![Geometric Period
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Middle Geometric belly-
handled amphora
from the “Tomb of a Rich
Athenian Lady” in Athens
Ca. 850 B.C. [h: 71.5 cm]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/greekart-120813144340-phpapp02/85/LVV4U-Introduction-to-Greek-Art-Architecture-6-320.jpg)
LVV4U: Introduction to Greek Art & Architecture
- 1. Greek Art
- 2. Periods Geometric: 1100-750 BCE Archaic: 750- 480 BCE Classical: 480 BC - 323 BCE Hellenistic: 323 BC - 30 BCE Classical: Head of Blond Youth
- 3. Why these divisions? Geometric: Conditions in Greek world were unsettled after fall of Mycenae, arts took a backseat while city states battled each other. A cultural identity began to form. Archaic: At the end of the “Dark Ages” - Increase in trade and exploration (notably Egypt and Mesopotamia) increase in art and literature with reintroduction of written language. Iron tools developed. City states increasingly stable. Classical: Persian Wars (480-448 BCE) spurred Greeks toward cultural maturity. Especially Athens, whose art, literature, philosophy, theatre etc. boomed. Idealized art reflected cultural values. Hellenistic: The reign of Alexander the Great (336 BCE to 323 BCE) introduces a new worldview and turn toward naturalism in art.
- 4. Geometric Period (1100-750 BCE) - Influenced by Mycenean art - Simple, precise linear decoration in ‘protogeometric’ art of 10th C. BCE - By 9th C. more complex patterns - zigzags, meanders, triangles, concentric circles - Finally, by 8th C. figurative art was introduced - first animals then stylized humans QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Statuette of a horse, 8th century B.C.; Geometric Greek Bronze
- 5. Geometric Period -Tall, wide-mouthed amphora used as a funerary dedication -Geometric features - zigzags, lines, QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. swastikas -Late Geometric - Increased attention to figures, both humans and animals - Popular iconography: chariots, armed warriors, horses Neck amphora, fourth quarter of 8th century B.C.; Late Geometric Greek, Attic VIDEO: http://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/art-history-400-c-e--ancient-cultures/v/krater--ca--750--700-b-c-e
- 6. Geometric Period QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Middle Geometric belly- handled amphora from the “Tomb of a Rich Athenian Lady” in Athens Ca. 850 B.C. [h: 71.5 cm]
- 7. Geometric Pottery QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.
- 8. Archaic Period (750-480 BCE) - Increased contact with Egypt and the Near East evident in Greek art: - More naturalistic figurative representation - Freestanding large-scles sculputres - New techinques - gem cutting, ivory carving, glass, metalwork - ‘Oriental’ motifs - lotus leaves, sphinxes, griffins -Wealthy city-states produced imposing temples, large- scale marble statues, fine gold jewellery - Depiction of mythological scenes, athletic events, everyday life - Doric and Ionic columns used in temples - Black figure pottery dominated - Stylized nude male youth sculptures - Kouros
- 9. Archaic Period Influence: Ancient Egypt c. 2600 BC Periods
- 10. Archaic Period Influence: Mesopotamia c. 2700 BC Periods
- 11. Archaic Kouros (c. 650 BCE) Periods Archaic: Kouros c. 650 BC
- 12. Archaic Kore Periods Archaic: Kore
- 13. Periods Archaic: Kore from Acropolis and Painted Kore
- 14. Archaic Lekythos (c. 530 BCE) - On this small lekythos (oil flask), women are engaged in various stages of wool working. -Textile making was one of the most important QuickTime™ and a occupations for women in ancient Greece. A good decompressor are needed to see this picture. weaver was considered an attractive woman, as well as a good wife. (e.g. Penelope in the Odyssey) -We can learn a lot about the activities of women and men, maidens and youths, in Athens during the sixth century B.C from these detailed representations of daily life - Attributed to the Amasis Painter, one of the foremost black-figure artists active during that time. Periods
- 15. Classical Period (480-323 BCE) -After defeat of the Persians in 479 BCE, Athens was the dominant polis, it was a thriving and wealthy imperial power -Pericles was determined to show off Athens’ glory through the Acropolis, most notably in the doric temple to Athena, the Parthenon, with its massive statue of the goddess in ivory and gold - Aesthetic values: permanence, harmony, perfection of the human form -Introduction of more naturalistic contraposto pose showed figures at rest. Also figures in action (athletes) to show off idealized body and musculature. Males often nude, females covered up. -Bronze lost wax casting for sculpture (most now lost)
- 16. Periods Early Classical : Aristodikos Kouros, c. 500-490 B.C.
- 17. Periods Early Classical : Kouros from the Acropolis, c. 490 B.C.
- 18. Early Classical 3: Kritios Boy, c. 480 B.C. - Early contraposto style - less rigid and symmetrical - Facial expression no longer archaic smile, mouth more severe, gaze relaxed - More realism in anatomy and hair Periods
- 19. Periods Early Classical: Blond Boy, c. 480 B.C.
