Emily Donovan
6/21/11
The trip to Italy and Greece was one of the most amazing things I had ever been on in entire life. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the food, and especially the art were like nothing I had ever experienced. The sculptures and architecture were what had such an impact in art around the world. The development of Greek art was very influential on Roman art although they were both very different as well. The three main types of art that we really got a feel for on this trip were Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic art.
During the Archaic period we saw a lot works that had been carved into stone by the greeks. The figures and statues carved mostly stood forwards with a very general expression on their faces. Many statues of this time wee very muscular and massive in size. They were not really realistic and life like. A good example of this type of sculpture was the one of Kleobis and Biton. They were two human brothers in greek mythology that have a very interesting story behind why they were made status of. Theses two status we saw in Delphi. An interesting thing about these two sculptures that makes them stand apart from others of their times is that they have inscriptions at the bottom saying Kleobis and Biton. Another example would be the statue Sounion Kuros. This status was one of the largest most impressive statues of all the Kouroi during the Archaic time period. It is a statue of a young man. He is not only massive in size but with his arms down at his side with clenched fists and one of his legs slightly more forward makes him seem much more sturdy and powerful. His has a wide for head with large eyes as well. Sculptures and statues were not just for artistic display at this time but most of them were made for temples as offerings.
The classical period there was a lot of change in style of art. Sculptors became to use more naturalistic poses with their statues or sculptures. These were really the first public statues that would depict real actual people. One scultpture that really stands out in my mind was the Zeus of Artemision. This was a sculpture that was slightly bigger than life size. He has one hand and leg out and one hand over his head as if to be holding something. Many people argue over whether the statue is actually Zeus or Poseidon and whether he was holding a thunderbolt in his hand or a trident. His eyes are empty holes in the statue. The statue looks frozen in time as if he is about to embark on some action. Another very inetesting sculpture of this time found in Delphi Archaelogical Museum was the Charioteer of Delphi. It is a statue that is considered to be one of the finest bronze statues of its time. It is the life-sized statue of a chariot driver. The figure is very well intact minus one of his arms missing. When this statues was discovered it was not found in one piece which is not surprising considering Greek bronze statues were done in different sections before being put together.
During the Hellenistic state Greek art became much more diverse and started to be more influenced by other people and cultures. The sculptures became even more naturalistic in this time period. Sculptors no longer just depicted people in their statues as perfect and beautiful. There were still many sculptures of Gods but they had more common people like women, children, and animals as well. A very beautiful and well known statue of this time is Aphrodite Eros and Pan. In this sculpture Aphrodite is nude and swatting away pan with her sandal with the help of Euros. This statue is carved from marble. A lot of sculptures from this time seemed more erotic. Another outstanding piece of art from the Helenistic time was Antinous which can also be found in the Delphi Archeological Museum. It is a very beautiful marble statue of a boy who had been rumored to be involved romantically with a Roman Emperor.
I do not know which my favorite time period was. Each era had art that was so unique from the next and its was interesting to see the way the styles of sculptures and statues had changed over time. I think each era had beautiful things to contribute and all were so interesting and magnificent to get to see in person.
