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The Sculptural Program at the Temple of Zeus at Olympia
The early classic phase in Greek art occurred in the decades immediately following the expulsion of the Persians from Greece, the period ca. 480-450 B.C. The sculptural decorations of the temple of Zeus at Olympia, constructed during this period of Greek confidence, are the prime examples of the early classic style in sculpture. Since these sculptures were greatly influenced by other artistic forms during this period, however, it is also important to look at contemporary 5th century innovations in painting and drama. It is widely accepted that the work of the painter Polygnotos, whose monumental paintings at Delphi we know through Pausanias' detailed description, had a great impact on the pedimental sculpture at Olympia, completed several years after Polygnotos' works in the Lesche at Delphi (Stewart, p.141 and Saflund, p.130). This influence will become apparent later in the discussion of the sculptures themselves. As Andrew Stewart points out in his excellent discussion of this period, however, it is crucial to acknowledge the extent to which both painting and sculpture of the early classic phase were indebted to innovations in Attic drama. Early tragedy had popularized concepts like hubris and nemesis for a mass audience, and its mimetic vividness, articulation of ethos and pathos, and direct impersonation of the gods had a great impact on other forms of representational arts (Stewart, p.141). Both drama and sculpture were forms of mimesis or mimemata, "representations." J.J. Pollitt also points out that sculptors of the early classical period seem to have borrowed some technical devices from the stage, like the use of formal gestures and masks, to convey character and a sense of narrative action (Pollitt, p.27). And so it is with previous sources like Attic tragedy and the monumental paintings of Polygnotos in mind that we should turn to the pedimental sculpture of the temple of Zeus.
The Metopes | Analysis of the Sculptural Program This document was written by Rebecca Furer Check out the bibliography |
