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85-408: During this period there arose in ancient Greek art ornamental motifs and an interest in animals and monsters that continued to be depicted for centuries, and that also spread to Roman and Etruscan art . Monumental and figurative sculpture in this style may be called Daedalic , after Daedalus , who was according to legend the founder of Greek sculpture. The period is characterized by a shift from

170-574: A combination of Egyptian and Hellenistic forms beginning around the time of Egypt's conquest by Alexander the Great . However this was untypical of Ptolemaic court sculpture, which generally avoided mixing Egyptian styles with its fairly conventional Hellenistic style, while temples in the rest of the country continued using late versions of traditional Egyptian formulae. Scholars have proposed an "Alexandrian style" in Hellenistic sculpture, but there

255-504: A continuation of the traditional style for cult statues. Workshops in the style became mainly producers of copies for the Roman market, which preferred copies of Classical rather than Hellenistic pieces. Discoveries made since the end of the 19th century surrounding the (now submerged) ancient Egyptian city of Heracleum include a 4th-century BC, unusually sensual, detailed and feministic (as opposed to deified) depiction of Isis , marking

340-481: A frozen tradition, were the only large painted vases still made. Fine metalwork was an important art in ancient Greece, but later production is very poorly represented by survivals, most of which come from the edges of the Greek world or beyond, from as far as France or Russia. Vessels and jewellery were produced to high standards, and exported far afield. Objects in silver, at the time worth more relative to gold than it

425-544: A great increase in prosperity; the equally impressive Greek achievements in philosophy , literature and other fields are well known. The earliest art by Greeks is generally excluded from "ancient Greek art", and instead known as Greek Neolithic art followed by Aegean art ; the latter includes Cycladic art and the art of the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures from the Greek Bronze Age . The art of ancient Greece

510-474: A harmonious style with numerous detailed conventions that were largely adopted by Roman architecture and are still followed in some modern buildings. It used a vocabulary of ornament that was shared with pottery, metalwork and other media, and had an enormous influence on Eurasian art, especially after Buddhism carried it beyond the expanded Greek world created by Alexander the Great . The social context of Greek art included radical political developments and

595-671: A large part of survivals, including the Panagyurishte Treasure , Borovo Treasure , and other Thracian treasures , and several Scythian burials, which probably contained work by Greek artists based in the Greek settlements on the Black Sea . As with other luxury arts, the Macedonian royal cemetery at Vergina has produced objects of top quality from the cusp of the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Jewellery for

680-663: A much later work; and the Anavyssos Kouros ( National Archaeological Museum of Athens ). More of the musculature and skeletal structure is visible in this statue than in earlier works. The standing, draped girls have a wide range of expression, as in the sculptures in the Acropolis Museum of Athens . Their drapery is carved and painted with the delicacy and meticulousness common in the details of sculpture of this period. Archaic reliefs have survived from many tombs, and from larger buildings at Foce del Sele (now in

765-479: A number of temples and theatres has survived, but little of their extensive decoration. By convention, finely painted vessels of all shapes are called "vases", and there are over 100,000 significantly complete surviving pieces, giving (with the inscriptions that many carry) unparalleled insights into many aspects of Greek life. Sculptural or architectural pottery, also very often painted, are referred to as terracottas , and also survive in large quantities. In much of

850-529: A relief scene, typically erotic. Coins are described below. From the late Archaic the best metalworking kept pace with stylistic developments in sculpture and the other arts, and Phidias is among the sculptors known to have practiced it. Hellenistic taste encouraged highly intricate displays of technical virtuousity, tending to "cleverness, whimsy, or excessive elegance". Many or most Greek pottery shapes were taken from shapes first used in metal, and in recent decades there has been an increasing view that much of

935-546: A shallow bowl with two handles raised high on three legs; in later versions the stand and bowl were different pieces. During the Orientalising period, such tripods were frequently decorated with figural protomes , in the shape of griffins , sphinxes and other fantastic creatures. Swords, the Greek helmet and often body armour such as the muscle cuirass were made of bronze, sometimes decorated in precious metal, as in

