Chinese Arts

China, one of the world's oldest civilizations, has its cultural roots that date back to over five thousand years. It
has a wealthy reserve of priceless ancient artifice that represents the artistic talent and diligence of Chinese people. The Chinese
culture has fascinated and moved many people from all over the world, being so unique and exceptional as well as elegant and
inspiring. Chinese art is full of rare beauty and charm. Long before history was even recorded, the Chinese had already manifested
their elegant taste of art through various art forms. Pottery, paintings, calligraphy, ancient cartoons, folk arts, paper cut are just a few
examples that vividly disclose the vision and imagination of the people from this venerable country. Chinese philosophers, poets and
writers contributed greatly to preserving and promoting the Chinese culture. They were noted for documenting the suffering of the
common people, who were often disadvantaged, much to the discontent of the authorities.

Architecture:
For over two thousand years, Chinese architecture has been inextricably linked with Chinese culture. There has been influence of
Buddhist style in Chinese architecture and sculpture from the Sui and Tang dynasties and in its classical form it has been inspired
by Indian art of the Gupta period. Chinese architecture emphasizes on symmetry in everything from palaces to farmhouses.
Gardens, however, had an asymmetrical configuration. Gardens are poised to create lasting flow, to let the patron wander and enjoy
the garden without direction, as in nature. Feng shui type architecture also plays an important role.
Ceramics:

In early imperial China, porcelain was introduced and was developed to the point that in English the word china has become
synonymous with high-quality porcelain. Chinese porcelain is mostly made using porcelain stone , china clay or a mixture of the
both. It's green-fired or once-fired , which means that the body and the glaze are fired together. A few of the well-known low-fired
and high-fired ceramics of the Sui and Tang periods are, Tang lead-gazed sancai (three colors) wares , the high-firing, lime-glazed
Yue celadon wares and the low-fired wares from Changsha .

Paintings:

In imperial times, painting were the most highly treasured arts in court circles and were produced almost solely by amateurs,
aristocrats and scholar-officials, who hadthe leisure time needed to perfect the technique and sensibility necessary for great
brushwork. Painting of the Tang dynasty period mainly consisted of landscape which produced nature in its truest form. The 'rhythm
of nature' was depicted in these works. Chinese art reached its climax and continued to the present in forms of the "Chinese
painting".

Calligraphy:

Calligraphy, one of the highest and purest forms of painting is extensively practiced and admired in the East-Asian civilization that
uses Chinese characters. The use of ink and wash paintings and brush writing is its special feature.

Dance:

The Dragon Dance and the Lion Dance are the two dance forms of Chinese culture.

In Lion dance performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume. It originated in China nearly a thousand years ago.
Traditionally the lion is regarded as a guardian creature and featured in Buddhist lore. The dance is traditionally accompanied by
gongs, drums and firecrackers, representing the origin of good luck.

Like the Lion dance, the Dragon dance is usually seen in festive celebrations. Chinese people often use the term 'Descendants of
the Dragon' as a sign of ethnic identity. Musical accompanies in the form of musicians with traditional drums, cymbals and gongs.
The Dragon dance emphasizes the Chinese New Year celebrations held worldwide in Chinatowns around the world.

Music:

Chinese music dates back to the dawn of Chinese civilization. Documents and artifacts give evidence of a well-developed musical
culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty in 1122- 256 BC. Early Chinese music was influenced by the Book of Songs , Confucius and
the Chinese poet and statesman Qu Yuan . The music was based on percussion instruments, which later gave away to string and
reed instruments.
The Chinese form of Folk Music thrives at weddings and funerals and usually includes a form of oboe called a suona and percussive
ensembles called chuigushou . The music is diverse, jolly and sometimes sad.

Chinese Opera:

The Chinese Opera is a popular form of drama which has crossed boundaries to reach the international audience. Chinese Opera,
especially the Beijing opera, has been extremely popular for centuries. The music is often guttural with high-pitched vocals,
generally accompanied by suona , jinghu , and other kinds of string and percussion instruments. The acting is based on allusion like
gestures, footwork, and other body movements which express such actions like riding a horse, rowing a boat, or opening a door. It
dates back to the Tang Dynasty and the troupe mostly performed for the emperors' personal pleasure. Other types of opera include,
Clapper Opera , Pingju , Puppet Opera , Kunqu , Cantonese Opera , Sichuan Opera, Qinqiang, Ritual Masked Opera and Huangmei
xi.

