Why Do Artists Use Greco-Roman Ideals in Their Works of Art?
Art History 2
6 May, 2012 Why Do Artists Use Greco-Roman Ideals in their Works of Art?
The term “history repeats itself” usually implys a negative connotation, but that was not the case in European art during the Italian Renaissance and the French Revolution. These were times when Italy and France were attempting to reinvent themselves after numerous centuries of stagnant oppression. During the Renaissance, Italians strived to surpass the intellect of the Greek, while in the French Revolution, Revolutionaries revered and borrowed from the Roman's strength and unity. Jacques-Louis David and Raffaello Sanzio, better known as Raphael, are prime examples of painters whose art was heavily influenced by Greco-Roman culture and society. This is most evident in Raphael's The School of Athens(figure 1) and David's The Oath of the Horatii(figure 2). Artists portrayed Greco-Roman ideals in their works of art to inspire the citizens of their time to be more like the Greeks and Romans in their paintings. Raphael was an Italian exemplary artist during the High Renaissance of Europe. The High Renaissance was an era, beginning in Italy in the late 15th century until about 1527, that was the reintroduction of classical thought, art, literature and architecture to Medieval Italy. One key purpose of the Renaissance was to study Greek culture and it apply its philosophy to the theories of the time. In this fresco The School of Athens(figure 1) Raphael depicts a Roman architecture influenced hall containing the greatest thinkers of ancient Greece. In the hall the intellectuals are discussing “explaining their various theories and ideas” (Gardner 653). These thinkers include both philosophers, who are men who “concerned with the ultimate mysteries that transcend the this world”, and scientists who are “concerned with nature and human affairs”(Gardner 653-654). The hall holds philosophers of
every sort conversing their various beliefs. Raphael was attempting to
6 May, 2012 Why Do Artists Use Greco-Roman Ideals in their Works of Art?
The term “history repeats itself” usually implys a negative connotation, but that was not the case in European art during the Italian Renaissance and the French Revolution. These were times when Italy and France were attempting to reinvent themselves after numerous centuries of stagnant oppression. During the Renaissance, Italians strived to surpass the intellect of the Greek, while in the French Revolution, Revolutionaries revered and borrowed from the Roman's strength and unity. Jacques-Louis David and Raffaello Sanzio, better known as Raphael, are prime examples of painters whose art was heavily influenced by Greco-Roman culture and society. This is most evident in Raphael's The School of Athens(figure 1) and David's The Oath of the Horatii(figure 2). Artists portrayed Greco-Roman ideals in their works of art to inspire the citizens of their time to be more like the Greeks and Romans in their paintings. Raphael was an Italian exemplary artist during the High Renaissance of Europe. The High Renaissance was an era, beginning in Italy in the late 15th century until about 1527, that was the reintroduction of classical thought, art, literature and architecture to Medieval Italy. One key purpose of the Renaissance was to study Greek culture and it apply its philosophy to the theories of the time. In this fresco The School of Athens(figure 1) Raphael depicts a Roman architecture influenced hall containing the greatest thinkers of ancient Greece. In the hall the intellectuals are discussing “explaining their various theories and ideas” (Gardner 653). These thinkers include both philosophers, who are men who “concerned with the ultimate mysteries that transcend the this world”, and scientists who are “concerned with nature and human affairs”(Gardner 653-654). The hall holds philosophers of
every sort conversing their various beliefs. Raphael was attempting to
Cited: Chapman, Hugo. Raphael: From Urbino to Rome. London: National Gallery Company Ltd., 2004. Print. Gardner, Helen. Gardner 's Art Through the Ages. 11th ed. Orland, Florida: Harcourt Inc., 2001. Print Stokstad. Marilyn. Arthistory 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey; Pearson Education Inc., 2003. print “Jacques-Louis David: The Oath of the Horatii.” Bc.edu. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston College, n.d. Web. 2 May 2012. Kendrick, M. Gregory. The Heroic Ideal: Western Archetypes from the Greeks to the Present. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2010. Print. Zucker, Steven, and Beth Harris. “David’s Oath of the Horatii.” Smarthistory.khanacademy.org. Khanacademy.org, n.d. Web. 6 May 2012.