Hellenistic Art: What It Is And What Are Its Characteristics
In 323 BC, the great conqueror Alexander the Great died, but his legacy would remain alive in the figure of his diádocos or successors, who established the Hellenic dynasties that would later reign in the territories conquered by the Macedonians. Thus began the so-called “Hellenistic period”, in which Greek culture and language expanded to regions of the East that had never had contact with Greece, or very minimal.
Hellenistic art, therefore, must be framed in this period of Hellenistic expansion However, and contrary to what many believe, Hellenistic art is not homogeneous, and in each city and region it developed in a specific way. In today’s article we talk about the characteristics of Hellenistic art, the last artistic period of classical Greece.
The first to use the term “Hellenistic” to refer to the Greek culture that was born after the death of Alexander the Great was the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen (1808-1884), in his work Geschichte des Hellenismus (1836-1843). So, The Hellenistic or Alexandrian period came to be defined as that between the death of the Macedonian king in 323 BC and the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium (31 BC) That is to say, the Hellenistic period includes, broadly speaking, the last centuries before Christ, and expands throughout all regions with Greek influence.
Hellenistic culture refers to all the cultural manifestations of the period. Especially well-known are the Hellenistic philosophical schools, which include, for example, Epicureanism. In this article, however, we will focus on the art; specifically, in sculpture, which experienced a time of changes that moved it significantly away from the previous classical period but which, however, preserved (or attempted to preserve) its entire essence.
Characteristics of Hellenistic art
In general, the art of the Hellenistic era is characterized by an approach to realistic and everyday motifs, as well as greater dynamism in the composition and forms Just compare the Doryphorus by Policleto (on the cover), with a balanced and content classical style, with the Laocoonone of the key sculptures of the Hellenistic period, showing fierce convulsion and outstanding drama.
On the other hand, also characteristic of the period are the forceful anatomical forms, of which, again, the Laocoön is a magnificent example.
The social context: after Alexander the Great
After the disappearance of the great Macedonian conqueror, the empire he had built did not last long; It soon broke up into various kingdoms that came to be governed by the three dynasties inaugurated by his generals. On the one hand, the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt (to which its most famous queen, Cleopatra, would belong); on the other, the Seleucid in Syria and the Antigonid in old Macedonia.
Alexander’s imperial dream died, but Hellenic culture expanded to corners that, until then, had never had contact with Greece, or very minimal. From then on, the native population would become “Hellenized,” although, to be exact, the most Hellenized layers of society were the elites; those who had, in short, in their hands the power to finance an art suitable for a new period.
Thus, Various Hellenistic schools proliferate in the Hellenized territories, of which the two schools of Pergamon stand out, established as a kingdom in 282 BC, which had its peak during the so-called Full Hellenism. This division of Hellenism into stages (early Hellenism, full Hellenism and late Hellenism) is, like any other classification, somewhat arbitrary, and we must be careful when studying each stage. Be that as it may, the truth is that the monarchs of Pergamon (in Asia Minor) began a propaganda program that was based on the identification of the wars they waged against the “barbarians” (specifically, against the Galatians) with the ancient Persian Wars. that confronted Athens and Persia.
In this great artistic propaganda, the Altar of Zeus stands out, currently preserved in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin; Its monumental entrance, with a very high podium, gives the viewer the feeling that the construction is much more voluminous than it really is. On the other hand, two of the most recognized sculptures of the Hellenistic period correspond to the Pergamon school; These are the two Gauls, respectively called Galata Ludovisi and Galata wounded, which show two Gallic or Galatian warriors after defeat. The first commits suicide after killing his wife, while the second, mortally wounded, is represented with true dignity and respect.
In the previous sculptures cited, high drama is shown (especially in the first one). In the Galata Ludovisi, the defeated warrior holds his dead wife while he theatrically raises his sword to kill himself. This is the classic sculpture of the Hellenistic period, very far from the balanced content of the works of the classical period.
On the other hand, the forcefulness of the Galata muscles is also characteristic of the Hellenistic era. In the famous Laocoön, from the school of Rhodes, we see this aspect much better: the Trojan priest is represented as an authentic titan of tall stature and grandiose volume, very muscular. The myth says that Laocoön warned the Trojans of the danger of admitting the wooden horse within their walls and, as punishment, the gods sent him and his two sons sea serpents to kill them. In the sculpture we see the priest fighting fiercely against the monsters, as well as his two sons; His half-open mouth, his gaze raised to the sky and his hands extended in a desperate attempt to flee are typical of Hellenistic dynamism.
Characteristic of the Hellenistic period is to present the climax of the moment in a very similar way to what the Baroque would do much later (and for this reason, many authors refer to Hellenism as baroque, although it goes without saying that this name is absolutely anachronistic).
Daily life
In addition to its expressive force, the art of the Hellenistic era is also characterized by an approach to everyday scenes, thus moving away from the idealism prevailing in the previous classical period This naturalization of the scenes is even perceived in the representation of the gods, who are shown carrying out daily, apparently trivial activities.
For example, the famous Frigid Venus or Venus of the Bath, which present the moment when Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love equivalent to the Roman Venus, comes out of a pleasant bath. The theme serves as an excuse for the artist to represent a female nude, which in ancient Greece was a real taboo. In fact, there are no known nudes of women before Praxiteles, who with his Aphrodite of Cnidus caused a real scandal by showing the goddess without clothes. Of course, Aphrodite covers her genitals, with a gesture of modesty that did not exist at all in male nudes.
Another Hellenistic sculpture of singular beauty that portrays a moment of everyday life is The Espinario either Thorn Child, where we see a boy sitting trying to remove the thorn that has stuck into him from the sole of his foot. Like the rest of the Hellenistic sculptures, to notice all its details it is necessary to “turn it around”, unlike the sculptures of the classical period, most of which were designed to be viewed frontally.
classical resonances
Despite these innovations, We should not think that Hellenistic art is a break with previous classical art Could not be farther from the truth. In fact, we have already seen how the city of Pergamon tried to relate its own art to that of the Athens of the wars with the Persians. Hellenistic art is, therefore, not a break with classical canons, but rather an evolution of them.
In the famous Victory of Samothrace (2nd century BC), we notice that the artist, currently unknown, has used the ancient technique called “wet cloths” to highlight the flesh of the goddess Nike under her clothes; a technique that we already see in the Frieze of the Panathenaea by Phidias from the Parthenon, and which will continue to be used in Roman times as well.
The true innovation of this Nike (Victory) is the dynamism of the clothing that, with its fierce curvatures and folds, seems to flutter in the wind. In Hellenism there is no longer room for a balanced drape of fabrics, but, in line with the new times, emphasis is placed on movement.