Literature:

China, with a very old and rich tradition in literature and the dramatic and visual arts, is the only country in the world with a literature
written for more than 3,000 consecutive years. Early writings were derived from philosophical or religious essays such as the works
of Confucius and Lao-tzu. It dealt with how people should act in society and how political system should be planned and operated.
Historical writings also elaborated greatly on great traditions, as after a fall of a dynasty an impressive history of the late dynasty
was commissioned and written by scholars in the next dynasty. There were also poetry, novels, and dramatic writings from an early
date. 'Dream of the Red Chamber' is a famous example of Chinese drama.

Festivals:

The Chinese people are well-known for their traditional festivals. The Double Ninth Festival falls on the ninth day of the ninth lunar
month. According to Chinese tradition, 'nine' is a number belonging to the positive principle 'yang. ' Thus the day is also known as
Chung Yang or Double Yang Festival. The Middle Autumn Festival is when the Chinese celebrate the mid-Autumn, which is in
the middle of the eighth month and which falls on a full moon day. The Ghost Festival is the Chinese version of the western
Halloween. Ghosts roam the world every year in the lunar month. Thus the Chinese have a holiday to fete the departed spirits of the
underworld.

The Dragon Boat ('Tuen Ng') Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It combines a traditional celebration
with an exciting, fast-paced sporting event in a boat. Besides the Chinese also celebrate a Spring Festival and The Seventh Eve
Festival .

Modern Culture

Alongside Traditional cultures,0 China is also famous for the modern cultures it nurtured. Animation, Cinema , Manhua ( comic strips
and comic books ) and Photography have all developed and flourished in the last century.

Culture of Japan

Literature

Early works of Japanese literature has been heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in
Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan. Eventually, Japanese
literature developed into a separate style in its own right as Japanese writers began writing their own works about Japan. Since
Japan reopened its ports to Western trading and diplomacy in the 19th century, Western and Eastern literature have strongly
affected each other and continue to do so.

Music
The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles both traditional and modern. The word for music in
Japanese is 音楽 (ongaku), combining the kanji 音 "on" (sound) with the kanji 楽 "gaku" (enjoyment).[1] Japan is the
second largest music market in the world, behind the United States, and the largest in Asia,[2] and most of the market is dominated
by Japanese artists.

Local music often appears at karaoke venues, which is on lease from the record labels. Traditional Japanese music is quite different
from Western Music and is based on the intervals of human breathing rather than mathematical timing. In 1873, a British traveler
claimed that Japanese music, "exasperates beyond all endurance the European breast."[3]

Visual arts
Painting

Painting has been an art in Japan for a very long time: the brush is a traditional writing and painting tool, and the extension of that to
its use as an artist's tool was probably natural. Japanese painters are often categorized by what they painted, as most of them
constrained themselves solely to subjects such as animals, landscapes, or figures. Chinese papermaking was introduced to Japan
around the 7th century. Later, washi was developed from it. Native Japanese painting techniques are still in use today, as well as
techniques adopted from continental Asia and from the West. Schools of painting such as the Kano school of the 16th century
became known for their bold brush strokes and contrast between light and dark, especially after Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa
Ieyasu began to use this style. Famous Japanese painters include Kanō Sanraku, Maruyama Ōkyo, and Tani Bunchō.[4]

Calligraphy

The flowing, brush-drawn Japanese rendering of text itself is seen as a traditional art form as well as a means of conveying written
information. The written work can consist of phrases, poems, stories, or even single characters. The style and format of the writing
can mimic the subject matter, even to the point of texture and stroke speed. In some cases, it can take over one hundred attempts
to produce the desired effect of a single character but the process of creating the work is considered as much an art as the end
product itself.

This calligraphy form is known as 'shodō' (書道) which literally means 'the way of writing or calligraphy' or more commonly known as

'shūji' (習字) 'learning how to write characters'. Commonly confused with Calligraphy is the art form known as 'sumi-e' (墨絵) literally

means 'ink painting' which is the art of the paintings a scene or object.

Sculpture

Traditional Japanese sculptures mainly focused on Buddhist images, such as Tathagata, Bodhisattva, and Myō-ō. The oldest
sculpture in Japan is a wooden statue of Amitābha at the Zenkō-ji temple. In the Nara period, Buddhist statues were made by the
national government to boost its prestige. These examples are seen in present-day Nara and Kyoto, most notably a colossal bronze
statue of the Buddha Vairocana in the Tōdai-ji temple.

Wood has traditionally been used as the chief material in Japan, along with traditional Japanese architecture. Statues are often
lacquered,gilded, or brightly painted, although there are little traces on the surfaces. Bronze and other metals are also used. Other
materials, such as stone and pottery, have had extremely important roles in the plebeian beliefs.

Ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e, literally "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of woodblock prints that exemplifies the characteristics of pre-Meiji
Japanese art. Because these prints could be mass-produced, they were available to a wide cross-section of the Japanese populace
— those not wealthy enough to afford original paintings — during their heyday, from the 17th to 20th century.

