Wall paintings in ancient Greece went as far back as the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze Age. Sadly, none survived.
Sculptures and ceramics, however, can be viewed in museums.
Paintings deteriorate quickly. What we know about Greek paintings comes from surviving frescoes and vases and contemporary descriptions, known as ekphrasis.
Ancient Greece
Wall paintings were common in ancient Greek homes and tombs. They were painted on the inner wall surface using a fresco technique where the surface was covered in a fine layer of white covering, then the artist used a sharp instrument, usually an obsidian chip, to sketch the key features and the most important details. Then the paints were applied while the surface was still wet. Fortunately, many of these paintings survived.
The Greeks decided early on that the human form was the most important subject for artistic endeavor. Their gods took on human form, and there was no distinction between sacred and secular in art. A male nude could be Apollo or Heracles or even that year’s Olympic boxing champion.
After the fall of the Seleucid Empire, smaller kingdoms emerged across Europe and Asia Minor, ruled by dynasties rooted in the earlier Achaemenid Persian tradition but infused with new, Greek elements. During this period of Hellenistic rule, the art of Greece continued to develop at an extraordinary rate. The high technical standards and naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body influenced later artists throughout the world.
Mycenaeans
The rocky islands of the Aegean Sea have been home to many cultures that rose, dominated and then disappeared, but left behind a wealth of intriguing art and ruins. One of these was the Mycenaeans, who developed a highly sophisticated social and political culture that rivaled that of the Minoan civilization of Crete and expanded throughout the Peloponnese peninsula.
As a warlike society, Mycenaean architecture was heavily fortified. Their citadels were built with massive walls made of tightly arranged cyclopean masonry and situated on easily defensible hills. The main gate was often a protective Lion Gate, while the interior walls enclose residential houses for aristocrats and various shrines. Outside the walls were tholos tombs, such as Grave Circle A and B at Mycenae and the Treasury of Atreus.
Mycenaean wall paintings were influenced by Egyptian art, but they used a different technique. Rather than painting directly on the wall, they painted tempera on wet plaster. This allowed their murals to be better preserved.
Sculptures
Sculpture is a three-dimensional form of artwork that can take on many different shapes. It can be anything from an intricate statue of a person or animal to a monument or a building. Sculpture has been around for centuries and is one of the most unique art forms that can be created.
In ancient times, sculptures often served a functional purpose like establishing the wealth and power of a kingdom or society in the minds of generations to come. The human figure was the most popular subject of sculpture, ranging from the rigid archaic male figures called kouroi to the more naturalist style of Classical Greece and Rome.
Today, sculptures can still be found in a variety of settings and styles. Whether it’s in an office lobby or in the home of a private collector, it can add an element of culture to any room. The Greek canvas collection from Splash of Arts combines classical art and architecture with modern design components to bring elegance and culture to any home.
Vase Painting
Although few Greek wall paintings have survived, vase painting remained the dominant medium of Hellenistic art. It depicted a variety of subjects, including mythical gods and heroes, as well as scenes of daily life.
The vase painter first painted the outline of a figure on the raw clay with slip (a thick liquid paint). This would remain the natural color of the terracotta, while the details and background were drawn with black slips. The resulting colors were rich and bright and the technique was particularly successful on round vessels.
Some vase paintings featured erotic subjects. This was most likely a reflection of the ancient Greek practice of pederasty. One such vase is known as the Siren Vase and depicts a scene from Homer’s Odyssey. It is attributed to the Athenian vase painter of the same name, but their identity remains a mystery. These vases are also notable for developing a vocabulary of decorative motifs such as the geometric meander, egg-and-dart, bead and reel, Vitruvian scroll and guilloche.
