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GREECE PLACES
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Greek Art: The Hellenistic Period
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Hellenistic Sculpture
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The Hellenistic period begins in 323 with the death of Alexander
the Great and ends with the battle of Actio in 31 BC. While Philip
of Macedon conquered and united the Greek city-states, his son
Alexander the Great embraced on a campaign that found him the
conqueror of a vast empire which included Greece, Persia, the
Near East, and Egypt. During this period the city-states begin
to give way to a more global culture, and the entire Mediterranean
sea and the Middle East flourish in a background of conflict,
commerce, and cross-cultural influence, with the Greek ideals
and language dominating the scene.
During the Hellenistic period art underwent dramatic transformations
and evolved on the road paved previously by the Classical artist. While
the Classical Greek concepts were not entirely abandoned, the artist
of the Hellenistic era expanded his formal horizons with dramatic posing,
sweeping lines, and high contrast of light, shadow and emotions. The
conventions and rules of the classical period gave way to the experimentation
and a sense of freedom that allowed the artist to explore his subjects
from different unique points of view.
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During this period, the Idealism of classical art gave way to a higher
degree of Naturalism which comes as a logical conclusion to the efforts
of the great fourth century sculptors (Praxitelis, Skopas, and Lysipos)
who worked towards a more realistic way of expressing the human figure.
The subtle implications of greatness and humility of the high Classical
era (see the Charioteer
of Delphi) are replaced with bold expressions of energy
and power during the moments of tension as evident in the Boy
Jockey.
While the interest in deities and heroic themes was still of importance,
the emphasis of Hellenistic art shifted from religious and naturalistic
themes towards more dramatic human expression, psychological and spiritual
preoccupation, and theatrical settings. The sculpture of this period
abandons the self-containment of the earlier styles and appears to
embrace its physical surroundings with dramatic groupings and creative
landscaping of its context. The Nike
of Samothrace for instance was posed at a sanctuary built
high at the edge of a cliff with a reflective water pool and rocks
as part of the landscape.
Nike
of Samothrace is a rare example of the mastery over the
rigid materials and deep understanding of the world as expressed through
aesthetic conventions and techniques. The winged goddess appears to
be in a process of suspended animation as her outstretched wings labor
gracefully to prevent the force of gravity from anchoring the heavy
stone to the ground. The twists and deep undercuts of the drapery conform
faithfully to the nude body underneath , and in the process, they reveal
the physical human presence they contain as is struggles to resist
an invisible external force. This imaginary wind that shapes the drapery
becomes a physical presence and an intricate part of the sculpture
itself in a playful interdependence of physical and imagined entities.
In this process it is the wind that gives form to the figure and breathes
life into the human presence of Nike.
The human condition and state of mind became a popular subject and
inconsequential moments of life were transcended into universal signs
and immortalized in stone. The sleepy satyr, the old woman, the
swing of Aphrodite's sandal, a twist of the torso, a humorous
grin or a surprised expression gave life to cold marble and bronze.
In the Venus,
Eros, and Pan, statue the voluptuous Aphrodite (Venus)
contrasts sharply with the grotesque appearance of Pan who tries to
seduce her as she attempts to repel him with a smile and a swing of
her sandal. Her immense erotic power personified by Eros has a firm
grasp of the creature's horns playfuly guiding the theatrical setting
towards an impossible conlcusion that we are left to create ourselves.
Eroticism gained popularity during this period and statues of Aphrodite,
Eros, Satyrs, Dionysus, Pan, and even hermaphrodites are depicted in
a multitude of configurations and styles. Statues of female nudes became
popular in Hellenistic art and statues of Venus in various poses and
attitudes adorn the halls of many museums around the world. Venus
de Milo (Aphrodite of Melos) is still admired today as
the personification of Beauty itself with its ideal proportions, the
high waste, the sharp twist of the leg, and the seductive Praxitelean "S" curve
of the torso.
Often the Hellenistic sculptor is not satisfied to only depict his
subjects in true outward appearance, but he further strives to express
their inner world, by the depiction of physical characteristics and
postures that betray inner feelings, thoughts, and attitudes. In portraiture,
the imperfections of the subject are often included in an effort to
instill individual personality into the statues, or sometimes as a
means of betraying the subject's qualities and attitudes.
The statue of Hygea of
which only the head survives, is a good example of how Hellenistic
art evolved to carve its own niche into the flow of history without
breaking with the traditional values that made its existence possible. Hygea,
the goddess of health, is created with all the subtleties of Classical
aesthetic ideals, but her face manages to reveal an expression of concern
and understanding towards a peson or a condition that seems to appear
before her. Thus the viewer becomes the subject of her attention in
a moment of self-consciousness and role reversal between observer and
observed.
© GreekLandscapes.com
Back to the National Museum of Athens
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gardners
Art Through the Ages
by Kleiner, Mamiya, Tansey
National Museum
by Spyros Meletzis and Helen Papadakis
Art Editions S. Meletzis & H. Papadakis, 1980
Greek
Art and Archaeology
by John G. Pedley
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