ARTH 103 1nd Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 4 6 Lecture 4 September 23 ANCIENT AEGEAN ART ARCHITECTURE Chapter 4 Summary Aegeans were known for their use of bronze in sculptures Influenced by other cultures around the Mediterranean due to Aegeans being seafarers people of the Ancient Near East were important trading partners The Cycladic Islands Left behind no written record Most sculptures are of women with little features abstract The asymmetrical patterns on the sculptures could have represented how the Cycladic people decorated their own bodies whether it be permanent tattoos or temporary body paint The Minoan Civilization on Crete Economically self sufficient produced its own grains cattle fruit etc Crete was a wealthy sea power trading with main land Greece and the Ancient Near East Was named Minoan after the legend of King Mions Minoan society was not ruled by kings but rather by a confederation of aristocrats Rhytons vessels used for pouring liquids carved from soapstone The Helladic Culture The Citadel at Mycenae was known to Greek writers as the home of Agamermnon legendary Greek king and leader of the Greek army that conquered the great city of Troy Walls that surrounded the Citadel were known as cyclopean because it was believed that only Cyclops could move such huge boulders Important Pieces of Art Figure of a Woman Cycladic c 2500 2200 BCE marble Very scarce features Could represent a deity Minoan Complex at Knossos Minoan Crete c 1900 1375 BCE Sir Arthur finds palace that he believes was in the story of King Minos He reconstructs the site based on legend The site was always reconstructed in ancient times due to the many earthquakes the island of Knossos experienced Not even sure if it is a palace unknown Minoan society structure Food storage sewage system means that the society lived a comfortable life Bull Leaping Minoan from Knossos c 1450 1375 BCE Fresco painting on plaster general term to describe this style of painting o Buon Fresco painting on wet plaster preferable method Paint is absorbed into plaster and dries together o Fresco Secco painting on dry plaster Less durable method paint chips off over time Features scenes from everyday life Different skin colors does not equal different races but different genders o White figures females red figures male figures Could be entertainers acrobats jumping over bull or an initiation ritual Flotilla Minoan from Akrotiri Thera c 1650 BCE Painted in a fresco style Was thought to portray a sea military battle It is an image that celebrates the sea Pendant of Gold Bees Minoan c 1700 1500 BCE Techniques used originated in Ancient Near East Filigree small strands of metal are layered to create a lace like effect Repousse pushing the back of the metal to make an indentation Granulation attaching tiny pieces of metal to other pieces using solder o Solder melting metal to form a glue must work fast because metal cools quickly Ball held by bees represents a ball of pollen Above the bees is a cage made of spider legs and inside the cage is a ball that rolls around Spider references Athena goddess of practical arts wisdom and war Octopus Flask Minoan Marine Style c 1500 1450 BCE Ceramic made with clay and hardened with heat Practical use of an art form Very life like octopus accentuates the roundness of the jug Lion Gate Mycenaean limestone relief c 1250 BCE The animals symbolize royal power o Archeologists aren t even sure if the animals are lions Post and lintel doorway Doleman structure Relieving Arch arch relieves the weight of stone on top of the doleman it contains the two carvings of animals Treasury of Atreus Tholos Mycenaean c 1300 1200 BCE Tholos is Greek for tomb Above ground tombs cone shaped tombs covered with Earth Filled with precious belongings of the deceased therefore called Treasury of Atreus o Fundamental misunderstanding because the belongings were not treasure Dome is built in rows each row is slightly smaller called corbelling Heinrich Schliemann created fake treasures to make his discovery more important Vapheio Cup Mycenaean gold c 1650 1450 BCE Most likely made by Minoan artists Narrative scene all around the cup Olive tree symbolizes sacredness therefore the cup could have been used in sacred rituals Lecture 5 September 30 ANCIENT GREEK ART ARCHITECTURE Ch 5 Summary Black Figure Technique Mix clay with outdoor pools to make clay malleable Clay is placed on a potter s wheel and in ancient times an assistant would have turned the wheel manually Slip is painted on the unfired case that the artist wishes to be black and the area that is not painted with slip is used to draw on a scene A preliminary sketch on the scene is drawn in charcoal which would later disappear during the firing process Red ocher was used to depict clothes blood etc Pure clay turned white which depicted female figures Air was allowed into the kiln which allowed the slip to turn red Temperature was raised and air was cut off to create an oxygen poor environment which caused the slip to turn black Air was allowed in once more and the area that is not covered in slip turned red The Classical Period Divided into 3 phases based on the formal qualities of the art Early Classical and High Charioteer a rare life size bronze cast statue contains fragments of a bronze chariot and horses a commemoration of a victory by a driver in the Pythian games Ceramic Painting Early Classical artist Douris skill in composing complex figural scenes that respond to the complicated and irregular pictorial field The High Classical Period The use of the word high to qualify the art of this time reflects the value judgments of art historians who have considered this period a pinnacle of artistic refinement producing works that set a standard of unsurpassed excellence Sparta and Athens turned on each other in a series of battles known as the Peloponnesian War Acropolis high city The Pantheon focuses on proportions especially the ration of 4 9 expressing the relationship of breadth to length and also the relationship of column diameter to space between columns Best known theorist of the High classical period was the sculptor Polykleitos of Argos because of developing a set of rules for constructing what he considered the ideal human figure to be o He called these rules the Canon Kanon means law or rule in Greek o To display these rules he created a sculpture known as Spear Bearer Erechiteion stands on the site of the mythical contest between Poseidon and