Download Ancient Greek Art

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Arts
Ancient 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.
Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Class: ________
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.
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.
Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Class: ________
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.
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
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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.
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The bodies of the figures are facing
us, but their heads are in profile (turned
sideways).
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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 below 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.
Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Class: ________
Egyptian sculpture
• Shows human faces as they really were.
• Has the figures facing directly forwards.
• The figures are standing or sitting upright and are very stiff and formal.
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.
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
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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.
Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Class: ________
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 two-dimensions. For
example, they used sculpture more often than flat paintings.
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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?
Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Class: ________
Ancient Indian Art
As we read in the writing achievements section, 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?