Geometric Greek Art Styles
The geometric period was a time of reawakening for Greece. City-states formed, the Greek alphabet was developed and trade expanded. Temples and shrines devoted to the gods were erected and city-states each adopted their representative gods. Much of geometric art was in tribute to the gods and mythic heroes from literature. Angular horses are familiar from the period as are armed warriors and chariots.
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Time Line
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The geometric style evolved during an early period of Greek art history. It was a dominant artistic style in ancient Greece during the years circa 1000 BCE to 700 BCE. The age of geometrics in Greek art is divided into two eras, the Protogeometric (1000 to 900 BCE) and the Geometric (900 to 700 BCE).
Influence
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Greek geometric art was influenced by an earlier period, the Mycenean style, that also created many representations of geometry in art. The early geometric "Salamis" vases borrowed the spiral from the Myceneans. During the 1920s modern period of art deco, the influence of the geometric period is distinct.
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Components
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Geometric artists used every geometric shape they could think of: triangles, rows of dots, zig-zag shapes and fish-bone shapes. Crosses and stars were found. Net-shaped representations and the most well-known, the maze shape and checks, were common. The invention of the drawing compass was a tool of these sculptors, painters, jewelers and architects.
Remnants
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Pottery and jewelry, as well as some architectural detail are surviving representations of the period. Burials vases, traditionally set into graves or on top, have been found. Jewelry is preserved that shows geometric decorations. Some are in the collections of museums such as the Louvre in France, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Athens National Museum.
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References
- Photo Credit greece image by Miodrag Trajkovic from Fotolia.com
