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1
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There are many places
where you can come face-to-face
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00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:08,440
with the ancient world,
3
00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:13,640
but I have to say,
this is hard to beat.
4
00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:27,560
This colossal stone head is
almost 3,000 years old.
5
00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:29,840
It was made by the Olmec,
6
00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:33,040
the earliest civilisation
in Central America.
7
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,560
It really is big.
8
00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,720
His eyeballs are
more than a foot across
9
00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,600
and he weighs in
at almost 20 tonnes.
10
00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,200
Between his lips, you can
just about glimpse his teeth.
11
00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:54,720
And his irises are traced out
on his eyes,
12
00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:58,000
and he has
a furled, slightly frumpy brow.
13
00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,800
It's hard not to feel
just a little bit moved
14
00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:04,960
by this close encounter
15
00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:08,760
with the image of a person
from the distant past.
16
00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:14,680
Since it was unearthed in 1939,
17
00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,440
this head has been a real puzzle.
18
00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:20,520
Who does it depict?
19
00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:22,480
Why was it made?
20
00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,600
And why just a head?
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00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:29,320
The Olmec left us very few clues.
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00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:33,800
But what they did give us
is a powerful, in-your-face reminder
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00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:39,720
that, no matter where in the world,
when civilisations first made art,
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00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,000
they made it about us.
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I want to explore why that is.
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What were those early people
doing this for?
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00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,120
What part did
images of the body play
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00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:02,000
in the societies
which first created them?
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00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,800
I'm not just going to be
concentrating on the artists -
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00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:07,720
I want to take a different approach.
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00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,760
I'll be trying to see these bodies
through the eyes of the people
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00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:19,840
who lived with them, used them,
and looked at them.
33
00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:21,800
And that's not all.
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00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:30,600
I want to show how one particular
way of representing the human body -
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00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:34,680
one that goes all the way back
to ancient Greece -
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00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:39,200
became more influential
than any other,
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00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,880
coming to shape
our Western ways of seeing.
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00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:47,200
And returning in the end
to the Olmec,
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00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:53,800
we'll see how the way we look
can confuse and even distort
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00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:58,400
our understanding of civilisations
beyond our own.
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00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:45,240
Can we ever look through the eyes
of people in the distant past?
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00:03:46,280 --> 00:03:50,440
It's hard, but just occasionally
we get the chance.
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00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,800
It was some 2,000 years ago
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00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,680
when the Roman Emperor Hadrian
arrived in Thebes
45
00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:00,520
with his entourage.
46
00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:07,160
He'd come for a look-see around
the fringes of his empire,
47
00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,720
and to take in the wonders
of ancient Egypt,
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00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:13,680
already thousands of years old.
49
00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:20,000
Hadrian was by far
the most committed traveller
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00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:21,840
of all the Roman emperors.
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00:04:21,840 --> 00:04:23,880
He seems to have got everywhere.
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00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,840
And on this occasion,
he wanted to visit
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00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:31,320
perhaps the most famous
heritage site in Egypt,
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00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:36,200
perhaps the greatest
five-star tourist attraction
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00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,600
of the whole of the ancient world.
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00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,360
It wasn't the great pyramids
he longed to see,
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00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,720
but these colossal statues.
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00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,000
Made around 1300 BC,
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00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,760
they were originally statues
of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep,
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00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,920
marking his tomb.
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00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:02,120
But over time,
their meaning had changed.
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00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:04,000
And by Hadrian's day,
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they were thought to depict
a mythical African king, Memnon.
64
00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:13,080
And what had made them such a draw
65
00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:17,400
was that one of the statues could do
things no other statues could.
66
00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,400
If you were lucky
and came early in the morning,
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00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:26,400
believe it or not, he could sing.
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00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:31,040
It was a bit like a lyre
with a broken string.
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00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,000
And even in its prime,
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00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,800
it couldn't be relied upon
to make a sound every day.
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00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,800
It was taken as a very good omen
if it did.
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00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:46,040
What's amazing is that
Hadrian's encounter is recorded
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00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,640
thanks to a piece of vandalism.
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00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,800
For ancient tourists, part of
the fun was to have their reactions
75
00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:55,320
carved onto the statue's leg.
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00:05:55,320 --> 00:06:00,800
In Hadrian's party, the vandal was
a lady-in-waiting, Julia Balbilla,
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00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:04,480
who recorded her impressions
in Greek verse.
78
00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,720
I've waited half my life
to be up here,
79
00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:12,800
searching out Balbilla's poetry.
80
00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:16,760
Here is one of the things she wrote,
81
00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,160
and in some ways this is
the beginning of her diary
82
00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:22,560
of the Memnon experience,
83
00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,480
because on this occasion she says
that they got here really early
84
00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:28,520
but didn't hear anything.
85
00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:30,480
But there's another one.
86
00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,040
It's got Julia Balbilla's name
written at the top
87
00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,840
and this is a bit more
triumphalist
88
00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:41,200
cos here she says her Lord Hadrian
actually heard Memnon.
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00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,840
The truth is, it's not great poetry,
90
00:06:45,840 --> 00:06:49,880
but the verses do give us
that kind of first-hand glimpse
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00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:52,720
of what it felt like to be here.
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00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:55,480
And there's something touching
about being able to
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00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,520
tread in the footsteps
of Hadrian's party,
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00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,000
to share their gaze,
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00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,800
even if we can't actually hear
the singing.
96
00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:12,000
Nobody knows exactly how the sound
was made or why it stopped
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00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,520
because the statue is
completely silent now.
98
00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,920
But one thing I think is clear -
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00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,760
the story of Memnon's statue
is a great example
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00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,640
of how images of the human body
operate in the world.
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00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:32,040
Not just as passive objects
to be admired or wondered at,
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but as players, as part of an
interactive, two-way relationship.
103
00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:42,480
Singing might be a rarity,
but images often do something.
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00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:48,280
Even more, the story is a reminder
that the history of art
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00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,240
isn't just the history of artists,
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00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,000
of the men and women
who painted and sculpted -
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00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:59,480
it's also the history of the men
and women like Julia Balbilla
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00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,480
who looked, who interpreted
what they saw,
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00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,680
and of the changing ways
in which they did so.
