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The Art of Ancient Civilizations
Name: __________________________
Greek Art
Ancient Greek culture was full of different types of art. Ancient Greeks decorated almost
every part of their lives, from their buildings and city streets to the inside of their homes. Many
objects in Greek life were created with beauty in mind. Greek artists created masterpieces in
painting, metal work, mosaic, sculpture, architecture, literature, and pottery.
Painting: Until recently, archaeologists only knew about Greek painting through ancient
Greek stories. These stories, which were written by authors such as Pliny and Pausanias,
describe large, monumental paintings. But unfortunately, not a lot of these paintings remain.
An ancient Greek living in 400 BC would be able to walk
down the street and look at the beautiful paintings on the
outside walls of buildings. But after thousands of years, war,
earthquakes, weather, and time have worn down these
paintings so that they no longer remain. Some Greek cities,
such as Sikyon, were known for their schools, which taught
painters and created many successful Greek artists, who then traveled the Western world,
spreading their Greek art.
Archaeologists have recently begun excavating Macedonia, which is a part of Greece,
and they have found well-preserved pieces of Greek paintings. Many painted tombs have been
found, helping archaeologists to study Greek painting even better. Some of these paintings
show scenes of warriors, women, animal hunts and scenes from mythological stories. Some of
these paintings look a lot like Italian paintings, which has led some archaeologists to believe that
Greek artists influenced Italian artists, who copied their painting styles.
Mosaic: Another one of the lasting artistic legacies from the
ancient Greeks is the art of the mosaic. A mosaic is a picture made
up of small pieces of glass, pottery, or small tiles. Thousands of
small pieces of colored tiles are placed together so that all together
they make up a single picture.
Greeks decorated their houses with mosaics, both on the walls as well as on the floor. In
Macedonia, archaeologists have found houses that have brightly painted walls and mosaic
floors.
Pottery: Another more type of art they used on a daily basis was pottery, which they
made into hundreds of different shapes, and painted with geometric patterns, and scenes from
mythology.
1. What were the major types of Greek art?
2. What evidence is there that their art influenced other cultures?
Ancient Roman Art
Centered in the city of Rome, the civilization of Ancient Rome ruled much of Europe for
over 1000 years. The arts flourished during this time and were often used by the wealthy and
powerful to memorialize their deeds and heritage.
Born from Greek Art:
The Romans admired the Greek culture and arts. After conquering Greece, they brought
many Greek artists to Rome to make sculptures for them in the Greek fashion. The art of
Ancient Greece had a great influence on the art of Ancient Rome.
Other Influences:
Although Greek art had the greatest influence on the Romans, other civilizations that they
conquered and encountered over their wide empire also had influence. These included the
Ancient Egyptians, eastern art, the Germans, and the Celtics.
Roman Sculpture:
Roman sculpture played an important part of the
Roman daily life. Sculptures took the form of full statues,
busts (sculptures of just a person's head), reliefs (sculptures
that were part of a wall), and sarcophagi (sculptures on
tombs). The Ancient Romans decorated with sculptures in a
number of places including public buildings, public parks, and
private homes and gardens.
Roman sculpture was heavily influenced by Greek
sculpture. In fact, many of the Roman sculptures were just
copies of Greek sculptures. The wealthy Romans decorated
their large homes with sculptures. A lot of times these
sculptures were of themselves or their ancestors. Other
popular subjects for sculptures included gods and goddesses,
philosophers, famous athletes, and successful generals.
To the left is a marble statue of Augustus the first
Emperor of Rome. He is shown here wearing a traditional
Roman toga while performing his duties as Pontifex Maximus.
The Roman Bust:
One of the most popular types of sculpture in Ancient Rome
was the bust. This is a sculpture of just the head. Wealthy
Romans would put the busts of their ancestors in the atrium of
their homes. This was a way for them to show off their lineage.
