Imparing The Gilded Bronze Statues Of Hercules : A Comparison Of The Roman Figures

Greek culture is the source from which many of the characteristic elements of Western culture derive. Their explorations and innovations in art have both fascinated and inspired other civilizations for centuries. For this assignment I chose two Greek sculptures viewed at the Getty Museum. The first is Kouros circa 530 B.C. made of Dolomitic marble from Thasos and is approximately 200 cm (80 in) in height. The second is Cult Statue of a Goddess, (most likely Aphrodite) South Italy, 425 - 400 B.C. made of Limestone and marble. It stands at a height of 220 cm (86 5/8 in). There is some dispute to the authenticity of the Getty Kouros

Many similar characteristics are used throughout the Classical and Early Empire when the construction of temples was being built. Though old techniques were used, the advancement of new methods were being introduced to build faster, stronger, and in different shapes and sizes. We will discuss the Parthenon and the Pantheon; though similar in name, they do have some differences that represent the Greek and Roman styles.

The marble sculpture of Kritios Boy from Greece, ca. 480 BCE marks an influential point of stylistic evolution. In contrast to Khafre Enthroned, The Kritios Boy was created for a public audience. The Kritios Boy’s standing pose represents a freedom in his figure that divorces the solidity of the stiffly seated Khafre. Rather than emanating timelessness, this naturalistic sculpture seems to capture a specific moment in time. Mirroring a normal human stance of balance and weight shift onto one leg, his stature is contrapposto. Furthermore, the Kritios Boy’s physical composition maintains a smooth contour to his natural musculature. His head is slightly turned with hair that seems to fall effortlessly in place. He is completely naked, wearing only a relaxed expression on his face. With no indication of identity, the Kritios Boy exemplifies naturalism in Greek drive to order to analyze form into constituent parts and represent the specific in light of the generic.

The Marble Statue of a Bearded Hercules was made by an unknown sculptor at the Early Imperial, also known as the Flavian period in circa 68–98 A.D. By analyzing this sculpture, this goddess portrays strength and masculinity and gives acknowledgement to his legacy which resolved a conflict between individual and society. This work of art also expresses an idea of showing a powerful goddess figure and a symbol of demonstrating the political authority of a leader. According to the Greek myths, Hercules was proven to be a legendary for his quality and courage; he experienced malevolent wraths and excessive fearlessness. He is a good hero overall, but he also has

The study of Greek sculpture is a complex relationship of Roman sculpture. And a large number of Roman sculpture, especially in the stone, survives more or less intact, it is often damaged or piecemeal; life-size bronze statues are much more rare, because as most have been recycled for their metal. The

Emperor Augustus commissioned these sculptures around 20 B.C.E. to be distributed around the Empire as propaganda. This statue communicates his ideology and power. Before Augustus came to power, Roman political culture valued older, wiser men for positions of political power. He decided the Roman empire need to return to the classical idea of an emperor who was a strong, youthful military victor. According to Fischer, “...by modeling the Primaporta statue on such an iconic Greek sculpture created during the height of Athens’ influence and power, Augustus connects himself to the Golden Age of that previous civilization.” Both Augustus of Primaporta and Leviathan Zodiac are both trying to curate an idea of power and masculinity. While Augustus of Primaporta propagandistic in nature, Wiley’s work is trying to send out an innocent but powerful message about how we perceive marginalized groups of

The stone sculpture is made from marble. The artist remains unknown, but it was restored by the Italian Vincenzo Pacetti, an eighteenth-century sculptor. It is a Roman copy of a Greek work of the fourth century B.C. It is a medium size statue with a height of 82 3\4 in. (210.2 cm). Vincenzo Pacetti (1746-1820) was an Italian sculptor dedicated to restoring classical sculptures and then sell them to the rich.

Greek mythology played a large role in Greek artistic styles and functions. In the case of this study, the mythological god Apollo is the subject of the artistic works of the votive known as the “Mantiklos Apollo” and the statue of “Apollo” that was found in Pireaus. These figures show a natural progression in style and technique. They are important because they represent the sacred beliefs and superstitions of their respective cultures and time periods.

Power and Pathos uses 50 absolute masterpieces to tell the story of the spectacular artistic developments of the Hellenistic era (4th to 1st centuries B.C.), when new forms of expression began to prevail throughout the Mediterranean basin and beyond. There was an extraordinary leap forward in the development of techniques to form the first instance of globalization of the language of art in the known world. Art was in effect, going international. This exhibit has gathered together some of the most spectacular ancient bronze sculptures that still exists today. It displays monumental life sized figures of Gods, Heroes, Athletes and rulers. Ancient cultures invented bronze. They discovered that making an alloy of copper and tin produced a strong metal that could hold great detail and objects cast with it can easily be reproduced. The ancient Greeks prized bronze for its visual worth and they used it create statue of the human body. Unfortunately, because bronze is a metal that can be cast and is expensive, it can also be melted down. Hence, large bronze statues have rarely survived from antiquity, as most were melted down so that their valuable metal can be reused. The ones that are still preserved today are mostly the same ones that were either lost at sea or buried underground.

