Archaic Flashcards
NEW YORK KOUROS
Key facts
> 6 ft 4
typical kouros - shows Egyptian influence
Late 7th Century
Naxian Marble
Idealised male form rather than accurate anatomical depiction
NEW YORK KOUROS
Face
> oval shape
high, rounded forehead and skull
long narrow and flat cheeks
nose must have been narrow and prominent (but now broken off)
eyes are wide open and staring - a dominant feature under strongly arched eyebrows
Ears shaped like volutes
NEW YORK KOUROS
Hair
> Divided into globules, fall in a broad mass (wig-like) down to the shoulder blades
Held in place by a fillet, which encircles he forehead and is held at the back by a reef knot with long ends lying symmetrically on the back
NEW YORK KOUROS
Purpose
> A grave marker for a wealthy Athenian man (perhaps a young man who has died prematurely)
showing off wealth
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Key Facts
> 580 BC
7 ft (above average size)
By Polymedes
Cycladic marble
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Significance?
> They begin the change of the depiction os the musculature from New York’s ‘etched’ effect to that of a more natural curvaceous form.
BUT they remain very symmetrically balanced.
They are the crucial, first step between Egyptian stylized sculpture and then later, more naturalized sculptures in Greek art.
The sculptor clearly shows a desire to move away from the beautiful artistry and towards the more realistic human form as he has shallowed the ‘etched’ muscular structures.
However, this step is limited, as the design still follows the Egyptian style.
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Woodford?
‘interested in giving an impression of robustness and vigorously curved forms and less interested in patterning the surface.
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Function?
funeral offerings
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Typical features?
> Pose
Symmetry
Incomprehension of complex human mechanics
Egyptian ancestry
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Atypical Features
> Archaic smile
Naturalistic Knee
Shallowed muscular definition
Broader waist
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Comparison to NY
> Although KandB were made only a few decades after NY, they were created in a different spirit.
Powerful ox-like images, more squat.
More realistic depiction of the anatomy, but still very inexperienced
Heavy modelling of the pecs and the knees
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Smile
> ‘Archaic smile’ - the sculptor has attempted to naturalise the appearance of the face
Woodford: ‘There is a beginning of a smile on the faces of the two brothers, probably not because the sculptor wanted to indicate that they were happy, but because he found that expression made them look alive.
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Ear
> The ear appears to gave developed greatly since the inaccuracies of NY
However, appears to have cabbage-like ears that are more rounded than NY
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Knee
> More rounded than NY, moving towards a more accurate representation
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Hair
> The sculptor has paid particular attention to detail with the two hairbands
Very unusually, the hair appears to be in a ‘stepped’ or ‘staggered’ formation between the head and the back.
The use of hair on both sides of the body provides valuable strength to the head but also shows the sculptor’s attention to detail
Now looks more like hair than a wig
Arranged in horizontal rows of concentric circles over a broad, low forehead.
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Face
> Cheekbones are curved and better managed
BUT eyes are wide open, gazing straight ahead, enclosed within the almond-shaped frame of the lids and overhung by heavy, bulging eyebrows
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Waist
> Unlike NY, the statues have far broader waists and thus are more accurate depictions of the true human form.
KLEOBIS AND BITON
Failure
> The lack of strain upon the muscles, in spite of the movement of the leg, creates a more artistic portrayal of the human form
Also, the hips show no sign of movement, remaining unnaturally level.
BERLIN STANDING GODDESS
Key facts
> 570-560 BC
Local Marble
6 ft
complete and colours are well-preserved because it was wrapped in lead
BERLIN STANDING GODDESS
Face and head
>basic facial features >eyes and cheeks bulge out significantly >emphatic, sharply delineated eyes, nose cheeks and >mouth - filled in an archaic smile >bright and alert face >unrealistically long neck
BERLIN STANDING GODDESS
Hair
> hair is arranged in scalloped waves and tied behind the >ears with a double fillet and ends in a cylindrical fastening - very symmetrical.
