What's the difference between ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and ancient Rome?

There are generally five theories about the origin of art: witchcraft, game, representation, labor and decoration.

Artistic features of primitive art: Primitive art includes rock paintings, rock paintings, sculptures, architecture, etc. The animal images depicted in the original paintings are so accurate that it is difficult for even modern people to do so. This shows that primitive people have been dealing with animals all their lives and are very familiar with their images and habits, so they can draw so vividly, thus creating a realistic artistic tradition in the west for practical purposes.

The artistic features of ancient Egyptian art: the combination of regular geometric forms and keen observation of nature is the first feature of ancient Egyptian art, and the second feature of Egyptian art is stability and commemoration.

Artistic characteristics of ancient Greek art: The history of ancient Greek art is usually divided into Homer period, antique period, classical period and Hellenistic period. Homer's period is the formation period of Greek mythology and the embryonic period of plastic arts. Antique period is the formative period of plastic arts. During this period, oriental culture had an influence on Greek art through trade exchanges. Greek art gradually got rid of the influence of oriental culture and formed its own style. In the classical period, this period was the prosperous period of Greek art, and all kinds of art made great achievements, among which architecture and sculpture had the most far-reaching influence on later generations. In the Hellenistic period, this period is also called "Pan-Hellenistic period". The main achievement of this period is sculpture, which has formed various styles centered on different regions.

The whole Roman art can be said to have the following characteristics: multi-blood comprehensive art, utilitarianism and pragmatism coexist, praising rulers.

The characteristics of ancient Egyptian art are: stable style, distinct grades, idealized expression on the basis of realistic style, magnificent, grand, clear and rigorous style, such as frontal method: the head of the character is represented by the front, the eyes and shoulders are the front, and the waist is the front.

Section 1 Ancient Egyptian Art

The ancient Egyptian civilization is one of the ancient civilizations in the world, and the only one that can match it is the civilization that originated in Mesopotamia. The ancient Egyptian civilization centered on the Nile, nourished a long and narrow oasis between the Red Sea and Libya and Sahara Desert, and became the foundation of ancient Egyptian civilization. In 5000 BC, classes had sprouted in ancient Egyptian society, and slavery countries appeared in Egypt around 4000 BC. The history of ancient Egypt is usually divided into six periods:

Primitive period (3 100 BC-2770 BC);

Ancient kingdom period (2770-2200 BC), from the first dynasty to the sixth dynasty;

The first intermediate period (2200-2050 BC);

Middle Kingdom period (2050 BC-BC 1786), from the 1 1 dynasty to the 12 dynasty;

The second interval (BC 1786-BC 1560);

New Kingdom Period (BC 1560- BC 1087), the 18 dynasty to the 20th dynasty.

The unification of ancient Egypt began at the beginning of primitive simplicity (about 3 100 BC). According to tradition, Narmai, a soldier from the south, completed this career, so he was also the first Pharaoh. A truly autocratic slave country should begin with Zuo Sai, the first king of the third dynasty. The whole country has a hierarchical pyramid social structure and a strong religious background. There is no difference between political life and religious life. Pharaoh is a descendant of the sun god and the head of the priest. The economy of the kingdom is based on fairly developed agriculture, and there are many kinds of agricultural products. After about two thousand BC, commerce and trade became one of the most important economic sectors, and manufacturing also occupied a very important position. The ancient Egyptians made great achievements in astronomy, medicine and mathematics. They are also devout religious believers, believing in the blessing of the gods and the "eternal soul". He worshipped gods in various religious activities, spent a lot of energy building temples and tombs, and created amazing works. The purpose of his creation is not limited to "this world", but "eternity".

1. Ancient Kingdom Art

During this period, architecture and sculpture were the most prominent arts, and painting was still in the primary stage.

