Humanism is a philosophy that places greater importance on humans than on gods or other divine beings. Whereas other cultures’ art focused almost entirely on gods and goddesses, the art of Ancient Greece began to move away from this. Much of their artwork is of the human body. They still produced plenty of religious artwork, but a fascination with the human form and mind was born around this time period. For example, kouros and kore sculptures became popular in the Archaic Period. The Classical Period continued to develop the human form, making sculptures appear more realistic through techniques such as contrapposto, the leaning of weight onto one leg.
It was in this age that democracy was born and famed artists, philosophers, and writers such as Homer lived. The Hellenistic Period showcases sculptures of old men and women. Although they also produced representations of Aphrodite and Dionysus, sculptures of their mortal followers were equally common.
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- Prehistoric Art (750,000 C-1st Century CE)
- Art of the Ancient Near East
- Art of Ancient Egypt
- Art of the Ancient Aegean
- Art of Ancient Greece 900-323 BCE
- Etruscan Art 900-500 BCE
- Roman Art 509 BCE-476 CE
- Jewish and Early Christian Art
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- Romanesque
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