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Comparing and contrasting greek and roman art
Comparing and contrasting greek and roman art
Comparing and contrasting ancient greek and ancient roman architecture
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This question intrigued my curiosity in many ways. My very first thought was; aren't all cultures built on the ashes of their predecessors? We do know that Greeks and the Romans are close historically and geographically thus the influence of the predecessors, in this case, the Greeks and their culture were unavoidable. However, yes, Roman art was influenced by Greek traditions, but there is a fine line between appreciation and plagiarism. Roman art represented a unique blending of the Greek and the local talent to create a distinct artistic tradition. The Romans were not the first people to create major programs for sculpture, painting, and architecture. In Europe, the Greeks have all those merits. Before the rise of Rome, the Greek cities had already developed some of the classical architecture as well as some of the greatest sculpture in history. So, it is safe to say that the Romans found inspiration in those styles. As far as architecture goes Greeks did pave the road for future generations with the perfect geometrical temple, symmetrical and balanced. Roman temples are pretty clearly related to Greek temples, with the use of marble columns, a wide front porch, and a cella. Roman sculpture was …show more content…
Etruscan temples were different from the Greek ones and while the Romans were devoted to Greek Symmetry their actual floor plans of their temples were much more Etruscan.In the sculpture arena, we see the Greeks Ideolizin youth while Roman sculptures with Etruscan influence include all ages representing their devotion to accuracy, resulting in more realistic portraits. This devotion to accuracy and depiction of faces and facial accuracies we see the Roman help develop their sculpting towards busts while Greeks presented head and body together to create an ideal
For example, the Temple of Portunes follows the ionic order of architecture almost precisely. However, there are subtle differences in the Roman temple that contrast the Greek temple’s. The Temple of Portunes is on a higher platform and less accessible then common Greek Temples. This created a sacred space for worship by changing the atmosphere as one entered the temple. The stairs were a more centralized place to enter that made the viewer pay attention to what they were entering, the columns created a semi-enclosed space and changed the temperature and lighting, and the engaged columns borrowed from the Etruscans instead of the Greeks created an enclosed place for worship.
Western Europe. But how did this western way of life come to be? Their are many different
Without our past we are nothing. The Greek and Roman civilization were marvelous civilizations of the AD times. If you look around today you can see advancements we made off of concepts we borrowed from the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Today, we owe much of our understanding to them; they were very knowledgeable of many things. The Greeks and Romans although they were very old civilizations have managed to impact our daily lives in the some of the most fantastic ways possible.
The Roman society was one of the greatest societies in the history of the world. They left their mark on the world through their architecture, philosophy, literature, and system of government. They conquered most of Europe and a good portion of North Africa into the Middle East. They lasted as a society for hundreds of years, surviving political strife, civil war, and the threat of outside invasion. This was done without Rome being a Christian nation in their early history.
There are many different ways that modern cultures in the west have been impacted and built upon, but there are two ancient cultures that were the most influential. The Greek and Roman cultures helped shape Western Civilization in many ways. Both were very important factors in the development of Western culture. The Greeks contributed through art, architecture, government, philosophy, education, and science. The Romans contributed through language, engineering, law, and government.
The Roman sculptures have a close relation and influence of Greek sculptures. Rome was known for incorporating different aspects of other cultures; the style of clothing, architecture, military techniques, art, etc. to the Roman culture. The Bust of Cicero and Augustus of Prima Porta are examples of unbelievable statuary techniques and style that Rome achieved and improved as their own art.
Roman art has been in generations for a long time and became more widely produced in the ancient civilization. The Roman copied and imitated other forms of art bust most importantly, applied quality. Wall paintings, mosaics, and minor art are a few examples of art the Romans were known for doing. Wall paintings in ancient Rome were made with bold color. Wall art was applied to just about any structure such as homes, temples, tombs, and also military structures.
All in all, the artworks of Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Aegean cultures, and Ancient Greece have similarities that not only reflect objects and images, but also the media, style and representation, these cultures are vastly exclusive works ranging from triangular depictions of form, to breezy depictions of nature, to sturdy architectural innovations for their citadels. Because of the existence of these major cultures of art in our world, it has made what art is today. These four unbelievable time periods have learned from each other and improved the way they accomplish their art techniques. These amazing cultures set a foundation that we were able to build on for thousands of years now with much more to come.
