Friday, February 17, 2012

Compare and Contrast – 2 Greek pieces


As with nearly every other historical art period, the several defined periods in Greek art saw the creation of many pieces that, while similar in function and subject matter, vary widely in terms of the skill with which they were created and the visual aesthetics they portray. At the same time, the Greeks particularly liked their temples and as such, decorated many of them with such varying pieces. For instance, the pediments, or triangular portions of temple fronts generally held up by columns, are often sculpted or include sculptures of scenes or figures important to the time and particular temple. Two such pediments that can be viewed almost as spokes works for Greek periods are the West Pediment of the Temple of Artemis at Corfu, Greece, and the East Pediment of the Parthenon, fairly famous in its own right.

The first of these to be constructed and carved was the West Pediment of the Temple of Artemis, around 600 – 580 BCE, which was made of limestone at a height of about 9 feet. It is usually easy to tell that pieces like this are earlier given their lesser mastery of form, as it was only in later periods that the Greeks really developed their skill with sculpting. In this case, the majority of the focus in this piece is on a figure of Medusa flanked by two lions, none of which are greatly naturalistic, and in fact look rather stylized, stiff and almost blocky, especially in terms of the pieces of fabric on the Medusa figure. In Ancient Greek mythology, Medusa was one of several snake haired Gorgon sisters, who could purportedly turn people to stone as she was so ugly to look at. Her purpose in this temple pediment however, was initially believed to be protective, though it has been argued that because it was with the aid of the gods that she was finally defeated, she may also or instead show the power of the gods. Additionally, Medusa “… is conceived as a mistress of animals exemplifying [Artemis’s] power and her dominance over nature.” (Johnson’s, 116) In much smaller proportion directly beside Medusa stand her children, at least one of who should not exist until Medusa is dead according to the narrative, but thus looking into the future. The felines resting beside Medusa and her children though, serve to make the scene heraldic, like many earlier lion guarded entryways.


The East Pediment of the Parthenon, which was itself constructed in the later Classical period around 438 – 432 BCE of marble, is contrastingly much more naturalistic in appearance and even intended to be more real and better looking than if it were real. The anatomy and fabric on the currently remaining figures is very detailed and somewhat idealized, like Greek sculpture had evolved to become at the time. The subject matter of this pediment is somewhat similar in that it is dedicated to the gods and the goddess Athena for whom the temple was originally built. This time however, the narrative displayed in the pediment is more of an instance in a story, that of Athena’s birth from Zeus’s head, rather than encompassing an entire story before it all happens. From the left, there are horses representing Helios as the god of the sun, then a reclining male figure believed to be Dionysus, opposite Dionysus are three figures grouped together who are believed to be the goddesses Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite, and on the far right is another set of horses representing Nyx the goddess of night or Selene the moon goddess. The outer most figures of sun and moon guide the scene on the pediment into the celestial plane of the gods, while the figures of gods and goddesses show those who were purported to have attended or seen Athena’s birth. Sadly, the principal figures in the middle of the pediment have long been missing or likely destroyed, but would have completed the scene in its glory of almost hyperrealism.

- Johnson's History of Art, 7th Edition

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