Ancient Greek and Roman Art

1. Classical Art:
Greece and Rome

2. Introduction to
Classical Art
Greek Art
Etruscan Art
Roman Art

3. Periods in Greek Art
1. Geometric
2. Archaic
3. Classical
4. Hellenistic
No other culture has had as far-reaching
or lasting an influence on art and
civilization as that of ancient Rome.

4. Dipylon Vase with funerary scene (Greek, 8th century BCE). Terra-cotta. H: 42 5⁄8”.

5. Geometric Period
• From c. 900–700 BCE
• The Geometric Period - named because of the
prevalence of geometric designs and patterns
in the works of art.
• Conceptual (stylized) representation of
human figures.
• Amphora – a two-handled pot used to hold
water, wine, or oil – also, used as a grave
marker

6. Archaic Period
• From c. 660–440 BCE
• Gradual change from Geometric style to
the archaic style.
• There was a growing emphasis on the
human figure.

7. Attributed to the Amasis Painter, Attic Lekthos. Women Working Wool on a Loom (Greek, c. 540 BCE). Terra-
cotta. H: 6 3⁄4”. Said to have been found in Attica.

8. “A Closer Look”
Women Working Wool on a Loom
•Women Weavers of Ancient Greece
•The Black-figure vase is attributed to an
Amasis painter
•This is an extremely important image
because it shows an early image of the
loom being used in weaving.

9. Vase Painting
• Eastern patterns and forms gradually disappeared
• Larger human forms became the preferred subject
for art.
• Figures were more natural with an attempt to show
more natural gestures being made.
Black-figure painting - combination of black figures
with incised detail on the red background common
to pottery of this period.
– Slip - liquid sifted clay with mineral oxides
added for color used to paint figures on pottery
– Krater – a wide bowl used for mixing wine with
water.

10. KLEITIAS. François Vase. Attic volute krater (Greek, c. 570 BCE). Ceramic. H: 26”.

11. Architecture
Some of the greatest accomplishments of the
Greeks are their architecture.
During the Archaic period an architectural
format was developed.
The architectural forms from the Archaic period
are derived from the Mycenaean megaron.
Cella - the center room which housed the statue
of the god or goddess of the temple and was
often surrounded by a single or double row o
columns.

12. Greek Column Orders
Three Styles or orders:
1. Doric
1. Originated on the Greece mainland.
2. Earliest / Simplest
3. Most common
2. Ionic
1. Introduced by architects from Asia Minor
2. Used for smaller temples
3. Corinthian
1. Not widely used in Greece
2. But was favorite of Roman architects

13. Doric Ionic Corinthian

14. Sculpture
• In the Archaic Period, sculpture emerged as a
principal art form.
• Sculptural artworks appeared on buildings.
• Life-size figural sculpture emerged, perhaps
inspired by the Egyptians.
• Nonstructural parts of a building were often
adorned with sculpture.
• Most sculpture was painted with subtle color.
• Architectural sculpture was embellished with
red, blue, yellow, green, black, and
sometimes gold pigments.

15. Kouros and Kore Figures
kouros and kore (masculine and feminine) -
– Earliest figures of the Greek Archaic Period
– Function is unknown, but because they may have
been found among the ruins of temples they are
thought to be devotional or funerary statues.
– The men were depicted in the nude.
– They were stylized, and followed artistic
conventions.
• For example, they might have had a slight smile which is
now referred to as the “Archaic Smile”.

16. Kouros figure (Greek, Archaic, c. 600 BCE). Marble. H: 6’4”.

17. Peplos Kore (Greek, Archaic, c. 530 BCE). Marble. H: 48”.

18. KRITIOS. Kritios Boy (c. 450 BCE). Marble, Life-size.

19. Early Classical Art
• The change from Archaic art coincides with
the Greek victory over the Persians.
• This period becomes the Greek “Golden
Age”.
• There was a revival in the arts
• The style of the Early Classical are is marked
by power and austerity.
• The Early Classical style is therefore
sometimes referred to as the Severe Style.