Roman art was also deeply influenced by the art of the Hellenistic world, which had spread to southern Italy and Sicily through the Greek colonies there. The Etruscans and Babylonians can also be seen as inspirations. “With the founding of the Republic, the term Roman art was virtually synonymous with the art of the city of Rome, which still bore the stamp of its Etruscan art” (Honour and Fleming,1999). During the last two centuries, notably that of Greece, Roman art shook off its dependence on Etruscan art. In the last two centuries before Christ, a distinctive Roman manner of building, sculpting, and painting emerged. Indeed, because of the extraordinary geographical extent of the Roman Empire and the number of diverse populations encompassed within its boundaries, “the art and architecture of the Romans was always eclectic and is characterized by varying styles attributable to differing regional tastes and the...
Greek and Roman sculptures act as milestones throughout the development of art. Both types of sculptures played significant roles socially and politically during their corresponding periods. Although the Greek artists had limited materials, they still created gorgeous sculptures; similarly, the Roman sculptors adapted the techniques from the Greeks in order to create magnificent works for their own purposes.
One of the most renowned inspirations from the Greeks would be the Greek philosophy of citizenship and Roman impact on the legal world. In Greece, a true member of society was a participating citizen which directly correlates with the modern world in how we as societies view participation in government. In contrast, Roman inspiration on the modern world is heavily seen through architecture especially with columns and the pantheon. In the United States, the US Capitol Building was built with a dome shaped rotunda resembling the pantheon in a way to symbolize power and strength as such the Romans did through their temples. In regards to religion, the ancient Romans are responsible for the spread of Christianity which is today the most followed religion in the world. Both ancient Greece and Rome have influenced the daily aspects of modern life through the Greek style of showering which is a daily ritual for most decent humans and the Roman style of eating three-meals a day and even dessert which are special daily rituals especially for college students. Even so, both civilizations have directly influenced the American system of government from the basis of democracy in Greece to the bicameral legislature of Rome that was a defining factor is the establishment of our nation through the Great Compromise. Furthermore, the seventh amendment to the United States Constitution establishing a trial by jury is a direct reflection of ancient Greece policies as well as the checks and balances system of Rome that the federal government cherishes. A popular reincarnation of the Greek life on modern culture is the use of the Greek alphabet to name fraternities and sororities. While this is not a direct reincarnation of the Greek lifestyle, the fraternities and sororities use the Greek alphabet to give themselves a
Another difference in these civilizations is in the architecture of each region. The architecture of the Romans was also more advanced than that of the Greeks; they used concrete and placed emphasis on arches, vaulted ceilings, and domes while Greece emphasized balance and symmetry. Greek temples aimed at impressing by designing intricate, aesthetically pleasing outer views, while Roman architecture's goal was to impress by enclose a vast amount of space.
The Romans have adopted many features from the Greek style of art and architecture during the third and second centuries B.C. During that time period the Romans discovered that they have taking a liking to Greek statues, which they placed in many different places. The Roman sculptors then decided to also start making statues alongside the Greeks. The statues that the Romans created were realistic looking with, sometime, unpleasant details of the body. The Greeks made statues with, what they thought of, ideal appearances in the statues figure. Sculpture was possibly considered the highest form of art by the Romans, but figure painting was very high considered as well. Very little of Roman painting has survived the tests of time.
Each Roman province and city was governed in the same way. The Romans were proud of their unique ability to rule, but they acknowledged Greek leadership in the fields of art, architecture, literature, and philosophy. By the second century B.C., Romans had conquered Greece and had come to greatly admire Greek culture. Educated Romans learned the Greek language. As Horace, a Roman poet, said, “Greece, once overcome, overcame her wild conqueror.” The mixing of elements of Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman culture produced a new culture, called Greco-Roman culture. This is also often called classical civilization. Roman artists, philosophers, and writers did not merely copy their Greek and Hellenistic models. They adapted them for their own purposes and created a style of their own. Roman art and literature came to convey the Roman ideals of strength, permanence, and
Both the Greeks and the Romans dedicated their temples to the gods, however, unlike temples today that are used for congregation, Greek and Roman temples were used differently. Greek temples were used as the home of a certain deity and as a place to worship the specific god that was housed there. The Romans used temples to praise a god for military victory or for a politician to show his increase of wealth and status by commissioning the construction of a temple. Roman Temples were also often used as a meeting place for people to express a multitude of social and political concerns whereas the Greek temples were typically used by one person at a time. Within the cella of both the Greek and Roman temples was an altar dedicated to the gods. The Greeks used elements from their temple design in the creation of these altars, and Romans sometimes modeled their sarcophagi after this design. The Sarcophagus of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus from his tomb on the Via Appia from 200 B.C.E depicts the elements that the Romans borrowed from Greek temples. It is a mixture of two styles of Greek temple, Ionic and Doric. The Ionic style can be seen in the curves on the lid whereas the Doric style is depicted in the squares on the side of the sarcophagus, where each of the vertical lines of the square is a set of columns. This shows not only Greek