ART 1001 - Module 3 (Spieth)

Art and Architecture of Classical Greece:

- Archaic Period (ca. 700-480 B.C.E.) - Classical Period (ca. 480-323 B.C.E.)

The rise of Alexander the Great concludes the transition from the Classical to the

- Hellenistic Period (ca. 323-30 B.C.E.)

Where was the Minoan civilization located?

- Island of Crete

The Chimera sculpture

- It is a hybrid of demonic types, which plague the dead in the underworld

Art and Architecture of Pre-Classical Greece:

- Minoan culture (ca. 2500-1400 B.C.E.) - Mycenaean culture (ca. 1400-1200 B.C.E.)

Riace Warriors

- authentically Greek works - on board of a ship that sank off the coast of Italy and they survived on the bottom of the sea, until they were discovered on the seabed in 1972 - life-size bronze warriors - produced using the lost-wax casting method

Temple of Hera at Paestum (near Naples), Italy, ca. 460 B.C.E.

- construction is dry-jointed and metal cramps were used to hold construction elements - exhibits provincial conservatism and backwardness

The Capitoline She-Wolf

- depicts the founding myth of Rome in which twin brothers, Romulus and Remus, who were the offspring of a Vestal Virgin (priestess) and Mars, the god of war, were abandoned and suckled by a she-wolf in the wilderness. - in a dispute, Romulus killed Remus

Female figures in sculpture

- rare in the Classical tradition from the time of the Acropolis. If they are depicted at all, they were typically clothed in a tunic.

Doric order.

Associated with mainland Greece. It is simpler, massive, older, rustic; distinctive features: plain, cushion-like capitals, triglyph and metope on alternative on the frieze

megaron

Chief or throne room of the palace in Mycenaean Architecture

Mycenaean culture collapsed after 1200 B.C.E. The possible reason was the invasion of

Dorian people equipped with iron weapons superior to the softer bronze of the Mycenaeans.

Individuality.

Emphasis on individuality and the accomplishments of the individual

notable example of red figure pottery

Euphronious Krater

two principle structures of Mycenaean culture:

Heavy fortification walls and a defensive character - seen in the palaces of Tiryns and Mycenae

Literature.

Homer's Iliad and Odyssey become first works in the canon of Western literature; birth of mythology

Ionic order.

Imported from Asia Minor (today's Turkey); decorative, recent, seems lighter, sophisticated; distinctive feature: volutes mimicking acanthus leaves

Political organization.

Independent city states, earliest form of democracy, emergence of the Athenian polis (body of full citizens in a Greek city-state with voting rights)

Scientific discoveries.

Mathematics and natural science are on the rise, e.g. Pythagoras

Peaceful colonization.

Mostly peaceful colonization of the Mediterranean basin, especially Italy

_______________ culture began to blossom at the about the moment when Crete and neighboring islands went through their final crisis.

Mycenean

One aspect of Greek culture that resonates with the contemporary world is the

Olympic Games. - invented in the classical world as a sports competition among the Greek city states.

The Minoans founded the first highly developed, urban culture in the Western hemisphere. The most significant architectural site of the Minoans is found on the island of Crete, the so-called ...

Palace of Knosso

The oldest and largest of the buildings on the Acropolis was the what? And what did it represent?

Parthenon and it represents the epitome of the Classical ideals of architecture.

example of an Archaic temple in the Doric order

Temple of Hera at Paestum

The invention of money/currency.

The Greeks were the first to mint and circulate coins for payment and financial transactions

Classical period

The Greeks would eventually achieve a complete and correct understanding of human anatomy and proportions - followed the conclusion of the Persian Wars

Mastery of ship building.

This facilitated commercial exchanges and geographical expansion of Greek culture

characteristic for Etruscan culture

Tumulus (earth mount) tomb structures - feature brightly painted plaster reliefs representing weapons, tools, kitchen utensils, etc - known for their funerary sarcophagi

kylix

a flat, dish-like vessel mounted on a "foot," which is held, when used, by the handles on the sides. (Greek drinking cup)

Minoan culture declined after 1400 B.C.E. for a variety of reasons. Two hypothetical reasons:

a volcanic eruption on Thera, or incursions of Mycenaean people from the mainland.

Acropolis

an ensemble of structures built during the Classical period on a plateau overlooking Athens.

Mycenaean culture:

culture of the Greek mainland associated with Mycenae

Venus of Milo

depicts Aphrodite, who was the Greek goddess of love and beauty, and was produced in Melos (Milo), which was an Aegean island

Geometric Krater

described as "geometric" because of the type of decoration found on pottery from this period: meander, wedge-shaped, and checkerboard patterns are prevalent

International trade (limited at this point to the Mediterranean basin)

e.g. with Italy, Asia Minor, north Africa, Egypt, etc.

As opposed to the Minoans, the Myceneans feared ...

enemies.

Discobolos, or Discus Thrower

highly dramatic sculpture as the athlete is shown at the moment of just about releasing the discus, when the musculature is at its most tense. - survived only in the form of such Roman copies, like many greek sculptures

Minoan culture:

located on the island of Crete (so-called after legendary King Minos), ca. 2800-1450 B.C.E.

naos of the Parthenon was subdivided into

one half contained a giant cult statue of Athena-Parthenon - other housed the treasury of the Delian League, or the war chest of this military alliance over which Athens presided.

earliest examples of Greek art produced after the Doric invasion was

pottery

design for _____________________ was obtained by scraping outlines with a syringe-like instrument, and later applying an engobe slip for the parts that appear in black.

red-figure pottery

Cycladic culture:

refers to Greek islands

Helladic culture:

refers to Greek mainland

Palace of Knosso

sprawling structure with throne rooms, reception halls, a drainage system, and extensive storage facilities for wine, grain, oil, honey, etc. - bull iconography - lacked fortifications

Metropolitan Kouros was conceived as a funerary monument

to a young man who died a hero's death in battle.

krater is a term for a

vessel used for mixing wine and water.

Anthropocentric (human-centered)

world view