The Classical Period (5th-4th Century B.C.

In the early 5th century Greek artists began consciously

to attempt to render human and animal forms realistically. This
entailed careful observation of the model as well as
understanding the mechanics of anatomy - how a body
adjusts to a pose which is not stiffly frontal but with the weight
shifted to one side of the body, and how a body behaves in
violent motion. The successors to the archaic kouroi, mainly
athlete figures, are thus regularly shown 'at ease', one leg
relaxed, with a complementary shift in the shoulders, and the
whole emphasized by contrasts of rigid and relaxed in limbs.
Youth (the 'Kritian boy)

Metope from the temple of Zeus, Head of a seer from the east pediment of
Olympia. Athena and Heracles recover the the temple of Zeus, Olympia. About 460
apples from Atlas. About 460 BC Cast BC Cast No.A050
No.A069

The new style is best expressed in the Parthenon marbles of about

450-435 BC but there was a preceding style of some importance - the Early
Classical, sometimes called the Severe Style, which is exemplified in the
sculptures for the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. Here the figures are mainly
lifelike but drapery forms are plainer (a change from the archaic Ionian chiton
to the more austere peplos for women), and there are deliberate attempts at
depiction of emotion in faces and of different ages in rendering of bodies.
 These innovations were foresworn by Pheidias, in his
design for the Parthenon, and replaced by a more idealized
realism in which body forms were often more regular than in
life, and heads, except for monsters like centaurs, seem
passionless, calm. Dress, after the austerity of the Early
Classical becomes dramatically realistic. But the Parthenon
is the fullest expression of what is sometimes called the High
Classical. It is in this period and style too that, in the
following hundred years, many of the basic types for the
Greek gods were devised, and these remained influential
throughout antiquity.
“Dresden Zeus”

CLASSICISM
The term classicism is used to describe art that makes reference to ancient
Greek or Roman style
The terms classic or classical came into use in the seventeenth century to
describe the arts and culture of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome.
The following of the principles of these ancient civilizations in art, architecture
and literature is referred to as classicism.
Classicism is generally associated with harmony and restraint, and
obedience to recognized standards of form and craftsmanship.
From the Renaissance on, classicism dominated Western art, with classical
mythology – consisting of the various myths and legends of the ancient
Greek and Roman gods and heroes – becoming a major source of subject
matter for history painting.

Classical Artworks
1. BEHEADING OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist is an oil painting by the Italian artist
Caravaggio. According to Andrea Pomella in Caravaggio: An Artist through
Images (2005), the work is widely considered to be Caravaggio's
masterpiece as well as "one of the most important works in Western painting.
Jonathan Jones has described The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist as
one of the ten greatest works of art of all time: "Death and human cruelty are
laid bare by this masterpiece, as its scale and shadow daunt and possess
the mind." Furthermore, it is considered as his masterpiece. The largest and
the only artwork he signed.

2. GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING

Girl with a Pearl Earring, oil painting on canvas (c. 1665) by Dutch artist
Johannes Vermeer, one of his most well-known works. It represents a young
woman in a dark shallow space, an intimate setting that draws the viewer’s
attention exclusively on her. She wears a blue and gold turban, the titular
pearl earring, and a gold jacket with a visible white collar beneath. Unlike
many of Vermeer’s subjects, she is not concentrating on a daily chore and
unaware of her viewer. Instead, caught in a fleeting moment, she turns her
head over her shoulder, meeting the viewer’s gaze with her eyes wide and
lips parted as if about to speak. Her enigmatic expression coupled with the
mystery of her identity has led some to compare her to the equivocal subject
in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (c. 1503–19). Unlike the Mona Lisa,
however, Girl with a Pearl Earring is not a portrait but a tronie, a Dutch term
for a character or type of person. A young woman might have sat for
Vermeer, but the painting is not meant to portray her or any specific individual
in the same way that Leonardo’s piece portrayed an existing person (likely
Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine merchant). Vermeer’s subject is a
generic young woman in exotic dress, a study in facial expression and
costume. The work attests to Vermeer’s technical expertise and interest in
representing light. The soft modeling of the subject’s face reveals his mastery
of using light rather than line to create form, while the reflection on her lips
and on the earring show his concern for representing the effect of light on
different surfaces.

