For many cultures, especially in Western civilization, the human body has been in the center of creative expression. The human figure in Western Art has always been evolving and as its depiction changes, the audience is given a deeper look on the society’s values and beliefs. The depiction of the human body clearly changes from the three different art stylizations of the Aegean, Greek, and Roman cultures. From these three important civilizations, the human frame has changed from being a stylized figure, which is when an art piece does not resemble something that is in the natural world, in the case of many Aegean figurines; to a mix of both stylizations and realism in early Greek statues, to a much more realistic and natural embodiment of …show more content…
The Aegean period, referred to the art that was produced by three distinctive civilizations of the Minoan, the Cycladic, and the Mycenean, which doted the Aegean Sea. The significance of the art produced by cultures in the Aegean Sea was that it laid the early foundations of early Greek Art. The marble female figurine is from the Cyclades islands near the Aegean Sea, and figures like these, often had an unknown creator and were made around 2600-2400 BC. Hundreds of these marble female figurines were often found in tombs and varied in sizes, but most were as big as an idol. These figurines were very stylized compared to the later sculptures of the Greek and Romans, as the shape of the figurines at face value seem two-dimensional and flat. These female idols’ form is very rigid and compact with no spaces between there folded arms and their torso, and no space between their legs. The rigidness and geometric shape of the figurines also conveys a lack of movement. The overall design of the hundreds of marble female idols depicts an abstraction from natural world and leans toward a stylization of the human …show more content…
The Greek art period lasted around 1000 BC and ended in 1 AD when the Romans started to rule over the Greek mainland. The main culture that is at the forefront of Greek Art is the Athenians. After the victory over Persia, Pericles and the Athenians spear headed the use of public money and with the support of neighboring city-states ushered in a new era in which Greek art and innovation flourished. The Greek art movement can be divided into four styles which were Geometric, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. Not much is known about the Geometric period, but the influence of the Aegean and Egyptian art is clearly seen in the Archaic movement. Out of all the art periods of ancient Greece, the most famous is the Classical and Hellenistic periods which also largely influenced Roman art. The marble statue of kourus, was a very popular statue in ancient Greece and was usually used as grave markers or offerings in sanctuaries and in very rare circumstances depicted a god, mainly Apollo. The early marble statue of kourus were around 590 BC and were largely influenced by Egyptian Art. The transition from stylization comes with the shape of these statues as lifelike and three dimensional, but if looked at in the front still looks very much flat. The form is also an example of the change from
The Statue of a kouros and the Portrait statue of a boy both depict similar subjects, however are greatly different in how they accomplish this task. Through detail, or lack there of, the Greeks and Romans are able to display a certain value they have in its members. These two statues were made about 500 years apart and approach the sculpting process quit differently. The Greek statue seems to use geometric exaggerated lines to form the body while the Romans use a more realistic approach and sculpt the body with a more rounded finish. Statue of a kouros, from about 590 B.C and Portrait of a boy, from about the first century, do not share any great technical aspects and are basically nothing alike.
The subject does not accurately depict the human anatomy. In fact, while studying this figure, one may notice that geometric shapes make up many of the limbs. For example, the artist uses ovals to represent the palm of the hands, the shoulders and the knees. The man's chest is in the form of squares with rounded edges and with perfect little white circles as nipples. This...
And just like the Greek the statue are both big and almost human size. A great example of this is the “Augustus of Primaporta, 1st century C.E. (Vatican Museums).” It truly shows the evolution of art sculpting. It is a full size very detailed sculpture of Augustus. It very detailed from his hair showing every curl and split to the small details in his armor that also depicts a story as well is shows the god of the sky looking down on him and the goddess of the earth looking up towards him as they watch the Parthians surrender to him and returning the standards shows the great power that Augustus has, and not just that but also the sculpture itself is a symbol for how Augustus wanted everyone to see him as, as god like. And it even has a little small cupid on the side which is also detailed which shows that Augusts is decedent from a
Moving through art we start to see more and more human figures being represented. At first they appear on paintings, then small figurines, and finally in full body realistic rock sculptures. Two examples of this are Anavysos Kouros and Doryphoros the Spear Bearer.
