The main buildings of the School and its library are located in Athens, with administrative and publications offices in Princeton, New Jersey. Established in 1881 by a consortium of nine American universities, the School now serves graduate students and scholars from more than 190 affiliated colleges and universities, acting as a base for research and study in Greece. Schlabach, Last updated: 13 October 1998.The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is a research and teaching institution dedicated to advanced study of the archaeology, art, history, philosophy, language, and literature of Greece and the Greek world. All other images were scanned from other sources or downloaded from the World Wide Web they are posted on this password-protected site for educational purposes, at Bluffton College only, under the "fair use" clause of U.S. Text and image preparation by Mary Ann Sullivan.Īll images marked MAS were photographed on location by Mary Ann Sullivan. Zeus/Poseidon is in the process of hurling a weapon (if Zeus, it would have been his famous thunderbolt) while the discus-thrower's body is tense, frozen in stop action at the moment before the powerful arm releases the discus. Once Greek artists discovered the principle of weight-shift, they began to depict figures in a variety of active poses. Roman marble copy after a bronze original of Plato used the metaphor of the charioteer to symbolize control over the contrary forces in one's nature. Holding the reins suggests control and dominance over both the horses and the animal impulses within himself. No emotions are obvious here, for these would be irrational reactions. Works of this type are categorized as the "severe" style, to suggest the moral ideals of dignity and self-control. Although the work is not as active as the warrior above, still his feet are turned in an opposite direction from his head, and he no longer has the Archaic smile. It was designed to commemorate the victor in a chariot race in athletic games. This statue is the only remaining work of a group composed of the charioteer, his chariot, horses, and groom. The eyes are inlaid and silver is used for the teeth. It is made in the lost-wax process (that is, it is not solid bronze, which cuts down on the cost and weight). The arms are freed from the body and the head turns dramatically. The advance in the sense of movement and natural weight distribution is even more obvious than in the Kritios Boy. These statues formed part of the cargo of a ship that was probably on its way to Rome where Greek sculpture was much admired. The warrior is one of two over life-size bronze sculptures found in this century in the sea off the coast of southern Italy. This remarkable discovery is called "weight-shift" or contrapposto (counterbalance). Note how both the shoulders and hips are uneven and how the right leg is bent at ease.
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He is not stiff-legged, as in the preceding examples where the weight was distributed equally on each leg. ( Clicking will also let you compare Greek and Egyptian sculpture.)Ī landmark work in the history of surviving Greek sculpture, the Kritios Boy indicates not only the artist's interest in representing bodily parts accurately but a concern with how a real person actually stands.
GREEK STATUES FREE
But unlike Egyptian sculpture, Greek statues of this period are free from the block and Greek male figures are nude.
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Figures are rigidly frontal with one foot forward and arms usually held next to the body.
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These are stylized forms like those on geometric vases.ĭuring the Archaic period, Greek sculptors emulated the stance of Egyptian figural sculpture. And many Greek sculptures we know only through Roman copies.ĭuring the Geometric period, small bronze statuettes of human figure and sometimes animals were created. Most of the surviving sculpture is marble since bronze works were melted down for other uses (often military!). Until the Hellenistic period, however, artists depicted the ideal human body. Once Greek artists began to observe nature carefully, they could depict the human body in motion. Just as the figures in vase paintings evolved from stylized geometric forms, so too sculptured figures became increasingly more representational.