Roman Painting:
The walls of the homes of wealthy Romans were
often decorated with paintings. These paintings were
frescos painted directly on the walls. Most of these
paintings have been destroyed over time, but some of
them were preserved in the city of Pompeii when it was
buried by the eruption of a volcano. Left is a painting
discovered on a wall in the ruins of Pompeii
Mosaics:
The Romans also made pictures from colored tiles call
mosaics. The mosaics have been able to survive the test of
time better than the paintings. Sometimes the tiles would be
applied directly at the site of the mosaic. Other times the tiles
and the base would be made in a workshop and the entire
mosaic installed later. Mosaics could be art on a wall, but also
worked as decorative flooring.
1. What were some of the major influences on Roman art?
2. What role did sculpture play in the life of ancient Rome?
3. How do we know what Roman painting looked like?
4. How were mosaics used?
Ancient Egyptian Art
From the earliest times Egyptian art was developed in the service of the Pharaoh. Ancient
Egyptian art was first created to show that the Pharaoh was a god. The art forms were worked
out by the master craftsmen in the Pharaoh’s court and were then followed carefully by lesser
craftsmen who worked for ordinary Egyptians.
Pictures:
The earliest work of art that we can give a date
to is the Palette of Narmer, who was the first king of the
first dynasty, about 3000 B.C. (5000 years ago). This
palette shows Narmer’s victories. It is carved with
‘reliefs,’ which means that the artist has carved away
the slate background to make the pictures stand out.
This early picture does not show any ‘perspective’.
That is, it does not show any depth or space (think of a
modern painting of a country lane, showing the lane
stretching away into the distance – that is perspective).
For the next 3000 years, Egyptian pictures showed little change from this early example.
Pictures were either carved in relief on stone or slate, or they were painted on walls. In both
cases, the pictures are ‘two dimensional’ showing no depth.
The craftsmen from the 4th dynasty
onwards produced wonderful wall paintings, of
people’s daily life and the birds and plants that
were around them. These paintings are found on
the walls of the tombs where the dead were
buried. It was hoped that in the life after death, the
pleasant life shown in the paintings would continue
for the dead person.
The picture to the left shows people trapping birds
and people plowing. Below is a brightly colored
picture of Geese. Both these paintings were
painted on the walls of Egyptian tombs of the Old
Kingdom more than 4500 years ago.
In Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, the same art forms
continued: we can see from the picture below a number
of features that are common in Egyptian pictures
throughout the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms.
●
The bodies of the figures are facing us, but their
heads are in profile (turned sideways).
●
The body of the Pharaoh, if shown, is larger than
the other figures and is always very stiff and formal, as
in the Narmer palette, but the bodies of ordinary people
are more relaxed and life-like, as in the picture of people
plowing
• All the pictures are two-dimensional, without any depth.
Sculpture:
From the 3rd Dynasty onwards, Egyptian art began to produce
sculpture as well as carvings and paintings. The most exciting time for
this art was the 4th Dynasty when the Pyramids were built. The picture
to the right shows King Mycerinus between two goddesses. The statue
was made around 2600 B.C. (4600 years ago). Later Egyptian sculpture
followed this style for 2000 years. The statues are life-like, always
facing forwards (unlike the paintings), and are made from hard stone,
which has lasted well.
Applied Art
During Egypt’s New Kingdom, wealth flowed into Egypt and the master craftsmen used precious
metals such as gold and precious stones to produce jewelry and to decorate the mummy-cases
in which the mummified bodies of pharaohs and rich officials were placed.
The best example of a highly decorated sarcophagus (mummy-case) that has survived is that of
the Pharaoh Tutankhamen. The sarcophagus is made of solid gold and beautifully decorated by
the master craftsmen.
1.) What was the purpose of Egyptian art?
2.) What were the characteristics of Egyptian art?
Terracotta Soldiers (China)
The Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang spent a huge amount of resources building himself
the largest single tomb built to a leader in the history of the world. As you can see in the pictures
above he had over 7000 soldiers, horses and chariots made from terra cotta buried in his tomb.
He felt this huge army would protect him and help him to keep his power in the afterlife. He died
and was buried in 210 BC, over 2000 years ago.
