Ancient Greece: Architectural Statuary

Ancient Greece: Architectural Statuary Sculptors adorned the elaborate columns and archways with renderings of the greek gods until the period came to a close and more Greeks had begun to think of their religion as superstitious rather than sacred; at that point, it became more standard for sculptors be paid to portray everyday people as well. Portraiture became commonplace as well, and would be accepted by the Romans when they conquered the Greeks, and sometimes wealthy families would order a depiction of their progenitors to be put inside their grand familial burial tombs. A time of aesthetic progression, the use of sculpture and alternate art forms transformed through the Greek Classical period, so it is inexact to suggest that the arts provided only one function. Whether to gratify a visual craving or to commemorate the figures of religion, Greek sculpture was an innovative practice in the ancient world, which may well be what draws our interest currently.

"Primitive" Greek Art: Garden Statuary

"Primitive" Greek Art: Garden Statuary The primitive Greeks manufactured the first freestanding statuary, an amazing achievement as most sculptures up until then had been reliefs cut into walls and pillars. Most of these freestanding sculptures were what is known as kouros figures, statues of young, attractive male or female (kore) Greeks. The kouroi were seen by the Greeks to embody beauty and were sculpted with one foot leading and an uncompromising firmness to their forward-facing poses; the male statues were always strapping, brawny, and undressing. Life-sized versions of the kouroi appeared beginning in 650 BC. The Archaic period was an amazing point of transformation for the Greeks as they grew into new forms of government, produced fresh expressions of art, and achieved insights of the men and women and cultures outside of Greece. Still these disagreements did not prohibit the expansion of the Greek civilization. {