Classical Art and Archeology- Unit 3
Classical Art and Archeology- Unit 3
Key Monuments
Dipylon Amphora, c. 755-750 B.C.E., Ceramic, 160 cm, Geometric period (attic)
Terracotta Krater, attributed to the Hirschfeld Workshop, Geometric, c. 750-735 B.C.E., Ancient Greece, terracotta, 108.3 x 72.4 cm (attic)
Attic Black-Figure Amphora with Ajax and Achilles playing a game, by Exekias, Athens, ca.540 BCE (Archaic)
Sarpedon Krater, signed by Euphronios and Euxitheos, from Athens, ca. 515 BCE (Archaic)
Dedication of Mantiklos to Apollo, 700-675 BCE (Orientalizing/Early Archaic)
male figure with long hair that is nude wearing a belt and headband
Marble Statue of a Kouros (New York Kouros), ca. 590-580 BCE (Archaic) = “Slim Jim”
Kouros from the Tomb of Kroisos, from Anavysos (Anavysos Kouros), ca. 530 BCE (Archaic
Attic Black-Figure Amphora with Ajax and Achilles playing a game, by Exekias, Athens, ca. 540 BCE (Archaic)
Euthymides, Three Revelers (Athenian red-figure amphora), c. 510 B.C.E.(Archaic)
Kritios Boy, from the Athenian Acropolis, ca. 480 BCE (Classical)
Artemisian Zeus or Poseidon, found off the coast of Cape Artemision, ca. 470 BCE (Classical)
Bronze Warriors found of the coast of Riace (Italy), 460-450 BCE (Classical)
Doryphoros (Spear Bearer), by Polykleitos, Roman period marble after a lost bronze original ofca. 450-440 BCE (Classical)
”Peplos Kore”, from the Athenian Acropolis, ca. 530 BCE (Archaic)
Capitoline Venus (right), Roman period marble copy after the
Aphrodite of Knidos (left), by Praxiteles, ca. 340 BCE (Classical)
Grave Stele of Hegeso, ca. 410 BCE, from the Dipylon Cemetery,
Athens (Classical)
Dying Gaul and the Gaul killing himself and his wife (The Ludovisi
Gaul), both 1st or 2nd century C.E. Roman copies of Third Century
B.C.E. (Hellenistic)
Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes, Laocoön and
his Sons, early first century C.E. (Hellenistic or Roman)
Key Themes
1. Know the historical periods of Greek art.
2. Know the different vase shapes and their functions. Consider if the decoration of the vessel reflects its function. (Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t.)
3. Consider the function of the Geometric Dipylon amphora and Terracotta krater. How are the functions of these specific vessels different from most amphoras and krater? How do we know?
4. Be able to describe the formal (visual) characteristics of Geometric Greek pottery. Which of these characteristics are due to period style and which are a product of personal style. How can we use connoisseurship to distinguish period and personal styles?
5. Know the difference between red-figure and black-figure vase painting. Be able to describe the different tools used and effects achieved. Consider especially the rendering of forms, line, pattern, and detail, etc. Use the ”building blocks” to describe these similarities and differences.
6. Visual narrative: what types of stories are selected for depiction on Greek vases? Which moments from the story cycle are selected?
7. The relationship between vase shapes and storytelling: what are the challenges of painting a scene on a concave surface? How is the surface plane organized (continuous frieze, panels, single scenes, multiple scenes)? Consider the relationship between the narrative moment and the format of the field in which it is painted.
8. Identifying regional styles using connoisseurship.
9. Formal (stylistic) development of Greek art, as seen through the male figure, from the Geometric through the Archaic period
10. Format, function(s), and meaning(s) of the KOUROS (statue of a nude male youth), from Mantiklos’ dedication to the kouros that stood on the tomb of Kroisos.
11. Why is the kouros represented nude? What values does male nudity communicate?
12. Why is the format appropriate for both votive offerings and tomb markers?
13. Know the difference between red-figure and black-figure vase painting. Be able to describe the different tools used and effects achieved. Consider especially the rendering of forms, line, pattern, and detail, etc. Use the ”building blocks” to describe these similarities and differences.
A.) Visual narrative: what types of stories are selected for depiction on Greek vases? Which moments from the story cycle are selected?
B.) The relationship between vase shapes and storytelling: what are the challenges of painting a scene on a concave surface? How is the surface plane organized (continuous frieze, panels, single scenes, multiple scenes)? Consider the relationship between the narrative moment and the format of the field in which it is painted: for example, a long
a long narrow frieze is better suited to processions, while a hand-to-hand combat might work better in a square or rectangular panel.
14. The stylistic development of the female form during the Archaic period
15. Format, function(s), and meaning(s) of the KORE (statue of a draped maiden). Who do the korai represent?
16. Possible identifications of the Peplos Kore. What is the evidence for these identifications?
17. The emergence of the female nude as a genre of statuary. How do nude female statues differ from the Greek male nude?
18. The distinction between representations of goddesses and women. Goddesses are not women! They are female, but they are not expected to conform to societal norms and expectations.
