An Ancient Greek Sculpture Comparative:

Thymiaterion Supported by a Statuette of Nike
vs. Winged Victory of Samothrace

Thymiaterion Supported by a Statuette of Nike (Photo by J. Paul Getty Museum)

Nike of Samothrace (Photo by Jimmywee)

Around 776 BCE, a number of city-states had emerged on mainland Greece. Though distinct cultural tenants set them apart, these competing city-states were united in their use of the Greek language. It is during this time that the first Olympic Games were held and served as a rallying cry for the recognition of a common Greek heritage which connected these states. From that point on, no matter what city-state they belonged to, the population also regarded themselves as citizens of Hellas (Greece) and a cultural nation was born. As Greek influence continued to grow and expand into the Ancient World through trade, colonization and conquest over the next few centuries, Greek art and society underwent a catharsis expanding in new ways and styles unseen before. The sculptures that ancient Greece produced during this era of Antiquity are still some of the most universally recognized forms of art throughout the world. Yet these works can be broken down into periods of evolution in which the Greeks perfected their craft over the course of several hundred years.

Thymiaterion Supported by a Statuette of Nike

Nike of Samothrace (Photo by Lyokoï88)

Found in the Sicilian ruins of a Greek colony, Thymiaterion Supported by a Statuette of Nike dates back to the cusp of the ancient Greeks transition from the Archaic period to the early beginnings of the Classical period circa 500- 480 BCE. Nike, the winged goddess of Victory, steps forward with her right hand held up in proclamation, sweeping her dress to the side with the other. On her face she holds an archaic smile, an attempt by artists to bring life to her statue along with traces of paint remaining on her dress - indicating she was once brightly painted in pinks, reds and blues. On her head she supports a thymiateron or incense holder most likely indicating her use as a votive or some other such offering to the gods. Archeologists haven't been able to find traces of ash or marks of use, leading them to believe that the statuette was most likely created to be placed in a tomb in order to ease the deceased's journey into the afterlife. Stylistically, although she shows emerging elements of naturalism in her gesture and attempt at movement, the patterns of Nike's hair and folds of her dress show a preference for abstraction. Similarly her wings show no attempt at realism and instead are flattened into simplified geometric shapes sitting stagnantly at her back. Her back itself is unfinished, implying that that this statue was only meant to be viewed from the front and was perhaps placed against a wall or upon an altar.

Winged Victory of Samothrace was discovered in 1863 by French archeologist Charles Champoiseau on a small island located in the northern Aegean and is considered one of the masterpieces of the Hellenistic period dating to 190 BCE. Although she is missing her head and both of her arms, this later incarnation of the goddess Nike is full of movement. She is a study in opposing forces, she alights upon the bow of a ship (stepping forward much like her predecessor) as the wind whips at her clothing, pushing and pulling it around her. Her wings, body and garment all show an intense attention to detail and naturalism on behalf of her sculptor. Her shoulders, hips, legs and wings have all been placed on diagonals and angles in order to create a dynamic pose enhancing the illusion of motion. Additionally she has been sculpted completely in the round, allowing the viewer to look at her from all sides - although there is a higher degree of finish on her left side leading scholars to believe that was her intended focal point. Unearthed in the remains of a fountain, it appears that Winged Victory of Samothrace originally stood as a monument commemorating a victory at sea - though there is much debate to which battle that may be. Equipped with pipes and running water, the original fountain worked to recreate the image of a boat cutting through turbulent water with Winged Victory announcing its triumph. Though the statue stands eight feet tall, when comparing the proportions of the goddess to the size of the ship that creates her base (something that the Greeks of that time would have readily known) Winged Victory stands equivalent to a forty foot tall building, meant to instill a sense of grandeur and a sense of occasion.

One of the best ways to measure progress within one's self and within a society is to compare one point in time to another. This act of contrast allows the viewer to see minute changes that may otherwise remain unnoticed. This can also be an invaluable tool in the field of art history as comparing the stylistic changes within pieces of art can help to puzzle out the shifts which occurred within the world of the artists constructing them. Thus when comparing Thymiaterion Supported by a Statuette of Nike and Winged Victory of Samothrace we are able to see the radical shift within Greek art, even when addressing the same subject. Stylistically early Greeks were hugely influenced by the Mesopotamians and Egyptians, however unlike those civilizations the Greek pantheon was only set apart in that they were immortal. Greek gods displayed many humanistic traits and conversely according to Greek mythology so too could humans become gods. This lead the Greeks to innovate and expand upon existing styles because unlike the Egyptians they weren't searching for an expression of permanence but for the idealistic incarnation of what is was to be human. Thymiaterion Supported by a Statuette of Nike perfectly illustrates this transition, displaying many similarities with the stiff Egyptian statues of antiquity yet also the beginnings of this Greek quest for idealism and life-like appearance. By the time Winged Victory of Samothrace made an appearance, the ancient Greek world had changed by leaps and bounds. Ushered in by Alexander the Great's reign and impressive patronage of the arts (the like of which had never been seen before), the Hellenistic era dawned on the shattered remains of his empire. Greek consciousness had been opened up to a host of new exotic ideas and influences but it had also experienced the crushing fragmentation of its Golden Age. However, in its wake, the Greeks turned away from their search for the ideal and instead strove to document and portray the world around them. For the first time in history there were libraries, museums and the ancient world was united in the use of a koine (common language) as a result of trade routes. This allowed for the free interchange of ideas and techniques leading to the creation of the naturalistic style of which Winged Victory of Samothrace is a pinnacle.


Bibliography

• Astier, Marie-Bénédicte. "Work Winged Victory of Samothrace." Winged Victory of Samothrace. Musée Du Louvre. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
• Department of Greek and Roman Art. "Greek Art in the Archaic Period." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitain Museum of Art, 1 Oct. 2003. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
• Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. "Ancient Greece." Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Concise Western History. 14th ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
• Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway. "Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition." Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitain Museum of Art, 1 Apr. 2007. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
• Kinee, Lauren. "The Nike of Samothrace: The Next Generation Attalid Victory Monument?" Hey Zeus! The Yale Undergradutate Journal of the Classics (2002). Nike of Samothrace. Yale University Department of Classics. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
• "Sicily: Art and Invention." Sicily: Art and Invention (Getty Villa Exhibitions) (2013). Ed. Claire L. Lyons, Michael Bennett, and Clemente Marconi. The J. Paul Getty Trust. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
• Sofroniew, Alexandra. Interviewed by James Blake Wiener. "Sublime Sicily: A Hellenic Gem in Antiquity." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Artwis.com, 6 July 2013. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.
• "Thymiaterion Supported by a Statuette of Nike." Getty Museum. The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Image Sources:
Nike of Samothrace images were taken from Wikimedia Commons, while the Thymiaterion Supported by a Statuette of Nike photos were copied from the J. Paul Getty Museum Site. 

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