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00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:09,280
If we want to understand images
of the body,
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I think we've really got to put
those viewers
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00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,480
back into the picture of art.
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00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:21,560
And one of the best places
to do that is ancient Greece -
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00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:27,200
in particular, the city of Athens
from around 700 BC.
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00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:32,000
Never much more than a small town
in our terms,
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00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,920
it was a place where you could find
people of different classes
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00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:41,520
and backgrounds cheek by jowl in
a grand experiment in urban living.
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00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:47,600
And one of the most distinctive
things about Athenian culture
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was an intense focus
on the youthful, athletic body.
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00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:59,840
This body was a symbol
of political and moral virtue.
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00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:05,840
And Athens became a whole city of
images devoted to the human form.
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00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:12,120
Greek art almost never means
landscape.
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00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,320
It almost never means still life.
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00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,880
Greek art means statues
and drawings,
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00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:23,200
paintings and models
of human beings.
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These images were everywhere.
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00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:30,160
They were out in the world
playing their part.
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00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,280
Imagine the public plazas
and the shady sanctuaries
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00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:38,960
full of people in stone as well
as people in flesh and blood.
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00:09:42,040 --> 00:09:46,440
We begin to get the point of
all this if we look at the art form
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that contained more bodies
than any other.
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00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,600
The red and black
of Athenian ceramics.
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00:09:58,680 --> 00:10:02,200
These are some of
the finest examples we have.
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00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,200
Made from around 600 BC,
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00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:10,640
they were produced
in luscious colours
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00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:14,360
using an intricate process
of multiple firings.
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00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,440
They were turned out
in their millions.
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00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:24,920
And with almost every surface
displaying pictures of people,
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00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:30,120
it was pottery that made the human
image ubiquitous across Athens.
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00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,840
These are two of my very favourite
Greek pots.
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This is ordinary crockery,
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it's everyday homeware,
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00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,200
the kind of thing you might have
found on the kitchen shelf
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in an Athenian house.
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00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:50,920
The larger of the two is
a rich man's wine cooler
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to be brought out
at his drinking parties.
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00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,200
The smaller one is
an ordinary water jug.
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00:10:57,200 --> 00:11:02,280
But the images on both are much more
than just pleasing decorations.
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00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:09,040
These images are telling
the Athenians how to be Athenians.
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00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:13,600
This one here is,
in a sense, a template
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00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:15,760
for being an Athenian wife.
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00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:17,080
There she is.
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00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:20,240
She's sitting down,
she's being handed her baby
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00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:22,200
by a servant girl
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and, at her feet,
she's got a wool basket.
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That about sums up the answer
to the question,
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what were Athenian wives for?
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They were for making babies
and making wool.
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00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:40,160
This one is a bit different
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because it's covered with
mythical creatures called satyrs
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who are half human and half animal,
162
00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:53,840
and they're all over this
getting absolutely plastered.
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They're balancing goblets
in very silly places
164
00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:04,880
and this one here is having wine
poured straight into his mouth
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from an animal skin.
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It's kind of the equivalent
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00:12:08,560 --> 00:12:11,400
of drinking whisky
straight from the bottle.
168
00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:17,360
Now, what was that doing
on the drinking party table?
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00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:25,920
If this pot was telling
Athenian women how to be women,
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00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:30,400
this one was raising
more difficult questions
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about where the boundary really lies
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between the human and the animal,
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about how much wine
you have to consume
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before you really do
turn into a beast.
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These aren't government health
warnings in our sense,
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but the images are one way
in which the Athenians paraded
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00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:58,440
their idea of what civilisation was,
178
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defining themselves against
the barbarians beyond the city.
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And it's a version of civilisation
that's a long way
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00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:11,400
from the lofty ideas of
Greek culture we're often pedalled.
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00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:16,600
It's deeply gendered
and rigidly hierarchical,
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and it explicitly derides all those
183
00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:24,760
who have faces or bodies or habits
that somehow don't fit -
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from barbarous foreigners
to the old and ugly,
185
00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:30,880
the fat and the flabby.
186
00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:33,400
But, like it or not,
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what we are seeing here
are visual images
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constructing one idea
of a civilised human being.
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Of course, the human body can do
many different things
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and so can its images.
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And the Athenians exploited
that range,
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creating other bodies
for very different purposes.
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00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:05,920
This is one of the most gorgeous
memorial statues
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00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:08,320
ever to have been found
in ancient Greece.
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Her name is Phrasikleia
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00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:16,680
and that means something like
"aware of her own renown".
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00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:24,560
Phrasikleia was carved in marble
around 550 BC,
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00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,680
and was only rediscovered in 1972.
199
00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,400
She has a wonderfully
patterned dress,
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00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:37,200
clothed for eternity in her finest.
201
00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,160
And the traces of red pigment
are a useful reminder
202
00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:45,440
that most Greek sculpture was
richly, even gaudily, painted.
203
00:14:46,680 --> 00:14:49,000
And she wears that smile -
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00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:53,840
that sign of life so common
in early Greek sculpture.
205
00:14:55,680 --> 00:15:02,280
What I like about her so much is the
way that she engages us as viewers.
206
00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:04,160
She's looking straight ahead
207
00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:07,680
and she's challenging us
to look back at her.
208
00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,560
She's got a flower in her hand -
209
00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,680
it's not quite clear
whether it's for her
210
00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,360
or she's about to give it to us.
211
00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:21,600
And in the inscription,
she actually almost speaks to us.
212
00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:26,080
It says that it is
the tomb sculpture of Phrasikleia
213
00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,560
and then, as if in her own voice,
it says,
214
00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:33,480
"And I shall always be called
a maiden
215
00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:40,040
"because I got that name from
the gods, instead of marriage."
216
00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:44,040
That is, she died
before her wedding day.
217
00:15:44,040 --> 00:15:49,200
But what's great about it is
the encounter it sets up,
218
00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,360
and it's the encounter
that, if we try hard,
219
00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,600
I think we can still enjoy.
220
00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:02,080
Phrasikleia faces death
in the most forthright way,
221
00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,040
resolutely refusing to be forgotten.
222
00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:13,600
But can an image of a person
ever fix time,
223
00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:16,800
suspended death,
224
00:16:16,800 --> 00:16:19,920
or even, for a moment, deny it?
