 The ancient Greek art tends to be thought of in vague terms of vases, statues and architecture produced "a long time ago." Indeed a long time has passed between us and ancient Greek Art history, and thinking like this is a good starting point. The vases, sculpture and architecture were amazing innovations, and artists forever afterward owed an enormous debt to the ancient Greeks.It is also worth noting that Greek art has inspired imitations and revivals over the centuries. The ancient Romans were influenced heavily by Greek art, and in time Renaissance painters, architects, and sculptors rediscovered the glories of Greece Greek art is mainly in four forms: architecture, sculpture, painting, and painted pottery. Architecture includes houses, religious buildings like temples and tombs, and public building like city walls, theaters, stadia, and stoas. Sculpture includes small figurines and life-size statues, but also relief sculptures which were on the sides of buildings, and also tombstones. We have many greek paintings from the Bronze Age. The paintings were painted on walls, as decoration for rooms, like murals or wallpaper. On the other hand, we have a good deal of painted pottery from all periods of Greek history (down to the Hellenistic) Mycenaean Art occurred from roughly 1550 to 1200 BC on the Greek mainland. Although the Mycenaean and Greek cultures were two separate entities, they occupied the same lands, successively. The latter learned a few thing from the former, including how to build gates and tombs. Besides architectural explorations including Cyclopean masonry and "beehive" tombs, the Mycenaeans were awesome goldsmiths and potters. They raised pottery from merely functional to beautifully decorative, and segued right out of the Bronze Age into their own insatiable appetite for gold. Around 1200 and the Homeric fall of Troy, the Mycenaean culture is followed by an artistic phase known both as Sub-Mycenaean and/or the "Dark Ages". This phase, lasting from 1100 - 1025 BC, saw a bit of continuity with the previous artistic doings, but no innovation. The Proto-Geometric era from 1025 - 900 BC, saw pottery beginning to be decorated with simple shapes, black bands and wavy lines. Additionally, both technique in creating, and shapes of pots were being refined. Geometric Art 900-700 BC. This early period from Greek art history shows how ancient artists adorned many of their works (vase paintings in particular) with precise geometric patterns. Archaic Art 700-480 BC. During the Archaic period, Greek artists came into contact with ideas and styles from outside of Greece. It was also a time when vase painting and sculpture began to reflect Greek ideals. Classical Art 480-323 BC. Often referred to as the "Golden Age" of Greece, the Classical era was a time when perfection was achieved in the arts - the Parthenon was constructed during this fruitful period. Hellenistic Art 323-31 BC In the Hellenistic period of Greek Art history, new ideas permeated Greek art, and emotion, drama, and realism began to influence the appearance - and subject matter - of Hellenistic sculpture. More about Greek and Thassos Art coming soon. Go to Thassos Pottery
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