Smith, R.R.R. Hellenistic Sculpture. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1991.
The book begins with an introduction that explains the context and functions of Hellenistic statues. It also briefly covers the patrons who commissioned the works and the sculptors who created them. I felt that other than the introduction, the remainder of the book got into too many historical details for my study. If you're not familiar with the locations of ancient Greek cities, you're lost reading this book. Smith describes more of the history, rather than the prominent features of each piece. This was confusing for me since I am not familiar with the locations in ancient Greece.
After reading this book, I felt that my favorite Hellenistic sculptures were from the Gallic groups and the fauns or satyrs. Many of these pieces were totally free from the classical influence and did not have the same formal feeling to their poses. Many faun figures seemed off balance, as if drunk or in a state of euphoria. The Gallic groups gave a feeling of agitated urgency. You could see the fear on their faces and in their eyes of an impending doom coming down upon them.
I noticed that there is a great similarity between the Hellenistic statues of draped women and the images of the Virgin Mary of the Renaissance. Both have majestic expressions in their face and body positioning. Both also look to be from another world or higher plane.
It was interesting to the effect the Hellenistic culture had on Egypt. The examples from Egypt were mainly portrait busts. These busts still had the traditional Egyptian headdress, but there was definitely a change in the appearance of the face. There was a greater sense of realism. The planes of the face were not smooth and flawless, like in regular Egyptian portraits, they were rough with details that showed expression.
R.R.R. Smith was born in 1954, and attended college at Fettes College, Edinburgh and Pembroke College, Oxford. He spent three years as a Fellow by Examination at Magdalen College, Oxford, and two years as a Harkness Fellow at Princeton University. He has worked on archaeological sites in Turkey, most recently at Aphrodisias in Caria. He is now Associate Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.