Ancient Greece

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Gardners Art Through the Ages

• Chapter 5
• Ancient Greece

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The Greek World
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Ancient Greece

• Humanism the driving force behind Ancient
  Greece, it is the belief that humans are the
  measure of all things - Protagoras
• Helped to create democracy (rule by the demos)
• Greek gods were very human in form and actions
• Because humans are the measure in their
  perfection they are beautiful
• Perfection became the Greek ideal

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Geometric Period (9th 8th centuries BCE)
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• Greek Pottery
• The only examples of Greek painting that have
  survived are on pottery.

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Figure 5-2 Geometric krater, from the Dipylon
cemetery, Athens, Greece, ca. 740 BCE. 3 4 1/2
high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Meander (key) pattern dominates the rim 2 bands
of figures mourning Silhouettes are painted
frontally
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Orientalizing Period (7th century BCE)

• Increased trade with eastern countries resulted
  in an influence of those cultures on Greek Art

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Figure 5.5 Corinthian black-figure amphora with
animal friezes, from Rhodes, Greece, ca. 625600
BCE. 1 2 high. British Museum, London.
Amphora two handled storage jar Black-figure
black silhouettes painted on surface while red
clay showed through Bands of painted animals
both native to Greece (boar) and those exotic
(lions and panthers) Eastern monsters sphinx,
lammasu and sirens
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Archaic Vase Painting

• Some vases were labeled and contained artists
  signatures
• François vase signed by painter Kleitias and
  potter Ergutimas, contained 200 figures in 6
  registers, detail (next slide) shows centaurs
  battling after a wedding where they attempted to
  kidnap maidens and young boys.
• It is said to have images of all the Greek gods.
• Figures are painted in the traditional composite
  style of ancient art.

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Figure5-20 KLEITIAS and ERGOTIMOS, François Vase
(Athenian black-figure volute krater), from
Chiusi, Italy, ca. 570 BCE. General view (top)
and detail of centauromachy on other side of vase
(bottom). 2 2 high. Museo Archeologico,
Florence.
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Archaic Vase Painting

• Exekias famous black-figure painter who created
  Achilles and Ajax Playing a Dice Game.
• The figures are monumental and within just one
  framed panel.
• Ajax and Achilles have spears and shields at hand
  they are ready at a moments notice.
• Red-figure first used on bilingual vases one
  side was black-figure, the other side red. Its
  advantages it allowed more detail, and an artist
  could build up layers to achieve textures or
  areas of shading

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Figure 5-21 EXEKIAS, Achilles and Ajax playing a
dice game (detail from an Athesnian black-figure
amphora), from Vulci, Italy, ca. 540530 BCE.
Whole vessel 2 high detail 8 1/2 high. Musei
Vaticani, Rome.
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Figure 5-22 ANDOKIDES PAINTER, Achilles and Ajax
playing a dice game (Athenian bilingual amphora),
from Orvieto, Italy, ca. 525520 BCE.
Black-figure side (left) and red-figure side
(right). 1 9 high. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
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Figure 5-23 EUPHRONIOS, Herakles wrestling
Antaios (detail of an Athenian red-figure calyx
krater), from Cerveteri, Italy, ca. 510 BCE.
Whole vessel 1 7 high detail 7 3/4 high.
Louvre, Paris.
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Figure 5-24 EUTHYMIDES, Three revelers (Athenian
red-figure amphora), from Vulci, Italy, ca. 510
BCE. 2 high. Staatliche Antikensammlungen,
Munich.
Figures in ¾ view (foreshortened) Earlier
artists felt this was incomplete Had phrase
Euthymides painted me as never Euphronios (could
do)
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Figure 5-58 ACHILLES PAINTER, Warrior taking
leave of his wife (Athenian white-ground
lekythos), from Eretria, Greece, ca. 440 BCE.
Approx. 1 5 high. National Archaeological
Museum, Athens.
Classical Pottery
White ground technique - chalky white slip
applied to create background An example of
Polychrome painting (which would have been
created on wooden panels as well) Colors would
easily fade so these were not used for daily
purposes but as lekythos - perfume bottle
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Figure 5-59 NIOBID PAINTER, Artemis and Apollo
slaying the children of Niobe (Athenian
red-figure calyx krater), from Orvieto, Italy,
ca. 450 BCE. 1 9 high. Louvre, Paris.
One side is devoted to the massacre of the
children of Niobe. She felt she was superior to
the goddess Leto because she had 10 more
children. Leto sent her two children, Apollo and
Artemis to punish Niobes hubris. A landscape is
created with rocks and trees. The figures
actively interact with each other and their
surroundings. One figure, a slain son, is hidden
partially behind a rock and his face is painted
in 3/4 view - something never done before.
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Figure 5-60 PHIALE PAINTER, Hermes bringing the
infant Dionysos to Papposilenos (Athenian
white-ground calyx krater), from Vulci, Italy,
ca. 440435 BCE. 1 2 high. Musei Vaticani,
Rome.
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Archaic Period (650-480 BCE)
Beginning of monumental Greek Sculpture which
follows closely Egyptian canonical format
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Archaic Sculpture

