Lecture-The Ancient World II

The Ancient World:
Part II
ART1031 Art Culture

Week 2
Derek Liddington
Discussion
BCE – Before Common Era
CE – Common Era
• Aegean Culture and Early Greece (ca. 1800

B.C.E – 490 B.C.E.)
• Classical and Hellenistic Greece (448 B.C.E. –
323 B.C.E.)
• Roman Civilisation (287 B.C.E. – 330 C.E.)
Aegean Culture and Early Greece
Cycladi
Minoan
c
Aegean
Cultures
Cycladic Culture
Characteristics
• The stories and myths are, at
some deep and important
level, the basis of later Greek
traditions and beliefs;
• Dominated by Aegean sea
with over a thousand islands;
• A rich maritime culture, trade
with mainland Greece,
commerce with Egypt;
• Under the influence of the
Minoan civilization in Crete.
Cycladic Culture
• The marble statuette of a nude female
with her arms crossed over her body is
characteristics of the most extant
examples of Cycladic art.
• The non-naturalistic anatomy of the
carving is characteristically Cycladic.
• An angular torso is flattened and two
dimensional;
• A cylindrical neck supports an oval head,
flattened on top, with receding forehead;
• The eyes would probably have been
painted on, and lips and ears may have
been carved in relief;
• The most notable facial feature is the
particularly prominent nose.
Fig. 1- Statuette of a woman, third

millennium B.C. E., marble. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Cycladic Culture
This flattened physique forms a striking contrast to the

bulbous body of the prehistoric Woman of Willendorf.
Minoan Culture
• According to later Greek myth, the

Minoan civilization on the island of
Crete was created by an offspring
of Zeus, the chief deity in the
Greek pantheon of the gods.
• Zeus’s main characteristics include
his ability to change his physical
form and his attraction to mortal
women.
• King Minos, the founder of
civilization on Crete is believed to
be the product of the union
between Zeus and Europa, a
Phoenician princess.
Minoan Culture
• The importance of the bull in

Minoan culture is evidenced
by this display of the bull
vaulting.
• In spite of extensive
restoration, the delicacy and
lively animation typical of
Minoan wall painting remains
evident.
Fig. 2- Toreador Fresco, from the Palace of Minos at Knossos,
Crete, ca. 1550-1450 B.C.E., wall paintings, Archaeological
Museum, Herakleion (Iraklion), Crete.
Minoan Culture
• Minoan religion focused on

female deities.
• In Minoan art, both women
and men were depicted with
unusually tiny waists and long
flowing hair.
• The goddess portrayed here
holds a snake in each hand.
• The snakes combined with the
goddess female form and
bared breasts suggest fertility.
Fig. 3- Snake Goddess, ca. 1700 – 1500 B.C.E. faience,

Archaeological Museum, Herakleion (Iraklion), Crete.
Aegean Culture and Early Greece
Geometri Archaic
c Period Period
Rise of
Ancient
Greece
The Geometric Period
The Geometric period (ca. 1000-700 B.C.E.) is

sometimes referred to as the Heroic Age,
since it was during this time that Homer
created his poetic epics, the Iliad and
Odyssey, centered on the figures of the great
heroes Achilles and Odysseus.
• Most of the evidence for the visual art of
the period is derived from pottery.
• Distinguished by decoration in bands that
cover the entire surface.
• Geometric-style vases are, as the term
indicates, decorated with precisely
drawn, simple geometric forms.
• Each of the several shapes of Greek vases
has a name and was used for a specific
purpose; this very large crater with a
wide mouth was used as a burial marker. Fig. 4- Funerary Crater. Terracotta. The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Rogers fund, 1914.
The Archaic Period
Black-figure Style
The Archaic period, ca. 600-480 B.C.E., saw the
emergence of the two most important types of
Greek vase painting, known as black-figure and
red-figure, both focusing in Athens, which took
the lead in vase manufacturing from Corinth.
• Painting is done with a black glaze on a
natural orange clay background.
• Artist draws the outlines and then fills in the
colour.
• Details are created by scraping through the
black glaze to reveal the orange clay
beneath.
• Lines do not tend to flow readily.
Fig. 5- Exekias, Ajax and Achilles, amphora, black-figure style,

