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[[File:Athena workshop sculptor Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2650.jpg|thumb|[[Athena]] in the workshop of a sculptor working on a marble horse, [[Attica|Attic]] red-figure [[Kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]], 480 BCE, [[Staatliche Antikensammlungen]] (Inv. 2650)]] |
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'''Ancient Greek sculpture''' is the [[sculpture]] of [[Ancient Greece]]. Modern scholarship identifies three major stages. They were used to depict the battles, mythology, and rulers of the land known as Ancient Greece. |
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==Materials== |
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[[File:MarbleUSGOV.jpg|thumb|left|Natural [[marble]]]] |
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Ancient Greek [[monumental sculpture]] was composed almost entirely of [[marble]] or [[bronze]]; with cast bronze becoming the favoured medium for major works by the early 5th century; many pieces of sculpture known only in marble copies made for the Roman market were originally made in bronze. Smaller works were in a great variety of materials, many of them precious, with a very large production of [[terracotta]] figurines. The territories of ancient Greece, except for [[Sicily]] and southern Italy, contained abundant supplies of fine marble, with [[Pentelic marble|Pentelic]] and [[Parian marble]] the most highly prized, along with that from modern [[Sevec|Prilep]] in [[Republic of Macedonia|Macedonia]], and various sources in modern [[Turkey]]. The ores for bronze were also relatively easy to obtain.<ref>Cook, 74-75</ref> Marble was mostly found around the Parthenon. |
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Both marble and bronze are fortunately easy to form and very durable; as in most ancient cultures there were no doubt also traditions of sculpture in wood about which we know very little, other than [[acrolith|athrolithic]] sculptures, usually large, with the head and exposed flesh parts in marble but the clothed parts in wood. As bronze always had a significant scrap value very few original bronzes have survived, though in recent years [[marine archaeology]] or [[trawling]] has added a few spectacular finds, such as the [[Artemision Bronze]] and [[Riace bronzes]], which have significantly extended modern understanding. Many copies of the Roman period are marble versions of works originally in bronze. Ordinary [[limestone]] was used in the Archaic period, but thereafter, except in areas of modern Italy with no local marble, only for [[architectural sculpture]] and decoration. Plaster or [[stucco]] was sometimes used for the hair only.<ref>Cook, 74-76</ref> |
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[[Chryselephantine]] sculptures, used for temple [[cult image]]s and luxury works, used [[gold]], most often in [[gold leaf|leaf form]] and [[ivory]] for all or parts (faces and hands) of the figure, and probably gems and other materials, but were much less common, and only fragments have survived. Many statues were given jewellery, as can be seen from the holes for attaching it, and held weapons or other objects in different materials.<ref>Cook, 75-76</ref> |
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[[File:Surviving Greek Bronze.jpg|thumb|''The [[Victorious Youth]]'' (c. 310 BCE). A remarkably weather-preserved bronze statue of a Greek athlete in [[Contrapposto]] pose.]] |
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==Painting of sculpture== |
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By the early 19th century, the systematic excavation of ancient Greek sites had brought forth a plethora of sculptures with traces of notably multicolored surfaces, some of which are still visible. Despite this, influential art historians such as [[Johann Joachim Winckelmann]] so strongly opposed the idea of painted Greek sculpture that proponents of painted statues were dismissed as eccentrics, and their views were largely dismissed for several centuries. It was not until published findings by German archaeologist Vinzenz Brinkmann in the late 20th and early 21st century that the painting of ancient Greek sculptures became an established fact. Using high-intensity lamps, [[ultraviolet light]], specially designed cameras, plaster casts, and certain powdered minerals, Brinkmann proved that the entire [[Parthenon]], including the actual structure as well as the statues, had been painted. He was able to reveal the pigments of the original paint and made several painted replicas of Greek statues that went on tour around the world. Also in the collection are replicas of other works of Greek and Roman sculpture, demonstrating that the practice of painting sculpture was the norm rather than the exception in Greek and Roman art.<ref name=Gurewitsch>{{cite journal |
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|last=Gurewitsch |
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|first= Matthew |
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|year= 2008 |
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|month= July |
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|title= True Colors |
