Archaic

Question 1

NEW YORK KOUROS

Key facts

Answer 1

> 6 ft 4
typical kouros - shows Egyptian influence
Late 7th Century
Naxian Marble
Idealised male form rather than accurate anatomical depiction

Question 2

NEW YORK KOUROS

Face

Answer 2

> oval shape
high, rounded forehead and skull
long narrow and flat cheeks
nose must have been narrow and prominent (but now broken off)
eyes are wide open and staring - a dominant feature under strongly arched eyebrows
Ears shaped like volutes

Question 3

NEW YORK KOUROS

Hair

Answer 3

> Divided into globules, fall in a broad mass (wig-like) down to the shoulder blades
Held in place by a fillet, which encircles he forehead and is held at the back by a reef knot with long ends lying symmetrically on the back

Question 4

NEW YORK KOUROS

Purpose

Answer 4

> A grave marker for a wealthy Athenian man (perhaps a young man who has died prematurely)
showing off wealth

Question 5

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Key Facts

Answer 5

> 580 BC
7 ft (above average size)
By Polymedes
Cycladic marble

Question 6

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Significance?

Answer 6

> They begin the change of the depiction os the musculature from New York’s ‘etched’ effect to that of a more natural curvaceous form.
BUT they remain very symmetrically balanced.
They are the crucial, first step between Egyptian stylized sculpture and then later, more naturalized sculptures in Greek art.
The sculptor clearly shows a desire to move away from the beautiful artistry and towards the more realistic human form as he has shallowed the ‘etched’ muscular structures.
However, this step is limited, as the design still follows the Egyptian style.

Question 7

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Woodford?

Answer 7

‘interested in giving an impression of robustness and vigorously curved forms and less interested in patterning the surface.

Question 8

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Function?

Answer 8

funeral offerings

Question 9

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Typical features?

Answer 9

> Pose
Symmetry
Incomprehension of complex human mechanics
Egyptian ancestry

Question 10

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Atypical Features

Answer 10

> Archaic smile
Naturalistic Knee
Shallowed muscular definition
Broader waist

Question 11

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Comparison to NY

Answer 11

> Although KandB were made only a few decades after NY, they were created in a different spirit.
Powerful ox-like images, more squat.
More realistic depiction of the anatomy, but still very inexperienced
Heavy modelling of the pecs and the knees

Question 12

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Smile

Answer 12

> ‘Archaic smile’ - the sculptor has attempted to naturalise the appearance of the face
Woodford: ‘There is a beginning of a smile on the faces of the two brothers, probably not because the sculptor wanted to indicate that they were happy, but because he found that expression made them look alive.

Question 13

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Ear

Answer 13

> The ear appears to gave developed greatly since the inaccuracies of NY
However, appears to have cabbage-like ears that are more rounded than NY

Question 14

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Knee

Answer 14

> More rounded than NY, moving towards a more accurate representation

Question 15

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Hair

Answer 15

> The sculptor has paid particular attention to detail with the two hairbands
Very unusually, the hair appears to be in a ‘stepped’ or ‘staggered’ formation between the head and the back.
The use of hair on both sides of the body provides valuable strength to the head but also shows the sculptor’s attention to detail
Now looks more like hair than a wig
Arranged in horizontal rows of concentric circles over a broad, low forehead.

Question 16

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Face

Answer 16

> Cheekbones are curved and better managed
BUT eyes are wide open, gazing straight ahead, enclosed within the almond-shaped frame of the lids and overhung by heavy, bulging eyebrows

Question 17

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Waist

Answer 17

> Unlike NY, the statues have far broader waists and thus are more accurate depictions of the true human form.

Question 18

KLEOBIS AND BITON

Failure

Answer 18

> The lack of strain upon the muscles, in spite of the movement of the leg, creates a more artistic portrayal of the human form
Also, the hips show no sign of movement, remaining unnaturally level.