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1020-454: Is a statue of Zeus carrying Ganymede found at Olympia , executed around 470 BC. In this case, the terracotta is painted. There were undoubtedly sculptures purely in wood, which may have been very important in early periods, but effectively none have survived. Bronze Age Cycladic art , to about 1100 BC, had already shown an unusual focus on the human figure, usually shown in a straightforward frontal standing position with arms folded across

1105-566: Is a type of sculpture attributed to the legendary Greek artist Daedalus , who is connected in legend both to Bronze Age Crete and to the earliest period of Archaic sculpture in Bronze Age Greece . The legends about Daedalus recognize him both as a man and as a mythical embodiment. He was the reputed inventor of agalmata , statues of the gods which had open eyes and moveable limbs. These statues were so lifelike that Plato remarked upon their amazing and disconcerting mobility, which

1190-550: Is in fact little to connect it with Alexandria. Hellenistic sculpture was also marked by an increase in scale, which culminated in the Colossus of Rhodes (late 3rd century), which was the same size as the Statue of Liberty . The combined effect of earthquakes and looting have destroyed this as well as other very large works of this period. Clay is a material frequently used for the making of votive statuettes or idols, even before

1275-640: Is in modern times, were often inscribed by the maker with their weight, as they were treated largely as stores of value, and likely to be sold or re-melted before very long. During the Geometric and Archaic phases, the production of large metal vessels was an important expression of Greek creativity, and an important stage in the development of bronzeworking techniques, such as casting and repousse hammering. Early sanctuaries, especially Olympia , yielded many hundreds of tripod-bowl or sacrificial tripod vessels, mostly in bronze , deposited as votives . These had

1360-580: Is of little artistic importance. In earlier periods even quite small Greek cities produced pottery for their own locale. These varied widely in style and standards. Distinctive pottery that ranks as art was produced on some of the Aegean islands, in Crete , and in the wealthy Greek colonies of southern Italy and Sicily . By the later Archaic and early Classical period, however, the two great commercial powers, Corinth and Athens , came to dominate. Their pottery

1445-599: Is often called " baroque ", with extravagantly contorted body poses, and intense expressions in the faces. The reliefs on the Pergamon Altar are the nearest original survivals, but several well known works are believed to be Roman copies of Hellenistic originals. These include the Dying Gaul and Ludovisi Gaul , as well as a less well known Kneeling Gaul and others, all believed to copy Pergamene commissions by Attalus I to commemorate his victory around 241 over

1530-688: Is usually divided stylistically into four periods: the Geometric , Archaic , Classical, and Hellenistic . The Geometric age is usually dated from about 1000 BC, although in reality little is known about art in Greece during the preceding 200 years, traditionally known as the Greek Dark Ages . The 7th century BC witnessed the slow development of the Archaic style as exemplified by the black-figure style of vase painting. Around 500 BC, shortly before

1615-654: The Barberini Faun , the Belvedere Torso , and the Resting Satyr ; the Furietti Centaurs and Sleeping Hermaphroditus reflect related themes. At the same time, the new Hellenistic cities springing up all over Egypt , Syria , and Anatolia required statues depicting the gods and heroes of Greece for their temples and public places. This made sculpture, like pottery, an industry, with

1700-469: The Byzantine period, and both were removed to Constantinople , where they were later destroyed in fires. The transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period occurred during the 4th century BC. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC), Greek culture spread as far as India , as revealed by the excavations of Ai-Khanoum in eastern Afghanistan , and the civilization of

1785-641: The Gauls of Galatia , probably comprising two groups. The Laocoön Group , the Farnese Bull , Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus ("Pasquino group"), Arrotino , and the Sperlonga sculptures , are other examples. From the 2nd century the Neo-Attic or Neo-Classical style is seen by different scholars as either a reaction to baroque excesses, returning to a version of Classical style, or as

