The shaft (the tall part of the column) is plain and has 20 sides. They have a capital (the top, or crown) made of a circle topped by a square. Of the three columns found in Greece, Doric columns are the simplest. Orders Doric: Columns Without basis Sharp-edged shaft Simple capital, without decoration Tablature Frieze divided Metopes Triglyphs Cornice Triangular pediment Temple is the essential building, residence of the god, not a place for people Other constructions combined beauty with practical solutions: Theatres Sanctuaries Gymnasiums Importance of urbanism: Hipodamus from Mileto created the orthogonal planning īuilding systems It has lintels, and it is apparently serene and equilibrate Dominant lines are horizontal and vertical The column is the essential element Building materials limestone and white marble Walls are made of regular ashlars, without mortar ( stretcher and header bond= soga y tizón ) Buildings were polychrome There are not fixed measures, this is why there are different orders
Reason, observation and experience are the basis for the reality: Philosophy and Sciences developed Īrchitecture: Basis Greek created equilibrate and proportional works It is an architecture to be seen (temple) Sculptural values, volumes Building is conceived as an sculpture Beauty= proportion and measure: it is conceived from the human point of view it is anti-colossal Īrchitecture: Basis The organization of the polis did not help the development of the palace.
Greek civilization Ideologically: Freedom and individual independence Isodomia: equal right among free men Human being is the centre of their culture: everything is done at man’s measure Rich mythology and religion: gods were used to express beauty ideal.
Geographical space Even when the basic nucleus is Greece, this civilization expanded to other regions due to: Greek colonization (forced by the inner difficulties for communication –difficult relieve, politically divided into polis) South of Italy and Sicily (Magna Greece) Easter Mediterranean coasts (Turkey, Middle East) Rest of Mediterranean coasts. Introduction Hellenistic period: Greek culture suffered a deep transformation Alexander the Great expanded Greek culture With culture, Art expanded too: The artistic forms Technical solutions Greece became the artistic reference in the whole Mediterranean area. It is the period of the Democracy This situation lasted until the political decay of the polis with the Peloponnesus Wars. Introduction Classical period: It is the peak of this art Every art manifestation reached its zenith It is the period of political, economic and cultural expansion of the polis, mainly Athens. Introduction Archaic period: It is the time of formation To the local basis are added other influences: Crete civilization Mycenaean civilization Oriental influences, above all, Egyptian Art evolved from abstraction to expressive naturalism. The chronology of Greek Art is: Archaic period: 8th to 6th century bc Classical period: 5th to 4th century bc Hellenistic period: 4th to 2nd century bc This art was born in Greece and continued during the Roman Empire. Introduction Classical art is considered the formal and aesthetic basis of Occidental Art.