Ancient Greek Sculpture in Context

3 units

Sculpture counts among one of the greatest artistic achievements of ancient Greece, and one that has had the greatest impact on the art of later periods. This course will focus on original works of art of the Archaic and Classical periods (600-300 BCE), placing emphasis on how study of their contexts - the places in which they were produced, displayed, and found - contributes to our understanding of their place in the ancient world. Background material, to be covered at the beginning of the semester, will include the origins of monumental Greek sculpture at the beginning of the Archaic period (late 7th-early 6th c. BCE), and the stylistic development of the Archaic and Classical periods. We will then proceed to discussion of various types of sculpture (architectural, cult statue, votive, commemorative, funerary) and how these works functioned within the context of the Panhellenic sanctuary, the city sanctuary, the secular center of the city, and the necropolis. In a different view of context, we will also consider sculpture recovered from ancient shipwrecks, looted art on its way to the ancient Roman art market.