Classical_Greek_Architecture

The classical period of Ancient Greece revolved around a culture that was deeply rooted in philosophy and the arts. The Greeks search for their place in the universe and in nature around them influenced everything in their lives especially their love of the arts. Beauty, among other characteristics concepts was an essential part of Ancient Greek philosophy, first explored by Plato and Socrates. They theorized objects or nature as being inherently beautiful: that beauty was found within objects. Attempts to define the characteristics of beauty focused on simplicity and symmetry. These avenues of thought had a heritage in the philosophical theory of idealism. “Idealism was a theory that maintained nature as the ultimate reality of beauty based on mind and or ideas. There needed to be a balance of what was ideal and what was natural, what was real. Idealism and therefore beauty referred to a thought that represents things of a perfect form, as in the fields of ethics, morality, aesthesis and value.” Sculpture during the Classical period of Ancient Greece, masterfully detailed these philosophies of beauty. One of the founders of the Classical Greek style was named Polykleitos of Argos. An essential element of his and the Classical Greek style was the use of a relaxed pose with the shifting balance of weight known today as ‘Contrapposto’. This style yielding naturalness to his creations. Polykleitos aim was to produce the perfect human figure using a mathematical equation to sculpt the body parts. It is believed that he used a basic unit ratio to measure the rest of the body parts. He set down his theory on the human form in a treatise known as “The Canon” and created a larger than life size sculpture he named “Doryphoros” and is now called “The Spear Bearer.” The Spear Bearer was created out of bronze, a popular medium at the time because of the ability to show more movement in bronze than in marble, which was the traditional medium. The Spear Bearer was one of the earliest statues to show in the fully developed contraposto position. This technique makes Doryphoros appear to be relaxed but a certain tension is there and he is ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. Polykleitos combined this with a system called chiastic balance or cross balance where there is an active-passive sense of balance. The right arm of The Spear Bearer is relaxed and languid at his side while the left has tension from holding the spear over his shoulder. His right leg the opposite of the right arm and tensed to support the weight of the body, while the left leg relaxes with his heel up, ready to take a step if need be. The hips are offset and the head faces the opposite direction fully illustrating this counter balance technique. The balance of this naturalist technique and idealist subject matter within the sculpture by Polykleitos form to create a perfect depictation of beauty. The 5th century Greek people played a pivotal role in the shaping of not only the world of philosophy but also the world of art and architecture. Their ideas of beauty were the things that brought to life the artwork of their time and still effects ours to this day. Doryphoros defined the perfect male athlete and was copied for centuries by Greek and later Roman artisans, and was later revived after a long intermission in the Renaissance. The sculptures of this period give us a deeper insight into the minds and hearts of the Greek people. The Spear Bearer is truly an excellent example of the depiction of natural beauty and set a standard for millennia to come. References 1. Tarnas, Richard 1991, ‘The Greek world view’, Chapter 1 in The passion of the western mind: Understanding the ideas that have shaped our world view, Pimlico, London, pp. 3-72 & pp.470-473. 2. General Editor Goran Burenhult, 2003, ‘The Illustrated History of HumanKind. Great Civilizations’ The Age of Ancient Greece, page 143 – 164. Published by Fog City Press, New York. 3. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy#Ancient_philosophy_.28c._600_B.C._.E2.80.93_c._A.D._500.29 4. www.wou.edu/las/humanities/cannon/plato.htm 5. http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/ZeusStatue.htm MARKS ALLOCATION: VISUAL CULTURE VIS18 first assignment |Literary skills: grammar, | | |punctuation, spelling | | | |2/2 | |Clarity/coherency of language and | | |structure | | | |0/2 | |Presence of an argument / thesis | | |followed | | | |1/2 | |Evidence of reading / research | | |correctly referenced | | | |1/2 | |Contextualisation: in art world | | |with images | | | |2/2 | |Contextualisation of ideas / | | |concepts |2/2 | |Ability to identify key issues | | | |2/2 | |Depth of analysis of concepts |2/2 | |Ability to make an informed opinion| | | |2/2 | |Standard of presentation and images| | | |2/2 | | | | |TOTAL MARK | | | |16/20 | | |80/100 | A good beginning to the unit. Well done. A good general discussion, well contextualised. Well done. Work on your paragraph structure to keep them succinct and the ideas distinct. You need to work on your introduction. Try to begin with a sentence which leads into the topic then state your argument. You should then indicate which artists/ theorists you will rely on in order to support your argument. This will enable you to establish a strong, clear argument along with its context. Such an introduction lends structure to the rest of the essay. You must learn to include in-text references in order to properly credit the sources of significant ideas/ facts to which you refer. We expect at least one per paragraph other than the introduction and conclusion. Excellent depth of research. Try to include illustrations to act as visual proofs of your discussion.