Formally stylised: very simple, conforms reasonably to nature and does not distract attention from the face
BERLIN STANDING GODDESS
Drapery
> She wears a polos hat (only worn by goddesses)
Has earrings and a necklace (bird-shaped)
Wears an epiblema (rectangular shawl) with tassels and sleeved belted peplos.
Sandals and unnatural looking feet.
Drapery is advanced, carved in broad shallow folds and fall vertically, except at the back where there is a set of simple loops hanging from one shoulder to the other.
CATENARY FOLDS: Latin for chains
advanced!!
dress detail is etched in
vrepetitive vertical drapery - unnatural folds
The statue is dominated by drapery that obscures the body rather than reveals the body, but reveals part of a ‘livelier approach’.
a circular crown with an engraved meander pattern
BERLIN STANDING GODDESS
Pose
> Frontal pose with parallel feet and bent arms
Upper arms attached to the body
She holds a pomegranate (Perhaps Persephone or Hera to symbolise fertility
Traditional Kore pose
arms not by sides, breaking symmetry and adding variety
Hands joined to the body and the dress, connecting the upper body.
dignified and majestic, stands erect creating a powerful effect due to the compact form.
Nothing feminine about her shape
BERLIN STANDING GODDESS
Woodford quotes about pose
> '’simple symmetry”
“figure seems in a rigid pose”
“drapery manipulated into a contrived pattern”
BERLIN STANDING GODDESS
Advancements
> Shows the discovery of sculptors that although female figures offered little scope for the portrayal of anatomy, the HAIR AND DRAPERY provided an excellent field to develop decorative patterns and contrast.
BERLIN STANDING GODDESS
Advancements in the double challenge
From then on, sculptors began to respond to the double challenge:
- a way to suggest a body under drapery
- arranging hair and drapery into decorative patterns
BERLIN STANDING GODDESS
Advancements in the back
> The back of the statue is the best view of innovations and achievements.
Balance of simple but varied form and a slight suggestion of living body underneath (skirt swells slightly over the buttocks)
ANAVYSSOS
Key facts
>530 BC >6 ft >A memorial to Kroisos >Inscription: 'stop and show me pity beside the marker of Kroisos, dead, whom once in battle's front rank ranging Ares destroyed' >Lively modelling of an athletic body.
ANAVYSSOS
Features
> larger than life eyes
braided hair
defined body shape showing the perfect physique
arms straight down at the side to avoid breakages
left leg forward as was standard of the period
symmetrical
clenched fists
detailed knee caps
waist more proportionate to shoulders than previous statues
more realistic spine and shoulders than previous statues
Hair; above headband only summarily carved and was >formally completed in paint
lively glance
ANAVYSSOS
progression
> pose is the same as KandB, even though it half a century later - unsurprising since the method of carving had not changed and dictated the pose - yet important naturalistic >innovations were introduced:
>more detailed features than NY
>hair is still beaded style but no longer matches the more realistic features
>one of the most sophisticated sculptures of the Archaic period
>demonstrated bodily proportions in a more realistic way
ANAVYSSOS
Differences to NY and KB
> eyes are shut
muscles are more defined (naturally)
no bridge between the hands and the body
more natural hair
ears are different]defined cheekbones and jawline
realistic idealism rather than idealistic imagination
shoulders are back and elbows bent realistically
diaphragm more realistic than inverted V and W
ANAVYSSOS
Woodford
> ‘Important naturalistic innovations had been introduced through the Anavyssos Kouros’
‘The facial features have become far more rounded and realistic than the New York Kouros, but the beaded, repetitive hair remains the same
PEPLOS KORE
Key features
> 530 BC
Parian marble
1.18m
Funerary, on the Akropolis in Athens
PEPLOS KORE
face
> holes for bronze earrings
almond eyes
archaic smile - typical of Kore but mouth is still soft and >relaxed to show it’s a woman
PEPLOS KORE
hair
> abundant and frames the face in waves.
tied in three curled plaits on each shoulder and hangs down the back in broad, indented strands held together by a band.
hair falls at the front of the body, showing that the sculptor was aiming for realism not using the hair to support a weak neck.