In her illuminating commentary, “The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Heroes, and Athletes,” Judith M. Barringer introduces Olympia and sets the scene of the famous ruins in ancient times. She forces you to imagine the reverence one would feel by simply visiting the Temple of Zeus.   When peering into the temple, many would have first focused on the labors of Herakles that were portrayed before turning their attention to the magnificent, gold and ivory adorned statue of zeus, implying that these representations were quite exceptional for their time. When viewed, they gave off a sense of being larger than life.

Greek art took many ideas from Egypt and Mesopotamia however as the years passed they started to develop and create their own unique style. This style was more realistic and natural visually. One of their goals was for the viewer to believe they are seeing a moment standing still in time. You can see this when you compare Kroisos from, Anavysos Greece, and Doryphorus from Pompeii, Italy. These pieces are roughly dated 80 years apart however the difference between the two-forms are so remarkable. This paper will be discussing and addressing the evolution of a more naturalistic art form, from the statue of Kroisos compared to the statue of Doryphorus during the Greek art period. At a first glance of the statues you may not see the dramatic differences between the two however they were both approached in different ways to be created. They have different meanings yet both were created to be more naturalistic than what came before it.

"The 12 Labors of Hercules" demonstrates a Hero's Journey by assigning Hercules many excruciating tasks designed to kill him. Hera and King Eurystheus are in cahoots and continually try to brutally and indirectly end the hero's life. Hercules was sent to do his twelve labors for his cousin, King Eurystheus, after murdering his wife, Hera, and their children. Hera was being manipulative and messing with Hercules’ head, so he had a fit and a bit of insanity and ended up killing Hera and their offspring. Hercules did not seem to know or understand what was going on when he killed his family and felt dreadful when he realized what he had done, so he prayed to Apollo seeking assistance.

A Black Figure Amphora attributed to the Antimenes painter (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston) of c. 520 B.C. portrays a composite view of mythological scene between the fight of Theseus slaying a Minotaur, an anthropomorphic figure based on a half human, half bull creature that “devoured young Athenians.” According to the description of the work, “the monster lived in a labyrinth which was designed by a clever inventor Daedulus” who is standing on the left side, next to the Minotaur. Another viewer, on the right side, next to Theseus, is the Princess Ariadne “who helped Theseus escape the maze by following a ball of thread.” In reverse to that, the divine hero, Hercules is driving a chariot while holding a spear, facing him is a woman with curly

Whether in the fifth century B.C.E or the first century C.E, Greek art has maintained continuity among its theories since its inception. Throughout history, the Greeks have been perfecting their human sculptures. The Metropolitan Kouros (600 B.C.E) and the Spear Bearer (450 B.C.E) are made centuries apart but have the same Greek interest of the human anatomy. However, because of the time difference, it is clear that the Spear Bearer is more advanced. The same idea goes to the marble grave Stele of a Little Girl (440 B.C.E) and the bronze statue of Eros Sleeping (1st century C.E). They share many similarities such as the Greek touch; conversely, they have their differences.

The renaissance provided evidence of a strong symbolic relationship between artists and Greek mythology, perhaps considered one of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology Hercules played a leading role in a plethora of myths revisited in the renaissance. When Hera, wife of Zeus does not forgive her husband for the birth of an illicit child, Hercules, she sends the child into a state of madness. Following this Hercules kills three boys in rage, to rid himself of guilt he visits the Oracle and is sentenced to his twelve labours by King Eurystheus. He was a symbol of masculinity that many strived to reproduce, ‘Hercules was, during the Renaissance, both mad and heroic, impassioned and implacable, driven and divine’ (Simons 2008 p.655) and therefore acted as a compelling focal point. As Bull (2005 p.89) mentions ‘Hercules can be found all over Europe in the 15th C, in Hungary and Spain’. He famous character was earned in the renaissance via the retelling of his triumphant tales as well as ‘his reputed place as the founder of the dynasty’ (Seznec 1981 p.25). Evidence of the rebirth of Hercules is found all over Florence during the early fifteenth century, his portrait surfaced the seal of the city from 1281 and examples of his many heroic acts were carved into buildings.