Greek Hellenistic Sculptures Essay

Physically, the figures in the painting are quite exceptional. The bodies look very realistic, such as the bulging muscles of Aeneas and the life like expression of his weary father. This works kind of shows a wide spectrum of human figures, from the strong and beautiful Aeneas to his soft, gentle wife, and the sharp contrast of the old and defeated father of Aeneas, to Aeneas’s young, curious son on his grandfather’s back. The painting is evenly lit and has flawless brushstrokes throughout the painting which secures the life-like realness of the work. The shading of the muscles in the body are exceptionally life-like. The contrast between the skin colors between Aeneas and his father really give the viewer a sense of what is actually happening in the scene.

Ancient Greek art is something to be admired; the accuracy of the figures, compared to Egyptian art is commendable. The art works show great depths of emotion and detail. The “Grave stele of a little girl” is a beautiful relief of what appears to be a small child holding two birds. The forearm resembles a young child’s arm because it seems that the “baby fat” is still present, but it is strange that the face has less-childish features. The figure is in strict profile, which possibly suggests a Greek sculptor, in addition to the intricate detail and the contrapposto. Egyptian sculptors did not have

This paper will focus on the Statue of Dionysos leaning on a female figure. Also known as the Hope Dionysos. The statue is displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art and is located on the first floor Roman and Greek art chamber. Upon entering this sector, you will notice a grand statue that catches your eyes and captivates you as it welcomes you in gracefully. The exhibition is set up in the back center of the room, and is noticeable due to the largeness in scale and the enigmatic yet calming disposition the statue portrays. My first impression of the sculpture was how detailed and realistic the statue is. Since the statue was so defined you would be able to identify what he was wearing and how his body was shaped to how long his hair was during this time period. I was profoundly intrigued by how peaceful the statue of Dionysos embodied and found myself coming back to it and looking in awe. In curiosity, I would choose this statue for my assignment because I wanted to learn more about the history of the Hope Dionysos. In this essay I will be describing my formal analysis of the artwork, the subject matter behind it, the artist and the historical content of the statue of Dionysos.

This sculpture is comprised of marble, and due to its large size it was easier for me to develop an impression about the piece because I can focus on specific parts in more detail. To understand the piece, a very visual and detailed perspective is needed. Judging by the way the thighs are represented, it appears as though she is striking a contrapposto pose, which makes her appear static. She has most of her weight shifted on her left leg, but not all of it The focal point of this piece I believe is her robe. It skillfully falls down her left side, while leaving other parts exposed, drawing the main attention of this piece. Few different types of shapes are displayed, except the shape of her legs and the form of the robe. The physical texture was smooth throughout the entire piece, partly due to the material it is made of. There is only this one texture, as her robe and body parts all feel the same.

The Statue of Asklepios is a classic Greek sculpture that portrays a person of the most perfect and athletic form. The piece is of a man standing beautifully while draped in a toga. The toga is draped over his left shoulder and cuts across to the right side of his body near his lower abdomen and then continues to cover his legs until his ankle. The toga also is draped over the pieces entire back. The piece is missing his head, his left arm and both his right foot and almost its entire right arm. The piece has a smooth, but not glossy, exterior in all of the areas except for the parts that have been broken off. Asklepios is portrayed as an incredible fit and beautiful being. The abdomen is extremely muscular and shows off the miraculous fitness of the model. The toga has many wrinkles, creating a lot of shadow and darks and lights. It also is wrapped in a way that is both loose and tight in different areas of the sculpture. It is tied right next to the left pectoral and the left armpit. This piece emphasizes the muscular body of this man while at the same time portraying him standing in such a nonchalant way through the curvature and relaxed look of the figure. And unlike the Torso of a God, this piece clearly shows movement through the shape of the body and the folds of the toga because

Greek art, especially sculpture, was a common way to explore and reach past the confines of mankind’s natural appearance be it through penises, huge muscles, or generalized unrealistic body standards. Hercules and the Hydra, a sculpture by Mathias Gasteiger, presents an image of masculinity through the expressive posture and form of Hercules once you look past those gleaming bronze pectorals, and into the intricate details of the piece.

Immediately, my eyes are drawn to Adam and Eve, for they are the largest figures in the painting. All of the characters are stylized to the tune of what the artist wants, for his figures, including the animals, are shown as very muscular, not very naturalistic. This is similar to Michelangelo’s characters, he believed that the mans body is the pinnacle of god’s creation, using the male body as the body of all of his characters, men and women included. These figures are also similar to the Greeks, who were very focused on the human body.

The body of Adam, fully nude with the exception of a leaf, is very realistic and accurate, greatly detailed from his tightly curled hair to the creases in his knuckles. Without even touching the work I can “see” the purity of its marble and the smoothness of its carving. The muscle and facial expression of Adam are remarkably convincing qualities, showing the overall tense feeling of Adam’s pose. He stands on a flat base, and it is seen there that he is leaning forward because both feet are slightly lifted off the ground. He seems to be moving in a forward direction. That encouraged me to explore the back of the sculpture, where I found the same remarkable realism through muscles depiction and perfected proportion.

