Greek Architecture: Architectural Sculpture and Vase Painting

and Vase Painting
Early Greek Architecture • Most of the earliest ancient Greek structures were built with
mud-brick and wood and have not survived. • At the beginning of the Archaic period, however, building
in stone began in earnest. • Influenced by the great columned halls of Egypt, the
Archaic Greeks started constructing columned stone temples with double-sloped roofs.
• These buildings are the most important structures which we have studied so far,
• Architectural sculpture also adorned most temples and it was always painted.
• The Greek temple was also not a place of public worship, for altars were placed outside the structures.
Small Early Greek Temple Plans
• Although there were many varieties of Greek temples, they all had the same basic plan.
• These "variations on a theme" illuminated the ancient Greek ideal of proportion, balance and symmetry.
• In general, ancient Greek architects also strove for a 1:2 ratio of width to length
• The Greeks believed their temples were houses for their gods.
• Derived the basic plan from the
Mycenaean megaron.
• It was a rectangular building with a front porch or portico, having 2 or more columns.
• The cella is a walled room with a single entry
• Sacred place for the cult statue.
Temple in antis at Delphi
Greek Architectural Orders
Doric Order • Doric is the oldest and looks
the heaviest. • The columns are laid together
in blocks and bonded by iron dowels and lead clamps.
• Once together, the workmen shaped the fluted column.
• A flat disc called the capital rest atop the column.
Ionic Order • The Ionic columns are
more slender with a volute capital.
• The entablature has frieze sculptural reliefs (and were brightly painted).
Corinthian Order • Corinthian was originally
used only in the interior, but came to be used for temple exteriors.
• The capital is very elaborate and the volute is shaped into acanthus leaves.
• The Greeks admired this plant because it is tenacious
5th Century High Classical Period
• High Classical Period: –Golden Age of Athens
• Corresponds roughly to conflict between Athens and Sparta
• Time of Pericles (he dies in 429 BCE) • From, 449 – 432 BCE Iktinos and Kallikrates
design and build the Parthenon • Concludes with defeat of Athens by Sparta
Athenian Agora • The Agora was the heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political,
commercial, administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural center, and the seat of justice.
• Located at the base of the acropolis. • It was used as a residential and burial area as early as the Late Neolithic
period (3000 BCE). • Early in the 6th century BCE, in the time of Solon, the Agora became a
public area. • After a series of repairs and remodeling, it reached its final rectangular
form in the 2nd century BCE. • SeTing for Panathenaic Festival, ceremonies and parades to honor
Athena • Plaza is surrounded by important buildings:
– Chamber used by a council of citizens – Tholos, a round table – Several Stoas, covered walkways
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Above the Athenian Agora sits the Acropolis, the high city
The Acropolis • The Acropolis, so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most
important site of the city. • During the Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was
represented in an ideal way on this hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.
• The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both.
• The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena indicate that the cult of the city's patron goddess was established as early as the Archaic period (650-480 BCE).
• During the Classical period (450-330 BCE) three important temples were erected on the ruins of earlier ones: the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike
The most important monuments on the Acropolis are:
• The Parthenon
• The Erechtheium
The Parthenon
• Iktinos and Kallekrates chief architects • Phidias chief sculptor
• The Parthenon was a temple of Athena, built in the 5th century BCE on the Acropolis.
• It is the best-known remaining building of Ancient Greece, and
has been praised as the finest achievement of Greek architecture. • Its decorative sculptures made of white marble are considered one
of the high points of Greek art • The Parthenon is an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece and of
Athenian democracy, and it is regarded as one of the world's greatest cultural monuments.
• Its classic design has been an inspiration for generations of
architects
• Constructed under the leadership of Pericles after the Persians destroyed the original acropolis.
• Spent money from the war treasury to build it.
• Based on the formula: X=2y+y • As found in all Greek architecture,
architectural order governs not only the columns, but also the relationship among all components of the structure.
• Architects manipulated shapes and lines, in order that the Parthenon appear more balanced.