Architecture:

Pyramid-Pharaoh's mausoleum. In the early dynasty, the tombs of kings and nobles were rectangular stone buildings, and the sarcophagus was placed inside the building, which was called "Mastaba". With the expansion of the mausoleum, Mastaba on the first floor has evolved into a stepped pyramid with overlapping layers from large to small. The earliest pyramid was the stepped pyramid of Pharaoh Zuo Sai, which was built around 2770 BC. In the heyday of the ancient kingdom, it evolved into a square pyramid. The most famous is pyramid of khufu, which is146.6m high and the four sides of the base are 233m long. It faces east, west, north and south, with a slope of 52 degrees, so that the ratio of the height of the tower to the perimeter of the tower bottom is equal to π. It is made of 2.3 million pieces of limestone weighing 2.5 tons, but it is very compact without using any adhesive. Inside the pyramid, there are corridors, ventilation pipes and stone chambers for storing Pharaoh's mummy. The pyramids have an amazing sense of volume and volume. It is enough to make people standing in front of it feel small, and this huge building is the materialization of the concept of "ascension". However, this architectural method was abandoned in the Middle Kingdom period, not only because it wasted people and money, but also because the concern for personal salvation became the main religious tendency at that time, so temples replaced pyramids as the main architectural objects.

The characteristics of ancient Egyptian art are: stable style, distinct grades, idealized expression on the basis of realistic style, magnificent, grand, clear and rigorous style, such as frontal method: the head of the character is represented by the front, the eyes and shoulders are the front, and the waist is the front.

Sculpture:

Ancient Egyptian sculptures mainly exist as architectural appendages, and their patterns have been formed and passed down in the ancient kingdom, which are mainly manifested as: upright posture, arms close to the body, and direct face to the audience; Focus on depicting the head of the character, and other parts are rough; The facial contour is realistic and the expression is solemn; Determine the proportion according to the status of the characters; Statues are colored, and the eyes are often inlaid with crystals, timepieces and other things.

Famous works include: The Sphinx (Hafra Pyramid), one of the largest and oldest outdoor carved colossus in Egypt, with a length of about 57 meters and a face of 5 meters, which is the face of the Pharaoh. Prince Lahotep and his wife (sitting portrait) use soft lines to show the personality characteristics of the prince and the dignified beauty of the princess. The statue keeps its original color, and the eyes of the characters are made of ebony.

Relief and painting:

Relief and painting in ancient Egypt have the same formula: forehead method (the head of a character is represented by the forehead, the eyes and shoulders are the forehead, and the waist is the forehead); Horizontal bar arrangement structure, dividing the picture with horizontal lines; Arrange the proportion and composition position according to the character's inferiority; The picture is full, leaving no blank; There is a fixed color program: male skin is brown, female skin is light brown or light yellow, hair is blue-black, and eyes are black.

Representative relief works in the ancient kingdom period include: Namir slate and hippo hunting.

Tomb murals from the ancient kingdom: the number of remains is small, and the representative works are wild geese, which are drawn in a realistic way with vivid images and harmonious colors.

Compared with Greek and Roman art, Egyptian art seems to have many insurmountable norms. Whether it is sculpture painting or relief, any action has an unbreakable pattern and framework. War, sacrifice and blessing have their standard actions on every occasion. In order to achieve the standardization and unity of each character's movements, the author even draws squares on the manuscript when painting and reliefs. The number of squares occupied by each part of the character will be strictly and uniformly specified. Ancient Egypt has never been so bold and true in artistic creation as Greek art, and there is almost no free body language, which gives people a solemn but slightly dull feeling.

