2. Greek Architecture
Iktinos and Kallikrates
Parthenon, Athens
ca. 447-438 BCE
The White House, Washington D.C.
The Art Institute of Chicago
3. Humanism http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGUOtwDhyzc
“Man is the measure of all things.”
-Protagoras, 5th century BCE
Leonardo da Vinci, Vitruvian Man, 1487
4. The Real and the Ideal
Vanessa Beecroft, VB45.007.DR, 2001, c-print
Ron Mueck, Pregnant Woman, 2002
5. The Myth of Originality
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
(detail), Akkadian
ca. 2254-2218BCE
Menkaure and Kroisos, from Anavysos,
Khamerernebty(?), Greece, ca. 530 BCE
ca. 2490-2472BCE, Egyptian
6. Prehistoric Aegean Art
Stairwell in the resedential
quarter of the palace, Knossos
(Crete), ca. 1700 BCE
Landscape with Swallows
(Spring Fresco), Akrotiri, Thera
(Cyclades), ca. 1650 BCE
7. Greece
Dates and Places:
• 900-30BCE
• Greek mainland
and nearby
outposts in
Aegean Sea &
Asia Minor
People:
• Democratic city-
states
• Human-centered
• Poetry,
philosophy,
Olympic games Map of Ancient Greece
• Worship of gods
(polytheistic)
8. Greek Art
Themes:
• Humans
• Mythology
• Trojan War
Forms:
• Conceptual→Optical
• Doric, Ionic and Corinthian
orders (architecture)
Restored façade of the Temple of
• Mathematical proportion Aphaia, Aegina, ca. 500-490BCE.
• Symmetry, balance, order Fig. 2-28
• Beauty (the ideal form)
9. Major Periods of Ancient Greek Art History
Geometric Period Orientalizing Archaic
900-700 BCE Period Period
700-600 BCE 600-480 BCE
Geometric krater
ca. 740BCE
Trefoil-mouth oinochoe Euthymides, Three Revelers
675 BCE ca. 510BCE.
10. Archaic Period – The Kouros & Kore
archaic smile
Kouros ca. 600 BCE (6’), Kroisos, ca. 530BCE (6’4”), and Peplos Kore, 530BCE (4’)
11. Archaic Period – Temple Architecture
Temple of Hera, ca. 550BCE. Fig.
2-21.
Capital
Column
Model of the
hypostyle hall
Temple of
Amen-Re
Karnak, Egypt
ca. 1290 BCE
12. Archaic Period – Temple Architecture
Temple of Hera, ca. 550BCE. Fig. 2-21.
• Doric temple
• Mathematical order and
proportion (1:2 ratio)
• Balance, symmetry
• Peripteral colonnade (single
row of colums surround it),
entablature, pediment missing
• Cult statue in cella (core) and Colonnade entasis
pediment frieze reliefs (peristyle) (swelling)
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
14. Temple Sculpture – From the Archaic to
Classical Periods
Dying Warriors
West and East pediment
Temple of Aphaia
Aegina, Greece
ca. 500 BCE &
ca. 480 BCE
• Sculptures
decorated palace
friezes and
pediments
• Move toward
Greater naturalism
& Classical period
15. •Major Periods of Ancient Greek Art History
Classical Period
Hellenistic
480-323 BCE
Period
323 BCE-30 CE
• Defeat of Persians (Greek
nationalism, pride)
• Democracy Established in
Athens
• Peloponnesian Wars 431-404
BCE
• Age of Pericles, Socrates,
Plato, Aristotle, Euripides, and
Phidias
• Equilibrium of grace and
strength of the Classic period,
Red-figure Bell Krater, Woman
with Athens as the focal point in Profile 330-300 BC
Achilles Painter, Warrior taking leave of his wife, 440 BCE, 1’5”
16. Classical Period Doryphoros
Polykleitos
Sculpture (Spear Bearer)
ca. 450-440BCE.
Fig. 2-34.