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1870-530: The Greco-Bactrians and the Indo-Greeks . Greco-Buddhist art represented a syncretism between Greek art and the visual expression of Buddhism. Thus Greek art became more diverse and more influenced by the cultures of the peoples drawn into the Greek orbit. In the view of some art historians, it also declined in quality and originality. This, however, is a judgement which artists and art-lovers of

1955-563: The Lady of Auxerre and Torso of Hera (Early Archaic period, c.  660 –580 BC, both in the Louvre, Paris). After about 575 BC, figures, such as these, both male and female, wore the so-called archaic smile . This expression, which has no specific appropriateness to the person or situation depicted, may have been a device to give the figures a distinctive human characteristic. Three types of figures were used—the standing nude youth (kouros),

2040-804: The National Archaeological Museum of Paestum ) in Italy, with two groups of metope panels, from about 550 and 510, and the Siphnian Treasury at Delphi, with friezes and a small pediment . Parts, all now in local museums, survive of the large triangular pediment groups from the Temple of Artemis, Corfu ( c.  580 ), dominated by a huge Gorgon , and the Old Temple of Athena in Athens ( c.  530 -500). In

2125-729: The Picenum , Latium vetus , Ager Faliscus , the Venetic region , and the Nuragic civilization in Sardinia —also experienced an Orientalizing phase at this time. There is also an Orientalizing period in the Iberian peninsula , in particular in the city-state of Tartessos . Massive imports of raw materials, including metals, and a new mobility among foreign craftsmen caused new craft skills to be introduced in Greece. Walter Burkert described

2210-673: The Tanakh . The intense encounter during the orientalizing period also accompanied the invention of the Greek alphabet and the Carian alphabet , based on the earlier phonetic but unpronounceable Levantine writing, which caused a spectacular leap in literacy and literary production, as the oral traditions of the epic began to be transcribed onto imported Egyptian papyrus (and occasionally leather). Ancient Greek art Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of

2295-579: The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, required relief sculpture for decorative friezes , and sculpture in the round to fill the triangular fields of the pediments . The difficult aesthetic and technical challenge stimulated much in the way of sculptural innovation. These works survive only in fragments, the most famous of which are the Parthenon Marbles , half of which are in the British Museum. Funeral statuary evolved during this period from

2380-647: The Tyrrhenian coast of Campania in southern Italy. These interchanges led to a period of intensive borrowing in which the Greeks (especially) adapted cultural features from the East into their art. The period from roughly 750 to 580 BC also saw a comparable Orientalizing phase of Etruscan art , as a rising economy encouraged Etruscan families to acquire foreign luxury products incorporating Eastern-derived motifs. Similarly, areas of Italy—such as Magna Grecia , Sicily ,

2465-620: The lost wax technique. Chryselephantine , or gold-and-ivory, statues were the cult-images in temples and were regarded as the highest form of sculpture, but only some fragmentary pieces have survived. They were normally over-lifesize, built around a wooden frame, with thin carved slabs of ivory representing the flesh, and sheets of gold leaf , probably over wood, representing the garments, armour, hair, and other details. In some cases, glass paste, glass, and precious and semi-precious stones were used for detail such as eyes, jewellery, and weaponry. Other large acrolithic statues used stone for

2550-673: The mould led to a great increase in production of figures mainly made as votive offerings. Cultural predominance of the East, identified archaeologically by pottery, ivory and metalwork of eastern origin found in Hellenic sites, soon gave way to thorough Hellenization of imported features in the Archaic Period that followed. Many Greek myths originated in attempts to interpret and integrate foreign icons in terms of Greek cult and practice. Some Greek myths reflect Mesopotamian literary classics. Walter Burkert has argued that it

2635-400: The palmette , lotus and tendril volute were characteristic of Greek decoration, and through the Greek culture these were transmitted to most of Eurasia . Exotic animals and monsters, in particular the lion (no longer native to Greece by this period) and sphinxes were added to the griffin , as found at Knossos . In bronze and terracotta figurines , the introduction from the east of

