's strangle:

  • Punished for warning against the Trojan Horse

  • Graphic depiction of agony during the attack of sea serpents

Sculpture Details: Laocoon and His Sons

• Origin: Rome, Italy

• Date: Early first century CE

• Material: Marble

• Height: 7 feet 10 inches

• Location: Musei Vaticani, Rome

Other Notable Sculptures

Old Market Woman

• Type: Roman copy

• Date: Ca. 150-100 BCE

• Material: Marble

• Height: 4 feet 15 inches

• Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Demosthenes by Polyeuktos

• Type: Roman copy of a bronze original

• Date: Ca. 280 BCE

• Material: Marble

• Height: 6 feet 7 inches

• Location: Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen

Defeated Boxer or Boxer of the Quirinal

• Representation of Hellenistic ideals in art

Aphrodite (Venus de Milo) by Alexandros

• Origin: Melos, Greece

• Date: Ca. 150-125 BCE

• Material: Marble

• Height: 67 inches

• Location: Musée du Louvre

• Characteristics:

  • Emphasis on eroticism in Hellenistic art

  • Overtly sexual representation, with a slipping garment

Nike of Samothrace (Winged Victory)

• Origin: Samothrace, Greece

• Date: Ca. 190 BCE

• Material: Marble

• Height: 8 feet 1 inch

• Location: Musée du Louvre, Paris

• Description:

  • Masterpiece of Hellenistic baroque sculpture

  • Positioned on the prow of a Greek warship

  • Gesture: Raising a (missing) right arm for crowning the victor

Hellenistic Sculpture

Dying Gaul

• Centerpiece of the Altar of Zeus, Pergamon

• Artistic focus:

  • Representation of victory over Gauls

  • Intricate details of Gallic features:

  • Long, bushy hair

  • Mustaches

  • Torques (neck bands)

• Narrative:

  • A heroic Gallic chieftain's suicide rather than capture

Choragic Monument of Lysikrates

• Date: 334 BCE

• Location: Athens

Philoxenos of Eretria

• Artwork: Battle of Issus

• Date: Ca. 310 BCE

• Dimensions: 9 x 17 feet

• Location: House of Faun, Pompeii