Ikebana
Ikebana (生け花, 活花, or 挿花?) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It has gained widespread international fame for its
focus on harmony, color use, rhythm, and elegantly simple design. It is an art centered greatly on expressing the seasons, and is
meant to act as a symbol to something greater than the flower itself.

Performing arts[edit]

The four traditional theatres from Japan are noh (or nō), kyōgen, kabuki, and bunraku. Noh had its origins in the union of the
sarugaku, with music and dance made by Kanami and Zeami Motokiyo.[5] Among the characteristic aspects of it are the masks,
costumes, and the stylized gestures, sometimes accompanied by a fan that can represent other objects. The noh programs are
presented in alternation with the ones of kyōgen, traditionally in number of five, but currently in groups of three.

The kyōgen, of humorous character, had older origin, in 8th century entertainment brought from China, developing itself in sarugaku.
Inkyōgen, masks are rarely used and even if the plays can be associated with the ones of noh, currently many are not.

Kabuki appears in the beginning of the Edo period from the representations and dances of Izumo no Okuni in Kyoto.Due to
prostitution of actresses of kabuki, the participation of women in the plays was forbidden by the government in 1629, and the
feminine characters had passed to be represented only by men (onnagata). Recent attempts to reintroduce actresses in kabuki had
not been well accepted. Another characteristic of kabuki is the use of makeup for the actors in historical plays (kumadori).

Japanese puppet theater bunraku developed in the same period, that kabuki in a competition and contribution relation involving
actors and authors. The origin of bunraku, however is older, lies back in the Heian period.In 1914, appeared the Takarazuka Revue
a company solely composed by women who introduced the revue in Japan.

Architecture

Hōryū-ji is widely known to be the oldest wooden architecture existing in the world.

Japanese architecture has as long of a history as any other aspect of Japanese culture. Originally heavily influenced by Chinese
architecture, it has developed many differences and aspects which are indigenous to Japan. Examples of traditional architecture are
seen at temples, Shinto shrines, and castles in Kyoto and Nara. Some of these buildings are constructed with traditional gardens,
which are influenced from Zen ideas.

Some modern architects, such as Yoshio Taniguchi and Tadao Ando are known for their amalgamation of Japanese traditional and
Western architectural influences.

Gardens

Garden architecture is as important as building architecture and very much influenced by the same historical and religious
background. Although today, ink monochrome painting still is the art form, most closely associated with Zen Buddhism. A primary
design principle of a garden is the creation of the landscape based on, or at least greatly influenced by, the three-dimensional
monochrome ink (sumi) landscape painting, sumi-e or suibokuga. In Japan, the garden has the status of artwork.[9]

Traditional clothing

Traditional Japanese clothing distinguishes Japan from all other countries around the world. The Japanese word kimono means
"something one wears" and they are the traditional garments of Japan.

Cuisine

Through a long culinary past, the Japanese have developed sophisticated and refined cuisine. In more recent years, Japanese food
has become fashionable and popular in the United States, Europe, and many other areas. Dishes such as sushi, tempura, noodles,
andteriyaki are some of the foods that are commonly known. The Japanese diet consists principally of rice; fresh, lean seafood; and
pickled or boiled vegetables. The healthy Japanese diet is often believed to be related to the longevity of Japanese people.

Popular culture

Many anime and manga are very popular around the world and continue to become popular, as well as Japanese video games,
music, fashion, and game shows;] this has made Japan an "entertainment superpower" along with the United States and the United
Kingdom.

Art and Culture of India

India is the motherland of art, culture and architecture all across the globe where each historical monument in the country like the
forts, palaces, caves, temples, mosques and churches reflect the glory of the era to which they belonged. The Art and Culture Tour
of India unravels an unforgettable journey of the monuments of the olden times in India like the Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh;
Ajanta Ellora caves near Aurangabad in Maharashtra; the mesmerising temples of Khajuraho and South India along with many more
structures portray the enriched architecture of India in the olden times.

Indian traditional art forms are the most evolved and cultured systems in the world where carnatic music, classical dance styles like
Bharathanatyam, Kuchipudi, Kathakali, Kathak, Manipuri etc, theatre and various drama forms including Harikatha and folk arts are
amongst the traditional and ancient art and entertainment forms today. Indian films of today were based on the traditional arts in
their formative years during 1930's and 40's. Indian cinema especially Hindi and Tamil cinema have evolved as the largest film
industries in the world next only to Hollywood.

