After the death of The King of Macedonia, the world of art adapted from Classical to Hellenistic Greek Art. This occurred all throughout Greek civilization after the death of Alexander The Great. After his death, the conquest was split between Alexander’s leading generals. These kingdoms were authorized throughout South-West Asia as well as North-East Africa. This resulted in the spread of Hellenistic culture, from heroic sculptures to architecture that is well known to this day. The blending of the ancient Greek world, and the withdrawal of previous Greek culture, resulted in The Hellenistic Art Period from 321-31 BC. Hellenistic Culture spread throughout these kingdoms and affected everything from languages to forms of artwork. …show more content…
Each work of art emphasize a sense of serenity and harmony, while depicting great passion and high emotion. Both pieces exhibit characteristics of Hellenistic Art because they both display two scenarios in action. As one statue exhibits one specific story, the other illustrates an array of stories that ties into one extensive display of Greek Culture. The two each tells a story with deep feeling and intense emotion. The statue Laoccon and His Sons is one of the most distinguished ancient sculptures ever constructed. There are multiple theories concerning what the statue is actually about, and when is was even excavated. Many believe that the statute tells a story of a Trojan Priest named Laocoon, who knew that a gift given to the city of Troy was actually a trap. Their enemy, The Greeks, gave them a wooden horse which secretly had Greek soldiers in it. Laoccon tried to save the City of troy by striking the horse with a spear. A goddess, who was the protector of the Greeks punished him by sending serpents to murder him and his sons. Sources say that either the serpents were sent by Athena, Goddess of military victory, or Apollo, God of The Sun. …show more content…
Although it was first discovered in 1506, arguments suggest that the sculpture was constructed during 42 BCE. They also suggest that famous copyists Hagesandros, Athanodoros, and Polydoros’ simply sculpted a marble version of The Great Altar of Zeus. Laocoon and His Sons is a seven piece of combined marble. It was found with missing fragments such as Laocoon and one of his son’s right arm. As a result, multiple sculptures and copyist volunteered to reconstruct the missing pieces of the statue. Michelangelo, a famous artist and close acquaintance of The Pope, denied such offers. He believed that they did not meet the talents of the Greek sculptors who created the piece. Once remnants of the sculpture was found, it was then reconstructed in 1957. The right arm of Laocoon was reconstructed in a spiraling motion in order to emphasize the struggle between Laocoon and the serpents. The sculpture caught the attention of many famous artist as well as politicians. The sculpture is considered to be one of the most discussed and reviewed pieces of Hellenistic Greek Art. Hellenistic characteristics such as high emotion and passion
“The Seated Boxer” is made of bronze and, although originally made in bronze, “ Laocoon and His Two Sons” are preserved in the marble medium. We do not know for sure if the marble statue possessed some kind of paint, but “The Seated Boxer” has copper and other materials to make the effect of the face having blood from coming out of a boxing match. While both are in the same style, “The Seated Boxer” is by himself while Laocoon is with both of his sons and snakes. “Laocoon and His Two Sons” is based off of a myth from the Trojan war, that Laocoon found out about the Trojan Horse and went to warn Troy that they should not accept it. A God or Goddess didn’t like that he knew so she sent snakes to kill him. However, “The Seated Boxer” was based more off of an event than any particular story. While there is drama, the drama in “The Seated Boxer” is much more subtle and emotional. “Laocoon and His Two Sons” is a much more physically dramatic piece, with snakes and limbs crawling all over the sculpture.
This particular marble sculpture s is one of the thirteen pieces that were showcased in the Gods
Sculpture is a medium that artists in ancient Greek commonly used to express spoken truths in an unspoken form. Every piece of ancient Greek sculpture has more than what the eye sees to explain the story behind the [in this case] marble.
In the Ancient Middle East, the Roman time periods brought about many different works of art. The Votive Statue of Gudea, an Ancient Near Eastern work, and the Augustus of Primaporta, a Roman work, are good representations of art from their respective time periods. The two works have many similarities and differences within their formal elements, iconography, and historical significance to the time periods in which they were crafted. The Votive Statue of Gudea and the Augustus of Primaporta have similar formal elements through their subjects and differ through their styles and size. The Votive Statue of Gudea is a statue of Gudea, a ruler in the Ancient Near East.
Ridgway, Brunilde S. Hellenistic Sculpture II: The Styles of ca. 200-100 B.C. Madison, Wisc.: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2000.
And just like the Greek the statue are both big and almost human size. A great example of this is the “Augustus of Primaporta, 1st century C.E. (Vatican Museums).” It truly shows the evolution of art sculpting. It is a full size very detailed sculpture of Augustus. It very detailed from his hair showing every curl and split to the small details in his armor that also depicts a story as well is shows the god of the sky looking down on him and the goddess of the earth looking up towards him as they watch the Parthians surrender to him and returning the standards shows the great power that Augustus has, and not just that but also the sculpture itself is a symbol for how Augustus wanted everyone to see him as, as god like. And it even has a little small cupid on the side which is also detailed which shows that Augusts is decedent from a
The Hellenistic culture was founded from the Hellenic culture. The Hellenic culture was born with Philip of Macedon. Philip of Macedon was a king in Macedonia at the beginning of the fourth century. Philip was known for his great organizational skills and his prowess in battle as a warrior. Philip had a dream of making an empire and surpassing everyone’s expectations he succeeded. It took seven years for Philip to unite the once Greek city-states into a unit, but once he gained control of them he had a battle tested army. Philip of Macedon led his army into Asia Minor and defeated the Persian army. The defeat of the Persian army brought the collapse of the Persian Empire which was unimaginable because at the time Persia ruled the world. Unfortunately, as Philip turned to conquer the rest of the world he died. Luckily he left behind a son.
