ANCIENT GREECE GARDNER CHAPTER 5-7 PP. 140-144 3 rd century statue of Alexander the Great.

Presentation on theme: "ANCIENT GREECE GARDNER CHAPTER 5-7 PP. 140-144 3 rd century statue of Alexander the Great."— Presentation transcript:

1 ANCIENT GREECE GARDNER CHAPTER 5-7 PP. 140-144 3 rd century statue of Alexander the Great

2 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND MACEDONIAN COURT ART  Alexander the Great -> Macedonian king -> his life was an epic saga -> heroic battles -> exotic places -> unceasing drama  Inspired leader, boundless energy, almost foolhardy courage  Personally led his armies in battled riding BUCEPHALIS -> stallion only he could tame and ride

3 ALEXANDER’S PORTRAITS  Head of Alexander the Great, from Pella, 3 rd century BCE, marble, 1’ high  Lysippos was the official portrait sculptor of Alexander -> a full length heroic nude bronze statue of Alexander holding a lance with head towards the sky is lost  Marble head from Pella is leading candidate for what might be the image from the original 4 th century bronze  Sharp turn of the head, thick mane of hair, deep set eyes, parted lips

4 PELLA MOSAICS  Gnosis, Stag hunt, from Pella, 300 BCE, pebble mosaic, figural panel, 10’2” high  Floors decorated with pebble mosaics made of small stones of various colors set into a thick coat of cement  Stag hunt is the emblem -> signed by Gnosis  Light figures against dark ground, thin strips of lead of terra cotta define the contour lines and interior details  Use of light and dark to suggest volume

5 HADES AND PERSEPHONE  Hades abducting Persephone, detail of wall painting in tomb 1, Vergina, Greece, mid 4 th century, 3’3” high  Painted tomb  Hades = lord of the underworld  Persephone = daughter of Demter, the goddess of grain  Intense drama  Use of foreshortening and shading -> heads and wheels in ¾ view -> chariot seems to be bursting into the viewers space

6 BATTLE OF ISSUS  Large mosaic that decorated the floor of a lavish Roman house, Roman copy of 310 BCE image  TESSERAE = tiny stones or pieces of glass cut to desired size and shape  Image of the epic Battle of Issus where Alexander defeats the Persian Emperor Darius who flees the battlefield in his chariot  Rearing horse in ¾ view below Darius, Persian soldier on ground with shield that reflects his face  Psychological intensity of the drama -> alexander w/out helmet, gazing at Darius

7 LATE CLASSICAL PERIOD ARCHITECTURE  Time of innovation and experimentation  First use of exterior Corinthian capitals -> Choragic Monument of Lysikrates, Athens, 334 BCE

8 THEATER OF EPIDAUROS  Plays performed during sacred festivals  Finest theater in Greece constructed in 350 BCE at Epidauros in the Peloponessos  Architect is Polykleitos the Younger  Situated on hillsides  ORCHESTRA  THEATRON  Wedge shaped sections, of stone benches separated by stairs -> seated 12,000  Harmony of proportions, unobstructed views, excellent accoustics

9 THEODOROS OF PHOKAIA, THOLOS, DELPHI  Tholos now in ruins at Delphi, 375 BCE  Best preserved example of round temple of the Classical period  Exterior colonnade of Doric columns  Interior columns were CORINTHIAN CAPITALS  Greeks did not embrace the Corinthian capital for temple design -> when used it was for interiors

10 THE CORINTHIAN CAPITAL  More ornate than the Doric or Ionic  Double row of acanthus leaves -> tendrils and flower emerge from them -> bell shaped echinus  Does not become popular until Hellenistic and Roman times