What is amazing is that the soldiers of the Terracotta Army are life-size statues. They
average around 5 feet 11 inches tall with some soldiers being as tall as 6 foot 7 inches. Despite
there being so many statues, no two soldiers are exactly alike. There are soldiers of all ages
with different ranks, facial features, and hair styles. Some of the soldiers look calm, while others
look angry and ready to fight. The soldiers are often wearing different clothing and have
different jobs in the army such as spies, scouts, and leaders. The discovery of these soldiers
was turned into a museum and can be viewed in Xian, China today.
Questions:
1.) How are the Chinese beliefs that led to the creation of the Terracotta Soldiers similar to
Ancient Egyptian beliefs?
2.) Why do you think so much care went into making the Terracotta Soldiers?
Ancient African Art
Africa is a large and diverse continent. Its history is filled with the rise and fall of
numerous civilizations and empires. As a result, the art of Ancient Africa is varied and diverse.
However, there are some common themes throughout much of African art.
Ancient African art can be somewhat divided into regions. The art
of northern Africa was heavily influenced by the Arabs after the Islamic
conquest. Similarly, the art of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa was
influenced by Europe and Christianity. There is also the well preserved
art of Ancient Egypt found in temples and burial chambers. However,
what most people think of today as African art is the art produced by the
peoples living south of the Sahara Desert.
The art of Ancient Africa was produced using a wide variety of
materials. Unfortunately, a lot of African art was produced using wood,
which has since been destroyed by time and the elements. Other
materials, such as metals (like bronze and iron), ceramics, and ivory have survived. One of the
main elements of African art is that it is often created in three-dimensions rather than twodimensions. For example, they used sculpture more often than flat paintings.
Sculpture was one of the most important types of art in Ancient Africa. Sculptures were mostly
made of people and sometimes animals. African artists often used wood for their sculpture, but
they also used bronze and ivory.
Masks were an important part of art. They were often used
together with dance to create a type of performance art in a ritual or
ceremony like a wedding or a funeral. It is generally believed that the
individual who wears the mask transforms into a spirit. This
transformation usually takes place during some type of ritual. This can
allow for communication between humans and spirits. Masks were
generally made of wood, but were often decorated with ivory, gems,
paint, and animal fur.
Many Ancient African civilizations created jewelry from gold,
gems, shells, and other materials. Jewelry was an important part of
showing one's status and wealth.
Questions:
1.) What resources were used to make different African art?
2.) Why has much of ancient African Art been destroyed?
The Art of Ancient India
Ancient India is known for creating seals that usually contained pictures
of animals and a line of scripts. These were probably used in trade, but other
small metal and clay sculptures of animals and people have been found as
well. Some large sculptures, including large bronze statues of a bull with a
chariot driver, a buffalo, and rhinoceros, and an elephant have also been
found.
India is the home of several of the world’s major religions, so it’s not
surprising that most of India’s art is centered on religion. Around 300-200
B.C., the Buddhists began to erect large stone pillars at important places.
These pillars were often topped with a figure of a lion. The lion was a
symbol of power for Indian rulers. Other pillars had figures such as lotus
flowers, bulls, and elephants. Many large stone figures were made of the
traditional village gods, called yakshas and yakshis, which were male and
female nature spirits.
Later, the Buddhists began to make large burial mounds called
stupas. These were shaped like Buddha’s body, which they believed was
perfectly proportioned. (If you’ve seen pictures of the Buddha, you know
he is often shown as being quite round). Stupas were originally burial
places for holy people. As Buddhism spread, Buddha’s followers began to
make images of him in human form, so that others might learn about him.
At first, he was shown with a very stern look, but later, he was shown to have gentle eyes
looking downward, and a soft smile.
Hindus also made carvings of their gods. These were shaped like humans, but
often with many arms or heads, to show that they could take many different
forms. In northern India, there images were carved into rocks. In southern India,
they were made of bronze. When Islamic rulers took over the northern part, they
forbid the worship of carved figures shaped as humans, so the carving of these
figures decreased.
Questions:
1.) According to the article, why is Ancient Indian art heavily influenced by religion?
2.) When and why did the carving of human forms decrease in India?