• This reflects the Greek’s emphasis on symmetry and harmony.
Plan of the Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece
diagram of sculptural program 447–432 BCE.
The Parthenon retained its religious character in the following centuries and was converted into a Byzantine church, a Latin church and a Muslim mosque. The Turks used the Parthenon as a powder magazine when the Venetians seized the Acropolis in 1687. One of the Venetian bombs fell on the Parthenon and caused a tremendous explosion that destroyed a great part of the monument, which had been preserved in good condition until then.
Engraving showing Parthenon,with Mosque during OToman period
Smarthistory Video
Parthenos • The name of the Parthenon likely
derives from the monumental cult statue of Athena Parthenos housed in the eastern room of the Parthenon
• The original statue was sculpted in ivory and gold by the famous sculptor Phidias
• Athena's epithet parthenos, ("virgin") refers to Athena’s unmarried and virginal status.
• This modern Athena Parthenos replica stands in the replicated Parthenon in Centennial Park in Nashville, Tennessee.
• The Supreme Court building, located in Washington D.C., across the street from the U.S. Capitol, was designed by architect Cass Gilbert. The cornerstone was laid on October 13, 1932 and construction completed in 1935,
Architectural Sculpture at the Parthenon
East and West Pediment Frieze and Metopes
Diagram: Pediment Fireze Metope
Modern Reconstruction of the Ionic Frieze along the east end of the Parthenon.
Diagram of the East Pediment by James Carrey, 1674
• The sculptures in the east pediment of the Parthenon has sustained much damage and theft over time.
• However artists have tried to recreate the frieze based on remaining pieces and drawings from earlier times
• The frieze in the East pediment represents the birth of the goddess Athena.
• The sculptural arrangement depicts the moment of Athena’s birth.
• Unfortunately, the center pieces of the pediment were destroyed before Jacques Carrey created his drawings in 1674, so all reconstructions are subject to conjecture and speculation.
Reproduction in the east pediment of the awakening horse
The Elgin Marbles • In the early nineteenth century, Thomas
Bruce, the British Earl of Elgin, acquired much of the surviving sculpture from the Parthenon.
• He shipped them to England to decorate his mansion.
• However a few years late, his wife left him and the treasures from the Parthenon were at the center of a financial dispute.
• Eventually he sold them at a very low price.
• The pieces, now in the British Museum, are referred to as the Elgin Marbles.
• In recent years, the Greek government has tried unsuccessfully to have them returned to Greece.
More Elgin marbles from the East pediment
Helios, Horses and Dionysos on the far left, seated figures are Demeter and Persephone
And more …..The Three Graces from the right end of East Pediment of the Parthenon
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Marble, 43" high, Louvre, Paris, c. 447-438 B.C.E.
Isocephalism; all heads the same height
• Scene from the Panathenaic Procession held every four years to honor Athena – Depicts six Ergastines, who were young women weavers. – First time we see Greeks depict a human event on a temple. – At the end of the procession, the Ergastines presented the
priests with the new peplos they had woven for the statue of Athena.
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• The relief sculptures from the Parthenon are a striking demonstration of the Athenian artists' mastery of the representation of the human figure.
• No two figures in the work are identical with the artists capturing a rich variety of human movement.
• . • An interesting comparison
can be made by juxtaposing a detail from the Panathenaic Procession from the nearly contemporary procession decorating the Persian citadel in Persepolis (c. 521-465 BCE).
Erechitheum second largest ancient temple on the north side of the
Acropolis in Athens
• The entire temple is on a slope, so the west and north sides are about (9 ft) lower than the south and east sides.
• The legendary baTle for control of Athens between Poseidon and Athena took place in the general area of the temple
• It is notable for a design that is both elegant and unusual.
• It had elaborately carved doorways and windows, and its columns were ornately decorated; they were painted, gilded and highlighted with gilt bronze and multi-colored inset glass beads.
• The temple as seen today was
built between 421 and 407 BCE.
• On the north side, there is a large porch with columns, and on the south side, the famous "porch of the maidens", with six draped female figures (Caryatids) as supporting columns.
