Thank you for reading and learning about the materials, processes, and use of Greek sculptures and the little segment about paintings. To briefly summarize what I talked about or if you don't want to read all of the posts, Greeks used many materials such as marble, limestone, wood, etc.. Sculptures were mostly used to tell stories about gods, show heroes, events, Greek culture, mythical creatures, or they were for religious purposes and depending on the material used the process varied. I hope this information was helpful and important to anyone who is also doing a research project like me, just wanted some knowledge on Greek Visual Arts, or anyone who was using this information for their lives. This was important for me because I am very interested in arts and crafts so I can use this information for further knowledge on that topic if I want to pursue that career. I have learned that in our world today we are lucky that we have technology that can 3-D print sculptures and we can have online or digital photos.
Now that I have informed you of how sculptures were made, what they were made of, and many other little details, you should probably learn about what they were used for. Greek sculptures were mostly the human body or showed animals during the Archaic period. We don't know for sure what other types of sculptures there were because many haven't survived till today, but there is evidence from literature and paintings that describe many varieties of things. An archealogist today would have to rely on the examination of the sculptures rather than the terminology used. Greeks would dedicate sculptures to specific things, for example, a sculpture of a god might be placed in a temple to remind the people what that god has done for Greece. To my surprise they were scarcely ever displayed for admiration or simply pleasure. The only time people displayed sculptures for pleasure, is when they would be given to a person with power, such as a Queen or king to furnish their house. They could also finish temples or notable buildings all around Greece. You will also see them representing the rulers of Ancient Greece. The majority of these sculptures told stories about gods, heroes, events, Greek culture, mythical creatures, or they were for religious purposes.
Resource #1 Resource #2 I'm back and ready to answer the most important part to this blog, how a sculpture was made in Greece. As you know sculptures were made of many materials and because of this the process varies greatly depending on the material. For an example I am going to talk about the way a sculpture is made using marble. To guide proportions, a small scaled down drawing or carving would be followed as a person carved. Different types of iron tools were used during this process. A pointed tool would be used first to remove bigger chunks of marble, then a hand drills or chisels to sculpt fine detail. Once the main structure was sculpted, other additions like the arms, would be sculpted separately and connected to the body using dowels. The finished product would be sealed with an abrasive powder or sometimes oil hot wax. The last steps included, attaching the figure to a plinth, (heavy base that supported the statue or vase,) or column, the eyes, mouth, skin, hair and patterns on clothing were painted, and the eyes could be inlaid with crystal, bone, or glass. If necessary spears, swords, helmets, jewelry, diadems, (jeweled headband,) and meniskoi, (small bronze disc suspended over the top of the head prevent birds from defacing the work of art,) would be last details to this sculpture. My Links: Very Informational My Other Source Extra Information
Just to let everyone know, now I am only going to be researching on Greek sculptures due to the fact that paintings weren't really painted differently in Greece and they are pretty self-explanatory Check back in for information on Greek sculptures, next I will be answering how sculptures were made. If you have any advice or comments on my decisions and/or topic please comment and let me know.Materials, one of my biggest wonderings and questions. In Ancient Greece, sculpture materials were limited due to the fact that people didn't have the technology we have today so they couldn't get hard to find and difficult to use materials. Greeks used many different types of materials to create sculptures, but the most popular were marble, bronze, terracotta, wood, and other calcareous rocks. Although you would also find sculptures made of clay, limestone, or stone. Clay was very brittle so many things haven't survived till today. Stone, marble, and limestone were very abundant in Greece, but limestone was more fragile and could crack. Also marble was extremely expensive and easier to sculpt with. In Italian, "Terra-cotta" means baked earth and it is a clay based ceramic. Bronze is a metal that during wars people melted sculptures made out of it to use the material for weapons. To paint these items and create paintings, depending on the period of time and location of Greece, Greeks used tempera or encaustic paints, but over time many other resources were used to paint with. Some helpful links and resources:
Hello everyone! My topic is all about Greek paintings and sculptures. I have always been very artistic and interested in crafts and art so I thought it would be fascinating to learn about Greek art to see what it was like long ago compared to today. I am looking forward to researching more into the steps taken to make sculptures and paintings, what materials were used and how people got them, and what art's purpose was. I am very excited about learning about Greek art and I think there will be a lot of intriguing facts to discover. If you have any questions about this topic I am open to answering them, just leave a comment.
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