Greek Art Flashcards
What are the time periods of Greek art?
Archaic
Classical
Hellenistic
What was the key theme of Greek Art?
The Ideal
What are the innovations in Greek Art?
Nude body
Switch from marble to bronze
Contrappso
What was different about archaic statues?
- First sculpted human figures to stand freely on their own
- Nude
- Arms and legs cut free from the stone
- Archiac smile
Kouros Functions?
- Monument— grave marker
- Not a real portrait, but a general representation of the dead
Significance of classical sculptures
- Contrappasta - implies bodily fluid movements
- Highly idealized
- Most knowledge of Greek sculptures comes from Roman marble copies of bronze originals
- Function: to represent an ideal figure that embodies the characterizes of harmony and proportion
What book did polykleitos write?
The canon, it was used to illustrate his theories of how you could use math to create the perfect body
What is the Hellenistic era?
Refers to the spread of Greek culture beyond Greek
Alexander the Great
Was responsible for the spread of Greek culture in the East, when he died the Greek Culture lost stability
Greek architecture characteristics
Function; building to house the cult statue of the god the temple was dedicated to
Cella: writhing the temple
Only the priest were allowed inside the temple
Temples were located on a high hill or an acropolis
Sculpture placed on pediments
What god did Acropolis worship?
Athena
Parthenon
Time period: classical
Style : Doric
Location : Highest part of Acropolis
Function : temple to Athena/ Treasury
Parthenon was a visual expression of?
The Greeks quest to build a perfectly proportioned, thus ideal temple
Plaque of Ergenstines
Time period : classical
Location : Parthenon
Subject : ergastines- young women in charge of weaving Athena’s people
What is a panathenaic procession
Held every 4 years to honor Athena
Why was the plaque of ergastines important?
First time in Greek Art history showing a depiction of a human event on a temple
An example of the Athenians high sense of self worth
The theme of the Parthenon Pediments : Helios, Horses, and Dionysus
The birth of Athena, who is the patron god of Athens
Nike adjusting her sandle
Location : Temple of Nike on the acropolis
Erectheion: porch of the Maidens
Location : Acropolis
Function : designed to house sacred objects, including a wooden statue of Athena
Carytids : female figure functioning as supporting columns
Pergamon
Time period : Hellenistic
Location: turkey
Patron : Alexander the Great wanted turkey to be the new Athens
Function : at the center of the civic ceremonies and altar dedicated to Zeus
Neobides Krater (red figure)
Time period : classical
Krater: bowl for mixing wine and water
The story behind Neobides
Noibe had 12 kids and boasted that she was superior/more fertile than the goddess Leto, who only had 2 kids
Leto sent her sons Apollo and Artemis to massacre her children
Alexander Mosiac
Time period : Hellenistic
Medium : battle between Alexander the Great and The Persian King Darius lll
What are the 2 parts of a temple?
Freize and pediment