Ancient Etruscan painting

Etruscan tomb painting spans nearly five hundred years, from the second quarter of the seventh century to the turn from the third to the second century BC.

It was largely decorative and sepulchral in motive, and was employed in the painting of tombs, and upon vases and other objects placed in the tombs. It had a native way of expressing itself, which at first was neither Greek nor Oriental, and yet a reminder of both.

Technically it was not well done. Ancient paintings ar Ardea, in Etruria and at Lanuvium still retained, in the time of Pliny all their primitive freshness. According to Pliny, paintings of a still earlier date were to be seen at Caere, another Etruscan city. Before 500 B.C. it was almost childish in the drawing. After that date the figures were better, though short and squat. Those on the vases usually show outline drawing filled in with dull browns and yellows.

Etruscan tomb painting, especially the painted hypogea of the coastal metropolis Tarquinia are unquestionably among the most important and expressive remains of Etruscan culture and they have excited the imaginations of experts and other Etruscan enthusiast over the centuries.

Finally there was a mingling of Etruscan with Greek elements, and an imitation of Greek methods. It was at best a hybrid art, but of some importance from an archæological point of view.
Ancient Etruscan painting

History of Greek Art

More than a century before the call of Abraham, a colony had been planted at Sicyon, by an Egyptian leader Aegialeus who brought with him the knowledge of sculpture and painting, and founded the earliest and purest school of Greek art.

Another civilized colony, from Egypt soon set up in Greece. Inachus founded the city of Argos, whole Abraham was still an idolater, in Ur.

The art of painting was in as high esteem in Greece as the art of sculpture. The Greeks must have thought painters more interesting as individuals, perhaps because they were not looked on as banausics as were the sculptors. Later on, drawing became a regular subject in the education of the freeborn.

Sometimes before the end of the sixth century, perhaps as early as 540, a new method of decorating pottery was invented in Attica.

The principal coloring matter used continued to the lustrous black varnish; but instead of filling in the outlines, of the figures with black, the decorator, after outlining the figures by means of a broad stroke of the brush covered with black the spaces between the figures, leaving the figures themselves in the color of Italy.

The first Grecian painter of any great renown was Polygnotus, who was contemporary with Phidias, though probably somewhat older.

His chief works in Athens were executed in adorning those building which were erected in the time of Cimon; as the temple of Theseus, and the Poecile Stoa or Painted Colonnade. The subjects of these great murals paintings were chiefly mythological.
History of Greek Art

Ancient Greek painting

The goods and heroes, their lives and adventures, formed the early subjects of Greek painting.

For example, the importance of seafaring in the Greek world is reflected in many representations of ships in vase painting.

The early Greek work was largely devoted to pottery and tomb decoration, in which much in manner and method was borrowed from Asia, Phoenicia and Egypt.

The plentiful remains of Greek vases demonstrate a range of painting styles from the geometric designs of the Archaic period through to the silhouette like bodies non Black Figure vases.

Later on, painting appeared in flat outline on stone or terra-cotta slabs, sometimes representing processional scenes.

Ancient Greeks greatly admired large scale wall painting. The only substantial and complete example of Greek monumental painting from the Early Classical period comes from the Tomb of the Diver at Paestum.

It consists of five travertine slabs that form four sides and a lids.

Roman copies of Greek wall paintings show that Greek artists often based their wall paintings on myths and legendary adventure.

The 12 labors do Herakles (or Hercules) were a favorite theme. Many copies of original Greek painting were found in the Roman city of Pompeii, which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in AD 79.
Ancient Greek painting

The Art Motives of Greek

The Art Motives of Greek
Neither the monarchy nor the priesthood commanded the service of the artist in Greece, as in Assyria and Egypt.

There was no monarch in an oriental sense, and the chosen leaders of the Greeks never, until the late days, arrogated art to themselves.

It was something for all the people.

In religion there was a pantheon of gods established and worshipped from the earliest ages, but these gods were more like epitomes of Greek ideals than spiritual beings.

They were the personified virtues of the Greeks exemplars and perfect living; and in worshipping them the Greek was really worshipping order, conduct, repose, dignity, perfect life.

The gods and heroes as types of moral and physical qualities, were continually represented in an allegorical or legendary manner.

Athene represented noble warfare, Zeus was majestic dignity and power, Aphrodite love, Phoebus song, Nike triumph and all the lesser gods, nymphs and fauns stood for beauties or virtues of nature of of life.

The great bulk of Greek architecture, sculpture and painting was put forth to honor these gods or heroes, and by so doing the artist illustrated the national ideals and honored himself.

In a sense it was a religious motive, but had little of that spiritual significant and belief about it which ruled in Egypt and later on in Italy.

A second and ever present motive in Greek painting was decorations. This appears in the tomb pottery of the earliest ages, and was carried on down to the latest times.

Vase painting, wall painting, tablet and sculpture painting were all done with a decorative motive in view.

Even the easel or panel pictures had some decorative effect about them,. Though perhaps they were primarily intended to convey ideas other than those of form and color.
The Art Motives of Greek