Up Close and Personal: Revisiting the Parthenon’s East Pediment

The Parthenon is the most important Greek monument to have survived from Classical Antiquity and the sculptures in the East Pediment, over its front entrance, formed its most significant sculptural decoration.

This lecture re-examines the remaining sculptures, working from close personal examination made during the speaker’s time at the British Museum, and offers both radically new interpretations of individual figures and new insights into the history of the sculptures during antiquity.  The way the huge finished figures were fitted into the narrow pedimental space, the addition of metal accoutrements, the use of painted colour, and the details of the superbly carved figures themselves are all brought to bear on a fresh attempt to understand the sculptures, their identity, their positions and poses, the cultural and political ideas behind them and their changing historical context.

To RSVP, please email isaw@nyu.edu.