• The increase of trade throughout the
  Mediterranean put the Greeks into contact with
  the culture and artistic achievements of Ancient
  Egypt.
• From this influence, arose two types of archaic
  statuary
• Kouros a young, standing nude male
• Kore a draped young female

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Figure 5-8 Kouros, ca. 600 BCE. Marble, 6 1/2
high. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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Archaic Sculpture

• The sculpture of the Archaic era was a bold
  innovation from the Egyptian sculpture that
  inspired it.
• First, the kouros is free of the back slab that
  supported Egyptian sculptures. They are the first
  freestanding sculptures.
• Second, the kouros were nude unlike the sculpture
  of the other ancient cultures.
• It marks the beginning in the quest of Greek
  artists to create the ideal human form.

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Figure 5-9 Calf Bearer, dedicated by Rhonbos on
the Acropolis, Athens, Greece, ca. 560 BCE.
Marble, restored height 5 5 fragment 3 11
1/2 high. Acropolis Museum, Athens.
Rhonbos was patron representative of himself
(?) bringing offering to Athena Bearded so he is
not a youth Thin cloak, once painted indicates
noble perfection and maturity He has a smile
which later archaic sculptures include to show
the aliveness of their subjects.
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Figure 5-10 Kroisos, from Anavysos, Greece, ca.
530 BCE. Marble, 6 4 high. National
Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Monument of man who died in battle. An
inscription on the base reads Stop and show
pity beside the marker of Kroisos, dead, whom
once in battles front rank raging Ares
destroyed. Same Egyptian stance as earlier
kourous but has a more natural body Originally
painted using encaustic (painting with wax) most
Greek sculptures would have been painted in a
similar fashion
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Figure 5-11 Peplos Kore, from the Acropolis,
Athens, Greece, ca. 530 BCE. Marble, 4 high.
Acropolis Museum, Athens.
Traces of encaustic paint on the Peplos Kore.
Peplos long woolen belted garment Extended
left arm broke away from convention Athena or
maiden? Women are always depicted with clothing
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Figure 5-12 Kore, from the Acropolis, Athens,
Greece, ca. 520510 BCE. Marble, 1 9 high.
Acropolis Museum, Athens.
Shows typical garments worn by women of the time
chiton (light linen) worn over a heavier
himation (mantle) the garment of choice for
fashionable women Also shows how sculptors tried
to represent folds of fabric and intricate
patterns
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Archaic Temple sculpture

• Sculpture was a major part of the temples of
  Greek gods and would inhabit the pediments and
  friezes.
• Archaic temple sculpture is characterized by
• Figures look toward the viewer
• Contain the archaic smile
• Are somewhat unnatural in their size or stance in
  order for them to fit within the space they are
  carved