Indian classical arts like classical music, classical dance, theatre and drama possesses traditions and history dating back to several
centuries and Carnatic and Hindustani music have their roots in "Sama Veda" one of the four Vedas which are the eternal and
timeless scriptures from which the religious and social ethos of the sub-continent evolved. Bharatnatyam, a celebrated dance form
too is based on authoritative sources like "Natya Sastra" by the sage Bharata Muni and "Abhinaya Darpana" by Nandi Kesava
dating back to centuries before Christ.

Culture of India

Indian culture is rich, diverse and unique in the whole world as the people in the country belong to different religions, castes, creed;
speak different languages; enjoy different kind of cuisines. People belonging to different religions celebrate different festivals with
great enthusiasm and zeal.

The major religions followed within India are Hinduism (80%), Islam (14%), Christianity (2.4%), Sikhism (2%), Buddhism( 0.7%),
Jainism (0.5%). The people belonging to different ethnic groups are Indo-Aryans(72%), Dravidians (25%) and Others(3%). There
are hundreds of tribal communities. There are about 1600 languages spoken throughout the country.

Indian culture is so diverse that it is very difficult to explain it. Every region and every state has a culture and tradition of its own.
Even in one single state different communities follow different customs. Every region has it own cuisine, clothing, language, etc. The
appearances of the people too differ from one another depending on the region one belongs to. The diverse climate and the diverse
landscape too plays a major role in the diverse culture of India.

People belonging to different regions celebrate different festivals all round the year. Some of the important Hindu festivals
celebrated are Holi, Diwali, Dussehra, Ganesh Utsav; Muslim festivals celebrated are Iid and Bakriid and the Christian festivals
celebrated are Christmas, and Easter.

Roman Art (c.500 BCE - 500 CE)

Origins, History, Types, Characteristics

Architecture

Rome's greatest contribution to the history of art is undoubtedly to be found in the field of architectural design.
Roman architecture during the age of the Republic (knowledge of which derives largely from the 1st-century
Roman architect Vitruvius) discovered the round temple and the curved arch but, after the turn of the Millennium,
Roman architects and engineers developed techniques for urban building on a massive scale. The erection of
monumental structures like the Pantheon and the Colosseum, would have been impossible without Rome's
development of the arch and the dome, as well as its mastery of strong and low-cost materials like concrete and
bricks.

Arches and vaults played a critical role in the erection of buildings like the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of
Caracalla, the Basilica of Maxentius and the Colosseum. The arch was also an essential component in the building
of bridges, exemplified by the Pont du Gard and the bridge at Merida, and aqueducts, exemplified by the one at
Segovia, and also the Aqua Claudia andAnio Novus in Rome itself.

A further architectural development was the dome (vaulted ceiling), which made possible the construction and
roofing of large open areas inside buildings, like Hadrian's Pantheon, the Basilica of Constantine, as well as
numerous other temples and basilicas, since far fewer columns were needed to support the weight of the domed
roof.

Sculpture: Types and Characteristics

Roman sculpture may be divided into four main categories: historical reliefs; portrait busts and statues, including
equestrian statues; funerary reliefs, sarcophagi or tomb sculpture; and copies of ancient Greek works. Like
architecture, a good deal of Roman sculpture was created to serve a purpose: namely, to impress the public - be
they Roman citizens or 'barbarians' - and communicate the power and majesty of Rome. In its important works, at
least, there was a constant expression of seriousness, with none of the Greek conceptualism or introspection. The
mood, pose and facial features of the Roman statue of an Emperor, for instance, was typically solemn and
unsmiling. As Rome grew more confident from the reign of Augustus (31 BCE - 14 CE), its leaders might appear in
more magnanimous poses, but gravitas and an underlying sense of Roman greatness was never far from the
surface. Another important characteristic of Rome's plastic art was its realism. The highly detailed reliefs on
Trajan's Column and theColumn of Marcus Aurelius, for instance, are perfect illustrations of this focus on accurate
representation, and have been important sources of information for scholars on many aspects of the Roman
Legion, its equipment and battle tactics.

Religious and Funerary Sculpture

Religious art was also a popular if less unique form of Roman sculpture. An important feature of a Roman temple
was the statue of the deity to whom it was dedicated. Such statues were also erected in public parks and private
gardens. Small devotional statuettes of varying quality were also popular for personal and family shrines. These
smaller works, when commissioned for the wealthier upper classes, might involve ivory carving and
chyselephantine works, wood-carving, and terracotta sculpture, sometimes glazed for colour.