Erechtheum The Porch of the Maidens
Porch of the Maidens
• One of the Caryatids was removed by Lord Elgin in order to decorate his ScoTish mansion, and was later sold to the British Museum (along with the pediment and frieze sculpture taken from the Parthenon).
• Athenian legend had it that at night the remaining five Caryatids could be heard wailing for their lost sister.
• Today the five original Caryatids are displayed in helium-filled glass cases in the Acropolis Museum and are replaced in situ by exact replicas.
Caryatids
• Figures used as columns to support a roof
• This is an original caryatid from the Porch of the Maidens
• Now in the British Museum
Temple of Athena Nike
The diminutive Temple of Athena Nike (goddess of Victory) is the earliest Ionic building on the Acropolis Smaller lighter feel than the Doric buildings
Temple of Athena Nike
480 BCE
• Re-built in c. 420 BCE to commemorate the Greek’s victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon
• Only about 11 feet high from the stylobate to the apex of the pediment
• It has four columns, with ionic capitals at the projecting porches at each end (amphiprostyle).
• Its elongated shape and small scale befit its position on a high narrow substructure. Destroyed by the Turks in 1687
Restored in 1835
• Built on a ledge overhanging the acropolis. • This location allowed worshippers to pay homage to
Athena without climbing to the top f the acropolis.
Image Set 35
Nike Adjusting Her Sandal Praxitilles
• At one time the temple was surrounded by a parapet, or low wall, with sculpted marble panels depicting Athena presiding over her winged aTendants called, Victories.
• The parapet no longer exists, but some of the panels have survived.
• This one in the Acropolis Museum is one of the most famous.
• The Athena leans forward to adjust her sandal and her heavy chiton gracefully slips off one shoulder
• Notice the amazing sheer quality of the draped fabric.
Image Set 35
A Domestic Piece
The Grave Stele of Hegeso AMributed to Kallimachos
. ca. 410 - ca. 400 BCE marble. National Archaeological Museum in Athens Found in 1870 in the Kerameikos in Athens, which now houses a replica of it.
• Depicts a mature Athenian woman (Hegeso), seated on a chair with her feet resting on an elaborate footstool.
• Reflects the respect the Greeks had for women in the home.
• In her left hand, she holds an open pyxis, and in her right she holds a piece of (missing) jewelry that was originally painted, at which she is directing her gaze.
• Opposite her maidservant is presenting the pyxis.
• On the epistyle there is an epitaph,
stating that the deceased is Hegeso, daughter of Proxenios.
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Greek Wall Painting
• Few original Greek wall paintings survive today
• There are Roman copies of Greek wall art • Good example is the mosaic from Pompeii
depicting Alexander the Great’s victory over Persian King Darius –The Battle of Issus was probably a Greek wall
painting
Alexander the Great Confronts Darius III at the Battle of Issos
From House of the Faun, Pompeii, Republican Roman, mosaic copy of Greek painting, c. 100 BCE
• Growing taste for dramatic subjects • Excellent knowledge of anatomy • Rounded forms and shading, modeling • Overlapping figures
• Lots of detail, foreshortening • Emotion and excitement • Alexander is on the left, dark hair • Darius is on the right, helmet
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Greek Vase Painting
Overview • Greek vase paintings, especially Athenian Black and Red
figure painting styles of c. 650-400 BCE are among the most famous ancient art forms.
• The classical vases of the fifth century BCE, in particular, influenced generations of artists in antiquity, and others again from the Renaissance until today.
• Red Figure succeeded Black Figure as the Athenian or Attic vase style of choice after about 500 BCE.
• There is a fair amount written about how artists painted the two styles and why they changed from Black to Red Figure, and there have been successful efforts to recreate ancient pottery shapes. However, only a few classical scholars have re-created the painting process.
• Greek PoTery was made by Greek-speaking people.
• A significant number lived outside the area we know as Greece today.
• There is, for example, a wealth of material from the coastal seTlements of modern Turkey, and some of its off shore islands.