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|journal= Smithsonian |
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|pages= 66–71 |
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|url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/true-colors.html}}</ref> Museums to host the exhibit include the [[Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek|Glyptotek Museum]] in [[Munich]], the [[Vatican Museum]], and the [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens|National Archaeological Museum]] in [[Athens]], [[et al]]. The collection made its American debut at [[Harvard University]] in the Fall of 2007.<ref>October 2007, [http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/10/colorizing-classic-statues-returns-them-to-antiquity/ Colorizing classic statues returns them to antiquity: What was really on that Grecian Urn?] ''Harvard University Gazette''.</ref> |
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==Development of Greek sculptures== |
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===Geometric=== |
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It is commonly thought that the earliest incarnation of Greek sculpture was in the form of wooden [[Cult image|cult statues]], first described by [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] as [[Xoanon|xoana]].<ref>The term xoanon and the ascriptions are both highly [[problematic]]. A.A. Donohue's ''Xoana and the origins of Greek sculpture'', 1988, details how the term had a variety of meanings in the ancient world not necessarily to do with the cult objects</ref> No such statues survive, and the descriptions of them are vague, despite the fact that they were probably objects of [[veneration]] for hundreds of years. The first piece of Greek statuary to be reassembled since is probably the Lefkandi Centaur, a [[terra cotta]] sculpture found on the island of Euboea, dated c. 920 BCE. The statue was constructed in parts, before being dismembered and buried in two separate graves. The centaur has an intentional mark on its knee, which has led researchers to postulate<ref>[http://www.siu.edu/~dfll/classics/Civ2004/guides/webguides/Dark/Centaur.html ]{{dead link|date=March 2013}}</ref> that the statue might portray [[Cheiron]], presumably kneeling wounded from [[Herakles]]' arrow. If so, it would be the earliest known depiction of myth in the history of Greek sculpture. |
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The forms from the [[geometrical]] period (c. 900 to c. 700 BCE) were chiefly terra cotta [[figurines]], [[bronze]]s, and [[ivory|ivories]]. The bronzes are chiefly tripod [[cauldron]]s, and freestanding figures or groups. Such bronzes were made using the lost-wax technique probably introduced from Syria, and are almost entirely votive offerings left at the Hellenistic [[civilization]] Panhellenic [[sanctuaries]] of [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]], [[Delos]], and [[Delphi]], though these were likely manufactured elsewhere, as a number of local styles may be identified by finds from [[Athens]], [[Argos]], and [[Sparta]]. Typical works of the era include the Karditsa warrior (Athens Br. 12831) and the many examples of the [[Equestrian statue|equestrian]] statuette (for example, NY Met. 21.88.24 [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grge/hod_21.88.24.htm online]). The repertory of this [[bronze]] work is not confined to standing men and horses, however, as vase paintings of the time also depict imagery of stags, birds, beetles, hares, griffins and lions. There are no [[inscriptions]] on early-to-middle geometric sculpture, until the appearance of the Mantiklos "[[Apollo]]" (Boston 03.997) of the early 7th century BCE found in Thebes. The figure is that of a standing man with a pseudo-[[Orientalizing Period|daedalic]] form, underneath which lies the inscription "Μαντικλος μ' ανεθε̅κε ϝεκαβολο̅ι αργυροτοχσο̅ι τας {δ}δε-κατας· τυ δε Φοιβε διδοι χαριϝετταν αμοιϝ[αν]", written in hexameter. The Latinized script reads, "Mantiklos manetheke wekaboloi argurotoxsoi tas dekatas; tu de Foibe didoi xariwettan amoiw[an]", and is translated roughly as "Mantiklos offered me as a tithe to Apollo of the silver bow; do you, Phoibos [Apollo], give some pleasing favour in return". The inscription is a declaration of the statuette to Apollo, followed by a request for favors in return. Apart from the novelty of recording its own purpose, this sculpture adapts the formulae of [[oriental]] bronzes, as seen in the shorter more triangular face and slightly advancing left leg. This is sometimes seen as anticipating the greater expressive freedom of the 7th century BCE and, as such, the Mantiklos figure is referred to in some quarters as proto-Daedalic. |
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===Archaic=== |
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[[File:Ac.kleobisandbiton.jpg|thumb|[[Kleobis and Biton]], ''kouroi'' of the Archaic period, c. 580 BCE. Held at the [[Delphi Archaeological Museum]].]] |