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2720-468: The 3rd-century Ksour Essef cuirass . Armour and "shield-bands" are two of the contexts for strips of Archaic low relief scenes, which were also attached to various objects in wood; the band on the Vix Krater is a large example. Polished bronze mirrors, initially with decorated backs and kore handles, were another common item; the later "folding mirror" type had hinged cover pieces, often decorated with

2805-482: The Archaic Period the most important sculptural form was the kouros (plural kouroi ), the standing male nude (See for example Biton and Kleobis ). The kore (plural korai ), or standing clothed female figure, was also common, but since Greek society did not permit the public display of female nudity until the 4th century BC, the kore is considered to be of less importance in the development of sculpture. By

2890-405: The Archaic period were not all intended to represent specific individuals. They were depictions of an ideal—beauty, piety, honor or sacrifice. These were always depictions of young men, ranging in age from adolescence to early maturity, even when placed on the graves of (presumably) elderly citizens. Kouroi were all stylistically similar. Graduations in the social stature of the person commissioning

2975-504: The Classical period there was a revolution in Greek statuary, usually associated with the introduction of democracy and the end of the aristocratic culture associated with the kouroi . The Classical period saw changes in the style and function of sculpture. Poses became more naturalistic (see the Charioteer of Delphi for an example of the transition to more naturalistic sculpture), and the technical skill of Greek sculptors in depicting

3060-499: The Geometric often densely covering most of the surface, as in the large pots by the Dipylon Master , who worked around 750. He and other potters around his time began to introduce very stylised silhouette figures of humans and animals, especially horses. These often represent funeral processions, or battles, presumably representing those fought by the deceased. The Geometric phase was followed by an Orientalizing period in

3145-453: The Greek market is often of superb quality, with one unusual form being intricate and very delicate gold wreaths imitating plant-forms, worn on the head. These were probably rarely, if ever, worn in life, but were given as votives and worn in death. Many of the Fayum mummy portraits wear them. Some pieces, especially in the Hellenistic period, are large enough to offer scope for figures, as did

3230-457: The Hellenistic period most terracotta figurines have lost their religious nature, and represent characters from everyday life. Tanagra figurines , from one of several centres of production, are mass-manufactured using moulds, and then painted after firing. Dolls, figures of fashionably-dressed ladies and of actors, some of these probably portraits, were among the new subjects, depicted with a refined style. These were cheap, and initially displayed in

3315-610: The Minoan civilization and continuing until the Roman period. During the 8th century BC tombs in Boeotia often contain "bell idols", female statuettes with mobile legs: the head, small compared to the remainder of the body, is perched at the end of a long neck, while the body is very full, in the shape of a bell. Archaic heroon tombs, for local heroes, might receive large numbers of crudely-shaped figurines, with rudimentary figuration, generally representing characters with raised arms. By

3400-969: The Persians began to conquer Greek cities in Ionia , along the coast of Asia Minor. During this period, the Assyrians advanced along the Mediterranean coast, accompanied by Greek and Carian mercenaries, who were also active in the armies of Psamtik I in Egypt . The new groups started to compete with established Mediterranean merchants. In other parts of the Aegean world similar population moves occurred. Phoenicians settled in Cyprus and in western regions of Greece, while Greeks established trading colonies at Al Mina , Syria, and in Ischia ( Pithecusae ) off

3485-515: The Scythian taste for relatively substantial pieces in gold. The Greeks decided very early on that the human form was the most important subject for artistic endeavour. Seeing their gods as having human form, there was little distinction between the sacred and the secular in art—the human body was both secular and sacred. A male nude of Apollo or Heracles had only slight differences in treatment to one of that year's Olympic boxing champion. In

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3570-459: The burial of a Celtic woman in modern France, and the 4th-century Derveni Krater , 90.5 cm (35.6 in) high. The elites of other neighbours of the Greeks, such as the Thracians and Scythians , were keen consumers of Greek metalwork, and probably served by Greek goldsmiths settled in their territories, who adapted their products to suit local taste and functions. Such hybrid pieces form

