Ancient Greek art, beginning in the Cycladic and Minoan civilizations, comprises various periods: Geometric, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic, along with five main forms including architecture and sculpture. It reflects human achievements and societal values, evolving from rigid designs to more naturalistic representations, especially during the Classical period where realism flourished. Notable innovations include emotional expression in Hellenistic art, the utility of pottery in daily life, and skilled metalwork showcasing intricate designs.

1. ANCIENT GREEK ART

2. INTRODUCTION
• Greek art began in the Cycladic and Minoan civilization and
gave birth toWestern art of today.
• It has been divided into Geometric, Archaic and Classical
periods, with further developments during the Hellenistic
Period.
• Greek art consists mainly five forms: architecture, sculpture,
painting, pottery and jewelry making.

3. What is Greek Art known for?
• Ancient Greek art emphasized the importance and
accomplishments of human beings.
• The art Greeks produced over the years reflect the society that
creates them.
• Through their temples, sculpture, and pottery, the Greeks
incorporated a fundamental principle of their culture.

4. Let's explore Greek Periods!

5. Geometric Period
• Geometric art is a phase of Greek art,
characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase
painting, that flourished towards the end of the
Greek Dark Ages, 900 BC – 700 BC.
• Funerary vases not only depicted funerary scenes,
but they also had practical purposes, either
holding the ashes or being used as grave markers.
Relatives of the deceased conducted burial rituals
that included three parts: the prothesis (laying out
of the body), the ekphora (funeral procession),
and the interment of the body or cremated
remains of the body.

6. Centaur, c. 900 B.C.E. (Proto-Geometric period), terracotta, 14 inches high, the head was found in tomb 1
and the body was found in tomb 3 in the cemetery of Toumba, Lefkandi, Greece

7. Archaic
Period
This is one of the
earliest phase of
Greek art. It took
place in the eighth
century BC and
lasted until 480
BC.
During this
period, the
artwork became
a more
naturalistic
mode of
expression.
This was very
different from
earlier works,
which had been
much more
rigid.
Paintings on vases
evolved from
geometric designs
to ones that more
clearly showed
human figures.
These vases usually
showed epic tales.

9. Archaic sculpture
• Sculptures during this period had very animated faces.The
bodies were made to show human proportions accurately.
• Any statue of a man during this period was known as a Kouroi.
Statues or sculptures that depicted women were called Korai.
• All of these statues had similar features.They would usually be
shown standing stiffly with their hands at their sides.

11. Classical Period
• During this period, Greek artists and sculptors
refined their craft. Statues became less rigid.
It began in 510 BC and lasted in 323 BC.
• In fact, most statues and sculptures made
during this time period were much more
relaxed or even shown in action scenes.
• Greek artists and sculptors continuously tried
to render human and animal forms as realistic
as possible during this time period.
• They did this by studying human anatomy
and how a person’s body moves when they
change poses.This allowed them to create
much more lifelike statues.

12. Classical Sculpture
• Commonly associated feature with the
sculptures of this time period is calm and
passionless faces.
• In order to get such realistic figures, they
needed to change the way they made their
art.
• Instead of carving a figure directly from
stone, artists during the classical period
would make a clay figure first.They would
then copy this design into stone.

14. Hellenistic Period
• The last period of Ancient Greek art, the
Hellenistic period began after Alexander
the Great’s death in 323 BC. It continued
until 31 BC.
• During this time period, Greek art was
heavily influenced by the different
cultures that they had conquered under
Alexander the Great.
• This period focused on new subjects,
such as women, children, and common
people rather than deities and rulers.
• Hellenistic artists were able to copy and
alter from all the different works of art
that came before.This gave them a good
sense of their history, which influenced
their works.

15. •One of the biggest innovations
during this time period was the
artists’ ability to convey emotion
through their sculpture.
•While Classical works were usually
stoic, Hellenistic art was full of
emotions.

18. Greek Pottery
• Much of our knowledge of classical Greek art comes from objects made of
stone and clay that have survived for thousands of years.
• Classical Greek pottery was perhaps the most utilitarian of the era’s art
forms.
• They also used clay pots, jars and vases for almost everything.These were
painted with religious or mythological scenes.
• The themes explored on pottery were pattern and order, perspective and
proportion and man himself–appeared as well in less-durable creations such as
ancient Greek paintings and drawings.

20. Greek Painting
• Until recently, archaeologists only knew about Greek painting
through ancient Greek stories.
• These stories, which were written by authors such as Pliny and
Pausanias, describe large, monumental paintings. But
unfortunately, not a lot of these paintings remain.
• Some Greek cities, such as Sikyon, were known for their
schools, which taught painters and created many successful
Greek artists, who then traveled theWestern world, spreading
their Greek art.

21. Greek Metalwork
• Greeks were very skilled at working with metal, and they worked with
many different types.
• Bronze is a special type of metal, which is mostly made up of copper, with
another metal added, such as tin or zinc.
• Bronze is a hard and strong metal, and it was a very popular choice for
statues and other decorations.
• Greeks also used iron, which is a harder metal, as well as precious metals
such as gold and silver.
• Because metal can be melted down and made into something else, many
metal sculptures and other metal items were melted down so they could
be used for other things.

22. They made bowls and vases,
cauldrons, knives and
daggers, shields, armor,
decorative wreaths, drinking
cups, and lanterns.
They also made fine jewelry
such as necklaces, bracelets,
earrings, pins, and rings.
Most of the decorations
found on jewelry were
flowers and leaves, mythical
creatures, lions, and snakes.

23. Greek Mosaic
• A mosaic is a picture made up of small pieces of glass, pottery, or small
tiles.Thousands of small pieces of colored tiles are placed together so that
all together they make up a picture.
• It is one of the lasting artistic legacies from the ancient Greeks is the art of
the mosaic.
• Greeks decorated their houses with mosaics, both on the walls as well as on
the floor.
• In Macedonia, archaeologists have found houses that have brightly painted
walls and mosaic floors.

26. Greek Sculpture
• Sculpture was perhaps the favorite mode of expression for
Ancient Greek artists.They used this medium to show what the
ideal human form would look like.
• They wanted to create lifelike images of near perfect
individuals and what they believed their gods to look like.
• As such, the Greeks didn’t usually show human imperfections
in their sculpture, which is very different from the Romans.
• Perhaps the most famous Greek sculptor is Phidias. He is the
person who designed and completed the Parthenon in Athens.

28. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT GREEK ART
• Most of the Greek sculpture were originally painted in bright colors. Most of
these elements have been worn away over the years.
• Since painting on pottery was considered a worthy art form, most artists
signed their works.
• Many of the most famous pieces of art fromAncient Greece were actually
decorations that people had inside of their homes!