Cycladic Art and the Greek Islands
November 2, 2010 MuseumChick
By the end of the three weeks I spent finding love in Israel and trekking in Delphi over the summer, I was in need of a vacation from my vacation. That may sound ridiculous but let me explain- since most of my itinerary involved trekking in 100+ degree heat and I tend to do more traveling then actual vacationing by the end of two weeks I was in need of a vacation. So knowing this about myself, I scheduled the last part of our trip to be relaxing in the Greek Islands- first Santorini then taking the ferry to Mykonos.
To get an idea of the art that originated in the Greek Islands in the 2nd millennium BC, I visited the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens…
This pretty neo-classical building, the Stathatos Mansion, is the work of the Bavarian architect Ernest Ziller. Together with a modern addition to the back it houses Neolithic art and artifacts made and discovered in the Greek Islands, some from Cyprus and others from islands along the Aegean.
The permanent collection displays Cycladic artifacts with colorful displays of information on Cycladic culture in a modern and stark setting.
This canonical figure, common in Cycladic art, is made of marble. The simple form, geometric shape and simple monotone coloring resembles something of modern art but evidence suggests that this figure would have been brightly painted.
Mr. MC imitating the sculpture’s pose…How sweet is he- willing to be silly and have me paste it on the internet, all while holding my camera bag.
Everytime I see these oil lamp burners they remind me of my neti pot.
I thought this was particularly curious- an over 4000 year old baby bottle.
After exploring the Museum of Cycladic Art and learning about ancient Cycladic artifacts and culture, I was even more interested to travel through the Greek Islands to see where it all went down (and to get Ouzo cocktails!).
My pictures from my time in enchanting and dramatic Santorini…
Watch out for weird men in masks with waterguns in Oia…
After a few days in Santorini, we jumped on the ferry to colorful and relaxing Mykonos…
Is it creepy that I hide around straw umbrellas taking pictures of nude sunbathers?…
©2010 Danee Gilmartin All rights reserved
Comments
MuseumChick 11.18.2010
Hi Melissa,
I did see that the tops were usually blue. That is actually why I liked this one so much and got the picture because it was different than a lot of the other buildings I saw there. Thanks for your comment!
melissa 11.18.2010
the church with the red dome is really nice. I always thought the Greeks would make them blue, but guess not.