The Trajan's Column Out Of Stone

There are many significances of Ancient Greek sculpture. The ancient Greeks never made their sculptures with flaws. There were three main periods in Greek sculpture, the Classical period, the Hellenistic period, and the Archaic period. The first period was the Archaic period, followed by the Classical Period, then the Hellenistic period.

Introduction According to Merriam Webster, the action or art of processing (as by carving, modeling, or welding) plastic or hard materials into works of art is considered a sculpture. (Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, n.d.) Sculptures tell us the history ancient civilizations, it gave us an insight into their daily lives, fashion sense, festivities ect. Romans learned the art of sculpting and painting from the Greek and Etruscans around the 1st and 2nd century AD.

As American settlers had continued to populate the expansive land the United States of America which had lay before them, the Native Americans, who had resided there for hundreds of years prior to the Revolutionary War, had become increasingly troubled with every passing moment. Soon, they realized, they would be overtaken entirely by the settlers of the newfound nation. As such, in 1830, the Congress of the United States had passed the Indian Removal Act, which had forced all Native American tribes into specially-designated reservations, where their underlying spiritual bonds had effectively been permanently separated. Indeed, the Indian Removal Act had been extremely powerful, but not in ways that had been beneficial to either party. Hence, its passing and subsequent institution, manifested as the infamous Trail of Tears, had been an error on the part of the United States Congress, in all basic aspects of morality, politics, the Constitution, and practicality of survival and thriving. Specifically, moral aspects included concerns relating to driving Native Americans from their long-time homeland without their consent, alongside the breaking of their spiritual statuses. Political perspectives against the Indian Removal Act had revolved around the notions of value, progress, and improvement, paired with the ramifications and intentions of treaties passed by Congress. Constitutional viewpoints had protested against the Act in that they had insisted the lack of reasoned

Much of the Romans culture was adopted from the Greek culture. The Greek culture was in the course of the Medieval as well as the Roman culture. The Romans assumed Hellenistic sculpture to their political ends. They used these sculptures to show mythological figures as well as emperors and generals to show their political supremacy. Both the Romans and the early Christians assumed properties of Greeks architecture like the classical orders and developed them with the utilization of the arch and the discovery of concrete. Moreover, Greece also influenced the Medieval literature and philosophical traditions such as Epicureanism and Stoicism. The Roman and the early medieval culture show the Greek heritage in architecture, philosophy, and sculpture.

They tended to use bronze and clay in the early ages, but after the 6th century BCE, marble was used as their main material for sculptures, as it has high workability and ability to be refined and altered.

Greek myths and legends had a huge impact on art and sculpture of Greece, as a result many statues of gods and others mythical beings were created. For example the statue of Zeus(appendix 3) one of the finest sculptures of Greece. This statue was thirteen metres high and was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This is proof of the work and smarts put into just one sculpture and it also shows the dedication and belief of the

Sculptures came in a variety of shapes and sizes. They were often made of wood, metal, cloth, or clay. These sculptures served as personal protection figures, symbols for supernatural powers, and representation of ancestors. Most sculptures were made to represent the human body, but some cultures never carve human faces so it resembled any individual in fear of accusations of witch craft. A great example of one such sculpture is Cango and Zaire.

The Colosseum was made in the first century CE. From 80 to 404 CE the Colosseum was used for entertainment. People were entertained by gladiator fights, wild animals hunting, and public execution. The structure had 80 entrances, and 2 were used for gladiators to come out of and the other for removing the dead bodies of people. The Pantheon was made in 125 CE. It is one of the best preserved buildings in Rome. The Pantheon is very surprising on the inside since it seems like a square on the inside, but it is actually round on the inside. This building is a big step in agriculture because of the dome top. This has shown that arches can be made in a 3-D form. The building was made by adding multiple arches on top and then filling it in starting

