Nudity In Greek Art Essay

Ancient sculptures bring on endless philosophical arguments regarding what is an appropriate form of perfection, defined as a fit body guided by a keen mind. This paper will approach a visual essence of the sculpture of The Lansdowne Athlete, by Lysippos, Rome 340-330 B.C. marble after a bronze original, that I viewed at the LACMA. This sculpture is located in the left wing of Greek exhibition Building, 3rd floor. I selected this sculpture as an example of an idealized body. Therefore, I will be explaining the historical background of the sculpture and address why I think it would make a good addition to our text. I will provide an analogy with other sculpture of idealized body from our textbook chapter 12 on “Mind and Body” mainly. I will impart more information about the essence of idealized human form as well as cultural ideals during this time period in Greece.

In ancient Greece, it was crucial that men proved their masculinity in order to uphold their worth and earn them a place in social establishments. An important aspect of human life is a man’s masculine identity and how it plays a role in society. However with this idea of masculinity came limitations that were not to be crossed. Ancient Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, both function to provide their own view on masculinity in society through the reverse sex similes. In the Iliad the crucial role of Achilles as a warrior and his association with maternal protection, as represented through it’s reverse sex maternal similes, ultimately proves problematic. This intrinsic part of man to fight on the battlefield to win timê and kleos is ultimately

Tony Percott’s The Naked Olympics created a vivid image of what Greek life used to be consumed by, specifically in times surrounding the Olympics. This book confirmed prior knowledge, as well as dive into greater detail about certain aspects of the Olympics, for example how athletes were treated. Several aspects written about were completely astounding, like the Greek obsession with the human body and physical fitness. All of this information has been explained by telling stories of Olympic athletes and Grecians, and how the events came to life. The Naked Olympics has provided more knowledge on certain topics and offered new concepts and ideas of ancient Greece to explore by recreating an Olympic experience in ancient Greece.

Unlike Heyl Aphrodite, when viewers look at the Capitoline Gaul, they notice his proportional body. The Gaul is strong, physically fit, and firm to identify his masculinity. In comparison, Aphrodite is average and soft, not to represent her lack of exercise, but to display how an ideal woman would appear in that time. The body of the Gaul is completely nude, not to convey a sense of sexuality, like Aphrodite, but to demonstrate power. He lays on his fallen shield with his sword close to his right hand, as if fallen during a battle. Though he has come to defeat, DePauw University writes, “The sculpture calls upon the viewer to witness the death of a noble warrior, and in doing so provokes us to empathize with the Gaul.”2 Even with this representation of defeat, the Gaul’s stare remains

Greeks were constantly in search of the "Ideal"(Riffert). Their "Ideal" was "a body capable of enduring all efforts, either of the racecourse or of bodily strength…this is why the athletes in the pentathlon are the most beautiful." (Tufts) This description of the "Ideal" person given by Aristotle reflects the attitude of the majority of ancient Greeks. People were not judged solely on their minds but rather strong emphasis was given to the body. This emphasis given to the body was given to the nude body. It is understandable that we question why nude art was so accepted by the Greeks, as they were the pioneers in this field. The answer lies in the everyday life of the people. It was commonplace for Greek men to exercise, go to war, and generally go about their daily business in the nude or scantly clothed (Boardman 276).

In the Renaissance period women are almost invariably shown as completely passive and as an object for contemplation. The reclining female nude in the Renaissance raises questions of the male gaze more often than any other artistic stereotype. Female nudes were only an open acknowledgement of not only male desire but also the right males had to express that desire. A woman’s feelings when looking at such images of members of their own gender were never discussed or asked until recently.

Greek art, especially sculpture, was a common way to explore and reach past the confines of mankind’s natural appearance be it through penises, huge muscles, or generalized unrealistic body standards. Hercules and the Hydra, a sculpture by Mathias Gasteiger, presents an image of masculinity through the expressive posture and form of Hercules once you look past those gleaming bronze pectorals, and into the intricate details of the piece.