The two statues of Diadoumenos and Hermes & Dionysos differ in that all Polykleitos' sculptures were 8 heads tall, where as all Praxiltiles' sculptures were 9-10 heads tall. Also Polykleitos' Diadoumenos is more sculpted more muscular than Praxitiles' sculpture of Hermes & Dionysos.

Interestingly, instead of four, only three sides of the Sarcophagus are filled with images. The long section illustrates two Greek heroes, presumably Herakles and Iolaos, battling evil centaurs. The two other sections show a centaur attacking a lioness and the other, the representation of peace in this work, two centaurs getting along. Herakles and Iolaos are highlighted by the artist’s careful attention to make them protrude the greatest, accentuating their impact and overall importance in this sculpture. Every powerful muscle in their bodies is portrayed and given detail in three dimensions. The three-dimensions not only bring these characters closer to reality but also heighten the heroic nature, masculinity, and belligerent attitude of the Greek heroes. Instead of using basic geometric shapes to create works of art, the sculptor chooses to increase the detail in the Sarcophagus by giving everything in the sculpture individual characteristics and traits. They are presented as being stressed

This work of art is a mix of naturalism and verism. The beautiful perfect skin, the appropriately proportional body and the beauty of young Dionysus are much idealized. The god of wine doesn’t have the body structure of an athlete; however, the body features and muscles are quite in proportion and yet humanized. Dionysus’ face is very humanlike because it displays a certain sense of kindness and relaxedness. There is no sign of stress, discomfort, or detachedness on his face. Dionysus has his left leg crossed over his right leg and he is leaning on Pan on his left. Dionysus’ unique pose is a varied version of contrapposto pose which was so common in the High Classical sculptures. This pose means that the weight of the body is supported by one leg, right leg in this case. This pose illustrates relaxed state of mind and makes the audience feel that Dionysus is at ease. He also has his left hand resting on Pan while holding the wine cup. This shows that Dionysus is trusted by Pan and Pan is also trusted by him because Pan has his right arm around Dionysus’ waist. This close distance mainly

Their were multiple different art works that caught my attention at the museum although through the semester it was the Roman chapter that captivated my attention the most hence forth I chose this artwork. Each piece of art present in the museum deserved their own acknowledgment respectively from the gold and marble jewelry present to the large sculptures rich in detail non stood out more to myself than The Indian Triumph of Dionysus.I found this piece of art to be appealing because there are many different people and beings within this piece of work that are well known in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. The entire piece is centered on Dionysus, yet everyone plays an important role in the overall story of the piece. Also, I found it very interesting that someone took a great interest in building a monumental sarcophagus for a man who was known for introducing wine.
As Dionysus and his followers journeyed to the East to introduce wine and culture they were sometimes

When examining the statue, there is an old woman bent and weary. Her posture helps clue us in, with her age and the state of her health. The figure is dressed in cloth that drapes off her body as she carries a basket that is filled with what we may think are offerings. On her head, there are vines that create a band around the top of her head used to signify the festival that was going on during that time. The specific detail that is seen on this statue persuades us to want to know the story of this woman. Doing so, the process involves lots of research about the time and art. During the hellenistic period, artists begin to introduce more inner beauty than physical beauty. There is an opportunity to learn more about the structure itself, then settle for what is given and seen.

When analyzing the artwork one can see the influence of what we now understand to be art form, through the numerous art elements the painting of Queen Nefertari and Isis has. Starting with lines, the artist uses many types of both regular and irregular, to create the hieroglyphics and the shape of the women along with what they wear. The ancient Egyptians liked to have things in order and consistent. We see the proof for this behind their canon of proportions method. In order to make complex figures easier to depict, the traditional style and trademark of ancient Egyptian artworks show everything drawn or carved to be two-dimensional in shape. However, they also wanted to show the aspects they valued the most as a society. As stated in the film How Art Made The World, in the case of the human body ancient Egyptian chose to show each body part from its clearest angel; and as a result of a keeping the figures 2-D, the chest is shown straight on, the face is shown in profile but the eyes were drawn straight on, the arms and hands can be

One of the pieces defining characteristics, what makes it such a marvel, is how the physique is anatomically perfect. This speaks of a highly developed culture, with an intricate understanding of anatomy and physiology. But, also of a culture that privileges physical strength and beauty. The Greeks of the time were either artists or warriors, or often both, so strength and beauty were central in their world. Laocoon and His Sons is a much more naturalistic piece than earlier Greek works; in which the figures were often idolized; lacking luster, life, emotion, humanity. Cleobis and Biton, a set of sculptures from the Archaic Period, exemplify this quite well; posing, rigid, golem like figures; lacking the humanity they are supposed to represent. The Hellenistic baroque style of Laocoon and His Sons gives us a much more true-to-life representation in comparison to earlier works. This work has inspired artists and regular humans alike down through the centuries, one of whom it is particularly well known to have influenced greatly was Michelangelo; as can be seen in some of his pieces; e.g: The rebellious Slave.