THE HEAD OF APHRODITE

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

• Ancient Greek art
• Made between 325-100 B.C.
• Made of marble
• It was found on the ancient city of Hierapolis

SCULPTING WITH MARBLE
The Ancient History Encyclopedia describes sculpting with marble. "Using iron tools the sculptor would work the block from all direction (perhaps with an eye on a small-scale model to guide proportions), first using a pointed tool to remove more substantial pieces of the marble. Next, a combination of a five-claw chisel, flat chisels of various sizes, and a small hand drill were used to sculpt the fine details. The surface of the stone was finished off with an abrasive powder (usually emery from Naxos) but rarely polished."

SCULPTING DETAILS

• Sculptors started sculpting exactly what they saw.
• They used shadow techniques.
• Bodies were made proportional.
• Carved the marble to look like skin
• Sculptors wanted viewers to see the environment.

DEVELOPMENT OF GREEK ART

• At first the sculptures lacked detail.
• Became more developed over the next few hundred years
• Human-like by 480 B.C.

THE HELLENISTIC AGE
Alexander the Great conquered many areas in the East. The National Geographic Article, Alexander the Conqueror: Ancient Greece Part III, says, "Nevertheless the cultural landscape of the East had been changed in the way of his conquests, and his death marked a new era. The Hellenistic Age, which spread Greek culture and language throughout the East, lasted from the year of his death until Ptolemaic, Egypt fell to Rome in 31 B.C."

HELLENISTIC ART DEVELOPMENT

• Greek art and culture was spread throughout Europe.
• Detailed sculptures of Greek gods.
• Sculptures were influenced by history.
• Larger range of subjects.

HELLENISTIC STYLE
"The tendencies traced thus far all the way from the Archaic period are not interrupted by this change but but simply go on to anticipated completions," states the book Art Through the Ages about the Hellenistic art period.

ANCIENT QUOTE

• "Life is short, the art long."
• Hippocrates (460-325 B.C.)
• Latin: "Ars longa, vita brevis."
• http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/h/hippocrate153529.html

OTHER HELLENISTIC WORKS
-Aphrodite/ Olympus
-Aphrodite of Arles Type
-Hellenistic Sculpture: The Styles of c.a. 100-31 B.C. describes the Aphrodite,"The Aphrodite, said to be different from the general type in many respects, is headless."

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