In Unit 2 we discussed the different type of art from the ancient world.  The art that comes from Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and early Rome all had their own style of expression, yet had several similarities.   The idea of humanism influenced the art of some of the empires such the Greeks. Others based created their art in their beliefs of their God and Goddesses.  Through their art they individually expressed what was important and valuable to their societies.

The Greek society showed humanism in their art pieces.  Opposed from Egyptian and Mesopotamian artwork, Greek and Romans created 3D art.  They believed that man was powerful and equal to the gods so their sculptures showed the full detailed body a man.  It was believed that man was the measure of most things. In Greek art nudity was shown a lot. Artist would create sculptures of naked man and it would represent the pride and strength and qualities of human beings, rather than showing someone being a more “powerful” being than man.  Two good examples of humanism would be the “Kouros” and the “Doryphoros”. As time went by their artwork began to look more and more realistic. The positions of the sculptures also said a lot about them. Contrapposto, is believed to be the stance of all humans. The tone of muscles, wrinkles, and folds were all shown in a sculptures bodies.  Overall, the Greek humanism also showed events going on during that time and they valued free inquiry in that it wanted to open up to new possibilities.

After the fall of the Greek empire the Roman Empire arose.  Their art was influenced by the Greeks. They basically copied their art and created their art looked even more realistic.  They created their work on marble which gave it a smoother look. The marble made it heavier and unlike the brown material that was lighter.  

Founded in the Early Dynastic Period (3100-2686 B.C), Ancient Egypt worshipped their god and goddesses.  Their god and goddesses were seen as powerful and respected by everyone, therefore when portrayed in their art they were always bigger than the rest or above.  Egyptians did not think that a god should have human like characteristics and so in their art there hierarchy was shown in different ways. As mentioned before usually the god or the goddesses had animal features.  They were either at the top of the register and/or created bigger than the rest. The clothing they wore also showed how they were more wealthy and powerful than the rest. The Mesopotamians also based their art work on their gods because they were seen as the highest power.  The believed that humans were lower and could not compare to the gods. The artwork of both these societies was created to show the respect and honor they had for their gods.

The artwork from the ancient world varied within the societies.  Depending on their values and their beliefs their artwork reflected upon it.  The empires all influence each other’s work in one way or another. At one point art was not taken serious because it was believed that it made people misinterpret and think about things that were not even real.  The ancient world had a diverse section of art pieces, yet most tied to the same idea, just like in todays artwork.