225
00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:31,960
That's what these vivid faces
from Roman Egypt appear to do.
226
00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:39,400
Though 2,000 years have passed
since these people died,
227
00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:42,960
it feels like they're still with us.
228
00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:45,400
They looks like
the kind of portraits
229
00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:47,520
that hang on gallery walls.
230
00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:51,480
And that's where we often see them.
231
00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:58,080
But these portraits actually
belong on coffins.
232
00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:05,800
Few have remained intact,
but this is one of them.
233
00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,320
It contains a man named Artemidorus,
234
00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:13,880
and his extravagant
sarcophagus portrays
235
00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:16,200
a cosmopolitan way of death.
236
00:17:19,360 --> 00:17:22,480
His mummy is a wonderful amalgam
237
00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:27,160
of the traditions of Egypt,
of Greece and of Rome.
238
00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:32,240
On the casing, you can see
typically Egyptian scenes -
239
00:17:32,240 --> 00:17:35,760
there's a mummy being laid out
on a couch,
240
00:17:35,760 --> 00:17:39,920
and those strange animal-headed
Egyptian gods.
241
00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:43,960
His name is Greek.
242
00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,640
"Artemidorus, farewell," it says.
243
00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:54,280
His face is
a quintessentially Roman portrait.
244
00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:59,200
Of course, other cultures before
had represented the human face,
245
00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:03,320
but it was the Romans who made
this kind of individual likeness
246
00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:04,640
very much their own.
247
00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:08,640
Modelled with light and shade,
248
00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:12,160
flesh layered in paint and wax,
249
00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:15,440
and a clever catch light
in the eyes,
250
00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,360
these were the means
by which Roman painters captured
251
00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:23,080
the infinite variety
that we see in the human face.
252
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,080
When Romans thought about where the
impulse to portraiture came from -
253
00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,200
even the impulse to painting
as a whole -
254
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:34,960
they had a very vivid story to tell
255
00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:38,680
about a young woman
who was the creative genius
256
00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,920
behind the very first portrait.
257
00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,760
Her lover was going away
on a long journey
258
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:49,000
and before he went, she got a lamp
259
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,160
and she threw his shadow
against a wall
260
00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:56,240
and traced round it
to create a silhouette.
261
00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:59,920
She was trying
not just to memorialise him,
262
00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:02,960
but to keep his presence
in her world.
263
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,080
I think there's
something like that going on
264
00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,320
with the face of Artemidorus.
265
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:12,240
Domestic ware and tear,
266
00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:15,360
even children's scribbles
on some coffins,
267
00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:19,480
suggest that they weren't
instantly confined to the grave.
268
00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,760
For a while, they may have stood
in the land of the living,
269
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,320
perhaps in the family home.
270
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,680
These portraits, then,
are not just memorials -
271
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:35,120
they're attempts to keep
the presence of the dead
272
00:19:35,120 --> 00:19:36,800
among the living
273
00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:41,320
and to blur the boundary
between this world and the next.
274
00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:49,560
Painted faces and sculpted bodies
always played vital roles
275
00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,840
in the lives of ancient people who
lived with them and looked at them.
276
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,440
But how do we make sense
of those ancient statues
277
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,880
that were not designed
to be seen at all?
278
00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:16,920
China, as we know it, was born
around 200 BC,
279
00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,680
united under its first emperor, Qin.
280
00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,520
Just as the Romans would do
in the West,
281
00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:32,200
he standardised everything
in his efforts to exert control.
282
00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:41,760
Currency, weights and measures,
taxes, roads and transport.
283
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,000
They were sweeping reforms
284
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:48,480
and he left his mark
on all aspects of Chinese life.
285
00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:54,880
But no Roman emperor would ever be
buried on the same grand scale
286
00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:59,800
as Qin, or with so many bodies.
287
00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:03,080
TV: It was just a mile away
from the mound to the east
288
00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,080
that the Chinese made
their historic discovery.
289
00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:13,120
It was 1974 when farmers
in Shaanxi province discovered
290
00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:16,760
fragments of human forms
buried in the earth.
291
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:21,800
Scenes of mass archaeology followed,
292
00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:25,200
the finds assembled
in an extraordinary display.
293
00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:29,680
It lies beneath
this vast hangar-like structure.
294
00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:35,720
It would capture
the world's attention
295
00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,680
as the most surprising
archaeological find
296
00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:40,480
of the 20th century.
297
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,280
It was, of course,
the Terracotta Army.
298
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:02,760
It's a menacing sight,
299
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:07,080
this grey, ghostly remnant
of an army,
300
00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:11,320
rows and rows of life-sized
terracotta soldiers.
301
00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:18,400
These figures represent the
Imperial Guard of the Emperor Qin.
302
00:22:19,800 --> 00:22:22,360
They were buried with him
at his funeral
303
00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:25,320
and stand guard over his tomb.
304
00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:30,720
There were once more than 7,000
of them,
305
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:33,480
but only a fraction have been
excavated,
306
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:39,160
and that alone gives an idea of the
vast scale of this whole complex.
307
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:45,040
This is quite simply the biggest
tableau of sculpture
308
00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:49,080
made anywhere in the planet ever.
309
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:03,520
Millions come here to be wowed
by the sight of the army.
310
00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:10,880
But it's not just the scale that's
impressive - it's the detail, too.
311
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:20,080
Up close, you can see the individual
plates and rivets of their armour.
312
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,200
And their heads have been modelled
so no two look alike.
313
00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,800
The contours of their faces differ,
314
00:23:35,800 --> 00:23:38,840
eyes and ears delicately worked.
315
00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:47,600
And a range of styles and textures
have been used for the hair.
316
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:53,640
But the individuality
that we're at first so struck by
317
00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:56,520
isn't quite as simple as it seems.
318
00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:00,520
It's true that no two of
these figures are quite alike
319
00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:05,040
but the differences between them
that the craftsmen have introduced
320
00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,560
turn out to be rather formulaic.
321
00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:11,720
There's not much more than a handful
of different eyebrow types
322
00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,960
or different moustache types,
for example.
323
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:20,040
They're a very standardised,
institutionalised version
324
00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:21,760
of individuality.