Hellenistic art, let alone architecture, was a period of dramatic transformations that deterred greatly from the Greek Classical period. While the Classical Greek concepts were not entirely abandoned, the Hellenistic period expanded the formal horizons with dramatic posing, sweeping lines, and high contrast of light, shadow and emotion, something greatly different from the Classical artists ideas. The conventions and rules of the Classical period gave way to experimentation and a sense of freedom that allowed the artists of the Hellenistic period to explore their subjects from unique points of view that they had not previously done. The Altar to Zeus in Pergamon is the perfect representation of the Hellenistic period. Pergamon contained the Altar to Zeus in the same way that the Athenian Acropolis contained the Parthenon and is considered by the Greek art historian Gisela Richter to be “the most famous altar of Hellenistic times” (Handbook 32). The Altar of Pergamon is uniquely suited as an ideal example of 2nd century Greek culture that is tied to the ideals of the people, and shows off Hellenistic characteristics that define the time just as the Parthenon is a staple in the Classical period. [Stokstad]
This is a copy of the sculpture of Athena Parthenos, dressed in battle attire, that was originally created by Phidias during the period of 447-39 B.C. The statue of Athena Parthenos was to be constructed, not of bronze, but of gold and ivory. The face, arms, and feet of the statue were to be made of ivory and the clothing, of thickly plated gold. The statue was an enormous size that towered thirty-three feet tall. The costly nature of the materials out of which it was designed was intended to overwhelm the viewer, creating a sense of religious awe.
The human form transcends throughout time persistently present in art. Dating all the way back to Paleolithic human beings our renderings of idealized forms have served many purposes. Though the Neolithic and Paleolithic purpose of these renderings is widely speculative the range of reason for these depictions ranges from idolization and worship to assertion of aristocratic and economic status even to simply serving as statements of self-expression. Amongst ruins and artifacts, sculptures of ancient cultures demonstrate the ways in which humans perceptions of what is aesthetically desirable have progressed. Two idealized sculptures the Woman from Willendorf and the Khafre statue with approximately 21,500 years separating their individual gestations this demonstrate the stylistic progression of idealized imagery through time.
Sculpture is one of the most important parts of Greek art since it is almost the only art form that has survived in some quantity. The ancient Greeks were especially known for their sculpture because their sculptures were extremely life like and beautiful. It was important to the ancient Greeks to combine passion and reason in their sculpture. Greek sculptures were mostly of the human form since they looked at their gods as having a human form. All of the sculptures were nudes of males because society looked down upon female nudity until latter on in time when you started to see sculptures such as the Venus di Milo, which was modeled after Aphrodite (Wikpedia the free encyclopedia. Wikpedia.11 Nov 2004. 12 Nov 2004 http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Greek_art ). One of the most amazing sculptures is the colossus sculpture of Zeus in Olympia it was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Ancient writers said that it stood 12.40 meters high, 6.65 meters long and 9.76 meters deep the body of Zeus was made of ivory followed by a robe made of gold topped with a silver olive wreath and his throne was decorated with mythological scenes painted by Panainos and Kolotis the statue itself was created by Phidos. Michael Lahanas. 25 Dec 2002. 11 Nov 2004 (http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/ZeusStatue.htm). Another great sculpture is the colossus Athena Parthenos. This sculpture just like the colossus statue of Zeus was made of gold and ivory and had various mythological engravings in her shield, helmet and pedestal.
The Egyptians had influenced Early Greek art for several years; it was during the time of war (Archaic Period) and art was not their top priority. Most of their sculptures were similar to those in Egypt and there was no sense of personal style. However, as peace was approaching, artists started to focus on how to make their work outstanding. They took advantage of their knowledge in anatomy and started applying it to their blocks of marbles. During the early Classical Period, Kritios Boy was sculpted, and it showed the break from the Egyptian style.
