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• 1 2017-10-12T08:48:45-07:00 Lamon- Mythical Creatures in Greek and Cycladic Art 18 This exhibit will take a look at how Mediterranean civilizations depicted a few mythical beasts throughout different periods. plain 2017-10-13T11:24:08-07:00 This exhibition will give the audience a look at how Greeks portrayed their mythological creatures in different styles throughout different stylistic periods.  The exhibit ranges from pieces in the Geometric period in the 8th century B.C. to pieces from the Classical Greek period in the 5th century B.C.  The audience will take a look at two specific beasts from Greek mythology; the centaurs and the Minotaur and examine the differences in their portrayal in different periods, mediums, and styles.
  
  
  The first piece on this page shows Theseus slaying the Minotaur while between two female figures.  The scene is depicted on a terracotta lekythos that typically contained oil in the Greek world.  At a quick glance it is plain to see that the piece is done in a very typical Archaic style; black figure, where the slip is painted onto the clay in the shape of the figures before it is fired in a kiln to create the color difference between the clay and the scene.  Another key attribute to black figure that is seen all throughout the Minotaur and Theseus (especially around the Minotaur's head and Theseus' sword) is the inscribed details that break up the black figure and make the images look more realistic although the Greeks have still not fully found how to show scale.  The lack of ability to scale the figures is clearly seen in the slenderness of the Minotaur that is supposed to be an imposing beast who had killed hundreds of Athenian youths before Theseus conquered him.  
  
  The next piece still features the Minotaur with Theseus on the flip side but there are quite a few key differences that can easily be seen between the two pieces.  The first difference is in the pottery itself.  This second piece is a skyphos, which was used as a deep drinking cup, this gave the artist a broader space to work with than the lekythos in the prior piece.  The next couple of differences are seen in the style of the pieces.  This piece is from the Classical period where artists tend to focus more on the figures themselves rather than the story being told as they had in stylistic eras before now.  The second and probably more important stylistic change between the two is that this piece is done in red figure which is basically the opposite of black figure.  The slip is painted onto the negative space and used to create the details like the Minotaur's facial features, muscles and other contrasting lines throughout the body.  The Greeks have also developed more control of their art between the Archaic and Classical and have begun to emphasize realistic depictions of figures even more so than they had in the past so the Minotaur looks much more physically imposing.
  
  The exhibit will now take a shift from the Minotaur to centaurs which are half horse, half human creatures.  The first piece we will look at is the only piece that doesn't come from a known Greek settlement and from a culture that we have not studied this semester.  The "Centaur" comes from Cyprus, an island in the Mediterranean that was at one point settled by the Mycenaean's and is said to be from a tomb.  The piece is from what is known as the Cypro-Archaic II period which is attributed to the years of 600-475 B.C. Despite the time difference the piece looks very similar to the "Male 'lyre player' figurine" that we have seen a lot this semester and was created between the years of 2600 and 2300 B.C.  The two pieces both show very little detail in either the face or body with the exception of the emphasis put on the nose.  The one real difference between these two pieces is that the lyre player is made of marble while the centaur is made of terracotta.  I found this piece to be very strange since it was created towards the end of the Archaic period but it still maintained the Cycladic style that was shown thousands of years before.
  
  The second centaur piece shows a centaur being defeated in battle by a man (there is a small bit of a spear in the centaur's side.)  This is a common scene in Greek art as centaurs were typically seen as the heal to civilization and a threat to Greek society.  This is very different than the way Centaurs were presented in Cyprus where centaur sculptures are typically found in tombs or sanctuaries which suggests that they may have been religiously significant to the Cypriots.  The piece is made of bronze that was cast upside down which is why there is a base at the feet of the figures and why the centaur's tail touches the ground and is said to have been found at Olympia.  Although this piece is older than the centaur sculpture from Cyprus it is undoubtedly more detailed.   There are clear details for eyes and mouths and while the Greeks are still searching for realism, especially in the mythical creatures, they are beginning to show more defined extremities.
  