325
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,320
As one archaeologist has
nicely put it -
326
00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:27,160
their faces are likenesses,
327
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:30,640
but they are likenesses of no-one.
328
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:35,680
They're not, in the terms of
Western art history, true portraits.
329
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:43,200
Some have admired this ancient form
of artistic mass production,
330
00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:48,680
others feel it a perfect way
of expressing a regimented army.
331
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:50,920
Whatever you feel about them,
332
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:56,520
they certainly raise all kinds of
questions about what a likeness is.
333
00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:01,720
But one thing is for sure -
334
00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:05,080
in the scale and complexity
of the tomb
335
00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,600
and even, I think,
in the artistic detail
336
00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,960
that the Emperor, dead or alive,
could command,
337
00:25:11,960 --> 00:25:16,280
there's a strong assertion
of imperial power.
338
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,760
And that's definitely
the message of what happened
339
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,040
just a few years after
the Emperor's death.
340
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,240
Because the famous Terracotta Army
that we see
341
00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:28,880
were discovered in pieces,
342
00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:31,880
smashed and burnt by a rebel
343
00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,560
against the dynasty
of the first Emperor
344
00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,080
who launched a direct attack
on his tomb.
345
00:25:39,440 --> 00:25:45,200
There's something in
that keen desire to destroy them
346
00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:50,360
that gives us our clearest sense
of the power of these images.
347
00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:56,120
It was one thing to destroy
the images
348
00:25:56,120 --> 00:26:00,120
of the Emperor's
terracotta protectors,
349
00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:04,560
and so to nullify his power
beyond the grave...
350
00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,360
..but power in the here and now
called for
351
00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:15,760
bodies of an entirely
different order.
352
00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:33,080
This is the figure of Ramesses II,
353
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:37,120
who ruled Egypt around 1200 BC.
354
00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:42,960
He was the pharaoh who invested more
in his image than any other.
355
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,440
And his figure is found
all over Egypt.
356
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:51,000
But by far the most imposing
and memorable
357
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,720
are these great colossal statues
358
00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:57,440
that stand guard
at his temple in Thebes.
359
00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:04,480
The one thing you really get here
is that size matters.
360
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,640
These vast monumental figures
361
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,400
with that nice hint
that they'd be even bigger
362
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:13,600
if they bothered to stand up
for you, simply dominate.
363
00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:16,480
They take over your field of vision.
364
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:19,920
It's an assertion of the power
of the Pharaoh
365
00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:24,920
through his huge,
superhuman enthroned body.
366
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:31,560
However fragile that power
might have been in real life,
367
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:34,760
the modern world has
comprehensively bought in
368
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:38,200
to the monumentality
of the Egyptian ruler.
369
00:27:39,760 --> 00:27:44,760
And it's impossible not to think
that when people walked past here
370
00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:46,880
3,500 years ago
371
00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:52,000
that they, too, would have got
what the message was intended to be.
372
00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:58,520
This kind of bombastic,
bare-chested display
373
00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:02,120
fits the picture we have
of autocrats today.
374
00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:04,640
Impressive though such images are,
375
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:09,040
I'm sure some ancient Egyptians
would have found them as vulgar
376
00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,400
or as irritating as we might.
377
00:28:12,600 --> 00:28:17,120
But beyond the gates of the temple
there's another set of statues
378
00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:20,720
whose power and purpose is
harder to fathom.
379
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:29,560
Deep inside, we're dominated by
yet more vast images of Ramesses
380
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:33,920
that can't be explained away
as propaganda to the people.
381
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,720
Only those closest to the king
were allowed
382
00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:40,600
into this part of the temple.
383
00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:46,120
So what was the point
of these towering statues?
384
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:51,400
Some think they were aimed
at powerful elites
385
00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:53,600
to remind them who was boss.
386
00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:59,520
Others think they were aimed at
the all-seeing eye of the gods.
387
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,000
I've got a different viewer in mind.
388
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:09,600
And that's the pharaoh himself.
389
00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:16,080
Those of us with no inkling of power
on a grand scale often forget
390
00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:23,480
how hard it must be to believe
in oneself as monarch or autocrat.
391
00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:29,000
The person who really needs to be
convinced that he is pre-eminent
392
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,320
above the common herd
393
00:29:31,320 --> 00:29:37,240
is that ordinary human being who is
masquerading as omnipotent ruler.
394
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,680
That's why,
as a basic rule of thumb,
395
00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:45,480
we find more pictures of kings
and queens in all their finery
396
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:50,080
in royal palaces
than anywhere else in the world -
397
00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,000
and here in Egypt, too.
398
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,040
Monumental images of pharaohs,
399
00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:01,280
commissioned by pharaohs
themselves in vast numbers,
400
00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:05,440
played their part in convincing
the pharaoh
401
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,520
of his own pharaonic power.
402
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:15,360
These sculptures help the name of
Ramesses live on.
403
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:20,040
But the style of this statuary
would have a different
404
00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,360
and very extraordinary legacy.
405
00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:27,840
Almost certainly inspiring
the earliest statues
406
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:30,880
of the human form in Ancient Greece.
407
00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:40,240
We are now on the Greek
island of Naxos.
408
00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:45,840
It's a place famed since
ancient times for its marble.
409
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,480
With a coarse grain
and grey-blue tint,
410
00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,120
it was easy to quarry
and easy to work.
411
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:09,920
From way back, it was
shipped off to make
412
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,280
some of the earliest
monumental Greek sculptures.
413
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:19,280
They were large, rigid
and stylised figures like this.
414
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:29,560
And up in the hills of Naxos,
there's a disused quarry
415
00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,600
where you can find one of those
giant figures
416
00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:34,920
which never made it off the island.
417
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:40,680
I've read lots about this.
418
00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:44,680
But I've never actually seen it.
419
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:53,280
What it is, is a vast marble statue,
420
00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:56,840
half-finished, still in its quarry.
421
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:08,000
This half-man, half-mountain was
hewn out perhaps as early as 700 BC.
422
00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,000
As you can see, it was going to be
423
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:16,320
one of those massive,
static early Greek sculptures.
424
00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:22,080
Here are his feet.
425
00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,640
And I'm now walking up
past his legs.
426
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:37,880
This thing here,
this must be his outstretched arm
427
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:44,760
and then right up here,
we come to his head.