Of course, this kind of performance is also in line with the above-mentioned concept of "positive law" and the eternal stability of Egyptians, but the weak humanization phenomenon in this art is also closely related to another powerful force in ancient Egypt-kingship. As a sacred and inviolable god on earth, Pharaoh ruled the whole country with strict order. Egypt is one of the oldest and most typical slave countries in the East, and the relationship among pharaohs, princes and civilians is like a heavily guarded pyramid. Stability and standardization. In the eyes of the Egyptians, no matter how the stars run or how the world runs, there are many great orders hidden behind them. Pharaoh will not only publicize these orders in this world, but also bring them to the eternal afterlife. So Pharaoh also asked artists to create for him and the god behind him. Therefore, Egyptian art naturally does not create beautiful lines and shapes to please people's body and mind. But to represent and express Pharaoh's wishes and orders and obey God's will. In this way, lines and shapes can't be changed at will, and everything is as solemn as a ceremony. Artists can only create according to the orders and rituals of the greatest priest Pharaoh, and lose the right to create freely.

Three thousand years before BC, the Nile Valley in Egypt and Nubia produced huge ancient buildings, sculptures, paintings and decorative handicrafts. The development of Egyptian art is mostly parallel to the country's political history, but it also depends on the deep-rooted social system. The hierarchical structure supported by official religion requires obedience to authoritative laws and mandatory moral standards. As a powerful propaganda tool to maintain the existing social structure, Egyptian art may serve the authorities better than any other art.

Ancient Egyptian art reflects the religious belief of a culture, which developed from the belief that this life is only a short episode compared with the eternal afterlife. People from all walks of life are collecting useful and decorative objects that accompany them after death. They tried their best to make a big splash in their own cemetery. As a result, a large part of works of art were preserved by the ancient tomb. Archaeologists excavated works of art from the pre-Egyptian dynasty (about 2925 BC), including rock carvings, beautiful vases, clay figurines and cosmetics. Wood is scarce. Before builders learned to dry bricks with the sun, houses were built of mud and reeds from the Nile. The most famous work of art in the early dynasty (about 2925 BC ~ about 2575 BC) was "Narmer Board". This is a slate depicting King Narmer's defeat of the enemy, which symbolizes the unification of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. It depicts every scene, praises Pharaoh very clearly, and marks a style that Egyptian art has followed for a long time.

During the ancient kingdom period (about 2575 BC ~ about 2 130 BC), huge buildings were built of stones. The Great Pyramid is the tomb of the ruler. There are buildings surrounded by tombs and temples. The so-called stepped pyramid in segala is the earliest known pyramid. Several famous pyramids in Giza are the best form of pyramid architecture. The nobles were buried in rectangular stone tombs near the king's pyramid. The Sphinx was carved into the head of a ruler. Located next to the pyramids in Ha Fula, this temple is dedicated to the dead pharaohs and Egyptian gods. Furniture, jewels and other handicrafts in the tomb have been preserved for thousands of years. Stone tombs and temples in the ancient kingdom are decorated with colorful reliefs, which vividly and truly depict the daily life of the Egyptian people. Statues, large and small, made of wood and stone look like the dead and are lifelike. During this period, it has been stipulated to paint portraits. Show the correct proportion, posture and arrangement of details. Rulers and officials are always portrayed in a solemn manner that conforms to their status, while slaves and laborers show a state of engaging in various jobs, and they are portrayed more freely. This carving principle makes the style spread and the skill reach a high level. At the end of the ancient kingdom, due to the civil war and general economic depression, it was impossible to build exquisite tombs. The quality of art has declined. During the Middle Kingdom period (BC 1938 ~ BC 1600), the political situation was relatively stable, and the art was revived accordingly. It is particularly noteworthy that the statue of the king is full of sad faces, which is in sharp contrast with the solemn and serene portrait of the ancient kingdom. During this period, the pyramids and temples of imperial tombs built near Fayoum Oasis were relatively small, mainly using bricks with a layer of stones on the surface.

