Introduction to greek art 1º ESO

1. GREEK ART
Profesora: Marta Recio Palanca

2. ARCHITECTURE
Caracteristics:
- The Greek ideal of beauty was based on balance, harmony
and proportion.
- Predominance of straight lines The buildings were
covered with a dintel (flat roof)
- Archs were not used
- Artists painted the
Buildings but these colours
have not survived
- Materials: stone like marble

3. The most important building: THE
TEMPLE
- It´s considered the house of the gods, where
only priests could enter. Religious ceremonies
were held outside and so the building was
designed to be admired from outside.
- Rectangular floor plans (although some were
circulartholoi)

5. - The temples were built on top of a platform with
columns around it called peristyle (peristilo)
- Then, you can find the column in diferent style,
which depends on the “greek orders”: Doric
(dórico), Ionic (Jónico), Corinthian (Corintio).

6. THE GREEK ORDERS

7. THE DORIC
- Is the simplest
- The colum has no base
- The capital and arquitrabe
Are smooth
- The frieze is decorated with
Metopes and triglyphs

8. No base, frieze with triglyphs and metopes.
The Parthenon

9. THE IONIC
- The columns have
narrower shafts.
- The capital is
decorated with
scrolls
- Teh frieze is smooth
- The architrave is
divided into three
bands

10. Atena niké

11. THE CORINTHIAN
- Is similar to Ionic
order, but the capital
is deocrated with
acanthus leaves.

13. THE TEMPLE
- After the different columns we have an
horizontal structure called entablature which
consist in three parts:
- Architrave
- Frieze
- Cornise
- The building was covered by a gable roof with
a triangular pediment at each end.
- The friezes and pediments were decorated
with reliefs and sculptures.
- The mayority of the temples were made of
limestone or marble.

17. Interior of the temple
- 3 parts:
 Pronaos: the entrance
hall
 Cella: is the central
room, it contained the
statue of the god the
temple was dedicated
to. The huge statue of
Athena in the
Parthenon was very
famous. (Phidias was
his author)
 Opisthodomos: The
room where the
temple treasure was
kept.

18. OTHER IMPORTANT
BUILDINGS
Epidaurus´ Theatre

19. Stadium

20. Recreation of a stoa

21. Palaestra

23. SCULPTURE

24. Characteristics
- The main subject of Greek sculpture
was the human form (body).
- The most commonly used materials
ere wood, limestone and bronze.
- They focus on the harmony,
proportions and beauty.
- They are constantly searching for
these cualities in three main periods:
archaic, classical and hellenistic.

25. ARCHAIC AGE
- Greatly influenced
by Egyptian art
- Rigid posrtures and
proportion
- Their faces had big
eyes and a forced
smile (archaic
smile)
- Male nudes called
KOUROS
- Clothed women
called KORAI

27. CLASSICAL AGE
- They aimed for
idealised beauty
through perfect
proportion called
canon.
- According to
Policleto´s canon,
the body should be
seven times the size
of the head.
- Gods and atlethes
reposing or tensing
their muscles were
characteristics.
 The most important
sculptors were
Myron, Phidias (5th
century B.C.)
 Lyssipos, Scopas
and Praxiteles in 4 th
B.C.

29. M Myron

30. Phydias

32. Lyssippos

33. Scopas

34. Praxiteles

35. HELLENISTIC AGE
- Sculptures became more expressive and bodies were
depicted in movement, sometimes turning sharply.
- They introduced new subjects such as childhood.

36. PAINTING AND POTTERY
- Few examples have survived.
However, examples can be found on
pottery, which was decorated with:
- - Geometric patterns and vegetables
- - Black figures on a red background
- - Red figures on a black background