Periods in the history of Greek art

The greek art It was mainly characterized by representing ideal beauty from the beginning, which is why the human body was the primary reason to figure it. For them the concept of beauty was equivalent to “perfect proportion between the parts and the whole”. Next, in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to see only what refers to the different periods in the history of Greek art so that you know what happened in Ancient Greece with some of the most significant examples.

The periods prior to this, that is, the first stages that occurred in Greece were the geometric period (1000 a. C. - 700 a. C.) and the orientalizing period that goes from century VII a. C. until the beginning of the 6th century BC. C. Both periods were covered in part by what is known as the Dark Age (between 1200 a. C. and 1100 a. C.), so named due to the lack of existing sources to reconstruct the historical reality of that moment in which it takes place. collapse of the Mycenaean culture, so there are so few artistic contributions that have reached us, that they only deserve to be mentioned.

Already in the archaic epoch (610 - 480 a. C.), Greece began little by little to emerge from that Dark Ages with the first purely Greek architectural buildings and sculpture appearing. On architectureIn this period we could say that the temples were full of rusticity and archaism, making much use of the Doric order and limestone as a construction material. Among the most representative temples of this period is the Temple of Poseidon in Paestum.

In sculpture, the human figure will always predominate in natural size or even larger, sometimes reaching up to three meters. On the one hand, we find nude male figures, known as kourais, (votive offerings of young athletes of sports games that were carried as thanksgiving to the temples) in which their physical beauty is exalted, and on the other hand the offering female figures in this case dressed.

Both will have common characteristics such as hieratic, closed compositions and views from a single point of view, the front. Among the most important kourais stands out Anavyssos for its good state of conservation.

The classic period covers from the year 480 a. C. until 323 a. C. with the death of Alexander the Great. Based on the architecture the most emblematic building is nothing more and nothing less than the Parthenon, which is located on the Acropolis of Athens, built in honor of its patron, Athena. Throughout time, it was used as a church, mosque and powder magazine until in 1687 it was detonated by the Turks and plundered by the English.

On sculptureIt will be the stage where perfection and the classic culmination take place, embodying not only physical beauty but also spiritual beauty, in balance, which is what is known by the name of "sofrosine”.

The most important authors of the 5th century BC. C. They were:

• Voyeur; being the most significant work of him the Discobolus. It represents a young athlete throwing the puck at the peak of the effort. We have to say that, although it is within the classicist stage, there are some archaic features, such as in the expression of the face that does not respond to that moment of such effort.
• Polykleitos; creator of canon of the seven heads, which consisted in the fact that the carving of a sculpture to be and keep perfect proportions had to have the measurement of the head seven times on the body. Among his most significant works we have Doriphorus, of which we have to mention the achieved counterpost, which is the pose in which the chest and shoulders rotate in a direction opposite to that of the hips and legs.
• Phidias; considered the sculptor of the gods. Regarding the exempt sculpture, there is the figure of Pallas Athena Parthenos, which is the one that in theory was found in one of the parts of the Parthenon, and whose technique was chrysoelephantine, that is, made in ivory and gold.

The most important sculptors of the 4th century BC. C. They are:

• Praxiteles; whose most outstanding feature is what is known as praxithelian curve, which is a kind of more accentuated counterweight, and can be seen in one of his relevant works, Hermes and Dionysus child.
• Scopas; will be one of the sculptors who best reflects the pathos, that is, those feelings that break the outside, visible in their Maenad, a woman who appears dancing wildly, contorting herself, alluding to movement and agitation.
• Lysippus; who turned out to be the portrait painter who worked for Alexander the Great, was the creator of another of the most known, in this case of the eight heads, further stylizing the bodies and thus appears reflected in one of his most important works. known, Apoxymene.

The Hellenistic period includes in this case from the year 336 a. C. until 146 a. C. when Greece falls under the domination of the Romans.

On architecture, the decline in this period of the polis, makes personal monuments begin to take on importance, such as the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, a funerary monument in honor of Mausolo.

With regard to Hellenistic sculpture, it will be represented by various schools, that is, in areas in which its own characteristics will be given, and they are the following:

• Rhodes School; characterized by the influence of the canon of Lisipo and by showing works full of cruelty and pathos. Among his most significant works we have the Victory of Samothrace.
• Pergamon School; that among his most relevant works we highlight the reliefs of the Pergamon altar, where the theme of the Gigantomachy is present, which are about high reliefs.
• Alexandria School; which is characterized by having a street and vulgar theme, where some tiny clay figurines stand out that are known as tangras and with them comes to represent actions of daily life.
• Attica School; which is a school where classical forms are very present and for them we must mention the Belvedere torso made of marble.