After another political chaos, the prosperous new kingdom (BC 1539 ~ BC 1075) made all kinds of arts compete for beauty. There are temples, chapels, stone tombs and stone tablets everywhere in the Nile valley of Egypt and Nubia. Huge granite statues and reliefs on the walls praise the rulers and gods. Painting has become an independent art, and the handicraft of decoration has reached a new peak. The treasures found in King Tutankhamun's mausoleum are typical of all kinds of luxurious artworks made for the royal family and its vassals. Especially in the18th century, both painting and sculpture showed elegance and nobility. Although they followed classical norms, they were relatively free. These portraits are elegant and the details are very accurate. During the reign of King Amenhotep IV, there was a short revolution in art, which was called the Amana style. It allows complete freedom of expression and depicts the informal daily activities of members of the royal family in a simple and realistic way. The most striking burning building in the new kingdom is the huge stone temple dedicated to the gods. Both their indoor layout and huge size show the rise of monks' power. Typical structures can include a huge doorway, a courtyard with colonnade, a cylindrical hall, a shrine room and one or more small churches. Only pharaohs and senior monks can enter the innermost area. The patterns of columns and stigmas are based on plants (such as palm and papyrus). The wall is also decorated with plant patterns. Huge statues of gods and rulers are awesome enough. The tombs of this period were built by digging holes in the rocks of desert cliffs. The rulers of the new kingdom built extremely beautiful tombs and ancestral halls in the valley of the king's tomb in Thebes. Now, people can see the solemn remains of ancient tombs in Luxor, Crnac, Abidos, Tel El-Amana and Abu Simbel.

In the last centuries BC and the first centuries AD, Greece and Rome ruled the Mediterranean world. Nubian's artistic tradition combines the artistic style of Romanized Egypt. However, Egypt's outstanding contribution to art was the romanization of the coffin portrait of Egypt (30 BC-642 AD), which marked the emergence of a new painting style, which was later carried forward in Byzantine portraits and reached its peak.

From 500 BC to 323 BC, it was a classical period in Greece, and it was an era of high prosperity in art, literature, philosophy and politics. During this period, it had a serious conflict with two powerful enemies, Persia and Macedonia. The Greeks won the war against Persia, and a spirit of cooperation was aroused in every city-state. At the same time, Athens played a leading role in the post-war city-state alliance because the Athenian army played a role in turning the tide against the so-called barbarians. The further prosperity of social economy and the in-depth development of slave owners' democratic politics promoted the overall prosperity of Greek culture and art. Greek art, especially sculpture and architecture, constituted the peak of ancient Greek art. The great achievements of ancient Greek sculpture and architecture were closely related to the social system, aesthetic value, aesthetic concept and social fashion of ancient Greece.

First, the social system of ancient Greece

Ancient Greece practiced neither absolute monarchy and strict bureaucracy in the East, nor theocracy and religious rule of Egyptian pharaohs. Instead, it adopted a slave democracy with the city-state as the unit. The citizens' assembly is the highest authority, and aristocratic slave owners, industrial and commercial slave owners and freemen all have the right to participate, speak and vote. The ruler of this city-state is democratically elected from the citizens' assembly. The most crucial and important thing is direct democracy, that is, the political, democratic and sovereign rights of the city-state belong to all freemen. It does not govern the country by electing representatives to form a parliament or congress, but the freemen directly participate in the governance of the city-state. Because this kind of sovereignty in ancient Greece belongs to the people and belongs to the system of direct democracy. Citizens can listen to politicians' speeches and debates, participate in discussing domestic and foreign affairs, elect or dismiss officials, and decide to offer sacrifices, which also stimulated the development of ancient philosophy and eloquence to some extent. In the eyes of freemen, the country is just a acropolis with many temples, where the bones of entrepreneurial heroes are buried and the national gods are enshrined, including not only the assembly square, entertainment theater, gym, but also public places. The Greek social system embodies the respect for people (though limited), endows citizens with the freedom to create, stimulates each citizen's sense of responsibility and enthusiasm for creation, and is conducive to their own bodybuilding, harmony and all-round development. As winkelmann said in the History of Ancient Art, "Freedom has its throne at any time". Therefore, Greeks can be poets, philosophers, critics, chief executives, priests and judges at the same time. They are also citizens, athletes and soldiers. They are smart and interesting, they can concentrate on one or twenty talents, but they won't let one talent hinder the development of another. Greek freemen exist for their own existence, but they live and work. They emphasize their own perfection and beauty, rather than simply contributing to the emperor. So Greek art also exists for the beautification and joy of life. In the eyes of the Greeks, a person has both, and a real person is a lively and agile body. Optimistic and cheerful people regard life as fun, and even the most serious thoughts and political systems have become pleasant things. They are full of open-minded and naive beliefs about nature, life and life. There are no absurd beliefs and superstitions in their thoughts. In their lives, they only enjoy themselves with the gods, show them bodybuilding, decorate the polis for them and use art.

