1. Greek Art In Search of Perfection

2. DISCLAIMER
This presentation is an overview of the material in your text. It is not
comprehensive, nor is it meant to be. This presentation allows you to introduce
yourself to concepts and images in the respective chapter. Best practice says
to view this presentation with your book open, as many of the images in this
presentation are small or incomplete.

3. In last week's overview, you looked at:
• How Greek artisans were influenced by
contemporary cultures
• Hierarchy of scale
• Twisted perspective
• The Egyptian stance
• The problem solving skills of the archaic Greeks as
they moved away from ancient Near Eastern and
Egyptian influences toward a uniquely GREEK
aesthetic

4. This week your Guiding Questions will be:
• How do the Greeks define beauty?
• What new advances are made to further a
uniquely Greek aesthetic, now that it is free from
past influences?
• What do we today adopt from Greek culture?

5. Guiding Historical
Periods
• Classical Period--ca. 480-
400 BCE
• Begins with the last feud between the Persians
and the Greeks
• Late Classical Period --ca.
400-323 BCE
• Ends with the reign of Alexander the Great
• Hellenistic Period --ca.
323-30 BCE
• Ends with the death of Cleopatra
• A time of wealthy eastern Kings commissioning
works for their palaces

6. Classical
Period
• Introduction of
the contrapposto
to add naturalism
• Introduction of a
Canon of
Proportions
based on ratios
(unlike the
Egyptian grid )
• Application of
mathematical
formulae to art
making

7. Late Classical
Period
• Introduction of the
female nude (only
goddesses need
apply)
• Deities performing
human activity or
emotions, i.e.
bathing, exercising,
showing fatigue
• Establishment of
Corinthian order, the
answer to the more
strict Doric and Ionic
orders

8. Hellenistic
Period: A Break
from Tradition
• Introduction of
erotic figures (see
next slide for
definition of erotic)
• Introduction of
common, everyday
subjects, i.e. women
(not goddesses),
foreigners, banal
athletes
• Preference for
"baroque"
movement and
expressions
(dynamic poses and
dramatically
emotional features)

9. On the Erotic
• We need to distinguish between naked,
nude, and what is erotic.
• Nakedness is banal. It is everyday.
Nakedness is nothing special.
• Nudity is idealized, but not necessarily
erotic. Nudity is the naked turned posed,
perfected.
• The Erotic is caused by the tension of
what we do not see and we expect to see.
Eroticism lies in the anticipation, the
tension of waiting. (Note: Eroticism is not
based on or dependent upon sexual
orientation.)
• The drapery that is about to fall from the
hips of the goddess is where eroticism
lies.

10. In subsequent presentations, you will
explore:
• The Greek Canon of Proportions
• The Athenian Acropolis
• Philosophical ideas of Beauty through the words
of Greek philosophers