Painting

The greatest innovation of Roman painters was the development of landscape painting, a genre in which the
Greeks showed little interest. Also noteworthy was their development of a very crude form of linear perspective. In
their effort to satisfy the huge demand for paintings throughout the empire, from officials, senior army officers,
householders and the general public, Roman artists produced panel paintings (in encaustic and tempera), large and
small-scale murals (in fresco), and mastered all the painting genres, including their own brand of "triumphal"
history painting. Most surviving Roman paintings are from Pompeii and Herculanum, as the erruption of Vesuvius in
79 helped to preserve them. Most of them are decorative murals, featuring seascapes and landscapes, and were
painted by skilled 'interior decorators' rather than virtuoso artists - a clue to the function of art in Roman society.

Panel Paintings

In Rome, as in Greece, the highest form of painting was panel painting. Executed using the encaustic or tempera
methods, panel paintings were mass-produced in their thousands for display in offices and public buildings
throughout the empire. Unfortunately, almost all painted panels have been lost. The best surviving example from
the art of Classical Antiquity is probably the "Severan Tondo" (c.200 CE, Antikensammlung Berlin), a portrait of
Roman Emperor Septimus Severus with his family, painted in tempera on a circular wood panel. The best example
from the Roman Empire is the astonishing series of Fayum Mummy portraits painted in Egypt during the period 50
BCE to 250 CE.

Triumphal Paintings

Roman artists were also frequently commissioned to produce pictures highlighting military successes - a form
known as Triumphal Painting. This type of history painting - usually executed as a mural painting in fresco - would
depict the battle or campaign in meticulous detail, and might incorporate mixed-media adornments and map
designs to inform and impress the public. Since they were quick to produce, many of these triumphal works would
have influenced the composition of historical reliefs like the Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Murals

Roman murals - executed either "al fresco" with paint being applied to wet plaster, or "al secco" using paint on dry
walls - are usually classified into four periods, as set out by the German archaeologist August Mau following his
excavations at Pompeii.

• The First Style (c.200-80 BCE)

Also known as incrustation or masonry style, it derived from Hellenistic palaces in the Middle East. Useing vivid
colours it simulates the appearance of marble.

• The Second Style (c.80 BCE - 100 CE)

This aimed to create the illusion of extra space by painting pictures with significant depth, such as views
overlooking a garden or other landscape. In time, the style developed to cover the entire wall, creating the
impression that one was looking out of a room onto a real scene.

• The Third Style (c.100-200)

This was more ornamental with less illusion of depth. The wall was divided into precise zones, using pictures of
columns or foliage. Scenes painted in the zones were typically either exotic representations of real or imaginery
animals, or merely monochromatic linear drawings.

• The Fourth Style (c.200-400)

This was a mixture of the previous two styles. Depth returned to the mural but it was executed more decoratively,
with greater use of ornamentation. For example, the artist might paint several windows which, instead of looking
out onto a landscape or cityscape, showed scenes from Greek myths or other fantasy scenes, including still lifes.

Art Styles From the Roman Empire

The Roman Empire incorporated a host of different nationalities, religious groups and associated styles of art. Chief
among them, in addition to earlier Etruscan art of the Italian mainland, were forms of Celtic culture - namely the
Iron Age La Tene style (c.450-50 BCE) - which was accomodated within the Empire in an idiom known as Roman-
Celtic art, and the hieratic style of Egyptian art, which was absorbed into the Hellenistic-Roman idiom.

Late Roman Art (c.350-500)

During the Christian epoch, the division of the Roman Empire into a weak Western Roman Empire (based in
Ravenna and Rome) and a strong Eastern Roman Empire (based in Constantinople), led to changes in Late Roman
art. While wall painting, mosaic art, and funerary sculpture thrived, life-size statues and panel painting dwindled.
In Constantinople, Roman art absorbed Eastern influences to produce the Byzantine art of the late empire, and well
before Rome was overrun by Visigoths under Alaric (410) and sacked by Vandals under Gaiseric, Roman artists,
master-craftsmen and artisans moved to the Eastern capital to continue their trade. (See Christian-Byzantine Art.)
The Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, for instance, one of the most famous examples of Roman dome
architecture, provided employment for some 10,000 of these specialists and other workmen. Commissioned by
Emperor Justinian (527-565), the Hagia Sophia, together with the shimmeringmosaics of Ravenna, represented the
final gasp of Roman art.