Kritios Boy, Acropolis, Athens, 480 BCE
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/classical-greek.html
17. Classical Period
Sculpture
• Marble copy of hollow-
cast bronze sculpture
• Contrapposto with
ordered human motion
• Ideal male beauty
(demonstration of treatise)
David Beckham, Armani ad, 2009
• Asymmetrical balance
(left arm/right leg)
• Tension & relaxation
• Steps forward but doesn’t
move (implies rest &
motion)
• Canon of proportion
(Pythagoras’ ratios to
achieve
harmony/balance) Polykleitos, Doryphoros
Illustration of the Egyptian
canon of proportions ca. 450-440BCE
18. Classical Period
Sculpture
Discovered at bottom
of sea near Riace, Italy
(hence title)
One of two hollow-cast
bronze sculptures (from
original clay & wax models,
poured molten bronze)
Inlaid eyes, silver teeth
& eyelashes
Contrapposto & movement
Riace Warrior, 460-450 BCE
bronze, 6’6” tall
19. Classical Period – Temple Architecture
Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, ca. 447-438BCE. Fig. 2-36.
http://video.pbs.org/video/980040228/
20. Classical Period 17 columns
8 columns
• Doric Temple of Athena on Acropolis
(inner Ionic)
• Athenian military might over Persians
(see Athena Parthenos)
• Relief sculpture in pediments and
friezes (overseen by Phidias)
• Symmetria from numerical ratios
(x = 2y +1) or 17 = 2(8) + 1
• Adjusted for viewer’s eye (slight
Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon,
swelling & leaning (columns inward)
and curvatures upward (stylobate) ca. 447-438BCE. Fig. 2-36.
• Reflects focus on community & ideal in
Classical era
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
21. Classical Period – Parthenon Sculpture
Helios and his
horses and Dionysos
From east pediment
Athena Parthenos by
Phidias, copy of 38’
original
higher relief
Elders and Maidens, detail of Panathenaic Festival
procession east frieze, 3’6”
22. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Amppb0SJDWA
Whose Culture is it Anyway?
The Parthenon & Patrimony
Class Activity
Three Goddesses See Critical Perspectives on Art History
(Hestia, Dione,
Aphrodite?)
From east pediment Part 1, Ch.2, pp. 14-28
24. Late Classical
Lysippos Apoxomenos (Scraper), 330 BCE &
Praxiteles Aphrodite of Knidos, ca. 350-340BCE.
25. Late Classical
• Late Classical less interested
in order and perfection
• Aphrodite, Greek goddess of
love and beauty
• New female nudity
(unprecedented in divine
figures)
• Sensuousness despite
modest pose (“welcoming
look”-Lucian, 2nd century CE)
• Undressing for bath (draped
over water pitcher)
• Roman marble copy Praxiteles, Aphrodite of
Knidos, ca. 350-340BCE.
Fig. 2-47.
26. Late Classical
Philoxenos of Eretria, Battle of Issus, ca. 310BCE, mosaic, Fig. 2-50.
27. Philoxenos of Eretria, Battle of
Late Classical
Issus, ca. 310BCE. Fig. 2-50.
• Alexander victory over
Persian king Darius III
in Turkey
• Roman mosaic copy of
Greek painting by
Philoxenos of Eretria
• Tesserae (cut
glass/stones) for color
• Natural light and
shadows
• Motion and expression
• Foreshortening (horses
and men)
• Psychological intensity
(reflection in mirror)
28. Hellenistic Period - Pergamon
Ionic colonnade
400’ sculpted frieze Altar of Zeus, ca. 175BCE. Fig. 2-52.
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/the-pergamon-altar1.html
29. Hellenistic Period
-Pergamon
• Kingdoms rise after death
Altar of Zeus, ca. 175BCE
of Alexander
• Monument to Zeus
• 100 figures
• Gigantomachy (gods vs.
giants) to refer to defeat of
“barbarians” (Gauls in Asia
Minor)
• Athena battling giants,
crowned by Nike (victory)
• Connection to Parthenon
in Athens
• Motion, emotion
(suffering), drama
• Dramatic light and shadow Athena Battling Alkyoneos, 7’6” high, frieze,
for narrative (high relief) Altar of Zeus
30. Archaic vs. Hellenistic Sculpture
Dying Warrior
West pediment
Temple of
Aphaia
Aegina, Greece
ca. 500 BCE
Dying Gaul
Epigonos (?)
