Anatomy and poses of the human figure in Attic art from the last quarter of the sixth to the first quarter of the fifth centuries B.C

This thesis examines the extent to which a more accurate representation of the human body is developed from the last decades of the sixth century, and the reasons for this development. A sound knowledge of clinical anatomy is used to analyse closely the rendering of features and trace the way the Greek artist looked at his model. The study covers different media found in Attica (vases, sculpture in marble or in poros, bronzes, and terracottas) and shows that artists try to render the human body accurately in all, although the pace of development varies according to the cost, subject and technique used (painting, carving, casting, modelling). This move away from the conventional representation reflects a close observation of the life model even though the human figure is still rendered according to idealized proportions and features. In order to explain this change, literary evidence is gathered to reconstruct the knowledge of human anatomy and body at the time. A rich anatomical vocabulary is already developed in the Iliad and the Odyssey but is used in descriptions which combine imagination and reality, whereas, from the last decades of the sixth century, the extant philosophical and (slightly later) medical texts reflect a growing concern with anatomical features and internal organs in order to distinguish the human from the animal. This new approach may have influenced the way contemporary artists looked at, and represented the human figure, since it is probable that they knew these theories either from lay-texts, which often reproduce passages of philosophical or medical treatises, or from public lectures and readings.</p

À la santé des dieux et des hommes

International audienceThe phiale is a shape derived from a near-eastern metalware. In the Greek world, it is commonly acknowledged as a libation-pouring vessel related to a ritual context. This article examines the exceptional use of the phiale as a drinking vessel in the Athenian symposium. There are few known Attic vases dated to the Late Archaic period decorated with symposiats or komasts drinking from phialai. In these scenes, phialai are in metalware. They are part of elaborate and rich symposia, displaying Ionian or Persian influences both through the vessels and garments used by the revellers. The phiale in a dining context must be therefore seen as part of a Perserie phenomenon, still limited, in the Late Archaic period, to an Aristocratic code of behaviour. A restricted clientele consciously chooses to reproduce the Persian luxurious dining practices not only to display its wealth, but also to assess its preference for a social hierarchy, close to that imposed by the Great King.Dans un contexte grec, la phiale, inspirée d’un prototype métallique oriental, est généralement associée à la pratique de la libation, effectuée en l’honneur de divinités. Cet article n’aborde pas l’usage liturgique de la forme, mais il s’intéresse plus particulièrement à son emploi, plus rare, comme vase à boire au banquet attique. Un nombre restreint de vases, datés de la fin de l’époque archaïque, est décoré de scènes de banquet ou de comos où la phiale est manipulée comme une coupe. La forme est en métal et participe à l’aspect raffiné et luxueux du banquet représenté, qui combine à la fois des pratiques grecques et achéménides dans le choix de la vaisselle et le détail des vêtements portés par les participants. Le caractère exceptionnel de la vaisselle (phiales et autres formes) constitue une forme d’attribut social : le moyen pour une élite de se distinguer des autres citoyens par une pratique qui nécessite des produits rares et chers. Plus encore, le choix de se tourner vers le modèle achéménide, synonyme de luxe et de raffinement mais aussi symbole, selon Hérodote et Xénophon, d’un régime monarchique et aristocratique, ne devait pas être gratuit. Il permettait à un groupe d’individus de traduire leur appartenance à une classe aristocratique, sensible au système fortement hiérarchisé, imposé par le Grand Roi

Maria Reho, La ceramica attica a figure nere e rosse nella Tracia bulgara

Tsingarida Athéna. Maria Reho, La ceramica attica a figure nere e rosse nella Tracia bulgara. In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 62, 1993. pp. 537-538

Eberhardt Reschke, Die Ringe des Euthymides

Tsingarida Athéna. Eberhardt Reschke, Die Ringe des Euthymides. In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 63, 1994. p. 606

Yvonne Korshak, Frontal Faces in attic Vase Painting of the archaic Period

Tsingarida Athéna. Yvonne Korshak, Frontal Faces in attic Vase Painting of the archaic Period. In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 61, 1992. pp. 671-672

Claudie Fournier-Christol, Catalogue des olpés attiques du Louvre, de 550 à 480 environ

Tsingarida Athéna. Claudie Fournier-Christol, Catalogue des olpés attiques du Louvre, de 550 à 480 environ. In: L'antiquité classique, Tome 63, 1994. pp. 604-605