Title

Dionysus

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Class Name and Date

Art 230: Ancient Art. Fall 2015

Format Type

Sculpture

Time Period

Classical Period

Theme

Gods and Goddesses in Early Classical Greece

Media

Bronze

Dimensions

23.5cm H

Description

Date: c. 460 B.C.

Through the use of Greek myth, sculptures and artists of ancient Greece attempted to personify the gods and goddesses in the mythological narratives. These portrayals were often filled with iconographic clues to explain to the viewer which deity was being depicted. Many of the most popular deities had unmistakable symbolic characteristics that gave the god or goddess a distinct personality to identify by.[1]

A popular deity during Greek antiquity is the god Dionysus. Like other favorable Greek gods, he had iconographic details that accompanied him allowing the viewer to indulge in the narrative or scene he was apart of. Dionysus is known to be the god of wine, merriment and pleasure.[2] Many times he will be decorated with a vine or bundle of grapes and holding a kantharos or drinking vessel with a cheerful expression.[3] Often found in banquet or festival scenarios, his presence can bring madness and an intoxicating allure of pleasure. In this sculpture the viewer can use clues to identify the statue to be Dionysus. He holds a fragmented drinking cup in his right hand as he saunters on. As this is a very early depiction of Dionysus, he is sculpted as a beautiful youth with a soft and round face. He wears high and embellished boots, also another common characteristic of a young Dionysus.[4] The expression on his face looks to be one of contentment and he strides on independent and free of worry.[5]

This statue shows the beginning of Greek interest in developing natural movement in sculpture. As an early form of classical Greek sculpture, there is a break from previous periods in stiff and rigid movement. Dionysus was cast from solid bronze, making it a much easier substance to manipulate allowing for artistic alterations.[6] The sculptor shows a shift in weight from one leg to the next as he walks along, capturing him right in his stride. The movement shows in the shifting of the hips, as the left rises up and the right simultaneously falls. His right knee is bent and the weight shifts to the left leg. The soft and flowing musculature adds to the fluidity of the movement.[7] Although Dionysus does not exhibit the full naturalism of later works it stands as a development in human movement and consciousness of the body.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Colette, Hemingway, Seán. “Greek Gods and Religious Practices.” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. http:// www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg/hd_grlg.htm.

Marie-Bénédicte, Astier. “Dionysus, Department of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities: Classical Greek Art (5th-4th century BC).” The Louvre. http:// www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/dionysus?sous_dept=1.

Perry, Walter Copland. Greek and Roman Sculpture: A Popular Introduction to the History of Greek and Roman Sculpture. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1882.

[1] Colette Hemingway, Seán Hemingway, “Greek Gods and Religious Practices,” Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grlg/hd_grlg.htm.

[2] Astier Marie-Bénédicte, “Dionysus, Department of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities: Classical Greek Art (5th-4th century BC)”, The Louvre, http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/dionysus?sous_dept=1.

[3] Walter Copland Perry, Greek and Roman Sculpture: A Popular Introduction to the History of Greek and Roman Sculpture, (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1882, 434.

[4] Walter Copland Perry, Greek and Roman Sculpture: A Popular Introduction to the History of Greek and Roman Sculpture, (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1882, 435.

[5] Ibid., 434.

[6] [6] Astier Marie-Bénédicte, “Dionysus, Department of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities: Classical Greek Art (5th-4th century BC)”, The Louvre, http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/dionysus?sous_dept=1.

[7] Walter Copland Perry, Greek and Roman Sculpture: A Popular Introduction to the History of Greek and Roman Sculpture, (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1882, 436.

Image from the Louvre

http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/dionysus?sous_dept=1

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