Premium Essay

The Venus De Milo: The Hellenistic Period Of Greek Art

Submitted By
Words 452
Pages 2
To a military and cultural historian 323 BCE was significant as the death year of Alexander the Great. To an art historian this death marked the birth of Hellenism which is considered to have ended in about 30 BCE. It was at this time that an Athens centered Greek artistic world expanded to include all the major cities of the empire. This was an empire that would tear itself apart rapidly after the death of Alexander as his generals vied to succeed him. If the classical period of Greek art embodied serenity, both in pose and expression, the Hellenistic period embodied the rapidly changing world unfolding around them. Variety became a fixture of the artistic world. Expressions were stronger and more varied. Movement was exaggerated and emotive. The Hellenistic period was a time when bronze sculpting …show more content…
The Venus de Milo was a classically posed, larger than life sized marble sculpture of Aphrodite created sometime around 100 to 130 BCE by sculptor Alexandros of Antioch. At first glance this sculpture is very reminiscent of high classical sculpture. The facial expression is muted and vaguely aloof, it does not overtly convey emotion the way the majority of Hellenistic sculptures did. It did however have features that make it distinctively Hellenistic. The S shaped curvature of the body, as well as the clear distinction between the rough gritty texture of the draped fabric and the smooth blemish free skin of the body, and the relatively disproportionate smallness of the torso are very much in line with the Hellenistic style. There is also a hint of sensuality as the sculpture lifts a leg slightly as though her draped clothing was falling off of her body. She is sculpted as if she was struggling to compensate for her sudden immodesty. There is a very palpable sense of emotion in the pose, she seems real, and she seems natural, which is a hallmark of the Hellenistic

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Venus De Milo Research Paper

...The Venus de Milo, also known as Aphrodite from Melos, is a famous ancient Greek statue that represents Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Her name, Venus, comes from the Roman name for Aphrodite, and Milos is the Greek island where she was discovered in the 1800’s. She is one of the best-known sculptures from ancient Greece having been created during the Hellenistic period, ca.150–50 BCE. During the Classical period, the art and culture from 480 and 323 BCE, there was a drastic advancement in art. In the course of this time the artwork, especially sculptures, became more natural, realistic, and human-like. Though made from marble and other unyielding materials, the artists managed to make their work look as though they were true humans with soft flesh that could breathe. Praxiteles was a famous sculptor from this time that had this amazing ability. He sculpted the first nude statue of a goddess, Aphrodite of Knidos. This trend of creating realistic statues has continued for centuries. During the Hellenistic period, the period directly after the Classical, ca. 323 BCE, and 30 BCE, there was a great demand for Classical Greek sculptures, copies, or artwork created in a similar style. Artists of this time attempted...

Words: 1011 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Unit 2 Ip Huma205

...Unit 2 Individual Project AIU Online HUMA205 June 21, 2013 Abstract I will compare and contrast two works of art using concepts I am learning about for evaluating art. The two works of art I chose to compare are The Eros Sleeping at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Aphrodite at the Louvre Musuem. The Eros Sleeping is my first choice for a piece of art between 30,000 B.C. and 500 C.E. I think this is a beautiful piece of art. While looking through thousands and thousands works of art at several different museum sites this piece really caught my eye. The Eros Sleeping is a bronze statue from the Hellenistic period, and dated at the 3rd-2nd century B.C. It is one of a few bronze statues to have survived from antiquity. The statue is of a cute little chubby baby with wings asleep on a rock that was added at a later date. (Eros Sleeping, nd) The second work of art I chose was also from the Hellenistic period and was dated to 100 B. C is The Aphrodite. Aphrodite is a beautiful Greek sculpture of a half- naked woman sort of leaning to one side. (Aphrodite, nd) Two blocks of marble were used to make it. Her arms were never found. Both piece to me are masterpieces, but kind of hard to compare. The Eros Sleeping is made out of bronze whereas Aphrodite is made out of marble. Both pieces are three dimensional. Neither piece has any color but I have read that the Aphrodite once wore metal jewelry. She wore a headband, earrings, and a bracelet. The...

Words: 563 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Novel

...Art and CultureArt in ancient GreeceThe Charioteer of Delphi, Delphi Archaeological Museum. One of the greatest surviving works of Greek sculpture, dating from about 470 B.C. Source:WikipediaThe art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan. Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists. Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived from Greece dominated the art of the western world.PeriodsThe art of Ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into four periods: the Geometric, the Archaic, the Classical and the Hellenistic.As noted above, the Geometric age is usually dated from about 1000 BC, although in reality little is known about art in Greece during the preceding 200 years (traditionally known as the Dark Ages), the period of the 7th century BC witnessed the slow development of the Archaic style as exemplified by the black-figure style of vase painting. The onset of the Persian Wars (480 BC to 448 BC) is usually taken as the dividing line...

Words: 4069 - Pages: 17

Premium Essay

Mr Oguzhan

...GREEK AND ROMAN ART Various Authors Edited By: R. A. Guisepi The art of the ancient Greeks and Romans is called classical art. This name is used also to describe later periods in which artists looked for their inspiration to this ancient style. The Romans learned sculpture and painting largely from the Greeks and helped to transmit Greek art to later ages. Classical art owes its lasting influence to its simplicity and reasonableness, its humanity, and its sheer beauty. The first and greatest period of classical art began in Greece about the middle of the 5th century BC. By that time Greek sculptors had solved many of the problems that faced artists in the early archaic period. They had learned to represent the human form naturally and easily, in action or at rest. They were interested chiefly in portraying gods, however. They thought of their gods as people, but grander and more beautiful than any human being. They tried, therefore, to portray ideal beauty rather than any particular person. Their best sculptures achieved almost godlike perfection in their calm, ordered beauty. The Greeks had plenty of beautiful marble and used it freely for temples as well as for their sculpture (see Marble). They were not satisfied with its cold whiteness, however, and painted both their statues and their buildings. Some statues have been found with their bright colors still preserved, but most of them lost their paint through weathering. The works of the great Greek painters have disappeared...