    The fifth and final piece in the exhibit is a third centaur piece that truly shows the detail that Greek artists ended up becoming capable of producing by the end of the Archaic period.  The piece is another bronze cast figure of a centaur, but this time the figure is in an active pose and seems as though it is running wit what was meant to be a spear in his hand.  Not only is the pose pulled off extremely well by the artist but the attention to detail in the face, hooves and tail are astounding.  The figure is so well made that it impossible to misinterpret the figure as anything but a centaur and is in my research one of the most realistic depictions of a non-real creature of the time.
• 1 2017-10-10T18:05:39-07:00 Fowler 11 How the human body is depicted through Ancient Art plain 2017-10-13T20:57:52-07:00 How the Human Body is depicted overtime through Ancient Greece.
  -Introduction -
  In the art world something that is represented over and over again is the human body. It has been represented countless times and in a numerous amount of different ways. As time has passed, time periods have changed, art styles have changed but most importantly, the way that the human body is seen and depicted has also changed. This change has occurred for the better, over time artists have become more comfortable depicting the human body and made it seem almost more lifelike. This gallery will focus on how in ancient Greek art the human body has been depicted through figurines and sculpture. It will specifically focus on the Bronze Age, Dark, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic time periods. 
  
  The Bronze Age lingered around for many years, besides the Minoan or Mycenaean colonizations there was thought to been civilization on the Cyclades a group of small islands. The time frame for these islands is being considered Early Bronze Age.  The figurine being depicted is a Female Figurine is from Cycladic period. The Cycladic period is best known for its small-scale objects found while excavating. This particular object is made from marble although at first glance does not look like it. The figurine
  is of a woman crossing her arms and having her legs together. We can identify sex of the figurine due to the triangle placed in the genital region and what looks like breasts just higher than usual. This figurine is depicted with little to no facial expressions, no emphasis on the body (muscles) and disproportioned features (elongated neck and face, breasts where shoulders would be). Because the figurine’s stomach is emphasized it is thought that this doll could very well be a symbol of fertility or that the figurine is pregnant.
  
  After the Bronze Age came a time for Greece called the Dark Ages. This new time period brought about different styles. One of the most known styles from this time period is the Geometric style. This style is when artists would fill the space of an object with shapes. The figure depicted is indeed geometric style but unlike most. This figurine of a man and centaur (half man half horse) is made from bronze and does not have shapes. This shows that geometric artists were indeed able to create the human body and understood that it does not need to have shapes on it to be geometric. The artist does use shapes to depict the body not simple shapes like circles, squares, triangles per se. The body in general has features that are semi disproportionate stick figure chest, large head, and large bottoms.  
  
  Archaic time period began roughly around 700 BCE. This time period is where you really start to see the change in the human body being depicted. This is a larger scale statue with much more detail. The artist begins to show muscle, defined facial features. You can tell not all is mastered though, at first glance most looks normal. The hands are a little larger than they should be and the one hand has been disfigured. The elements for this stiff statue are borrowed from Egyptian style this is clear by the hair and eye depictions.  
  
  Next in chronological order came the classical time period. This period began in in the early 5^th century. This style is when there is noticeably some realization that indeed greek was starting to understand and learn about the human anatomy. This time period was not like others where they showed their art just standing still or posed. This specific example shown of the Grave Marker shows more than just one human body. This was chosen to show that artists were able to finally show overlapping of the human body and that there is some movement occurring. The bodily proportions as well as the facial expressions are coming along. 
  
  The final object of this gallery is a statue from the Hellenistic time period, the last time period before roman began. This object is a single male statue depicted from the knees up and also has no hands. Although the male is not fully depicted it is a good example of the human anatomy being depicted.  The torso is so lifelike it is ridiculous. It is clear that if he were to have his whole body it would not be in a stiff posing position. It looks the way his thighs are composed that he would be in a nice leisurely stance. He has the body of an athlete, very muscular and defined.
   
  The final object of this gallery is a statue from the Hellenistic time period, the last time period before roman began. This object is a single male statue depicted from the knees up and also has no hands. Although the male is not fully depicted it is a good example of the human anatomy being depicted.  The torso is so lifelike it is ridiculous. It is clear that if he were to have his whole body it would not be in a stiff posing position. It looks the way his thighs are composed that he would be in a nice leisurely stance. He has the body of an athlete, very muscular and defined.
  
  In conclusion the viewer of this gallery hopefully noticed and learned a little bit about how the depiction of the human body changed and grew for the better. 
  _Amanda Fowler