Question 19

BERLIN STANDING GODDESS

Key facts

Answer 19

> 570-560 BC
Local Marble
6 ft
complete and colours are well-preserved because it was wrapped in lead

Question 20

BERLIN STANDING GODDESS

Face and head

Answer 20

>basic facial features
>eyes and cheeks bulge out significantly
>emphatic, sharply delineated eyes, nose cheeks and >mouth - filled in an archaic smile 
>bright and alert face
>unrealistically long neck

Question 21

BERLIN STANDING GODDESS

Hair

Answer 21

> hair is arranged in scalloped waves and tied behind the >ears with a double fillet and ends in a cylindrical fastening - very symmetrical.
Formally stylised: very simple, conforms reasonably to nature and does not distract attention from the face

Question 22

BERLIN STANDING GODDESS

Drapery

Answer 22

> She wears a polos hat (only worn by goddesses)
Has earrings and a necklace (bird-shaped)
Wears an epiblema (rectangular shawl) with tassels and sleeved belted peplos.
Sandals and unnatural looking feet.
Drapery is advanced, carved in broad shallow folds and fall vertically, except at the back where there is a set of simple loops hanging from one shoulder to the other.
CATENARY FOLDS: Latin for chains
advanced!!
dress detail is etched in
vrepetitive vertical drapery - unnatural folds
The statue is dominated by drapery that obscures the body rather than reveals the body, but reveals part of a ‘livelier approach’.
a circular crown with an engraved meander pattern

Question 23

BERLIN STANDING GODDESS

Pose

Answer 23

> Frontal pose with parallel feet and bent arms
Upper arms attached to the body
She holds a pomegranate (Perhaps Persephone or Hera to symbolise fertility
Traditional Kore pose
arms not by sides, breaking symmetry and adding variety
Hands joined to the body and the dress, connecting the upper body.
dignified and majestic, stands erect creating a powerful effect due to the compact form.
Nothing feminine about her shape

Question 24

BERLIN STANDING GODDESS

Woodford quotes about pose

Answer 24

> '’simple symmetry”
“figure seems in a rigid pose”
“drapery manipulated into a contrived pattern”

Question 25

BERLIN STANDING GODDESS | Advancements

Answer 25

>Shows the discovery of sculptors that although female figures offered little scope for the portrayal of anatomy, the HAIR AND DRAPERY provided an excellent field to develop decorative patterns and contrast.

Question 26

BERLIN STANDING GODDESS | Advancements in the double challenge

Answer 26

From then on, sculptors began to respond to the double challenge: 1. a way to suggest a body under drapery 2. arranging hair and drapery into decorative patterns

Question 27

BERLIN STANDING GODDESS | Advancements in the back

Answer 27

>The back of the statue is the best view of innovations and achievements. >Balance of simple but varied form and a slight suggestion of living body underneath (skirt swells slightly over the buttocks)

