Egyptian vs Greek Art
Egyptian vs. Greek Art
The Egyptians and the Greeks were two of the greatest civilizations to have ever waked the earth. Both have a long and celebrated history of contribution in various fields. One of which being art. There are many similarities between Greek and Egyptian art, but they have many more differences between them and that’s what I’m going to focus on in this paper.
First and probably most important of all, The Egyptians and the Greeks had very different artistic principles and freedoms. Egyptian art was much more oriented towards religion. Pharaohs often wanted art for symbolic or ceremonial purposes so the art had to follow strict stylistic laws. Artists had to abide by rules of symmetry and proportions. Greek art was much more open-minded. Even though religion was an important part of their culture, the Greeks were concerned more with ideas and philosophy so various styles were encouraged and artists were allowed to depict the world as they saw it.
The Greeks and the Egyptians also had different concepts when it came to their ideas of realism. Egyptian figures tended to have large heads with no emotion and strived for objective or ceremonial representation. Greek art was much more realistic. Greek art showed emotion, and were very detailed. Humans and figures looked natural to where tissues, muscles and organs where clearly outlined. Nudity was also common in Greek art as well. While Egyptian art only used it for children and servants, Greek art used nudity very often.
Another key difference was movement. Egyptian art tended to be static. Paintings and statues were in fixed, rigid positions with a lack of expression and variability. Greek art on the other hand showed large amounts of movement and expression. Sculptures were often seemed to catch athletes at the peak of a physical action. Other art demonstrated movement as well, including paintings that captured action and communication between subjects as if it were a moment in time,
The Egyptians and the Greeks were two of the greatest civilizations to have ever waked the earth. Both have a long and celebrated history of contribution in various fields. One of which being art. There are many similarities between Greek and Egyptian art, but they have many more differences between them and that’s what I’m going to focus on in this paper.
First and probably most important of all, The Egyptians and the Greeks had very different artistic principles and freedoms. Egyptian art was much more oriented towards religion. Pharaohs often wanted art for symbolic or ceremonial purposes so the art had to follow strict stylistic laws. Artists had to abide by rules of symmetry and proportions. Greek art was much more open-minded. Even though religion was an important part of their culture, the Greeks were concerned more with ideas and philosophy so various styles were encouraged and artists were allowed to depict the world as they saw it.
The Greeks and the Egyptians also had different concepts when it came to their ideas of realism. Egyptian figures tended to have large heads with no emotion and strived for objective or ceremonial representation. Greek art was much more realistic. Greek art showed emotion, and were very detailed. Humans and figures looked natural to where tissues, muscles and organs where clearly outlined. Nudity was also common in Greek art as well. While Egyptian art only used it for children and servants, Greek art used nudity very often.
Another key difference was movement. Egyptian art tended to be static. Paintings and statues were in fixed, rigid positions with a lack of expression and variability. Greek art on the other hand showed large amounts of movement and expression. Sculptures were often seemed to catch athletes at the peak of a physical action. Other art demonstrated movement as well, including paintings that captured action and communication between subjects as if it were a moment in time,