Archaic Greek Artwork: Outdoor Statuary

Archaic Greek Artwork: Outdoor Statuary The first freestanding statuary was improved by the Archaic Greeks, a recognized achievement since until then the sole carvings in existence were reliefs cut into walls and pillars. Most of the freestanding statues were of young, winsome male or female (kore) Greeks and are known as kouros figures. Representing beauty to the Greeks, the kouroi were made to appear rigid and always had foot forward; the males were healthy, robust, and nude. The kouroi became life-sized beginning in 650 BC. Throughout the Archaic time, a great time of changes, the Greeks were developing new sorts of government, expressions of art, and a greater awareness of people and cultures outside Greece. Similar to many other times of historical conflict, conflicts were commonplace, and there were battles between city-states like The Arcadian wars, the Spartan invasion of Samos.

The Magificent First Wonders by Bernini

The Magificent First Wonders by Bernini The Barcaccia, Bernini's very first water fountain, is a magnificent chef d'oeuvre built at the bottom of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. Magificent First Wonders Bernini 16434154239.jpg

Magificent First Wonders Bernini 16434154239.jpg

To this day, you will see Roman residents and vacation goers filling this spot to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. One of the city’s most fashionable gathering places are the streets surrounding Bernini's fountain, which would certainly have brought a smile to the great Bernini. In about 1630, the great master built the very first water fountain of his career at the behest of Pope Ubano VIII. An enormous ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's central theme. The great flooding of the Tevere that blanketed the whole region with water in the 16th was memorialized by this momentous fountain as recorded by reports dating back to this time. In 1665, France was graced by Bernini's one-and-only prolonged journey outside of Italy.

Greece: Cultural Sculpture

Greece: Cultural Sculpture Greece: Cultural Sculpture 70492127317435706.jpg

Sculptors garnished the lavish columns and archways with renderings of the gods until the time came to a close and most Greeks had begun to think of their religion as superstitious rather than sacred; at that instant, it grew to be more accepted for sculptors be paid to show ordinary individuals as well. Portraiture, which would be accepted by the Romans upon their annexation of Greek society became traditional as well, and thriving families would often commission a rendering of their forebears to be placed in enormous familial tombs. Over the years of The Greek Classical period, a time of visual development, the use of sculpture and many other art forms transformed, so it is incorrect to say that the arts delivered merely one function. It may be the advanced quality of Greek sculpture that grabs our attention today; it was on a leading-edge practice of the ancient world regardless of whether it was made for religious purposes or artistic pleasure.