A World of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

A World of Art - Essay Example For instance, the Greeks invented three architectural systems called Doric, Ionic and Corinthian that stood for various meanings (Architecture, 2011). The Doric order, the column a sturdy and plain appearance, was used for the Parthenon in the capitol, and it incorporated worship of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom (Architecture, 2011). The point of using the Doric order was to symbolize order and harmony, which coincides with the goddess Athena. Architecture was not the only form of art that reflected religion. Sculptures were vastly popular in ancient Greece and they often times were figures of gods and goddesses like Zeus, even heroes and events were created to mirror religion. In the Christian era, art and architecture were not very different from Greece in how religion was portrayed. Before Christianity was universally accepted, art had to be hidden. These artists did not focus on perfection and beauty as did those that produced Greek art because they sought importance in tra nsforming their beliefs and teaching the Christian religion to others (Early, 2007). Sculptures were rarely seen, and unlike Greek architecture, Christian architecture was bland and unadorned in comparison (Early, 2007). However, the interiors were rich with furnishings- marble, mosaics, hangings, etc. as if to show that Christianity is not about always being beautiful and showy, but faith is set at the hearth like the heart and done with the family. 2. a. Mannerism: This era was set in before the baroque period, and it was European art that occurred around 1520-1580 in Italy Renaissance (Sayre, 2007). The focal term was harmony, which was illustrated through naturalistic paintings, i.e. paintings that were universally recognized as meaning the same thing to various people. Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael were famous artists of this era (Sayre, 2007). b. Baroque: Following the mannerism era, baroque came about in the late 16th-early 18th century throughout Europe (Sayre, 2007). It is a form of art that reflects religious themes as well as express power in aristocracy society. Lavish palaces were influenced by baroque style, as well as the artists Peter Paul Rubens and Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Sayre, 2007). c. Rococo: This type of art stemmed from baroque in the late 18th century in France due to the fact that baroque artists began to experiment giving up their symmetry and turned to creating ornate and playful art (Sayre, 2007). A lot of this art was created to be motifs of decoration and often criticized for its lack of sophistication. However, despite the controversies, it still remains a part of art history and so do the artists that incorporated it like Franz Anton Bustelli and Andrea Casali (Sayre, 2007). d. Neoclassicism: Unlike Rococo style’s seemingly unimportance, the neoclassicism era was distinct and memorable through its utilization of the visual arts like music, architecture, literature, and theatre and occurred late 19th century all over Europe (Sayre, 2007). It actually became a sort-of outspoken response to the â€Å"shallow† form of Rococo. It portrayed elements like war, politics and bravery (Sayre, 2007). Lastly, the artists that represent this period are Sir Christopher Wren and William Kent. e. Romanticism: This era is viewed as being the intellectual era, not romance, that gained popularity in the late 18th