Greek Hellenistic Sculpture
Hellenistic Period: 323 B.C.E -146 B.C.E.
Hellenistic Greece is perhaps one of the most influential historical periods in Greek history. It encompasses the death of Alexander the Great, whose reign had brought about the bittersweet unification and subsequent expansion of Greek culture and civilization throughout what is modern day Egypt, the Middle East and Central Asia. The dispersion of Greeks from mainland Greece to the new capitols of Alexandria and Antioch (Egypt and Syria) promoted the infiltration or fusion of foreign artistic representations and techniques. The empire sought to create a unified government under the dominant Greek culture. As a result, the impact of Hellenistic Greece is found as far to east as India and echoes of its influence were even felt as far away as China and Japan.
The characteristic art of Hellenistic Greece strayed from the classical elements if only to welcome the new attempts to grasp the intensity of emotion. The subject matter became less about the idealization of deities and supremacy over all human aspects and more about the human expression through realism and naturalism. The expression of the internal struggles of emotions was dominant over the traditionally inherent religious representations. Devotional works still flourished but with the adaptation of nature as the backdrop. The combination ultimately reveals such illustrious pieces as the Lykosoura monument, the Great Altar at Pergamon, the Lesser Attalid Dedication, and the Nike of Samothrace, whose full-bodied human composition reflects the dramatic content prevalent at the time.
K. M.
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Title: Statuette of Mattei Ceres, Rome
Alt. Title: Hellenistic Woman
Date: 3rd Century BCE
Medium: Plaster cast
Period: Greek Hellenistic
Material: Marble |
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Title: Metrodoros
Date: 3rd Century BCE
Medium: Plaster cast
Period: Greek Hellenistic
Current location: National Museum, Athens
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