Doryphoros by Polykleitos was originally a Greek bronze made around 450-40B.C. The only way we can see it today is through the Roman marble copies (which is common of many Greek statues.) Some supports had to be added for the change in material, resulting in the addition of the form resembling a tree trunk, the support on the left foot, and the small bar bridging the gap between his right wrist and hip. Doryphoros was originally holding a spear in his left hand; appropriate, given that his name means, literally, “spear-bearer.” The sculpture is a well-known and early example of classical Greek contrapposto (the shifting of weight onto one leg and off-axis shoulders and arms.) One leg nearly appears to be lifting off the ground, giving the effect of movement. The perceived weight shift adds more dynamism to the piece, and contributes to the realism of the figure. The resulting slight “s-curve” of the figure is true to what we might see in life, and reflects an interest in proportion and anatomy, as seen with many Greek sculptures of the age. This is made particularly clear in the defined muscle groups of the figure and attention to details such as the structure of the knees, hands, and feet. Polykleitos sculpted many athletic male bodies in the nature of his personal aesthetic canon, which we can see exemplified here through the intense attention to the mathematics of the human body. The contours of the figure are visually interesting and although the figure does not hold much facial expression, his body language and presence speak volumes of his existence as the epitome of masculinity.
The Hellenistic period brought a new, refreshing start to Greece. Ancient Greece and its introverted culture transformed into Hellenistic Greece, which infused its culture into countries and empires outside of Greece’s boundaries. With this spreading influence, new forms of art, inventions, and religion emerged in the midst of the cultural growth. An innovated aspect within Hellenistic Greece was philosophy and its new schools. At the time, two of the most popular philosophies, Epicureanism and Stoicism, rivaled each other.
This is a copy of the sculpture of Athena Parthenos, dressed in battle attire, that was originally created by Phidias during the period of 447-39 B.C. The statue of Athena Parthenos was to be constructed, not of bronze, but of gold and ivory. The face, arms, and feet of the statue were to be made of ivory and the clothing, of thickly plated gold. The statue was an enormous size that towered thirty-three feet tall. The costly nature of the materials out of which it was designed was intended to overwhelm the viewer, creating a sense of religious awe.
In regards to subject matter, both pieces of sculpture are of leaders, Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II were the pharaoh and queen of Egypt around 2500 BCE., and Caesar Augustus was the Emperor of Rome from September 23, 63 BCE to August 19, 14 CE., shown in this work as a general from Primaport, Italy.
Throughout history, there are many scenes that are repeated in different mediums. Many of these scenes begin as stories. The image of Laocoon was first depicted with words as a story told about the Trojan War. Laocoon is a Trojan priest who had warned against the acceptance of the wooden horse. The gods, who are on the side of the Greeks, send two serpents to kill Laocoon. They first attack his two sons, and when he rushes to save them they attack and kill him (Lee 37). The snakes then return to the citadel of Minerva for safety. A famous depiction of this scene can be found in the illuminated manuscript Vergilius Vaticanus. This illuminated manuscript was done sometime around the 5th century (Wright 91). It was similar to many illuminated manuscripts of the time in that the scribe wrote out the poem, and left designated space for the artist to depict an image that relates to that part of the poem(Wright **). While it is believed that many of the images were copies of images from rolls depicting the same story, the artist did have opportunity to alter images and depict images as they saw fit. The artist that painted the Laocoon scene reveals Laocoon as a strong tragic hero by depicting him the second time as large, nude, muscular and bearded. This view is intensified when compared to the Roman/Hellenistic sculptural group of Laocoon and his sons.
The Hellenistic period started when Alexander died in about 320 BCE and continued approximately three eras, pending the dual killing of Queen Cleopatra of Egypt and her Roman partner Mark Antony in 30 BCE after their pivotal overthrow at the combat of Actium by Antony’s opponent Augustus. During that time, Augustus made Egypt a jurisdiction of the Roman Empire. The cultural centers of the Hellenistic period were the court cities of the Greek royals who succeeded Alexander and distributed his widespread empire among themselves. The language which was used was Greek, what unified the Hellenistic world was an international culture. Their monarchs became very fortunate on the riches of the East, priding themselves of their art collections, libraries, innovation of the sciences, and expertise as critics and aficionados, and on the educated men they could bring together at their courts. The larger-than-life-size Greek Head of Poseidon bronze statute is undisputedly a masterwork of the ancient times, the Hellenistic period. The figures were central points of sanctuaries and important civic places, and they served as models and muse for the classical figurines known today. The Head of Poseidon statue is very appealing with its fine facial bone structure, full open mouth, deep-set eyes, and decorative curls of hair and wavy beard. The windswept curls are barely bound by the crown.
Honour, Hugh, and John Fleming. "Hellenistic and Roman Art." A World History of Art. London: Laurence King, 1999. 179-213. Print.
The primary focus of ancient Greek sculptures was that of the human body. Almost all Greek sculptures are of nude subjects. As the first society to focus on nude subjects, Greek sculptors attempted to "depict man in what they believed was the image of the gods and so would come to celebrate the body by striving for verisimilitude or true – likeness (realism and naturalism!)."(Riffert) Not only did the Greeks celebrate the human form in their art but also in everyday life. (Riffert) One of the favorite topics for sculptors was that of the athlete. In Greek culture athletes were described as "hero–athletes". (Riffert) This shows that athletes were revered and looked upon as heroes. The influence of athleticism is evident in many famous sculptures. I will attempt to show how the human form influenced Greek art. It is important to note that many of the Greek sculptures discussed do not exist in their original form but rather in Roman copies of the original bronze sculptures. (Riffert)