classical arts

 

Classical Arts

 

1.Ancient Egypt lower Nile Valley -civilization in Northeastern African that dates from the 4th millennium BCE.

 

Paintings

– were believed to make the deceased life place pleasant giving importance of life after death and the preservation of the knowledge of the past. (Paintings from Sarcophagus of Tutankhamen XVIII dynasty, 1362 AD. — 1253 BC.)

 

Sculpture

Were believed to have symbolic elements such as form, hieroglyphics, relative size, location, materials, colors, actions and gestures were widely used. Their tombs required the most extensive use of sculpture. (The Pharaoh Menkaure and his Queen, stone 4th Dynasty, 2548-2530 BCE)

 

Architecture

- were developed during the pre-dynastic period of 4,000 BC. (The Pyramids and Great Sphinx of Giza)

-houses were made of mud from the Nile River that hardened in the sun

 

Characteristics of Architecture in Ancient  Egypt

• Thick stopping walls with few openings to obtain stability

• Exterior and interior walls along with the columns and piers were covered with hieroglyphics and pictorial frescoes with carvings painted in brilliant color.

• Ornamentations were symbolic like scarab, solar disk, vulture, and common motifs.

• Temples were aligned with astronomically significant event with precise measurements like solstices and equinox. (Ramesses II-Abu-Simbel in Lower Nubia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Painting Colors

Red- war/victory/power

Black- death/underworld/afterlife

White- purity

Blue- creation/rebirth

Gold/Yellow- sun/pharaoh-rulers

Green- fertility/growth

This is derived from mineral pigments that can withstand strong sunlight without fading.

 

Classical Greek Era

 

Classical Greece

-The term “classical Greece” refers to the period between the Persian Wars at the beginning of the fifth century B.C. and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.

 

Paintings

Were most found in vases, panels, and tomb. They depict natural figures with dynamic composition and reveal a grasp of linear perspective and naturalistic representation.

Most of the subjects were battle scenes, mythological figures, and everyday scenes.

 

Most Common Methods of Greek Painting

1. Fresco- method of painting water-based pigments on a freshly applied plaster usually on a wall surfaces.

2. Encaustic- Coming from the Greek word enkaustikos which means “to heat” or to burn”. Developed to use by Greek ship builders, who used the hot wax to fill the cracks of the ship.

Areas of Paintings

•Vase Paintings – Kerch Style also referred to as Kerch Vases are red-figured potter named after the place where it was found.

•Panel Paintings- There are paintings on flat panels of wood. It can be either a small, single piece or several panels  joined together.

•Tomb/Wall Paintings-was very popular during the classical period. It has a sharp, flatly outlined style of painting.

 

Sculpture

• main characteristics of ancient Greek sculpture are proportion, poise, and the idealized perfection of the human body.

•Hellenistic style-more naturalistic and expressive

 

Architecture

• best represented by substantially intact ruins of temples and open-air theaters

• Showed temples consisting of a central shrine or room in an aisle surrounded by rows and columns.

 

Architectural Style or Order

Doric- simple

Ionic- place

Corinthian- detailed

 

The Parthenon is considered the most important surviving building of classical Greece, and the zenith of Doric Order architecture.