Each was mainly used to build temples to honor their gods. Ionic order was used for the Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis in Athens, Corinthian order was used for the Temple of Zeus in Athens, and the Doric order was used for Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. The usage of various types of columns shows that ancient Greeks’ concept of architectural beauty was heavily based on perfect proportion and balance. The Greeks also made a lot of sculptures using different types of materials that were abundant in ancient Greece, including marble and stones. The vast majority of those sculptures told stories about the Greek culture in general, “depending on whether the sculptures portrayed the Greek Gods, heroes, or mythical creatures” (“Minoan Art”). The sculpture at page one shows a good-proportioned discus thrower with a lot of muscle and a nice-looking face. “Those sculptures depicted physical beauty and spiritual equilibrium to create harmony and idealism” (“Greek Sculpture”). The Greek sculptures lacked realism because the Greeks

Roman sculpture is learnt from the Greeks and the Etruscans. It reached a peak in the first and second centuries AD. The development of the arch and the use of concrete gave Roman life distinction, serviceability and hospitability to Roman domestic, civil engineering and public architecture. Arch and concrete play a very important role in Roman life. The worship and reverence of images normally were about the God or dead ancestors or mothers. They had arch on pillars and tombs. The images from the arch revealed their belief and their perception in daily life about relationship, about love, about friendship, parentship with emotion and expression. Characters are shown in Roman sculptures, especially regarding the statues or symbols carved in the time of the Flavion emperors with animation. The rule about life and reality were shown rather than the exception. The later republic and early empire had portraits or coins. The outstanding historical reliefs were done with the emperor Trajan, the acquisition of the empire.

Greek sculptures are mainly divided into 7 time periods-Mycenaean Art, Sub -Mycenaean or Dark Age, Proto-Geometric, Geometric Art, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic. Mycenaean art is the first era in which we find surviving examples of Greek art. This era dates from around 1550 BC to 1200 BC on the Greek mainland. During this period there were two separate civilisations living on the mainland, the Greeks and the Mycenaeans. The Greeks at the time learnt a lot from the Mycenaeans, who where more technologically advanced. The Greeks learnt how to build gates and tombs and how to use different metals in art , using Mycenaean techniques. The famous Cyclopean Wall of Mycenae before the lion gate is a good example of their masonry skills.

Introduction Stone has always been a reliable resource for mankind. We create shelters, build monuments, sculpt feelings, and even brush our teeth with stone. From 800 to 300 BCE Greek sculpture took early inspiration from Egyptian and Near Eastern monumental art, and over centuries evolved into a uniquely Greek vision of the art form. Although there are many sculptors, sculptures, and eras of time that have had an influential impact on stone carving and cutting, I believe the time period of Greek sculpture is when everything in the art world of stone was put into perspective, literally. Greek artists would reach a peak of artistic excellence which captured the human form in a way never before seen and which would be much copied.

When archeologists discover paintings preserved throughout time from the ancient Roman era it appears the same purpose of paintings were utilized then as they are now and that would be for decoration. Following the early development of concrete the Romans felt the concrete walls were not pleasing to the eye and for a long time the use of concrete was limited to substructures where it wasn’t seen. Fortunately, over time the Romans solved that issue by dressing up the walls with paintings and other coverings that were much

     Like African paintings, poetry, and woodcarvings, sculptures tell a tale and immortalize cultures and beliefs. Different artists have different styles (African Arts Information). Materials and styles differ from village to village. Most sculptors use green wood, copper, tin, zinc alloys, bronze, ivory, or terra cotta, a kind of earth ware. Most sculpture figures are believed to contain ancestor’s spirits. Others represent sacred ideas or events (Fetzer 106). Some objects are said to be magical and believed to have magical powers (African Arts). Africans carve figures, make masks, and decorate articles for ceremonies (Fetzer 106).

Marble, limestone, bronze, terra-cotta, wood and a combination of gold and ivory known as chryselephantine were mediums of ancient Greek sculptures used in the fifth century BCE. Statues were often adorned with pearl, gold, jewels and accessories to give them a more vivid appearance. Most statues were of male men athletes (naked), entities and mythological creatures such as centaurs. Many statues of significant figures were created after their death. Interest in the female nude body (divinity) later became more popular amongst Greek sculptors. In the fourth century, characterization came into play. Characterization focused on creating sculptures that were of no real person.