CLASSICAL ART PERIOD SUMMARY

- Artworks that draws inspiration from Ancient Roman and Ancient Greek
GREEK ART PERIODS
1. Geometric (900-700 BCE)
- named after the geometric patterns and motifs that were prevalent on pottery
- conceptualized (styled) representation of human figures
Amphora - two-handled pot used to hold water, wine, or oil; also used as grave marker

2. Archaic (660-440 BCE)

- gradual change from geometric style to archaic style
- there was a growing emphasis on the human figure
Vase Painting
● eastern patterns and forms gradually disappeared
● larger human forms became the preferred subject for art
● figures were more natural with an attempt to show more natural gestures made
Black-figure painting - combination of black figures with incised detail on the red
background common to pottery of this period
Slip - liquid sifted clay with mineral oxides added for color used to paint
Krater - a wide bowl used for mixing wine with water
Architecture
● architectural forms were derived from the Mycenaean megaron
● the center of the room which housed the statue of the god/goddess was called cella
Greek Column Orders
1. Doric - from Greece mainland, earliest/simplest, most common
2. Ionic - introduced by Asia Manor architects, used for smaller temples
3. Corinthian - not widely used in Greece but was favorite of Roman architects
Sculpture
● emerged as a principal art form during this period
● sculptural artworks appeared on buildings
● life-sized figural sculpture emerged, perhaps inspired by the Egyptians
● nonstructural parts of a building were often adorned with sculpture
● most sculpture was painted with subtle color
● architectural sculpture was embellished with red, blue, yellow, green, black, and
sometimes gold pigments
Kouros and Kore Figures (masculine and feminine)
- earliest figures of this period
- the men were depicted in the nude
- they were stylized and followed artistic conventions
- unknown function but are thought to be devotional or funerary statues because
they may have been found among the ruins of temples
3.1. Early Classical Art (480/479-450 BCE)
- Golden Age
- sometimes referred to as the Severe Style
- this change coincides with Greek victory over the Persians
- there was a revival in the arts
- the style of this period is marked by power and austerity
Vase Painting
● sees an interest in anatomy with movement and a shift in weight
● red-figure vase painting was introduced
● decorative bands are now eliminated
● the creation of three-dimensional (3D) space in the arts
● Classical Greek mural painting has not survived
Sculpture
● implied movement was the greatest advancement in the arts of this period
● artists were more keenly aware of nature
● the most copied subject was The Discus Thrower
● Myron was one of the favored sculptors of the Early Classical
3.2. Classical Art (480-323 BC)
- the peak of Greek arts
- Greek’s attention was on perfecting all of its artistic traditions
- Pericles was the main force in rebuilding Athens’ monuments and advancing art, drama,
and music
Architecture
● Greeks mounted a massive building campaign of the Acropolis under Pericles after the
Persians destroyed it but they didn’t want to use the same stone
● The Parthenon, a temple to the goddess Athena the protector of Athens, was the first
major work that was rebuilt
- it was designed by architects Ictinor and Callicrates
- it is the best example of the Doric order
- most refined and perfected work in Architectural history
Sculpture
● Pericles commissioned Phidias to oversee all the sculptures in the Parthenon
● the Phidian style is characterized by a lightness of touch, attention to realistic detail,
contrast of textures, and fluidity and spontaneity of line and movement
● the artistic subjects were battles and the gods
● the greatest freestanding sculpture of this period was created by Polykleitos, Phidias’
rival
- he worked in bronze and liked to sculpt athletes
- his sculptures were based on reason and intellect
- he developed a canon of proportions and the weight-shift principle
3.3. Late Classical
● more humanistic and natural, there was an emphasis on emotion
● bodies became more sensual and graceful with a pronounced shift in weight
● Praxiteles was a major proponent
- his works were more lively and fluid than in previous periods
● a posing of figurative sculpture that creates a sway similar to “S” was the S-curve
4. Hellenistic Art
Characteristics:
● excessive almost theatrical emotion
● the use of illusionistic effects to heighten realism
● the space around the sculpture is treated as an extension of the viewer’s space
● artist is drawn to drawn to dramatic subjects
● it portrayed human excess
● in contrast: it reflected simplicity and idealism of the classical period

