Greek and Roman Sculptures

There were three art periods in Greek art. The first, the Archaic Period (c. Seventh Period BCE- 480 BCE), the Classical Period (c. 480 BCE- 323 BCE), and the Hellenistic Period (c. 323-31 BCE).

In the Archaic Period, the style was like an abstract geometric pattern. This period was influenced by Egypt and the Near East. Greek Sculptors worked on techniques like metalworking, ivory carving, or a diverse gem cutting. The Archaic Period also featured styles of jewelry making.

The styles featured animal hunting sculptures, griffins(part lion, part bird), sphinxes(part winged-bird, part woman), and even sirens(part woman, part bird). The Greek artists featured many different styles of art, creating new myths and styles into the Greek culture.

Greece stretched over many areas of Asia, some of Asia, and into Europe. Along the Aegean Islands, sculptors carved marble made statues on a large scale. Other regions in Greece created various pieces in different varieties. Sparta exhibited glorious ivory carvings and types of bronzes.

At around the sixth century, Greek artisans started making human figure statues. Along came the two famous, free-standing, large-scale statues; the Male Kouros or standing nude youth and the Female Kore or the standing draped maiden. The Kouros' shows its Egyptian influence by its proportions and its pose. These statues are used in sanctuaries and cemeteries outside the walls of the cities. The statues served as dedications to the goddesses and gods of Greece.

Sanctuaries were considered a focus for artistic achievement where artists could use them as repositories.The two main orders of Greek architecture were the Doric order of mainland Greece and the western colonies, and the Ionic order of the Greek cities on the coast of Asia Minor and the Ionian islands. They were well established by the beginning of the sixth century B.C. Temple architecture continued to evolve and change throughout the century by a process of experimenting with different styles. Building projects initiated by rulers such as Peisistratos of Athens and Polykrates of Samos. The buildings were decorated with sculptural figures of terracotta or stone.

Real narrative scenes consisted of relief sculptures in the later part of the century, where Greek Artists became extremely interested in human figures, in motion. At around 566 BCE Athens created the Panathenaic games. The winners of the games had statues created of them honored in Greek sanctuaries.

The Archaic Period showed many changes in the sculpting world from different regions of Greece including materials, styles, and stories. Now moving on to the next period of art the Classical Period (480 BCE-323 BCE).

As discussed before, at the end of the Archaic Period, Greek Artisans started focusing on human figures and animal figures. The Classical period's main focus was on those figures.

In building the human figures Greek Artisans had a general understanding of the "mechanical" parts of the anatomy, how the body moves violently, and the shift of weight of the body from one foot to another. The sculptures showed men or women walking, leaning over, dancing, and many other movements of humans. The movements also reflect on the shape of your legs arms, the Greek artists were so precise on the body that they even showed muscles scrunching up as if it were a real person walking.

This style was shown in the Parthenon marbles showing importance during the beginning of the Classical Period. The lifelike statues of the Parthenon show actions and emotions almost making you believe like the statue is showing a story. Over the years the painting grew more and more realistic with the human figures. Centaur heads and other Greek mythological creatures were also sculpted.

Dedicated to Athena, Athens patron god, the Parthenon shows marvelous artwork inside. Inside of this magnificent structure, there is a humungous ivory-and-gold sculpture of Athena mad by Pheidias, a Greek sculptor. This sculpture impacted the makings of many other statues throughout history.

Polykleitos of Argoswas was a famous sculptor of the time for his system of proportions and his artistic effect that allowed other sculptors to create the same proportions as he had done.

Although the Classical Period was a short period of art compared to the Archaic Period, the period had major historical achievements of Greece's art. After covering the Classical Period we move on to the Hellenistic Period (323-31 BCE).

Hellenistic Period main focus was about naturalism and the bodies for of realism and showing of expression into the sculptures. The expressions were exaggerated and movements as well.

Portraiture became popular during this period and there was a more focus on the natural look and imperfections. After the fall of Greece, the Hellenistic sculptures became extremely popular.

After the fall of Greece, Rome took over the empire and its cities. Many of Rome's ideas and achievements have been influenced by the Greek. Some Roman sculptures are actual copies of Greek statues.

In the beginning, Romans were interested in the Hellenistic style of sculptures and in a way, they replicated them preserving the art after the originals had been lost. Both Greek and Romans used stone, precious metals, terracotta, and glass. Even though they used all these materials, they preferred marble and bronze. All the Roman sculptures that are here today are made of marble because of the high demand of metal back then resulting in a shortage of it. Like the Greeks, Romans liked to create statues of their gods and goddesses.

Impressed with the Greek art, educated rich men wanted it, in order to supply the demand both Greeks and Romans created, bronze and marbles, copies of the original statue. Molds of the original statues were kept to make plaster casts that could be shipped all around the Roman Empire. Then they were replicated in marble and bronze.

Although most Roman sculptures were Roman originals, some statues were copied down to the exact measurement as the same statue. Since most statues were lost or melted down, the Roman copies provided evidence of famous Greek sculptors work.

Romans did stray away from the Greek style and starting focusing a deeper idea of realism, lighter and darker, but over the years they changed their style to impressionism and using tricks with the light and abstract forms.

This form of art then became used for emperors, gods, and heroes as bronze statues to commemorate them and dedicate them to him. But towards the end of the Empire, the proportions became sloppy, their heads very enlarged, and their faces flatter into an eastern looking art.

Statues were also used to decorate a home or garden. The statues could also be miniaturized with precious metals. Some statues like the Lares Familiares were always peculiar to Rome. They were made in bronze that represented as spirits to protect homes.

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