Seated Figures In Greek Art

Both the Laocoon and the seated figures are three dimensional sculptures, however, when comparing the two it appears that the seated figures look as if they are relief sculptures. The Laocoon statue depicts the tragic death of Laocoon and his two sons when they were punished by the gods for warning the Trojans to not admit the Greek's wooden horse into their city. As the seated statues found at Temple Abu Simbel, have the qualities of a relief sculpture which consist of only being able to view the sculpture from the front and they almost look as if they are attached to the temple, while the Laocoon is not attached to anything and it is a sculpture which is in-the-round. In-the-round means that you are able to view the sculpture from any angle.
Between the two sculptures the Laocoon has the deepest under-cuttings. Thus the deep under-cuttings create more shadows which in turn creates more depth. There is a greater play with light and it gives the sculpture more of a three dimensional quality and an obvious contrast between light and dark. The shallow under-cuttings in the seated sculptures does not create many shadows and makes the sculpture appear flat. The light and shadow plays an important role in the muscle definition on the body form - the tense muscles in use, versus a relaxed, rounded muscle. There is no contrast between light and dark in the Egyptian sculptures.
In both the Egyptian and Greek sculpture the same method of subtraction has been used to create the sculptures. Subtraction is used when the sculptor carves, chisels and chips away from a solid form. Although the same method was used, a different material was used. Egyptian sculptors used stone while the Greek sculptors used marble. The Greek sculptors ensured that the drapery and skin of the sculpture resembled what skin and drapery would look like in real life. They polished and waxed the sculptures and tinted the flesh.
It appears that individuality was not important in Egyptian sculpture because when looking at the facial expressions on the large seated figures found outside the Temple of Abu Simbel all four of the figures lack emotion and have the same face.
Part of the reason for this is that the belief was that the spirit of the people could inhabit the body therefore any personification and a personal resemblance was not important. One could say that they appear dead. This could resemble the mummies that are found deep within the temple. The statues were a replacement for the dead people. It is evident that when comparing the Egyptian and Greek sculpture that the Greek sculptors main concern was individuality as each figure in the pediment has a different expression that conveys a lot of emotion. Conveying emotion is a characteristic of the Hellenistic period in Greek sculpture. At the end of 400's BCE, Greece, and specifically Athens was affected by the Peloponnesian War. At the end of the war the Greeks had very little money and were unable to create sculptures. But as people started to create sculptures again there was a dramatic transformation. It is evident that there is more emotion, especially melancholy and grief. The passive and serene faces from the Classical period are replaced with contorted and agonized expressions. There is a sense of drama in the figures as their heads are flung back and their muscles are strained and they bulge. Their bodies are flung dramatically over one another and they all have complex poses. This creates dramatic lines and curves emphasizing energetic movements as well as the power of the human body. It also enforces the idea of something tragic occurring. It is interesting to note that each figures' body is asymmetrical and they are all shaped in an "S" while the seated sculptures in front of the temple appear straight, rigid and
symmetrical.
When looking at the two manners in which the sculptures have been portrayed it could be possible that the way in which the sculptures were portrayed could possibly influence the viewer to respond in a certain manner or cause the viewer to experience each temple differently. It is possible that the sculptors wanted people to feel as if they were suppressed hence why the sculptures were rigid and 22m high. It makes one feel as if they are being watched and it is rather intimidating. The overpowering nature of the statue emphasizes the idea that people would need to be respectful when entering the tomb as they are entering the place where Ramses ll has been laid to rest. Greek temples were used to house gods and goddesses.
The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena. Athena is the goddess of intelligence, literature, arts as well as the goddess of reason. The statues in the pediment depict Athena and Poseidon competing for the honour of becoming the city's patron. On the east pediment we see the birth of Athena. Hephaestus beheads Zeus and Athena comes out of Zeus' head fully formed. Both the east and west pediment emphasize Athena's superiority. Thus implying that Athens is a superior city-state in comparison to the other Greek city-states. Here it is evident that the sculptures represent something from the different cultures. The seated statues represent Ramses ll while the figures found in the pediment of the Greek temple represent a mythological story as well as contain an underlying message of superiority.
The seated statues are partially clothed while the male sculptures found in the pediment are naked and the females are clothed. One could say that the manner in which the drapery clings to the body of the females could resemble the skin and bones. The purpose of the drapery is to reveal the body and its perfect contouring and form. Drapery can be seen as a major component in Greek art. The word "drapperie" consists of everything that art teaches one about clothing naked forms and folded garments. As drapery is depicted from wet garments, the artist is aware of the fact that the drapery would fit closely to the body and therefore cling to the body. Thus the nude form would be partially visible. It is possible to say that although the female statues are clothed; they are naked to an extent as the contours of their nude bodies are defined by the clinging cloth. One could argue that the cloth used to clothe the female figures was a mere covering and not necessarily clothing.
Egyptian sculptors and Greek sculptors used different methods to depict the human body. Egyptian artists divided the figure into a rigid grid. From the eyes to the feet, the human body would be divided into twenty-one equal squares and then one-half to two squares from the headdress or top of the head to the eyes. Greek artists preferred to depict the human body realistically by means of proportion. The height of the head was used as a measuring "tool". Seven heads would fit into a man's height.
There is a greater amount of detail found in the sculptures in the pediment in comparison to the seated sculptures at temple Abu Simbel. The surface of the sculptures in the pediment were smoothed, the skin received a higher polish and they were left in plain white marble. however when looking at the seated sculptures there is a lack of detail, when looking at different elements found on the sculptures it is noticeable that the there was no attempt to treat the material differently with regards to the skin and clothing.
It is evident that Greek sculptors were influenced by the Egyptian sculptures because like the Egyptian sculptors the Greeks created colossal figures made out of hard stone. We can see the dynamics of sculpture change throughout Greek sculpture as the patterns and masses of the body was resembled more accurately.
It is evident when comparing the sculptures found in the pediment of the Parthenon that there are several similarities and differences. However when looking at the specific details that were mentioned in this essay, there is an evident progression from the Egyptian sculptures to the Greek sculptures found in the Hellenistic period.