• Greek-style poTery was also made in the western Mediterranean – in southern Italy and Sicily
• Interaction between Greeks and non-Greeks affected the shapes, techniques, and decoration of Greek PoTery.
Greek Vase Painting can be divided into
different time periods
ATic,(Athens) - The Classical Period
– Black figure – Red Figure
geometric style • But images are still
trapped in bands and figures in profile
• Illustrates many scenes from Greek mythology including the funeral games for Patrokles
Black Figure PoTery Red clay exposed as background with black figures or designs
• First quarter of the 6th century artist were decorating vessels with animal friezes, and oriental themes on a small scale
• By the third quarter of the century Black figure poTery is at a high point in Athens
• Painters and poTers are creating large scale works with complex designs and themes
• Like the amphora pictured here, depicting Ajax and Achilles playing a game. C. 540 BCE
5th Century Athens Early Classical Period
• The fifth century was a fabulous period in Athenian history.
• We can read about this Golden Age in the contemporary literature, which has survived, and see the monumental art which has also survived.
• The most famous example is the Parthenon.
• The fifth century was also the period when some of the most beautiful poMery was made.
What’s so great about this poTery?
• The Athenian poTers and painters were highly skilled artists.
• Just as the creative architects and sculptors of the period, they combined three key elements to produce great art:
–rich narratives –technical precision –fine sense of aesthetic design
What does all that mean?
Advances in the quest for naturalism
• Until about 520 BC the human figure was depicted as it had been in all earlier two-dimensional art, in profile, or, less commonly, in combination of profile and frontal views.
• Toward the end of the 6th Century, BCE, a few painters experimented with more realistic poses, aTempting to show the human body as it was in life, not stylized as it had been in art.
Niobid Krater • Found in an Etruscan tomb. • They were great collectors of Greek
poTery. • Red figure • According to Greek myth, a
human woman named Niobe had bragged that since she had fourteen children, she must be superior to the nymph Leto who had borne only Apollo and Artemis.
• This kind of bragging was guaranteed to earn Niobe a swift and harsh punishment.
• The Greeks valued achievement, but thought there was a fine line between being proud and being too proud.
Smarthistoryvideo
• Those who were too proud were prone to hubris and almost always met a bad end.
• On this side of the vase, Apollo and Artemis avenge their mother’s reputation by shooting down all of the Niobids (the children of Niobe)
• Look at the heads, no more Isocephalis.
• Some debate over the other side of the vase
• Some say it is Hercules surrounded by heroes in Athens
• Others believe that it is the warriors of Marathon placing themselves under Hercules’ protection
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• The skillful transformation of ordinary clay into beautiful objects has captivated the imagination of people throughout history and around the world.
• Porcelain was first produced in China around 600 CE.
• Chinese ceramics, by far the most advanced in the world, were made for the imperial court, the domestic market, or for export.
The David Vases. Yuan Dynasty, China. 1351 C.E. White porcelain with cobalt-blue under glaze. • Blue/White first produced
in China around 600 CE. • Influenced diverse regions:
– Persia and Netherlands • Modeled after bronzes • They were made for the
altar of a Daoist temple • Their importance lies in the
dated inscriptions on one side of their necks, above the bands of dragons.
• The long dedication is the earliest known on Chinese blue-and-white wares.
• Cobalt blue color imported from Iran.
• Dragons considered to be supernatural beings
• Mythical phoenixes • All the decorations
are symbolic of good luck.
• These vases were named for the man who brought them to England, Sir Percival David (1892–1964)
• He built the most important private collection of Chinese ceramics in the world.
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Resources • Kleiner, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, Wadsworht, 2013 • Marilyn Stockstad’s Art History: Fifth Edition (Volumes
one and two) • Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Timeline of Art
History.” Available online at hTp://www.metmuseum.org/toah/splash.htm
• Strickland, Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa. 1992 • “The Web Gallery of Art.” Available online at
hTp://www.wga.hu • Kahn Acdemy,
hTps://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-art-history • College Board • hTp://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/