GREECE part 3 de Beaufort

1. Greece
Part 3

2. The Late Classical Period
404-338 BCE
Political upheaval: Peloponnesian
War
SPARTA VS. ATHENS
Sparta defeats plague
weakened Athens in 404 BC

3. Chaos and Disorder
Greece is much weaker after War
But good for philosophy and art
3

4. Major change in Greek
thought and Art
Greek art began to focus more
on the individual and on the
real world of appearances
rather than on the community
and the ideal world of perfect
beings and perfect buildings.

5. 5
PRAXITELES(?), Hermes and the infant Dionysos, from
the Temple of Hera, Olympia, Greece. Copy of a statue
by Praxiteles of ca. 340 BCE or an original work of ca.
330–270 BCE by a son or grandson. Marble, 7’ 1” high.
Archaeological Museum, Olympia

6. 6
PRAXITELES(?), Hermes and the infant Dionysos, from
the Temple of Hera, Olympia, Greece. Copy of a statue
by Praxiteles of ca. 340 BCE or an original work of ca.
330–270 BCE by a son or grandson. Marble, 7’ 1” high.
Archaeological Museum, Olympia
Notice S-curve of the body (pronounced
contrapposto)

8. Papposilenos

9. Praxiteles:
8+ heads not 7
End to serene
idealism
New focus on the
individual
Body forms S
curve
Dreamy
expression
Smooth modeling
No strength and
rationality
Instead languor
and sensuousness
350 BCE Praxiteles
Hermes and Dionysus
450 BCE Polykleitos
Spear bearer(Doryphoros)

10. 10
PRAXITELES, Aphrodite of Knidos. Roman marble copy
of an original of ca. 350–340 BCE. 6’ 8” high. Musei
Vaticani, Rome.

11. 11
PRAXITELES, Aphrodite of Knidos. Roman marble copy
of an original of ca. 350–340 BCE. 6’ 8” high. Musei
Vaticani, Rome.
• A big “first” and a bold step to render a
goddess in the nude
• Sensuous and humanizing qualities –
different from the cold, aloof gods and
athletes of the High Classical
• But not openly erotic, pelvis shielded
• “Welcoming look” slight smile
• Softness of face and eyes

12. 12

13. Female nudity was
considered base
340 BCE530 BCE

14. Venus Pudica
A classic figural pose in Western
art. In this, an unclothed female
(either standing or reclining) keeps
one hand covering her private
parts. (She is a modest lass, this
Venus.) The resultant pose - which
is not, incidentally, applicable to the
male nude - is somewhat
asymmetrical and often serves to
draw one's eye to the very spot
being hidden.
The word "pudica" comes to us by
way of the Latin "pudendus", which
can mean either external genitalia
or shame, or both simultaneously.
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15. 15

16. 16

17. 17
Grave stele of a young hunter, found near the
Ilissos River, Athens, Greece, ca. 340–330
BCE. Marble, 5’ 6” high. National
Archaeological Museum, Athens.

18. 18
Grave stele of a young hunter, found near the
Ilissos River, Athens, Greece, ca. 340–330
BCE. Marble, 5’ 6” high. National
Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Grave stele influenced by the work of
Skopas of Paros (sculptor)
Known for including intense
emotionalism in his work

19. Emotional bridge to viewer
Sympathy and mourning
High relief
Living vs. dead

20. 20
LYSIPPOS, Apoxyomenos (Scraper). Roman marble
copy of a bronze original of ca. 330 BCE, 6’ 9” high.
Musei Vaticani, Rome.

23. 23
LYSIPPOS, Apoxyomenos (Scraper). Roman marble
copy of a bronze original of ca. 330 BCE, 6’ 9” high.
Musei Vaticani, Rome.
Out of the box
Into the viewers space
New canon
Smaller head
Thinner body
Front not dominant
Nervous energy
Fig leaf?? (Catholic addition)

26. 26
LYSIPPOS, Weary Herakles (Farnese Herakles). Roman
marble copy from Rome, Italy, signed by GLYKON OF
ATHENS, of a bronze original of ca. 320 BCE. 10 ‘ 5” high.
Museo Archeologico Nazionale,Naples.

27. Contradiction?
Attributes?
Exaggerated Musculature
Rejection of stability and
balance
Figure in Space?
Humanization of Greek
god

28. Hubris
The history of Greece is a tale of glory
and folly, of inordinate success and
incalculable waste. Perhaps because our
strengths as humans almost invariably
come from the same sources as our
weaknesses—to wit, the blindness that
leads many to be taken in by others also
makes them brave in the face of
overwhelming danger—the same things
that had fostered the civilization of the
ancient Greeks precipitated its fall, their
unwavering belief in themselves and the
conviction that their ways were the right
ways, the best ways, and finally the only
ways. In particular, the greed that drove
the Peloponnesian War and fomented all
its disasters for Athens and Greece alike
was part and parcel of the Athenians'
determination to improve themselves and
their way of life. That is, the fire that
sparked the Classical Age also
incinerated it.
28

29. The Greeks built their civilization,
a culture outstripping all previous
ones in Western Europe, from the
thin soil of their homeland, and
then threw it all away fighting
among themselves over those
same dusty stones. In the end,
their sense of self-worth was both
their triumph and their downfall. It
makes sense, then, that tragedy is
one of their most enduring
achievements.
Below- ill fated Sicilian Expedition
29

30. 30
Head of Alexander the Great, from Pella,
Greece, third century BCE. Marble, 1’ high.
Archaeological Museum, Pella.