PEPLOS KORE
body
> some argue that she is wearing a cape on her shoulders
the red garment that she is known for is the peplos
on her head she wears a meniskos
left hand holds out an offering for the Gods
PEPLOS KORE
pose
> some think that she could have been holding a bow - her right hand is clenched (to hold an arrow) so she could have been Diana
underneath she wears a blue dress called a chiton
mainly frontal viewing, emphasis on symmetrical body rather than arms
PEPLOS KORE
drapery
> wearing a girdled peplos with an overfold and underneath is a fine linen cloth whose wide salvage is visible at the throat and whose fine, wavy folds appear benenath the peplos
bronze wreath encircled in her hair
drapery demonstrates the simplicity of the garment and outlines the thin waist to indicate the staue is a woman
PEPLOS KORE
developments
> anticipates the later developments in the slight asymmetry of the statue
hem of the overfold is not parallel to the belt
something rather blocklike about the lower part of the body, which is flat in the front and rounded in the back
outstretched left fore-arm made separately and inserted
body is concealed but - clearly perceptible in the curves and hollows of the body
PEPLOS KORE
contrapposto
> left shoulder is slightly higher than the right, adjusting for whatever wieght is held in her left hand
not staring straight ahead; face is slightly to the left
figure stands taught and erect; feet together; staring ahead BUT is tilted a fraction to the leftmarks the >beginning of contrappoosto:
> raising the hip and dropping the shoulder on one side, dropping the hip and raising the shoulder on the other side.
PEPLOS KORE
Woodford
> ‘This effort was to a large extent successful, particularly in matters of details and increasing naturalism produced new and unexpected problems
‘they were not able to make their sttaues come alive’
Woodford praises the ‘plausible fall of the woolen cloth’
ARISTODIKOS
Key Facts
> 510-500 BC
Parian marble
1.95 m
a grave marker for an athenian aristocrat
the last kouros because it marks the transition from Archaic to Early Classical period
ARISTODIKOS
Hair
> no longer has wig like hair and is short
still arranged in rows of spiral curls across the brow and back of the neck
solved the problem of incongruous hair
does not distract attention from the face or the anatomy
ARISTODIKOS
head
> head now smaller
face has a unified form without any special emphasis on any feature
more detailed ears
ARISTODIKOS
Arms
> bent at the elbow
would have required struts to support their distance from the body as marble is too weak to stand alone
this disrupted the aesthetic and illusion of extended arms
BUT still marks a significant breakthrough in the depiction of male free standing sculpture
ARISTODIKOS
Legs
> knee is no longer marked with stylised and symmetrical patterns
legs are more defined and in proportion
left leg advanced
ARISTODIKOS
Body
> chest muscles are more defined ad abdominal muscles are more prominent
proportions of waist and torso developed to show a more realistic figure
collar bones is more pronounced but is natural
by now the structure of the body was broadly understood and sculptors continued to develop increasingly naturalistic formulae for the representation of the human body
ARISTODIKOS
Woodford
> ‘The Aristodikos makes the Anavyssos look like an inflated balloon’
‘The Aristodikos kouros is so convincingly realistic that it makes the previous form of the Kouros look stiff and unrealistic
ARISTODIKOS
Developments
> SIGNIFICANT as it marks the transition from Archaic to Early Classical
Different stylised features such as the pubic hair, which had been arranged into a star shape- reminding us that development was a gradual process
unlike NY the muscular detail is moulded rather than etched
sculptor had been so successful in his innovations and striving for naturalism, that a new problem had emerged: the sculpture was realistic but stiff.