Second, the aesthetic value of Greek style

The Greeks provided an ideal model of "classical beauty" for western art. They regarded the universe as a whole and a complete sacred order. The word "universe" itself contained the meaning of "harmony, quantity and order". Pythagoras, an early Greek philosopher, pointed out that number is the same rule as music and celestial bodies in the universe, symbolizing the harmony between music and the universe, and man himself is one. Induction, * * *, simultaneous reaction, common aspiration. Democritus famously said, "Man is a small universe". In the eyes of the Greeks, good things are produced by the harmonious relationship between the parts of the whole, and the beauty of this harmony comes directly from the human body, which is a small universe and a small order in the big order of the universe. They believe that the human body is beautiful, true, kind and insignificant. It embodies the wisdom and order that can be found in the universe and is the source of all goodness and beauty. Therefore, artists extend this concept to architecture, sculpture art and other aspects, and use human sculpture to express the image of God in their minds, thus symbolizing the sacred order of the universe. Ancient Greek sculptors have repeatedly explored the standard proportion of the human body in order to seek a human body standard that expresses beauty. Sculptor Poliklitos specializes in the proportion between different parts of the human body. He wrote the book Law, which clearly pointed out the proportional symmetry data of all aspects of the human body. For example, a strong human body has seven heads (7: 1), and the center of gravity of the statue is concentrated on one foot and the other foot is relaxed, which can highlight the tension and relaxation of the muscles and tendons of the whole body and make the whole image more expressive. In Poliklitos' masterpiece Spilmer, he

1. What are the periods of ancient Greek sculpture?

Greek sculpture is divided into four periods.

A. Homer period (12nd century-8th century BC), named after Homer's epic, as the only written historical data of this period;

B. The archaic period (750 BC-the end of the 6th century) was named because the sculpture art in this period was simple and naive.

C. The classical period (the second half of the 5th century BC -334 years) refers to the end of the Greek-Persian war and Alexander the Great's eastward invasion of Macedonia;

D Hellenistic period (334-30 BC) refers to the historical period when Rome perished the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt.

2. What are the characteristics and classification of ancient Roman art?

Roman sculpture art inherited from Greece, but compared with Greece, it has its own characteristics.

A, Roman sculpture is aristocratic, and the figures are mostly nobles and emperors.

B, the characters are not as vivid and beautiful as Greece, but more severe and reserved, but emphasize truth and individuality.

C, lacking rich imagination in Greek sculpture, depicting strength and dynamic beauty, most characters are lost in meditation.

Representative works: Octavian, bronze statue of Marco Horizo riding, Madame Flavi, etc. There are also reliefs on the Peace Altar, Jigong Column and Arc de Triomphe.

3. What are the characteristics of Romanesque church and Gothic architecture?

A. Roman church

Circular coupons, buttresses, columns, the church space is low and the interior is dark.

B. Gothic church

Pointed coupons, flying buttresses, beams and columns, ribbed windows, ribbed arches and new frame structures increase the strength of supporting the top, which has a strong sense of rising, majestic appearance and open space in the church. Coupled with the long windows inlaid with stained glass, the church has a strong religious atmosphere. The plane of the church is basically a Latin cross, but a pair of tall towers are added on both sides of the west gate.

