The Winnipeg Art Gallery hosted Olympus, an exhibition on Greek art. One of the many artworks that were displayed was a Statuette of Youthful Dionysos, god of wine and theatre.
This particular marble sculpture s is one of the thirteen pieces that were showcased in the Gods
Among Us display. This formal description will proceed in describing the physical description, the condition of the work, stylistic description and my personal reaction to the work.
The marble Statuette of Youthful Dionysos stands about 30 inches tall. The arms, legs, nose, and the private part are all hacked, and the entire sculpture is supported by two metal rods that connect from the legs to the base. Long locks of hair are falling onto the shoulders and the
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Hellenistic and Classical portrayals usually depicted him as a feminine and pretty youth with soft curvy body, and holding a bunch of grapes. He was sometimes depicted drunk, leaning his body on an escort. Lastly, some depictions portrayed him as an infant or child in the arms of either Seilenos or
Hermes.
Like any other Greek sculptures, the Statuette of Dionysos is damaged in many ways, as it is obvious that these damages indicate the work surviving through time, but there are other factors that made the work look as it is today. Most sculptures were seen as symbols of politics during their era. Hacking those sculptures was a way to show political opposition or protest, and the statuette was one of the unfortunate sculptures that were affected by these acts. This particular statuette of Dionysos has had a few noticeable damages. Parts of the two legs are cut off; the right leg cut from below the kneecap and the left with the knee also cut off. Other parts such as the arms, the nose, and the genitalia are also cut off. The entire piece is also covered with stain spots. The most noticeable part is the discoloration from the top left part of the head, to the right shoulder, all the way down to the right part of the
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The damages already tell us that that the work went through different tests through time, but the the style tell us something else. Apart from it telling us that it’s a sculpture of Dionysos, it tells us about a little bit of culture. The unclothed Dionysos indicate a common practice amongst the men, which is nudity. The sculptor depicted Dionysos with a slightly S-shaped body to show elegance and poise. But this image of elegance and poise seems to contrast with the true personality of Dionysos. As I was perusing around the exhibition, I took the chance of finding out which god’s
True nature is similar to mine by taking a quick quiz that matches a person’s personality with a god’s personality. I ended up being matched with Dionysos’, who apparently has an exuberant, opulent, and extravagant nature, which I can definitely be most of the time. But I didn’t quite get that vibe from the first time I saw the statuette of him, as god’s sculptures were made to exude elegance, poise, power, and overall perfection, which is really the recurring theme in every Greek and Roman sculptures. Therefore, the sculptor was successful at interpreting
Dionysos in his own perspective or making him appear in a way that he’s supposed to
The Athenian vase can be identified as a red-figure Type B Kylix. The height of the vase vacillates between 12.1 and 12.3 centimeters, and the diameter of the foot is roughly 12.5 centimeters. Whereas the diameter of the mouth varies between 33.1 and 33.5 centimeters, the diameter with handles is close to 41.5 centimeters. The vase is completely restored, a condition in which pieces on the body of the vase are glued back together.
...ve been a part of a votive set indicates that it most likely had great significance to the culture and person who owned it. I find it interesting that the sculpture itself depicts a Greek mythological creature even though it has the inscription of an Etruscan god. Perhaps it is a sign of the influence the Greeks had on Etruscan artwork as a whole. The detail of this sculpture suggests it was most likely quite expensive especially if it was in a set. Perhaps nobility of some sort or simply a wealthy commissioner had this piece made.
As time kept passing, more and more magnificent sculptures were made by numerous artists. One of the most memorable sculpture was Aphrodite of Knidos, goddess of love and beauty. Back in the Late Classical Period, the civilians were only used to seeing ideal male nude bodies, but Praxiteles decided to make a different approach and sculpted the first female nude. Because he obviously had never seen a goddess before, he used his imagination and sculpted bathing Aphrodite as humanlike possible. He did not make it look idealistic, but instead made it beautiful with flaws.
A myth that can relate to two of his attributes is when Dionysos is captured by pirates. He was seized when he was the main attraction at the beach due to his beauty. While he got tied up in a rope, Dionysos
Marble statue of a kouros (youth), Greek, Attic, ca. 590-580 B.C. Fletcher Fund, 1932. Accession number: 32.11.1
This is a copy of the sculpture of Athena Parthenos, dressed in battle attire, that was originally created by Phidias during the period of 447-39 B.C. The statue of Athena Parthenos was to be constructed, not of bronze, but of gold and ivory. The face, arms, and feet of the statue were to be made of ivory and the clothing, of thickly plated gold. The statue was an enormous size that towered thirty-three feet tall. The costly nature of the materials out of which it was designed was intended to overwhelm the viewer, creating a sense of religious awe.
