Ancient Greece

Греческий зал. Самара

The exposition occupies two halls. One of them presents the Temple of Zeus in Olympia reconstructed on a small scale (1:7). The Statue of Zeus is considered one of the wonders of the world.

An exposition of reproductions of works created by masters of West-European painting of the XV – XIX centuries introduces poetic mythology.

The balance of two principles – adherence to the rules and freedom of action in the framework outlined by them – determined the glory of Greek art. That is why the artists of later centuries turned to Greek art finding in it both a wise leadership and a source of inspiration. Greek art of the early V century BC was regarded as the art of “strict style,” whereas modern scientists define it as the early Attic art that kept step with ancient philosophy and derived inspiration from it. That art sought to find the ideal and perfect expression of Being that would embrace versatility, dynamism, infinity, and eternity. At the same time, an attempt was made to develop a form in which the overall design would be embodied as a harmonious and rational whole. It was then that the principle of Beautiful emerged as a perfect balance between form and content and hence the conclusion that aesthetic beauty always and necessarily is an expression of inner or moral beauty.

That period was notable for intensive construction work over the whole country. Mathematical approach to calculation of the proportions of temple structures became more precise and detailed which undoubtedly supposed an advanced sense of harmony. It is worth mentioning the Doric Temple of Zeus the Olympian, famous not only for its impressive dimensions bur also for its adoring sculptures. It was built in a sacred for Hellas place, where in homour of the main Greek god Zeus sport games were held every four years. They were an important event and enabled politicians to meet and conduct dialogues.

Architecture.

In architecture, different styles (orders) came to be applied simultaneously. The Parthenon was built in the Doric style, and then in other structures of the Acropolis, the Ionic style finds its application. New forms and a new figurative style of buildings come into play. This can be illustrated by the example of the temple that got the name the Eréchtheion.

Temples.

For temples there was usually chosen the best place. On sacred sites fenced around, near the eastern façade of the temple, an altar was placed in the open air, and inside of the constructions there was a statue of deit. Socrates used to say, “The most suitable place for temples and altars is that which can be seen from everywhere but is little used for walking, as it is nice to pray at the sight of a temple, it is nice to come nearer and appreciate the cleanness of the place.”

The Parthenon Temple dedicated to Athena Parthenos (Virgo) is unanimously considered the highest achievement of Greek architecture. It was designed by Kallikrat and Iktin, who provided the goddess, the patroness of the city, with a house that was unrivaled.

Sculpture.

In sculpture (reliefs), everything merges into true harmony, first revealed to the world by the Greek art of the V century.

The heritage left by the Greeks determined for two millennia the standard of beauty in fine arts, though the Greeks are first and foremost remembered as poets and philosophers. Henceforth, for two millennia yet, this approach has continued to this day.

Pictorial Art and Vase-Painting.

The artists of the VII-VI centuries BC used a variety of materials. They created their compositions on clay metopes, wooden boards, small clay tablets-pinnacles dedicated to gods, clay sarcophagi walls, on limestone and marble tombstones. However, there are only few extant monuments, where the painting was spread on a flat surface. Paintings on the spherical surfaces of the vases have survived to the present day since they had been subjected to roasting, which contributed to increasing the strength of the paint. These drawings show the desire for beauty and artistic comprehension of the world.

In the late VIII century BC, new tastes and interests started to develop in the Greek society. By that time conventionally simplified geometrical images had ceased to satisfy people. In vase-painting of the VII century BC, plant motifs and narrative scenes appeared in abundance.

The proximity of the oriental Asia Minor manifested itself in decorative and colourful compositions. This peculiarity made it possible to term the vase-painting style of the VII century BC as an Orientalized one, or a carpet style. Artistically perfect vessels were made in Crete, the islands of Delos, Melos, and Rhodes and in the towns of Asia Minor, in particular in Miletus. Major centres of vase production were Corinth (the VII-VI centuries) and Athens (the VI century).

At the turn of the VII – VI centuries, the shapes of the vases become more diverse, though the bent for the roundness of the outlines is noticeable. The technique of putting drawings on vases becomes more complicated, and the palette of the artists is more colourful. In addition to the black lacquer, white paint and purple of different tones appear, while scratching is used to indicate the details. Artistic finish of images frees itself from ornamental “clothes” and acquires the distinctness of real drawing. The pattern is assigned only to frame the scene or decorate the vase bottom and fixing grips. The advance of the plot leads to the colour simplification in painting. In that time, the masters’ admiration for bright colourfulness of the world is manifest in their works. Drawings are decorative and saturated with ornaments. Figurative pictures are permeated with ornamentality.