High+Classical+Period

HIGH CLASSICAL GREEK SCULPTURE 450-2012 C.E.  This period of Grecian art can be nicknamed Greece's "Golden Ape" because of how excellent and refined the art of Greece was at this time. During the High Classical Period, sculptures were created using an idealized canon of proportions that was based on achieving perfect symmetry and the "ideal beauty" of the human body. The sculptures also became much more lifelike and detailed, while artists also studied and put into practice the concept of using drapery of cloth to describe action.

During most of the High Classical period, Greece was ruled by Perikles, who was a great patron of the

. He focused on making the city of Athens beautiful and ensuring that the art produced promoted Athens and Greece as being great places of "peace, prosperity, and power." One of his more famous quotes concerning the arts of Greece is, "Future generations will marvel at us, as the present age marvels at us now."

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS OF THE HIGH CLASSICAL PERIOD:
 * Polykleitos of Argos developed the idealized canon of proportions & devoted himself to the concept of symmetry possessed by an ideal body
 * Drapery has purpose and is used to describe action; it is sometimes used to create optical illusions and unites figures
 * Transparency: drapery lies flat on the body
 * Modelling line: cloth is carved to show depth, shape, and to accent parts of the sculpture
 * Motion line: although the sculpture may appear to be doing one thing, like standing on one foot, the drapery shows how it is actually moving--in flight
 * Catenaries: heavy looped folds of cloth are carved to create grace in a figure
 * Faces on the sculptures show almost no emotion; they are detached, dispassionate, and apathetic

IMPORTANT ARTWORKS OF THE HIGH CLASSICAL PERIOD: 1. **The Nike Adjusting Her Sandal** (Marble, 3'6", 410-405 BCE) is an example of the dramatic High Classical uses of drapery. The fabric flows freely, disregarding gravity and the motion of the figure. The interesting thing about the sculpture is not its action but its clothing. After mastering human anatomy, sculptors of the High Classical Period moved on to expressing emotion through drapery because the accepted facial expression (pensive) was not a good medium for communicating feeling. The preoccupation of symmetry during this period is also illustrated in the sculpture. Nike's wings balance her pose as she leans to adjust her shoe.

 <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 125%;">2. **The Caryatid Porch/Porch of the Maidens** (built between 421-407 BCE) act as columns of support at the Erechtheion. They are examples of the Grecian canon of proportions; each woman is perfectly proportioned, with a closed, stately look on her face. Transparency in drapery is used here to show the bodies, while use <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">of the modelling line accents the movement of their legs. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 125%;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 125%;">3. **Doryphoros (or Spear-Bearer,)** sculpted by Polykleitos, 450-440 BCE, 6'11". This sculpture is an example of everything that was valued artistically in the High Classical Period. The man has smooth skin, perfectly symmetrical facial features, and an evenly proportioned body. Polykleitos sculpted his body based on proportions made with a basic unit (which remains unknown). The figure is perfectly balanced, and made to be viewed in the round. An opposite arm and leg are tensed. Unfortunately, the original sculpture does not remain, and all we have left are Roman copies of this monumental figure.