Words: 2174 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Learning Material

...ARTS TEACHERS’ GUIDE Grade 9 ARTS Teacher’s Guide Unit I WESTERN CLASSICAL ART TRADITIONS GRADE 9 Unit 1 ARTS TEACHERS’ GUIDE GRADE 9 Unit 1 WESTERN CLASSICAL ART TRADITIONS LEARNING AREA STANDARD The learner demonstrates an understanding of basic concepts and processes in music and art through appreciation, analysis and performance for his/her self-development, celebration of his/her Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and expansion of his/her world vision. key - stage STANDARD The learner demonstrates understanding of salient features of music and arts of the Philippines and the world, through appreciation, analysis, and performance, for self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. grade level STANDARD The learner demonstrates understanding of salient features of Western music and the arts from different historical periods, through appreciation, analysis, and performance for self-development, the celebration of Filipino cultural identity and diversity, and the expansion of one’s world vision. CONTENT STANDARDs The Learner:  demonstrates understanding of art elements and processes by synthesizing and applying prior knowledge and skills  demonstrates understanding that the arts are integral to the development of organizations, spiritual belief, historical events, scientific discoveries, natural disasters/ occurrences and other external phenomenon ...

Words: 32535 - Pages: 131

Free Essay

500 Extraordinary Islands

...500 extraordinary islands G R E E N L A N D Beaufort Sea Baffin Bay vi Da i tra sS t a nm De it Stra rk Hudson Bay Gulf of Alaska Vancouver Portland C A N A D A Calgary Winnipeg Newfoundland Quebec Minneapolis UNITED STATES San Francisco Los Angeles San Diego Phoenix Dallas Ottawa Montreal ChicagoDetroitToronto Boston New York OF AMERICA Philadelphia Washington DC St. Louis Atlanta New Orleans Houston Monterrey NORTH AT L A N T I C OCEAN MEXICO Guadalajara Mexico City Gulf of Mexico Miami Havana CUBA GUATEMALA HONDURAS b e a n Sea EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA Managua BAHAMAS DOMINICAN REPUBLIC JAMAICA San Juan HAITI BELIZE C a r PUERTO RICO ib TRINIDAD & Caracas N TOBAGO A COSTA RICA IA M PANAMA VENEZUELA UYANRINA H GU C U G Medellín A PAC I F I C OCEAN Galapagos Islands COLOMBIA ECUADOR Bogotá Cali S FR EN Belém Recife Lima BR A Z I L PERU La Paz Brasélia Salvador Belo Horizonte Rio de Janeiro ~ Sao Paulo BOLIVIA PARAGUAY CHILE Cordoba Santiago Pôrto Alegre URUGUAY Montevideo Buenos Aires ARGENTINA FALKLAND/MALVINAS ISLANDS South Georgia extraordinary islands 1st Edition 500 By Julie Duchaine, Holly Hughes, Alexis Lipsitz Flippin, and Sylvie Murphy Contents Chapter 1 Beachcomber Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Aquatic Playgrounds 2 Island Hopping the Turks & Caicos: Barefoot Luxury 12 Life’s a Beach 14 Unvarnished & Unspoiled 21 Sailing...

Words: 249855 - Pages: 1000

Free Essay

Test2

...62118 0/nm 1/n1 2/nm 3/nm 4/nm 5/nm 6/nm 7/nm 8/nm 9/nm 1990s 0th/pt 1st/p 1th/tc 2nd/p 2th/tc 3rd/p 3th/tc 4th/pt 5th/pt 6th/pt 7th/pt 8th/pt 9th/pt 0s/pt a A AA AAA Aachen/M aardvark/SM Aaren/M Aarhus/M Aarika/M Aaron/M AB aback abacus/SM abaft Abagael/M Abagail/M abalone/SM abandoner/M abandon/LGDRS abandonment/SM abase/LGDSR abasement/S abaser/M abashed/UY abashment/MS abash/SDLG abate/DSRLG abated/U abatement/MS abater/M abattoir/SM Abba/M Abbe/M abbé/S abbess/SM Abbey/M abbey/MS Abbie/M Abbi/M Abbot/M abbot/MS Abbott/M abbr abbrev abbreviated/UA abbreviates/A abbreviate/XDSNG abbreviating/A abbreviation/M Abbye/M Abby/M ABC/M Abdel/M abdicate/NGDSX abdication/M abdomen/SM abdominal/YS abduct/DGS abduction/SM abductor/SM Abdul/M ab/DY abeam Abelard/M Abel/M Abelson/M Abe/M Aberdeen/M Abernathy/M aberrant/YS aberrational aberration/SM abet/S abetted abetting abettor/SM Abeu/M abeyance/MS abeyant Abey/M abhorred abhorrence/MS abhorrent/Y abhorrer/M abhorring abhor/S abidance/MS abide/JGSR abider/M abiding/Y Abidjan/M Abie/M Abigael/M Abigail/M Abigale/M Abilene/M ability/IMES abjection/MS abjectness/SM abject/SGPDY abjuration/SM abjuratory abjurer/M abjure/ZGSRD ablate/VGNSDX ablation/M ablative/SY ablaze abler/E ables/E ablest able/U abloom ablution/MS Ab/M ABM/S abnegate/NGSDX abnegation/M Abner/M abnormality/SM abnormal/SY aboard ...

Words: 113589 - Pages: 455