Preview

Compare Contrast Greek and Roman Art

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
636 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Compare Contrast Greek and Roman Art
Compare Contrast Greek And Roman Art And Architecture
Compare/Contrast Greek and Roman Art and Architecture

Since the onset of Greek and Roman civilizations centuries ago we have seen the art and architectural worlds evolve into what we know them as today. In fact, many of the ancient Greek styles were duplicated by the Romans and modified to suit their needs. We can still see a lot of Greek and Roman influences in the present day, especially in the architectural world. Below I will cite some examples of Greek and Roman pieces of art and a structure from each culture and detail some similarities as well as some contrasting values.

I’d like to begin by comparing some pieces of art. In The Fallen Warrior (Greece) and The Dying Gaul (Roman copy) both clearly represent a tragic event. Both subjects are leaning on the ground and seem to be dying but the reality of the event is more evident in the Gaul sculpture. The wound is clearly visible and the anguish of the subject is captured in his poise. Conversely the subject of the Warrior piece looks rather content and shows no visible injury. Both works are roughly the same size and represent a relatively perfect human structure with attention to muscular detail as well as an idealization of the human body. However, the Warrior sculpture shows less optical fact and more stylization as far as the eyes, mouth and beard are concerned when compared to the almost true to nature elements of the Gaul piece. This shows how some of the Greek foundation was carried along but modified by the Romans.

In The Three Goddesses (Greece) and Marcus Aurelius on Horseback (Rome) there are many similarities. Each shows fine attention to the cloaks worn by the subjects as well as weight distribution and, if all limbs were present on the Three Goddesses, implied motion. But in the Aurelius sculpture there is a shift from strictly human subjects to the addition of a horse. The Romans did this as part of their love of realism along

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    By comparing the two sculptures of Khafre, image 3-11 ca. 2520-2494 BCE (1), with the statue of Doryphoros (Spear Bearer), image 5-40 ca. 450-440 BCE (2) you get a true sense of the evolution of art, from Pharaonic Egypt to Classical Athenian Greece two millennia later. This was not just a revolution in art but also philosophy, which transported itself into not only the types sculptures created but also the style used by their creators.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Successful sculptural forms are created through careful attention to common artistic elements and techniques. In order to discover an artist’s intentions while looking at a sculptural piece, it is vital to note the artist’s visual cues. Such visual cues may include form, shape, texture, material, lighting, space, and dynamism. In addition, classical sculpture is commonly comprised of well-balanced idealized forms, with a sense of naturalistic beauty and elegance in mind. Great sculpture also must convey a strong sense of gracefulness and stability. The Lansdowne Bust of Athena of Velletri very successfully exhibits artistic qualities and sculptural…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In ancient Roman and Greek cultures it is evident that many sculptures were utilized to honor the deceased. Funerary art such as the Greek Grave Stele of a Little Girl and the Roman Triumph of Dionysos and the Seasons Sarcophagus are deeply connected by the purpose and medium of which the sculptures were created yet dissimilar in the style and themes portrayed.…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    As I was touring the Museum of Fine Arts this past Monday, I was drawn to the statue or sculpture of King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and his queen. For a moment, I was able to relate with Ben Stiller and how he felt in the movie Night at the Museum. I genuinely felt the textbook come alive and I was able to relate with the artwork since it was covered in class. (Figure 1-29) Although having encountered other artworks that were covered in class, for some reason this artwork resonated with me the most. However, when I started looking around I found a similar artwork that caught my eye even more. A greywacke sculpture from Giza known as the Triad of King Mycerinus and two Goddesses that dates back to the period of the Mycerinus Dynasty, 2548-2530 B.C. I would not have found this sculpture as interesting if it had not been placed next to the sculpture of King Mycerinus and one of his wives. The contrast between the two statues brought out the beautiful differences between them, that raised a lot of questions, but at the same time informed me of what may have been the purpose of such a statue to be sculpted.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Walking through LACMA there was a section that caught my eye and found it to be of interest to me. That section was the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan Art which was located on the Ahmanson Building, Level 3. There were various unique pieces such as vases, jewelry and sculptures. I chose the sculpture of Hope Athena to do my visual analysis because I found it to be beautiful. Athena was a Greek goddess of wisdom and war. The sculpture at LACMA is a Roman, 2nd century copy after a Greek original of the late 5th century BC School of Pheidias. The sculpture was made out of marble with neutral colors. In parts the color was dull with hues of ivory and golden brown. The shape of the body was rectangular with broad shoulders. The sculpture had her arms missing. Her head was round with hair coming down in vertical waves. She was wearing a warrior helmet from my view point I could not tell what the helmet had on it. The helmet gave her a powerful look. Her facial expression seemed reflective with facial features being symmetrical and smooth. The eye sockets were hollow and dark. Her nose was chipped and her upper and lower lips were thin. One of the focal points for me was how her robe or drapery had such detail throughout the sculpture. It wrapped around her body with great detail with vertical creases and folds giving the sculpture a realistic look. The vertical lines toward the bottom of robe had great detail and were distributed equally and her feet and toes…

