In ancient Greek society, nudity was revered as a natural state of being. In exercise, art, and daily life, nudity was closely associated with the Greeks’ concept of youthfulness and beauty. The era was and continues to be famous for the depictions of precise, idealized anatomy that proliferated sculpture, pottery, and paintings produced by artists from the time. But this obsession with and celebration of the au naturel wasn’t afforded to all members of society. The lugubriously low social standing held by women at the time forced them to assume a more conservative way of dressing, as they continued to be disenfranchised and devalued. Art depicting women reflected this expectation of virtuousness – while art pieces featuring males, whose image as athletic, youthful embodiments of …show more content…
The statue showed the goddess Aphrodite preparing for a purity bath, her recently removed garment in hand, torso and legs bent in the contrapposto position assumed by a multitudes of preceding Greek figures. Perhaps the most iconic feature of the Aphrodite at Cnidus, however, is the placement of her right hand over her pubic area, so as to shield herself from view. This detail became the paradigm for the Venus Pudica pose, the most identifiable continuity between later recreations of the statue. Because of the chosen subject (Aphrodite was the goddess of love and sexual desire) and the nearly immediate renown of the piece (both the sculpture and the temple it was housed in became a popular spot for tourism, and many pieces of writing alluded to it) the Aphrodite at Cnidus was and still is the subject of discussion in regards to its role as a sex object and its intended viewership as
...e of Knidos, created by Praxiteles, can only be found in copies today, but at the time was the first sculpture of a goddess nude. He had transformed marble into the soft and radiant flesh of the goddess of love and taking on a worldly sensuousness. Originally located in a rotunda where it could be seen from all angles. Female nudity was very rare to the Greeks, especially that of a goddess. The sculptor made it look like Aphrodite’s nudity was nonchalant, which made it more sensuous with a welcoming look on her face. With several copies, all being found to be slightly different, all still capture the goddess’s womanly beauty that is not too sexually aggressive. With he hourglass torso, sloped shoulders, large hips and thighs, slim calves and ankles, and small feet and hands, this statue is the polar opposite of any manly figure, which is why it is known to be luring.
The male artists portrayed women as a projection of their ideal woman. The artist’s often overlooked the women’s identity’s and personalities in favour of creating aesthetically pleasing art for themselves and other superior males to view and enjoy. This was especially harmful because the more popular the art grew to be, the more often women were categorised as objects rather than people. The art contributed to gender construction by creating these gender roles and reinforcing that in all situations, men were superior to
Prior to the 20th century, female artists were the minority members of the art world (Montfort). They lacked formal training and therefore were not taken seriously. If they did paint, it was generally assumed they had a relative who was a relatively well known male painter. Women usually worked with still lifes and miniatures which were the “lowest” in the hierarchy of genres, bible scenes, history, and mythological paintings being at the top (Montfort). To be able to paint the more respected genres, one had to have experience studying anatomy and drawing the male nude, both activities considered t...
Through all this it is obvious that the homosexual acts were a common feature of Ancient Greek society. That is, it is a common feature among men in ancient Greece. So there stands the question of what were the actions of women when their men were away seeking out young men and boys in bath houses or actually committing these homosexual activities? A look into this takes the use of Feminist Anthropology, which strives to understand the female position and power in society, in conjunction with archaeology and the synchronistic approach to truly understand the full dynamic of homosexuality in Greece (Walter, “Feminist Anthropology?”).
According to the ancient myths and the secondary sources read throughout this course in relation to women, it is suggested that women in ancient Greece were treated as less than their male counterparts because of the contrast present in being both praised and abhorred for their innate sexuality. This innate sexuality is seen as uncontrollable specific to negative traits associated with it like deception and madness, which manifested itself in enforced ideals and a patriarchal system that feared women. This fear of the female nature led to men controlling them and was reinforced in daily life and ritualistic practices. This assumption is supported by the myths Hesiod’s Myth of Pandora and the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite as well as the secondary readings of The Daily Life of the Greek gods by Giulia Sissa and Marcel Detienne and Cultic Models of the Female: Rites of Dionysus and Demeter by Froma Zeitlin.