20. Classical Vase Painting
• Vase painting in this period sees an
interest in anatomy with movement and a
shift in weight.
• The introduction of red-figure vase
painting.
• Decorative bands are now eliminated.
• The creation of three-dimensional space in
the arts.
• Classical Greek mural painting that has
not survived.

21. NIOBID PAINTER. Argonaut Krater, Attic red-figure krater (Greek, c. 460 BCE). Ceramic. H: 24 1⁄4”.

22. Euphronios. Herakles wrestling with Antaeus, red-figure krater (Greek, c. 460 BCE). Ceramic. H: 24 1⁄4”

23. Classical Sculpture
• Implied movement was the greatest
advancement in the arts of the Early Classical
period.
• Also, artists were more keenly aware of
nature.
• The most copied subject was of The Discuss
Thrower.
– The original does not exist, the Roman’s copied it.
• Myron was one of the favored sculptors of
the period

24. MYRON. Discobolus (Discus Thrower) (c. 450 BCE). Roman marble copy after bronze original. Life-size.

25. Classical Art
• Classical Art is the peek of Greek arts.
• During this brief period of peace, Greek
attention was on perfecting all of its
artistic traditions.
• Pericles was the main force in
rebuilding Athen’s monuments and
advancing art, drama, and music.

26. Classical Architecture
• After the Persians destroyed the Acropolis, the
Greeks mounted a massive building campaign under
Pericles to rebuild it. (But they didn’t want to use the
same stone as it had been defiled.)
• The first major work that was rebuilt was a temple,
The Parthenon, to the goddess Athena – protector of
Athens.
– Designed by architects Ictinos and Callicrates
– Best example of the Doric order.
– Most refined, perfected work in Architectural history
• Entasis - the swell of each column in the middle.
• The reasons for this are unknown.
• Some think it was for function.
• Others think it was to correct for perceptual distortions.

27. ICTINOS & CALLICRATES. Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece

28. ICTINOS & CALLICRATES. Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece
with Golden Rectangle

29. Golden Rectangle
Golden Curve
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 54, 88 . . .

30. The east facade of the Parthenon, superimposed with a root five rectangle. When we do not consider the gable
(which is absent in this photograph), the facade of the Parthenon is a root five rectangle.

31. Root Five Rectangle
length is 2.236 (the square root of five) times its width

32. Classical Sculpture
• Pericles commissioned the sculptor, Phidias
to oversee all of the sculptures in the
Parthenon.
• His style, the Phidian style, is characterized
by a lightness of touch, attention to realistic
detail, contrast of textures, and fluidity and
spontaneity of line and movement.
• The artistic subjects were of battles and the
gods.
• The detailing of the folds of cloth on
sculptures such as the The Three Goddesses
had not been seen in art up until this point.

33. PHEDIAS. The Three Goddesses, from east pediment of the Parthenon (c. 438–431 BCE).
Marble. Height of center figure: 4’7”.

34. PHEDIAS. Lapith and Centaur, from Parthenon (c. 438–431 BCE). Marble

35. Classical Sculpture
• The greatest freestanding sculpture of the
Classical period was created by a rival of
Phidias, Polykleitos.
• Polykleitos:
– Worked in bronze
– Liked to sculpt athletes
– Sculptures were based on reason and intellect.
– Developed a canon of proportions.
– Developed the weight-shift principle

36. POLYKLEITOS. Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) (c. 450–440 BCE). Marble. Roman copy after Greek original. H: 6’6”.

37. Late Classical: Sculpture
• More humanistic and naturalistic
• An emphasis on emotion
• Bodies became more sensual and graceful
with a pronounced shift in weight
• Praxiteles was a major proponent
• His works were more lively and fluid than in
previous periods with variations in texture.
• S Curve - a pose in figurative sculpture that
creates a sway similar to the letter “S”.

38. PRAXITELES. Hermes and Dionysos (c. 330–320 BCE). Marble. H: 7’1”.

39. Hellenistic Art
• Hellenistic period - during the reign of
Alexander the Great, Alexander conquered
Persia, Egypt and the near east and brought
Greece culture to these areas.
Characteristics:
• Excessive almost theatrical emotion.
• The use of illusionistic effects to heighten
realism.
• And the space around the sculpture is treated
as an extension of the viewer’s space.
• Artist’s drawn to drawn to dramatic subjects.
• Portrayed human excess.

