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ANCIENT GREEK ART
6TH – 4TH CENTURY BC
6th century
• Ruled by tyrant
• One of wealthiest city states (polis)
• Leader in artistic achievement
5th century
• Democracy for men, not women• Delian League: Greek city-states united
against Persians; Athens was the head• Pericles becomes most successful
Athenian leader• Period of Greatest artistic activity• KEY GREEK IDEALS: PROPORTION
BALANCE, UNITY
4th century
• Socrates executed
• Athens full democracy for men & women
• Peloponnesian War: Sparta attacked Athens; plague killed 1/3 of Athens’s pop., including Pericles
Religion
• Polytheistic
• Deities answered prayers
• Humans gave gifts to the gods
• Gods- human in form with human like personalities and conflicts; got involved in human affairs
• Religious festivals held every 4 years (Olympics)
Death and After Life
• Underworld: Hades and Persephone
• Shades: those who have died
• Immortality: dead remembered by grave markers (pottery or steles)
Music• Monophonic: no harmony
• Instruments: lyre, lute
• Essential to Greek life: most citizens were trained to play an instrument, sing, and dance
Lyre Lute
GREEK THEATER• Originates from a cult of women who worshipped Dionysus
(god of wine and fertility) and danced on a hill• Actors: all male actors; played all parts male and female. • Protagonist: good guy• Antagonist: bad guy• Chorus: group of actors who commented on the action of the
play• Thespis: credited with being the first actor; he stepped out of
the chorus and spoke alone. It is where we get the term thespian
• Masks: used by actors/chorus so that many different characters could be played by one person and so that the actor’s expression could be seen from far away.
• Greek Comedy: a satire or love story• Greek Tragedy: the clash between the will of the gods
and the desires of humans; meant to show that life is worth living, regardless of the pain that is part of human existence.
• Aristotle’s Tragic Hero: must be member of nobility; must have a tragic flaw
• Tragic flaw: a simple mistake or a weakness of character which causes them to suffer (pride, rashness, etc)
• Oedipus: play by Sophocles- shows the perfect tragic hero. Story of a man who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother because of a simple mistake.
QuickTime™ and a decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Ten Traits of Theatre• A live event: takes place live• Actors• Audience• Takes place in a particular place• Takes place at a particular time• The present tense: takes place in the here and now• A predetermined structure: Acts and scenes• Understood conventions: curtain call, suspension of
disbelief• Communication through all 5 senses• A lasting impact
The Unities
• Aristotle’s “rules” of theatre
• Unity of Time: the action takes place over a 24 hour time period
• Unity of Place: only one setting
• Unity of Action: has only one plot
Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama
• Plot: the events or story line
• Character: people in the play
• Thought/theme: insights into humanity & life
• Music: includes all sound, even voices
• Spectacle: scenery & other visual elements
• Diction/language: dialogue & poetry
Theater terms
1. ambulatory: walkway between upper and lower seating areas
2. skene: backdrop that will develop into a building where actors change
3. theatron: hillside tiered seating4. parados: side entrances5. orchestra: circle at bottom of theatron where chorus
stands6. proscenium: stage where actors perform• Deus ex machine: “god on machine” this lowered the
gods down from the top of theater to wrap up a storyline
Pottery
• 1st time artist began to sign works
• Shapes and purposes NEVER changed through each period
• Uses were for storage of wine and grain; pouring wine; grave markers
Geometric Period• Based upon geometric designs and, later,
figures • Dipylon Vase• Top lip-meander pattern• Next two registers are mainscene of a deceased person• Purpose- grave marker
Archaic Period
• Best period for pottery painting
• Terracotta
• Figures more lifelike and placed in storytelling scenes
Ajax and Achilles Playing Morra (Dice)
• 2 Greek generals/heroes playing a game
• Exekias is painter• Central image:
narrative scene• Decorative pattern
