Dionysus & Pan Essay Example

beings. It was common to see artists humanizing great gods and heroes of the Greek in this culture. The sculpture Pan is about two-third of Dionysus’ size while standing next to Dionysus. The bodies of Dionysus and Pan are captured both athletically proportional, moreover, their fingers and toes are long, skinny and beautiful; it is mainly because Greek artists like to create images of perfect human bodies. Both Dionysus and Pan have symmetrical faces and bodies.

Dionysus’ and Pan’s facial expressions are extremely natural. Their firmness facial expressions create a feeling of emotional, physical and mental stability. Their emotion is more welcome and warm than compare to those earlier Classical period sculptures that were cold and remote. Dionysus also expresses an innocent and playful feeling as a child. In contrast, Pan has a more mature facial expression and immorality is hidden from his face. While Dionysus gazes Pan into his eyes, Pan in turn gazes admiringly at this youthful god. Their interaction is very lively.

The creators made an effort to enliven the sculpture; as a result the art work looks more naturalistic. The human interaction between two people is common in real life and the practice of making interaction between figures was unusual before the fourth century BCE. Again, during the Late Classical Period, there was an increase on the emphasis on the emotional expression in art. Sculptures from this period of time were usually characterized by perfect proportion and symmetry. The artists emphasized a lot of details on the sculptures’ faces and bodies, for example, the heavy facial features and calm expression.

Similar to the sculptures from High Classical Period, sculptures from Late Classical Period not

only portray sculptures in ideal form, but the facial expression and body is sculpt much more in detail. It is also depict in more realistic and natural way. The museum does not provide any information about the sculpture’s creators, therefore, it remains unidentified. However, famous artists from the Late Classical period had their own sense and style of art. For example, Scopas’ sculptures were typically carried with intense impassioned expression.

Individualism and three-dimensional movement appeared in the style of Lysippos. Both Scopas and Lysippos also successfully followed “The Polykleitan Canon of Proportion” by using the ideas of scale and mathematical proportions on order to create a perfectly proportionally figures. Praxiteles’ arts were characterized by elegance of proportion and graceful beauty. Notice from the sculpture, Dionysus is standing with a “S curve” pose and is portrayed like he is standing with one leg held straight and the other one crosses to bear the weight of the body. The artist made careful choices to ensure the sculpture’s stability.

A tree trunk is there at the back to support the two figures. The contrapposto stance is clearly visible here because Pan’s arm is joined to Dionysus’s back and his hand rests on Pan’s shoulders to create a balance. Canon of proportion and contrapposto were used to create extreme realism. The sculpture, Dionysus and Pan, was made in organic shapes with a natural human look, a flowing and curving appearance. Compare to the earlier Greek statues that were stiff and flat, sculptures from the Late Classical period had developed a fuller expression of the figures. The sculpture is culpted from the finest marble, therefore the texture is a little bit rough.

There is no color used to create the sculpture, however, the light and shadow make it very solid. As we all know, Greek sculptors like to use white marble and bronze as materials when making the statues. Also, during the Late Classical period, sculptures were designed not only for frontal viewing, it was a common practice for artists to create statues that interacted with their environment in all three dimensions. It is encouraged to look at the statues in multiple angles to get a full profile of the sculptures.

The three dimensional sculpture, Dionysus and Pan, can be viewed in any angle with equal effectiveness. Although we cannot trace back who the creators were for the sculpture Dionysus and Pan, it is noticeable that the creators did followed and integrated several ideas of the famous artists mentioned above to make the sculpture. The characteristics of the sculpture can be found commonly among other sculptures in the same period. During the Late Classical period, many artists might follow a common path in art, however each artist had a distinctive styles and there is a great stress on individualism, unlike the Early Classical period.

A majority of Greek sculpture included depictions of the human body, particularly in gods or Greek heroes’ figures. Greeks stressed the significance on the human body because the Gods that they worshipped were anthropomorphic, and they believed gods were perfect. Greek artists were well-known for depicting gods in humanistic form. Many Greek arts were linked with gods mostly because the ancient Greeks wanted to thank the gods for good fortune, and to hopefully gain favor in their eyes for good times to come. Religious belief

and human being’s everyday lives were commonly mixed together.

Therefore, Greek sculptors used the sculpture to humanize myths. They tended to created works that could be taken as a representation of a myth, or as symbol of a human’s daily life. Refer to the sculpture, in his left hand, Dionysus, the god of grape harvest and wine, is holding a drinking cup with handles shaped like grape vines. On his left, it’s Dionysus’s loyal follower Pan, the god of shepherds and flocks. The drunken youthful god is depicted in a humanistic way that he is having a joyful time with his male companion, Pan. In conclusion, sculptures and statues were widely used in the Late Classical period.

The ancient Greeks placed the important of religion and humanity on the figures. The transitions to more naturalistic pose in sculptures, statues were depicted in a better proportion, and facial expressions were much more in detailed. Artists tried to depict the sculptures in a way to represent the modern society in reality and they often portrayed gods in humans’ daily lives. The Late Classical period owes its lasting influence to its simplicity and reasonableness, its humanity, and its pure beauty. Citations of Source Guisepi, R. A. "R. A. Guisepi. " Greek And Roman Art.

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