Roman copy
Pergamon
230 BCE
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/dying-gaul.html
31. Hellenistic Sculpture – Portraying Sleep
Sleeping Satyr
(Barberini Faun)
230 BCE, 7’1”
Sleeping Hermaphrodite
Roman copy of 2nd century BCE
original
• Portrayal of sleep & dreams opposite
of rational, Classical period
• Drunken satyr (mythical follower of
Dionysus) enhances dreamy, highly
sexualized quality
• The gaze (male)
33. Hellenistic Sculpture
• New interest in
realism versus
idealism of
Classical era
• Representation
of aging process
• Different types of
people, not just
heroes and gods
• Freestanding and
independent
• New social
Duane Hanson,
climate (social Supermarket
Shopper
Old market woman, ca. 150-
realism?) 100BCE. , 4’1/2”, Fig. 2-58.
1970, polyester resin
• Plight of the And fiberglass, life-size
poor?
Editor's Notes
In what ways are we like the ancient Greeks? What do we owe to them? How have their politics, philosophies, love of athleticism and standards of beauty informed our own? Today, we will examine the art of ancient Greece, a period and place which has had tremendous influence on the course of Western history and on the modern world in which we live. Here’s just one prominent example, the Olympic Games and the discus event.
Probably the most visible evidence of Greek influence today is in the realm of architecture. Here, we see the Parthenon, the icon of ancient Greek architecture on the acropolis in Athens Greece, and two more recent buildings, the White House in Washington, D.C. and the Art Institute of Chicago. Both modern structures were built according to ancient Greek design principles and use Greek architectural elements, like the pediment (the triangular top), the column and pilaster. We can see these forms, albeit in ruin, in the Parthenon above.
But, there is a more fundamental philosophy that underlies this, one of many parallels between the ancient Greek world and our own. The concept of individualism and humanism was central to Greek life as it is to ours. What does this mean? What is humanism? Consider its root word, “human.” Humanism is very broadly centered on humans, their values, potential, and worth. It can be summed up in the ancient Greek saying, “Man is the measure of all things”, a concept perfectly illustrated later in the Italian Renaissance in the work of Leonardo da Vinci, among others. Leonardo’s Vitruvian Man is essentially a study of human proportion based on the ideas of the ancient Roman architect, Vitruvius, which where themselves influenced by ancient Greek aesthetics. It shows us how a study of man himself, his body, is essential to understanding the world around us. In fact, it suggests that since “man is the measure”, the world around him (even the heavens and the gods and goddesses who populate it) can be understood as an extension of him. That man contains within himself all the fundamental laws of nature. This informed the Ancient Greek belief that chaotic nature can and should be ordered and idealized by man, an idea which was largely affirmed by architects and artists through their development of a canon of formal vocabulary including: architectural orders, symmetry, naturalistic proportion and, at times, expressive movement. How can we see a continuation of these ideas today?
We can see it in American political system. While ours is structured differently than theirs (and more democratically, particularly as it relates to women), it was in Ancient Greece that the democratic political system emerged, which is premised on the fact of individuals selecting their leaders (a “government by the people and for the people”). We can also see it in the continued preference not only for hyperrealistic images and objects, like in Mueck’s very real-looking sculpture of a Pregnant Woman , but in our need to idealize these realities and conform to such standards of beauty, as is suggested in the work of contemporary artist Vanessa Beecroft on the right.
This is not to say that the Greeks invented all of this. As it has always been, they modified and enhanced the art of previous civilizations, namely the artists of the Ancient Near East (far left) and Ancient Egypt (middle). In fact, as you can see, Old Kingdom Egyptian sculpture is remarkably similar to early Archaic Greek sculpture. Note the hands clenched in fists at sides and the left foot extending forward in both sculptures of Menkaure and Kroisos.
More specifically, it was the art of the ancient Aegean world that had the most direct influence on Greek art. This includes three distinct areas in the Aegean sea: the Cycladic Islands (Cyclades), the island of Crete (in the form of Minoan art), and Mycenaean art (from the Greek mainland). Here are a couple of examples from Crete and the Cyclades, respectively, that show the development of a Classical Greek architecture some 1700 BCE (on the left) and landscape mural painting from 1650 BCE (on the right). In the Knossos interior, we can see the rudimentary form of a column topped by a capital, as we will later see in the Classical Greek period. Both of these were made well before the Classical period of ancient Greece, which is the iconic style you typically think of when you think of ancient Greece.
Moving past the myths about ancient Egypt, let’s take a look at the facts.
