Greek Architecture Formal Break-down, Research and 3 Motifs from Everyday Life

Formal Break-down of Parthenon

This is the Parthenon temple. Its columns are of Doric order. From bottom to top, we can see no bases beneath the columns. There are less ornamental vertical grooves in a Parthenon column than an average Ionic column. Each top of the columns has a compressed-pillow shaped work. Also, we see the frieze separated by multiple decorative sculptures.

Iktinos, Kallikrates, Parthenon, 447 BC- 438 BC, Classical Temple, Marble and Paint, 69.5 x 30.9 m x 13.72 m (228 by 101 ft by 45.0 ft), Athens, Greece

LINE & SHAPE

Everything is in the order of vertical, horizontal or symmetrical. We see many vertical lines made by sharp ridges on the vertical Doric shafts. The overall curves of the columns’ apparel help giving us a dignified impression of this temple, besides the fact that the squat Doric form does seem very heavy. Maybe this fine upward curvature also allows the temple to reinforce itself against earthquakes better. The corner column of the colonnade has been placed leaning in deliberately to fight against the visual distortion of humans’ eyeball. This is a very impressive line trick using perspective. Upon the colonnade vertical lines, we see a horizontal rectangle capped with a symmetrical flat triangular pediment. The form of lines creates a very stable and sacred feeling of this architecture.

TEXTURE & COLOR

The temple used to be painted with loud colors and tarnished over thousands of years. We see it as plain white marbles today, which means the values cast by light mirror all the texture details on the temple. There are a lot of decorative Classical-Age Greek sculptures around Parthenon. Their perfect faces and gestures reflect the order of the universe.

SCALE

The columns of the Parthenon are indeed 8 columns across the front and 17 down the side which is n:2n+1 ratio. The scale and dimension of this temple follow the golden ratio which is (symbol is the Greek letter “φ”) a special number approximately equal to 1.618. The scale of the sculptural figures on the surface of the pediment follows the outer shape and varies sizes and gestures according to the height.

SPACE

The Parthenon today is much more spacial than it was when just being built, since it is now broken and open. Yet in those old days, people can still get into the temple from all sides. Their design is all about the ultimate philosophy. Reading from the Parthenon plan map, I can tell that the space design is simple, straight and monumental. (See below)

order and plan map from book by John Boardman, John, Greek Art, Thames and Hudson Publishing,ISBN 0500202923

 

Research on Capitol Motifs 

I studied Egg-and-dart, Leaf-and-dart, Bead-and-reel, Lotus-and-palmette. Here are images of examples below.

Egg-and-dart, Bead-and-reel

The lower fragments are the better preserved egg-and-dart moldings surmounting the bead-and-reel motifs.

Fragment of an anta (pilaster) capital from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis, Marble, ca. early 3rd century B.C., A 57″ x22″ X24″ approx. weigth 2,600 lbs B 63″x 22″X16″ approx. weight 1,500 lbs,The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

Leaf-and-dart, Bead-and-reel, Lotus-and-palmette

They are placed together on the crowning molding in the carved frieze fragment here.

 

Fragment from an Archaic Treasury at Delphi, Marble, 525 BCE., approx. 22″ x24″ X22″ , Delphi Archaeological Museum

Photos of  3 Greek Architectural Motifs from Everyday Life

A Lotus-and-palmette

B

C Egg-and-dart, Bead-and-reel, Lotus-and-palmette.

D Egg-and-dart, Leaf-and-dart, Bead-and-reel 

E Lotus-and-palmette.