3655-536: The consequent standardisation and some lowering of quality. For these reasons many more Hellenistic statues have survived than is the case with the Classical period. Some of the best known Hellenistic sculptures are the Winged Victory of Samothrace (2nd or 1st century BC), the statue of Aphrodite from the island of Melos known as the Venus de Milo (mid-2nd century BC), the Dying Gaul (about 230 BC), and

3740-567: The early 7th century BC and was introduced into Attica about a generation later; it flourished until the end of the 6th century BC. The red-figure technique , invented in about 530 BC, reversed this tradition, with the pots being painted black and the figures painted in red. Red-figure vases slowly replaced the black-figure style. Sometimes larger vessels were engraved as well as painted. Erotic themes, both heterosexual and male homosexual , became common. By about 320 BC fine figurative vase-painting had ceased in Athens and other Greek centres, with

3825-432: The end of the period architectural sculpture on temples was becoming important. As with pottery, the Greeks did not produce monumental sculpture merely for artistic display. Statues were commissioned either by aristocratic individuals or by the state, and used for public memorials, as offerings to temples, oracles and sanctuaries (as is frequently shown by inscriptions on the statues), or as markers for graves. Statues in

3910-543: The face. The female body is rather flatly geometric, with high waist and formless drapery. Early sculpture exhibiting these attributes is known as "Daedalic"; it was used for figurines, on clay plaques, and in relief decorations on vases. It seems to have had a marked influence in the Peloponnese , Dorian Crete , and Rhodes . Its style is based on a simple formula which remained dominant, though with evolutionary modifications, for about two generations, before evolving into

3995-537: The finest vase-painting reused designs by silversmiths for vessels with engraving and sections plated in a different metal, working from drawn designs. Exceptional survivals of what may have been a relatively common class of large bronze vessels are two volute kraters , for mixing wine and water. These are the Vix Krater , c.  530 BC , 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) high and over 200 kg (440 lb) in weight, holding some 1,100 litres, and found in

4080-407: The flesh parts, and wood for the rest, and marble statues sometimes had stucco hairstyles. Most sculpture was painted (see below), and much wore real jewellery and had inlaid eyes and other elements in different materials. Terracotta was occasionally employed, for large statuary. Few examples of this survived, at least partially due to the fragility of such statues. The best known exception to this

4165-505: The greatest statue in the world. The most famous works of the Classical period for contemporaries were the colossal Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Statue of Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon. Both were chryselephantine and executed by Phidias or under his direction, and are now lost, although smaller copies (in other materials) and good descriptions of both still exist. Their size and magnificence prompted emperors to seize them in

4250-404: The home much like modern ornamental figurines, but were quite often buried with their owners. At the same time, cities like Alexandria , Smyrna or Tarsus produced an abundance of grotesque figurines, representing individuals with deformed members, eyes bulging and contorting themselves. Such figurines were also made from bronze. Daedalic sculpture The daidala ( Greek : δαίδαλα )

4335-492: The human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic development between about 750 and 300 BC was remarkable by ancient standards, and in surviving works is best seen in sculpture . There were important innovations in painting, which have to be essentially reconstructed due to the lack of original survivals of quality, other than the distinct field of painted pottery. Greek architecture , technically very simple, established

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4420-471: The human form in a variety of poses greatly increased. From about 500 BC statues began to depict real people. The statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton set up in Athens to mark the overthrow of the tyranny were said to be the first public monuments to actual people. At the same time sculpture and statues were put to wider uses. The great temples of the Classical era such as the Parthenon in Athens, and

4505-519: The implements of early society: defensive works, arms, furniture, and so forth. Daedalic sculpture is representative of the Orientalizing period in Greek art. Eastern influences are particularly noticeable in the head seen from the front; it resembles an Eastern head, with wiglike hair, but is more angular, having a triangular face, large eyes, and a prominent nose. Furthermore, the hair usually forms two upward-facing triangles on either side of

