Greek sculpture It is not subject to rules or conventions. The sculptor is free to express his vision in the work, however, it seeks to achieve representation of perfection in the human figure as mentioned above; exalting physical strength and the perfection of the features.
Materials used in Greek sculpture:
At the beginning in wood; then replaced by stone (marble mainly); Bronze (lost wax) is also widely used; Exceptionally crisoelefantines (ivory, gold and silver).
The sculptures were usually polychrome, except for the works carried out in bronze.
Evolutionary stages of Greek sculpture.
The Greek sculpture goes through 3 periods or evolutionary phases, with own characteristics in each of them. These are:
Archaic era.
In the VIII centuries to VI AC, from the end of the so-called dark age to medical wars (490-480 AC)
It was characterized by being a time where sculptors begin to look for their own style and technique. We find sculptures prior to the archaic period that are very simple. At the beginning they performed small ex -extremes and xoanas (carved sculptures on the trunk of the tree).
Subsequently the first large format sculptures made in stone:
– The Kouroi or Efebos (Kourós singular), naked athlete figures.
– The Korai or Girls (Koré in Singular), Bidder Figures of Dressed Women.
Main characteristics of archaic sculpture.
- Whole body; attitude hieratic (without movement)
- Frontality Law;
- Simple and strong geometrization modeling;
- Statism later; since only the left leg moves a little to suggest the movement of walking, but without getting the feeling of displacement; The arms take off from the body.
- Big almond eyes.
- Archaic or eghinetic smile, (facial expression through a forced and conventional gesture that outlines a smile).
- Long hair formed based on geometric elements.
- The sculptures were made as an offering to athletes.
The Korai
General characteristics of the Korai
They are dressed, in them it is more important to study folds than that of anatomy, they are religious statues, found in temples. Examples: Lady of Auxirrederived from the Xoanas; Hera de Samosstill very archaic; Koré del Peplo and others Korai evolved of the eighth century, as described above.
We find two types fundamentally:
– With the Doric peplo (thick tunic without folds)
– With Ionian chitón (fine texture and with abundant folds) with both feet together; The free hand holds the dress or an offering; With archaic smile.
The Kouroi
Characteristics of the eighth century Ac: with the left leg advanced, but without a sense of movement, since the soles of the two feet are attached to the ground; with fallen arms, glued to the body and closed fists; Simple modeling (which will evolve towards increasingly achieved forms), with strong geometrization (especially in hair and torso), and disproportions between different parts of the body; with almond and bulky eyes; The mouth always closed and with “archaic smile” (“eghinetic smile”). Examples: Cleobis and bitón.
The Kouroi of the seventh century ac: evolve towards more rounded forms, perfecting anatomical modeling; The geometrization of forms is also less; Soft movements are already appreciated; New elements appear. Examples: The Moscophore (young calf carrier as offering); Rampín Riderwith a slightly turned head; he Kurós de Anavyssos and the Piombino ApolloKouroi with sweeter lines
Works such as:
– Anavayssos Kourós (athlete),
– The lady of Auxirre or Xoana (dressed maiden),
– The head of the gentleman Rampio.
Classic stage of Greek art
Centuries V and IV AC, from medical wars against Persian invaders to the end of the Peloponnese War (404 BC)
This era meant the period of greatest boom in all artistic and literary manifestations. The sculptors achieve the perfection of their techniques, as well as better sculptural pieces, where the magnificence of the human figure is observed.
This era has 2 periods with own styles and characteristics:
– The sublime stylein which sculptors such as Mirón, Fidias and Poly, are highlighted,
– The beautiful stylewhere sculptors such as Escopas, Praxitles and Lisipo stand out.
Classical time (centuries V – IV AC)
In the V and IV centuries to C, Greek sculpture reaches its culmination, creating works that have remained as models of beauty and plastic perfection.
In this century there is a feverish process of realizations to commemorate the victory against the Persians and to rebuild the destroyed.
The aesthetic objective is to capture the ideal beauty, although it is a naturalistic art, it tends to idealization, based on reality, archetypes are created. The true protagonist is the naked male body, achieving in its realization a total domain of the anatomy. The most represented themes belong to the mythical world of the gods and heroes, which are treated with great seriousness. Hieratism is definitely lost, achieving the mobility of the figures and capturing gestures and attitudes. Frontality is also abandoned, sculptures have several points of view.
