MUHAMMAD ABDULLAH

NCA-FTV-469-2021 - SECTION F
HISTORY OF ARTS - I
ASSIGNMENT ONE

Q: What are the four periods of Greek civilization? Discuss its similarities and differences.

The art of ancient Greek Civilization is broken down into four periods, Geometric Art, Archaic
Art, Classical Art, and Hellenistic Art. The major difference between them is the time period in
which they enthralled. Geometric Art thrived between 900 to 700 BC, Archaic Art was between
700 BC and 480 BC, Classical Art was between 480 and 323 BC, and Hellenistic art was
between 323 and 31 BC. In the Geometric Art period, the artists laid a lot of emphasis on
preserving the geometrical sanctity and focused less on creating visually accurate ornaments.
The focus strictly confined itself to the portrayal of patterns and shapes such as the Geometric
Krater. Archaic Art stood different from all other periods due to the depiction of reality where
articles assumed a more human-like form such as Kouros and Kore. Classical Art and Hellenistic
art can be differentiated in terms of body and style. Hellenistic art used to have evolved details
on the body including all the bendings and bulges where Classical Art resorted to the portrayal of
static, non-dynamic body figures. In Hellenistic art, the sculptures were known to express
emotions whereas Classical Art had dead-eyed expressionless monuments. Hellenistic art was
also known to cater to all aspects and classes of humanity, be it noble or ignoble, poor or rich
whereas Classical Art only catered to godlike figures with a lot of respect. One similarity
between Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods was that they all had Early, High and Late
phases. The intent behind the creation of art across all these periods appears the same, to evoke
the sense of existence and diversity.