F Bead-and-reel, Lotus-and-palmette. (The Gap diagonal to Macy’s at downtown Seattle)

 

Greek Sculptures Formal Basics, Break-down and Two Sketch Interpretations of Mine

Basics of the Figures in Each of the 4 Periods of Greek Art

Geometric Period

Greek Geometric, Bronze horse, 8th century B.C., H.: 6 15/16 x 5 1/4 x 1 3/8 in. (17.6 x 13.3 x 3.5 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The geometric shapes are simply put together according to the horse physical structure. We can see basic anatomy here, but not following the scientific way. Their gestures are not indicated. They are rigid. In general, it is the form in people’s mind, not in reality. Hence we can define it as a Greek sculpture from the Geometric Period. (I think it is formed of geometric shapes at their most elegance. )

Archaic Period

Greek Archaic, Terracotta psykter (vase for cooling wine), ca. 520–510 B.C., H. 11 7/8 in. (30.20 cm),The Metropolitan Museum of Art

It is a red-figure vase for cooling wine. The figures are all strictly of a side view. Although their poses are stiff, we see very stylized heads and bodies. They are simplified and flat, but we can see there is depth in the content. Hence we know it is a Greek sculpture from the Archaic Period.

 

Classical Period

Greek Classical, Marble statue of Hermes ( Roman Copy of work attributed to Polykleitos), 1st or 2nd century A.D., 71 1/4 x 29 1/2 x 23 1/2 in. (181 x 74.9 x 59.7 cm),The Metropolitan Museum of Art

It is a figure in contrapposto, a counter-posed figure standing with most of his weight on one foot, so that his center of the body twists off a bit to give a more relaxed feeling. He looks away into somewhere down his left from the front viewer. The figure from this period of the time starts to look like he is conscious about something. Despite of his dynamic pose, his face looks calm and his whole mood seems to be at rest. Although his center of the body is off set, we can still see his perfect balance of the body, which reflects the order of the universe. Hence we know it is a Greek sculpture from the Classical Period.

 

Hellenistic Period

Greek Hellenistic, Sleeping satyr (Barberini Faun), ca. 230-200 BCE., approx. 7’ 1” high, Glyptothek, Munich.

It is a dramatic Gaul figure. Just a sleeping man, why does he sleep like suffering from the craziest emotions? I love it for its erotic, wild expression.  I can feel the tension and his movement even by seeing the vivid image. This is the charm of the Hellenistic Period Greek sculpture.

Greek Info-graph I Found Online：

Greek God Info-graph I found online

Greek Sculpture Formal Break-down 

Sleeping satyr (Barberini Faun), from Rome, Italy, ca. 230-200 BCE. Marble, approx. 7’ 1” high. Glyptothek, Munich.

 

Lines are planar edges created by light and structure of this figure sculpture. We mainly see a big inverted  “Y” formed by his upper body and two separate legs. His widely spread legs focus viewers’ attention on his genital. His arms and neck join at the point of his head, which draw viewers’ attention to his facial expression.

 

 

 

Shapes and values work together to generate the organic rhythm of this sculpture. Created by higher density of shapes and values at the areas closer to his joints, his muscle tension keeps the vigor in a marble sculpture. He is rendered with realistic definition and form.

 

 

 

In spite of being made of white marble, multiple sources of light cast a strong contrast between the texture of his skin and the items beneath his body (rock, cloth). The roughness of the rock and cloth makes his skin look even smoother. Noted that he used to be painted with bright obnoxious colors.

 

 

 

The dimension of the sculpture is made of about life size, which is quite realistic, making the figure more vivid by first impression.

 

 

 

The direction in which his head faces is left blank in space. It gives us a chance to imagine what he is dreaming and leaves us a place to rest our eyes traveling along from his face, right before reaching his opening legs. Also, the negative space made by the sculpture adds depth to it.

 

Two Sketch Interpretations of Mine

A

Proportion Mapping:

Conclusion: They are almost of the same proportion, except for the lower arm, probably for the samurai on the left is Asian. For Sakata Gintoki, as a fictional idol, his body might be designed intentionally according to the ideal proportion.

Interpretation:

坂田 銀時 Sakata Gintoki

Sleeping satyr (Barberini Faun), from Rome, Italy, ca. 230-200 BCE. Marble, approx. 7’ 1” high. Glyptothek, Munich.

 

B

Proportion Mapping:

Conclusion: They are not of the same proportion. The Kouros Figure has anatomy but very unnatural. He has longer upper body and head, which indicates the viewer that he has a strong healthy wide shoulder and chest. To do a sketch of my figure in this style and proportion is not time consuming. But the result is not easy to identify who he is according to the main stream aesthetic standards.