31. Hellenistic Period
323 BCE (Death of Alexander)-
30 BCE Roman Annexation
Hellenistic civilization represents a
fusion of the Ancient Greek world
with that of the Near East, Middle
East and Southwest Asia, and a
departure from earlier Greek
attitudes towards "barbarian"
cultures. The extent to which
genuinely hybrid Greco-Asian
cultures emerged is contentious;
consensus tends to point towards
pragmatic cultural adaptation by the
elites of society, but for much of the
populations, life would probably
have continued much as it had
before.
31

32. Alexander the Great’s Empire

33. The Antigonid dynasty in Macedon and central Greece;
The Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt based at Alexandria;
The Seleucid dynasty in Syria and Mesopotamia based at Antioch;
The Attalid dynasty in Anatolia based at Pergamum.
33

34. Alexander encouraged inter-cultural marriages.
Cosmopolite: citizen of the world.
34

35. GNOSIS, Stag hunt, from
Pella, Greece, ca. 300 BCE.
Pebble mosaic, figural panel
10’ 2” high. Archaeological
Museum, Pella.
Skiagraphia
(shadow painting)
35

36. Hades abducting Persephone, detail
of wall painting from tomb 1, Vergina,
Greece, mid-fourth century BCE, 3’ 3
½ ”
36

37. The “turning point” of the game
Battle of Issus

40. 40
PHILOXENOS OF ERETRIA, Battle of Issus, ca. 310 BCE. Roman copy (Alexander Mosaic) from the
House of the Faun, Pompeii, Italy, late second or early first century BCE. Tessera mosaic, approx. 8’ 10” X
16’ 9”. Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples.

42. The Alexander Mosaic
Battle of Issus
Tesserae- tiny stones/glass
Subjective
Psychological Intensity
Looking at the king, not
who he killed
Darius in retreat
Objective
¾ view of horse
Foreshortening
Reflection on the shield

48. 48

49. 49

54. 54
POLYKLEITOS THE YOUNGER, Theater, Epidauros, Greece, ca. 350 BCE.

55. Orchestra “dancing place”
Located on a hill, with a nice
view
Perfect acoustics
Still used today
Plays performed only once
Tragedies in verse
Aeschylus, Sophocles,
Euripides
Vehicle of communal
expression of religious belief

59. 59
Stoa of Attalos II, Agora, Athens, Greece, ca. 150 BCE (with the Acropolis in the background).

60. “STOA”

61. 61

62. Pergamon
Attalid Dynasty
“rump state”
Wealthy and opulent court cities
Altar of Zeus: Defeat of Gauls
Architecture:
large scale and diversity
theatrical
break the rules
development of the interior,
instead of the focus on the
building as a refined and
perfect sculpture

63. 63
Reconstructed west front of the Altar of Zeus, Pergamon, Turkey, ca. 175 BCE. Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

68. 68
Athena battling Alkyoneos, detail of the gigantomachy frieze, from the Altar of Zeus, Pergamon, Turkey ca. 175
BCE. Marble, 7’ 6” high. Staatliche Museen, Berlin.

75. 75
EPIGONOS(?), Gallic chieftain killing himself
and his wife. Roman marble copy of a bronze
original of ca. 230–220 BCE, 6’ 11” high. Museo
Nazionale Romano–Palazzo Altemps, Rome.

76. Facial features of Gauls
Kills wife and himself
Lysippan tradition- must walk
around to appreciate it
Hellenistic Sculpture:
Theatrical, twisting body,
exaggerated musculature
Individual, specific
Melodramatic
Theatrical, multi-media
Realism, caricature

77. 77
EPIGONOS(?), Dying Gaul. Roman marble copy of a bronze original of ca. 230–220 BCE, 3’ 1/2” high. Museo
Capitolino, Rome.

78. Gaul in defeat
Baroque
Dramatic
Expressive
In the round
Battles fought heroically in the
nude

80. 80
Nike alighting on a warship (Nike of Samothrace), from
Samothrace, Greece, ca. 190 BCE. Marble, figure 8’ 1” high.
Louvre, Paris.

81. Theatrical effect
Balance of forward body
and backward wings
Site-combination of art and
nature
Placed on prow of stone
ship
high on a hill
spray of the fountain
Visual and auditory drama

82. 82

83. 83

85. 85
ALEXANDROS OF ANTIOCH-ON-THE-MEANDER, Aphrodite
(Venus de Milo), from Melos, Greece, ca. 150–125 BCE. Marble,
6’ 7” high. Louvre, Paris.

89. 89
Sleeping satyr (Barberini Faun),
from Rome, Italy, ca. 230–200 BCE.
Marble, 7’ 1” high. Glyptothek,
Munich.

96. 96
Seated boxer, from Rome, Italy, ca.
100–50 BCE. Bronze, 4’ 2” high. Museo
Nazionale Romano–Palazzo Massimo
alle Terme, Rome.

97. Older man from lowest social
strata
Athlete
Battered and defeated
Broken nose, teeth, and
ears
Emotional
97

103. Aphrodite, Eros, and Pan, from Delos, ca. 100
B.C. Marble, 4' 4" high.

104. Location: businessman’s
clubhouse
Eroticism and parody

105. 105
Old market woman, ca. 150–100 BCE. Marble, 4’
1/2” high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

106. Why would someone want to
look at this?
Social realism
Portrait study
Elegant dress
Untidy hair
Unfocused stare
Dionysis?
EXPRESSIONISTIC
Into viewers space
Demand emotional
response from
viewer
Technical virtuosity
in form and texture
106

108. 108
POLYEUKTOS, Demosthenes. Roman marble copy of a
bronze original of ca. 280 BCE. 6’ 7 1/2” high. Ny
Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

109. 109
ATHANADOROS, HAGESANDROS, and POLYDOROS OF RHODES, Laocoön and his sons, from Rome, Italy,
early first century CE Marble, 7’ 10 1/2” high. Musei Vaticani, Rome.