Ancient Greece: fundamental transition from convention-based to observation-based art.

Abstract

The realistic representation of the human figure is one of the hallmarks of ancient Greek art. It reflects the increasing importance of observation in that culture. In painting and sculpture the transition from pure decoration to naturalist representation began in the Archaic period (600–480 BC), and continued through the Pre-Classical (480–450 BC) and Classical (450–400 BC) periods of Greek history. Artistic creativity was at least in part a result of underlying societal and political change. The independent city-states (poleis) emerged in Greece in the eighth century BC. In the sixth century, the Greek world bordered the Persian Empire, which extended from Thrace on the Greek mainland, through the Eastern shores of the Mediterranean, to Egypt and North Africa and to India in the East. There were many trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean that linked the Greek cities with the Levant, Egypt, and the Asia Minor. In addition, emigration from the homeland was part of the Greek way of life, and by the sixth century Greek settlements were established in southern France, Italy, Egypt, and North Africa, as well as on the shores of the Black Sea. Although the migrant Greeks retained their language and rituals, they were exposed to local cultures. The major conflict between the …