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Inspired by the monumental stone sculpture of [[Egypt]]<ref>The debt of archaic Greek sculpture to Egyptian canons was recognized in Antiquity: see [[Diodorus Siculus]], i.98.5-9.</ref> and [[Mesopotamia]], the Greeks began again to carve in stone. 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 the [[Lady of Auxerre]] and Torso of Hera (Early Archaic period, c. 660–580 BCE, both in the Louvre, Paris). After about 575 BCE, figures such as these, both male and female, began wearing 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. |
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Three types of figures prevailed—the standing nude youth (kouros, plural kouroi), the standing draped girl (kore, plural korai), and 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), 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. |
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The Greeks thus 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 no distinction between the sacred and the secular in art—the human body was both secular and sacred. A male [[nude]] without any attachments such as a bow or a club, could just as easily be [[Apollo]] or [[Heracles]] as that year's Olympic boxing champion. In the Archaic Period the most important sculptural form was the [[kouros]] (plural ''kouroi''), the standing male nude (See for example [[Kleobis and Biton|Biton and Kleobis]]). The [[Kore (sculpture)|kore]] (plural ''korai''), or standing clothed female figure, was also common, but since Greek art did not present female nudity (unless the intention was pornographic) until the 4th century BCE, the kore is considered to be of less importance in the development of sculpture, although the development of techniques to represent drapery is obviously important. |
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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, [[oracle]]s and sanctuaries (as is frequently shown by inscriptions on the statues), or as markers for graves. Statues in 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 the statue were indicated by size rather than artistic innovations. |
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<center> |
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<gallery> |
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Image:KAMA Kouros Porte Sacrée.jpg|Dipylon Kouros, c. 600 BCE, Athens, [[Kerameikos]] Museum. |
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Image:ACMA Moschophoros.jpg|The Moschophoros or calf-bearer, c. 570 BCE, Athens, [[Acropolis Museum]]. |
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Image:ACMA 679 Kore 1.JPG|[[Peplos]] kore, c. 530 BCE, Athens, [[Acropolis Museum]]. |
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Image:006MAD Frieze.jpg|Frieze of the Siphnian Treasury, [[Delphi]], depicting a [[Gigantomachy]], c. 525 BCE, [[Delphi Archaeological Museum]]. |
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</gallery> |
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</center> |
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===Classical=== |
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[[File:Reggio calabria museo nazionale bronzi di riace.jpg|thumb|[[Riace bronzes]], examples of proto classic bronze sculpture]] |
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[[File:Netuno19b.jpg|thumb|left|[[Artemision Bronze]], thought to be either [[Poseidon]] or [[Zeus]], c. 460 BCE, [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens|National Archaeological Museum]], [[Athens]]. Found by fishermen off the coast of [[Artemisium|Cape Artemisium]] in 1928. The figure is more than 2 m in height.]] |
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The Classical period saw an arguable revolution of Greek statuary, sometimes associated with the popular culture surrounding the introduction of [[Athenian democracy|democracy]] and the end of the aristocratic culture associated with the ''kouroi''. The Classical period saw changes in the style and function of sculpture, along with a dramatic increase in the technical skill of Greek sculptors in depicting realistic human forms. Poses also became more naturalistic, notably during the beginning of the period (see the [[Charioteer of Delphi]] for an example of the transition to more naturalistic sculpture). From about 500 BCE, Greek statues began increasingly to depict real people, as opposed to vague interpretations of myth or entirely fictional [[Votive offering|votive statues]], although the style in which they were represented had not yet developed into a realistic form of portraiture. The statues of [[Harmodius and Aristogeiton (sculpture)|Harmodius and Aristogeiton]], set up in Athens mark the overthrow of the aristocratic [[tyrant|tyranny]], and have been said to be the first public monuments to show actual individuals. |
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The Classical Period also saw an increase in the use of statues and sculptures as decorations of buildings. The characteristic temples of the Classical era, such as the [[Parthenon]] in Athens, and the [[Temple of Zeus]] at Olympia, used relief sculpture for decorative [[frieze]]s, and sculpture in the round to fill the triangular fields of the [[pediment]]s. The difficult aesthetic and technical challenge stimulated much in the way of sculptural innovation. Most of these works survive only in fragments, for example the [[Elgin Marbles|Parthenon Marbles]], roughly half of which are in the [[British Museum]]. |
