Greek Art: Ceramic Painting

A psykter is a type of Greek pot that is characterized by a bulbous body set on a high, narrow foot. It was used as a wine cooler. The psykter would be filled with wine, and then be placed in a krater full of cold water or ice. THe psykter was a vessel meant for use in exclusive male drinking parties. Douris' conspicuous skill in composing complex figural scenes that respond to the complicated and irregular pictorial fields of a variety of vessel types is evident in a frieze of frisky satyrs that he painted 480 BCE around the perimeter of a psykter. Other wine shape potteries include: Krater, Kylix, Oenochoe, Skyphos, Kyathos, Rhyton, Kantharos, Askos, Kotyle, and Dinos.

*Information was derived from textbook and MET website

Egypt Group Project

Egypt Group Project

Sculpture and Art in Ancient Greece

Discobolos, Ancient Greek Statue

http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Sculpture/

This sculpture is said to be one of the best sculptures that illustrates the freedom of movement. This sculpture is by Myron in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome. This sculpture is one of the most famous sculptures of Rome, and I was first introduced to this sculpture in the sixth grade. This sculpture was very important to Grecian art and culture: "The classical age also saw the first time human anatomy was deemed worthy of being portrayed in a statue and forever immortalized in stone and bronze." This sculpture seemed to have changed the life of Grecian sculptures. As discussed in the article, portraying people in a static and stiff position had not been replaced with the more modern 'snap-shot' three-dimensional movements, so that people could admire the human body for its aesthetic values; this claim  from the article is very interesting to me because that is how I defined Roman architecture. I defined Roman architecture as an architecture that loved portraying the human species as a dominant and conquering species. The article describes the evolution of Roman architecture and its meaning. It is said in the article that this sculpture was the first time that humans could be seen as almost God-like, meaning that the human body became the subject of study at this time. The following is quoted from the article and it ultimately describes the evolution of Roman architecture:

"In ancient Greece, a long intellectual evolution had reached its logical conclusion during the classical era when 'men as a living organism on this planet acquired the importance it deserved and gods became human through marble and bronze'."

The influence of democracy and different philosophies changed the dynamics of art tremendously.  It is said in the article that from the Classical period, all the Greek statues from this time period displayed a lack of expression, whereas, the depiction of 'barbarians' show a dramatic facial expression. This was because the Greeks believed that suppression of the emotions was a noble characteristic of all civilized men, while the public display of human emotion was a sign of barbarism. It is also said that logic and reason was to dominate human expression even during the most dramatic situations. I firmly agree with the proclamations of the article because it distinctively describes the evolution of Roman architecture while simultaneously showing the effects the evolved art had on society. 

The picture above is one of the most interesting pictures we have discussed in class. The light, form, and color run profusely throughout the picture. Although this picture does not show the entire building, you can still get a taste of its character. It seems as though parts of the building may have large ceilings and other parts may have smaller ceilings; if this is true, then the space may make me feel two kinds of ways: small in the space and large in the space. The architecture seems complex and unified. The light from the sun is bright and it only shines on specific objects within the architecture. It shines on the edge of the wall to the left as well as far left column. There are some effects of light throughout the picture but it isn't prevalent and define. The lighting in the building is soft. The light and the color gives the building a warm feeling. The light is obviously not even throughout the painting.

The decoration of the building makes me more aware of the building. The decoration does not necessarily disguise it at all. I will proclaim that the decoration adds to the architecture of the building. The decoration obviously integrates with the building and seems inevitable. The color is probably one of the most important characteristics about this picture. The color helps guide our eyes throughout the picture, and with the affects of the light, it gives the color meaning and does not contrast from the architecture. Although we cannot see the building to its entirety, we are fortunate enough to see that there is a distinct rhythm in the picture. The rhythm of the windows at the top of the picture, and the rhythm of the columns through the middle of the picture. The lines throughout the middle of the picture have a distinctive rhythm throughout the entire picture. The most distinctive feature would most definitely have to be the columns, which is prevalent in architecture during the time this building was constructed.