Greek Art (c.650-27 BCE)

History, Characteristics

Origins
Aegean art of Classical Antiquity dates back to Minoan culture of the Third Millennium BCE, when the inhabitants of
Crete, known as Minoans after their King Minos, began to establish a thriving culture around 2100 BCE, based on
their successful maritime trading activities. Influenced by Sumerian art and other strands of Mesopotamian art,
they built a series of palaces at Knossos, Phaestus and Akrotiri, as well as the creation of a wide range of fresco
painting, stone carvings, ancient pottery and other artifacts. During the 15th century BCE, after a catastrophic
earthquake, which destroyed most of her palaces, Crete was overrun by warlike Mycenean tribes from the Greek
mainland. Mycenean culture duly became the dominant force in the eastern Mediterranean. Then, not long after
launching the Trojan War (c.1194–1184), the city of Mycenae, along with its architecture and cultural possessions,
was destroyed by a new set of maurauders, known as Dorians. At this point, most production of ancient art came
to a standstill for about 400 years (1200-800), as the region descended into an era of warring kingdoms and
chaos, known as the "Greek Dark Ages" (or the Geometric or Homeric Age).

Chronology of Greek Art

The practice of fine art in ancient Greece evolved in three basic stages or periods:
• Archaic Period (c.650-480 BCE)
• Classical Period (c.480-323 BCE)
• Hellenistic Period (c.323-27 BCE).
The Archaic era was a period of gradual experimentation. The Classical era then witnessed the flowering of
mainland Greek power and artistic domination. The Hellenistic Period, which opened with the death of Alexander
the Great, witnessed the creation of "Greek-style art" throughout the region, as more and more centres/colonies of
Greek culture were established in Greek-controlled lands. The period also saw the decline and fall of Greece and
the rise of Rome: in fact, it ends with the complete Roman conquest of the entire Mediterranean basin.

Archaic Greek Architecture

It was during 6th and 7th centuries that stone was used for Greek public buildings (petrification), especially
temples. Greek architecture relied on simple post-and-lintel building techniques: arches weren't used until the
Roman era. The typical rectangular building was surrounded by a line of columns on all four sides (see, for
instance, the Parthenon) or, less often, at the front and rear only (Temple of Athena Nike). Roofs were constructed
with timber beams overlaid with terracotta tiles. Pediments (the triangular shape at each gable end) were
decorated with relief sculpture or friezes, as was the row of lintels between the roof and the tops of the columns.
Greek architects were the first to base their architectural design on the standard of proportionality. To do this, they
introduced their "Classical Orders" - a set of design rules based on proportions between individual parts, such as
the ratio between the width and height of a column. There were three such orders in early Greek architecture:
Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. The Doric style was used in mainland Greece and later Greek settlements in Italy.
The Ionic order was used in buildings along the west coast of Turkey and other Aegean islands. Famous buildings
of ancient Greece constructed or begun during the Archaic period include: the Temple of Hera (600), the Temple of
Athena on the Acropolis (550), and the Temples at Paestum (550 onwards). See also:Egyptian Architecture (c.3000
BCE onwards) and the importance of Egyptian architects such as Imhotep and others.
Greek architecture continued to be highly influential on later styles, including Renaissance as well as Neoclassical
architecture, and even American architecture of the 19th and 20th century.
The history of art shows that building programs invariably stimulated the development of other forms of fine art,
like sculpture and painting, as well asdecorative art, and Archaic Greek architecture was no exception. The new
temples and other public buildings all needed plenty of decorative sculpture, including statues, reliefs and friezes,
as well as mural painting and mosaic art.

