A Brief Look at Greek Art History

I have decided that in order to understand my knowledge of the depictions of the Greek gods and goddesses, it's important for me to have an understanding of Greek art history, as this is where a lot of the imagery, poses and personalities of the paintings of Goddesses that I am using as inspiration were formed. This is a way of getting to the roots of my imagery, and helping me find that connection between the three positions in history that each photograph I take inhabits - the present, the time at which the painting was made, and the Ancient Greek depictions.

What I have learnt is that there are four periods to Greek art history; Geometric, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic. 

The geometric period, starting around 900BC (200 years before Theogony by Hesiod), used mostly geometric shapes and stick figures, and compared to what we imagine greek art to be today, rather basic. Ceramic vessels were mainly used for funerals at this point. Figurines were a popular form of art, and both the ceramic vessels and figurines often depicted heroes of the time.

The Archaic period, starting from 600BC, saw the rise of importance in vase and ceramic painting. with Theogony being made 100 years previously, there was a rise in animal hunts, griffins, sphinxes and sirens being depicted, which then evolved into the gods and goddesses of the myths we now know.
 At this time, artists would scratch insitions into the clay, a technique called the blackfigure technique. The black colour comes from a liquid clay material called slip that artists used to strengthen their pots and vases. The vase would get fired in the kiln with oxygen, which turned the whole piece the orange/red colour you see. Then, it was fired a second time with green wood and closed vents, giving no flow of oxygen, essentially smoking the pot and turning the pot black. The piece would then be fired for a third time, this time with oxygen again. This made the parts without the slip coating turn back from black to red. The slip could therefore be applied before firing to give the pot its black figures, and parts of the slip could be etched out do reveal the clay again, giving the piece details within the figures.

Then, while still in the Archaic period around 530BC, the technique used most often for creating these pieces changed. 
Red-figure pottery was a technique that allowed an artist to paint the background of the image black, and leave the figures in the natural red clay. This allowed for far more detail to be presented within a scene, which was really important to artists and consumers at the time as these pieces told stories, were used to present narratives, and even as offerings to the Gods. By leaving the figures red, they could paint on each tiny individual detail instead of carving the lines out, making it so much more precise. 

It was during this time that other forms of art gained popularity also, jewellery making, gem cutting and metal work started becoming viable methods of art. Sculpture became bigger and more natural in pose. 

The Classical Period, which started in 380BC, is often deemed as the Golden Age of Greek Art. Themes of mythology became much more prevalent, but also the themes of every day life, and even comedians started getting painted on to these pots and vases. These pots have helped us understand so much more about the Greeks, they're a window to the past as such. Artistry became a viable job, and some works even started to get signed by the artists.
Bronze sculptures became better proportioned, and more impressive - yet they were also more natural and realistic rather than idealised figures. Statues gained more expressive faces.

From this time came the Aphrodite of Knidos, a piece said to be one of the most innovative and influential of the time. She was the first nude statue of a woman, and popularised the contraspposto pose, where most of the weight is on one leg, helping the figure seem more relaxed and dynamic. This pose continued to be used throughout history, a key example being Michaelangelo's David .

This pose also features in the painting that I am using as inspiration and therefore has travelled from the Classical period all the way to my own photographs.

Evelyn De Morgan, Eos, (1895)

Selene and Endymion, Nicolas Poussin (c. 1630)

I tried to emulate this pose within my image of myself as Selene, but seemingly didn't get it quite right. As I now know that this pose is entirely relevant to Greek art culture, I would like to re-shoot this image in order to be more accurate to this pose. I feel that this would further strengthen the connection between my work and the work of the Greeks.

In the Classical period, corinthian columns, which were very decorative, were popularised. Frieze statues showed mythology and other significant roles of the time, such as on the Parthenon, which hate gods, heroes, soldiers, weavers, musicians, elders and other highly respected people and roles carved into it. It's likely that these depictions have influenced works that came after it, and are therefore a part of how we view these Gods and Goddesses today.

Zeus and Hera depicted on the Parthenon

The Hellenistic age, starting in 330BC, greeted more unflattering features on statues, but also still used the 'perfect proportion' of body parts. The average person is the height of about 6 1/2 heads, yet these Greek sculptures showed these figures as being the equivalent of about 8 heads tall, and a body to match the height. These idealised proportions are still used in comic book characters today.

The Venus de Milo is exemplary of the Greek style through the ages. The statue is named after Aphrodite's Roman name, Venus, and the Greek island of Milos, where it was discovered, and has aspects of various parts of history within the depiction;

 "The goddess's air of aloofness, the harmony of her face and her impassivity are stamped with the aesthetics of the 5th century BC; the hairstyle and delicate modeling of the flesh evoke the works of 4th-century sculptor Praxiteles. However, the sculpture reflects innovations that appeared during the Hellenistic period, between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC. The spiral composition, the positioning of the figure in three-dimensional space, and the small-breasted, elongated body are characteristic of this period. "  -https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/aphrodite-known-venus-de-milo

Venus de Milo

Another key piece, is The Winged Victory of Samothrace. At this time, artists focused a lot on light, shadow, contrast and strong and dynamic poses, all of which is demonstrated within this statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, appearing to be in the midst of taking off. "The Winged Victory of Samothrace is one of the masterpieces of Hellenistic sculpture. The figure creates a spiraling effect in a composition that opens out in various directions. This is achieved by the oblique angles of the wings and the placement of the left leg, and emphasized by the clothing blowing between the goddess's legs." -  https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/winged-victory-samothrace

I think its fairly universally accepted that Greek art set the foundation for art today, especially in human figure, techniques in pottery and painting. 


Aside from researching Greek art as a whole, I also wanted to know more about the pottery techniques and so did some more reading on this.

I found that the shape of the pot can distinguish what it was used for. More masculine, open and strong looking vases were often used in a symposium, a part of a Greek banquet. Large pots called Kraters served wine, a pot called a Kylix was used to drink wine, which is also where our word 'chalice' originates from.

More feminine pots were also made, seemingly more delicate and expressive in curves and form. These could have been used for storing and applying makeup, storing jewellery and keeping perfume.

The pots were made by clay that was sug from the ground and made into a find consistency by being mixed with water. The clay is kneaded to remove the air bubbles, and would then be put on a stick wheel, in which a large stick was used to hand spin it from above. If the pot had clean and delicate lines, you can predict it, or at least the detailing, was done by a young person.

Pottery was a visual language to tell stories that can still be understood even centuries later, and then evolved into different art forms.