The tradition of western sculpture originated from ancient Greek and Roman culture, but ancient Greek sculpture was deeply influenced by ancient Egyptian sculpture.

With the development of social productivity and the disintegration of primitive communes, the earliest slave countries appeared in the world, and ancient Egypt was one of them. The sculpture art in Egypt began around 4000 BC, and the birth of the construction industry gave birth to the bud of art decoration. It has preserved the remnants of primitive society for a long time, and Egyptian mythology and religious beliefs dominated the formation and development of sculpture. The conservatism of myth and religious belief is the main reason for the slow development of Egyptian sculpture.

Egyptian sculpture served the Pharaoh regime and a few slave owners and nobles. Because it is dominated by religious ideology and strictly obeys the aesthetic views and needs of the upper class. Apart from some works in tombs, the most influential sculptures in ancient Egypt are decorative sculptures and memorial sculptures in front of tombs and temples. Pyramids are the most famous sculptures. The highest is pyramid of khufu. The huge Sphinx in front of the pyramid is carved from a huge rock, which is the largest and most famous sculpture in ancient times.

The remarkable achievements of Egyptian sculpture are the result of long-term exploration by Egyptian sculptors. Its sculpture art left a brilliant page in the history of ancient world art.

The aesthetic ideal of ancient Egyptian sculpture is to pursue eternity, while that of ancient Greek sculpture is to pursue true beauty.

Most of the themes of Greek sculptures are taken from myths or sports competitions. At that time, some enlightened rulers advocated the development of fine arts and literature in addition to internal affairs and armed forces. In the hundreds of years after the 6th century BC, famous scientists, writers and artists in ancient Greece made brilliant achievements, and sculpture art was an important aspect of brilliant cultural achievements in this period.

There are many small islands in the Aegean Sea, among which Barros Island is rich in marble, which provides the best material for carving. As far as the change and development of artistic style are concerned, Greek sculpture can be divided into antique period, classical period and Hellenistic period.

The archaic period is the training stage for sculptors. After long-term exploration by sculptors, this period paved the way for later sculptors. The most famous sculptor is Miron. The discus thrower is his masterpiece. In the classical period, the social thoughts and religious concepts of the Greeks changed greatly, and the sculpture art gradually tended to emphasize the depiction of characters' emotions. During the Hellenistic period, sculptors inherited traditional techniques and endowed their works with new vitality and new characteristics.

Ancient Greek sculptors have rich knowledge and highly realistic skills about the human body. The lines of clothing lines are vivid, smooth and changeable, which not only shows the texture of clothing, but also shows the beauty of human body through clothing. Greek sculptures have created lofty, elegant and perfect characters.

Roman sculpture developed on the basis of inheriting the Greek sculpture heritage to a great extent, and made a unique contribution to portrait sculpture, which is inseparable from the traditional custom of the Romans to worship the remains of their ancestors.

Due to the popularity of monk customs and sacrificial ceremonies, Roman sculptors painted more images of clothes. Early Roman sculptures were monopolized by a few slave owners and nobles. At that time, many images of Roman emperors were carved by sculptors, who regarded the Roman emperor as the commander-in-chief of heroes. For example, a statue of Augustus in the Vatican Museum shows the instantaneous action of the Roman emperor holding a scepter and giving orders to his subordinates.

Portrait sculpture in this period is famous for its realistic style. Sculptors are good at using exaggerated and generalized artistic techniques to depict characters in detail, abandon cumbersome things and enhance the sense of movement. In addition, Roman sculptors also decorated many circular sculptures and reliefs on Roman buildings, squares and memorial columns. Famous buildings in the 3rd century include Sepp Timmas, the Arc de Triomphe in Luce and the public bathrooms in caracalla.

Ancient Roman sculpture is an important part of western ancient civilization and has made outstanding contributions to the development of western realistic sculpture.