Greco-Roman Art

Greco-Roman Art

Introduction

The art of the ancient Greeks and Romans is called classical art. This name is used also to describe later periods in which artists looked for their inspiration to this ancient style. The Romans learned sculpture and painting largely from the Greeks and helped to transmit Greek art to later ages. Classical art owes its lasting influence to its simplicity and reasonableness, its humanity, and its sheer beauty.

The first and greatest period of classical art began in Greece about the middle of the 5th century BC. By that time Greek sculptors had solved many of the problems that faced artists in the early archaic period. They had learned to represent the human form naturally and easily, in action or at rest. They were interested chiefly in portraying gods, however. They thought of their gods as people, but grander and more beautiful than any human being. They tried, therefore, to portray ideal beauty rather than any particular person. Their best sculptures achieved almost godlike perfection in their calm, ordered beauty.

Historical background

The Greeks had plenty of beautiful marble and used it freely for temples as well as for their sculpture (see Marble). They were not satisfied with its cold whiteness, however, and painted both their statues and their buildings. Some statues have been found with their bright colors still preserved, but most of them lost their paint through weathering. The works of the great Greek painters have disappeared completely, and we know only what ancient writers tell us about them. Parrhasius, Zeuxis, and Apelles, the great painters of the 4th century BC, were famous as colorists. Polygnotus, in the 5th century, was renowned as a draftsman.

Fortunately we have many examples of Greek vases. Some were preserved in tombs; others were uncovered by archaeologists in other sites. The beautiful decorations on these vases give us some idea of Greek painting. They are examples of the wonderful feeling for form and line that made the Greeks supreme in the field of sculpture.

The earliest vases produced from about the 12th century to the 8th century BC were decorated with brown paint in the so-called geometric style. Sticklike figures of men and animals were fitted into the over-all pattern. In the next period the figures of men and gods began to be more realistic and were painted in black on the red clay. In the 6th century BC the figures were left in red and a black background was painted in.

By the 8th century BC the Greeks had become a seafaring people and began to visit other lands. In Egypt they saw many beautiful examples of both painting and sculpture. In Asia Minor they were impressed by the enormous Babylonian and Assyrian sculptures that showed narrative scenes.

The early Greek statues were stiff and flat, but in about the 6th century BC the sculptors began to study the human body and work out its proportions. For models they had the finest of young athletes. The Greeks wore no clothing when ...