Why Is Hellenistic Art Important Today?
If one were to ask “what is Hellenistic Art?”, I would reply that it is the foundation for modern arts.
What the Greek culture gave to the world in civics, it also gave to us in culture and art. This period of history became iconic, and the influence it has held echoed across time to future generations.
Why is this era so important for art itself? It is the first time within history that artists focused on art for genuine expression, beauty, and exploring its properties within the human figure.
Certainly there were other cultures before them which had art. Yet the significance to those societies were very different than the Greeks.
It would be the Greeks which took Visual Arts to a new world.
Art Pre Greek Influence
We can look to Persia and Egypt as examples of pre Greek art. Very significant works were made within both cultures.
These nations are not alone in their development of arts and influence to the pre Greek world. Yet they were the largest in influence.
It would be perhaps Babylon itself which held the most opulence within history. Yet the art of its time would be similar to its future contemporaries.
Aside from medium, art style, and process, there was a key factor in what made the Greeks unique.
The emphasis in art within these earlier cultures was predominantly religious in nature.
The society being what it was allowed for only the wealthy, and especially the ruling class, to control the arts. This control was twofold.
Naturally commerce itself would have its impact. The common man was often too poor to care about the arts.
An additional component is that the rulers of these lands were typically self proclaimed gods.
All images became focused on their power, national posture, and the religions they crafted which surrounded them. The arts main focus was idealism rather than realism.
Archeology does better in seeing the life of a common man from these periods by looking at the every day implements used. There is little else to go on.
Compared to our time there is little context to the content of their media or art due to how it was controlled.
When Did Hellenistic Art Begin?
Hellenistic Art followed the Classical Greek Period of Art. It is typically dated as beginning after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.
What allowed Greek art from this period to shift so widely from predecessors has much to do with the Greeks themselves. Yet this would come as a result of Alexander’s influence.
Alexander was noted for his desire to make the world Greek.
He understood that to achieve this would require a blending of cultures which the common Greek resisted. It was seen as diluting to their native ways.
Yet with this mindset which Alexander had came the arts and culture from other lands. As they were exporting Greek ways, they too were importing other influences to their nation.
It is due to this mindset in expansion that saw the Classical Greek Art shift into a more dynamic Hellenistic Period.
Changes That Hellenistic Art Brought To The World
It would be after the 121st Olympiad that a noted artist would make a claim. Pliny the Elder stated Cessavit deinde ars.
His claim was that art itself had disappeared. In truth the Classical Greek Arts disappeared.
Within this time one can notice that sculptures the artists created held true to life in Naturalism rather than idealism. The representations depicted carried this naturalist state whether the subject was young or old, happy or sad, or even in pain or suffering.
Artists no longer held to the beliefs in creating imagery of idealism which was the older ways of art. Here begins the first age of artistic communication.
This breaks from tradition within previous cultures. It is here we begin to see life captured as a picture in how the people actually lived. In some cases works could hold early Figurativism.
Pliny the Elder was noting that due to this growing shift that art was in decline. Some today who study art history still ascribe to this assessment.
In reality the visual arts were undergoing a transformation. It began to capture a culture rather than show the idealism they aspired to be.
Wall Paintings Of The Hellenistic Era
It would be within the time of Pompeian Period of the Hellenistic Era that wall painting became common. The most noted cities for these to be found were those such as Thera, Olbia, and Alexandria.
There were many other cities which these paintings could be found, but where they could be found is more interesting.
No longer was art relegated to temples or government buildings. This art was also within the common mans home. This is a dynamic shift away from historical findings in art.
Too often the average home was merely a utilitarian environment for existing in most cultures.
While many paintings did not survive the centuries from Greek times, we have the Romans to thanks for revelations into this period of history.
Rome was most known for war and conquest but they also sought to import culture. Roman art depictions of previous Hellenistic periods gave researchers insight to these times that otherwise would be lost.
Of the Greek paintings which did survive we see that they used three dimensional forms within their artwork. Light and shading contrast were used to render this form.
The most common techniques in painting used were secco and fresco. Both techniques allowed for local resources in the natural environment to be used in creating paintings.
They allowed for masonry and walls to be used as the canvas whether in public buildings or the common home.
Hellenistic Art Mosaics
Mosaics were another common feature that could be found throughout the Hellenistic Art world of this time.
