Statues As a Staple of Classic Art in Historic Greece

Statues As a Staple of Classic Art in Historic Greece The Archaic Greeks developed the very first freestanding statuary, an awesome achievement as most sculptures up until then had been 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. The kouroi were believed by the Greeks to embody beauty and were sculpted with one foot leading and an uncompromising rigidity to their forward-facing poses; the male statues were always strapping, brawny, and undressing. In about 650 BC, the differences of the kouroi became life-sized. The Archaic period was tumultuous for the Greeks as they evolved into more sophisticated forms of government and art, and obtained more information about the peoples and civilizations outside of Greece. Wars like The Arcadian wars, the Spartan invasion of Samos, and other wars between city-states are indicative of the disruptive nature of the time, which was similar to other periods of historical upset. However, these conflicts did not significantly hinder the advancement of the Greek civilization.

Bernini’s First Italian Water Fountains

Bernini’s First Italian Water Fountains The Barcaccia, a stunning fountain built at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna, was Bernini's earliest fountain. To this day, you will find Roman locals and vacation goers filling this space to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. Bernini would undoubtedly have been happy to know that people still flock to what has become one the city's most fashionable areas, that around his amazing water fountain. The master's very first fountain of his professional life was built at around 1630 at the request of Pope Urbano VIII. Depicted in the fountain's design is a great vessel slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. According to 16th century documents, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was memorialized by the eye-catching fountain. Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a prolonged period of time, in 1665 Bernini traveled to France.