ANCIENT GREEK SCULPTURE IN THE 20TH CENTURY WESTERN ART

Abstract

Ancient Greek art and culture had served as a significant guide for Western civilisation for centuries. Greek philosophy, literature and mythology as well as art and architecture had a major impact on artists especially in the periods of Renaissance and Neoclassicism. It is interesting to see that Ancient Greek sculpture has still been inspiring for the 20th century western painters, sculptors and performance artists. This article will focus on the visual representations of four statues -Apollo Belvedere, Venus of Milo, Nike of Samothrace and Sleeping Ariadne- in the imagination of artists working in various styles. Depictions of aforenamed statues and their novel and distinctive interpretations had been the subject of this descriptive research. 20th century creations have been scanned for traces of Ancient Greek sculpture. These timeless paragons of Classical and Hellenistic periods acquired a fresh life thanks to the 20th century art world’s admiration and respect for the Ancient Greek sculpture. It can be concluded that by juxtaposing classical and contemporary imagery, artists created memorable and engrossing works. Keywords: Ancient Greek Sculpture, 20th century, Western Art