During the first 50 years of the s. V AC we find a transition stage towards these objectives, even with remains of archaism, the “severe style”. We see steps towards anatomical perfection, greater dynamism, and the solutions to adapt the sculpture to the eardrums of the pediment.
Examples of this period are: the Frontons of the temple of Afaia in Egina and the Frontons of the Zeus temple in Olimpia (already mentioned above); the Ludovisi throne reliefs (Aphrodite’s birth); bronzes like Poseidonthe Riace warriors or the Delphites.
Criticism sculptures, right -handed Greek sculptor: Author of Tyranicides and the Efebo athletewhich supposes the beginning of the preclassic era, thanks to the novelty of its posture, precedent of the “counterpart”: bends a knee to support the entire weight of the body in one leg, its anatomy is more realistic, although the hair remains in the same line, short; And the head is not totally straight, but a bit turned and slightly inclined down.
Century VC Start of the “classical stage” in Greek art.
Voyeur:
Bronchista, although the works that are preserved are Roman copies in marble, as in most cases we are going to see. His most famous work is the Discobolusin which Mirón proves to be the master of the movement, we are not facing the traditional upright posture, but the one he performs is very daring, he captures a moment, the moment before throwing the disc, the moment of maximum effort, so the whole body is in tension, but the head does not just correspond to the body, since it is too quiet, concentrated, but serene. Also yours is the group of Athena and Marsyasin which Athena is walking and with the head looks at the ground at the same point where Marsyas is looking, forming a Uve, Athena is serene and wears the pemples, Marsyas is a naked tension figure, which allows to show a powerful muscles.
Polylet:
Also bronchist. He publishes the “Kanon”, a work in which he conducts a study of the measures and proportions of the human body, beauty would be in these proportions (the total height of the body is seven times the head) and in symmetry. In it DORIFEspear bearer, plasma all his theories: spherical head, proportions and symmetry, classical posture or “counter -speaking”, erect, with a certain curvature in the torso and hip by resting the entire weight on one leg. He Diadúmeno It has characteristics very similar to the previous one, it appears by tieding a tape to the temples. Another work of his is a Amazona woundedawarded in a contest for the decoration of the Sanctuary of Ephesus, in which she competed with fidias and crashs towards the middle of the 5th century
Fidias:
Attached to Pericles for the monumental reconstruction and management of the acropolis of Athens, it is the sculptor of the gods, the one that best captures the essence of divinity, author of two gigantic crisoeefantine sculptures (wooden core with gold and ivory plates):
Best known works of fidias:
– The Athena parthenos,
– He Olimpia Zeus,
– The Athena promocals,
– The Athena Lemnia,
– The Amazona wounded
– All the sculptural decoration of the part is also attributed to Fidias; (which will influence the sculptors of the “starting style” of the “beautiful style”, at the end of the century Va.C.)
– The Doric fry metapas
– He Panateneas frieze
– The sculptures of Frontons of the part (Excellent compositions, in which the figures perfectly fit the pediment; in the eastern pediment the Birth of Athena And in the western the Athena and Poseidon struggle for attic; Study anatomy in the nudes and dresses in the female figures, although through the “wet cloth technique” also in this case the anatomy is guessed).
“Partenón style” or “beautiful style”.
The achievements of the end of the 5th century can be classified within a new stage within the evolution of sculpture in the classical stage.
Krésilas
It stands out among the sculptors assigned to this period: he made a Bust of Pericleslocated in the Acropolis of Athens, with Corinthian helmet and very idealized. We also keep your Amazona wounded of the Ephesus contest.
Kallimachos:
His works continue in the line of the technique of wet cloths inaugurated by Fidias in the part, the Aphrodite of Frejus and the relief of the Victoria Tying Sandalia of the temple of Athena Nike.
Other examples of the sculpture of this stage: the Victory of Paioniosthat commemorated a victory against the Spartans and collects the moment when the victory poses on the ground, the tunic is fully folded and swallows in the back, being the antecedent of the victory of Samotracy. They also stand out, of anonymous authors but in the same line of the previous ones: the Wounded nobidevirtually naked female sculpture that represents the moment in which he has received an arrow on the back and is struggling to remove it, stands out for the face, which already reflects the suffering; and the Hera Barberini.
Greek sculpture in the fourth century AC
Time of crisis of the state and disintegration cities and transformation into the social after the Peloponnese war between Sparta and Athens and their respective allies. Athens, despite the political crisis, continued to maintain artistic supremacy in Greece, thanks to an elegant and refined society, although in this context the artist works not for the State but for individuals, because the war has left without resources the …