Egyptians were the first people to make a large impact on the world of art. Egyptians needed art for their religious beliefs more than decoration or self-gratification. The most important aspect of Egyptian life is the ka, the part of the human spirit that lives on after death. The ka needed a physical place to occupy or it would disappear. “The double that lingered on in the tomb inhabiting the body or even statues of the deceases, but was also independent of man and could move, eat and drink at will.” Most of the important men of Egypt paid to have their body carved out of stone. That was where the spirit would live after the man dies. They used stone because it was the strongest material they could find. Longevity was very important. The bodies are always idealized and clothed. Figures are very rigid, close-fisted, and are built on a vertical axis to show that the person is grand or intimidating. Most of the figures were see

they depicted nude men. The people that were sculpted are always young and their bodies are still idealized. The Greeks invented contrapposto, the relaxed natural stance of a sculpture. “The classical Greeks progressed to where they were able to model the human form in a nonsymmetrical, relaxed stance that appeared much more realistic.” A figure that is standing in contrapposto becomes a sculpture in the round, meaning that the emphasis is not only on a frontal view but also from all angles.

Early Greek art was greatly influenced by the Egyptians. Geography permitted both cultures to exchange their talents. The beginning of Greek art is marked by the Geo-metric phase. The most common art during the Geo-metric phase was vase painting. “Painting of the Ancient Greeks has survived primarily in the form of Vase Painting. The paintings were done in red and black with some use of accent colors. The vases depicted battles, heroes, gods and every day life.” After the vase was formed but before it was painted, the artist applied a slip (dark pigment) to outside. Then the vase was fired and the artist would incise his decorations into the hard shell. It was important to incise humans into the fired slip and not paint with slip. The people in the pictures needed light colored skin, which was the color beneath the slip, because Greeks wanted to make their art as realistic as possible. Much like Egyptian art, the Greeks idealized the bodies of the people in their works. “The Greeks idealized humans, showing the strong and youthful depiction of men and women. The topics shown in their vases reflect the importance of strength, athletic competition and battles.” As the Archaic Period evolved, Greek sculptures were almost identical to the Egyptians'. Unlike Egyptians, the Greeks refined their techniques. “The Classical period shows a very large shift from the stiff Archaic to a more realistic and some times idealistic portrayal of the human figure. Females, after the 5th century B.C., were depicted nude, often with flowing robes. The robes gave the sculpture the

Some topics in this essay:
, Hellenistic Period, Egyptians Greeks, Vase Painting, Earth” Humans, Donato Bramante”, Modern Art, Filippo Brunelleschi, Daniel Susanna, Egyptians Geography, modern art, christian art, “the classical, perfect proportion, greeks idealized, bodies idealized, art religious, vase painting, geo-metric phase, egyptian art,