As you can see, in the Geometric Period the aesthetic was quite geometric, at least it was on these kraters, which are bowls for mixing wine and water. In this Geometric krater, the forms are rendered in their most basic geometric forms (e.g. triangles for torsos, etc) and they are grouped in narrative friezes delineated by registers (horizontal bands or rows). We saw the use of registers as far back as the Ancient Near East and here we see its revival in pictorial narrative form. This Geometric krater was meant for a tomb and commemorates the death of a man (seen in the center, laying on his back). Around him is a ceremonial procession in his honor, complete with men and women whose gender is distinguished very basically as well. After this, we are skipping over the Orientalizing Period and heading straight for the Archaic period, where we see a progression toward greater naturalism (as seen in the rendering of the human form in this amphora (storage jar) by Euthymides) and a more fundamental focus on the human form itself. This is also an example of red-figure vase painting (vs. black-figure vase painting), an accomplished ceramic technique which allowed for greater detail and attention to the human form, often shown in motion. Here, we see “revelers”, likely drunk off the wine that would be stored in such an amphora, dancing, their bodies twisting and leaping, showing Euthymides accomplished understanding of the human form.
But, perhaps the most significant development in the Archaic period is the return of the freestanding figurative sculpture. What better way to illustrate the Greek love for individualism and humanism than in the representation of man and woman in three-dimensional form? We see this primarily in the kouros and kore figures, which indicate male and female youth. Here, we see not only the Greek indebtedness to ancient Egypt (in their posture), but a slow progression toward greater naturalism (realism). Unlike the Egyptian sculptures still bound to the block of stone, these figures are fully in the round, and they are nude to suggest the Greek love of athleticism (athletes competed nude in the Olympic games). Also, note the significant strides the artists made from the Kouros in 600 BCE to the Kroisos in 530 BCE. What changes have occurred? His form is more well-developed, rounded, proportional, and his face more fleshy and lifelike. When created, these sculptures would have been painted naturalistically in color using encaustic (a wax-based pigment). So, they were definitely not pristine white as we see them today. Lastly, in this face, he smiles an archaic smile . What is this and what does it suggest?
It was also in the Archaic period that great strides were made in temple architecture, which was heavily indebted to Ancient Egyptian architecture. We see this in the use of massive supporting columns, topped by capitals.
As we can see here in the diagram of the three Greek orders, from Doric to Ionic, the style progresses toward something more elegant and elaborate. In Greek columns, they are more swollen at the base ( entasis) and narrow at the top, a quality which is more present in the cumbersome Doric columns and leaner in the Ionic and Corinthian columns. Archaic period architects used the Doric order with the other orders developing later in the Classical periods.
Of these five periods, it is the Classical Period which established the iconic Ancient Greek aesthetic. This is the period in which the Spear Bearer and the Parthenon were created.
The Classical Period is the most mature and most famous of these periods in Ancient Greece. It marked a dramatic shift away from the stiff and Egyptian-influenced style of the Archaic period and toward a period of naturalism & realism not yet seen in art history. We can see this early in the Kritios Boy , who appears to be standing as a real man might, shifting his weight in his left hip with his opposite leg relaxed, or bent. His head then is turned slightly to the right away from a fixed vertical axis and toward greater movement and potential action. This remarkable achieve is called contrapposto and it will be a key element in naturalistic figure representation for millennia to come. But, perhaps contrapposto and naturalistic human form achieves its height some thirty years later in the iconic Doryphoros (or Spear Bearer) from 450 BCE. In what ways is the Spear Bearer even more advanced than the Kritios Boy?
Perhaps the best known example of Classical Greek temple architecture is the Parthenon which sits atop the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. An ambitious building project undertaken (and done so quite illegaly) by the then leader Pericles, it was designed by Iktinos and Kallikrates. Like the Temple of Hera, the Parthenon is designed around a basic Doric temple plan and surrounded by a colonnade, most of which still stands.