428
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:47,280
And by the looks of it,
429
00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:49,720
he was going to have a beard,
and they have already
430
00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,600
roughed out the shape.
431
00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:57,920
LAUGHS: Makes me think that some
men can be very stubborn.
432
00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:02,520
But this guy hasn't budged
in 2,500 years.
433
00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,640
Quite why he's still here
is a mystery.
434
00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,520
Something must have gone wrong but,
whatever, this figure gives us
435
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:16,320
a great view of how the Greek
sculptors went about their work.
436
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,160
They must have cut a trench out all
the way round it
437
00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:22,800
in order to get to it to work,
438
00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:27,440
and you can see a rather
neatly worked trench at the back.
439
00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:31,720
For me, it's just a
wonderful illustration
440
00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:34,400
of the number of people
441
00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:38,000
that must have been involved
in making a statue like this.
442
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:40,040
And every one of these
little pockmarks
443
00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:42,280
has been made by somebody's tool,
444
00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:48,480
with hundreds of men hacking away
to get this statue like this.
445
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:58,880
I find it a bit sort of weirdly
surreal.
446
00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:03,520
But his feet make an extremely nice
place to sit.
447
00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,040
Forever lying here in repose,
448
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:11,560
he's a remnant of the style
449
00:34:11,560 --> 00:34:14,040
that the Greeks
were soon to leave behind.
450
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:19,600
Because shortly after
he'd been abandoned,
451
00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:23,480
Greek sculptors developed
an astonishing new style
452
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:25,520
that was distinctly their own.
453
00:34:30,720 --> 00:34:32,280
There is a fundamental
454
00:34:32,280 --> 00:34:35,760
and universal paradox at the heart
of the sculptors' art.
455
00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,600
The lived human body,
456
00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:43,520
its mobility, it's warmth,
457
00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:47,120
its changing character,
has to be fixed...
458
00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:53,040
..suspended in the cold
and lifeless mass that is stone.
459
00:34:56,200 --> 00:34:58,880
It's always an artificial
compromise.
460
00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:06,040
But the beginnings of
the fifth century BC
461
00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:10,520
sees Greek sculpture
spring almost to life.
462
00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,480
The rigid figures
of the past give way
463
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:17,800
to daring experiments in form...
464
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:22,240
..nuance and subtlety...
465
00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:26,600
..movement and musculature.
466
00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:33,160
In under 200 years, Greek sculptors
seemed to have developed
467
00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:38,960
the tricks and techniques to weave
the illusion of a living human body.
468
00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:42,360
So radical was the change
469
00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:46,040
that it has been called
the Greek Revolution.
470
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:52,520
The exact cause of this revolution
471
00:35:52,520 --> 00:35:55,080
is one of the great
mysteries of the history of art.
472
00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:59,040
Some believe it was Greek democracy,
473
00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:01,840
of its new respect for the
individual that launched it.
474
00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:06,600
Others, that Greek artists
just got better.
475
00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:09,760
In truth, we don't know.
476
00:36:11,720 --> 00:36:15,800
But whatever the causes,
over the next centuries,
477
00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:20,840
it was to have some truly
astonishing artistic consequences.
478
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,520
This is one of the places that
the Greek Revolution leaves.
479
00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:52,560
It's impossible not to see
this as an amazing work of art.
480
00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:04,640
Dating is hard, but my guess
is that it was cast around 100 BC.
481
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,600
Here, the hallmarks of
the Greek Revolution
482
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:11,080
are brought together
and trained on the body
483
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:12,920
of a battered and bruised boxer.
484
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:20,960
Boxing was always an important part
of the ancient athletic repertoire.
485
00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:24,560
And you can tell that he once had
a fit body,
486
00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:26,880
but it's really suffered.
487
00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:32,320
What is equally striking
is the loving care
488
00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:36,240
with which this wreck of a human
being has been depicted.
489
00:37:37,600 --> 00:37:41,040
He's got a broken nose
and cauliflower ears,
490
00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:44,760
flabby from where
he has taken all those blows.
491
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:49,600
And, in fact, he is still
bleeding from fresh wounds.
492
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:52,720
There, the blood is shown in copper
493
00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:56,880
and the bruises on his cheeks
are brought out
494
00:37:56,880 --> 00:37:59,560
by the slightly different colour
495
00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:02,600
of a slightly different
bronze alloy.
496
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:06,040
It's almost as if the bronze
497
00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:09,080
has become the man's skin.
498
00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:14,640
What makes the boxer so impressive
499
00:38:14,640 --> 00:38:17,800
isn't just the extraordinary
technique.
500
00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:20,080
It's the point the piece is making.
501
00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:24,560
The artist has used
the descriptive powers
502
00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:28,800
of this version of realism to launch
a devastating attack
503
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:33,760
on the body culture that obsessed
the Ancient Greeks.
504
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:37,960
He introduces a very different
type of character
505
00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:43,520
from those early,
youthful, well-toned athletes.
506
00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:46,760
Not just in the wounds and the
scars,
507
00:38:46,760 --> 00:38:48,640
but in the emotional collapse.
508
00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:55,840
In a world in which there was
something of a cult
509
00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:59,280
of youthful athletic prowess,
510
00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:03,640
all those telling realistic
details add up to a reminder
511
00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:09,840
that the body beautiful was not so
very far from the body brutalised.
512
00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:13,640
This work of art is prodding
513
00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:16,800
at the awkward underbelly
of Greek culture.
514
00:39:19,240 --> 00:39:23,240
It's the incisive brilliance
of sculptures like The Boxer
515
00:39:23,240 --> 00:39:26,280
that gives the impression
that the Greek Revolution
516
00:39:26,280 --> 00:39:30,320
was an unalloyed triumph
of artistic achievement.
517
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:36,600
But there is another way of looking
at the Greek Revolution,
518
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:39,960
and at its losses as well
as its gains.
519
00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:46,920
Remember Phrasikleia,
who died unmarried?
520
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:51,240
She was made long before that
revolutionary change.
521
00:39:54,240 --> 00:39:57,360
What I love is her elegance
and simplicity.
522
00:39:58,400 --> 00:40:03,520
The way she reaches out, offering
a gift, or meeting us eye-to-eye.