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Figure 5-17 West pediment from the Temple of
Artemis, Corfu, Greece, ca. 600580 BCE.
Limestone, greatest height 9 4. Archaeological
Museum, Corfu.
Medusa Archaic bent legs, in shape of
pinwheel Two great felines serve as
guardians Bottom right Zeus is slaying a
giant Left scene from Trojan war of how
Neoptolemos killed King Priam
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Figure 5-19 Gigantomachy, detail of the north
frieze of the Siphnian Treasury, Delphi, Greece,
ca. 530 BCE. Marble, 2 1 high. Archaeological
Museum, Delphi.
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Figure 5-28 Dying warrior, from the west
pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece,
ca. 500490 BCE. Marble, 5 2 1/2 long.
Glyptothek, Munich.
Archaic front view and smile West pediment
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Figure5-29 Dying warrior, from the east pediment
of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece, ca. 480
BCE. Marble, 6 1 long. Glyptothek, Munich.
A more natural pose (Classical) East Pediment
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Greek temples

• Many early temples did not survive because they
  were constructed of wood and mud brick.
• Later temples were built using limestone and in
  some cases marble
• Archaic temples were inspired by the Egyptian
  columnar halls
• Figural sculpture played a major role to
  embellish, to narrate the story of the deity or
  as votive offering

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Greek Temples

• Carved columns and moldings added to the
  sculpture of the temples
• Temples were elevated above the city on an
  acropolis
• Difference between Greek temples and later
  religious shrines
• Altar was outside the temple at the east end,
  facing the rising sun
• Temple proper housed the so-called cult statue -
  image of god or goddess of the temple
• House of god or goddess not their followers

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Greek Temples continued

• The temples design reflected the simplicity of
  the megaron of the Mycenaean.
• They reflected the Greeks ideal of perfect form
  by approaching the proportion of 12 of its sides
• This interest in proportion, to the Greeks, was
  reflective of cosmic order

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Greek Temples continued

• Parts of a Greek temple
• Cella (naos) room with no windows, housed cult
  statue
• Pronaos porch with two columns
• Anta extended walls
• Opisthodomos rear porch of early temples, not
  functional but decorative
• Prostyle Colonnade on front of temple
• Amphiproatyle colonnade across front and back
  of temple
• Peristyle colonnade around entire cella
• Stylobate platform on which the columns stand

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Figure 5-13 Plan of a typical peripteral Greek
temple.
Peripteral Greek Temple
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Greek Orders of Architecture

• Doric formulated on the Greek mainland and was
  preferred by the western colonies
• Fluted (vertical channels) shaft, flutes meet in
  sharp ridges (arrises)
• Top of shaft marked with several horizontal line
  (necking)
• Capital has two parts echnus (lower) is convex,
  abacus (upper) is a flat square block
• Entablature has three parts architrave
  (epistyle) the main weigh bearing element, the
  frieze is divided into triglyphs and metops and
  the cornice a molded horizontal projection that
  with the two sloping (raking) cornices forms the
  pediment.

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Greek Orders continued

• Ionic order of choice of the Aegean Islands and
  the west coast of Asia Minor
• Fluted columns, are slimmer and rise from molded
  bases, flutes are flat (fillets)
• Echinus is small and supports a bolster ending in
  volutes (scroll-like spirals)
• Architrave is subdivided into 3 horizontal bands
  (fasciae)
• Frieze is left open for continuous relief
  sculpture

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Figure 5-14 Elevations of the Doric and Ionic
orders.
Compare Doric and Ionic Orders
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Temple of Hera I (Basilica)

• 80x100ft built circa 550 BCE
• Doric order
• Unusual because it includes a central row of
  columns which divides the cella into two aisles,
  this is common in Archaic architecture, perhaps
  they felt the structure needed the additional
  support
• This did not allow for space for the cult statue
• The columns are closely spaced and in order to
  correspond with the interior, there are nine
  columns on the facade

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Figure 5-15 Temple of Hera I (Basilica),
Paestum, Italy, ca. 550 BCE.
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Figure 5-16 Plan of the Temple of Hera I,
Paestum, Italy, ca. 550 BCE.