greco roman art
Greek Classicism
Greek Civilization:
• Greek sages concluded “Man is the measure of all things.”
• Greeks supremely self-confident and self-aware
• Greeks developed this concept of human supremacy and responsibility into a worldview that demanded a new visual expression in art.
• Artists studied human beings intensely, than distilled their newfound knowledge to capture in their art works the essence of humanity—a term that, by the Greeks’ definition, applied only to those who spoke Greek; they considered those who could not speak Greek “barbarians.”
• Greek cultural orbit included mainland Greece with the Peloponnese in the south and Macedonia in the north, the Aegean islands and the western coast of Asia Minor.
• Greek colonies in Italy, Sicily and Asia Minor rapidly became powerful independent commercial and cultural centers themselves, but remained tied to the homeland by common language, traditions, religion, and history.
Greek Art
• Greek artists sought a level of perfection that led them continually to improve upon their past accomplishments through changes in style and approach.
• In the comparatively short time span from around 900 BCE to about 100 BCE, Greek artists explored a succession of new ideas to produce a body of work in every medium—from pottery and painting to sculpture and architecture—that exhibits a clear stylistic and technical direction toward representing the visual world as we see it.
The Classical Period in Greek Art
• Framed by two major events: the defeat of the Persians in 479 BCE and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE.
• In this brief span, the Greeks would establish an ideal of beauty that has endured in the Western world to this day.
• Characterized Greek classical art as being based on three general concepts: o Humanism
• In embrace of humanism, the Greeks even imagined that their gods looked like perfect human beings.
• Ex. Apollo: exemplified the Greek idea. His body and mind in balance, he was
Greek Civilization:
• Greek sages concluded “Man is the measure of all things.”
• Greeks supremely self-confident and self-aware
• Greeks developed this concept of human supremacy and responsibility into a worldview that demanded a new visual expression in art.
• Artists studied human beings intensely, than distilled their newfound knowledge to capture in their art works the essence of humanity—a term that, by the Greeks’ definition, applied only to those who spoke Greek; they considered those who could not speak Greek “barbarians.”
• Greek cultural orbit included mainland Greece with the Peloponnese in the south and Macedonia in the north, the Aegean islands and the western coast of Asia Minor.
• Greek colonies in Italy, Sicily and Asia Minor rapidly became powerful independent commercial and cultural centers themselves, but remained tied to the homeland by common language, traditions, religion, and history.
Greek Art
• Greek artists sought a level of perfection that led them continually to improve upon their past accomplishments through changes in style and approach.
• In the comparatively short time span from around 900 BCE to about 100 BCE, Greek artists explored a succession of new ideas to produce a body of work in every medium—from pottery and painting to sculpture and architecture—that exhibits a clear stylistic and technical direction toward representing the visual world as we see it.
The Classical Period in Greek Art
• Framed by two major events: the defeat of the Persians in 479 BCE and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE.
• In this brief span, the Greeks would establish an ideal of beauty that has endured in the Western world to this day.
• Characterized Greek classical art as being based on three general concepts: o Humanism
• In embrace of humanism, the Greeks even imagined that their gods looked like perfect human beings.
• Ex. Apollo: exemplified the Greek idea. His body and mind in balance, he was