So was Your Grandpa as Cool as Mine
I recently discovered that I was the grandson of Praxiteles, one of the greatest Greek sculptors ever to pick up a chisel and hammer. During my grandfather’s time in Ancient Greece artists and sculptors used their work as a way to gain status and wealth within Greek society. I was surprised to learn that my grandfather was a pioneer and trendsetter in his art. He set himself above the rest by making his sculptures look as if they were almost human like. He is probably best known for being the first to sculpt a woman fully nude. My grandfather was sometimes known as the sculptor of grace. His works are some the most copied by the Romans even appearing on great deal of the Roman coins. Because his works were copied so, there has been some debate among the so called experts, as to if he really sculpted some of his more famous pieces (Richter). But nothing has proven just theories for now.
Within this article I will describe a few of his works such as Hermes and the Infant Dionysus, Aphrodite of Cnidus and Apollo Sauroctoris as well as the story or fable behind these great works. He preferred to work with marble but was also known for working with bronze as well. His work range included all ages and sexes, but he seemed to prefer the young gods like Apollo and Aphrodite. He was not interested in portraying the more dignified, older gods like Zeus or Poseidon (Museum of Art and Archaeology).
My grandfather was well known for always trying new techniques to make his art work look as real as possible. I learned that one of the techniques he used was to polish the marble to make the light reflect and contour off of the statue giving it a texture that gave a sensuous look (Museum of Art and Archaeo...
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...ity of the people in today’s society.
Works Cited
Richter, Gisela. "The Hermes of Praxiteles." American Journal
Of Archaeology. 35.3 (1931): 277-290. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
< http://www.jstor.org/stable/498566.>.
Stewart, Andrew. "Praxiteles " American Journal of
Archaeology. 111.3 (2007): 565-569. Web. 16 Jan. 2014.
< http://www.jstor.org/stable/40027086.>.
"Hermes and the Infant Dionysos." Museum of Art Archaeology-University of Missouri. Database. 31 January 2014. . (Olszewski)
"Praxiteles ca. 400- 330 BC." Web Chronology Project Art
In the Western World Tradition in Chronology. Web. 5 February 2014. .
Olszewski, Edward J. "Praxiteles' "Apollo" And Plinys's "Lizard Slayer"" (
The difference between an archaic statue such as Kroisos (fig. 5-11) and a classical statue such as Doryphoros (fig. 5-42) may not seem very great in a single glance. In fact, you may not notice any differences in that one glance. Yet, if you were to look at them closely, you can see that these two statues actually have very little in common.
Although not every hero shouts “Avengers Assemble” before a worthy deed, heroism is shown in all aspects of the everyday world. Webster Dictionary has exactly 5 definitions under the word hero and still no two people explain heroism the same. Superman and Captain America are a glimpse of the fictional characters society titles a hero. Firefighters and Military portray heroism each day in the lives of every civilian. As Sullivan and Venter stated “individuals are referred to as ‘heroes’ for seemingly different reasons” and even through endless studies the adjectives referring heroes is ever changing. Among the various ideas of what it means to be a hero, boldness and valiance capture the essence of heroism.
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.
Throughout the history of Ancient Greece thousands of great works of art were produced. Works were created in many different media, ranging from life-size statues to larger than life architectural structures. One type of art that can sometimes be overlooked, though, is pottery. There are many examples of great Greek pottery, but the two that will be used as a sample are Artemis Slaying Actaeon and Woman and Maid. By considering the backgrounds of these works, and comparing them directly we are able get a taste not only of the artistic styles of the time, but also a taste of ancient Greek culture.
The medium is Granodiorite and the technique used was sunken relief, which is a technique were the sculptor chisels deep outlines below the stone’s surface. The sculpture does not seem to be originally painted. The Egyptians created coloristic effects through contrasting shadows and highlights. They used natural pigments to color some sculptures, however this was not the case. There are deeply cut areas in the back of the statue that create deep shadows and the use of natural light helps to bring up the highlights. The granodiorite has natural colors that helped the sculptor show more of those shadows and highlights. The statue is mostly in a warm hue and it may be caused because of the lighting inside the museum. These warm colors make the details stand out more. At a closer look of the structure there are different colors that can be easily identified, such as white, yellow, brown, black, gray and small spots of orange. The statues seems to be carved in one piece. There are no signs indicating it
The Differences between Apollo and Dionysus are not difficult to see. Though both Gods are associated wi...
