Greek Art History

The prehistoric men painted in caves than 10 000 40 000 BC. AD The colors used were: black, red and ocher (yellow-orange). They painted scenes of life, animals ... by using their hands to their mouths. Prehistory begins with the appearance of hominids there are about 2.6 million years ago in East Africa. It is divided into major periods that correspond to the major stages in the evolution of men. The Paleolithic includes the development of tools, development of graves and first artistic manifestations. The Neolithic is the settlement of human groups, to beginnings of agriculture, livestock, and arts of fire (ceramics and metallurgy). Prehistory ends with the birth of writing, which appears at different times in various parts of the world and opens the story time. There are many works of art that could help demonstrate the way or methods that were used to create or make them. However we would be focusing on the “TOMB INTERIOR WITH CORBELING AND ENGRAVED STONES”. Newgrange is one of the most famous archaeological sites in Ireland, located in County Meath, north of Dublin. It is a mound 85 meters in diameter, within

(Haviland et al 2011: 241) Trade increased and many settlements became wealthy. These wealthy communities could support some people as artists and priests. Catal Hyuk is an example of astounding neolithic art, much of which adorns religion shrines. (Levack et al 2009:5)

One of the most well-known cultures throughout all of history belonged to the Greeks. Their heritage was so highly valued that it lived on even after they no longer ruled. The Greeks were some of the most innovative artists of their time and their work was so inherently beautiful that people from future cultures fell in love with it and decided to incorporate it into their own customs. The most famous group known for this was the Romans. After the Romans took over Greece, their love for its customs bloomed which resulted in many recreations of Greek art that are now seen today. However, Greek sculpture art had a hard time making it to the modern day. Most sculptures were made out of bronze and often melted down to be used for other purposes. Any surviving Greek related art is often just a Roman copy. The Romans are famous throughout history for their copies of Greek sculptures, especially relief sculptures. However, they also incorporated other Greek traditions and customs into their lives as well. Romans created separate names to refer to Greek gods and were often found creating and recreating art based on Greek myths. One specific Greek custom adopted by the Romans was the way in which they buried their dead. Romans originally cremated their dead but after the influence of Greek culture, they began burying their dead in large sarcophagi, with Greek myths elaborately sculpted into the sides, similar to the one kept at the Walter 's Art Museum depicting the abduction of

History has been passed down but have never been documented. About 2000 B.C.E., history has been recorded on cuneiform tablets. From circa 1900 – 1600 B.C.E. Gilgamesh stories and literature were recorded by the Akkadians. But without the cuneiforms, an invention credited with the Sumerians, there probably would not be stories, literature, or history of the Gilgamesh to be passed on to know about today. Another invention credited with the Sumerians, is the ziggurat. The ziggurat was established by King Urnammu from circa 2500 – 2050 B.C.E. It was made of mud brick. The Sumerian’s architecture were square or rectangular that was made of mud bricks but the layout of the temples were built on raised platforms. The temple is actually on top of the ziggurat. It is believed that it will bring worshipers closer to heaven. Without the ziggurat, which was credited with the Sumerians, religious beliefs would have stayed the same. With the ziggurats, the Sumerians valued the religious

The form of art has been around for thousands of years. There has been many different types of art form found from the ancient greece times. These time are the earliest times that are recorded and are placed in museums. These early art forms teaches us a little bit about the human race and how they were back in the roman times. There are some painting and sculptures that represents different people from their time lines. These art form can explain how they were back in their times and with the statues you can see how far they were allowed to do.

Throughout the times in Greek art, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic periods have changed overtime from the sculptures in the form, style, and symmetry.