Archaic Greek Sculpture

Archaic Greek sculpture during this period was still heavily influenced byEgyptian sculpture, as well as Syrian
techniques. Greek sculptors created stone friezes and reliefs, as well as statues (in stone, terracotta and bronze),
and miniature works (in ivory and bone). The early style of freestandingDaedalic sculpture (650-600) - as
exemplified by the works of Daedalus, Dipoinos and Skyllis - was dominated by two human stereotypes: the
standing nude youth (kouros) and the standing draped girl (kore). Of these, the male nudes were seen as more
important. To begin with, both the kouros and the kore were sculpted in a rather rigid, "frontal", Egyptian style,
with wide-shoulders, narrow-waists, arms hanging, fists clenched, both feet on the ground, and a fixed "archaic
smile": see, for instance, Lady of Auxerre(630, Louvre) and Kleobis and Biton (610-580, Archeological Museum of
Delphi). As time passed, the representation of these formulaic statues became less rigid and more realistic. Later,
more advanced, Archaic versions of kouroi and korai include the "Peplos Kore" (c.530, Acropolis Museum, Athens)
and the "Kritios Boy" (Acropolis Museum, Athens). Other famous works include: the Strangford Apollo (600-580,
British Museum); the Dipylon Kouros (c.600, Athens, Kerameikos Museum); the Anavysos Kouros (c.525, National
Archeological Museum of Athens); and the fascinating frieze of theSiphnian Treasury, Delphi (c.525).
Classical Period (c.480-323 BCE)
Victory over the Persians in 490 BCE and 479 BCE established Athens as the strongest of the Greek city states.
Despite external threats, it would retain its leading cultural role for the next few centuries. Indeed, during the fifth
century BCE, Athens witnessed a creative resurgence which would not only dominate future Roman art, but when
rediscovered by Renaissance Europe 2,000 years later, would constitute an absolute artistic standard for another
four centuries. All this despite the fact that most Greek paintings and sculptures have been destroyed.
Classical Greek Architecture
Like most Greek visual art, building design reached its apogee during the Classical period, as the two main styles
(or "orders") of Greek architecture, the Doric and the Ionic, came to define a timeless, harmonious, universal
standard of architectural beauty. The Doric style was the more formal and austere - a style which predominated
during the 4th and 5th centuries - while the Ionic was more relaxed and somewhat decorative - a style which
became more popular during the more easy-going Hellenistic era. (Note: The Ionic Order later gave rise to the
more ornate Corinthian style.)
The highpoint of ancient Greek architecture was arguably the Acropolis, the flat-topped, sacred hill on the
outskirts of Athens. The first temples, erected here during the Archaic period, were destroyed by the Persians in
480, but when the city-state entered its golden age (c.460-430), its ruler Periclesappointed the sculptor Phidias
to oversee the construction of a new complex. Most of the new buildings (the Parthenon, the Propylaea) were
designed according to Doric proportions, though some included Ionic elements (Temple of Athena Nike, the
Erechtheum). The Acropolis was added to, several times, during the Hellenistic and Roman eras. The Parthenon
(447-432), remains the supreme example of classical Greek religious art. In its day, it would have been
embellished with numerous wall-paintings and sculptures, yet even relatively devoid of adornment it stands as an
unmistakeable monument to Greek culture. The biggest temple on the Acropolis hill, it was designed by Ictinus
and Callicrates, and dedicated to the Goddess Athena. It originally housed a colossal multi-coloured statue
entitled Athena the Virgin(Athena Parthenos), whose skin was sculpted by Phidias from ivory and whose clothes
were created from gold fabric. Like all temples, the Parthenon was decorated throughout with architectural
sculpture like reliefs and friezes, as well as free-standing statues, in marble, bronze and chryselephantine. In 1801,
the art collector and antiquarian Lord Elgin (1766-1841) controversially shipped a large quantity of the Parthenon's
marble sculpture (the "Elgin Marbles") to the British Museum in London.
Other famous examples of Classical Greek architecture include: the Temple of Zeus at Olympia (468-456), the
Temple of Hephaistos (c.449 BCE), the Temple at Bassae, Arcadia (c.430), which contained the first Corinthian
capital, the Theatre at Delphi (c.400), the Tholos Temple of Athena Pronaia (380-360), the Mausoleum at
Harnicarnassus, Bodrum (353), the Lysicrates Monument in Athens (335), and the Temple of Apollo at Delphi
(330).
Classical Greek Sculpture
In the history of sculpture, no period was more productive than the 150 years between 480 and 330 BCE. As far as
plastic art is concerned, there may be sub-divided into: Early Classical Greek Sculpture (480-450), High Classical
Greek Sculpture (450-400), and Late Classical Greek Sculpture (400-323).
During the era as a whole, there was a huge improvement in the technical ability of Greek sculptors to depict the
human body in a naturalistic rather than rigid posture. Anatomy became more accurate and as a result statues
started to look much more true-to-life. Also, bronze became the main medium for free-standing works due to its
ability to maintain its shape, which permitted the sculpting of even more natural-looking poses. Subjects were
broadened to include the full panoply of Gods and Goddesses, along with minor divinities, an extensive range of
mythological narratives, and a diverse selection of athletes. Other specific developments included: the introduction
of a Platonic "Canon of Proportions", to create an idealized human figure, and the invention of contrapposto. During
the Late Classical era, the first respectable female nudes appeared.
Among the best known sculptors of the period, were: Myron (fl.480-444),Polykleitos (fl.450-430), Callimachus
(fl.432-408), Skopas (fl.395-350),Lysippos (c.395-305), Praxiteles (fl.375-335), and Leochares (fl.340-320).
These artists worked mainly in marble, bronze, occasionally wood, bone, and ivory. Stone sculpture was carved by
hand from a block of marble or a high-quality limestone, using metal tools. These sculptures might be free-
standing statues, or reliefs/friezes - that is, only partially carved from a block. Bronze sculpture was considered to
be superior, not least because of the extra cost of bronze, and were typically cast using the lost wax method. Even
more expensive was chryselephantine sculpture which was reserved for major cult statues. Ivory carving was
another specialist genre, for small-scale, personal works, as was wood-carving.
Hellenism (c.323-27 BCE)
The period of Hellenistic art opens with the death of Alexander the Great(356-323) and the incorporation of the
Persian Empire into the Greek world. By this point, Hellenism had spread throughout the civilized world, and
centres of Greek arts and culture included cities like Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamum, Miletus, as well as towns and
other settlements in Asia Minor, Anatolia, Egypt, Italy, Crete, Cyprus, Rhodes and the other islands of the Aegean.
Greek culture was thus utterly dominant. But the sudden demise of Alexander triggered a rapid decline of Greek
imperial power, as his massive empire was divided between three of his generals - Antigonus I who received
Greece and Macedonia; Seleucus I who took over controlled Anatolia, Mesopotamia and Persia; and Ptolemy I
who ruled Egypt. Paradoxically therefore, this period is marked by massive Greek cultural influence, but weakening
Greek power. By 27 BCE, Greece and its empire would be ruled from Ancient Rome, but even then, the Romans
would continue to revere and emulate Greek art for centuries.
Hellenistic Architecture
The division of the Greek Empire into separate entities, each with its own ruler and dynasty, created huge new
opportunities for self-aggrandisement. In Asia Minor, a new capital city was built at Pergamon (Pergamum), by the
Attalids; in Persia, the Seleucids evolved a form of Baroque-style building design; in Egypt, the Ptolemaic dynasty
constructed the lighthouse and library at Alexandria. Palatial architecture was revitalized and numerous municipal
structures were built to boost the influence of local rulers.
Hellenistic Sculpture
Hellenistic Greek sculpture continued the Classical trend towards ever greater naturalism. Animals, as well as
ordinary people of all ages, became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which was frequently commissioned by
wealthy individuals or families to decorate their homes and gardens.Sculptors no longer felt obliged to portray men
and women as ideals of beauty. In fact, the idealized classical serenity of the fifth and fourth centuries gave way to
greater emotionalism, an intense realism, and an almost Baroque-like dramatization of subject matter. For a
typical style of this form of plastic art, see Pergamene School of Hellenistic Sculpture (241-133 BCE).
Hellenistic Painting
The increased demand for Greek-style sculpture was mirrored by a similar increase in the popularity of Hellenistic
Greek painting, which was taught and propagated in a number of separate schools, both on the mainland and in
the islands. Regarding subject-matter, Classical favourites such as mythology and contemporary events were
superceded by genre paintings, animal studies, still lifes, landscapes and other similar subjects, largely in line with
the decorative styles uncovered at Herculaneum and Pompeii (1st century BCE and later), many of which are
believed to be copies of Greek originals.
Perhaps the greatest contribution of Hellenist painters was in portrait art, notably the Fayum mummy portraits,
dating from the 1st century BCE onwards.

