Roman And Greek Art - Essay Example

Roman and Greek Art The purpose of this essay is to compare the Roman artistic period to the Greek artistic period. To be exact, my personal view onthe two periods will be outlined and three questions will be answered. First, I will explain which period I prefer and why this is my preference. Secondly, I will describe which images had the strongest impact on me. Finally, I will explain which period I would like to visit, if I could go back in time. Which artistic period do you prefer---Greek or Roman---and why?

Both the Greek artistic period and the Roman artistic period, had positive attributes. However, since I have to choose one period, I would choose the Roman artistic period. Although, the Roman art borrowed a lot from the Greeks and Egyptians, I prefer Roman art for exactly this reason. In a way, Roman art combined the best of everything and blended it with its own ideas. It is true that the Romans valued Greek art; however, I prefer the less idealized and more diverse Roman approach to art. In addition, I admire the beauty of Roman architecture that is combined with its practical use.

For example, I believe the Roman aqueducts to be not only beautiful, but also a very important feature. Aqueducts are a prime example of the fabulous Roman engineering and building skills. The Pont du Gard is probably the best proof for how remarkable the Roman artistic period was. Which image or images made the strongest impact on you and why? Even though I prefer the Roman artistic period, there were a couple of pictures from all periods mentioned that had a strong impact on me. From the Roman period, the picture of the Pont du Gard, made the strongest impression on me.

As stated above, I admire the combination of beauty and usefulness. Moreover, I am fond of the amount, position and various sizes of arches in the Pont du Gare. With regard to the Greek artistic period, there are two images that impressed me. The first image is the image of the majestic Parthenon, due to the balance and symmetry of the building itself. Secondly, the image of the Venus de Milo made a very strong impression on me, because it is a beautiful and captivating statue. If you could go back in time, which period would you most want to visit---Egypt, Greece or Rome---and why?

This is a difficult question to answer. As outlined above, I am impressed by both the Roman and Greek artistic period. However, if I was able to travel back in time, I would probably visit Egypt. The main reason for this decision is that I would have loved to see the Ancient Library of Alexandra, which was the largest and most important library of its time. From what we have learnt, it must have been a marvelous place. The Library of Alexandra held over half a million documents from various nations, such as Persia, Greece and Egypt, which is a remarkable amount of documents, even compared to our standards.

In addition, many scholars lived in the library, which is another reason for my decision. I can only begin to imagine the overwhelming experience to be surrounded by all those ancient documents and ancient scholars. Finally, from an architectural point of view, it would have been a wonderful experience to see the outside and inside of the building itself, which was sadly destroyed. I guess the fact that the Library of Alexandra was completely destroyed increased my fascination with it.