Classical and Hellenistic Sculpture

The Greek woman Niobe had the hubris to claim that her children were more beautiful than the gods, so Artemis and Apollo killed her children in retaliation. This sculpture, THE ORIGINAL Greek marble is housed at Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (PMaT). It is from the classical period as evidenced by the lack of facial expression. There is no pathos.

Here, from the rear, we see one of Niobe's daughters trying to remove the arrow from her back. Another characteristic of this being classical is the lack of eroticism.

In addition, the fact that the body is one of a male (note the abs and the Madonna-like cone breasts) indicate that Greeks sculptors of the 5th century had not yet focused on nor mastered the naked female body, as they had with the male.

Speaking of perfected male bodies, here we have a copy of Myron's "Discobolos (PMaT). It is again classical.

There is tension in the body, it's coiled like a spring. Notice how the two arms form two separate arcs to form a bow. However, the face is expressionless, the norm for Greek sculpture of the classical period.

The original bronze has been lost, most likely melted down for other use. The marble copies, sometimes altered to the sculptors design or needs, could not support the weight so you see here, from the rear, the strut that supports the discus thrower himself.

Here in the PMaT they have recreated the fresoced rooms of Roman villas. This garden scene would have given the diner a sense of eating and being outside with the nature.

This is a copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos located at the Palazzo Altemps (PAtp) which is the museum which displays the art collection of the Ludovisi family. The Aphrodite of Knidos is a transition piece from the classical to Hellenistic as the woman is starting to be more female like in form, but she's teasing us, but not yet fully erotic.

This is just COOL!

Here is a copy of Lysippos' Herakles performing the first of his twelve tasks at Patp. Lysippos was Alexander the Great's personal sculptor and changed the canon of sculpture with the head being 1/8 of the body instead of 1/7.

This is a bronze statue of the "defeated boxer" at PMaT. The Hellenistic age was one of chaos in Greece and it was witnessed by the fact that subjects were no longer young perfect males, but old defeated men, such as the one we see here. He's got a smashed up mouth, cauliflower ears and blood dripping from his forehead. We no longer have the noble warrior!

The seated boxer is huge, he's seated would stand over seven feet tall if upright. On left, is Spencer F. or Pennsylvania.

Here's a 2nd Century AD copy of a 4th Century BC Hellenistic piece by Skopas. Being seated generally meant defeat, which was something the Greeks were experiencing in the 4th Century BC.

The Crouching Venus is the epitome of the Hellenistic woman. In a time of chaos and famine, she is curvy, a sign of fertility and erotic all in one. Sculptors have mastered the female form.

Here's the Gallic (because of the long shaggy hair) chieftain heroically killing himself after ending the life of his wife because he doesn't want either to them to be prisoners of war. (PAtp)

What's fascinating is the the Roman's are showing their enemies in a heroic light. The face, although covered by the arm in the photo is full of expression and pain, a change from the classical period.

Drama is the hallmark of the Hellenistic sculpture.

With "Tivoli General" (PMaT) we move ahead into sculpture of the Roman republic. The parts don't match. We have a realistic face of an older general attached to a young mans body, a Greek reference. Notice also the breastplate (again holding up the marble copy) is a signal to the audience of the generals rank. It's a sign of the Roman use of art as political propaganda that we will see a great deal of in the near future.