Studies concerning the lives of women in classical Athens have sparked much controversy because, despite the apparent fascination with femininity manifested in art and drama, we have no evidence voicing the opinions of the actual women themselves. This presents a paradox between an Athenian woman's everyday life and her prominence in art and literature. (Just: 1989; Gomme: 1925, Gould: 1980; Pomeroy: 1976).
Richlin, Amy (ed). (1992). Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome. New York: Oxford University Press.
“The beginning of female art found in this Aphrodite depict her as a slightly overweight, broad-shouldered, wide-hipped figure with rougher textures and harsher lines” (Berz). The Greeks found this so appealing because it looked very similar to themselves in form but because Aphrodite is na...
When thinking of ancient Greece, images of revolutionary contrapposto sculpture, ornate lecture halls, and great philosophers in togas are sure to come to mind. As the birthplace of democracy and western philosophy, ancient Greece has had an inordinate influence on the progression of the modern world. However, the ancient Greeks’ treatment of women is seemingly at direct odds with their progressive and idealistic society.
Bonfante, L. (1989). Nudity as a costume in classical art. American Journal of Archaeology, 93(4), 543-570. (greek male nude, excellent )
The small, crudely carved statuette of an obese woman contrasts heavily with the graceful classical forms of sculpture such as Aphrodite of Cnidos, Praxiteles, 350 BCE. Although it would be difficult to associate the word beautiful with this statuette, there can be no doubt that it reflects the female form. The statuette has also been known as “la poire” or “the pear” due to its size and shape and more recently was donned the Woman from Willendorf. The removal of the title Venus served to take away the figurine’s status as a goddess and lower it to the human level, therefore allowing more consideration of the figurine’s purpose (Witcombe, sec. 3. The adage of the adage.
In my thesis essay topic I will discuss how art in the Greek culture has change drastically since making it first appearance, in my essay topic I hope to showcase knowledgeable information on the subject while providing supporting details. This topic was interesting to me because beforehand even though I have taken many art classes, this class gave me a little more insight to the world of art and has influence my taste since traveling. I am amaze at how much Greek art has influence modern day culture. Greek culture has also paved the way for many other forms of culture forms and exhibits. So what did this essay mean to me? It was away for me to study and review what I thought was most significant about Greek times and the art pieces that stood out to me the most. I also like that I get to get my personal reflection on key pieces that lead to the new era of classical and non-classical art. In my essay, I will show how ancient Greece was a very unique culture that went through great efforts to produce high class art.
by Albert W. Barker, presents an exhaustive census of ancient Greek women’s clothing on vases, grave reliefs and temple sculptures. Along with a drawing of each costume, Barker spells out a description of each piece of clothing: Ionic chiton alone, with no sleeves, true sleeves and pseudo-sleeves; Doric chiton alone, with overfold wanting, overfold short, overfold relatively long with an overgirt and without an overgirt, and an overfold to end of pseudo-sleeves, an overfold not extended to sleeves and an overfold notably short; and finally the Ionic chiton or chitonion with over-dress without sleeves, an over-dress to knees and an over-dress to the feet, and Ionic chitons with over-dress Doric chiton without an overfold, and over-fold Doric chiton with short overfold, and over-dress Doric chiton with long overfold with a girdle wanting, a simple girdle and a
The primary focus of ancient Greek sculptures was that of the human body. Almost all Greek sculptures are of nude subjects. As the first society to focus on nude subjects, Greek sculptors attempted to "depict man in what they believed was the image of the gods and so would come to celebrate the body by striving for verisimilitude or true – likeness (realism and naturalism!)."(Riffert) Not only did the Greeks celebrate the human form in their art but also in everyday life. (Riffert) One of the favorite topics for sculptors was that of the athlete. In Greek culture athletes were described as "hero–athletes". (Riffert) This shows that athletes were revered and looked upon as heroes. The influence of athleticism is evident in many famous sculptures. I will attempt to show how the human form influenced Greek art. It is important to note that many of the Greek sculptures discussed do not exist in their original form but rather in Roman copies of the original bronze sculptures. (Riffert)
The ancient Greek culture when deeply examined reveals much turmoil on the basis of gender rights and personal roles within the society, as examined by Aristophanes, Plato, Bingen, and Pizan, each seemingly ahead of his or her time with respect to femini...