WRITE A SHORT CRITIQUE ON CLASSICAL GREEK ART WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO EITHER GREEK POTTERY OR GREEK SCULPTURE.
Behind the art of the golden age, lay a long period of experimentation. Art historians trace Greek art far back from the 7th to the 1st century, noting that an early date foreign models, especially Cretan, Asian & Egyptian, exercised a strong influence. They have their roots in Aegean civilization, but their unique qualities have made them among the strongest influences on subsequent Western art and architecture. (Britannica Encyclopedia) Working on a monumental scale, they brought to perfection. By the beginning of the 7th century, Greek artists began to create works distinctively Greek. Within two centuries, architects had established a basic style centering on simple rectangular buildings surrounded by columns. Sculptors had focused their attention on portrayal of human form, seeking to endow the natural forms of the human body with a quality of idealism. They had a growing desire to beautify cities & of elaboration of religious worship. Greek art became predominantly public art, dedicated to the life of the city & to the gods who protected the city. Athens was the home of great artists during the 5th & 4th centuries:

The particular strengths of Greek architectural art were the harmony & symmetry of the parts with the whole. Greek architects usually worked in marble or limestone, using wood and tile for roofs. They developed their own architecture of stone pillared buildings with mathematical proportion. Their temples reflected their religious beliefs in the gods. These temples were painted and carved decorations made on these made the buildings the wonder of their age. Sculptors carved marble and limestone, modeled clay, and cast works in bronze. Sculptors also worked on gravestones, tombs, and private commissions, where they expressed the same idealized vision of human form. Large votive statues were made of plates of hammered bronze or consisted of wooden cores sheathed in gold and ivory. Heads and outstretched arms were sometimes made separately and then attached to the torso. Stone and clay sculpture was brightly painted, entirely or partly. 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. Greek painters used water-based colors to paint large murals or decorate vases. Potters formed vases freehand on the potter's wheel; when the vase was dry; it was polished, painted, and fired.