Greek Art History Honors
Art History Honors
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Essay #1 Classical Greek Art is characterized by the emerging need among artists to imitate and perfect the ideal human form through idealized naturalism. The Classical period is marked by the introduction of the contrapposto position first seen in the Kritios Boy (ca 480 BC). The function of sculptures during this period was mostly to glorify gods and athletes usually depicted as male nudes. One of the most renowned sculptures of an athlete from that period is Polykleitos' Doryphoros a bronze original (ca 450 BC) that now only exists in marble copies. Polykleitos made it to serve as a standardization for future sculptures. He intended to perfect the human being using the contrapposto pose as well as measuring the body to be able to fit eight heads stacked on top of each other as the dimensions of the ideal. The flexed limbs and the relaxed limbs oppose each other diagonally, with right arm and left leg relaxed while left arm and right leg are ready for action. The head is turned in opposite direction of the slight twist of the hips and is a much more natural pose for a human than the stiff awkward poses of Ancient Egyptian Art. Classical Greek art also had innovations in bronze. While The Hellenistic period of Greek Art still utilized naturalism in its …show more content…
They were more realistic, like the Hellenes than the idealized naturalism that governed the Classical Greek period. The purpose and subject matter didn't really change much from the Hellenes. The Republican period Roman sculpture glorified generals, prominent figures, ancestry, and the gods to an extent. (Usually when the gods were represented the intent was to show a lineage.) The patrons of the time were mostly noble men who wanted to prop up and parade their ancestry to glorify their genealogy for all their friends and
Take Home Exam
Essay #1 Classical Greek Art is characterized by the emerging need among artists to imitate and perfect the ideal human form through idealized naturalism. The Classical period is marked by the introduction of the contrapposto position first seen in the Kritios Boy (ca 480 BC). The function of sculptures during this period was mostly to glorify gods and athletes usually depicted as male nudes. One of the most renowned sculptures of an athlete from that period is Polykleitos' Doryphoros a bronze original (ca 450 BC) that now only exists in marble copies. Polykleitos made it to serve as a standardization for future sculptures. He intended to perfect the human being using the contrapposto pose as well as measuring the body to be able to fit eight heads stacked on top of each other as the dimensions of the ideal. The flexed limbs and the relaxed limbs oppose each other diagonally, with right arm and left leg relaxed while left arm and right leg are ready for action. The head is turned in opposite direction of the slight twist of the hips and is a much more natural pose for a human than the stiff awkward poses of Ancient Egyptian Art. Classical Greek art also had innovations in bronze. While The Hellenistic period of Greek Art still utilized naturalism in its …show more content…
They were more realistic, like the Hellenes than the idealized naturalism that governed the Classical Greek period. The purpose and subject matter didn't really change much from the Hellenes. The Republican period Roman sculpture glorified generals, prominent figures, ancestry, and the gods to an extent. (Usually when the gods were represented the intent was to show a lineage.) The patrons of the time were mostly noble men who wanted to prop up and parade their ancestry to glorify their genealogy for all their friends and