The masculine and idealized form of the human body is an ever-present characteristic of Michelangelo’s sculpture. Many people over the years have speculated why this may be, but there has never been a definitive answer, and probably never will be. Through all of his sculpture there is a distinct classical influence, with both his subject matter and his inclination to artistically create something beautiful. In most cases, for Michelangelo, this means the idealized human figure, seeping with contraposto. This revival of classical influences is common for a Renaissance artisan, but the new, exaggerated form of the human body is new and unique to Michelangelo’s artistic style.
2), now known in academia as the Woman of Willendorf, is a 4.4 inch high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been made between 28,000 and 25,000 BCE. Very little is known about the origin of the figurine, the method of creation used, or cultural significance, however, the piece is one of many Venus figurines or early representations of the female figure that survived from the Paleolithic period. The figurine never had feet and does not stand on its own. It might have been pegged into soft ground. The parts of the body related to fertility and childbearing are emphasized, which leads researchers to believe Venus of Willendorf was used as a fertility goddess. The figurine does not have a visible face, her head is covered with circular horizontal bands of what might be plaited hair or some type of a headdress. Alternatively, the head may have simply been textured for use as a handle, if the figurine’s use was intended for ecstatic-state fertility rituals or even as a masturbation aid. This piece, is among many other found, at different Aurignacian sites throughout
Greek art progressed through four divisible periods from ninth century B.C. to the second century B.C. The primary subject matter for all of these periods was humans. (Sowerby, 150) Each period progressed further than the last with developing the human form and making it continually more realistic and natural. (Boardman, 275) The most basic human forms were depicted in the Geometric period where triangles and ovals were used to make a rough human form. The Archaic period came next with artists slowly moving away from set geometric figures and incorporating more human detail into their art. Great change in art came in the Classical period. Sowerby states this by saying: "The classical artist concentrates up...
Perhaps one of the most defining and easily identifiable aspects of the ancient Greek culture was the immortalization of humans and gods in sculpture. Sculpture had existed in the world for thousands of years before the ancient Greeks made their stake in the art, but the Greeks added an entirely new set of aspects to their sculptures. Unlike the Egyptian and Mesopotamian sculpture centuries earlier, the Greeks set forth not just to capture the image of a man but to capture that which made him a man. The Greeks set in place three base tenants to display the tone of a sculpture. Through the use of Humanism, Realism, and Idealism the ancient Greeks were able to capture humans and gods forever in marble.
The first definable period of Greek pottery, Geometric (c. 900-700 BCE), accounts for the majority of ancient vase painting still in existence today; and as such, affords us the broadest view into this art form. The period attributes its name to the geometric forms that artists used to detail their vessels. The primary decorative motifs that distinguish the period include parallel lines, concentric
Even the few sculptor’s names known to us, usually by chance, from the imperial period are Greek names and seem to confirm the assumption that these artists’ work should be regarded simply as a late phase of Greek art” (Hanfmann, 12). The Greeks were the first western culture to figure out how to accurately depict the human form which they did through the use of geometric ratios. It is also widely accepted that it was even Greek artists who first made marble portraits for the Romans as the Romans originally had no skill with the stone. “It was certainly at first Greek artists who were entrusted by eminent Romans with the execution of portraits of themselves and of important personalities in the Roman state, just as it was Greeks who depicted Aemilius Paulus victory at Pydna and later were largely responsible for the portraits of the emperors” (Kahler 16). The Romans mainly used terracotta for their sculptures and it was only when Augustus reigned that the marble quarries at Carrara were opened and marble was used on a large scale. The Romans inherited the use of realistic proportions, the sense of movement (contrapposto), and the overall beauty of Greek sculptures. A great example of Roman sculpture that was clearly carved by a Greek artist who was familiar with the Hellenistic styles of Greece, is the Relief of the Wedding of Amphitrite and Neptune. It “shows a mythological