The capacity of a society to produce art is, in effect, an exercise of its power. It is through the presence of affluence that a nation is capable of focusing not solely upon survival, but the development and proliferation of culture, of which art is a central element. The Greek and Roman Empires will be explored from this perspective. Herein, the way in which the power of these two empires was exemplified through the art they were capable of producing will be explored in-depth herein.

wall painting survive most of the art work that survives is there pottery. The late

Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic form of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism. Greco-Buddhist art is characterized by the apparent idealistic realism and in-depth portrayal of Hellenistic art. Representations of the Buddha alongside traditional Greek deities have helped outline the artistic canon for Buddhist art throughout Asia up to the present. Additionally, it is also a strong example of cultural syncretism between eastern and western civilizations and how the combination of the two cultures can redefine ideas of divinity. Gods from the Greek mythological pantheon are incorporated in Buddhist representations, displaying a strong combination of the two belief systems. A prominent depiction

Alexander the Great conquered all the known world in 336 B.C. He united all of Greece and built an empire, but he dies 13 years later. The period from 323 B.C. to 31 B.C. is known as the Hellenistic period. The word Hellenistic comes from the word hellenize which means to spread Greek influence. After Alexander’s death, his empire divided into four kingdoms: Syria (the kingdom of the Seleucids), Egypt, Pergamum, and Macedonia.

As Ian Tattersall summarized, “Many different forms of Mousterian stone tools have been identified, many of them made on flakes of one kind or another. Mousterian craftsmanship is often of a very high order.” (Tattersall, 36).  But in comparison to the Cro-Magnons with their much more advanced Aurignacian stone tool industry the order of crude Mousterian does not remain very high at all. The Aurignacian industry is defined by stone working in conjunction with the use of materials such as antler and bone.  Both ornamental and utilitarian objects were made, most prominently “blades”, or flakes twice as long as they were wide. (Tattersall, 36).  It was only at the advent of the Chatelperronian that Neanderthal stoneworking began to compete

In about c.580 BCE the Kouros (Youth) was created. This is a sculpture of a Greek God standing in the frontal position with one foot pointed forward and the hips still straight. This shows a godly position because realistically humans cannot stand like this. This is very important because for the Greeks to mimic the Ancient Egyptian sculpting styles you can see that they are trying to make a statement. They are trying to expand the footprint of the art of the Ancient Egyptians. They specifically followed the stance and facial expressions of the sculptures which we see now as a Godly stance because humans cannot physically stand the way that they are standing. The resemblance between the Ancient Greek and the Ancient Egyptian sculptures is very important because the Egyptian Pharaohs are known as Demi Gods and the Ancient Greek were showing themselves as Gods in their Sculptures.

When looking back at the history of any subject or topic, there are certain evolutionary growths that stand out. In terms of Art History I would have to say that the most fascinating progression to me is the representation of the human body. Whether it be a carving on the wall, painting, drawing, relief, or sculpture, the human figure is a concept in art that's depiction has grown immensely throughout history. Greek and Roman art is definitely viewed at the higher end of this artistic evolution. The human figure was the main subject of most Greek art and their primary focus was on naturalism and less on abstraction. When looking around the hall of Greek and Roman art you quickly recognize the complex infatuation with depicting the human figure

There were many changes that arose in Ancient Greece within the Hellenistic Age. Including a change in the percepted importance of the arts. Poetry, literature, art, and architecture all somewhat flourished in this age, and the common focus was that of man, itself. There were rises in the sculptures and paintings of man, as well as written depictions of the accounts of emphasizing the significance in stories of man, heroes, and gods. In sciences, the practices of algebra and geometry were developed, and widely accepted during this period, as well as the understanding that the Earth was indeed, round. In government, it may seem as if there were no threats due to the advances of excellence in art and in sciences, but that is a large misconception. Threats rang out over danger

The origins and evolution of ancient Greek art were vastly influenced by a myriad of external and internal factors. External factors affecting ancient Greece, namely its contact with other civilisations through trade and conflict, had a particularly extensive influence on Greek art. Although its internal influences had a considerably smaller impact, ancient Greece’s political climate and prevalent societal ideologies were often reflected within its art. This is discernible through an assessment of the external and internal factors which developed ancient Greek art, as well as the how the civilisation subsequently influenced a multitude of other civilisations.