Question 28

ANAVYSSOS | Key facts

Answer 28

``` >530 BC >6 ft >A memorial to Kroisos >Inscription: 'stop and show me pity beside the marker of Kroisos, dead, whom once in battle's front rank ranging Ares destroyed' >Lively modelling of an athletic body. ```

Question 29

ANAVYSSOS | Features

Answer 29

>larger than life eyes >braided hair >defined body shape showing the perfect physique arms straight down at the side to avoid breakages >left leg forward as was standard of the period >symmetrical >clenched fists >detailed knee caps >waist more proportionate to shoulders than previous statues >more realistic spine and shoulders than previous statues >Hair; above headband only summarily carved and was >formally completed in paint >lively glance

Question 30

ANAVYSSOS | progression

Answer 30

>pose is the same as KandB, even though it half a century later - unsurprising since the method of carving had not changed and dictated the pose - yet important naturalistic >innovations were introduced: >>more detailed features than NY >>hair is still beaded style but no longer matches the more realistic features >>one of the most sophisticated sculptures of the Archaic period >>demonstrated bodily proportions in a more realistic way

Question 31

ANAVYSSOS | Differences to NY and KB

Answer 31

>eyes are shut >muscles are more defined (naturally) >no bridge between the hands and the body >more natural hair >ears are different]defined cheekbones and jawline >realistic idealism rather than idealistic imagination >shoulders are back and elbows bent realistically >diaphragm more realistic than inverted V and W

Question 32

ANAVYSSOS | Woodford

Answer 32

>'Important naturalistic innovations had been introduced through the Anavyssos Kouros' >'The facial features have become far more rounded and realistic than the New York Kouros, but the beaded, repetitive hair remains the same

Question 33

PEPLOS KORE | Key features

Answer 33

>530 BC >Parian marble >1.18m >Funerary, on the Akropolis in Athens

Question 34

PEPLOS KORE | face

Answer 34

>holes for bronze earrings >almond eyes >archaic smile - typical of Kore but mouth is still soft and >relaxed to show it's a woman

Question 35

PEPLOS KORE | hair

Answer 35

>abundant and frames the face in waves. >tied in three curled plaits on each shoulder and hangs down the back in broad, indented strands held together by a band. >hair falls at the front of the body, showing that the sculptor was aiming for realism not using the hair to support a weak neck.

Question 36

PEPLOS KORE | body

Answer 36

>some argue that she is wearing a cape on her shoulders the red garment that she is known for is the peplos >on her head she wears a meniskos >left hand holds out an offering for the Gods

Question 37

PEPLOS KORE | pose

Answer 37

>some think that she could have been holding a bow - her right hand is clenched (to hold an arrow) so she could have been Diana >underneath she wears a blue dress called a chiton mainly frontal viewing, emphasis on symmetrical body rather than arms

Question 38

PEPLOS KORE | drapery

Answer 38

>wearing a girdled peplos with an overfold and underneath is a fine linen cloth whose wide salvage is visible at the throat and whose fine, wavy folds appear benenath the peplos >bronze wreath encircled in her hair >drapery demonstrates the simplicity of the garment and outlines the thin waist to indicate the staue is a woman

Question 39

PEPLOS KORE | developments

Answer 39

>anticipates the later developments in the slight asymmetry of the statue >hem of the overfold is not parallel to the belt >something rather blocklike about the lower part of the body, which is flat in the front and rounded in the back >outstretched left fore-arm made separately and inserted body is concealed but - clearly perceptible in the curves and hollows of the body

Question 40

PEPLOS KORE | contrapposto

Answer 40

>left shoulder is slightly higher than the right, adjusting for whatever wieght is held in her left hand >not staring straight ahead; face is slightly to the left figure stands taught and erect; feet together; staring ahead BUT is tilted a fraction to the leftmarks the >beginning of contrappoosto: >> raising the hip and dropping the shoulder on one side, dropping the hip and raising the shoulder on the other side.

Question 41

PEPLOS KORE | Woodford

Answer 41

>'This effort was to a large extent successful, particularly in matters of details and increasing naturalism produced new and unexpected problems >'they were not able to make their sttaues come alive' >Woodford praises the 'plausible fall of the woolen cloth'

Question 42

ARISTODIKOS | Key Facts

Answer 42

>510-500 BC >Parian marble >1.95 m >a grave marker for an athenian aristocrat >the last kouros because it marks the transition from Archaic to Early Classical period

Question 43

ARISTODIKOS | Hair

Answer 43

>no longer has wig like hair and is short >still arranged in rows of spiral curls across the brow and back of the neck >solved the problem of incongruous hair >does not distract attention from the face or the anatomy

Question 44

ARISTODIKOS | head

Answer 44

>head now smaller >face has a unified form without any special emphasis on any feature >more detailed ears

Question 45

ARISTODIKOS | Arms

Answer 45

>bent at the elbow >would have required struts to support their distance from the body as marble is too weak to stand alone >this disrupted the aesthetic and illusion of extended arms >BUT still marks a significant breakthrough in the depiction of male free standing sculpture

Question 46

ARISTODIKOS | Legs

Answer 46

>knee is no longer marked with stylised and symmetrical patterns >legs are more defined and in proportion >left leg advanced

Question 47

ARISTODIKOS | Body

Answer 47

>chest muscles are more defined ad abdominal muscles are more prominent >proportions of waist and torso developed to show a more realistic figure >collar bones is more pronounced but is natural >by now the structure of the body was broadly understood and sculptors continued to develop increasingly naturalistic formulae for the representation of the human body

Question 48

ARISTODIKOS | Woodford

Answer 48

>'The Aristodikos makes the Anavyssos look like an inflated balloon' >'The Aristodikos kouros is so convincingly realistic that it makes the previous form of the Kouros look stiff and unrealistic

Question 49

ARISTODIKOS | Developments

Answer 49

>SIGNIFICANT as it marks the transition from Archaic to Early Classical >Different stylised features such as the pubic hair, which had been arranged into a star shape- reminding us that development was a gradual process >unlike NY the muscular detail is moulded rather than etched > sculptor had been so successful in his innovations and striving for naturalism, that a new problem had emerged: the sculpture was realistic but stiff.