Pottery Styles

Pottery in ancient Greek developed significantly between 1100BCE and 500BCE. Over this period, five styles stood out most, developing from one to another. To begin with, the Protogeometric period was a movement which started in Athens and focussed primarily on basic shapes such as triangles, circles and arcs. Each brush stroke was calculated to provide a clean and precise outcome (examples are depicted below). Personally, I am fond of the simplicity of the design, the patterns are soft and soothing and the design clearly has thought behind it. My only gripe with this style is that it doesn't say much, later periods of art in ancient Greece and Athens to be more specific, portrays stories and messages, and the character of the artist could be expressed. With the design of Protogeometric art, the vases seem characterless, they are well constructed but no message or meaning can be found in my opinion.

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In 900BCE the style moved towards Geometric art style. During this period common design motifs were used, such as squares and angular patterns. However, unlike protogeometric art, slender and stylised figures were introduced into the design. Furthermore, geometric vases often depicted scenes and stories, and many were used to commemorate the dead, where so the vase would be placed on the final resting place of the deceased. In my opinion, this is where the art style of the Ancient Greeks really picked up, as each piece now has significant value. At this point, vases were commonly used to celebrate life and depict myths and stories, as opposed to being more practically used to store water or other liquids. I like this step away from practicality and towards meaning, and I also like the stylised thin figures on the design, the reoccurring pattern they create almost seems like it symbolises unity in my opinion, and I can better appreciate the art since it has more meaning.

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Late geometric art around 750BCE had only minute changes, in my opinion, things really got interesting under the black-figure period which became popular in the 7th century BCE. Black-figure paintings are one of the most well-known styles of the ancient greek world. The style had figures, animals and objects all portrayed in a solid black pigment and finer details were marked into the black paint. The use of this style really made the Athenians stand out, the exportation of their olive oil globally was often packaged in Lekythos which were small decorative jugs that often used the black-figure style of the time. The colours of this style may be simple, with orange and black being primarily used (occasionally other colours would be used) however the vibrancy, precision and stylised design really stood out to me. It was interesting to see how the art movements developed, and I am curious if this sort of development from geometric to figure painting could be implemented into a game.

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Other the black-figure art movement, the red-figure style developed. Personally, this style doesn't stand out any more than black-figure designs, as it is essentially the inverse. Patterns and figures are painted in a brick red colour, whilst the background remains a solid black pigment. Both designs were used in a similar fashion to depict scenes and notable figures.

Myths in Art

In Analysis I stated that although mythology wasn't one of the original prompts I looked into, it seemed to be a reoccurring theme that stood out to me. One of the ways it kept popping up, was through my research into art at the time. Pottery in the later period especially has depictions of well-told stories and myths that were spread throughout the ancient Greek world. For instance, below you can find depictions of Gods  Zeus and Hera found detailed onto the side of a pot. I really like the messages behind myths and I find it interesting how commonly presented they were in everyday life and through art.

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Other forms ofArt

Unfortunately, there does not exist a lot of other examples of artwork from the classical period and beyond. It is believed that tapestries, wall murals and wood carvings would have most likely eroded or been destroyed. However, stronger pieces of art such as pottery, metalwork and sculpture have survived the test of time. In regard to metalwork, the surviving examples, for the most part, are in poor condition, however, there are some prime examples which managed to survive travelling as far as France or Russia. Metalwork was often used more decoratively such as in jewellery, bowls, cups extravagant decorations of animals or people. Below you can find an example of a silver drinking vessel. Personally I really like the detail and extravagance of metal work done by the ancient greeks, the designs are complex and creative and still shine after all this time. 

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Aside from metalwork, the other obvious form of art was sculpture. Many sculptures depicted the human form, as the Greeks believed that this was an important subject for artists to depict. The Gods were also shown as being humanistic and relatable to humans as well. Just as with pottery, the design of sculpture developed over time. In 1100 BCE the design of sculptures was simplistic and only contained small features. It is believed that the Greeks were inspired by the looming statues of ancient Egypt which would stand guard and rise above all else. I'm not particularly fussed by the archaic designs that predated the classical period, the detail was often overlooked and the statues only held a basic form. Below you will see the Marble statue of Kouros, which shows early examples of Greek sculpture.

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Personally I prefer sculptures which occurred in the classical period. The designs are exquisite and the details which appear are jaw-dropping. take the fabrics and drapery which are carved into the detail of numerous sculptures, the attention to detail makes it look realistic and lightweight, despite being made of stone. Also, I found it interesting how the colours of most ancient greek statues have faded over time, leading to clear white figures being left behind. I like the idea of time fading the statues and draining the life from them, I wonder if this concept of fading away could be used in my later works. Below you can see how detailed the sculptures are, as well as a recreation which shows how they might have looked when they used to be in colour.

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In summary, what I love most about the art movements in the classical period of Greece and Athens is the detail and realism that they tried to strive towards. In pottery, the designs began to include depictions of myths and humans. In regard to sculpture, many artists began including more detail and aiming for a perfectionist outcome. The art of ancient Greece really resonates with me because it expresses so much character. Below you can find more examples of the artwork of ancient Greece and Athens by clicking on the link below. 

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