1) Compare the two Greek sculptures in the video. Explain contrapposto in detail. Contrapposto is originated by the ancient Greeks. In the visual arts, it is a term that define a standing human figure is poised, which the sculpture has to look comfortable and natural. For example, put all the body weight on one leg, twist shoulders and arms, bent at the knee, etc.…
INTERPRETATION 1. What do you think the work is about? In my opinion, this is a dynamic medium because it draws you into its great artistic splendor while at the same time providing a visual history lesson about why it was made. 2.…
From Greek to English, the word “kouros” translates into young man. Such is the purpose of the Kouroi movement at the start of the Archaic Period in Greece, to represent young, strong men in funerary art. A man in his grave would not want to be remembered or represented as an old man, as told by Minnermus of Colophon in his poetry, where he stated, “But once old age with its sorrows advances upon us, it makes a man feeble and ugly alike” (Minnermus). These human sized statues were very much influenced by the life-sized statues in Egypt of the time. Like the Egyptians, the Greeks “use of grids and proportional systems led to a formulaic approach” (Neer 151).…
The sculpture produced in ancient Greece is naturalistic compared to artworks and sculptures from previous times and cultures. The form of body is not stylized, nor does the bends in its arms and legs have sharp edges, the body is actually smooth and natural looking. The figure also has normal sized eyes and not enlarged eyes and male breast. The figure is in contrapposto pose like many of the other figures from this ancient Greek period.…
The Humanities in Ancient, Classical, and Hellenistic Greece The history of Greece is filled with ethos and color through all the ages and societies of the past. Ancient, Classical, and Hellenistic Greek are three civilizations rich in their expression of the humanities. While these cultures are very similar is some ways due to the fact that the people resided in the same country, many of their beliefs and practices were different from one another as they expanded on and learned from the period before them. Things such as science and philosophy, the arts, religion, and daily life, appear in all three of these ages in differing ways.…
The famous writer Homer wrote stories about heroes and kings which once were believed to be part of his great imagination; nevertheless, archeology excavations found the extraordinary cities with great palaces of the his stories buried for centuries. Cycladic Art is named after the islands where the pieces were found (the islands make a circle around Delos). Most of the art found in these islands are small statuettes which depict nude women in most cases with some exceptions. These figurines were made with marble and placed in graves in order to accompany the dead to the afterlife. Examples of this art are "Syros Women" and "Keros Musician".…
The Greeks have a long history and achievements as one of the great architects of civilization. Their superiority in calculations and their obsession to finished what they started. They could overcome unbelievable obstacles to build. The Greeks were seafarers and traders. They saw themselves as superior beings and viewed others as barbarians.…
The Greeks were more idealistic and practical unlike the Romans. The Romans had a more realistic instead of idealism approach which helped the diverse cultures they had. An example of idealistic artwork is figure 16.4 on page 258. This are can represent what the Greeks think how things should be. This resembles a deep meaning from their history.…
This is made evident in not only the amount of gods and goddesses that they have devoted to the topic of the arts, but also in the festivals that the Greeks would throw in worship of their gods. At these festivals there would be poet reciting, songs of great legends, like Hercules, and stories. Many of the worlds priceless art pieces came from the Greeks, in which they depicted the great feats that their gods accomplished. The Greeks believed in the power of nature, which is evident in many of their art works and literature. These people always painted with a natural aspect, nudity not being a problem for their art.…
After being introduced to the history of the visual arts from the Paleolithic period I noticed myself becoming more attracted to the various elements and forms from the ancient Greeks specifically starting from the time of the Archaic Period to the Hellenistic Period. As I was visiting J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, I specifically was looking out for works of art done by the ancient Greeks and while being there I discovered sculptures that were more commonly nude males made of bronze and marble which at the time was worth nothing. After observing several of the pieces I noticed the Greeks frequently showed the figures in motion with dynamic asymmetrical balance and their expressionless faces hid their concentration on the task at hand. The…
In the Aegean culture, it's the latter and their message revolves around portraying contemporary life, a concept similar to that in the Mesopotamian period. However, their art did not mostly revolve around religion. For instance, in the Minoan period, emerged a fresco painting called the "Bull-leaping" which shows one of the ceremonial events that were prominent in the Minoan society (89). Unlike the other cultures that preceded the Aegean culture, art in this period celebrated simple human life by giving focus on activities that occupied people's time including their entertainment. Aegean art revolved not on the naturalism of human body but instead in the realistic life and environment that surrounded the…
Cultural Style The cultural style of a piece of artwork that is from a distinct geographic area. Within this piece, Grave Stone with Family, Ancient Greece, Classical period, 360 BCE, the cultural style that it belongs to is Ancient Greece. The Ancient Greece cultural style is known for its architecture (specifically temple architecture), proportion, perspective, sculpture and pottery. Temple architecture displayed columns with a triangular roof and a depiction of a scene with god(s), known as a pediment, where the end of each roof had a triangular space above the entablature, decorative molding.…
Although this is only the second week, it should be said, that as this course continues to progress from one week to another it has really has been an exciting learning experience. The objectives thus far for this course continue to force one to look deeper into what one might have thought about art and its history, to really the many variations of it and in reality changing ones perspectives as it relates to art. Last week, it was thought that understanding the history of art and its ability to convey a message and/or tell a story was interesting, but this week and the topics covered within, almost seemed to tell a story in itself with the review and objective surrounding the prehistory, first civilization, and Ancient Greece eras. One of the concepts that was found to be most interesting this week was the architecture that developed from the Mesopotamia period and of course from Ancient Greece, which was pointed out not only in the reading material, but discussion questions…
While the definition of beauty states that it is a combination of qualities that pleases the sight, many people believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This means that each individual has their own views towards beauty, especially in the “ideal” beauty. Although beauty is a concept every being has recognized since their beginning of time (i.e. young children can already acknowledge the beauty in flowers), their views and ideas towards it are mostly influenced by their environment and culture. Throughout history, it can be noted that every culture has their own perspective on how they visualize beauty or what exemplifies beauty. However, it may be hard to determine how ancient cultures view beauty as there are a lack of primary sources.…
Ancient Greek Culture, as seen in their art, is different from our own Western culture in various regards. First of all, the idea of what is considered beautiful in Ancient Greece is very different from what is considered beautiful in our own Western culture. Also, Ancient Greek religion, as represented in their art and architecture differs from our own, predominately Christian, Western culture. During the Archaic period of Greek culture, sculptures took on an Egyptian influence.…