Ancient Greek Art

Do you have any knowledge of ancient Greek art? If no, then you have reached the right place an article where you will get all the information along with knowledge of ancient Greek arts.It is said that around 2500 B.C. when this art forms started to take place.

Ancient Greek Art

The western classical art form started to began in the ancient period in the prehistoric civilizations. Later with the influences of eastern civilizations, European and Italian ideas were involved in the other periods of ages.

Ancient Greek painting

Four Different Periods of Art

There are four different periods of which the art made its enhancement. They are the Ancient period, Byzantine period, Modern period and Contemporary period. All the art forms changed in every change of periods. Chiefly, there are six forms of Greek art.

The Dark Ages (1100 – 750 B.C.)

During the Dark Age, Artisans in Athens produced an abstract style of painted pottery called Protogeometric (meaning “first geometric”). The precision of the painting on this pottery foretells the character of later Greek arts. Around 800 B.C., the Hellenic civilization began to arise.

The last 2 centuries of the Dark Age, are called the Geometric period. That refers to a primarily abstract style of pottery decoration of the time. The Greeks probably adapted Phoenician alphabet at the same time, (around 800 B.C).

The Archaic Period (750-500 B.C.)

In the Archaic period, statues were never intended to be representations of actual individuals. They were depictions of an ideal – beauty, piety, honor or sacrifice. They were always depictions of young men, ranging in age from adolescence to early maturity, even when placed on the graves of (presumably) elderly citizens. Kouroi were all stylistically similar. Gradations in the social importance of the person commissioning the statue were indicated by size rather than artistic innovation.

Classical Period (338-31 B.C.)

The classical Age was a period of the establishment of democracy, the Persian invasion, and even the Peloponnesian war which even left its imprint on Greek art and architecture. Free-standing statues became the norm during this period with the skill of the classical period artists on view with their statues with different naturalistic poses.

The temple of Zeus and the Parthenon at Athens was the marvel of this period which took Greek art and architecture to different levels. The most famous artist was Phidias and his statue of Zeus at Olympia and the statue of Athena at Parthenon which were magnificent pieces of art from Ancient Greece.

The Hellenistic Period (338-31 B.C.)

This represents the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance of the city-state to that of larger monarchies.

Thus Ancient Greek Arts became more diverse and more influenced by the cultures of the peoples drawn into the Greek orbit. In the view of most art historians, it also declined in quality and originality; this, however, is a subjective judgment which artists and art-lovers of the time would not have shared.

In the Hellenistic Greek art, people sought to portray the inner emotions and details of everyday life instead of the heroic beauty. The style changed from godlike serenity to individual emotion and from the dramatic to melodramatic pathos, using dramatic poses and theatrical contrasts of light and shade playing over figures in high reliefs.

One characteristic of these sculptures was that they showed extreme expressions of pain, stress, wild anger, fear, and despair. The first Theaters were built in the Hellenistic Period. Corinthian columns began to be more common in this period.

 

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Greek art Sculpture, Painting

They are architecture, jewelry making, painting, sculpture, pottery, and music. These were broadly discussed among the Greek people on a daily basis. They discussed the improvisation of the all the art forms. A different era had own different names of the art form. Like Archaic Greek art, Classical Greek art, Hellenistic Greek art, and many others.

Singing with pipes and lyres were the main components in music Greece art. It had a great impact on all ages of people in Greece. It also said that around or approximately 500 B.C., music was incorporated with Greek plays. Different kinds of music and plays used to be depicted and performed in the society.

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It was one of the main ways in which Greek people used to entertain themselves. Slowly and steadily, Greek philosophers began to think about music. They thought how to incorporate music with numbers and tried to understand and relate them together.

With the help of architecture, people and artisans and craftsmen tried to build supreme monuments, forums, housings, and buildings. Greek sculptures were also an integral part of art forms. Small and large figures and tombstones were built. These are still a tourist attraction in Greece.

This is the period when monumental stone sculpture, vase painting, and other developments were seen represented as Greek ideas. As each community attempted to establish itself as culturally superior, Monumental building programs became part of the competition. In this period, Kouros and kore statues were created.

These stylized figures of young men and maidens express the birth of a specifically Greek artistic obsession – the idealization of the human figure. The art of vase-painting reached a level of artistic and technical excellence.

Ancient Greek Art

Other Greek art forms in the ancient period were painting and Greek jewelry making. These all are some of the tourist attraction till date. Thus, these are some of the different forms of ancient Greece arts.

How did Ancient Greek art influence art today?

Greek culture was spread far and wide during the invasions of Alexander the Great, which stretched from Greece to Central Asia up to the Indian frontier and even included Egypt. He carried with him historians, artists, writers, and philosophers who helped him integrate Greek culture which included its art and architecture, and integrated them with the local cultures. This was the first wave of Greek artistic expansion.

After the decline of Greek political power, their art and architectural techniques were adopted by the rising Roman empire who themselves rose to great prominence and left their imprints all across the world.

The traits of roman culture were picked up by the European scholars in the early modern age and started adopting traits of roman and Greek cultures. They wanted to imitate them as they considered them as the cradle of western civilization and considered it as the pinnacle of civilization which led to a resurgence of Greek art and has continued to influence modern art, especially in western countries.

Greek architecture has influenced art and architecture over generations. Ancient Greek art and architecture brought in the concept of using geometry and abstract works in sculptures. The accuracy by which they created human anatomy in their statues is still studied today as the realism it portrayed is just extraordinary. The late Hellenistic period portrayed the artist’s emotions through their art. Greek art has formed the foundation of Western art and architecture.

It also gives many imagery of events that have helped historians to construct the history of Ancient Greece. They mainly portrayed their bravery in battles which has helped us recognize the wars fought in those times.

Greek art and architecture have a lasting influence on its simplicity and reasonableness on the history of Western civilization and Ancient Greek Arts. Greeks stated many of permanent themes, attitudes, and forms of Western culture which can be even in buildings like the Capitol Hill of USA and also other western country public buildings.

What makes Greek art unique?

The unique thing about the Ancient Greek arts was the breaking away from the artistic conventions prevailing across civilizations, and portraying an idealized form of the human body bringing out qualities like poise, mood, and grace to make lifeless materials look like life-like figures. The perfection achieved by the Greek sculptors in portraying the human body still continues to inspire modern artists.

Ancient Greek artist

Ancient Greek was a place which produced one of the greatest artist the world has produced and some of the famous artists were:

What are the 5 most important artworks of ancient Greece?