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[[File:0025MAN-Relief2.jpg|thumb|Family group on a grave marker from Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Athens]] |
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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 taking his dignified leave from his family. This is a notable increase in the level of emotion relative to the Archaic and Geometrical eras. |
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Another notable change is the burgeoning of artistic credit in sculpture. The entirety of information known about sculpture in the Archaic and Geometrical periods are centered upon the works themselves, and seldom, if ever, on the sculptors. Examples include [[Phidias]], known to have overseen the design and building of the [[Parthenon]], and [[Praxiteles]], whose nude female nude sculptures were the first to be considered artistically respectable. Praxiteles' [[Aphrodite of Knidos]], which survives in copies, was often referenced to and praised by [[Pliny the Elder]]. |
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The [[Statue of Zeus at Olympia]] and the [[Statue of Athena Parthenos]] (both [[chryselephantine]] and executed by Phidias or under his direction, and considered to be the greatest of the Classical Sculptures), are lost, although smaller copies (in other materials) and good descriptions of both still exist. Their size and magnificence prompted rivals to seize them in the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period, and both were removed to [[Constantinople]], where they were later destroyed. |
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<center> |
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<gallery> |
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Image:Diadoumenos-Atenas.jpg|Copy of [[Polykleitos|Polyclitus]]' [[Diadumenos]], [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens]]. |
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Image:Aphrodite Braschi Glyptothek Munich 258.jpg|So-called Venus Braschi by [[Praxiteles]], type of the [[Aphrodite of Cnidus|Knidian Aphrodite]], Munich [[Glyptothek]]. |
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Image:NAMA X15118 Marathon Boy 3.JPG|The [[Marathon Youth]], 4th century BCE bronze statue, possibly by [[Praxiteles]], [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens]]. |
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Image:0002MAN-Hermes.jpg|[[Hermes]], possibly by [[Lysippos]], [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens]]. |
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</gallery> |
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</center> |
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===Hellenistic=== |
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{{Main|Hellenistic art|Phidias}} |
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The transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic (or Hellenic) period occurred during the 4th century BCE. Following the conquests of [[Alexander the Great]] (336 to 323 BCE), Greek culture spread as far as [[India]], as revealed by the excavations of [[Ai-Khanoum]] in eastern [[Afghanistan]], and the civilization of the [[Greco-Bactrians]] and the [[Indo-Greeks]]. [[Greco-Buddhist art]] represented a syncretism between Greek art and the visual expression of Buddhism. |
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[[File:GandharaDonorFrieze2.JPG|thumb|[[Greco-Buddhist art|Greco-Buddhist]] frieze of [[Gandhara]] with devotees, holding [[Plantain (cooking)|plantain]] leaves, in Hellenistic style, inside [[Corinthian column]]s, 1st–2nd century CE. Buner, Swat, [[Pakistan]]. [[Victoria and Albert Museum]].]] |
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Thus Greek art became increasingly diverse, influenced by the cultures of the peoples drawn into the Greek orbit. In the view of some art historians, this is described as a decline in quality and originality; however, individuals of the time period may not have shared this outlook, as many sculptures previously considered classical masterpieces are now known to be of the Hellenistic age. Also, the technical ability of the Hellenistic sculptors are 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. By the 2nd century BCE, the rising power of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] had also absorbed much of the Greek tradition—and an increasing proportion of its products as well. |
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During this period, sculpture again experienced a naturalistic shift. 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 figures 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, new Hellenistic cities springing up in [[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, quite a few more Hellenistic statues survive to the present than those of the Classical period. |
