Greek Art
art. The discussion will include a formal analysis of each of the two artworks mentioned.
The analysis will cover the materials and techniques used during this period of Greek art, the relation of certain styles to one another, the function of the artworks, its subject matter, and the social or religious meaning and context. As illustrated in the marble sculptures of the Winged
Victory (Nike) of Samothrace and the Aphrodite, Pan and Eros, the Hellenistic era exposed such expansion with dramatic posing, sweeping lines, and high contrast of light and shadow allowing artists of this period to explore their subjects from different unique points of view without completely abandoning the Classical Greek concepts.
Formal Analysis:
As the sculptures of Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace (c. 190 BCE, Louvre, Paris) and Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros (c. 100 BCE, National Archaeological Museum, Athens) are two of the most prominent works of art from the Hellenistic period of the ancient Greek times, each contained a new style that were introduced during this era. Created by Pythokritos (?), the eightfoot tall Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace appears to be standing proudly upon a base made out of Rhodian marble, which was built to look like a ship 's prow. One could feel almost calm as one imagines the wind moving around this precariously perched figure. Despite the chaos of the rushing fabric, the strong and determined nude female figure appears to emerge from the marble stone. Because of its huge, majestic wings, the whole statue seems weightless regardless of the large stone mass. It looks like that the artist may have enjoyed challenging himself with the limits of the marble 's immense strength. The spread-out wings convey a sense of strength in the spirit of triumph and victory as “Nike” means victory in Greek. The statue becomes even more energetic and the elegant movement of the strong drapery of the garment covering most of the figure represented
The analysis will cover the materials and techniques used during this period of Greek art, the relation of certain styles to one another, the function of the artworks, its subject matter, and the social or religious meaning and context. As illustrated in the marble sculptures of the Winged
Victory (Nike) of Samothrace and the Aphrodite, Pan and Eros, the Hellenistic era exposed such expansion with dramatic posing, sweeping lines, and high contrast of light and shadow allowing artists of this period to explore their subjects from different unique points of view without completely abandoning the Classical Greek concepts.
Formal Analysis:
As the sculptures of Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace (c. 190 BCE, Louvre, Paris) and Aphrodite, Pan, and Eros (c. 100 BCE, National Archaeological Museum, Athens) are two of the most prominent works of art from the Hellenistic period of the ancient Greek times, each contained a new style that were introduced during this era. Created by Pythokritos (?), the eightfoot tall Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace appears to be standing proudly upon a base made out of Rhodian marble, which was built to look like a ship 's prow. One could feel almost calm as one imagines the wind moving around this precariously perched figure. Despite the chaos of the rushing fabric, the strong and determined nude female figure appears to emerge from the marble stone. Because of its huge, majestic wings, the whole statue seems weightless regardless of the large stone mass. It looks like that the artist may have enjoyed challenging himself with the limits of the marble 's immense strength. The spread-out wings convey a sense of strength in the spirit of triumph and victory as “Nike” means victory in Greek. The statue becomes even more energetic and the elegant movement of the strong drapery of the garment covering most of the figure represented
References: Penelope J.E. Davies et al, Janson’ s History of Art: 8th Edition- Volume 1(New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2010), 147-160. “Timeline of World History: 200-1 BC.” Timeline of World History, accessed April 21, 2013, http://everyhistory.org/9-12.html. “Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accessed April 21, 2013, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/haht/hd_haht.htm. Colossal