4590-710: The late 8th century, when a few animals, many either mythical or not native to Greece (like the sphinx and lion respectively) were adapted from the Near East, accompanied by decorative motifs, such as the lotus and palmette. These were shown much larger than the previous figures. The Wild Goat Style is a regional variant, very often showing goats . Human figures were not so influenced from the East, but also became larger and more detailed. The fully mature black-figure technique , with added red and white details and incising for outlines and details, originated in Corinth during

4675-410: The literature, "pottery" means only painted vessels, or "vases". Pottery was the main form of grave goods deposited in tombs, often as "funerary urns" containing the cremated ashes, and was widely exported. The famous and distinctive style of Greek vase-painting with figures depicted with strong outlines, with thin lines within the outlines, reached its peak from about 600 to 350 BC, and divides into

4760-499: The monumental group Laocoön and His Sons (late 1st century BC). All these statues depict Classical themes, but their treatment is far more sensuous and emotional than the austere taste of the Classical period would have allowed or its technical skills permitted. The multi-figure group of statues was a Hellenistic innovation, probably of the 3rd century, taking the epic battles of earlier temple pediment reliefs off their walls, and placing them as life-size groups of statues. Their style

4845-469: The most intimate and affecting remains of the ancient Greeks. In the Classical period for the first time we know the names of individual sculptors. Phidias oversaw the design and building of the Parthenon . Praxiteles made the female nude respectable for the first time in the Late Classical period (mid-4th century): his Aphrodite of Knidos , which survives in copies, was said by Pliny to be

4930-480: The mouth, so a small quantity makes them appear full. In recent decades many scholars have questioned this, seeing much more production than was formerly thought as made to be placed in graves, as a cheaper substitute for metalware in both Greece and Etruria. Most surviving pottery consists of vessels for storing, serving or drinking liquids such as amphorae , kraters (bowls for mixing wine and water), hydria (water jars), libation bowls, oil and perfume bottles for

5015-473: The new monarchies were lavish patrons. By the 2nd century the rising power of Rome had also absorbed much of the Greek tradition—and an increasing proportion of its products as well. During this period sculpture became more naturalistic, and also expressive; the interest in depicting extremes of emotion being sometimes pushed to extremes. Genre subjects of common people, women, children, animals and domestic scenes became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which

5100-411: The new movement in Greek art as a revolution: "With bronze reliefs, textiles, seals, and other products, a whole world of eastern images was opened up which the Greeks were only too eager to adopt and adapt in the course of an 'orientalizing revolution'". Among surviving artefacts , the main effects are seen in painted pottery and metalwork, as well as engraved gems . Monumental and figurative sculpture

5185-523: The onset of the Persian Wars (480 BC to 448 BC), is usually taken as the dividing line between the Archaic and the Classical periods, and the reign of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC) is taken as separating the Classical from the Hellenistic periods. From some point in the 1st century BC onwards "Greco-Roman" is used, or more local terms for the Eastern Greek world. In reality, there

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5270-537: The other important center of this period, Corinth , the orientalizing influence started earlier, though the tendency there was to produce smaller, highly detailed vases in the "proto-Corinthian" style that prefigured the black-figure technique. From the mid-sixth century, the growth of Achaemenid power in the eastern end of the Aegean and in Asia Minor reduced the quantity of eastern goods found in Greek sites, as

5355-420: The polychromatic Kerch style a final flourish; it was probably replaced by metalwork for most of its functions. West Slope Ware , with decorative motifs on a black glazed body , continued for over a century after. Italian red-figure painting ended by about 300, and in the next century the relatively primitive Hadra vases , probably from Crete , Centuripe ware from Sicily , and Panathenaic amphorae , now

5440-606: The potter they worked for, such as the Late Archaic " Kleophrades Painter ", or even by their modern locations, such as the Late Archaic " Berlin Painter ". The history of ancient Greek pottery is divided stylistically into five periods: During the Protogeometric and Geometric periods, Greek pottery was decorated with abstract designs, in the former usually elegant and large, with plenty of unpainted space, but in

