Greek Art - The Geometric Period, Classical Period, and Hellenistic Period :: Greek Art

Greek Art - The Geometric Period, Classical Period, and Hellenistic Period Over a period of time Greek art of the past has changed and evolved into what we value in todayà ­s society as true art and services as a blue print of our tomorrow. As we take a closer look at the Geometric Period and stroll up through the Hellenistic Period allow me to demonstrate the changes and point out how these transitions have served the elements of time. During the geometric period the Greeks style of vase painting was know as Proto-geometric because it was preceded and anticipated the Geometric style - was characterized by linear motifs, such as spirals, diamonds, and crosshatching, rather than the stylized plants, birds, and sea creatures characteristic of minoan vase painting. Artist of the geometric time period created decative funerary art to be placed at the tombs of there dead. These pieces were made of ceramic and created in the form of geometric shapes, hence the time period. One such piece is a vase from the Dipylon Cemetery, (750 BCE) its over-all shape is like that of a hemisphere supported by a cylinder. We also notice that the vase is divided into registers and here the humans are depicted as part of a narrative. The body of the deceased is placed on its side and set on what would appear to be a pedestal in the center of the top register. The form used to represent the human figures are somewhat abstract. For example triangles are used for the torsos, the head is a triangle in profile, round dots would stand in for the eyes and long thin rectangles would serve as arms. The figures have tiny waists, and long legs with bulging thigh and calf muscles. The abstract designs were painted with a clay slip and to still a page form the Egyptians, all the humans were shown as full-frontal or full-profile views that emphasize flat patterns and outline shapes. However unlike the Egyptian funerary art the Greeks focused on the survivors, not the fate of the dead. During this period it was customary to create vases that did not contain supernatural beings, nor made reference to the afterlife that might have provided solace for the bereaved. Another early piece that surfaced back in the late tenth century was the Centaur, half-human, half-horse.