This morning I switched gears a
bit to look into another ancient culture’s art – Ancient Greece. You may
remember Doc Rose, who recommended impressionist painting to me. She mentioned
that I should take a look at Ancient Greek vases because of the wide variety of
shapes and techniques. After reading the Wikipedia page on Ancient Greek
Pottery (I know, I know, Wikipedia again!),
I can verify that this is definitely the case! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pottery_of_ancient_Greece#Red_figure).
The development of Greek vase painting is traced through several different
styles: protogeometric, geometric, orientalizing, black figure, red figure,
white ground technique, and the Hellenistic Period. Are your eyes glazed over
yet?!? This is a lot to digest, and I want to spend the next few days looking
at the different styles. The black and red figure style looks particularly interesting-
check out this example I found on the Metropolitan Museum’s website:
Also interesting: the page
mentions that, because pottery is relatively durable, the art on ancient Greek
pottery has had a disproportionately large influence on modern understanding of
ancient Greek society. This fascinates me- we know much of what we know about
the ancient Greeks because of one of their art forms. I feel that art is often
considered to be an unnecessary side pursuit in society. I admit I’ve rolled my
eyes at art and the need to be “cultured” more often than once. But in the case
if the Ancient Greeks, their art served quite a useful purpose – since centuries
upon centuries later we can learn about their lives and history through that
art. I think that’s pretty cool, don’t you?
Finally, before I sign off today
- Happy Memorial Day! Thanks to all of the brave men and women who have given their lives serving in the U.S. Military.
Xoxo,
Diana
No comments:
Post a Comment