G5-2 Greece Part 2

GUIDE 6-2                                                                           Unit 2                            

                               ANCIENT GREECE - part II

Classical Art Hellenistic Art

                        Reconstruction of Parthenon    (From the German encyclopedia, 1891)

“In the land of Hellas, a small city-state dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom, saw the birth of a new spirit - a spirit destined to quicken the human heart and mind then, now, and for ages to come.  Here in Athens for a brief span of time were concentrated the creative energies of many geniuses.”   -  W. Fleming

                  CLASSICAL PERIOD

          in the HISTORY of ANCIENT GREECE

                           5t – 4thcenturies B.C.

               Classical Period is divided into three phases:

Historical Landmarks:

• 480 B.C. Greek victory over the Persians at Salamis;
• Greece entered an era of prosperity and flourishing culture;
• Pericles rules Athens;
• Parthenon built

                     EARLY CLASSICAL ART  

TIMELINE

Start reading text.

The change from Archaic to Classical art was related to what historical event?

   - *… 

Golden Age of Greece   - *

             [In what way did the victory affect life and mood of the Greeks?]

*…   - a new political and cultural center    [city]

Severe Style - * …       [What does this term denote?]

Sculpture­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Early Classical

Major developments in Early Classical sculpture: 

*…

*…

      HIGH CLASSICAL ART                  5thcentury B.C.(second half)

Note:  In your book High Classical is called simply Classical     

Golden Age of Greece

The culture of ancient Greece reached its peak in the 5th century B.C.  

  TIMELINE

* …. -  outstanding Athenian statesman who was the ‘dominating force

            behind the great accomplishments

“The Golden Age is the term used to denote the historical period in Ancient Greece lasting

roughly from the end of the Persian Wars in 448 BC to either the death of Pericles 429 BC

or the end of the Peloponnesian War BC.

Pericles - an Athenian general, politician and orator – distinguished himself above the other

shining personalities of the era, men who excelled in politics, philosophy, architecture, sculpture,

history and literature.

He fostered arts and literature and gave to Athens a splendor which would never return

throughout its history. He executed a large number of public works projects and improved

the life of the citizens.

Hence, this important figure gave his name to the Athenian Golden Age.”   - Wikipedia  (link)

Architecture                                                   High Classical period

*….   -  the temple that is consideredthe” most influential building in the history of architecture”

• Acropolis  -   a city on the hill (on the edge)   [general term]

• Acropolis (of Athens) - * …    [click to read more]
• When did the building campaign start?  -  *
• Under whose direction? -  *
• In what city? - *
• Dedicated to which goddess?  - *
• Architects:  *

                               *

• What architectural order was used in Parthenon construction?  - *
• What statue was placed inside, in the cella?  -  *

            How big was it?  - *

Interestingly, most of the temple’slines are not strictly vertical or horizontal.

A number of architectural tricks were applied in this temple to achieve the unique optical/perceptual impression of harmony and monumentality.

Read about the irregularities in construction – they were clearly done by precise calculations. 

§  Stylobate & entablature – *                 [in what way are they curved?]

§  Columns - *                 [Are they vertical? How are they spaced?

§  Entasis  - ­….   [click on the term-link to read more about ‘bulging’ of column]

§  What were possible reasons for these variations? - *

The subsequent history of the Parthenon

The temple had quite an amazing historical fate.

            In the 6th century C.E.   -  *….

                Later… -*….

                What happened in the 17th century? - *….

Phidias Showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his Friendsby Alma-Tadema (19th century artist).

Among the spectators - Pericles (the bearded man facing Phidias)

This artist belonged to the Academic movement that was dedicated to the historically true reconstruction of the subject and period.  So, you can get a pretty good idea how the Romans

were dressed and looked.

Sculpture                                                              High Classical period

Who was commissioned to oversee the sculptural program? - …

This is how a pediment might look before the blasts.  Observe the right corner to notice

 the sculptural group “Three Goddesses”

What happened with these Goddesses and some other sculptures from Parthenon?

