Reply To: Hellenistic Variety

[Gabe]

The thing which strikes me about Hellenistic art versus Classical art is how much more emotion is shown on the statues. Anguish in particular is emphasized and characters go way beyond contrapposto. The Laocoon is one of my favorite pieces of art of all time. For some reason I like the way the snake is fighting all three of them simultaneously, it seems very excessive. This excess is one aspect of all the Hellenistic art which is much more unique and stands out, whereas the Classical emphasis on proportion made everything uniform. I wonder if the deities that the Greeks were worshiping shifted during this time period to reflect the change in artistic tastes – a question for the historians!