CYCLADIC FIGURE

MUSEUM PAPER

TITLE: CYCLADIC FIGURE

By

Maritza Casciato

April 26, 2012

Cycladic Figure

Cycladic art comes from the ancient Cycladic civilization, which existed in the islands of the Aegean Sea from 3300-2000 B.C.E. The Cycladic Art is the first form of art of ancient Greece. Archaeologists distinguish three periods:

Early Cycladic I (CA I) (3200-2800) also called Grotta-Pelos Culture;

Early Cycladic II (CA II) (2800-2300) also said Keros-Syros Culture, often considered the peak of the Cycladic civilization;

Early Cycladic III (CA III) (2300-2000) also said Phylakopi Culture.

The Cycladic art consists mainly of anthropomorphic figurines, mostly female: the Cycladic idols. We may compare this ancient cult of the mother goddess and fertility (many figures in round belly suggests a tribute to motherhood). The shape and style of the figurines made of obsidian or marble is typical Cycladic art, even very simplified geometric. The figures have ovoid faces with no further details other than a prominent nose, no mouth or ears or eyes. This art can appear in some ways very modern by the geometric simplification of forms and objects.

My visit to the Legion of Honor in San Francisco gave me the opportunity to see and study first hand a piece of Cycladic art that was introduced to me in Art History class. The piece that I had the opportunity to study is titled Cycladic Figure. This early Cycladic sculpture is of the Spedos variety, the most common and most widely distributed form in Cycladic marble art. Seeing Cycladic art that was created thousands of years ago transported me back in time.

The Cycladic Figure from the Cyclades consists of marble and it stands at a height of thirteen and a half inches. It is an elegant representation of a naked form of a female with arms folded beneath the chest. It has an exaggerated curve of the top of ...