5525-548: The prevailing Geometric style to a style with Eastern-inspired motifs. This new style reflected a period of increased cultural interchange in the Aegean world , the intensity of which is sometimes compared to that of the Late Bronze Age . The emergence of Orientalizing motifs in Greek pottery is clearly evident at the end of the Late Geometric Period , although two schools of thought exist regarding

5610-456: The question of whether or not Geometric art itself was indebted to eastern models. In Attic pottery, the distinctive Orientalizing style known as "proto-Attic" was marked by floral and animal motifs; it was the first time discernibly Greek religious and mythological themes were represented in vase painting. The bodies of men and animals were depicted in silhouette, though their heads were drawn in outline; women were drawn completely in outline. At

5695-455: The rigid and impersonal kouros of the Archaic period to the highly personal family groups of the Classical period. These monuments are commonly found in the suburbs of Athens, which in ancient times were cemeteries on the outskirts of the city. Although some of them depict "ideal" types—the mourning mother, the dutiful son—they increasingly depicted real people, typically showing the departed taking his dignified leave from his family. They are among

5780-508: The service of Pharaoh Psamtik I (664–610 BC), and were exposed to the monumental art of these countries. It is generally agreed that "Egyptian statuary of the 2nd millennium BC gave the decisive impulse for the innovation of Greek sculpture in life-size and in hyper formats in the Archaic Period during the late 7th century." Free-standing figures share the solidity and frontal stance characteristic of Eastern models, but their forms are more dynamic than those of Egyptian sculpture, as for example

5865-468: The standing draped girl (kore) and, less frequently, the seated woman. All emphasize and generalize the essential features of the human figure and show an increasingly accurate comprehension of human anatomy. The youths were either sepulchral or votive statues. Examples are Apollo (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), an early work; the Strangford Apollo from Anafi (British Museum, London),

5950-436: The statue were indicated by size rather than artistic innovations. Unlike authors, those who practiced the visual arts, including sculpture, initially had a low social status in ancient Greece, though increasingly leading sculptors might become famous and rather wealthy, and often signed their work (often on the plinth, which typically became separated from the statue itself). Plutarch ( Life of Pericles , II) said "we admire

6035-459: The stomach. Among the smaller features only noses, sometimes eyes, and female breasts were carved, though the figures were apparently usually painted and may have originally looked very different. Inspired by the monumental stone sculpture of Egypt and Mesopotamia , during the Archaic period the Greeks began again to carve in stone: Greek mercenaries and merchants were active abroad, as in Egypt in

6120-551: The time would not have shared. Indeed, many sculptures previously considered as classical masterpieces are now recognised as being Hellenistic. The technical ability of Hellenistic sculptors is clearly in evidence in such major works as the Winged Victory of Samothrace , and the Pergamon Altar . New centres of Greek culture, particularly in sculpture, developed in Alexandria , Antioch , Pergamum , and other cities, where

6205-419: The toilet, jugs and cups. Painted vessels for serving and eating food are much less common. Painted pottery was affordable even by ordinary people, and a piece "decently decorated with about five or six figures cost about two or three days' wages". Miniatures were also produced in large numbers, mainly for use as offerings at temples. In the Hellenistic period a wider range of pottery was produced, but most of it

6290-511: The two main styles, almost reversals of each other, of black-figure and red-figure painting, the other colour forming the background in each case. Other colours were very limited, normally to small areas of white and larger ones of a different purplish-red. Within the restrictions of these techniques and other strong conventions, vase-painters achieved remarkable results, combining refinement and powerful expression. White ground technique allowed more freedom in depiction, but did not wear well and

6375-630: The work of art but despise the maker of it"; this was a common view in the ancient world. Ancient Greek sculpture is categorised by the usual stylistic periods of "Archaic", "Classical" and "Hellenistic", augmented with some extra ones mainly applying to sculpture, such as the Orientalizing Daedalic style and the Severe style of early Classical sculpture. Surviving ancient Greek sculptures were mostly made of two types of material. Stone, especially marble or other high-quality limestones

