Hellenistic art

A number of the best-known works of Greek sculpture belong to this period, including Laocoön and His Sons, Dying Gaul, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.

In the architectural field, the dynasties following Hector resulted in vast urban plans and large complexes which had mostly disappeared from city-states by the 5th century BC.

On top of anatomical realism, the Hellenistic artist seeks to represent the character of his subject, including themes such as suffering, sleep, or old age.

Realistic portraits of men and women of all ages were produced, and sculptors no longer felt obliged to depict people as ideals of beauty or physical perfection.

[14] The world of Dionysus, a pastoral idyll populated by satyrs, maenads, nymphs, and sileni, had been often depicted in earlier vase painting and figurines, but rarely in full-size sculpture.

[15] The period is therefore notable for its portraits: One such is the Barberini Faun of Munich, which represents a sleeping satyr with relaxed posture and anxious face, perhaps the prey of nightmares.

[20] New Hellenistic cities were springing up all over Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia, which required statues depicting the gods and heroes of Greece for their temples and public places.

Hellenistic sculpture repeats the innovations of the so-called "second classicism": nude sculpture-in-the-round, allowing the statue to be admired from all angles; study of draping and effects of transparency of clothing, and the suppleness of poses.

[23] The sculptors, imitating the preceding centuries, portray painful moments rendered expressive with three-dimensional compositions, often V-shaped, and anatomical hyper-realism.

[25] These characteristics are pushed to their peak in the friezes of the Great Altar of Pergamon, decorated under the order of Eumenes II (197–159 BC) with a gigantomachy stretching 110 metres in length, illustrating in the stone a poem composed especially for the court.

Moreover, specifically in Southern Russia, floral features and branches can be found on walls and ceilings strewn in a disordered yet conventional manner, mirroring a late Greek style.

Three main qualities unique to Hellenistic painting style were three-dimensional perspective, the use of light and shade to render form, and trompe-l'œil realism.

[47] This frieze found in the tomb supposedly that of Philip II is remarkable by its composition, the arrangement of the figures in space and its realistic representation of nature.

[49] Recent archaeological discoveries at the cemetery of Pagasae (close to modern Volos), at the edge of the Pagasetic Gulf have brought to light some original works.

The excavations of this site led by Dr. Arvanitopoulos may be connected to various Greek painters in the 3rd and 4th centuries and depict scenes that allude to the reign of Alexander the Great.

[53] The murals emphasized domestic decoration, conveying the belief these people held that the Delian establishment would remain stable and secure enough for this artwork to be enjoyed by homeowners for many years to come.

Examples of this extended use of materials in mosaics of the 3rd century BC include finely cut stones, chipped pebbles, glass and baked clay, known as tesserae.

This improved the technique of mosaics by aiding the artists in creating more definition, greater detail, a better fit, and an even wider range of colors and tones.

Original architectural context is unknown, but stylistic and technical comparisons suggest a late Hellenistic period date, estimating around the second half of the second century B.C.E.

and the "Dove Basin" (made of small opus vermiculatum tesserae stones)[67] at the Capitoline Museum, known by means of a reproduction discovered in Hadrian's Villa.

The refinement of molding techniques made it possible to create true miniature statues, with a high level of detail, typically painted.

[76] At Smyrna, in Asia Minor, two major styles occurred side-by-side: first of all, copies of masterpieces of great sculpture, such as the Farnese Hercules in gilt terracotta.

In a completely different genre, there are the "grotesques", which contrast violently with the canons of "Greek beauty": the koroplathos (figurine maker) fashions deformed bodies in tortuous poses – hunchbacks, epileptics, hydrocephalics, obese women, etc.

[77] Sometimes, they were reduced to echoing a form from the great sculptures: thus one finds numerous copies in miniature of the Tyche (Fortune or Chance) of Antioch, of which the original dates to the beginning of the 3rd century BC.

Hellenistic pottery designs can be found in the city of Taxila in modern Pakistan, which was colonized with Greek artisans and potters after Alexander conquered it.