523
00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:13,080
That directness is exactly what gets
lost in the Greek Revolution.
524
00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:17,160
Later sculptures may be more
supple than Phrasikleia,
525
00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:21,320
they may seem to move more
adventurously,
526
00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:24,760
but they don't engage us
in the same way.
527
00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:27,760
In fact, if you try to look them in
the eye,
528
00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:31,800
many of them coyly avoid your gaze.
529
00:40:31,800 --> 00:40:37,200
And many of them, like The Boxer,
seem lost in their own world.
530
00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:41,520
It's almost as if
the involved viewer
531
00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:44,960
has become an admiring voyeur,
532
00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:51,000
and we are one step on the way to
sculpture becoming an art object.
533
00:40:52,240 --> 00:40:57,440
Phrasikleia is determinedly
resisting being an art object,
534
00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:00,320
and one thing she is not is coy.
535
00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:07,080
But the problems of the
Greek Revolution don't stop here.
536
00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:20,160
Just a few hundred years after
Phrasikleia,
537
00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:24,200
this is what female sculptures
in the Greek world had become.
538
00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:34,440
This sculpture exposes
some of the dangers
539
00:41:34,440 --> 00:41:36,440
in the pursuit of realism,
540
00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:42,160
and that blurry and perilous
boundary between artefact and flesh.
541
00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:51,640
This notorious body belongs to
the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
542
00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:54,280
It is a Roman version
of a ground-breaking
543
00:41:54,280 --> 00:41:57,080
statue by the sculptor Praxiteles
544
00:41:57,080 --> 00:41:59,200
in the fourth century BC.
545
00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:03,880
In the ancient world,
this was celebrated
546
00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:07,240
as a milestone in classical art
547
00:42:07,240 --> 00:42:11,280
because it was the first naked
statue of a woman.
548
00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:16,600
Today, it's difficult to see beyond
549
00:42:16,600 --> 00:42:19,360
the ubiquity of images like this
550
00:42:19,360 --> 00:42:22,720
and recapture just how
daring and dangerous
551
00:42:22,720 --> 00:42:25,160
it would have been
for the ancient Greeks.
552
00:42:28,080 --> 00:42:31,960
This sculpture broke through
social conventions.
553
00:42:33,680 --> 00:42:36,280
It wasn't just that up to this point
554
00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:39,040
female statues had been clothed.
555
00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:43,000
In some parts of the Greek
world, real-life women -
556
00:42:43,000 --> 00:42:46,960
at least among the upper-class -
went around veiled.
557
00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:51,960
But, in fact, it wasn't just
the nakedness -
558
00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:57,760
this Aphrodite broke the mould
in a decidedly erotic way.
559
00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:04,800
Just look at her hands.
560
00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:08,440
Are they modestly trying to cover
herself up?
561
00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:12,040
Are they pointing us
in the direction
562
00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:13,400
of what we want to see most?
563
00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:17,960
Or are they simply a tease?
564
00:43:20,160 --> 00:43:21,920
Whatever the answer,
565
00:43:21,920 --> 00:43:27,200
Praxiteles has established
that edgy relationship
566
00:43:27,200 --> 00:43:29,640
between a statue of a woman
567
00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:31,520
and an assumed male viewer
568
00:43:31,520 --> 00:43:33,920
that has never been lost
569
00:43:33,920 --> 00:43:35,800
from the history of European art.
570
00:43:37,800 --> 00:43:41,920
But that difficult boundary
between statue and flesh
571
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:44,240
was understood
by the Greeks themselves.
572
00:43:45,280 --> 00:43:49,360
They told a tale that shows how
they, too, knew of the perils
573
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:52,600
they faced in creating what they saw
574
00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:55,280
as realistic images
of the human body.
575
00:43:56,560 --> 00:44:01,760
One night, it was said, a young man
became so aroused by this statue,
576
00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:07,480
he forced himself upon it, leaving
a stain of lust on her thigh.
577
00:44:07,480 --> 00:44:12,200
He later threw himself over a cliff
to his death, in shame.
578
00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:20,240
That story of the stain
not only shows
579
00:44:20,240 --> 00:44:24,480
how a female statue
can drive a man mad,
580
00:44:24,480 --> 00:44:29,360
but also how art can act as an alibi
581
00:44:29,360 --> 00:44:32,920
for what was - let's face it - rape.
582
00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:36,760
Don't forget - Aphrodite
never consented.
583
00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:41,760
But however troubling
584
00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:44,480
the Greek Revolution was in its
own time,
585
00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:48,600
there's a deeper legacy that
reaches the modern age.
586
00:44:48,600 --> 00:44:50,800
One to which we are often blind.
587
00:44:59,280 --> 00:45:04,480
Inherited by Ancient Rome, rekindled
in the European Renaissance,
588
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:08,800
faith in the Greek version
of realism persisted through time.
589
00:45:18,440 --> 00:45:22,080
And as the reverence
for the classical style grew,
590
00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:25,160
it would be invested
with even greater meaning.
591
00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:32,080
Not just as a model for figurative
art to aspire to,
592
00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:37,280
but nothing less than a barometer
of civilisation itself.
593
00:45:42,240 --> 00:45:44,800
To understand the forces at work,
594
00:45:44,800 --> 00:45:48,200
you have to follow in the footsteps
of the classical bodies
595
00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:51,960
that left their original
habitat of Greece and Rome...
596
00:45:56,240 --> 00:45:58,160
..and by the 18th century
597
00:45:58,160 --> 00:46:03,000
had found themselves in
distinctly foreign worlds,
598
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:06,360
adorning the mansions
and palaces of Northern Europe.
599
00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:17,320
Syon House was once the fashionable
country house
600
00:46:17,320 --> 00:46:20,240
of the first
Duke and Duchess of Northumberland.
601
00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:29,640
In the mid-1700s,
they transformed the house
602
00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:34,040
into a vivid and imagined
expression of the classical world.
603
00:46:39,400 --> 00:46:43,240
Here, we're in the company of
ancient bodies -
604
00:46:43,240 --> 00:46:46,040
both originals and imitations.
605
00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:52,320
And it can seem an oppressive space
606
00:46:52,320 --> 00:46:54,200
in which no other way
607
00:46:54,200 --> 00:46:57,160
of representing the human
form is permitted.