ETRUSCAN PERIOD (700-4th Century BCE)

The Etruscans
● from Italian peninsula; most significant before that of ancient Rome
● believed to have come from Asia Minor
● this link may explain some of the similarities between Etruscan culture and that of
Eastern countries
● by 88 BCE, Roman had vanquished the last of Etruscans
Architecture
● the only architecture that survived were their tombs
● tomb construction was similar to that of a domestic dwelling
● walls were covered with hundreds of everyday items carved in low relief
Sculpture
● bronze and clay (terra-cotta) sculptures have survived from the Etruscan tombs
● cinerary urns often portrzyed Etruscan dwellings
● figural sculpture often topped the sarcophagi in the tombs
● the figures are highly stylized

ROMAN ARTISTIC PERIODS

Rome (Est. 500 BCE)
● eventually, Rome would control Greece, western Europe, northern Africa, and part of the
Near East
● Roman art combined native talents, needs, and styles with other sources esp. Greek
● fashionable to own copies of Greek art
● Romans invented concrete
1. Republican (500-44 BCE)
● ruled by patricians and were like an aristocratic class
● the plebian class was a common folk with little say in running the government
● on March 15 (ides of March) in 44BCE, Julius Caesar was assassinated by members of
the senate which resulted to the absolute end of the Roman republic and the beginning
of the Roman Empire under Augustus
Sculpture
● much of Roman art was derived from that of Greece however, their realistic portrait
sculptures were wholly Roman
● wax death masks were made and often converted to bronze or terra-cotta sculptures
● this led Roman sculpture to become more realistic and detailed
Architecture
● Rome’s greatest contributions were in this field (architecture & engineering)
● it is linked to that of Greece and the Etruscans
● they adopted the temple podium, wide cella plan with columns, and a portico
● Roman Innovations:
- Column shafts are one piece
- Freestanding columns on temples
- No relief sculpture on the friezes
- Emphasized the relationship between form and funtion
Painting
● Excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum from the eruption of Volcano Mt. Vesuvius
● Romans’ domestic dwelling were decorated with frescoes and mosaics
● linked to Greek painting which has not survived
● Roman wall painting wen 4 phases:
Architectural style - the illusion of space created through the Herringbone
perspective, a system where orthogonals vanish to a specific point along a
vertical line that divides that canvas
2. The Early Empire
● believed that art should be created in the service of state
● they desired to glorify Rome’s power through magnificent buildings and civic monuments
● Romans built apartment buildings, roads, bridges, water systems, sanitation, recreation
facilities, gymnasiums, public baths, and theaters in areas they conquered
Architecture
Roman Innovations: Roman Arch, the Dome, Reinforced Concrete
Three of the Most Famous Structures:
● The Aqueducts are series of arches for irrigation and water
● The Colosseum is made of two back-to-back amphitheaters
- a major feat of architectural engineering and practical design
- contained columns of all 3 styles — doric, ionic, and corinthian
 ● The Pantheon is a temple to all the gods
- inside of the dome is coffered (carved with recessed squares)
- the large 30ft hole in the corner of the dome is called oculus
Sculpture
● Augustus was determined to create monuments that reflected Rome’s power, glory, and
influence on the Western World
● the pure realism of the Republican period portrait busts joined with Greek idealism
● the result was classical idealized bodies and poses with individualized heads
● Romans also invented the equestrian portrait
Stoicism - it was best to be indifferent to emotion and the things of this world,
maintaining that virtue was the most important goal in life
Sculptures differed from Greek sculptures in:
● Individuals were rendered in portrait-like likeness
● The reliefs commemorate a specific event with specific persons present
● The figures are set in a shallow (low relief) but convincing 3D space
3. The Late Empire
● declining years of the Empire
● the empire was ultimately divided into two sections with separate rulers
● Constantine moved the capital to Constantinople
● Rome and the western empire left vulnerable to barbarians
Architecture
● Basilicas were large meeting halls that were constructed in or near public Forums
- set a precedent form Christian church architecture
Sculpture
● began to reflect the new spiritualism as a result of growing religious beliefs
● Constantine became the first Christian Emperor
● returned to attributes of the archaic style which can be seen in The Head of
Constantine the Great