Ancient Greek Art
The Greek’s skill with their art is very inspiring to many artists even today. It sure inspires me. Ancient Greek artists perfected proportion in their statues, and perspective in their architecture. They were masters of realism. The emotions that these artists could portray on their statues made them astonishingly life-like. Most of the art they made in this time period was dedicated to the Greek Gods, portraying their beauty in sculptures, or their might, in battle scenes carved onto temples. None of this would be possible without one Athenian general however.
This Athenian General was Pericles. He tried to consolidate power in Athens by using dues paid to the city to fund the city's artists and architects. (Ancient Greek Art) This program led to a significant boost in public-works construction campaigns, one of which was the stunning Parthenon, a temple to honor the goddess Athena. In its prime The Parthenon served as a symbol of Athen’s power and culture. This building became the religious center of Athens, and is now one of the most recognizable buildings in our modern world.
This Athenian General was Pericles. He tried to consolidate power in Athens by using dues paid to the city to fund the city's artists and architects. (Ancient Greek Art) This program led to a significant boost in public-works construction campaigns, one of which was the stunning Parthenon, a temple to honor the goddess Athena. In its prime The Parthenon served as a symbol of Athen’s power and culture. This building became the religious center of Athens, and is now one of the most recognizable buildings in our modern world.
Ancient Greeks loved building temples. The classic Greek temple consisted of a rectangular stone platform surrounded with carved stone pillars. These temples were often decorated with carvings of gods and various battle scenes to showcase the Gods’ might. These beautiful pictures were called “Pediments” and were often painted with bright colours. (Ancient Greek Art) Bright colours were used to decorate so that pedestrians in the streets could clearly see the carved scenes above them. To make their architecture look even Greek artists used many sophisticated techniques. To make the columns appear even when looking up at, they were often tapered at the top. The base of the column was thicker than the top, making it so that no columns were perfectly straight. Interestingly The Parthenon contains “no straight lines and no right angles”. (Parthenon)
Greek sculpture is one of the most well known aspects of ancient Greece. It started with small solid figures made out of ivory, clay, and bronze. (Cartwright, Ancient) These figures were mostly human heads to attach to pots and weapons, and animal figures to use as offerings for various gods. Human statues started off as limbless dolls, but eventually evolved to be marble giants standing in temples. Most big statues were not carved out of one block of stone. The torso and limbs were carved separately and then attached using dowels. Bronze statues were also quite popular back in the day, but not many remain because many were re-melted to be used in weapons and armour. Many Greek marble statues now reside in museums and art galleries around the world.
Sources
“Ancient Greek Art.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 13 September, 2019. Web. 21 February, 2020. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-greek-art
Cartwright, Mark. "Ancient Greek Sculpture." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 15 Mar 2018. Web. 21 Feb 2020.https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Sculpture/
“Parthenon.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 8 October, 2019. Web. 21 February, 2020. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/parthenon
Cartwright, Mark. "Ancient Greek Sculpture." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 15 Mar 2018. Web. 21 Feb 2020.https://www.ancient.eu/Greek_Sculpture/
“Parthenon.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 8 October, 2019. Web. 21 February, 2020. https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-greece/parthenon