The Parthenon was very lavishly decorated. Here is a copy of the Athena Parthenons, which stood in the interior, and fragments of sculpture from the east pediment and Panathenaic Procession which surrounded the cella. This is only a few of the hundreds of feet of sculptural decoration on the exterior and interior. As you can see in the design of the Athena Parthenons, she is outfitted as a warrior, complete with shield, spear and helmet. This is thought to commemorate the Persian sack of the Acropolis in 479 BCE and it is here, as in other Greek representations of warfare, that the Greeks are shown in battle with mythical monsters (centaurs (half-man/half-horse) and Amazons (female warriors)) who represent the Greek’s beastly foes. If the Greeks regard themselves as heroic, orderly and refined, then their enemies are disorderly and barbaric. Likewise, since the temple itself is devoted to Athena, then its exterior sculpture exalts her as well. At the top is a fragment of the east pediment, which represents the birth of Athena. Above right is the god of the sun and his chariot (the next slide shows us other fragments from this pediment). The bottom right image is from the inner Ionic frieze depicting a procession held every four years in Athens, which ended on the Acropolis. We see elders and maidens here making their way to greet the honored guests, the gods and goddesses. All of these “marbles” show us Phidias and his sculptors amazingly accomplished skill at naturalistic marble carving. Figures feel fully rounded, lifelike and cleverly assembled. He’s even carved the procession figures in higher relief at the top to account for their distance from the viewer.
As you have read in the Critical Perspectives text, the Parthenon and its “marbles” continues to be a subject of debate and intense controversy still today. In the early 19 th century (around 1801), Lord Elgin, a Scotsman, contracted with the Ottoman authorities who then ruled Greece to remove a large section (about half) of Phidias’ sculpture from the Parthenon. These were then carried by see to Britain where they now remain in the British Museum. This transaction was immediately controversial and continues to be. Greece has repeatedly asked that these “marbles” be returned for display, now at the new Acropolis Museum, but they have yet to be. They argue that since these “marbles” originated there and were questionably obtained, they are Greek objects and belong in Greek hands. The British Museum argues that since they were legally acquired and have been in British possession for over 200 yrs, they have become as much a part of British history, and consequently of global significance, that they should remain. What do you think?
As opposed to the high Classical Period of the Spear Bearer and the Parthenon, the Late Classical Period (4 th century BCE) was full of strife and political upheaval. Following the Greek defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE, Athens was weakened. The art made thereafter reflects this chaos and uncertainty. Contrary to Phidias and Polykleitos’s emphasis on ideal perfection in art, we see an emerging individualism and deviation from perfection not only in the artists’ style, but in the subjects represented. This is apparent in the work of both Lysippos (on left) and Praxiteles (on right). Figures often appear less lofty and grand and more informal, as in the portrayal of this athlete scraping the excess dirt off of his body on the left and Aphrodite undressing for a bath on the right.
The Greek king, Alexander the Great ruled during 330s BCE. Alexander was a powerful and ruthless military leader who overthrew the Persian Empire, claimed control of Egypt, and extended his empire to India. We can see this in his portrayal at the Battle of Issus.
With Alexander the Great’s conquest of Near East, Egypt and India, a new age dawned called the “Hellenistic” era. It began with the death of Alexander in 323 BCE and ended with the suicides of Cleopatra and Mark Antony in 30 BCE. A year later, Egypt was made a province of the Roman Empire. During the Hellenistic era, Alexander’s empire was divided up into regions, from Alexandria in Egypt to Pergamon in Asia Minor. The empire was international, cosmopolitan, and literary. For example, the library at Alexandria was the biggest in the ancient world. This Altar of Zeus was built for the kingdom of Pergamon in Asia Minor, a seat of incredible wealth and elaborate artistic and architectural projects. It was built in 175 BCE and has been reconstructed at a Berlin museum. The Hellenistic era overall is marked by a radical departure from the perfected and emotionally restrained style of the High Classical period. Hellenistic art is even more idiosyncratic than art of the Late Classical period. A spirit of democratic individualism pervades much of it. Now we see not only representations of gods and goddesses, but also dying, suffering enemies, oblivious drunkards, the old (not just young), and highly eroticized portraits of men and women asleep.
We can see this move toward naturalism and greater identification with one’s enemies & their suffering in this comparison of Archaic and Hellenistic representations of fallen enemies.
Greece became a Roman province in 146 BCE and thereafter never regained its previous greatness. The Romans, however, hungry for the prestige and power of Classical Greece, continued to collect Greek art and make numerous copies of Greek originals. Therefore, much of what we’ve seen today are Roman copies of Greek originals (often originally made out of bronze). The Greek focus on idealism, beauty, symmetry, and order remained one of the strongest influences on the production of art in Western Europe up to the modern era. We will continue to see its enduring effect as we study Roman art next week and once we return to medieval Europe toward the end of the semester.
