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“Grave Stele of a Little Girl”

Karen Siwak

History of Art to 1300 (ART 2211)

Presented by PERSON for COMPANY

Formal Analysis

Formal Analysis

Appearance

Appearance

“Grave Stele of a Little Girl” is a stone sculpture carved from marble in one piece of a young girl who stands in a relaxed, contrapposto stance, holding two sleek, yet simplistic doves. The girl gazes serenely and peacefully at her birds.

These birds may have been her pets because one of the doves is touching her lips with its beak.

These birds may have been her pets because one of the doves ...

The little girl wears an unbelted peplos that falls ...

The little girl wears an unbelted peplos that falls in gentle drapes on her body and her feet rest on sandals that may be missing straps to secure them. Her hair is elaborately waved, partially pinned up and partially falling down over her shoulders.

Iconographic Analysis

Iconographic Analysis

A stele was a stone slab, either decorated or undecorated, commonly used as a tombstone or grave marker.

Representation of the Dead

Those who had died were represented on the stele (like the one to the right) as they had been in life so they would not be forgotten.

Children were surrounded by their pets or toys. There would not be a sense of sorrow, but more often static poses in a dreamlike state.

Children were surrounded by their pets or toys. There would not be...

Original Appearance

Although this stele is not painted now, we can assume the paint has long since faded, but it would have been brightly colored at the time of its creation like the example below. Popular colors were bright shades of red, black, blue, and green.

Original Appearance

Symbolism of the Doves

The doves may just have been the girl's pets. Another theory is that because doves could fly, they were a connection to death and the afterlife. Like the souls of the dead, doves were able to travel to the underworld and would continue to act as pets to comfort and entertain the lost loved one.

Historical Context

Historical Context

This piece was found in 1785 on the island of Paros, a part of the Cycladic Islands in the Aegean Sea. It was created about 450–440 B.C.E., during the Classical Period when artists at the time tried to create idealized human bodies that were proportionate and poised.

Family Life

Families made up the foundation of Greek society. Young girls were often cared for by a nurse, spending most of their time in the gynaikon, where the women’s quarters were housed. Girls’ education consisted of dancing, gymnastics, music, as well as spinning, weaving, cooking and other domestic tasks.

Burial Practices of the Wealthy

Prominent families who wished to honor the memory of their deceased would commission a stele to place in their walled burial plots facing the street where travelers to Athens would be impressed by the images in their idealized roles.

The Impact of the Delian League & Pericles

Had the Persians not attacked in 480 B.C.E., this period (in which beautifully proportioned pieces and grand structures were created) may not have occurred. The attack led to the creation of the Delian League and the Athenian general Pericles’ use of public money to fund the rebuilding of Athens.

Works Cited

Works Cited

Works Cited

“Ancient Greek Art.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2010, www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-greek-art.

“Boundless Art History.” Lumen, courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/the-high-classical-period/.

Cartwright, Mark. “Ancient Greek Sculpture.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2018, www.ancient.eu/Greek_Sculpture/.

Cartwright, Mark. "Ancient Greek Society." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient Department of Greek and Roman Art. “Death, Burial,

and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece Essay Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History The Metropolitan Museum of Art.”

The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2018, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm

Department of Greek and Roman Art. “Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece Essay Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2018, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag.htm

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Stela.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 21 Mar.2016, www.britannica.com/topic/stela.

Garcia, Brittany. “The Symbolism of Birds on Ancient Greek Grave Steles.” A Classics and Ancient History Blog, 5 Nov. 2013,

classicsnewsneedsandnow.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-symbolism-of-birds-on-ancient-greek.html.

Hemingway, Authors: Seán Hemingway Colette. “The Art of Classical Greece (Ca. 480-323 B.C.) Essay Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2018, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tacg/hd_tacg.htm.

Hemingway, Author: Colette. “Women in Classical Greece Essay Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History The Metropolitan Museum of Art.” The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 2018, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wmna/hd_wmna.htm.

History Encyclopedia, 17 Mar 2013. Web. 17 Mar 2018.

“Greek Cemeteries and Funerary Monuments.” The Art Institute of Chicago, 2018, www.artic.edu/aic/resources/resource/2663.

“Marble grave stele of a little girl Greek Classical The Met.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum, 2018,

www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/252890.

Rodgers, Nigel. The art and architecture of ancient Greece: an illustrated account of classical Greek buildings, sculptures and paintings,

shown in 200 glorious photographs and drawings. Southwater, 2012.

Swan, Kristin. “Coming of Age in Ancient Greece: Images of Childhood from the Classical Past.” Hood Museum, 1 Sept. 2003,

hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/ explore/news/coming-age-ancient-greece-images-childhood-classical-past.

Photo Credits

Photo Credits

“Ancient Greek Mosaic.” The Vibes, 25 July 2012, thevibes.me/2012/07/25/mount-olympus-origin-of-the-olympic-ideal/ancient-greek-mosaic/.

“Family in Athens.” Byrneathens, 21 Nov. 2011, byrneathens.wordpress.com/family-in-athens/.

Garcia, Brittany. “The Symbolism of Birds on Ancient Greek Grave Steles.” A Classics and Ancient History Blog, 5 Nov. 2013, classicsnewsneedsandnow.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-symbolism-of-birds-on-ancient-greek.html.

“Life and Death in Ancient Athens - The Kerameikos.” Peter Sommer Travels, 10 Nov. 2017, www.petersommer.com/blog/archaeology-history/kerameikos/.

“Paros.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Mar. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paros.

“Pericles.” Pericles - Livius, www.livius.org/articles/person/pericles/.

Reed, Christopher. “Dazzlers.” Harvard Magazine, 21 Dec. 2016, harvardmagazine.com/2007/11/dazzlers-html.

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