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November 26th - The History of Art - Greek Sculpture
We are leaving behind a dabbling of ancient art and heading into the Classical art period. (If this is the first history of art post you have happened on, check my sidebar for the Art History category and see what else I have shared).
One huge difference between Greek sculptures and the earlier Egyptian Sculptures is the fact that Greek sculpture was free standing. Where Egyptian sculpture tended to be part of a block of stone, the Greek sculptor cut away any unneeded part of stone. This left spaces between the arms and the body, between the legs and this made a sculpture appear more lifelike.
By 400 BC, Greek sculptures had evolved from rigid poses to fluid ones which included garment folds, curly hair and musculature. These sculptures, while not completely life-like were very close and seemed as though the sculpture could get up and walk away.
One example is The Supplicant Barberini which dates from 400 B.C. Study the real likeness to a person in the face, the folds of the gown, the position of the legs.
Another example is the Venus de Milo (believed to be the goddess Aphrodite). Originally the statue would have been decorated with paint to make her look even more lifelike, but all vestiages of paint is now gone.
For more information on classical Greek sculpture...it's development and the methods of sculpture, visit Classical Greek Sculpture.
Here is a lesson plan that deals with a lot of the aspects of ancient Greece. Scroll down to 'f' for some ideas on art lessons.
This lesson plan is about the Parthenon and geared towards grades 6-8.
This lesson has a lot of art activities for a variety of ages. There are some Greek activities, jus scroll down.