608
00:47:02,240 --> 00:47:05,280
The climactic set
piece of the house
609
00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:07,160
is in a central hall
610
00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:11,000
where two great masterpieces of
ancient sculpture face off.
611
00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:16,080
At one end, the Dying Gaul...
612
00:47:18,200 --> 00:47:21,520
..a figure who is said to
embody the ancient virtue
613
00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:24,040
of nobility in defeat.
614
00:47:29,160 --> 00:47:30,760
But in this room,
615
00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:34,080
he is forever overshadowed
by what stands opposite.
616
00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:49,240
By far the most important sculpture
in the entire house is this one.
617
00:47:51,200 --> 00:47:53,400
It's a replica of a classical work
618
00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:56,920
originally made
perhaps around 300 BC.
619
00:47:58,240 --> 00:48:01,520
In the 18th century,
it would achieve
620
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:07,120
unparalleled fame
as the greatest sculpture ever made.
621
00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:09,960
He is known
as the Apollo Belvedere.
622
00:48:13,880 --> 00:48:17,720
The Apollo takes his name from
the Belvedere Sculpture Court
623
00:48:17,720 --> 00:48:21,520
in the Vatican, where,
since the early 16th century,
624
00:48:21,520 --> 00:48:23,360
he stood on display.
625
00:48:24,720 --> 00:48:28,880
Lovely as he is, that is
probably where he would have stayed,
626
00:48:28,880 --> 00:48:34,440
one sculpture among many, had it not
been for the international fame
627
00:48:34,440 --> 00:48:39,520
given to him by one man -
Johann Joachim Winckelmann.
628
00:48:42,960 --> 00:48:45,480
"This was quite simply", he wrote,
629
00:48:45,480 --> 00:48:48,000
"the most sublime statue of
antiquity
630
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:50,040
"to have escaped destruction.
631
00:48:51,720 --> 00:48:55,360
"An eternal spring time,"
he went on,
632
00:48:55,360 --> 00:49:00,360
"clothes the alluring virility
of his mature years
633
00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:03,440
"with a pleasing youth
634
00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:09,000
"and plays with soft tenderness upon
the lofty structure of his limbs."
635
00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:13,600
"How is it possible,"
he asked, "to describe it?"
636
00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:20,880
Winckelmann had worked his way
up as librarian
637
00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:25,760
and right-hand man to some of the
biggest art collectors of the day,
638
00:49:25,760 --> 00:49:28,920
and, finally, he had become
Director of Antiquities
639
00:49:28,920 --> 00:49:30,600
at the Vatican itself,
640
00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:34,400
and the author of some of the most
important books on art history ever.
641
00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:39,080
Winckelmann was a man who had
enthused over
642
00:49:39,080 --> 00:49:42,640
any number of Greco-Roman bodies,
643
00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:45,920
but the Apollo Belvedere really
tipped him over the edge.
644
00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:56,000
But Winckelmann offered more than
words of adoration.
645
00:50:00,440 --> 00:50:03,280
He would devise a brand-new theory
646
00:50:03,280 --> 00:50:06,560
that would leave an awkward
and lasting legacy.
647
00:50:09,600 --> 00:50:11,480
In the library at Syon is the book
648
00:50:11,480 --> 00:50:15,000
in which Winckelmann
first laid out his theories.
649
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:21,200
Originally published in 1764,
650
00:50:21,200 --> 00:50:25,200
it was in these pages that
the Apollo was elevated
651
00:50:25,200 --> 00:50:28,240
above a mere artwork to stand
652
00:50:28,240 --> 00:50:32,040
as the ultimate symbol
of civilisation itself.
653
00:50:37,480 --> 00:50:40,720
This is Winckelmann's most
influential book,
654
00:50:40,720 --> 00:50:44,160
History Of The Art
Of The Ancient World,
655
00:50:44,160 --> 00:50:46,880
and on the front page,
there is, in fact,
656
00:50:46,880 --> 00:50:51,520
a lovely drawing which includes
the Apollo Belvedere.
657
00:50:51,520 --> 00:50:55,720
And what he did that no-one had
systematically done before
658
00:50:55,720 --> 00:51:00,240
was to say that the best art
659
00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:05,120
was made at the time
of the best politics.
660
00:51:05,120 --> 00:51:08,360
It was almost as if he was
wanting to argue
661
00:51:08,360 --> 00:51:11,240
that you could track the history,
662
00:51:11,240 --> 00:51:14,600
the rise and fall of civilisation
663
00:51:14,600 --> 00:51:17,440
through the rise and fall
664
00:51:17,440 --> 00:51:19,520
of the representation
of the human body.
665
00:51:21,240 --> 00:51:23,840
Winckelmann's views would seduce
666
00:51:23,840 --> 00:51:26,880
even our most esteemed
art historians.
667
00:51:29,600 --> 00:51:32,600
KENNETH CLARK: This is the figure
of the most admired
668
00:51:32,600 --> 00:51:34,560
piece of sculpture in the world.
669
00:51:35,560 --> 00:51:39,920
The Apollo surely embodies a higher
state of civilisation.
670
00:51:41,400 --> 00:51:43,880
For more than 200 years,
671
00:51:43,880 --> 00:51:46,120
Greek sculpture was regarded
672
00:51:46,120 --> 00:51:51,480
as a beacon of a superior
Western civilisation.
673
00:51:51,480 --> 00:51:56,440
The northern imagination takes shape
in an image of fear and darkness.
674
00:51:58,080 --> 00:52:00,240
The Hellenistic imagination
675
00:52:00,240 --> 00:52:03,720
in an image of harmonised
proportion and human reason.
676
00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:10,120
But for me, Winckelmann's
legacy goes even further.
677
00:52:11,600 --> 00:52:13,760
The inheritance of Winckelmann
678
00:52:13,760 --> 00:52:19,320
has been a distorting
and sometimes divisive lens,
679
00:52:19,320 --> 00:52:22,680
deeply affecting the way
people in the West
680
00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:25,400
have encountered and judged
681
00:52:25,400 --> 00:52:28,960
the art of other very
different civilisations.
