Статья от Natali Dani Ancient Greek Art

Ancient Greek Art can be divided into 3 periods: the Archaic Period, the Classical Period and the Hellenistic Period. However, there is one more important earlier period called «The Homeric Age». The first texts about historical events, «The Iliad» and «The Odyssey», written by the famous ancient Greek poet Homer, date from this period. It is from these texts that we learned about the history and culture of the Ancient Greeks. During this period myths appeared and formed the Ancient Greek worldview, which makes this period crucial to the history of Ancient Greece. This period dates from approximately the 11th to the 8th century BC.

The bust of Homer

The Archaic period was the period of the development of ancient Greek architecture and cities. It was also the time of ceramic sculptures and black-figure vase paintings. The Archaic period was very important for the formation of Classical Greek art. It lasted from the 8th to the 6th century BC.

The exsample of Black-figure vase painting

The Classical Period (5th to 4th century BC) was the highpoint not only of art but of Greek culture in general. The architecture and sculpture achieved perfect forms. The vase paintings which were already strong in the Archaic period, found a new way in their development of red-figure vase painting. Furthermore, in this period, democracy, sciences, the arts of theatre and sport competitions were also formed.

The exsample of Red-figure vase painting

The Hellenistic Period (in general 3rd to 1st century BC) is characterized by a new utopian philosophy of society and as a consequence a tendency to portray gigantomania in art.

The reconstruction of project of The Colossus of Rhodes

Ancient Greek Art and especially Classical Greek Art is considered the top achievement in figurative art in all history of art. That is why many epochs looked up to it as to an example of art. The first of them was the Roman Empire, when artists made copies of sculptures and other forms of Ancient Greek Art. Thanks to the Ancient Romans, we now have copies of numerous Ancient Greek sculptures, which otherwise would have been lost forever.

The statue of Athena at Parthenos by Phidias. Roman copy.

The second was the Italian Renaissance which covered the period from the 14th to the 16th century AD, particularly the time of Lorenzo The Magnificent in Florence. It was return to events of Ancient Greek myths and Ancient Greek ideas (about proportions of human’s body and naturalism in art) which Europen strong and dominant Christian church denied.

Sandro Botticelli. The Birth of Venus (1482—1486)

The third period of European culture lasted from the 17th to the 19th century and was called Classicism. The ideas of classicism influenced not only all spheres of figurative art – architecture, sculpture and painting, but were also crucial to the development of literature, music and style of life in general.

The exsample of interior of Classicism

In addition, the architecture of the Soviet (or Stalinist) Empire was largely influenced by the architectural style Ancient Greek and Rome. Monumental classical forms were used to portray the greatness and political power of the Soviet Union.