The history of art is the history of any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative
purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview. Over time visual art has been classified in diverse ways, from the
medieval distinction between liberal arts and mechanical arts, to the modern distinction between fine arts and applied arts, or to the
many contemporary definitions, which define art as a manifestation of human creativity. The subsequent expansion of the list
ofprincipal arts in the 20th century reached to nine: architecture, dance, sculpture, music, painting, poetry (described broadly as a
form of literature with aesthetic purpose or function, which also includes the distinct genres of theatre and narrative),
film,photography and graphic arts. In addition to the old forms of artistic expression such as fashion and gastronomy, new modes of
expression are being considered as arts such as video, computer art, performance, advertising, animation, television
andvideogames.

The history of art is a multidisciplinary branch of the arts and sciences, seeking an objective examination of art throughout time,
classifying cultures, establishing periodizations, and observing the distinctive and influential characteristics of art. [1] The study of the
history of art was initially developed during the Renaissance, with its limited scope being the artistic production of Western
civilization. However, as time has passed, it has imposed a broader view of artistic history, seeking a comprehensive overview of all
the civilizations and analysis of their artistic production in terms of their own cultural values (cultural relativism), and not just western
art history.

Today, art enjoys a wide network of study, dissemination and preservation of all the artistic legacy of mankind throughout history.
The 20th century has seen the proliferation of institutions, foundations, art museums and galleries, in both the public and private
sectors, dedicated to the analysis and cataloging of works of art as well as exhibitions aimed at a mainstream audience. The rise of
mediahas been crucial in improving the study and dissemination of art. International events and exhibitions like the Whitney Biennial
and biennales of Venice and São Paulo or the Documenta of Kassel have helped the development of new styles and trends. Prizes
such as the Turner of the Tate Gallery, the Wolf Prize in Arts, the Pritzker Prize of architecture, the Pulitzer of photography and the
Oscarof cinema also promote the best creative work on an international level. Institutions like UNESCO, with the establishment of
theWorld Heritage Site lists, also help the conservation of the major monuments of the planet. [2]