Art Movement: Hellenistic Sculpture

Art Movement: Hellenistic Sculpture

• Tuesday, August 3, 2021

 

    Beginning shortly after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, the Hellenistic period lasted almost 300 years, ending with the suicide of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. After Alexander's death, the empire was split up by his many successors, and these leaders became very wealthy. Thus, the Hellenistic Period was born along with many of the most famous art we know today. 

    Venus de Milo is a very famous example of Hellenistic sculpture. Hellenistic sculptors took on many new subject matter, but also made changes to the existing ones such as Greek gods and goddesses, as seen above.  Venus is depicted as much more human than the more religious and earlier representations. Although she is more human, Venus is represented as an ideal version, and her stance being most notable. Her body is contorted to not only express her outer, but also her inner beauty, as was only a goal in Hellenistic sculpture.

    

    In traditional sculpture, the Greek athlete would be a typical subject matter, but the Hellenistic take on The Boxer of Quirinal or The Seated Boxer is depicted differently Instead of the triumphant young man, the Hellenistic boxer is beaten up and defeated, possibly looking up at his opponent. The figure's hands are rapped in leather, and his forehead bleeds from a few cuts. Contrasting with many classical examples of Greek athletes, The Boxer of Quirinal evokes empathy from the viewer. 

    The Winged Victory of Samothrace is yet another example of Hellenistic sculpture. Click here for a separate post on this work.

    Hellenistic sculptors strove to evoke emotion and push the classical boundaries through their art. 

Sources: 

Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History. Fifteenth edition, Student edition. ed., Boston, Cengage Learning, 2016.

"Hellenistic Sculpture." Greek Landscapes, GreekLandscapes.com, greeklandscapes.com/hellenistic-sculpture/. Accessed 3 Aug. 2021.

Hemingway, Colette. "Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition." Edited by Seán Hemingway. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Apr. 2007, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/haht/hd_haht.htm. Accessed 3 Aug. 2021.