Daniel Fordemwalt Art History 1 MWF 10:10-11:00 Instructor: Karen Burns Art History Essay Question 11/16/09

Greek Sculpture Ancient Greek sculpture is considered to be of the most important and impacting sculpture in history. Ancient Greece was a time where new artistic ideas were born. It is famous for its groundbreaking techniques which have had a major impact on sculpture as a whole. This paper will be discussing Greek sculpture from the Geometric period to the Hellenistic period, including characteristics, evolution, and examples from these periods. The first period to be discussed is the Geometric period. The Geometric period falls between 800 B.C. and 700 B.C. The art work is known for its geometric shapes. The sculptures are small scale, bronze, and solid during the Geometric period. Man and Centaur is an example of geometric sculpture. This sculpture is dated at 750 B.C. The man is thought to be Herakles and the centaur is thought to be Nessos. They are in a struggle with each other. Mythological creatures were very popular choices for sculptures during the Geometric period. This sculpture is an early example of a mythological narrative. The man is nude in this sculpture. Heroes are usually depicted nude in early art. After the Geometric period comes the Archaic Period which is from 700 B.C. to 480 B.C. The Archaic Period ends when the Persians burn Athens to the ground in 480 B.C. Archaic Sculpture differs from Geometric sculpture in many ways. Archaic sculpture is much larger that Geometric sculpture Also Archaic Sculpture is hollow. Archaic sculpture is not limited to one medium. Some sculptures are made of limestone and some are made of marble amongst others. Archaic characteristics include big eyes. The facial expressions are weird. This gives a sense of

Daniel Fordemwalt Art History 1 MWF 10:10-11:00 Instructor: Karen Burns Art History Essay Question 11/16/09

a lack of awareness. The facial expression is known as the Archaic smile. The hair on these sculptures is braided. Musculature is being seen. An example of Archaic sculpture is the Kroisos Kouros. It is dated at 530 B.C. This sculpture is around six foot six inches tall. The Kroisos has all the stereotypical characteristics including braided hair, funny facial expression, Archaic smile, and musculature. This sculpture was found over the grave of Kroisos. He was a man who died in battle. He is considered to be a hero. The sculpture is nude, which is a common way to depict a hero. Also men are usually shown to be walking in stride. This is also shown in this sculpture. After the Archaic period comes the Classical period. The Classical period begins with the burning of Athens in 480 B.C. and ends with the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. In Classical sculpture the figures look more natural. Their stance is much more realistic. Contrapposto is an important characteristic of Classical sculpture. This is the idea that a person should be shown with the stance that he or she would naturally have. Sculpture has clean shaven faces and short hair. Also Musculature becomes more natural. The Archaic smile is gone and facial expressions are much more realistic. The golden mean is also practiced in Classical sculpture. This is the idea that a person should not show expression at all. This shows that a person or god is in full control if that person or god has full control of his or her emotions. Some medians include bronze and marble. The Classical Period can be broken down into the Early Classical period and the Late Classical Period. The Early Classical sculptures were the first to incorporate Contrapposto. An example of Early Classical sculpture is the Doryphoros or spear bearer. The Doryphoros was
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Daniel Fordemwalt Art History 1 MWF 10:10-11:00 Instructor: Karen Burns Art History Essay Question 11/16/09

created by Polykleitos. He wrote a book on how to make the perfect Greek sculpture. After he wrote the book he sculpted the Doryphoros the show off his technique. The Doryphoros has the common Classical characteristics such as Contrapposto, clean shaved face, and natural musculature. Also the Doryphoros is a roman copy made of marble. His hand is positioned like he is holding a spear. The spear is no longer there. The Late Classical period sculptures differ slightly from Early Classical sculptures. The Contrapposto is more extreme in the Late Classical sculptures. The Aphrodite of Knidos is an example of a Late Classical sculpture. It is dated at 350 B.C. It was created by Praxiteles. Praxiteles depicted gods and goddesses in a more worldly fashion. This sculpture of Aphrodite is the first know depiction of Aphrodite in the nude. Praxiteles made his viewer part of the art which was also a new thing. When someone is viewing this sculpture he or she is meant to feel like he or she just walked in on Aphrodite getting out of the shower. She is covering up as the viewer walks in. It is meant to be humorous. Also when Praxiteles made this statue two were made. One was this one and one was clothed. The people of Knidos got the last one. They were the lucky ones though because this is the more famous of the two statues. After the Classical period ended the Hellenistic period began. The Hellenistic period began at the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. and ended with the suicide of Cleopatra in 31 B.C. The Hellenistic sculptures move away from the golden mean. The figures display more emotion in this period. Also Hellenistic art is known for its violence. The figures are no longer depicted clean shaven anymore. There is a feeling of agony when viewing these art pieces. Laocoon is an example of Hellenistic sculpture. This statue was created by Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and
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Daniel Fordemwalt Art History 1 MWF 10:10-11:00 Instructor: Karen Burns Art History Essay Question 11/16/09

Polydoros. It shows Laocoon and his two sons being attacked by snakes. It is said that Laocoon is being attacked because he is warning about the Trojan horse. The gods are having him killed because they want the Trojan horse to enter the city so the war will be over. This sculpture had been damaged at some point and Michelangelo was hired to repair the sculpture. He was an expert on Hellenistic art. It is not known what parts of this sculpture were original and which parts were repaired by Michelangelo. In Conclusion Greek sculpture has evolved in many ways during the time between the Geometric period and the Hellenistic period. The sculptures started out very small and bronze and ended up relatively large made in several different mediums from bronze to marble. Also the characteristics have changed dramatically. Facial expressions started out emotionless and evolved to faces filled with expression. Contrapposto was introduced and was later shown in a more extreme fashion. Style has also changed. Figures hair and clothing have changed throughout the periods. Each period had an impact on the periods after them. All in all these art styles had a major impact on history. Even today these techniques are seen and the sculptures are still being studied and marveled. These periods are quite possibly some of the most important periods for art.