My reaction to the Marble statue of Dionysos leaning on an archaistic female figure was it looked amazing and I feel like I could have written more about it. I also felt like there more than one symbolic meaning behind it. The other symbolic meaning I see is that Dionysos is always watching the protecting the small figure. My reaction towards the statue of King Sahure and Nome God was that who was more important the king or the God. The reason I say that is because the king is more focused on that the God. I would think they will be equal, or that the god should be more focused on.
It was found in a shipwreck off Cape Artemision and refurbished to what it may have looked like during its time. (Artemision Zeus or Poseidon). Standing a little over 2 meters high, it is sculpted in the nude fashion whilst being posed in the ready position to pitch an object. The body was made in the idealized image of the Greek’s superior overseers. The eyes of the sculpture likely inlaid with glass but had gone missing as time passed. On the account of the sculpture being found undersea, it had gone through much degradation and was thought to be done in Early Classical Style in bronze and was presumably made around 460 B.C.E (Artemision Zeus or Poseidon). The model of the sculpture closely resembles that of either Zeus or Poseidon, which leaves much confusion and speculation of who the piece represents. Consequently, there have been arguments that the piece may not represent Poseidon, but instead Zeus. The theory came about during the time when the sculpture was first being studied; the right hand grasping an object that would have helped archaeologists to identify the god, but the piece is lost. Most Art Historians believed it to be Zeus for his weapon was a thunder bolt and would not obscure the face of the work (Artemision Zeus or Poseidon). Another possibility is that the sculpture was made of bronze, a form that only gods of high
The Nike of Samothrace captures the essence of the goddess in a dramatic pose. Her body leans forward as her robust wings heave upwards, creating a magnificent balance and sense of motion. Recovered in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods by a French explorer in 1863, the statue stands 8 feet tall. The deep lines and contrasting textures of the feathers, fabric, and skin allude to the elegance of past Greek style. Of all similar remains from ancient Greek art, this famous Hellenistic sculpture best reflects the sense of pride, honor, and victory associated with the goddess.
The theater of Dionysus stands at the foot of the acropolis and its date originates back to the 6th Century, B.C.. Its originally wood seats rise in tiers above one another against the slope of the acropolis, creating a natural setting for the plays (D'ooge, 231). The Greek Theater was built to house a drama which, during the festivals of Dionysus, had evolved from the long tradition of choral hymns which were presented each year. As Greek culture changed and flourished, entertainment transformed from being a series of choral chanting and dancing to placing an emphasis on the actor. As the actors' importance grew, there became a need for a stage from which they could be seen by each of the fourteen thousand spectators the theater housed. The chorus was still a very active part of the entertainment and they resided in the orchestra (Norwich, 64). The orchestra was the oldest part of the Greek theater and thus, when the actor was given
Sculpture is a medium that artists in ancient Greek commonly used to express spoken truths in an unspoken form. Every piece of ancient Greek sculpture has more than what the eye sees to explain the story behind the [in this case] marble.
The festival of Dionysus was a big festival in Athens, Greece, honoring the Greek God Dionysus, the God of wine and theatre. The events included during this festival involved theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and comedies.
The man is standing- naked-with dominant power, and his body is strongly structured and muscles clearly shown. He is holding a sword pointing down against his collarbone, and the pierced skin is shown to be bleeding out of the wound as well. His face is confident and he is wearing what seems to be a wrapping around his neck. The woman is wearing full clothing and is slouched over on the ground, lifeless, and the man is holding one of her arms up. The scene is very dramatic and and intense. The sculpture is said to represent the victory of Attalos I over the Gauls. The Gauls are known to have long and bushy hair with and long neck bands, which I know now, are called Torques. The Gallic chieftain stabs himself with a sword, killing himself, instead of surrendering. He is known to be heroic because he avoided the capture of his wife, who would have been sold to slavery, but instead took her life. In order to look at the whole sculpture , you need to walk around and get a good view of each of the man and woman’s expressions. This sculpture is from the Roman Hellenistic era. Originally, the sculpture was grouped with many others, and is from the acropolis of the kingdom of Pergamon. The men and women were represented as Gauls because the hair on the sculptures did not look nice or healthy, so historians think that they were barbarians at the time. They also believe that the man and
The legs of the statue are described as "vast" (2), while the ruins are a
The statue portrays an effeminate man, posed dramatically to depict the pain and anguish of the subject. The man is hunched over with one elbow pointed skyward and it’s hand held protectively over his neck, while the other hand is seemingly pulling at his hair in frustration. On knee is bent and crossed slightly over the other, setting his body in an awkward, pained posture. The overall pose is gestural and flowing, while the integrity of the bronze molding reinforces the poses fluidity, molded and shaped as if the flesh of the man was pulled and wrapped around his skeleton.