High Classical and Hellenistic Art - Essay Example

This was the era of the Peloponnesian war, Athenian democracy, and the Persian threat. But regardless of these factors, or perhaps because of them, Greek Culture experienced an artistic revolution. Statues, for instance, became much more utilized in temples and decoration and to make public statements. These statues came in a variety of forms, from funeral statuary in graveyards to the Parthenon and the Statue of Zeus. This funeral statuary often depicted actual deceased people, thus making the graveyards a much more emotionally charged place.

For example, Fragment of a Marble Grave Stele of a Woman, shows that these funeral statues were not works made to tell stories or inspire, but to elicit reverence through simplicity (MetMuseum.org) Thousands of other statues dotted the landscape, filling the homes of the wealthy or adorning the streets, depicting revered figures of Greek mythology. The artistic tradition, still developing, also came to accept nude statues of women in the High Classical era (Stokstad). Friezes also became much more used, to decorate temples for instance.

They required precision and planning to maintain structural soundness while chipping away the marble perfectly, and thus fostered the development of expert artisans. In all, the Classical period was one where Greek culture was still developing and defining itself at home, and the art of the time followed that. It was a time of new artistic advancements, and an increase in the dedication of Greek society to art. The Hellenistic period was ushered in by Greece’s new place in the world. Alexander the Great had increased the Greek Empire all the way to the fringes of India.

But this did not only spread Greek Culture, it also spurred the often forgotten effect of war- the conquered had serious influences on the culture of the conqueror. Now that the Greeks had contacted and governed from people all around their world, there was a dialogue opened up, and artistic influences came along with those interactions. Greek art was changed greatly by all these new sways, with each culture, be it the Egyptian or Indian or Persian, inputting their own flavor into Greek art. But, again, this movement was not distinct from the High Classical period.

It was merely the natural progression of artistic order, brought upon by new influences in society. Greek art still was obsessed with statuary. But the subjects of the statuary developed. No longer was it only acceptable to depict mythical models of perfection, now it was artistically acceptable to make a statue of a normal person, imperfect. With this, the wealthy Greeks did not have to decorate their homes with statues of only Greek gods and goddesses and mythical figures, but could now include statues of themselves and their family and friends in the mix.

But this is not to say that the mythical statuary ceased to exist- for this is most definitely not the case. In fact, much more attention began being paid to the mythological statuary, and some of the most well known works, like Venus de Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, and Laocoon and His Sons, were from the Hellenistic period. These statues depicted mythical figures in emotionally charged situations. Their countenance had advanced from the austerity in the High Classical Era to highly realistic and expressioned.

In general, these statues