40. The Dying Gaul (Hellenistic, c. 240–200 BCE). Roman marble copy after a bronze original. Life-size.

41. Hellenistic Sculpture
continued…
In contrast, there was another trend in
Hellenistic art:
•It reflected the simplicity and
idealism of the Classical Period.

42. Aphrodite of Melos (Venus de Milo) (Hellenistic, 2nd century BCE). Marble. Larger than life-size.

43. GREEK ART
Styles and Terms:
• Classical Art - the artistic legacy of Greece and Rome with has
influences almost all of Western Art.
• Naturalism - truth to reality in art based on an observation of
nature.
• Idealism - the representation of forms according to an accepted
standard of beauty.
• Hellenism - a style of work prevalent in the Roman Empire
• Humanism - The concept that human beings are the center of
the universe and the “measure of all things.”
• Rationalism - A philosophy in which knowledge is assumed to
come from reason alone, without input from the senses or
emotions.

44. The Etruscans
• The Etruscan civilization on the Italian peninsula
was the most significant before that of ancient
Rome.
• Their history dates from around 700 BCE to the
4th century BCE
• They are believed to have come from Asia Minor.
• This link may explain some of the similarities
between Etruscan art and culture, and that of
Eastern countries.
• By 88 BCE, the Romans had vanquished the last
of the Etruscans

45. Etruscan Architecture
• The only architecture that survives
from the Etruscans are its tombs
• Tomb construction was similar to that
of a domestic dwelling.
• Walls were covered with hundreds of
everyday items carved in low relief.

46. Etruscan Sculpture
• Bronze and clay (terra-cotta) sculptures
have survived from the Etruscan tombs.
• Cinerary urns often portrayed Etruscan
dwellings.
• Figural sculpture often topped the
sarcophagi in the tombs.
• The figures are highly stylized.

47. Sarcophagus, from Cerveteri (Etruscan, c. 520 BCE). Terra-cotta. L: 6’7”.

48. She-Wolf, (Etruscan, c. 500 BCE). bronze.

49. ROMAN ART:
Artistic Periods
• Republican
• Early Empire
• Late Empire

50. Rome
• Established in 500 BCE.
• Eventually Rome would control Greece,
western Europe, northern Africa, and part of
the Near East.
• Roman art combined native talents, needs,
and styles with other sources, especially
Greek.
• It was fashionable to own copies of Greek art.
• Roman’s invented concrete!

51. The Republican Period
• The Republican Period - c. 500 BCE – 44 BCE
• The patricians - ruled the country and were
like an aristocratic class.
• The plebeian class - common folk with little
say in running the government.
• On March 15th (the Ides of March) in 44BCE
Julius Caesar was assassinated by members of
the senate. With his death came the absolute
end of the Roman republic and the
beginnings of the Roman Empire under
Augustus.

52. Roman Sculpture
• Much of Roman art is derived from that of
Greece.
• However, their realistic portrait sculptures
were wholly Roman.
• Wax death masks were made and often
converted to bronze or terra-cotta sculptures.
• This led Roman sculpture to become more
realistic, detailed.

53. Bust of Julius Caesar (Republican period, 1st century BCE). Marble

54. Head of a Roman (Republican period, 1st century BCE). Marble. H: 14 3⁄8”.

55. Roman Architecture
• Rome’s greatest contributions were in architecture and
engineering
• Architecture in the Republican period is linked to that of
Greece and the Etruscans.
• They adopted the temple podium, the wide cella plan
with columns and a portico.
• Roman Innovations:
– Column shafts are one piece (instead for stacked
drums)
– Freestanding columns on temples.
– No relief sculpture on the friezes.
– Architecture not sculpture but instead emphasized the
relationship between form and function.