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Some of the best known Hellenistic sculptures are the [[Winged Victory of Samothrace]] (2nd or 1st century BCE), the statue of [[Aphrodite]] from the island of [[Melos]] known as the [[Venus de Milo]] (mid-2nd century BCE), the [[Dying Gaul]] (about 230 BCE), and the monumental group [[Laocoön and His Sons]] (late 1st century BCE). 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), thought to have been roughly the same size as the [[Statue of Liberty]]. The combined effect of earthquakes and looting have destroyed this as well as any other very large works of this period that might have existed. |
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Discoveries made since the end of the 19th century surrounding the (now submerged) [[ancient Egypt]]ian city of [[Alexandria|Heracleum]] include a 4th-century BCE depiction of [[Isis]]. The depiction is unusually sensual for depictions of the Egyptian goddess, as well as being uncharacteristically detailed and feminine, marking a combination of Egyptian and Hellenistic forms around the time of Egypt's conquest by [[Alexander the Great]]. |
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<center> |
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<gallery> |
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Image:Antinoo83.jpg|[[Antinous]] (Roman Hellenistic), [[Delphi]] Archaeological Museum |
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Image: ac.nike.jpg|The [[Winged Victory of Samothrace]] (Hellenistic), [[The Louvre]], [[Paris]] |
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Image:Laocoon Pio-Clementino Inv1059-1064-1067.jpg|[[Laocoön and His Sons]] (Late Hellenistic), [[Vatican Museum]] |
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Image:NAMA Jockey Artémision.jpg|[[Jockey of Artemision]]. Late Hellenistic bronze statue of a mounted jockey, [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens]]. |
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</gallery> |
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</center> |
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==Drapery== |
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===Female=== |
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<center> |
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<gallery> |
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Image:Diana of Gabies.jpg|{{Ill|fr|Diane of Gabies|Diane de Gabies}} dressing with a [[diplax]] |
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Image:Athena Giustiniani Musei Capitolini MC278.jpg|[[Pallas (daughter of Triton)|Pallas]] over a peplos. |
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Image:Woman chiton Musei Capitolini.jpg|[[Chiton]] |
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</gallery> |
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</center> |
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===Male=== |
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<center> |
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<gallery> |
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Image:Hermes Altemps Inv8583.jpg|[[Chlamys]] |
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File:Ancià (probablement Iamus, Cliti o Amitaó) al frontó oriental del temple de Zeus (Museu Arqueològic, Olímpia).JPG| |
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</gallery> |
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</center> |
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==Notes== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==References== |
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*[[Robert Manuel Cook|Cook, R.M.]], ''Greek Art'', Penguin, 1986 (reprint of 1972), ISBN 0140218661 |
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{{Commons category|Ancient Greek sculpture}} |
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==Bibliography== |
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*Andrew Stewart: ''Greek Sculpture'', Yale, 1990. |
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*John Boardman: ''Greek Sculpture:The Archaic Period'', 1978. |
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*John Boardman: ''Greek Sculpture:Classical Period'', 1987. |
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*John Boardman: ''Greek Sculpture:The Late Classical Period'', 1995. |
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*R.R.R Smith: ''Hellenistic Sculpture'', 1991. |
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*Jenifer Neils: ''The Parthenon Frieze'', 2006. |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvfzTEA9RVI Classic Greek Sculpture to Late Hellenistic Era], lecture by professor Kenney Mencher, Ohlone College |
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{{Ancient Greece topics|state=collapsed}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancient Greek Sculpture}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancient Greek Sculpture}} |
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[[Category:Ancient Greek sculpture]] |
[[Category:Ancient Greek sculpture]] |
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Revision as of 16:00, 23 September 2013
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