GreecePart 3

The Late Classical Period

404-338 BCE

Political upheaval: Peloponnesian War

Defeat of plague weakened Athens at

Sparta conquers in 404 BC

338 BC Power to Phillip of Macedonia; father of Alexander the Great

Alexander overthrew Persia, Egypt and went as far as India

Chaos and DisorderGreece is much weaker after War

But good for philosophy and art

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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.

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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

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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+ heads not 7

350 BCE PraxitelesHermes and Dionysus

450 BCE PolykleitosSpear bearer(Doryphoros)

Praxiteles

End to serene idealismNew focus on the individual

Body forms S curve

Dreamy expression

Smooth modeling

No strength and rationality

Instead languor and sensuousness

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

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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

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Female nudity was considered base

340 BCE530 BCE

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Venus PudicaA 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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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.

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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

Emotional bridge to viewer

Sympathy and mourning

High relief

Living vs. dead

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

Musei Vaticani, Rome.

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

Musei Vaticani, Rome.

Out of the boxInto the viewers space

New canonSmaller headThinner body

Front not dominantNervous energy

Fig leaf?? (Catholic addition)

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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.

Contradiction?Attributes?

Exaggerated MusculatureRejection of stability and balanceFigure in Space?Humanization of Greek god

HubrisThe 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.

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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

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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.

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

Alexander the Great’s Empire

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.

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Alexander encouraged inter-cultural marriages.

Cosmopolite: citizen of the world.

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GNOSIS, Stag hunt, from Pella, Greece, ca. 300 BCE. Pebble mosaic, figural panel 10’ 2” high. Archaeological Museum, Pella.

Hades abducting Persephone, detail of wall painting from tomb 1, Vergina,

Greece, mid-fourth century BCE, 3’ 3 ½ ”

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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.

The Alexander Mosaic

Battle of Issus

Tesserae- tiny stones/glass

SubjectivePsychological IntensityLooking at the king, not who he killedDarius in retreat

Objective¾ view of horseForeshorteningReflection on the shield

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

Orchestra “dancing place”Located on a hill, with a nice view

Perfect acousticsStill used today

Plays performed only onceTragedies in verseAeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides

Vehicle of communal expression of religious belief

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

“STOA”

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Pergamon

Attalid Dynasty“rump state”

Wealthy and opulent court cities

Altar of Zeus: Defeat of Gauls

Architecture: large scale and diversitytheatricalbreak the rulesdevelopment of the interior, instead of the focus on the building as a refined and perfect sculpture

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

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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.

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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.

Facial features of GaulsKills wife and himself

Lysippan tradition- must walk around to appreciate it

Hellenistic Sculpture:Theatrical, twisting body, exaggerated musculatureIndividual, specificMelodramaticTheatrical, multi-mediaRealism, caricature

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

Gaul in defeatBaroqueDramaticExpressiveIn the roundBattles fought heroically in the nude

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

Theatrical effectBalance of forward body and backward wings

Site-combination of art and nature

Placed on prow of stone shiphigh on a hillspray of the fountainVisual and auditory drama

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ALEXANDROS OF ANTIOCH-ON-THE-MEANDER, Aphrodite (Venus de Milo), from Melos, Greece, ca. 150–125 BCE.

Marble, 6’ 7” high. Louvre, Paris.

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Sleeping satyr (Barberini Faun), from Rome, Italy, ca. 230–200 BCE.

Marble, 7’ 1” high. Glyptothek, Munich.

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Seated boxer, from Rome, Italy, ca. 100–50 BCE. Bronze, 4’ 2” high.

Museo Nazionale Romano–Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome.

Older man from lowest social strata

Athlete

Battered and defeated

Broken nose, teeth, and ears

Emotional

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

Location: businessman’s clubhouse

Eroticism and parody

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

Why would someone want to look at this?

Social realismPortrait study

Elegant dressUntidy hairUnfocused stare

Dionysis?EXPRESSIONISTIC

Into viewers spaceDemand emotional response from viewerTechnical virtuosity in form and texture

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

Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen.

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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.