3. LAST SUPPER
Last Supper, Italian Cenacolo, one of the most famous artworks in the world,
painted by Leonardo da Vinci probably between 1495 and 1498 for the
Dominican monastery Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. It depicts the
dramatic scene described in several closely connected moments in the
Gospels, including Matthew 26:21–28, in which Jesus declares that one of
the Apostles will betray him and later institutes the Eucharist. According to
Leonardo’s belief that posture, gesture, and expression should manifest the
“notions of the mind,” each one of the 12 disciples reacts in a manner that
Leonardo considered fit for that man’s personality. The result is a complex
study of varied human emotion, rendered in a deceptively simple
composition.

4. THE BIRTH OF VENUS

The “Birth of Venus”,is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli
probably made in the mid 1480s. It is a composition that actually shows the
goddess of love and beauty arriving on land, on the island of Cyprus, born of
the sea spray and blown there by the winds, Zephyr and, perhaps, Aura. The
goddess is standing on a giant scallop shell, as pure and as perfect as a
pearl. She is met by a young woman, who is sometimes identified as one of
the Graces or as the Hora of spring, and who holds out a cloak covered in
flowers. Even the roses, blown in by the wind are a reminder of spring. The
subject of the painting, which celebrates Venus as symbol of love and
beauty, was perhaps suggested by the poet Agnolo Poliziano. “Birth of
“Venus”, was painted on canvas, a support that was widely used throughout
the 15th century for decorative works destined to noble houses.
Botticelli takes his inspiration from classical statues for Venus’ modest pose,
as she covers her nakedness with long, blond hair, which has reflections of
light from the fact that it has been gilded; even the Winds, the pair flying in
one another’s embrace, is based on an ancient work, a gem from the
Hellenistic period, owned by Lorenzo the Magnificent.

5. THE CREATION OF ADAM

The most famous section of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is Michelangelo’s
Creation of Adam. This scene is located next to the Creation of Eve, which
is the panel at the center of the room, and the Congregation of the Waters,
which is closer to the altar.
The Creation of Adam differs from typical Creation scenes painted up until
that time. Here, two figures dominate the scene: God on the right, and Adam
on the left. God is shown inside a floating nebulous form made up of drapery
and other figures. The form is supported on angels who fly without wings,
but whose flight is made clear by the drapery which whips out from
underneath them. God is depicted as an elderly, yet muscular, man with grey
hair and a long beard which react to the forward movement of flight. This is
a far cry from imperial images of God that had otherwise been created in the
West dating back to the time of late antiquity. Rather than wearing royal
garments and depicted as an all-powerful ruler, he wears only a light tunic
which leaves much of his arms and legs exposed. One might say this is a
much more intimate portrait of God because he is shown in a state that is
not untouchable and remote from Man, but one which is accessible to him.
Unlike the figure of God, who is outstretched and aloft, Adam is depicted as
a lounging figure who rather lackadaisically responds to God’s imminent
touch. This touch will not only give life to Adam, but will give life to all
mankind. It is, therefore, the birth of the human race. Adam’s body forms a
concave shape which echoes the form of God’s body, which is in a convex
posture inside the nebulous, floating form. This correspondence of one form
to the other seems to underscore the larger idea of Man corresponding to
God; that is, it seems to reflect the idea that Man has been created in the
image and likeness of God – an idea with which Michelangelo had to have
been familiar.
REFERENCES:

The Classical period - Styles and periods - Sculpture - The Classical Art Research
Article title:
Centre and The Beazley Archive
Website title: Beazley.ox.ac.uk
URL: https://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/sculpture/styles/classical.htm

Article title: Classicism – Art Term | Tate

Website title: Tate
URL: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/c/classicism

Article title: The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist [Caravaggio]

Website title: Sartle - Rogue Art History
URL: https://www.sartle.com/artwork/the-beheading-of-saint-john-the-baptist-caravaggio

Article title: Girl with a Pearl Earring | History & Facts

Website title: Encyclopedia Britannica
URL: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Girl-with-a-Pearl-Earring-by-Vermeer

Article title: Last Supper | History, Technique, Location, & Facts

Website title: Encyclopedia Britannica
URL: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Last-Supper-fresco-by-Leonardo-da-Vinci

Article title: The birth of Venus by Botticelli | Artworks | Uffizi Galleries

Website title: Uffizi.it
URL: https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/birth-of-venus

Article title: Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam – ItalianRenaissance.org

Website title: Italianrenaissance.org
URL: http://www.italianrenaissance.org/michelangelo-creation-of-adam/