550-525 B.C.E., terracotta, Vatican Museums, Rome.
The Archaic Period
Red-figure Style
• Narratives dominate vase decoration
over the next centuries, from
mythology as well as daily life.
• The red-figure technique is
essentially an inversion of the black-
figure technique, for now the figures
are left the colour of the clay and
the background is painted black.
• Details within the contours of the
figures are painted with a brush and
are consequently more fluid than
when incised in the black-figure
technique.
Archaic Period
Sculpture
The history of ancient Greek sculpture is
dominated by images of the human figure,
particularly the kouros, a lifesize representation
of a nude male youth, seen standing with one
foot forward and arms to his sides, and the
kore, the female equivalent, but clothed.
Fig 6- Kore and Kouros, ca. 600 B.C.E., marble, Metropolitan

Museum of Art, New York.
Archaic Period
Sculpture
• Early kouros figures are highly stylized and
characteristically have an enigmatic
expression, which is often referred to as an
Archaic Smile.
• The eyes are abnormally large and the hair
forms a decorative beadlike pattern.
• The anatomy is arranged for design rather than
in strict imitation of nature; thus the
abdominal muscles and kneecaps become
surface decoration.
• The figures are not portraits of individuals and
there is no evidence that they were done from
models.
Fig 6- Kouros, ca. 600 B.C.E., marble, Metropolitan Museum

of Art, New York.
The Archaic Period
• Kouros shares many of its features
with Egyptian figures.
• Rigid frontality, erect stance and pose
with left food forward.
• The Greek figure is nude and has been
carved to be freestanding.
• No webs of stone between the arms
and body and between the legs and no
supporting back pillars.

Fig. 7- General view of the Acropolis.
Over the centuries Athens had grown and prospered, a city within strong
stone walls, protected by a vast citadel on an acropolis (literally, the high
point of the city, from akros meaning “high”, and polis, “city”).
Fig. 8- Diagram of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders.
The three orders of Greek architecture were developed in antiquity and

continue to be used even today.
The Doric Order
The Doric is the oldest and

simplest and was the order most
frequently employed by the
ancient Greek architects.
The Ionic Order
The Ionic order is characterized by

the scroll/volute capital- graceful
and curling.
Corinthian Order
The Corinthian order, a

development of the Hellenistic
age, is characterized by the large
curling acanthus leaves that
ornament the capital.
• The Corinthian is the most
ornamental and delicate of
the three orders.
• It was the order least used by
the Greeks but most favoured
later by the Romans.
Fig. 9- Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, 448-432 B.C.E., marble.
The epitome of Classical Greek architecture, the Parthenon is a regular Doric temple. All
major lines actually curve slightly. Such refinements are now believed to have been
intended to add to the beauty of the building rather than to correct for optical
distortion.
Fig. 10- Three seated goddess, east pediment, Parthenon, 438-
432 B.C.E., marble.
Far from their stiff ancestors, the movements of these casual figures
seem to flow easily. The drapery is contrived to reveal the body and
appears almost wet.
Classical Greece
Sculpture
• The relaxed and natural
contrapposto (contrepoise)
pose;
• The weight on one leg, hips
and shoulders no longer
parallel, and spine in a gentle
S curve;
• Sense of naturalness and
perfection.
Figure 11. Doryphoros. Roman copy of an original ca. 440

B.C. E. Museo Archeologico Nationale, Naples, Italy, Scara /
Art Resource, NY.
Hellenistic
Stone seemingly brought to life,

this dynamic figure of Victory
moves through space, the drapery
blown against her body by her
rapid movement.
Fig. 12- Nike of Samothrace also known as the Winged