The Greek believed the human body was the measure of all things, therefore the artists created sculptures in a very detailed fashion which made them very life-like although the size of
The trip to the metropolitan museum was a great trip to learn and to study art. What is art you may ask, well art is an expression you use to show a visual picture. It can be through painting or through sculptures. Some other example of art is music, literature and dancing. For today 's paper we will be talking about art as a sculpture. The two sculptures in this photo are King Sahure and a Nome God and Marble Statue of Dionysos leaning on archaistic female figure (Hope Dionysos). You can find these statues in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. King Sahure and a Nome God is an Egyptian art that was made in 2458-2446 BCE. The artist is unknown. It was during the 5th dynasty and it also belong to the old kingdom. The Marble statue of Dionysos Leaning in the archaistic female figure is a Greco-Roman art. Belonging to the Roman imperial period of the late first century A.D. Augustan or Julio-Claudian period 27 B.C., to 68 AD. It is classified as a stone sculpture and it is made out of marble. The height of the statues is 82 ¾ inches. There is no evidence who was the original artist.
...ity in Classical Athens. New York, NY: Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA) in Collaboration with the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, 2008. Print.
The primary function of monumental portraits in Ancient Rome was to honor political figures of power through repeating social and political themes. The Romans expressed these themes through a form of “realism”. Relics of this era were found depicting the elderly conservative nobility that lived through civil disruptions and war, elaborately individualized through detail of the face expression. Through the features of grimacing heaviness, wrinkles, and effects of old age, the Romans were able to express the reality of their political situation felt by the people whose faces were sculptured into stone. Furthermore, Nodelman discusses the use of sculpture portraits to depict the ideology behind Roman conservative aristocracy. Artists would portray the virtues of gravitas, dignities, and fides, through the use to physical expression and symbolic meaning, rather than through words. A statue of Augustus, for instance, displays the militaristic, powerful, godly perception of the conservative ideology through the use of symbolic detail. The decorative, rich, military outfit on Augustus, represents the power of the military and Augustus’s role as imperator in it. The freely held masculine arm and pointing gesture towards the horizon are Rome’s expanding dreams, clashing with the overall powerful and sturdy stance of the body. The bare feet bring about the impression
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)
...heir time to work beyond the scope of their occupation, in response to a communal need or the need of an individual (Olsson, 2002). In most cases, heroes have a strong impact on the lives of others by helping the less fortunate in their communities. Knowledge and familiarity with their community provides heroes with the proper insight to understand what heroism requires. Strength of character provides the ability to enact heroism. Heroic virtue does not depend on one’s time, place, or condition, but on one’s willingness to rise above circumstances with an ingenuity and determination that can overcome all odds. Anyone that cares for the well-being of others and their community can be a hero. Heroes are all around us; they do what they do without expecting to be recognized for what they do so you may think there are not many heroes today, but they are everywhere.
The Romans have adopted many features from the Greek style of art and architecture during the third and second centuries B.C. During that time period the Romans discovered that they have taking a liking to Greek statues, which they placed in many different places. The Roman sculptors then decided to also start making statues alongside the Greeks. The statues that the Romans created were realistic looking with, sometime, unpleasant details of the body. The Greeks made statues with, what they thought of, ideal appearances in the statues figure. Sculpture was possibly considered the highest form of art by the Romans, but figure painting was very high considered as well. Very little of Roman painting has survived the tests of time.
Conlin, Diane Atnally. The artists of the Ara Pacis: the process of Hellenization in Roman relief sculpture. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. (P. 4)
Even the few sculptor’s names known to us, usually by chance, from the imperial period are Greek names and seem to confirm the assumption that these artists’ work should be regarded simply as a late phase of Greek art” (Hanfmann, 12). The Greeks were the first western culture to figure out how to accurately depict the human form which they did through the use of geometric ratios. It is also widely accepted that it was even Greek artists who first made marble portraits for the Romans as the Romans originally had no skill with the stone. “It was certainly at first Greek artists who were entrusted by eminent Romans with the execution of portraits of themselves and of important personalities in the Roman state, just as it was Greeks who depicted Aemilius Paulus victory at Pydna and later were largely responsible for the portraits of the emperors” (Kahler 16). The Romans mainly used terracotta for their sculptures and it was only when Augustus reigned that the marble quarries at Carrara were opened and marble was used on a large scale. The Romans inherited the use of realistic proportions, the sense of movement (contrapposto), and the overall beauty of Greek sculptures. A great example of Roman sculpture that was clearly carved by a Greek artist who was familiar with the Hellenistic styles of Greece, is the Relief of the Wedding of Amphitrite and Neptune. It “shows a mythological