boarders only the rim and handles
Sculpture
Archaic
• Marble
• Stiff and rigid
Kouros• Male youth• Similar to Egyptian • Freestanding nude• Not lifelike but symbol of
ideal of heroism • Conventions:1. Hair is composed of little
circles2. Broad shoulders3. Pecs4. Narrow waist5. Leg muscles; hardened
calves6. Firm buttocks
Peplos Kore
• Young maiden• Conventions:
1. Freestanding
2. Not nude (propriety)
3. Archaic smile
4. Has a column-like quality
• Peplos: woolen dress pinned at shoulders
Classical Period
• Hollow cast bronze• Roman copies made of marble• Conventions:1. Contrapposto- torso shifts so that right hip and
shoulder are lowered2. Idealized- young, nicely proportioned, no
physical defects3. Form is symmetrical, implied movement4. Severe style- lack of facial expression5. Hair is close to head and short
Discus Thrower
• Early Classical• Myron• Captures an athlete in
action
Nike Adjusting her Sandal
• Relief sculpture• Wet drapery• Contrast of smooth
surface of wings with folds of drapery
Hellenistic Period• Refers to spread of Greek culture beyond
Greece as a result of Alexander’s conquest• Conventions:1. Dramatic, violent images2. Face is considered the mirror of inner person3. Beauty & perfection of the body less important4. Subject matter: athletes, children, old people5. Extreme/overly exaggerated movement6. Intended to stir emotions of the viewer
Winged NikeNike of Samothrace
• Commemorative of a great victory
• Wind whips drapery; body twists in space w/ sense of movement
• Found on hillside in Samothrace in 118 pieces
The Dying Gaul• Commemorative to
celebrate victory over the Gauls
• Blood flows from the wound in his side
• Difficulty supporting his head; tilts downward
• Pain & the knowledge he’s dying distort the face
The Seated Boxer• Not a victorious young athlete, but an aging
boxer resting after a brutal, maybe lost, match• Swollen ears, scratches, sweat, broken nose,
battered face
Architecture and Architectural Sculpture
• Houses for the gods
• Often set at an elevated site where everyone could see it
• Form determined by function
The Greek Architectural Orders• Each part is related to each other and to
the whole structure
Turn to page 170 of the text. Label each of the parts ofGreek temple construction.There are 11 labels.
Pediment• Low pitched gable or triangular area
• 3 sides
• Usually filled with sculptures
Parthenon PedimentsWest
• Contest that Athena won over Poseidon for the rule of Athens
• Sculptures in the round
Parthenon PedimentsEast
• Birth of Athena (fully grown and clad in armor)
Doric Order• Simple, heavy column
without a base, topped by a broad, plain capital
• The Parthenon
Ionic Order• Thinner, taller
columns than Doric• Had an elaborate
base and a capital carved into double scrolls that looked like the horns of a ram
• Temple of Athena Nike
Corinthian Order• Most elaborate• Capital is elongated and
decorated w/ leaves• Temple of Zeus at Athens
Acropolis• Elevated rock supporting several temples and
buildings• Sacred hill• Had a 40’ statue
of Athena
The Naos
• Contains the cult statue of Athena
• 40’ tall on a wooden pedestal
• Wooden frame• Skin was ivory• Armor and drapery
was gold
Parthenon
• Phidias oversaw the building of it and created the statue of Athena. He was the first to use drapery to reveal the body.
• Temple to Athena
• Stands within a continuum of Doric columns
Slight Adjustments/ Cross Section
• Lines that look horizontal
actually curve upward toward
the middle
• Columns tilt slightly inward
• Corner columns are placed
closer together
Doric Metopes• 4 mythological battles• West- Greeks against the Amazons• North- Trojan War• East- Olympians overthrowing the Titians• South-battle between the Lapiths and Centaurs• Political subtext of the battles- the Athenian triumph over the
Persians
Ionic Frieze• Located over the outside of the inner wall
that illustrates the Great Panathenian procession
The Temple of Athena Nike
• Small marble Ionic temple
• Square naos• Front/back porches
with 4 ionic columns and 4 steps
The Erechtheion
• Dedicated to Athena as
the patron of Athens
Porch of the Maidens
• 2 sets of 3 mirror images of caryatids (female columns)
• Contrapposto pose• Drapery defines body• Perfect symmetry
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