- 20. Periods Early Classical: Fallen Warrior from the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina
- 21. The workshop of the sculptor Phidias (480-430 BCE)
- 22. Artemision Bronze (c. 460) • Recovered from the sea • Severe style, excellent rendering of motion and anatomy • Who is it? • Zeus throwing a thunderbolt? • Poseidon throwing a trident? Periods
- 23. Polykleitos’ Canon •Most important sculptor of Classical Antiquity •Lived in Athens, late 5th C. BCE QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. •None of his original bronzes survive but many Roman copies exist •His contrapposto nudes are designed according to mathematical principles and aim for balance, clarity, completeness •Uses Pythagorean ratios for proportionality • “symmetria” means harmonious Doryphoros, "Spear-Bearer” 450- proportions 400 BCE
- 24. Sculpture Myron Discobolus c. 485
- 25. Periods Classical: Polyclitus
- 26. Sculpture Myron Athena
- 27. Classical Pottery -Bell krater used for mixing water and wine a symposion QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. -Depicts Persephone returning from Hades to her mother Demeter - Provides insight into Greek fashion -Red figure-ware, more detail
- 28. Painting Niobid Krater - attempt at three dimensional perspective
- 29. Pottery Achilles Painter - White Ground Lekythos
- 30. Painting Niobid Painter
- 31. Pottery Andokides Painter
- 32. Architecture Model of Parthenon
- 33. Architecture How did Greek climate & Geography influence its architecture?
- 34. Architecture Greek climate permits an outdoor lifestyle: • Temples on breezy hilltops • Open-air theatres built into sloping terrain •Agora and open courtyards surrounded by stoa - public space with a storied colonnade to protect from sun • Bright light casts shadows and accentuates details Materials: -Marble -Clay for roof tiles and decorative elements
- 35. Features of Greek Architecture -Column and lintel structures - Often incorporate or benefit from the natural surroundings - Temples usually have a rectangular floor-pan with a large central room containing the main statue and altar, surrounded on all four sides by rows of columns and capped with elaborate pediments - Proportions correspond to the golden mean - Stones fit together tightly but were sometimes reinforced by invisibly embedded metal clamps - Sculptural pediments
- 36. Orders: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian : QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture.
- 38. Introductio Doric: Temple of Zeus at Olympia
- 39. Architecture Ionic: Temple of Athena Nike – Acropolis Athens c. 427 BC
- 40. Temple of Zeus Ruins
- 41. Painting Reconstruction of Agora
- 42. Architecture Erechtheum on Acropolis in Athens c. 421 BC
- 43. Architecture Doric: Parthenon - temple of Athena Parthenos
- 44. Architecture Delphi
- 45. A recreation in modern materials of the lost colossal statue by Pheidias, Athena QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. Parthenos by Alan LeQuire is housed in a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Nashville’s Centennial Park. She is the largest indoor sculpture in the western world.
- 46. Architecture Epidarus
- 47. Hellenistic Period (323-30 BCE) -Alexander the Great had conquered an empire that stretched from Greece through Asia Minor, to Egypt and as far as India. - New exotic influences on Greek culture, new materials (gems) - After his death, Alexander the Great’s successors’ kingdoms had lavish palaces, gardens, public buildings and monuments - Art looked to the past but had innovations to reflect the spirit of the age - More naturalistic bodies, more emotion, dramatic movement - Broader subject matter: Grotesques, commoners, elderly, different ethnic groups -Rising Roman powers co-opted Hellenistic style, many Greek artists went there to work
- 48. Periods Hellenistic: Poseidon of Melos
- 49. QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. The Three Graces Roman copy of a Greek work of the second century B.C. Marble
- 50. Laocoön -Created around 50 BCE, Rome QuickTime™ and a -Shows pain and decompressor are needed to see this picture. struggle -Hugely influential on Renaissance artists when it was unearthed in 1506
- 51. Periods Hellenistic: Aphrodite and Satyr
- 52. Nike of Samothrace (2nd C. BCE) -Depicts the winged goddess of Victory standing on the prow of a ship -Overlooked the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on the island of Samothrace -Probably an offering from the people of QuickTime™ and a decompressor Rhodes in commemoration of a naval are needed to see this picture. victory in the early second century BC -Dramatic billowing drapery, intensity of movement - Nude female body revealed through suggestive draping
- 53. Sculpture Hellenistic: Venus of Melos (Milo) c. 100 BC
- 54. Sculpture Hellenistic: Aphrodite Kallipygos (Roman Copy)
- 55. Architecture Corinthian: The temple of Zeus at Athens 2nd c. BC
- 56. Architecture The temple of Zeus at Athens Detail
- 57. Architecture Corinthian: Choragic monument of Lysicrates - Athens ( 335 B.C.).
Editor's Notes
- #5: -Meander comes from the Maiandros river which flowed into the Aegean. -
- #6: This tall wide-mouthed amphora represents the fully developed Geometric style and illustrates the profoundly significant shift of focus from abstract design to the human figure. Decorative bands, consisting of a zigzag, crosshatching, and dots, fill the area above and below the two main figural scenes. On each side of the amphora's neck is a warrior with a round shield poised between two horses; a long-legged bird stands beneath each horse. Five two-horse chariots with charioteers parade around the belly of the vessel. Each driver wears a long robe and holds four reins, signifying that two horses, not one, pull each chariot. Anatomical details of the warriors, charioteers, and horses have been reduced to simple geometric shapes. Characteristically, the heads are rendered in profile and the bodies in three-quarter view. Scattered lozenges, zigzags, and other shapes fill the background of both figural scenes. Snakes modeled in the round set off the lip, shoulder, and tall handles of the amphora. Armed warriors, chariots, and horses are the most familiar iconography of the Geometric period. Whether these images reflect a real world of military threat and conflict, or refer to the heroic deeds of ancestors, is a longstanding debate in studies of Geometric art. Snakes, traditionally associated with death, probably refer to this amphora's function as a funerary dedication.