Greek Art

Greek Art

Greek Awakening: Greek art from the beginning has always been so intriguing. From the beginning in Greece, artist level of sophistication with art was much higher than other places around the world. The Parthenon in Acropolis was one of the first buildings in Greece out of marble. The building was made with great symmetry and huge amounts of money flew into Greece when the building was built. The Parthenon compares to no other building. The Parthenon has to be kept up to date and constantly remodeled. 

Byzantine and Later Greek Art: Greek Art was based on Christianity and the Orthodox church. Greek art has always drawn the attention from everyone around the world. Rigid and two dimensional elements and compact forms of icon paintings were adopted by modern artist in the Byzantine period. Italy had an influence on Greek art as well, this is where the inspiration for "The Last Supper" came from. The war of independence led to pieces of nationhood in the 18th and 19th century. Styles showed that artist were resembling their country. In the 20th century art became "softer". Greek artist looked at Munich and Paris for inspiration. When Neoclassical architecture was introduced to Greece by King Otto, architecture in Greece changed tremendously. 

The Measure of All Things: 5th century BC art in Greece was strictly based on religion and human centered. Politics, philosophy and architecture were all tied into Greek art later on. Artist were obsessed with the human body and displaying it in a realistic way. Cycladic sculptures in the fifth century still inspire artist today. 3D effects on sculptures began in the 6th century. Bright colors were also brought into art during this time. Greek pottery and sculptures usually depicted everyday life as well as the gods. Sculptures were the heart of the revolutions and created how Greeks viewed the human body. The Olympic games also idealized the human body in Greece. Greeks obsession with the ideal body shaped art forma all around the world today. 

This ties into the class notes due to the fact that they discussed how art began. Art from Greece I believe was the root of most art forms. Almost very art statue resembles Ancient Greece art statues in some way or another.