One of the most well-known cultures throughout all of history belonged to the Greeks. Their heritage was so highly valued that it lived on even after they no longer ruled. The Greeks were some of the most innovative artists of their time and their work was so inherently beautiful that people from future cultures fell in love with it and decided to incorporate it into their own customs. The most famous group known for this was the Romans. After the Romans took over Greece, their love for its customs bloomed which resulted in many recreations of Greek art that are now seen today. However, Greek sculpture art had a hard time making it to the modern day. Most sculptures were made out of bronze and often melted down to be used for other purposes. Any surviving Greek related art is often just a Roman copy. The Romans are famous throughout history for their copies of Greek sculptures, especially relief sculptures. However, they also incorporated other Greek traditions and customs into their lives as well. Romans created separate names to refer to Greek gods and were often found creating and recreating art based on Greek myths. One specific Greek custom adopted by the Romans was the way in which they buried their dead. Romans originally cremated their dead but after the influence of Greek culture, they began burying their dead in large sarcophagi, with Greek myths elaborately sculpted into the sides, similar to the one kept at the Walter 's Art Museum depicting the abduction of

Studies concerning the lives of women in classical Athens have sparked much controversy because, despite the apparent fascination with femininity manifested in art and drama, we have no evidence voicing the opinions of the actual women themselves. This presents a

The reading claims that nudes throughout artistic history have been an important source of beauty and controversy. Nudes began to spike during the Baroque period as they were used for the more expressive and emotional arts of the time. In the nineteenth century, nudes became more common, yet became more sensitive. Artists would train by drawing nudes of ancient Greek statues and figures from myth. However, many artists would then move on to create works depicting prostitutes or peasant naked women. This would not please patrons as they were extremely societally taboo. However, this did not start artists from making them, as they moved into the twentieth and twenty-first century. This shows the importance of artistic nudes and their impact

The art world has been host to a vast menagerie of talent, intellect, and creativity for about as long as human culture has existed. It has grown, developed, and changed just as humanity has. Naturally, with such an impressively expansive history, various avenues of art are visited time and time again by new artists. Artists seek not only to bring their own personal flavor and meaning to timeless concepts, but to find new ways to approach them. While not every single creator and craftsman can make such a great impact on art or the world, their efforts have given birth to some truly magnificent and unique works. In an effort to create a more meaningful understanding, as well a deeper appreciation, of the nuances, techniques, and design choices employed in these attempts, a comparison will be made between Edouard Vuillard’s Interior With a Screen (1909-1910) and Henri Matisse’s Blue Nude (Souvenir of Biskra) (1907). In this essay, each artist’s approach to the subject of the female nude will be closely analyzed, compared, and contrasted, as will their styles of painting, handling of visual elements, and their use of the principles of design. An interpretation of each work and what the artist intended when creating it will also be provided.

Nude figures have been featured in art works since around 30 to 25,000 B.C. And throughout the history of art, we can see a lot of artists being inspired and influenced by great talents before them, in one way or another they would carry the style or ideas of those previous artists into their own art and create new masterpieces. One particular example is Édouard Manet’s Olympia from the Realism period, and Yasumasa Morimura’s Futago. The two paintings share great similarities in their composition, but the content and purpose of the paintings, and style wise the two pieces are very different.

Artist and people viewing the art work have always had a fascination with the female nude. Even when I was a child my attention was captured by the nude art not because I was a kid and I saw a nude lady , but it forced me to wonder more about why the female nude was so amazing as a tool for art and why this is repeated so many times throughout the centuries. One female nude painting in particular was the subject of controversy and exposed the syncretism and or the power of the female nude painting.

In the world of Ancient Greece, a large array of deities were worshipped. Each god had their own forms of identification in which they used to express themselves. This includes things such as personality, style, sexuality, and many other things. One of these forms of expression was gender. The Greeks seemed to focus more on the two typical genders, which are male and female. Some Greek gods seemed to play into certain gender roles, but others portrayed traits of the opposite sex. In this paper, I will be analysing the possibility that the Greeks believed the female and male genders were closely connected and that is why many of the gods are described with blended aspects of gender.

The heroes in Greek and Roman mythology had the characteristics of violent masculinity and bravery, the ideology of a patriarchal society in which all the men were elite than the women. According to Kampmen in Gender Theory in Roman Art, “Roman society evolved in such a way as to enable elite men to establish and maintain power over everyone else, ” such men included heroes like Hercules, Achilles, and Pentheus (1996, p.152). They represented the elite males who had stable physical attributes that emphasized their masculinity and heroism. Heroes like the ones mentioned above had been idolized and worshiped with cults due to their works in helping their societies to fight monsters, the gods also favored them. Gender is emphasized by one 's appearance, dressing being the primary attribute. The mythic narratives of Achilles on Scyros, Hercules and Omphale and lastly Pentheus and Dionysus give a rather strange definition on the characteristics of heroes when they crossdress. In this essay, I shall discuss how male heroes characteristics become subverted than emphasized due to the myths of cross-dressing.