Greece! The ancient Greeks established an artistic style, the Classical style, that has served as a model ever since. Its visual features are based on underlying principles of humanism, rationalism, idealism, and naturalism.
Humanism! When the Greek philosopher Protagoras stated, Man is the measure of all things, he expressed the Greek idea of human significance, the idea that humans have nearly godlike potential. He also meant that the perspectives and identities of individuals are important, an idea reflected in Greek politics, philosophy, literature, and art.
Rationalism! According to the ancient Greeks, an important part of human potential was the power to reason. The Classical style is based on rational or logical underlying principles of order, balance, and proportion.
Idealism and Naturalism! One way in which Greek artists emphasized balance was through integrating two opposing tendencies: idealism and naturalism. When figures are idealized, they are perfect, without flaws. When figures are naturalistic, they look as if they could be real, the way the eye would perceive them in the physical world. Classical figures often balance these apparent opposites by being both idealized and naturalistic at the same time.
The Geometric Period! (900-660 BCE)! The earliest examples of Greek art featured geometric decorations that were similar to many other ancient art styles.
Geometric Vases Greek vases of the Geometric period contain repetitive linear patterns. When human forms are included, as on the Dipylon Amphora (8th century BCE), they are also composed of geometric rather than organic shapes.
The Archaic Period! (660-480 BCE)! The Archaic style of Greek art began with stiff, idealized forms and then shifted toward greater naturalism.
Black-figure Vases The typical vase painting style of the Archaic period was the black-figure style. In this example by Exekias, Achilles and Ajax (530 BCE), human forms play a major role, but the repetitive patterns and unrealistic forms are also reminiscent of Geometric art.
Kouros Figures Archaic kouros figures, or statues of young men, share the stiff, idealized pose of ancient Egyptian art. As the Archaic period progressed, these figures began to reflect more attention to naturalistic anatomical detail, as in Kroisos from Anavysos (530 BCE).
The Classical Period! (480-404 BCE) By the 5th century BCE, the Greek art style possessed the features that have become known as the Classical style: humanism, rationalism, idealism, and naturalism.
Red-Figure Vases By the Classical period, the typical vase painting style had shifted to the red-figure style. In this example from about 480 BCE, the goddess Artemis kills the hunter Actaeon. Both the flesh-like color of the figures and the action of the scene demonstrate the naturalism of the Classical style.
The Parthenon The design of the Parthenon (448-432 BCE) derives from the mathematical proportions of the golden rectangle and the root five rectangle. It also demonstrates the Classical emphasis on order and balance. The Parthenon deviates from these rational principles of proportion, order, and balance in part to ensure that the structure appears perfect to the human eye, emphasizing the human perspective.
Humanism in Doryphoros The Greek sculptor Polykleitos created a visual representation of human potential in Doryphoros, or Spear Bearer, in about 450 BCE.
Rationalism in Doryphoros Doryphoros also illustrates the reasonable principles underlying the Classical style. 1. It is balanced, with the resting arm and leg opposed to the working arm and leg. 2. It represents the canon of proportions of the ancient Greeks, in which the basic module, or unit of measurement, is the length of the hand, and the sizes of other body parts are multiples of this basic module. See the notes on proportion in Unit Five for details.
Idealism and Naturalism! in Doryphoros While Doryphoros maintains much of the idealism of Archaic kouros figures, it also assumes a more naturalistic appearance. For example, its stance is less rigid, demonstrating a natural distribution of weight on one leg.
The Late Classical Period! (404-323 BCE) The sculptor Lysippos created Apoxyomenos (or The Scraper), which exemplifies the Late Classical style with its greater illusion of movement, which encourages the viewer to interact with the sculptural subject and its space.
The Hellenistic Period! (323-146 BCE) After the expansion of Greek culture throughout the Near East under the leadership of Alexander the Great, the Greek art style developed even greater movement and emotion, as in Laocöon and His Sons