The art of the ancient Greece and Rome civilizations is referred to as “classical art”. Moving away from the art of earlier civilizations, the Greeks discovered the means to representing man and nature in the most naturalistic way as the purpose of art. This realistic representation might be an acceptable feature for us today, but in the context of the time frame then, it was indeed a revolutionary revelation.
The earliest centre of Greek art was the art of Crete, under the rule of King Minos. Here, artists discovered the use of metals from Asia Minor and made fine objects in gold. The buildings of this period have paintings on the walls, following Egyptian techniques that use strong reds, yellows and blues. The invasion of the Dorians marked an end to the rule of the Minians and Myceneans.
The rugged land which the Dorians invaded was rich in rough lime stone and fine marble — materials necessary for the development of architecture. The prosperity of Greek states led to trade contacts with Egypt, whose artistic influences were adapted to Greek ideals. The most remarkable artistic achievement of this period can be seen in painted pottery, where the artists achieved greater flexibility in depicting movement. The development of Greek religion played an important role. The poems of Homer gave distinct personalities to gods like Apollo and Zeus, who unlike the animal-headed Egyptian gods were sculpted in human images, but with a more powerful super-human physical form. Anatomical details were given a lot of importance. The supporting slabs and thrones of Egyptian art are dispensed with giving birth to free standing forms; nude representations of male and female forms also made their appearance. Yet another advance in sculpture was the discovery of the technique of hollow cast bronze sculpture. The most famous of these is the realistic bronze sculpture of the Discus Thrower by Myron. This sculpture captures a perfect athletic action of great poise and stillness, very much like the action photographs we see today.
The pinnacle of Greek art is the creation of the most magnificent buildings in Athens under the rule of Pericles. The temple of the patron god Athena — the Parthenon Temple, a marvel of architecture and sculpture, is a cultural landmark of Greece. The greatest artists of the times — Polykleitos and Phidias — were associated in building this temple. The preoccupation with ideal form and realism, and a growing prosperity led to the development of portraiture. Sculptors were highly sought after, their works collected by rulers and rich patrons. The impact and the influence of Greek art was so phenomenal that it spread to Rome where, Romans imported Greek artists to create new portrait sculptures and copies of sculptures based on the Greek ideal of perfect realism. Artists like Michelangelo were highly influenced by Greek sculptures.