The Thracian Panagyurishte Treasure (from modern Bulgaria), includes Greek objects such as a gold amphora with two rearing centaurs forming the handles.

The jewelers of the time excelled at handling details and filigrees: thus, the funeral wreaths present very realistic leaves of trees or stalks of wheat.

The Hellenistic period produced some masterpieces like the Gonzaga cameo, now in the Hermitage Museum, and spectacular hardstone carvings like the Cup of the Ptolemies in Paris.

They did so by creating molds of original sculptures, producing plaster casts that could be sent to any sculptor's workshop of the Mediterranean where these works of art could be duplicated.

These were often faithful reproductions of originals, yet other times they fused several elements of various artworks into one group, or simply added Roman portraiture heads to preexisting athletic Greek bodies.

Scene from the Alexander Sarcophagus
Bronze portrait of an unknown sitter, with inlaid eyes, Hellenistic period, 1st century BC, found in Lake Palestra of the Island of Delos .
The Barberini Faun , 2nd-century BC Hellenistic or 2nd-century AD Roman copy of an earlier bronze
The Ludovisi Gaul killing himself and his wife, Roman copy after the Hellenistic original, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme .
Laocoön and His Sons , Vatican Museums , Rome.
The central group of the Sperlonga sculptures , with the Blinding of Polyphemus ; cast reconstruction of the group, with at the right the original figure of the "wineskin-bearer" seen in front of the cast version.
Satyr sculpture in the Musée du Louvre
The satyr from the Hellenistic sculpture group "The Invitation to the Dance". The sculpture group is seen as a prime example of the "Rococo" trend in Hellenistic sculpture. In the sculpture group the satyr was depicted together with a seated female. This sculpture is now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.
The Nile Mosaic of Palestrina , a Roman and Hellenistic floor mosaic depicting Ptolemaic Egypt , c. 100 BC
Roman fresco painting known as "Cubiculum" (bedroom) from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale , 50–40 B.C. Metropolitan Museum of Art 03.14.13a–g.
Banquet scene from the tomb of Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki , 4th century BC.
Hellenistic terracotta funerary wall painting, 3rd century BC
Fresco of an ancient Macedonian soldier ( thorakitai ) wearing chainmail armor and bearing a thureos shield.
Detail of the Alexander Mosaic , showing Alexander the Great , Roman copy c. 100 BC from the House of the Faun in Pompeii , from an original Hellenistic painting of the 3rd century BC, possibly by Philoxenus of Eretria .
Example of tesserae used in mosaics.
Detail of mosaic from Tel Dor circa 1st-2nd centuries. Found in Ha-Mizgaga Museum in Kibbutz Nahsholim , Israel .
The "Dove Basin" (Capitoline), attributed to Sosos of Pergamon, from Hadrian's Villa , Tivoli, Lazio , 2nd century AD
The Stag Hunt Mosaic , late 4th century BC, from Pella ; most likely depicting Alexander and Hephaestion [ 61 ]
Lagynos decorated with musical instruments, 150‑100 BC, Louvre .
A lekythos bottle in the Gnathia style depicting the winged goddess of victory, Nike , armed and dancing, Apulia ( Magna Graecia ), Italy
A West Slope Ware kantharos , 330–300 BC, Kerameikos Archaeological Museum , Athens
An askos from Canosa di Puglia , depicting goddess Nike , the head of Medusa , and horses, 3rd century BC
Centuripe vase in Palermo, 280–220 BC
Wealthy 'Middle-class' women: so-called Tanagra figurine , Hellenistic Greece , 325–150 BC, Altes Museum
A grotesque woman holding a jar of wine, Kertch , second half of 4th century BC, Louvre .
Braganza Brooch , ca. 250–200 BC. British Museum .
The Derveni Krater , 4th century BC, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki
A Greek glass amphora , 2nd half of the 2nd century BC, from Olbia , Roman-era Sardinia , now in the Altes Museum