Hellenistic baroque sculptures engage the viewers psychologically in their respective places of display ***NEED 4 MORE SOURCES, PREFERABLY FROM JSTOR**** explore the way Hellenistic baroque sculptures engage the viewers psychologically in their respective places of display. focus the discussion on The Nike of Samothrace, and The Laokoon group, touching on facial expressions, sculptural compositions, and its props/situated environment. Quotes are cited from: Pollitt, J. J. Art in the Hellenistic Age. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2009. The Nike of Samothraces: Body expression: “The base of the statue is in the form of a ship’s prow, and the goddess is depicted as if she has just alighted on the ship, with her wings still beating and her drapery fluttering in the wind.”(113) Sculptural composition: Samothrace by the Rhodians to celebrate naval victories over the forces of Antiochos III…It does not stretch the imagination to think of Eudamos returning in 190 B.C. to his home island, fresh and exultant from these victories, and commissioning one of the prominent artists of his time to create a stunning monument that was to be set up in the Panhellenistic sanctuary at Samothrace, where the presiding deities were, among other things, the protectors of sailors. ” (116) This quote establishes the background of the statue, so that the audience can expect the general energy that the statue should carry. The information supports the compositional decisions of the sculpture. Environment: “The Nike was discovered in 1863 on the site where it was originally set up in the sanctuary of the Great Gods at Samothrace. ” (116) This quote establishes the background and situated environment of the statue, so that the audience can expect the general energy that the statue should carry. It supports the discussion of how that energy is communicated through composition and facial expressions. The Laokoon group— Facial expressions: “As Laokoon falls back on the altar at which he has been sacrificing, one serpent entwines his shoulders, as well as those of his elder son, and curls around to bit him on the hip”(122) Contrary to the expressions of “nobly dying”, such as the way Gaul calmly stabs himself in the neck in Gaul and wife, Laokoon expresses deepest pain, resembling him as a human, not a hero or a god, which separates him to a subordinate position in the altar, reminding the audience to fear and obey the god. Environment: “The close connection in both style and conception between the Laokoon group and the Gigantomachy frieze of the Altar of Zeus at Pergamon hardly needs to be emphasized. As on the altar, a moment of maximal violence and agony has been chosen to sum up the story.”(122) This quote shows the location in which the sculpture is situated, and pinpoints the altar sculptures role in the building, which is to highlight humans’ helplessness and minute against the forces of the divine. This is an art history paper, so I hope the writer would do research with the prompt. The period is Art in the age of Alexander, so the baroque style of the Hellenistic period. Please make sure there are 5 cited sources total, and 4 of them from jstor. Thank you! Potential sources: https://www.jstor.org/stable/987634 https://www.jstor.org/stable/299920 https://www.jstor.org/stable/27682818 https://www.jstor.org/stable/502724 https://www.jstor.org/stable/428070 https://www.jstor.org/stable/505171 https://www.jstor.org/stable/506082
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