Victory, ca. 200-190 B.C.E., marble, Musée du Louvre, Paris.
Hellenistic
Roman Civilization
In many ways, Rome inherited its

culture- its art, its literature, its
philosophical and religious life- from
Greece.
Apart from disseminating Greek culture,
Roman civilization produced remarkable
achievements of its own, in the fields of
politics, law, and engineering.
• This and other tomb paintings
record the good life when Etruria
prospered in the sixth century B.C. E.
Later, as the economic situation
declined, the outlook on the afterlife
was less optimistic.
Fig. 13- Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, Tarquinia, wall
painting, ca. 520 B.C.E.
Etruscan Civilization
• The deceased couple is shown

as if alive, healthy, and
enjoying themselves.
• The rounded forms are readily
achieved in terracotta, unlike
hard stone
Fig. 14- Wife and husband sarcophagus, from

Cerveteri, ca. 520 B.C.E., terracotta, Museo Nazionale
di Villa Giulia, Rome.
Roman Civilization
The great importance Romans

attached to family and lineage,
exemplified here in this austere
sculpture, is one of the motivating
forces in the development of
highly realistic portraiture during
the Republican era.
Fig. 15- A Roman man holding busts of his ancestors. Late

first century B.C.E., marble, lifesize, Museo Capitolino, Rome,
Italy.
The Roman Empire
• The magnificent Roman Pantheon is a

large circular temple dedicated to “all
the gods” (the literal meaning of the
word pantheon).
• In contrast to the Greek emphasis on
the exterior of temples, the most
important part of the Pantheon is the
interior.
• Inside, the enormous dome that crowns
this building is the focus of attention.
• The space is not interrupted by interior
supports, creating a feeling of vast
spaciousness.
• The pantheon was considered the most
harmonious interior of antiquity.
Fig. 16- Giovanni Paolo Panini (Roman, 1691-1765) Interior
of the Pantheon, Rome, ca. 1734, oil on canvas.
The Empire
Although this statue does record the

appearance of Emperor Augustus,
under his reign harsh Roman
republican realism was somewhat
softened by Greek idealism.
Fig. 17- Augustus of Primaporta, ca. 20 B.C.E.,

marble, Braccio Nuovo, Musei Vaticani, Rome.
The Empire
Fig. 18- Arch of Constantine, 312-15 C.E., Rome. The simple type of ancient Roman
triumphal arch has a single opening; the more complex type like the Arch of
Constantine has three openings. Typically Roman is the non-structural use of
columns as surface decoration.
Fig. 19- Arch of Constantine, north side, medallions
carved 128-38 C.E., frieze carved early fourth century
C.E., Rome.

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The Ancient World:

ART1031 Art Culture

• Aegean Culture and Early Greece (ca. 1800

Fig. 1- Statuette of a woman, third

This flattened physique forms a striking contrast to the

• According to later Greek myth, the

• The importance of the bull in

• Minoan religion focused on

Fig. 3- Snake Goddess, ca. 1700 – 1500 B.C.E. faience,

The Geometric period (ca. 1000-700 B.C.E.) is

Fig. 5- Exekias, Ajax and Achilles, amphora, black-figure style,

kore, the female equivalent, but clothed.

Fig 6- Kore and Kouros, ca. 600 B.C.E., marble, Metropolitan

Fig 6- Kouros, ca. 600 B.C.E., marble, Metropolitan Museum

with Egyptian figures.

• Rigid frontality, erect stance and pose

with left food forward.

• The Greek figure is nude and has been

• No webs of stone between the arms

and body and between the legs and no

supporting back pillars.

The three orders of Greek architecture were developed in antiquity and

The Doric is the oldest and

The Ionic order is characterized by

The Corinthian order, a

Figure 11. Doryphoros. Roman copy of an original ca. 440

Stone seemingly brought to life,

Fig. 12- Nike of Samothrace also known as the Winged

In many ways, Rome inherited its

• The deceased couple is shown

Fig. 14- Wife and husband sarcophagus, from

The great importance Romans

Fig. 15- A Roman man holding busts of his ancestors. Late

• The magnificent Roman Pantheon is a

Although this statue does record the

Fig. 17- Augustus of Primaporta, ca. 20 B.C.E.,

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