MAN IS THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS
This theme was designed to help remember the Greek philosophy that can be summed up in the words of their philosophers, Protagoras. "Man is the Measure of All Things."
Man's dignity and worth were core Greek concepts in their art. They often experimented, measured, and applied mathematical formulas to the human figure to find harmony, order and balance in their art.
Man's dignity and worth were core Greek concepts in their art. They often experimented, measured, and applied mathematical formulas to the human figure to find harmony, order and balance in their art.
Historical Context
Ancient Greece is widely considered the start of the culture that the west inherits. In their brief Golden Age (480-430 BCE) the Greek people experienced a boom of creativity which resulted in unparalleled excellence in their art architecture philosophy, drama, poetry, mathematics, logic, history and government.
Thanks to this scientific boom, this was one of the first ages where name can be attached to the art. They wrote down their names, left imprints of themselves, left behind evidence of their culture and their thought. Some of these names include their well known philosophers, like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. As well as their Play-writes, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Euripides, Sophocles, and their famous mathematicians, like Euclid, and Pythagoras. Their most famous artists were Phidias, a famous Athenian sculptor, Polykleitos, rival of Phidias, and Praxiteles, an Athenian sculptor famous ofr first entirely nude Aphrodite statue.
The Greeks had many art styles throughout their development into a civilized people. These art styles are Geometric (9th-8th century), Archaic (600-480 BCE), Classical (480-323 BCE), and Hellenistic (323-31 BCE). Geometric styles were the first to have been made, with geometric figures and shapes, this is when they first began to make art. Archaic periods include stone figures and vase paintings, and is famous for its Archaic Smile in their attempt to give these figures human emotion and feeling. Classical art was considered the peak of Greek art and architecture, idealized figures where made to exemplify Greek virtues of order and harmony. Hellenistic art was a Greek style found in Asia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, and was more melodramatic than the earlier Classical style.
Thanks to this scientific boom, this was one of the first ages where name can be attached to the art. They wrote down their names, left imprints of themselves, left behind evidence of their culture and their thought. Some of these names include their well known philosophers, like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. As well as their Play-writes, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, Euripides, Sophocles, and their famous mathematicians, like Euclid, and Pythagoras. Their most famous artists were Phidias, a famous Athenian sculptor, Polykleitos, rival of Phidias, and Praxiteles, an Athenian sculptor famous ofr first entirely nude Aphrodite statue.
The Greeks had many art styles throughout their development into a civilized people. These art styles are Geometric (9th-8th century), Archaic (600-480 BCE), Classical (480-323 BCE), and Hellenistic (323-31 BCE). Geometric styles were the first to have been made, with geometric figures and shapes, this is when they first began to make art. Archaic periods include stone figures and vase paintings, and is famous for its Archaic Smile in their attempt to give these figures human emotion and feeling. Classical art was considered the peak of Greek art and architecture, idealized figures where made to exemplify Greek virtues of order and harmony. Hellenistic art was a Greek style found in Asia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, and was more melodramatic than the earlier Classical style.