19. Representations of “real women” on funerary monuments: what does the Stele of Hegeso and monuments like this tell us about the roles and expectations for women in Greek society?
20. The Hellenistic period ushers in a distinctly “baroque” style of sculpture. What are some of the characteristics of ”Hellenistic Baroque” artworks, such as the Dying Gaul and the Ludovisi Gaul.
21. Consider the different contexts and meanings for male nudity: divine (for gods), heroic (for warriors), athletic (for athletes, pathetic (for the defeated).
22. Sculptures like Laocoon and his Sons historically ”fit” into both the Greek and Roman periods. What is the evidence to support a Hellenistic date? What evidence supports a Roman date? Does it matter if the sculpture is Hellenistic or Roman? Why or why not?
Poetry
1) Know the difference between red-figure and black-figure vase painting. Be able to describe the different tools used and effects achieved. Consider especially the rendering of forms, line, pattern, and detail, etc. Use the ”building blocks” to describe these similarities and differences.
a. Visual narrative: what types of stories are selected for depiction on Greek vases? Which moments from the story cycle are selected?
b. The relationship between vase shapes and storytelling: what are the challenges of painting a scene on a concave surface? How is the surface plane organized (continuous frieze, panels, single scenes, multiple scenes)? Consider the relationship between the
narrative moment and the format of the field in which it is painted: for example, a long narrow frieze is better suited to processions, while a hand-to-hand combat might work better in a square or rectangular panel.
Sculptures
1) Production techniques for Greek bronze statuary (indirect lost wax technique); view video for details.
2) Advantages of bronze: what types of formats and visual effects are made possible by the medium of bronze
3) The artistic contribution of Polykleitos and his canon of proportions. Consider the following statement. “The Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) of Polykleitos is an artificial representation of the nude male, in which the different parts of the body are carefully measured and related mathematically to one another. It is also the most bitingly realistic statue the ancient Greek viewer would have seen at the time.” How do you reconcile these two seemingly contradictory statements?
4) Greek Original/Roman Copy: utility and problems with this model. Consider that one of the advantages of bronze is the ability to reuse the molds to make multiples.
5) The stylistic development of the female form during the Archaic period.
6) Format, function(s), and meaning(s) of the KORE (statue of a draped maiden). Who do the korai represent?
7) Possible identifications of the Peplos Kore. What is the evidence for these identifications?
Key Terms
Attic- Athens, Athenian
Amphora- a vase shaped storage vessel
Krater- a wide mouth mixing bowl for wine and water
Period style- an artistic style from a specific period
Personal style- an artistic style attributed to the artist
Connoisseurship- close looking to identify period style and personal style by looking at characteristics
Kylix (plural, Kylikes)- a drinking cup that has two looped handles on a shallow bowl set upon a slender center foot
Black-Figure technique- the figures were black upon the pottery. (black images on a red background.)
Red-Figure technique- the figures were red upon the pottery. (red images on a black background.)
Connoisseurship- youth, young man
Kylix (plural, Kylikes)- drinking cup
Kouros (plural, kouroi)- statue of a nude youth
Votive- gifts, gift to the gods
Kalokagathia-composite greek word that means beautiful and good
Contrapposto-in Italian it means “different”, originate in greeks which a standing human figure is poised such as the weight rests on one leg, freeing the other one, which is a bent knee.
Indirect Lost Wax Technique-a metal casting technique where a wax model is coated in a ceramic shell which is then heated to remove the wax before molten metal is poured into the shell.
Patina- a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use
Kore (plural=korai)
Gilding-the process of applying gold leaf or gold paint:the material used in, or the surface produced by applying gold leaf or gold paint.
Canon-a set of rules for artistic styles, a timeline of artists, and a general principle for judging art
Kore (plural=korai)-a type of ancient Greek statue of a young woman that was often used as a votive offering to the gods or to mark graves.
Peplos-a type of dress worn by women in ancient Greece
Stele/Stelae-tombstones, often engraved with inscriptions
Pudica-modesty, posture where one hand covers the crotch area and the other arm over the breast area
Cult statue-statue that stands in temple
Baroque Statue- elaborate ornamentation, dramatic effects, and a focus on appealing to the viewer's emotions
Historical Periods Of Ancient Greece
PROTO-GEOMETRIC ca. 1100-900 BCE
GEOMETRIC ca. 900-700 BCE
EARLY ARCHAIC ca. 700-600 BCE
ARCHAIC ca. 600-480 BCE
CLASSICAL 480-323 BCE
HELLENISTIC 323-31 BCE
Vase Shapes and Functions
-Storage
-Service (Mixing and Pouring)
-Eating and Drinking
-Ritual
-Personal
Notes
What is represented in this figural scene?
A burial site and people mourning
-A goddess is not a woman