Interpretation:

Greek Geometric, Marble statue of a kouros (youth), ca. 590–580 B.C., Marble, Naxian, H. without plinth 76 5/8 in. (194.6 cm); H. of head 12 in. (30.5 cm); length of face 8 7/8 in. (22.6 cm); shoulder width 20 5/16 in. (51.6 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

My sketch: Statue of Geometric Gintoki

Formal Elements Analysis of RED

Formal elements analysis on one of my favorite paintings by Amano Yoshitaka: RED.

Amano Yoshitaka, RED, 1995, Watercolor, Paint, Pencil on Paper, 30 by 20 inches, Mizuma Art Gallery, Scanned from Hiten / Flying Universe: The Art of Yoshitaka Amano (1989) (ISBN 4-257-03229-4)

 

LINE

We see a big, hard stroke of circle. Then we see chaos of soft lines. They seem busy at first, yet all in “S” and “C” curves. The goddess and horse’s hair and ribbons indicate the line of their moving direction. The use of gold also gives the red circle an interesting edge. The lines in various densities form a diagonal triangle in this painting. The triangular arrangement also carries the rhythm of the horse jumping out of the surface.

SHAPE

Since parallel shapes are intentionally avoided by the artist (except for the big red circle) , we see lots of pinched “S” and “C” shapes. In terms of the “shape” concept as “form” in 3D, there are shapes of the goddess, horse head, ribbons, big circles, small circles, blurred dots, organic patterns.

VALUE

We see a wide range of values. Upon dark background, there stand out a white body of goddess and a horse head. The value on the horse head is used to describe light falling on the form, but not quite so with the goddess’s body. The value on her is hardly following any subtle light transition rules. However, the values of ribbons and contours tend to get lighter as they approach the goddess’ body, which is an interesting way to indicate a glow. Because of this contrast, the horse seems solid and wild, while goddess’ body generates soft, sacred light. Also, the rendering of  very little value transition on her makes her flat as a form. 

COLOR

Colors are compartmentalized, except for gold. Gold are used atmospherically, especially behind the goddess’ body. Red is the primary tone. We focus our eyes on the red because black is the negative space. Yellow(gold), blue and red are primary colors here. The artist also shifted the color wheel a bit by choosing the neighbor color to get a tilted variation. Therefore we see white, gold, blue, purple blue, cyan, light pink and some neutral colors on details and edges.

In addition, pink, white, cyan colors that are lighter, less saturated, appear closer to the brightest part of the painting; blue, purple blue colors that are darker, more saturated, tend to come in group around darker areas.

Moreover, the goddess’ face is titanium white, but her body is warm white. Cold and warm color contrasts are used for many places in this painting.

TEXTURE/PATTERN

Noticed that the red circle has another space of design within it.  The organic pattern, a mix of water-grass, bird, worm and flower, indicates that this is kimono-like cloth. But other details like water or ink circles, give audience another magical experience of texture and depth. The red colored parts immediately look like the reflection of a giant brush stroke in the dark ink .

The horse skin is very different from goddess’ skin. Gold foils and gold lines bring an ancient, sophisticated, luxurious texture to the painting.

There are little red “C” shapes and blurred dots indicating wavelets on the paper surface. The texture combination of paper and liquid surface emphasizes the drama of the main movement.

SCALE

The horse head and goddess form a group. The scale of the major red circle is relatively big to the group. There are little red “C”s and blurred dots indicating wavelets on ink/paper surface. The contrast in scale contributes to the asymmetric layout of the painting.

SPACE

We see a lot of dark spaces. The brush circle opens up a new world as if we can peek through the stroke into the red pattern. The overlapping red circles also create their distance from the main moving group. The moving group itself contains strong flat(2D) aesthetic flow, while its moving direction has a strong sense of depth in 3D.

 

Q: Which one matters in particular in creating some principles of design in this painting?

 

A: Principles of Design are Unity, Variety, Balance, Emphasis, Proportion, Movement, Rhythm. While this painting has a good mix of almost everything, the LINE and COLOR in particular matter more in creating the principle of Movement and Rhythm in this painting.