Greek Art through the Archaic Period

In Search of a Greek Style

DISCLAIMER

This presentation is an overview of the material in your text. It is not comprehensive, nor is it meant to be. This presentation allows you to introduce yourself to concepts and images in the respective chapter. Best practice says to view this presentation with your book open, as many of the images in this presentation are small or incomplete.

Guiding Questions

•What do Greek workers ("artists") change in their styles to distance themselves from ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian influences?

•How do the Greeks become "Greek," in terms of visual culture?

Guiding Historical Periods

•Geometric and Orientalizing Periods--ca. 900-500 BCE

• Increasing contact with civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia

•Archaic Period--ca. 600-480BCE

• First stone temples

• Establishment of Doric and Ionic orders

Where in the world are we?

Geography determines culture. The Aegean civilizations that influence the early Greeks very much depend on the sea for their subsistence and economic wealth.

Aegean civilizations also develop an aesthetic that looks to natural forms and values harmony, balance, and symmetry—the cornerstones of the Greek aesthetic.

Aegean Influences

Self Study:

Notice how the images

decorating the vessels to the right reflect the shape of the vessels. The warriors emphasizes

the horizontality of the krater

and the octopus

reflects the curvature of the flask.

The Greeks develop from Aegean cultures. The early Greeks will adopt an Aegean love of:

A. Harmony between object and the painting

B. Movement and pattern

C. Symmetry and ratios

Geometric Period

•Vessels served as grave markers

•Figures in black silhouette are geometric and angular

•Many registers break up the space of the vase

•Abstract linear and geometric shapes fill "empty" spaces

•Sculpture is rigid, upright, and lacking in naturalism

Orientalizing Period

•Vessels are painted with floral motifs, powerful beasts, and conflated beings (i.e. sirens with wings)

•Black figure painting is elaborated with white incisions and reddish or purplish slip

•Designs clearly show an exchange with Mesopotamian cultures

Archaic Period

Problems Solved

•In statuary, figures become more natural, relatively speaking

•In vase painting, red-figure painting gives more detail than black-figure techniques

•In architecture, temples become less bulky and more proportional

The Archaic period is marked by a moving away from, though not entirely, outside cultural influences. It is easily recognizable by the "Archaic Grin."

In subsequent presentations, you will explore:

•Apprenticeship in Ancient Greece

•The New York Kouros

•Temples of Paestum, Italy