6460-466: Was accomplished with techniques that are clearly those of the "daidala". The writer Pausanias thought that wooden images were referred to as "daidala" even before Daedalus’s time. The name "Daedalus", more specifically, has been suggested by Alberto Pérez-Gómez to be a play on the Greek word "daidala" which appears in archaic literature as a complement of the verb "to make", "to manufacture", "to forge", "to weave", "to place on", or "to see". Daidala were

6545-584: Was commissioned by wealthy families for the adornment of their homes and gardens; the Boy with Thorn is an example. Realistic portraits of men and women of all ages were produced, and sculptors no longer felt obliged to depict people as ideals of beauty or physical perfection. The world of Dionysus , a pastoral idyll populated by satyrs , maenads , nymphs and sileni , had been often depicted in earlier vase painting and figurines, but rarely in full-size sculpture. Now such works were made, surviving in copies including

6630-536: Was exported all over the Greek world, driving out the local varieties. Pots from Corinth and Athens are found as far afield as Spain and Ukraine , and are so common in Italy that they were first collected in the 18th century as "Etruscan vases". Many of these pots are mass-produced products of low quality. In fact, by the 5th century BC, pottery had become an industry and pottery painting ceased to be an important art form. The range of colours which could be used on pots

6715-458: Was less affected, and there the new style is often called Daedalic . A new type of face is seen, especially on Crete , with "heavy, overlarge features in a U- or V-shaped face with horizontal brow"; these derive from the Near East. The greatest number of examples are from pottery found at sites. There were three types of new motifs: animal, vegetable, and abstract. Much of the vegetable repertoire tended to be highly stylised. Vegetable motifs such as

6800-457: Was migrating seers and healers who transmitted their skills in divination and purification ritual along with elements of their mythological wisdom. M. L. West also has documented massive overlaps in early Greek mythological themes and Near Eastern literature, and the influences extend to considerable lexical flows from Semitic languages into early Greek. This overlap also covers a notable range of topical and thematic parallels between Greek epic and

6885-478: Was mostly made for burial. Conventionally, the ancient Greeks are said to have made most pottery vessels for everyday use, not for display. Exceptions are the large Archaic monumental vases made as grave-markers, trophies won at games, such as the Panathenaic Amphorae filled with olive oil, and pieces made specifically to be left in graves; some perfume bottles have a money-saving bottom just below

6970-400: Was no sharp transition from one period to another. Forms of art developed at different speeds in different parts of the Greek world, and as in any age some artists worked in more innovative styles than others. Strong local traditions, and the requirements of local cults , enable historians to locate the origins even of works of art found far from their place of origin. Greek art of various kinds

7055-625: Was restricted by the technology of firing: black, white, red, and yellow were the most common. In the three earlier periods, the pots were left their natural light colour, and were decorated with slip that turned black in the kiln. Greek pottery is frequently signed, sometimes by the potter or the master of the pottery, but only occasionally by the painter. Hundreds of painters are, however, identifiable by their artistic personalities: where their signatures have not survived they are named for their subject choices, as "the Achilles Painter ", by

7140-413: Was used most frequently and carved by hand with metal tools. Stone sculptures could be free-standing fully carved in the round (statues), or only partially carved reliefs still attached to a background plaque, for example in architectural friezes or grave stelai . Bronze statues were of higher status, but have survived in far smaller numbers, due to the reusability of metals. They were usually made in

7225-484: Was widely exported. The whole period saw a generally steady increase in prosperity and trading links within the Greek world and with neighbouring cultures. The survival rate of Greek art differs starkly between media. We have huge quantities of pottery and coins, much stone sculpture, though even more Roman copies, and a few large bronze sculptures. Almost entirely missing are painting, fine metal vessels, and anything in perishable materials including wood. The stone shell of

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