Cindy's Non-Western Blog
Greek Art in the Classical Period
Marble head of a woman and veil wearing diadem
GREECE-425-400 B.C.
This sculpture is currently located in The Met in New York City, the artist is unknown. In this sculpture, a Greek woman is shown with a cloak on top of her head. She is looking forward and is suspected to be walking in this piece. The sculpture is made out of marble, a type of stone, which was a common thing to use in this time period. This sculpture represents Greece because art such as this one, was very common and valued in their culture. Often there were sculptures that had an entire body, not just the head with great detail to them. The sculptures would represent how strong their men were and how beautiful their women were. I chose this piece because I find it very impressive. The sculpture did an amazing job with the eyes and lips specifically. Although there are pieces missing, which happens with age, they look very real. The woman was probably standing there while the artist was carving this piece. I wouldn’t have this piece in my house because I think it’s sort of weird to just have, but I do love the way the woman looks in this sculpture.
Bronze mirror with a support in the form of a draped woman
GREECE-Mid 5th Century B.C.
Thi piece is currently located in The Met in New York City, the artist is unknown. This is a bronze mirror with a woman holding it on top of her head, the woman is said to be mortal because she has a cloak on. Above her fly two Erotes, which are flying creatures that represent love and intercourse. The Erotes are said to be Aphrodites advisors. This mirror represents beauty, when women would get ready they would look at it and see the Erotes and think of Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, beauty, and pleasure. This mirror is worn down, but has a lot of characteristics to it that I love. I would own this piece because I like the way it looks and the meaning behind it. The attention to detail on the cloak and wings are what stick out the most to me. I imagine it would have been extremely hard to do especially with this mirror being so small. I find it intriguing that women looked up to things like Erotes and Greek Gods. I really like that everything is symmetrical, it’s pleasing to my eyes to see it like that.
Gold box ring surmounted by a scarab
GREECE-330-310 B.C.
This ring is currently located in The Met in New York City. The artist is unknown. The ring was made out of gold and has a reptile on it with a rope-like bottom half. This was a popular type of gem found in Greece during the classical period and was mainly worn to show wealth and style. I think this ring is awesome and has incredible detail to it. If you look closely, you can see the shell and the patterns it has in it as well as the small horns on the animal. This would be a cool piece of jewelry to own as a show-piece but not to wear.
WORK CITED:
“The Art of Classical Greece .” Metmuseum.org, https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tacg/hd_tacg.htm
“Classical Art and Architecture - History+.” The Art Story, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/classical-greek-and-roman-art/history-and-concepts/
“Ancient Greek Art.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Oct. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_art
About Afzal Ibrahim An experimenter at heart, et al. “Classical Greek Art Definition, Paintings, Sculptures Artists and Artworks.” Popxartist, 16 Apr. 1970, https://www.theartist.me/art-movement/classical-greek-art/
Boundless. “Boundless Art History.” Lumen, https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/the-early-classical-period/
“High Classical Period.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/High-Classical-period
Great post Cindy! Each and every selection you made, really defined what Greece is all about. First thing that comes to my mind, is Greek sculptures! These traditions were dated back to 7th century BCE. I honestly love the idea of creating one's image on a tablet of limerick of stone because it's not only an honorary act but it also lasts quite some time. The "Bronze Mirror" is a great piece as well, as it does a great job highlighting one the many Greek Gods. Well put together Cindy!
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy, I love the art you chose for the none-western art. I chose a digital medium for the last exhibit, I wish I had chosen physical mediums too. The first sculpture Marble head of a woman and veil wearing diadem really intrigued me as it was such a mystery. No one knows who made it and there is no body to it, as you state “Often there were sculptures that had an entire body, not just the head with great detail to them” I noticed it is not even a full bust, I wonder if it was damaged and they just salvaged the head. Either way, I agree it is a really good piece.
ReplyDeleteI like the sculptures that were created in Greece. It is amazing to me just how much detail artists were able to put into them so long ago. I agree that the eyes and lips do a good job of showing just how detailed a sculpture can be.
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job of letting us know what was going on in the bronze mirror piece. I would have never gotten the meaning behind it without your explanation.
The golden ring does have a lot of detail to it. Unfortunately, I had to look it up to get a better view of it. I know it is hard to get the full detail to display on a blog. It is an interesting piece but I’m pretty sure I would not wear it. While looking it up though, I was able to find out that the scarab was seen as representing the sun god. Good job on this blog. I was lost when I was trying to start mine.
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ReplyDeleteHi Cindy, I am learning more about art as I explore more posts. I have explored art more during this semester. I have learned on your blog that Greek artwork is Non-Western Art. Thanks for sharing! I learned so much in this class, I think I like exploring Art that is displayed around the world!
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