Even portrait busts, often copied from Polyeuktos's famed statue, depict the weariness and sorrow of a man despairing the conquest of Philip II and end of Athenian democracy. Greece was a key province of the Roman Empire, and the Roman's interest in Greek culture helped to circulate Greek art around the empire, especially in Italy, during the Hellenistic period and into the Imperial period of Roman hegemony.
Greek sculptors were in high demand throughout the remaining territories of the Alexander's empire and then throughout the Roman Empire. Famous Greek statues were copied and replicated for wealthy Roman patricians and Greek artists were commissioned for large-scale sculptures in the Hellenistic style.
Originally cast in bronze, many Greek sculptures that we have today survive only as marble Roman copies. Some of the most famous colossal marble groups were sculpted in the Hellenistic style for wealthy Roman patrons and for the imperial court.
Despite their Roman audience, these were purposely created in the Greek style and continued to display the drama, tension, and pathos of Hellenistic art. Athena or Poseidon depending on the story's version , upset by his vain warning to his people, sent two sea serpents to torture and kill the priest and his two sons. The figures writhe as they are caught in the coils of the serpents.
The faces of the three men are filled with agony and toil, which is reflected in the tension and strain of their muscles. His sons are also entangled by the serpents, and their faces react to their doom with confusion and despair. The Farnese Bull c. Pliny the Elder attributes the statue to the artists and brothers Apolllonius and Tauriscus of Trallles, Rhodes. The colossal marble statue, carved from a single block of marble, depicts the myth of Dirce, wife of the King of Thebes, who was tied to a bull by the sons of Antiope to punish her for mistreating their mother.
The composition is large and dramatic, and demands the viewer to encircle it in order to view and appreciate the narrative and pathos from all angles. The various angles reveal different expressions, from the terror of Dirce, to the determination of Antiope's sons, to the savagery of the bull. Art History. Boundless Art History. Ancient Greece. The Hellenistic Period. Concept Version 8. Learning Objective Contrast the new Hellenistic style of sculpture from the previous Classical era, and discuss the significance of Roman patronage in the second century BCE.
Key Points Hellenistic sculpture takes the naturalism of the body's form and expression to level of hyper-realism where the expression of the sculpture's face and body elicit an emotional response.
Drama and pathos are new factors in Hellenistic sculpture. The style of the sculpting is no longer idealized. Rather, they are often exaggerated, and details are emphasized to add a new heightened level of motion and pathos.
New compositions and states of mind are explored in Hellenistic sculptures including old age, drunkenness, sleep, agony, and despair.
Portraiture became popular in this period. Subjects are depicted with a sense of naturalism that displays their imperfections. Hellenistic sculpture was in especially high demand after the Greek peninsula fell to the Romans in BCE.
Full Text Hellenistic sculpture continues the trend of increasing naturalism seen in the stylistic development of Greek art. This unprecedented contact with cultures far and wide disseminated Greek culture and its arts, and exposed Greek artistic styles to a host of new exotic influences. The death of Alexander the Great in B.
However, some Greek city-states asserted their independence through alliances. The most important of such alliances between several city-states were the Aetolian League in western central Greece and the Achaean League based in the Peloponnesos. During the first half of the third century B. Each of these new kingdoms was ruled by a local dynasty lingering from the earlier Achaemenid Persian empire , but infused with new, Greek elements.
The Attalid royal family of the great city-state of Pergamon reigned over much of western Asia Minor, and an influential dynasty of Greek and Macedonian descent ruled over a vast kingdom that stretched from Bactria to the Far East. In this greatly expanded Greek world, Hellenistic art and culture emerged and flourished. Hellenistic kingship remained the dominant political form in the Greek East for nearly three centuries following the death of Alexander the Great.
Royal families lived in splendid palaces with elaborate banquet halls and sumptuously decorated rooms and gardens. Court festivals and symposia held in the royal palaces provided opportunities for lavish displays of wealth. Hellenistic kings became prominent patrons of the arts, commissioning public works of architecture and sculpture, as well as private luxury items that demonstrated their wealth and taste. Jewelry , for example, took on new elaborate forms and incorporated rare and unique stones.
New precious and semiprecious stones were available through newly established trade routes. Concurrently, increased commercial and cultural exchanges, and the greater mobility of goldsmiths and silversmiths, led to the establishment of a koine common language throughout the Hellenistic world.
Hellenistic art is richly diverse in subject matter and in stylistic development. It was created during an age characterized by a strong sense of history. For the first time, there were museums and great libraries, such as those at Alexandria and Pergamon Hellenistic artists copied and adapted earlier styles, and also made great innovations. Representations of Greek gods took on new forms The popular image of a nude Aphrodite, for example, reflects the increased secularization of traditional religion.
Also prominent in Hellenistic art are representations of Dionysos, the god of wine and legendary conqueror of the East, as well as those of Hermes, the god of commerce. In strikingly tender depictions, Eros, the Greek personification of love, is portrayed as a young child Not only is she intoxicated, but she is old: deep wrinkles line her face, her eyes are sunken, and her bones stick out through her skin.
