A roof tile from Greece, this piece shows a gorgoneion—the face of a gorgon. It is made from terracotta, and has the accession number 10.210.44 from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Its dimensions are H. 6 3/4 in., W. 9 5/8 in. The tile is shaped like a half-oval. The gorgon has a hairline made of 10 oval sections along the forehead. It has a wide mouth and is sticking out its tongue. It also has four large teeth, with stick up and down beyond the range of the gorgoneion’s lips. The gorgon has two oval-shaped ears, and a prominent nose, along with large, pupil-less eyes. The tile is mostly intact, except for a piece along the top of the oval and through part of the hairline which has broken away. It is circa 580-570 BCE, and is from Greece.
This technique, used by Greek sculptors for the head and other parts of the statue began as early as the Archaic Period. ( The period in Greek history lasting from the eighth century BC to 480 BC, post Greek Dark Ages and succeeded by the Classical period.) The work has many signs of damage and decay, among these are missing body parts such as the capital and the right wing. The surface is worn down, although still shows clear creases and details throughout the texture of the piece. The head, wings, and the drapery were carved separately before the work as a whole was eventually assembled. The wings were attached with no external support and it's a marvel that one is still managing to adhere
In addition, styles that were common in Minoan Art is present in the images. For example, women had pale white skin with similar hairstyle, and were bare breasted while the men were dark skinned. Bulls were also present throughout the sarcophagus, a common theme in various pieces of Minoan artifacts. However, while much of the images contain styles of Minoan art, there are some details that are different. This can be seen in the griffin on the shorter side of the sarcophagus where Minoan characteristics of the griffin with a bird head, leonine body, and notched wings are present but it is missing details such as the running spirals on its neck and wings like the griffins found in the Throne Room at Knossos or Xeste 3 on Thera. All this contributes to the date of c. 1400 as this was the time period of the Mycenaean occupation of Crete as well as provides a narrative of the funerary rituals performed by Minoans and perhaps even the
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.
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 is a formal analysis of the Marble grave stele with a family group relief sculpture. It is a pentelic marble style relief standing at 171.1cm tall carved by a master. It is from the Late Classical period of Greek, Attic which was completed around ca.360 B.C. . I chose to analyze this piece as apposed to the others because I’m mainly attracted to art and sculptures from the Greek era. The overall color used in this relief is ivory with a few cracks and pieces broken off. There is some discoloration which causes the color to come off as slightly light brown for most of the relief. The sculpture appears larger compared to the other sculptures in the art room. It represents a family which includes a man, his wife, and their
The spherical form is decorated with engraved with stylistic depictions of animals in the legends originating from the tribes who where from the area she spent her formative years. Although “Eran” is made of metal, Dr. Thancoupie Gloria Fletcher has created many similar spheres out of ceramics. One such ceramic sphere is called “Moocheth, the Ibis Arough, the Emu Golpondon, the Ibis’s son”. These pieces make use of the beautiful, symmetrical, spherical form, which is an important symbol in Aboriginal culture, as it represents the Earth, fire, motherhood and unity. The spheres are decorated with engravings of animals. It also appears that she has applied some kind of glaze of oxide to the piece, and then washed it back, leaving darker lines in the engravings. Her artworks are powerful as they convey the narratives of her ancestors using stylistic designs and images, often depicting Australian
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
After one takes in the armed and protective aura of the Winged Being, the eyes
The Torso of Aphrodite was constructed in the 1st century A.D. and is made entirely of marble. The torso used to belong to a life-sized version statue of The Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. From the moment I saw this piece, I knew I was attracted to it in a deeper way. It
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
The marble statue of Diadoumenos is a copy of the original bronze statue displaying a young man tying a fillet around his head. The original was created in c.a. 430 B.C. by a man called Polykleitos of Argos. Polykleitos was a Greek sculptor who worked during the mid-fifth century B.C. . he was one of the most famous artists of the ancient world. Polykleitos' figures are carefully designed with special attention to bodily proportions and stance. The statue of Diadoumenos has its thorax and pelvis tilt in opposite directions, setting up rythmic contrasts in the torso that create an impression of organic vitality. The position of the feet, (poised between walking and standing), give a sense of potential movement.
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 piece of art depicted the interaction between Dionysus and Pan in a form of sculpture. The sculpture was created from beautiful marble in A.D. 50 – 150. The work is three
Starting with Bastet, this free-standing statue hails from Late –Ptolemaic Period (664–30 B.C) from Egypt. Medium used was bronze, precious metal and black bronze inlays. The dimensions are H. 5 cm (4 1/8 in.); W. 3.2 cm (1 1/4 in.); D. 3.9 cm (1 9/16 in.). This statuette was donated to the Museum by George and Florence Blumenthal in 1934 and is on view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134.
Il Pantheon (Pantheon) “pan” means all, “theon” means God. It is a preserved intact Roman Empire building, located in the centre of Rome, Italy. It was built in 27-25 BC by Marcus Agrippa, and Emperor Hadrian rebuilt it in 125 AD.