682
00:52:30,960 --> 00:52:32,680
I think Winckelmann
683
00:52:32,680 --> 00:52:36,040
has caught us in a narrow
way of seeing
684
00:52:36,040 --> 00:52:39,760
that's difficult to perceive,
much harder to escape.
685
00:52:45,240 --> 00:52:50,600
But there is a place we can pin down
the legacy of Winckelmann.
686
00:52:50,600 --> 00:52:54,560
It is back where we started,
with the art of the Olmec.
687
00:53:01,120 --> 00:53:03,080
It was 1964,
688
00:53:03,080 --> 00:53:07,200
and Mexico was investing
in a new national identity
689
00:53:07,200 --> 00:53:11,160
that asserted the glories
of its ancient past,
690
00:53:11,160 --> 00:53:14,200
and central to the project was art.
691
00:53:19,680 --> 00:53:22,160
A new museum was purpose-built
692
00:53:22,160 --> 00:53:24,960
to showcase the depth
of Mexican history...
693
00:53:27,600 --> 00:53:30,880
..and the treasures of
its great civilisations
694
00:53:30,880 --> 00:53:32,920
laid out for all to see.
695
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:36,520
Of vital importance
696
00:53:36,520 --> 00:53:41,120
was the celebration of Mexico's
earliest civilisation -
697
00:53:41,120 --> 00:53:42,280
the Olmec.
698
00:53:44,560 --> 00:53:47,600
Along with this
and other colossal heads
699
00:53:47,600 --> 00:53:50,960
was an array of extraordinary
Olmec bodies.
700
00:53:55,280 --> 00:53:57,760
This gathering of stone figurines
701
00:53:57,760 --> 00:53:59,880
was found exactly as you see them.
702
00:54:04,960 --> 00:54:08,280
Whether religious symbolism
or ancient vanity,
703
00:54:08,280 --> 00:54:11,720
this clay figure clasps
a mirror to its chest.
704
00:54:16,360 --> 00:54:18,240
And what looks like a baby
705
00:54:18,240 --> 00:54:22,000
was one of hundreds known
from Olmec cemeteries.
706
00:54:26,880 --> 00:54:31,480
But star of the show was
a brand-new acquisition.
707
00:54:37,240 --> 00:54:41,320
It was the statue known as
The Olmec Wrestler.
708
00:54:42,760 --> 00:54:45,560
Its display of anatomical detail
709
00:54:45,560 --> 00:54:47,600
and Greek-style proportion
710
00:54:47,600 --> 00:54:51,560
made it one of a kind
in Olmec art.
711
00:54:56,800 --> 00:55:00,080
Held as proof that the
Olmec Civilisation
712
00:55:00,080 --> 00:55:04,880
was every bit as sophisticated
as any in the classical world,
713
00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:07,760
he quickly became a poster boy.
714
00:55:07,760 --> 00:55:12,680
Not just for the Olmec,
but for all of ancient Mexico.
715
00:55:17,240 --> 00:55:22,320
And it is with The Wrestler that we
see the impact of Winckelmann
716
00:55:22,320 --> 00:55:27,680
and his version of classical form
on our Western way of seeing.
717
00:55:35,040 --> 00:55:40,160
What appeals to us about him
are those shades of Greco-Roman art
718
00:55:40,160 --> 00:55:42,280
that seem to fit with our own
expectations
719
00:55:42,280 --> 00:55:44,760
of artistic achievement -
720
00:55:44,760 --> 00:55:47,000
the expressive twist of the body,
721
00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:50,320
the apparently naturalistic muscles
722
00:55:50,320 --> 00:55:53,200
and strikingly realistic face.
723
00:55:53,200 --> 00:55:55,880
There's even the name
that he's been given
724
00:55:55,880 --> 00:55:58,400
with its echo of classical
Greek sport.
725
00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:03,840
If this is the work
of an outstanding Olmec sculptor,
726
00:56:03,840 --> 00:56:10,320
it's one who, by chance,
got later Western tastes spot-on.
727
00:56:12,320 --> 00:56:16,680
But so perfectly does
he measure up to Western ideals,
728
00:56:16,680 --> 00:56:21,720
that some now believe that he
is, in fact, a fake -
729
00:56:21,720 --> 00:56:26,320
the work of someone who understood
the all pervasive allure
730
00:56:26,320 --> 00:56:29,080
of the classical style.
731
00:56:29,080 --> 00:56:32,760
If true, it shows how
Winckelmann's legacy
732
00:56:32,760 --> 00:56:35,960
can cloud our appreciation
of other cultures,
733
00:56:35,960 --> 00:56:39,160
even taint our understanding
of the past.
734
00:56:40,920 --> 00:56:42,640
But, real or fake,
735
00:56:42,640 --> 00:56:47,760
The Olmec Wrestler shows that
ancient images of human figures
736
00:56:47,760 --> 00:56:52,680
can tell us much about the past,
and even more about ourselves.
737
00:56:54,680 --> 00:56:57,880
When we admire The Olmec Wrestler,
738
00:56:57,880 --> 00:57:01,240
we are also facing our own
assumptions
739
00:57:01,240 --> 00:57:05,720
about what makes a satisfying image
of a human being.
740
00:57:07,120 --> 00:57:09,360
But it does more than that.
741
00:57:09,360 --> 00:57:14,400
Because it always shifts the focus
onto us as viewers
742
00:57:14,400 --> 00:57:15,840
and onto our own prejudices.
743
00:57:17,600 --> 00:57:22,040
So in a way, The Wrestler
is an acute reminder
744
00:57:22,040 --> 00:57:26,000
of one fundamental truth
of the art of the body -
745
00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:29,640
that it's not just about how people
in the past
746
00:57:29,640 --> 00:57:33,600
chose to represent themselves
or what they looked like.
747
00:57:33,600 --> 00:57:37,000
It is also about how we look.
748
00:57:41,200 --> 00:57:44,360
The Open University has produced
a free poster
749
00:57:44,360 --> 00:57:47,280
that explores the history of
different civilisations
750
00:57:47,280 --> 00:57:48,680
through artefacts.
751
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:52,800
To order your free copy,
please call...
752
00:57:58,240 --> 00:58:00,280
Or go to the address on screen
753
00:58:00,280 --> 00:58:02,880
and follow the links for
The Open University.
96198
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