Power And Pathos : Bronze Sculpture Of The Hellenistic World

The ancient Greeks believed in a strong mind and a strong body. Their celebration of the physical beauty and ability of the human body can be seen in their sculpture, writings, and sporting events. The physical beauty of the human body is shown in the marble sculpture “Kraisos” (Benton and DiYanni 64). The sculpture shows a male with a defined muscular mid-section, broad shoulders, and thick legs. There is more detail and a more natural appearance in this sculpture compared to a similar statue from approximately 60 years earlier. The face of the sculpture is realistic and the left foot is forward, as seen in Egyptian sculpture. The art of thought was established by the philosophers of ancient

Throughout the history of art, the human body and figure has captivated both artisans and their audiences. This can be said especially of the Greeks and their sculptures. Even from the earliest periods, Greeks motivation for the search of the ideal human body can be seen through the sculpture Metropolitan Kouros (c 120-50 BCE), created in the Archaic period and said to be found in Attica, Ancient Greece (Richter 1931, p. 220). However, it is not until High Classical period that they truly achieve their goal with Polykleitos’ The Spear Bearer (c. 120-50 BCE) or the Doryphoros (its Greek name). The sculpture, found in a Palestra in Pompeii, Italy is said to be the epitome of perfection during its period. Although there is exquisite rendering and beauty in both sculptures, there are also a vast number of differences that make each work unique.

The Hellenistic period of Greek art spans from the time of Alexander the Great’s death in 323 to 30 B.C.E. (“Hellenistic Period” 1). However there have been controversies of precisely how long the Hellenistic period lasted. Some argue that from C. 400; to the first century can be classified as “Pre-Hellenistic” (Janson 138-139). “Hellenistic, is a term meant to convey the

To conclude, Hellenistic art (painting, sculpture and architecture) was exaggerated, because of the fragmentation of Alexander’s empire into smaller kingdoms. The breakup triggered the artist(previously classic artist) to be more experimental, therefore having more emotions in the sculpture, painting and

One of the most well-known cultures throughout all of history belonged to the Greeks. Their heritage was so highly valued that it lived on even after they no longer ruled. The Greeks were some of the most innovative artists of their time and their work was so inherently beautiful that people from future cultures fell in love with it and decided to incorporate it into their own customs. The most famous group known for this was the Romans. After the Romans took over Greece, their love for its customs bloomed which resulted in many recreations of Greek art that are now seen today. However, Greek sculpture art had a hard time making it to the modern day. Most sculptures were made out of bronze and often melted down to be used for other purposes. Any surviving Greek related art is often just a Roman copy. The Romans are famous throughout history for their copies of Greek sculptures, especially relief sculptures. However, they also incorporated other Greek traditions and customs into their lives as well. Romans created separate names to refer to Greek gods and were often found creating and recreating art based on Greek myths. One specific Greek custom adopted by the Romans was the way in which they buried their dead. Romans originally cremated their dead but after the influence of Greek culture, they began burying their dead in large sarcophagi, with Greek myths elaborately sculpted into the sides, similar to the one kept at the Walter 's Art Museum depicting the abduction of

The primary focus of ancient Greek sculptures was that of the human body. Almost all Greek sculptures are of nude subjects. As the first society to focus on nude subjects, Greek sculptors attempted to "depict man in what they believed was the image of the gods and so would come to celebrate the body by striving for verisimilitude or true – likeness (realism and naturalism!)."(Riffert) Not only did the Greeks celebrate the human form in their art but also in everyday life. (Riffert) One of the favorite topics for sculptors was that of the athlete. In Greek culture athletes were described as "hero–athletes". (Riffert) This shows that athletes were revered and looked upon as heroes. The influence

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

Most of these attributes were derived from the Grecian culture around 210 BC and disseminated all over Rome (Nardo, 60). Not only did the people contribute to the arts, but so did the government, which built bronze statues of the emperors or Gods, like the statue of Marcus Aurelius in 175 AD, and decorated the currency with elaborate drawings (Hinds, 172). A lasting example of the Roman taste of the arts was preserved in Pompeii after the volcanic eruption. According to written documents, a museum owned by two wealthy businessmen in Pompeii was available for public viewing, which displayed the gratitude of the people of Pompeii toward their own culture (Hinds, 178).

Pentelic marble is used in sculptures as well as architecture. (Seth) The figure is 21 inches tall, 3115/16 inches long. (Art) The object is meant to be viewed from the front. In this piece of sculpture, we see a muscular barrel-chested Greek man centered in the middle with a larger rounded shield next to him, while his right arm placed behind his squared faced head. His full chest muscles carefully polished smoothly and delicately. Based on the warrior’s sinking pose, it has been thought that he is falling to the ground after dealing a mortal blow from behind. The strong, solid linear of the large geometric rounded shield is in contrast to the serpentine, subtle and smooth lines appear on this organic body figure of the warrior. It appears as though the sculpture itself is not painted for the most

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.

Sculpture Review of Spartacus Breaking His Chains This nineteen century sixteen inch sculpture was created by Denis Foyatier. The sculpture is of Spartacus, a man who served as a leader in a revolt against slavery. This statue was composed of bronze and could be distinguished by its fine polish and style. This bronze statue stood in a mobile upright position, the left foot extended forward, the arms crossed around the lower chest region.

When we look back at these two different periods of art sculpture we can see the great difference between the two stylistic choices of art. Behind each hunk of stone reads perfect anatomy and certain expressions. One features a more dazed stone face and one gives life for more emotion made within the stone. The Classical Period and Hellenistic period also look somewhat similar from a glance are very different in feeling and meaning.

The art and architecture in the Augustan regime fundamentally reflected the new order and glorified the position and power of Augustus. Initially, at the beginning of his political career, Augustus wished to portray himself appropriately, therefore devised a new image as the first leader of the restored Republic. The academics Walker and Burnett comment that this plan included the melting down of eighty silver statues of Augustus, as the metal was “considered inappropriate for images of living persons and should be reserved for gods” (Walker and Burnett, 1981, 17); the silver was then offered to the Temple of Apollo. Nevertheless, Augustus’ intention to limit the use of his image can appear to be

Bronze casting differed from city to city, century to century; however, they all followed some of the basic steps to sculpting ("Bronze Sculpture”). First an artist would have to model the sculpture by using a range

The form of art has been around for thousands of years. There has been many different types of art form found from the ancient greece times. These time are the earliest times that are recorded and are placed in museums. These early art forms teaches us a little bit about the human race and how they were back in the roman times. There are some painting and sculptures that represents different people from their time lines. These art form can explain how they were back in their times and with the statues you can see how far they were allowed to do.