    • 561 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Roman and Greece empires governments were similar in ways but differed in others. While both Romans and Greeks started as mere city states they went off in different directions with there civilizations politically. They also both had democracies but in different forms. They each had there own way of government and had different military styles, largely because of their location, which is also why Rome was more centralized and Greece was more dispersed. However, geography did not stop both Rome and Greece from being patriarchal, and thriving.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Statue of Kouros

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Statue of a kouros and the Portrait statue of a boy both depict similar subjects, however are greatly different in how they accomplish this task. Through detail, or lack there of, the Greeks and Romans are able to display a certain value they have in its members. These two statues were made about 500 years apart and approach the sculpting process quit differently. The Greek statue seems to use geometric exaggerated lines to form the body while the Romans use a more realistic approach and sculpt the body with a more rounded finish. Statue of a kouros, from about 590 B.C and Portrait of a boy, from about the first century, do not share any great technical aspects and are basically nothing alike.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Art 204 Final Essay

    • 2576 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The progression of Greek art does not simply begin with the Olympics in 776 BCE, but finds its origins in all of the civilizations that gave rise to the Greeks – the remnants of the besieged Mycenaeans, and all who conquered (and traded) with them. The loss of great civilizations often leads to dark periods, but from the ashes of Greece’s dark age emerged a civilization that revered humanity and went to great lengths to incorporate the idea of philosophy into all aspects of their empire – including art. City states joined forces, democracy was established, and skills lost during times of turmoil (reading, writing, painting, sculpting, architecture) were not only rediscovered, but reinvented. From the eastern inspired geometrics of earliest Greece, to stylize humanism in the Archaic, the mathematical perfection of the Classical periods, and the flowery realism of the Hellenistic - Greek art remains the standard by which all future art will be judged. This article will mainly focus on changes in Greek sculpture as an analogy for the changes in all of Greek art, simply because an attempt to chronicle all of the changes in the historical period would require much more than a short essay, and it’s my belief that sculpture most thoroughly reflected how art reflected the greater changes in the society. Regardless of historical argument about whether or not Greek culture and society were as great or as evil as either extreme proclaims, the fact remains that incredible works of art were spawned by great thinkers. Sure, maybe there was slavery, and maybe women were treated poorly, but that doesn’t negate the artistic value of the truly innovative art forms, starting with the very earliest pieces attributed to the Greeks, those in the period of the first Olympics, which also marks the point when the Greeks themselves considered their various city states united as one people, citizens of “Hellas” – distinct in that they spoke a…

    • 2576 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman architecture had taken a lot form Greek architecture. An example of it we can see in comparison of two important buildings - Greek Parthenon and Roman Pantheon. Dome-like arched structure of Pantheon was possible due to Roman's invention of concrete, however, there is still a lot from Greek architecture style.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Art 101

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Greek and Roman Architecture is very much alike, but at the same time they are different in some ways. Wealth and high population densities in the cities had forced the ancient Romans to discover some new architectural solutions of their own. The Roman architecture adopted certain aspects of Greek architecture and created a new type of architectural style.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Greek Art Timeline Report

    • 2054 Words
    • 9 Pages

    "Antefix with the head of Medusa [Tarantine; Said to be from Taranto] (26.60.73)". Figure 4: In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. Retrieved June 26, 2013, from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/26.60.73 (October 2006)…

    • 2054 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Enduring Cultures Cba

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Ancient Romans were practical people who used pragmatic features in their art to explain the world around (Speivogeol, 2005). The Romans admired Greek art and often borrowed, copied, and stole from their ideas. The Romans even placed Greek-style statues in their public buildings. However, they were original when they carved their sculptures. The Romans sculptures were more realistic, and detailed characteristics including, warts, mole, wrinkles, and other unattractive features.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman Architecture Essay

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rome was well known for its rule, is also wildly known for art. This also includes many architecture feats, just for example “The Roman Arch”. Also made famous by the Romans is the Colosseum, which was a monumental accomplishment for the roman people. Before Rome there was ancient Greece, which helped make these thing possible for the Romans. The Greeks had devised pillars, which the Romans took note of. The pillars, known as Greek Orders, these which were divided into three different orders, Doric, iconic and Corinthian orders. These orders differentiated in many different ways whether it be the elaborateness of shaft or the general stance of the entire pillar. Another thing the Greek’s were able to master was the painting of objects and…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Augustus Of Augustus

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Roman portraits in general seem to represent not just the mere appearance of the people portrayed, but particularly their identity. This feature seems to be closely connected with the concept of physiognomics, developed by Aristotle and his pupil Theophrastus in the fourth century BC, in which they demonstrated the close connection between the appearance of a person and his character1. Portraits of emperors also had a distinctive purpose to them. They intended to impress as well as to communicate the message of the powerful ruler and of his achievements.…

    • 906 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Over time Greeks made their statues more lifelike - gods look like human beings. There are figures of people without clothes, and statues of athletes in action (a discus thrower, for example). The Romans collected Greek statues and made copies of them. Many later artists imitated the Greek styles…

    • 522 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays