Greek Art: Ordinary to Extraordinary

Visual Metaphor

Assignment

• Mosaics, frescoes, relief carvings, statuary, and more often portray stories, myths, and historical events in Ancient Greek Art

• Often these depictions imply a moral or lesson to be learned by the viewer

• Other times these depictions suggest the importance of the subject and that it shouldn’t be forgotten

Assignment• Think of an important event, or object (symbol) in your life

that others might not deem important when considered out of context – Don’t be afraid to get metaphorical here…!

• Turn this seemingly mundane event or object into an epic worthy of being remembered for all time (something that you would have painted, sculpted, or mosaicked on the walls of your house to honor its importance to YOU)

• Essentially, turn something ordinary into something extraordinary to emphasize the importance it has had in your own life

Assignment

• Consider using “skiagraphia”, or “shadow painting” in your design to emphasize the extraordinary aspect of your subject (as was seen in the Macedonian Mosaics)– Please include cast shadows as well as shading on

objects in the artwork to imply a 3D surface (form)

Stag Hunt Mosaic, by Gnosis, 300 BCE, Pella, h. 10’2”

It is believed the house owner wanted guests to know this was made by a professional, not an imitator, and hence we have the first known signature of a mosaicist: “Gnosis made it”

Light and dark suggest volume

Greek term for shading = skiagraphia “shadow painting”

Philoxenos of Eretria, “Battle of Issus” (Alexander Mosaic) from the House of the Faun, 310 BCE, Roman Copy: Pompeii, Italy, late 2nd or

early 1st Century BCE, Tessera Mosaic, 8’10” x 16’9”Alexander humiliates Darius(Persian King) in Battle of Issusin southeastern Turkey

Darius fled the battlefield in hischariot in humiliating defeat

Tesserae = tiny stones orpieces of glass cut to the desired size or shape(NOT PEBBLES)

Made by Philoxenos of Eretriafor King Cassander, one of Alexander’s successors

Men, animals, and weaponscast shadows on the ground

Psychological intensity EVERYTHING IN THIS PICTURE HASA CAST SHADOW AND SHADING!

Alexander is driving his spear through one of DariusDarius’s immortal guards

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