What Is The Difference Between Classical And Hellenistic Art

A period marked with much change, Hellenistic Era began with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC. From political structures to individual ideologies, the Hellenistic Period marked a time of progress and prosperity for the Greeks who were at the peak of their power. When comparing the Classical and Hellenistic Periods there are many similarities and key differences which are going to be discussed below.

While male nudity was straightforward and hiding nothing, female nudity was more reserved. In the first fully nude female sculpture, Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxitales c. 350-340bc., "the ‘feminine principle’ (is invented) which as a demure pose where the knees are brought together and sometimes the hand is discreetly before the genitals"(Riffert). This reference shows that in art as in life, women are depicted as less than equal to their bold male counterparts. Usually female statues were either draped in some way or

Throughout the times in Greek art, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods have changed overtime from the sculptures in the form, style, and symmetry.

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

Stemming from Aphrodite of Cnidus, the female nude became much more common in the later Hellenistic period. During the Middle Ages, female nude reappeared in Italy in the 15th century. Later, eroticism became more emphatic in paintings such as Giorgione’s Sleeping Venus, Titan’s Venus of Urbino, Manet’s Olympia, and many others. The paintings are similar to the same stance of covering the women’s pubic area as Praxiteles’ Aphrodite and Venus. These works inspired countless reclining female nudes for centuries afterwards Venus. The female nude is a matter of containing sexuality; in the case of the classical art history. This is about idealization and de-emphasis of overt sexuality, while the modern view recognizes that the human body is messy, unbounded, and problematical.‪ (Nead, Part I - Theorizing the Female Nude) If a virtuous woman is dependent and weak, as was assumed by the images in classical art, then a strong, independent woman could not be portrayed as virtuous. ((need to

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.

For my essay, I chose to discuss Alexanders of Antioch’s, Aphrodite, or Venus De Milo. Although not the most elaborate sculpture, Venus De Milo tells a story in itself. It is believed to depict Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love, beauty and pleasure and in some instances, honored as the Goddess of War. Its association with graceful beauty, as well as eroticism for the age, helps depict a multi-dimensional sense for the period and its common depictions.

This statue, located in room thirty-five, shows the goddess Aphrodite preparing to bathe thanks to the help of an adjacent statue and the god Eros while she holds onto a golden apple. This statue, upon comparison to other Greek pieces of art, bares a strong resemblance to two Greek pieces of art. The first is Nike adjusting her sandal, which displays a goddess showing movement while also showing a form of vulnerability. The second is Aphrodite of Knidos, which shows Aphrodite in private preparing to bathe herself. Although the statue of Aphrodite was found in room thirty-five, many speculate that she would have originally been located in a shrine or in the garden.

The similarities between the two statues are that that both the feet in the statues are placed one in front of the other. Another is the men’s hands are clenched tight. They both are wearing head pieces. Both show off the rigidness of their bodies. Both the statues texture seems to be smooth.

Crouching Aphrodite, is a figure of the goddess Aphrodite, crouching without her upper extremities. Aphrodite is usually depicted bathing; therefore, she is crouched down in a pose where there is movement being done in the space around her . The artist is unknown for this piece of work, yet we know it came from the Roman time period, and based on the Greek original. It was created during 50 B.C.- A.D 140, after the original was created . This sculpture can now be found in the Kimbell Art Museum, previously they acquired it from Boston.

Mesopotamia had statues with big eyes or some didn’t have eyes at all. They all seem to fold their hands for some reason. Some could even say that it’s creepy that they look like they’re planning something. It can’t really be perceived as hyper realistic because the head is not proportional to the body. The statues for Egypt weren’t realistic either they were missing arms and other parts (probably due to age) and the positions

The forms and styles of Classical Greek art were the essential backbone of artwork and have drawn inspiration for artists through various periods of art ranging from the beginning of the Roman Empire to present day art. The Classical Greek sculptures were typically composed of marble and the body forms had a much idealized style; where the forms represented ideal body types. One of the most popular sculpture forms during the Classical Greek art period during 600 to 300 BCE, was the male nude sculptures. The male nude sculptures represented the ideal male figure during the earlier centuries. One of the most popular male nude sculptures that represent Classical Art is the marble sculpture of Doryphorus (450-440 BCE) by Polykleitos. The male nude sculpture is in a very relaxed pose where his right leg is in the background and his arms are in a stance that represents movement

The evolution of Greek art has expanded over hundreds of years and has contributed to many artistic developments, especially in sculpture. The depiction of the human figure has drastically changed over time from an undeveloped form to a more detailed rendering. This transformation can be seen from Early Bronze Age figurine models to Ancient Hellenistic sculptures. Examples of early figurines are small with disproportionate and unusual bodies while much later sculptures are large scale showing the importance of corrected bodily proportions. Tiny figures generally had the same poses lacking facial and body definition details while later sculptures have exquisite, clear facial features, and deeply chiseled bodies. The developments of sculptors overtime produced advancements in Greek sculpture. This can be seen especially in certain sculpture subjects like Greek athletics, mythology, political depictions, as well as scenes of tragedy or death. Athletic Greek sculpture was an important way in which “statues were intended to immortalize successful athletes.” The development of these statues became more realistic and idealized as time progressed, especially

I enjoyed her nudity and ambiguous beauty because although her sculptures did not break barriers for women, it did at least break some barriers for artists. Because sculptures of Aphrodite have changed over time, artists were able to evolved, and women have been able to see themselves as or more beautiful than Aphrodite. Overall, the Archaic period, the Classical period, and the Hellenistic Period engendered their own unique response to ancient Greece’s rise and fall, for these sculptures show how the human spirit can use its experiences, and surroundings to convey values and beliefs through the power of visual literacy.

The classical period was called the age of enlightenment and had lasted since 1750 till 1820. It contrasted the Renaissance and Baroque periods, because composers were able to express about their emotions and problems within their artworks. The artwork that was created then was unique and new. The classical period’s music was mainly dominated by three composers: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).