Visual Arts History 2247E Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Lapiths, Sophrosyne, Hubris
7 Apr 2015
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Feb. 26th - temple of zeus at olympia (456 bce): west pediments. Back of building, in olympia greatest temple built temple of zeus: athletes say pledge warned against act of hubris [front] Story: king of the lapiths invites centaurs to wedding part. Lapiths = civilized greeks, sophrosyne [civilized behavior, rational, harmony] Vs. centuaurs = hubris [chaos, uncivilized, barbaroi. Drink wine and drunk, assault & maul women and young boys. Best friend = theseus, center of battle scene: apollo instead of zeus as ultimate judge dike, middle b/c tallest. Lapith king and theseus come to rescue wife/maiden from being mauled mirrored composition harmony. Sculptor show moment of greatest action vs. psychological, note emotional context represented in greeks and barbaroi. Reconstruction shows composition: apollo: cool, calm, judge, will ultimately punish centaurs, height maximized o o o o o o. Static, frontal figure, head = profile, braided long hair. Titled head slightly, powerful gesture, passing judgment, no emotional content: visually balanced.
