Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Ancient Greece notes, Geometric to Archaic, characteristics and symbology

Periods Proto-geometric (1050 to 900) Geometric (900 to 700) Orientalizing (700 to 625) Archaic (625 to 480) Early Classic/Severe (480 to 450) Mature Classic (450 to 400) Late Classic (400 to 325) Hellenistic (325 to 31) Roman (27 to 395 AD).
Tenemos A sanctuary built and rebuilt to near palatial status.
Sanctuary of Apollo (600 to 200, Delphi) Where Apollo would communicate with Pythia. Original site built in 6th. Thought to be the Earth's navel, where Earth and heaven touch, through something like an umbilical cord.
Geometric Period Funerary Krater (750 to 700, Athens) Highly decorative, slender/abstracted figures of attendants, soldiers, horses, chariots. Perpendicular flow established through register decorations and figures. Gaps between primary and secondary subject matter filled in with designs and motifs.
Porch Covering for the portico of a temple, or the general area of a temple entrance.
Gable Triangular roof element to a facade. Pediment on larger structures.
Peristyle To encase with columns, usually in a rectangular pattern.
Gorgon Medusa (Central pediment high relief, Temple of Artemis, Korkyra, c.580) Figure is open compositionally, left to right movement, impossible position of limbs, supports menacing expression, bulging eyes. Central figure in the pediment.
Treasury of the Siphnians (now lost, Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi, C.530 to 525) In antis style, perfect blend of form/function, architect/sculptor, structure with caryatid portico columns.
Dying Warrior (Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, 480) Figure's body twisting and contorting in space, evidence of sensitivity to time in the work. Flesh is rendered realistically. Organic, soft forms and textures of the body contrast professionally with the harsh, geometric forms of the shield and helmet.
Battle Between Gods and Giants (frieze, Treasury of the Siphnians, c.530 to 525) Excellent relief depiction, somewhat chaotic yet sensitively spaced figures an advancement in western artistic creation towards a more true-to-reality depiction of a scene in terms of tone, yet figures are rendered idealistically in terms of form. Read left to right; integration of time to work a success, another advancement.
Amasis Painter, Dionysus with Maenads (540, amphora vase) Archaic style, a single scene beautifully rendered on either side.
Characteristics "Man is the measure of all things", periods reflect stylistic  changes, not political or religious developments as would be the case in other regions of the era. Individualism is emphasized more than any other of the time. Proto-geometric style characterized by spirals, cross hatching, diamonds, linear designs favored over figures, people, plants, animals. The Geometric period used rectilinear shapes often. The Orientalizing period was heavily influenced by Egyptian and Near Eastern styles. Special attention must be paid to proportions and ratios. If one is change, it's relation must be adjusted in proportion. There is an increasing need integrate time on a human scale, and to represent works more realistically, especially in three dimensional works. Registers of overlapping, space-sensitive figures telling a story with bands of geometric forms for scene division and compositional organization. In funerary works, Egyptian works would focus on the dead and their activities. In Greek works, such depictions focused on the despair and reactions of those that remained. Geometric style characterized by humans being integrated more into works. Both periods are dense compositionally, decorative. Orientalizing style characterized by more open compositions, beasts (real and imaginary), people, plants, integration of curvilinear forms and designs, rosettes, still heavily abstract. Perspectives sometimes combine (eg, two closed-comp beast body profiles combine to make a single straight-on head). Archaic style introduces some of the first known examples of artist and/or architects authoring their work. With the Greek awareness of the self, it's no surprise they were the first to do this. Registers progressively grow in size until a single scene covers either side. Foreshortening can be found during this period. Depictions of the common people can be easily found (eg, workshops, foundries, black smith labs, etc).
Symbology Scepter, lightening bolt, eagle, oak tree (Zeus, maturity, supremecy, power, strength) flame, peacock, diadem, scepter, pomegranate (Hera/Juno, marriage, birth, female protection, vengeance, jealousy) circle, flame (Hestia/Vesta, town hall, democracy, balance) trident, horse, dolphin (Poseidon, sea, capriciousness, misogyny) three-headed dog/Cerebus, helmet (Hades, thirst for power, death, wealth) spear, boar, vulture, dog (Ares, war conflict, violence, brutality, danger, megalomania, cowardice) blacksmith hammer, apron, forge fire (Hephaistons/Vulcan, metal arts, masonry, ingenuity, disability) laurel, dolphin, sun, lyre, bow & arrow (Apollo, light, truth, healing, music, archery) the Moon, oxcart, hunting dogs, deer, cypress (Artemis/Diana, hunt, female independence, confident solitude) shield & spear, owl, olive tree (Athena/Minerva, wisdom, strategy, vicotry) girdle, seashell, mirror, myrtle, dove, sparrow, swan (Aphrodite/Venus, love, sensuality, eroticism, creativity) winged sandals, cap (of Hermes), caduceus (wand with two snakes wrapped around) (Hermes, luck commerce, thieves, fertility, manages the path to the underworld) Mountain (Olympus, for my use).

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