56. Temple of Fortuna Virilis, Rome (Republican period, late 2nd century BCE).

57. Roman Painting
• Excavation of Pompeii and Herculaneum from
the eruption of Volcano Mt. Vesuvius.
• Roman domestic dwellings were decorated
with frescoes and mosaics.
• Link to Greek painting which has not survived.
• Roman wall painting went 4 phases:
1. Architectural style - the illusion of space created
through Herringbone perspective, a system where
orthogonals vanish to a specific point along a
vertical line that divides that canvas.

58. Ulysses in the Land of the Lestrygonians, from a Roman patrician house (50–40 BCE). Fresco. H: 60”.

59. The Early Empire
• Believed that art should be created in the
service of the state.
• They desired to glorify Rome’s power
through magnificent buildings and civic
monuments.
• In the areas that they conquered, Rome built
apartment buildings, roads, bridges, water
systems, sanitation, recreation facilities,
gymnasiums, public baths, and theaters.

60. Architecture
Roman Innovations:
– The Roman Arch
– The Dome
– Reinforced Concrete, which allowed for domed and vaulted structures
Three of the Most Famous Structures:
• The Aqueducts - series of arches for irrigation and water.
• The Coliseum - Made of 2 back to back amphitheaters.
– A major feat of architectural engineering and practical design.
– Contained columns of all 3 styles, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
• The Pantheon – temple to all the gods
– Inside of the dome is coffered - carved with recessed squares.
– Oculus - a large 30 ft hole in the center of the dome that let light in.

61. Pont du Gard, Nîmes, France (Early Empire, c. 14 CE). L: 900’; H: 160’.

62. Colosseum, Rome (Early Empire, 80 CE). Concrete (originally faced with marble). H: 160’; D: 620’ and 513’.

64. Colosseum, Rome (Early Empire, 80 CE). Concrete (originally faced with marble). H: 160’; D: 620’ and 513’.

65. The Pantheon, Rome (Early Empire, 117–125 CE). Exterior view.

69. Sculpture
• Augustus was determined to create monuments
that reflected Rome’s power, glory, and influence
on the Western World.
• During the Empire Period, the pure realism of the
Republican period portrait busts joined with Greek
idealism.
• The result was classical idealized bodies and poses
with individualized heads.
• They also invented the equestrian portrait.
• Stoicism - said it was best to be indifferent to
emotion and the things of this world, maintaining
that virtue was the most important goal in life.

70. Sculpture continued…
Sculptures differed from Greek sculptures in:
1. Individuals were rendered in portrait-like
likeness.
2. The reliefs commemorate a specific event
with specific persons present.
3. The figures are set in a shallow(low relief),
but convincing, 3D space.

71. Augustus of Primaporta (Roman, c. 20 BCE). Marble. H: 6’8”.

72. Imperial Procession, from the Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome. Marble relief.

73. Column of Trajan, Forum of Trajan, Rome, dedicated 112. 128 feet high

74. Column of Trajan, Forum of Trajan, Rome, dedicated 112. 128 feet high

75. Marcus Aurelius Equestrian, Capitoline Hill, Rome (Early Empire, c. 165 CE). Bronze. Larger than life-size.

76. Marcus Aurelius Equestrian, Capitoline Hill, Rome (Early Empire, c. 165 CE). Bronze. Larger than life-size.

77. The Late Empire
• The declining years of the Empire.
• The Empire was ultimately divided into
two sections, with separate rulers.
• Constantine moves the capital to
Constantinople.
• Rome and the western empire left
vulnerable to barbarians.

78. Architecture
• Basilicas were large meeting halls that
were constructed in or near the public
Forums.
– Set a precedent form Christian church
architecture.

79. Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, Rome (Late Empire, c. 310–320 CE). 300’ x 215’.

80. Sculpture
• As a result of growing religious beliefs,
sculpture began to reflect the new
spiritualism.
• Constantine became the first Christian
Emperor.
• Returned to attributes of the archiac
style
– This can been seen in
The Head of Constantine the Great

81. Head of Constantine the Great (Roman, Late Empire, early 4th century CE).

82. Discussion Questions:
• What are the differences and similarities
between Greek and Roman sculpture?
• What were some of the major Roman
achievements in architecture and
engineering?
• Why is Classical art important in the
discussion of the history of the western
tradition of art?