How did they end in the British museum in London? 

Lord Elgin & Elgin Marbles  

Who was Lord Elgin?  -  ….

What was his role in the Partheon’s story?  -….

When id he take the marbles to London?  - … 

Where the Parthenon marbles are now? - *…..

About half of them were taken to Britain

I would like to remind - To make your outlines better structured delete all my directions and prompting questions.

Note: ideal + perfect + idealized + balanced + harmony = key terms in   Classical art vocabulary

VASE PAINTING                                                                      High Classical period

This is such an enjoyable subject to study.  Read this section and make a few notes.

Notice that the painted decoration of the vases is the only example of Greek art of painting.

* ….. painting     [What was the other type of painting that did not survive?]

What is our main source to learn what Greek painting might have look like? - *

                        Roman fresco: Aldobrandini Wedding (1st century BC.) Vatican Museum

LATE CLASSICAL ART                  *…century B.C.

 [Indicate century]

 TIMELINE

Late Classical versus High Classical art - *           [What is new?]

Polykleitan ideal of the male figure - *…            [key features of High Classical style]

Praxiteles ideal - *…                     [key features of Late Classical style]

Note: this statue is considered to be the only undisputed original Greek marble sculpture from the Classical period.

HELLENISTIC PERIOD in History of Greece                                                                                           

                                   Spanned last 300 years of theB.C. era

TIMELINE

Hellenistic period started under the reign of*     ,  who conquered Persia, Egypt, and The Near East, created the huge empire, and spread the Greek / Hellenistic culture all over it.

Characteristics of Hellenistic art:  

*……

*……

Chronological problem:  Which sculpture – Laocoon or Venus – was made first?

*…….

==================================================================

 * …..  B.C.  - Year the Romans sacked a Greek city of Corinth, on the Peloponnesus.

This date officially marked the end of the Greek power but not the end of its culture and art.  They say that the conqueror was captivated by the fallen enemy. 

Greece was assimilated by the powerful Roman Empire and became its colony.

Greek art has continued to exist and nourish the Roman and other cultures, up to the present days.

I would like to ask you to go back to the first page of this Chapter – in the very first paragraph you will find this saying: 

“Nothing moves in the world which is not …“[Complete the quote]

Now, after studying the Greek culture during almost 1000 years of its existence, read the first paragraph about enduring Greek influence on the European civilization.

Remember three revivals of Greek culture during the following 3,000 years.

1. “During the 15th century there was a revival called *
2.  “On the eve of the French Revolution of 1789 there was another one called -  *
3.  Tell how Greek architectural styles were used in America.

       *

Tomorrow, when you walk through your town, look around. You will be amazed to see that you are surrounded by the “Greek temples.”  Observe the columns. Being as knowledgeable as you are now, you should be able to identify the order.  It is fun and also – a pleasure and satisfaction of “knowing.”

It is amazing how far-reaching has been the influence of Greek culture, isn’t it?

                                  *  *  *

BTW, the answer to the “Laocoon versus Venus” question is: 

Venus was made first in the 2nd century B.C. -while Laocoon was made about 100 years later (in the 1st century B.C.).  Draw a quick timeline, if you need to visualize this issue.

      Take Greek Quiz 4 - it covers the entire Greek section (both Greek guides)

                                                        *   *    *  

                                             GREEK TIME-LINE

   * Geometric*                        

                            !                          !    Golden Age  !                                           !   

________________________________________________________________

900          800          700         600             500            400        300         200      100    O

While reviewing the guides, it will be helpful to fill in this table. To have the guides printed would be better but you can also get back to the beginning and scroll down – to review these intense guides. Use the timelines I provided in various parts of the guides to sum up all the dates in one small table.

Place the periods on the Timeline – type in the names of the periods above the colored areas.