Another image of the old and weary is a bronze statue of a seated boxer. While the image of an athlete is a common theme in Greek art, this bronze presents a Hellenistic twist. He is old and tired, much like the Late Classical image of a Weary Herakles.
However, unlike Herakles, the boxer is depicted beaten and exhausted from his pursuit. His face is swollen, lip spilt, and ears cauliflowered. This is not an image of a heroic, young athlete but rather an old, defeated man many years past his prime.
Seated Boxer : This bronze statue, c. Individual portraits, instead of idealization, also became popular during the Hellenistic period. Demosthenes : This is a Roman copy of the Greek, bronze, original portrait bust by Polyeuktos.
Famous Greek statues were copied and replicated for wealthy Roman patricians and Greek artists were commissioned for large-scale sculptures in the Hellenistic style. Originally cast in bronze, many Greek sculptures that we have today survive only as marble Roman copies.
Some of the most famous colossal marble groups were sculpted in the Hellenistic style for wealthy Roman patrons and for the imperial court. Despite their Roman audience, these were purposely created in the Greek style and continued to display the drama, tension, and pathos of Hellenistic art.
The figures writhe as they are caught in the coils of the serpents. The faces of the three men are filled with agony and toil, which is reflected in the tension and strain of their muscles.
His sons are also entangled by the serpents, and their faces react to their doom with confusion and despair. The Farnese Bull c. Pliny the Elder attributes the statue to the artists and brothers Apolllonius and Tauriscus of Trallles, Rhodes. The colossal marble statue, carved from a single block of marble, depicts the myth of Dirce, the wife of the King of Thebes, who was tied to a bull by the sons of Antiope to punish her for mistreating their mother.
The composition is large and dramatic, and demands the viewer to encircle it in order to view and appreciate the narrative and pathos from all angles. Farnese Bull : This marble statue, c. Privacy Policy. Skip to main content. Ancient Greece. Search for:. The Hellenistic Period.
Architecture in the Hellenistic Period Architecture during the Hellenistic period focused on theatricality and drama; the period also saw an increased popularity of the Corinthian order.
Learning Objectives Describe the characteristics of Hellenistic architecture, including stoas, the Corinthian order, and the use of theatricality. Key Takeaways Key Points Hellenistic architecture, in a manner similar to Hellenistic sculpture, focuses on theatricality, drama, and the experience of the viewer.
Public spaces and temples were created with the people in mind, and so were built on a new, monumental scale. Stoas are colonnaded porticos used to define public space and protect patrons from the elements. The Temple of Apollo at Didyma was an oracle site with an ambitious building plan that was never completed.
Its plan consisted of a double colonnade of massively tall columns that engulfed the viewer in dark corridors before opening into a bright courtyard and the shrine to the god. The Corinthian order, developed during the Classical period, witnessed increased popularity during the Hellenistic period. A double layer of acanthus leaves line the basket from which stylized tendrils and volutes emerge. Key Terms abacus : A flat slab that forms the uppermost member or division of the capital of a column.
Pergamon Pergamon rose as a power under the Attalids and provides examples of the drama and theatrics found in Hellenistic art and architecture. Learning Objectives Illustrate the dramatic and theatrical nature of the Pergamon, as seen in the Altar of Zeus, the Gigantomachy, and the Dying Gauls.
Key Takeaways Key Points Pergamon was the capital city of the Kingdom of Pergamon, which was ruled by the Attalids in the centuries following the death of Alexander the Great. The Acropolis of Pergamon is famous for its monumental architecture. Most of the buildings command a great view of the surrounding countryside and together create a dramatic public space. The Altar of Zeus at Pergamon was a monumental u-shaped Ionic building that stood on a high platform and was accessed by a wide set of stairs.
Besides its dramatic architecture, the altar is known for its Gigantomachy frieze and sculptures of defeated Gauls. The Gigantomachy frieze represents the full blossoming of Hellenistic sculpture. The figures are dramatic, and the scenes are full of tension. They are carved in high relief with deep drilling that allows for a play of light and shadows that increases the naturalism of the figures.
The statue group of the Dying Gauls depicts a defeated trumpeter and a Gallic chief killing himself and his wife. The figures, while enemies of Pergamon, are depicted with incredible pathos and heroics to demonstrate their worthiness as adversaries and empower the Attalid victors.
Key Terms chiastic : Referring to a figure that repeats concepts in reverse order, in the same or modified form. Gaul : An ancient person from the region that roughly corresponds to modern France and Belgium.
Learning Objectives Contrast the new Hellenistic style of sculpture from the previous Classical era, and discuss the significance of Roman patronage in the second century BCE.
Drama and pathos are new factors in Hellenistic sculpture. The style of the sculpting is no longer idealized. Rather, they are often exaggerated, and details are emphasized to add a new, heightened level of motion and pathos. New compositions and states of mind are explored in Hellenistic sculptures including old age, drunkenness, sleep, agony, and despair. Portraiture became popular in this period.
The subjects are depicted with a sense of naturalism that displays their imperfections. Hellenistic sculpture was in especially high demand after the Greek peninsula fell to the Romans in BCE.
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