Greek Art - Key Periods and Features of those Periods

K. Erickson AP Art History 05/06

Geometrical Period

- first specifically Greek style of vase painting emerges around 1050 and is called Proto-Geometric

- this can be distinguished from Minoan or Mycenaean

- proper Geometric Style becomes widespread after 900 BCE in all types of art

- characterized by linear motifs, rather than stylized birds/plants of Minoan art

Geometric Period 900-700 BCE	Funerary Vase (Krater), Dipylon Cemetery, Athens, c. 750BCE,
	Man and Centaur, perhaps from Olympia, ca. 750 BCE. Bronze.

Orientalizing Period

- From about 750 onwards, Greeks begin to venture overseas and develop many colonies in southern Italy and Sicily

- Corinth is an important port city, where luxury wares from Near East and Egypt are traded

- By 7^th c., move away from geometric

- New style incorporates elements of Near Eastern and Egyptian

Orientalizing Period 700-625 BCE

Pitcher (olpe), from Corinth. Ca. 600 BCE.

Archaic Period

- Greek city states on mainland, on Aegean islands and in colonies flourish

- Athens begins to move to forefront

- 594 Solon becomes political leader of Athens, instituting legal reforms

- Dates up to the time when the Greeks repelled the Persians, an event that inaugurates new era

Archaic Period 620-480 BCE	Standing Youth (NY Kouros), from Attica. ca. 580 BCE Various other Kouri and Kore
	Marble stele (grave marker) of youth and little girl with capital and finial in the form of a sphinx, ca. 530 B.C. (Met)
	Francois Vase, Ergotimos (potter) and Kleitas (painter), ca. 570 BCE
	Terracotta neck-amphora (jar), Neck-amphora with lid, ca. 540 B.C.; Archaic, Attributed to Exekias, Greek, Attic.
	Dionysos with Maenads, Amasis Painter. ca. 540 BCE,
	Panathenaic prize amphora, ca. 530 B.C. Attributed to the Euphiletos Painter. Greek, Attic.
	Andokides Painter, Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game, from Orvieto, Italy, ca. 525–520 BCE. H. 1’ 9
	Death of Sarpedon. Terracotta calyx-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water), ca. 515 B.C.; Archaic. Signed by Euxitheos, as potter; Signed by Euphronios, as painter.
	Temple of Hera I, Paestum, Italy, ca. 550 BCE
	West pediment from the Temple of Artemis, Corfu, Greece, ca. 600–580 BCE.
	Battle between Gods and Giants, detail of the north frieze of the Siphnian Treasury, Delphi, Greece, ca. 530 BCE. _

CLASSICAL PERIOD: 480-325 (OR 323, DEPENDING ON SOURCE)

Some art historians break this period down into 3 subdivisions: Early, High/Mature and Late Classical. These breakdowns correspond to historical events and also reflect stylistic tendencies.

Early Classical Period

- historically this begins with the Greeks repelling the Persians and concludes with era of Peloponnesian Wars

- some scholars think Greek defeat of Persians led to culture of confidence

- in art, emergence of new style in which figure is portrayed with greater accuracy

- artists sought universality

Early Classical Period (also called Severe) 480-450 BCE	Dying Warrior, sculpture from the left corner of the east pediment of Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. ca 480 BCE. Marble. Length: 6'
	Kritios Boy, from the Acropolis, Athens, Greece, ca. 480 BCE.
	Temple of Zeus at Olympia, fragments depicting Apollo with Battling Lapiths and Centaurs c. 460 BCE.
	Charioteer, from the Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi. ca. 470 BCE. Bronze.
	Warrior A, found in the sea of Riace, Italy. ca. 460-450 BCE. Bronze with bone, glass, silver, copper.

High Classical Period (think of this as Golden Age of Athens)

- dates correspond roughly to conflict between Athens and Sparta

- time of Pericles (he dies in 429)

- 449 - 432 Iktinos and Kallikrates design and build the Parthenon

- concludes with defeat of Athens by Sparta

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High Classical Period Or Mature Classical c. 450-400 BCE	Diskobolos (Discus Thrower). by MYRON, Roman marble copy after a bronze original of ca. 450 BCE,
	Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Parthenos by IKTINOS and KALLIKRATES, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 447–438 BCE
	Erechtheion (view from southeast), Acropolis, Athens, Greece, ca. 421–405 BCE.
	Temple of Athena Nike (view from the east), by KALLIKRATES, Acropolis, Athens, ca. 427–424 BCE.
	Terracotta lekythos (oil flask), Lekythos, ca. 440 B.C.; Classical, Attributed to the Achilles Painter, Greek, Attic, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
	Grave stele of Hegeso, ca. 410-400, Marble. Height: 4'9". National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

Key Features of Late Classical Period:

- continue to follow Classical approach to form and composition

- no longer adhere strictly to Classical conventions

- innovations supported by new patrons, including royal Macedonians (Philip and Alexander), and aristocrats in Asia Minor

- much artistic activity takes place outside of Athens

Late Classical Period 400 – 325 BCE	Tholos, Sanctuary of Athena, Delphi. Ca. 400 BCE.
	Hermes and the Infant Dionysus, Praxiteles or his followers. Hellenistic or Roman copy after a Late Classical 4^th century BCE original.
	The Scraper, by Lysippos. Roman copy after the original bronze of ca. 330 BCE. Marble. Height: 6’9”. Musei Vaticani, Rome. Alexander the Great Confrtonts Darius III at the Battle of Issos, detail of Mosaic from Pompeii, 1^st century CE Roman copy after Greek painting of ca. 310 BCE,

Hellenistic Period begins with death of Alexander the Great

- Alexander’s vast empire is split up after his death

- His legacy was spreading of Greek culture

- Hellenistic art is more individualistic and specific, rather than idealized

- More emotive; taste for high drama

- Draws viewer into the art work

- Lasts until time of Augustus; continues to influence Roman art

Hellenistic Period c. 325-31 BCE (Note: Stokstad gives 325 BCE; some sources give 323 BCE – death of Alexander the Great - which seems logical a turning point)	Earrings, from The Ganymede Jewelry, ca. 330–300 B.C.; Hellenistic Greek, Gold. H. of earrings 2 3/8 in. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
	Theatre at Epidauros, Greece. Early 3rd century and later.
	Bronze statuette of a veiled and masked dancer, 3rd–2nd century B.C.; Hellenistic, Greek. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
	Hegesandros, Polydoros, and Athanadoros of Rhodes, Laocoon and his Sons, Hellenistic, 2nd-1st century BCE or a Roman copy of the 1st century CE,
	Nike (Victory) of Samothrace, from the Sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace, ca. 190 BCE
	Aphrodite of Melos (also called Venus de Milo) ca. 150-125 BCE, Marble. Height: