Greek statue

Greek statues are naturalistic representation of a form in 3-d, now appear generally in marble or another type of rock. But many original Greek sculptures are believed to be cast in bronze and coloured. While these were destroyed or melted during the years of turmoil, what we have now are Roman copies. They generally represent humans, and at times also represent Gods or animals. See Sculpture of Ancient Greece.

Archaic Period

File:Kourous.jpg

Kourous

The archaic period of art from the 9th century to the 6th century BCE saw the first developments of Greek statuary. Kouros (male nudes) and kore (female nudes) were developed along the lines of the Egyptian style in terms of rigidity, but the movement and the freestanding nude are Archaic innovations. A distinctive feature on nearly every Archaic-era statue is the Archaic smile. Examples of archaic era works are the La Delicatta kore, the Attican Kouros, and the caryatid porch of the Siphnian Treasury.

The creation of the Kritios Boy in the late Archaic period heralded the arrival of the early Classical period. Specifically, the Kritios Boy used a mathematical analysis of the ideal proportions of the body to create a specialized pose called the contrapposto, which involved an asymmetrical balance from the center and the curving of the body in a s-shape.

Classical

Early Classical

The early Classical period, from 500 - 485 BC, saw the development of the Severe Style[1]. Although poses still remained relatively stiff, sculptors began portraying humans naturalistically, and action-oriented poses were more commonplace. However, because of the impossibly perfect proportions, realism was still far off in terms of both subject matter and the body itself. This period also led to more experimentation with bronze, as it was sturdier than marble.

High and Late Classical

The high Classical period (500 - 400 BC) saw the creation of works such as the metope sculptures of the Parthenon and the Discobolos. The contrapposto was fully developed while naturalistic techniques such as Phidian wet drapery also appeared. Sculptures also worked to include pathos in their sculptures, which would further be developed in the late Classical and Hellinistic eras.[2]

After the Peloponnesian War, the disarray of the Greek states were reflected in the change of mood from high-minded idealism to heavy drama in Greek statues in the late Classical period (400 - 300 BC). Lysippos' "Weary Hercules," or Farnese Herakles shows the same naturalism as before, but for the first time, Hercules is portrayed with the unidealistic state of fatigue. However, naturalism continued to be developed during this period. Sculptors such as Praxiteles and Skopas were also active during this period.

Hellenistic

The Winged Victory of Samothrace

With the diffusion of Greek values throughout the world by Alexander the Great of Macedon in 330 BC, Greek art ironically became more Greek, influencing other cultures rather than the other way around. Pathos and naturalism reached an all-time high during this period, with works such as The Dying Gaul, Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, and The Altar of Zeus. Sculpture continued to become much heavier.

Psychological state and human condition became very popular subjects among Hellenistic sculptors. The relative artistic freedom seen in the high Classical period exploded, as each artist manipulated light, line, pose, and setting in his own way [3]. Although the Romans eventually conquered Greek lands, the influence of Greek sculpture on all cultures can still be seen today.

In the West, Greek statues have been the inspiration for Roman and neo-classical statuary.

In the East, the Greek statue tradition carried into central Asia by Alexander the Great inspired the representation of the Buddha in Eastern art, through the cultural syncretism known as Greco-Buddhism.

File:Ac.thebeskouros.jpg

Kouros of the Archaic period, Thebes Archaeological Museum

The sculpture of Ancient Greece is by far the most important surviving form of Ancient Greek art, although only a small fragment of Greek sculptural output has survived. Greek sculpture, often in the form of Roman copies, was immensely influential during the Italian Renaissance, and remained the “classic” model for European sculpture until the advent of modernism in the late 19th century.

The Greeks decided at a very early period that the human form was the most important subject for artistic endeavour. Since they saw their gods as having human form, there was no distinction between the sacred and the secular in art — the human body was both secular and sacred. A male nude could just as easily be Apollo or Herakles or that year's current Olympic boxing champion. In 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 female figure, was also common, but since Greek society did not permit the public display of female nudity until the fourth century BC, the kore is considered to be of less importance in the development of sculpture.

As with pottery, the Greeks did not produce 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. In the Archaic period, statues were never intended to be representations of actual individuals. They were depictions of an ideal — beauty, piety, honour or sacrifice. They 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. Gradations in the social importance of the person commissioning the statue were indicated by size rather than artistic innovation.

File:Ac.poseidon.jpg

Bronze Poseidon, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

In 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 both 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 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.

In this period statuary was put to wider uses. The great public buildings of the Classical era, such as the Parthenon in Athens, created the need for decorative statuary, particularly to fill the triangular fields of the pediments: a pop aesthetic and technical challenge that did much to stimulate sculptural innovation. Unfortunately such sculptures survive only in fragments, the most famous of which are the Parthenon Marbles, now mostly in the British Museum.

Family group on a grave marker from Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Funeral statuary evolved during this period from 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 talking his dignified leave from his family. They are among the most intimate and affecting remains of the Ancient Greeks.

It was also around this period that the formula for a statue began to change with Polykleitos. He introduced a new formula that would change how the human body was sculptured. He did this by using a new system of bodily proportions, realistic facial features, and smoother skin. His most famous statue is the Doryphoros, or the spear bearer and many copies were found in Roman gymnasiums because of the ideal athletic body that the sculpture depicts.

In the Classical period for the first time we know the names of individual sculptors. Phidias was artistic director of the Parthenon project. Praxiteles made the female nude a respectable subject for the first time in the Late Classical period (mid 4th century); his Aphrodite of Cnidus, of which copies survive, was said by Pliny to be the greatest statue in the world. Praxiteles is also known for his creation of a statue of Hermes and the baby Dionysus. Although there is a lot of debate as to whether or not this statue is his original or a Roman copy. In both of these statues he uses a technique that the italians refer to as sfumato or smooth skin. In this statue the muscles of the grown Hermes are not as pronouced as other statues.

The greatest works of the Classical period, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Statue of Athena Parthenos (both executed by Phidias or under his direction), are lost, although smaller copies and good descriptions of both still exist. Their size and magnificence made them a target for imperial acquisition in the Byzantine period, and both were removed to Constantinople where they were later destroyed in fires.

The Winged Victory of Samothrace (Hellenistic), Louvre, Paris

Laocoön and his Sons (Late Hellenistic), Vatican Museum

File:Ac.delphiantinous.jpg Head of Antinous (Roman Hellenistic), Delphi Archaeological Museum

The transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period occurred during the 4th century. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC), Greek culture spread across the known world as far as India. Thus it became more diverse and more influenced by the cultures of the peoples drawn into the Greek orbit. In the view of most art historians, it also declined in quality and originality; this, however, is a subjective judgement which artists and art-lovers of the time would not have shared. New centres of Greek culture, particularly in sculpture, developed in Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamum, and other cities. 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 and more naturalistic. Common people, women, children, animals and domestic scenes became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which was commissioned by wealthy families for the adornment of their homes and gardens. 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. 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 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 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.

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.

See also

• The Hermes of Praxiteles
  

Gisela M. A. Richter
American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 35, No. 3. (Jul. - Sep., 1931), pp. 277-290.

• Remarks concerning Greek sculpture
  

Carl Blumel
American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 35, No. 3. (Jul. - Sep., 1931), pp. 269-276.

• Art in Ancient Greece
• Classical sculpture