While this art may have had its foundation at around the 5th century BC it evolved through time and grew within this period. Examples can be seen at Olynthos of this work.
Later representations will show this art forms growth and complexity. What began as simple contrasting pebbles of color to create a monochromatic mosaic, later became beautiful representations of art.
By the 3rd century BC a technique called Tessarae became the new standard. This Tessarae were tiles which were made from multiple mediums.
Cut stone, chipped pebbles, glass, and other assorted items would be baked into clay. This then became a piece of the mosaic which the artist would use to render an image.
The famous Alexander Mosaic which was found in the House of the Faun at Pompeii from roughly 100 BC shows the level of sophistication which was cultivated.
While this work is considered Roman for the period it is within, it draws upon all the Hellenistic Mosaic Arts which were developed through time.
This mosaic may best depict the development which the Greek world put into arts. It is a stark contrast from earlier works such as found in Olynthos.
Hellenistic Art Development By Region
As there was no heir to Alexanders power the empire was split among different Diadochi, regents or governors of those lands.
While there was a shared desire for the world to remain Greek, each Diadochi had the liberty to allow the people to cultivate the culture from local influence.
There are historians which will argue this point I make here. They claim that evidence exists proving these cultures existed separately but together with little influence on one another. In their writing they too must retract that statement when it concerns common art shared among people within society.
The Greeks were never about eradicating another culture or forcing a culture to change. They cohabited with them.
It is here we can find a modern term “Hellenizing the world” to describe the influence this had.
This aspect of Greek culture became critical to developments within art. Certainly they were bringing in their influence from the homeland, yet it was a dynamic environment.
The Ptolemies in Egypt appreciated the existing arts within that society. There was no desire to eradicate the past from history.
Rather with the injection of Hellenistic culture the arts within Egypt began to shift due to this influence. In turn what was Greek from this region also came to adopt Egyptian concepts.
Regents from other regions also followed this same path such as the Seleucids in Mesopotamia and the Attalids in Pergamon.
There is another component concerning Greek culture which allowed art to flourish that is unlike other societies before or after it.
The Unique Hellenist Mindset
Before Alexander the Great the Greeks were ruled through city states. While Alexander’s father had limited success in jointing these states it would be Alexander which brought them together.
One unique aspect concerning the Greeks is that they never were truly focused on world conquest.
It was Alexander which drove this desire to dominate the world. After his death the Greek people were content with what they had gained and so were the generals which took power. T
hey reverted back to the older ways. The difference was that instead of ruling city states the same principles were applied to these regional nations.
The focus of the Hellenist world has more often than not been that of culture rather than conquest. This does not remove the fact that they were a powerful people and at times were brutal.
In an attempt to compare them to others such as the Romans, while not romanticizing Greek status, they were uniquely different.
Focus Of The Hellenistic Art Period
Within the Hellenistic Art period the wealthy flourished and especially that of the ruling class. Sculptures, painting, and architecture thrived as the main focus of visual arts.
Theater also spread across the world in the performing arts.
Metalworking also saw significant growth. Movement was made forward in sophistication with quality and depth within art was found.
It is within this period that a broader dynamic range begins to appear influencing larger populations across many lands.
While the wealthy flourished the common man also benefited from this society. The average home was sturdy but quaint to function and purpose.
Examples of these homes can be found in Olynthus being well preserved.
The homes would be square in design, typically no windows were used in order to maintain privacy.
Those who did have windows, they were small and higher on the wall serving the purpose of letting in light. The home interiors were typically not the focal point of a home although art was incorporated into many homes.
Rather the courtyards which each home had became the focus. Here in the open one would entertain guests or carry out daily activities.
The image of the common man while improved from earlier periods paled in comparison to the broader Greek giganticism.
Description Of Hellenistic Art
Writing on this period of art has often claimed that the works from this era are decadent in style. Certainly it does hold the extravagant, religious, and definitely erotic qualities.
This is obvious and cannot be missed.
Yet what is often overlooked is that Hellenistic Art managed to capture within their culture what other societies of history missed. They captured emotion and the realism to life that is often found lacking within archaeological contexts.
In this way the Hellenist lived up to the true and real purpose of art. This purpose allowed a better picture for future generations to see their world.
Indeed other cultures had elements of this which existed, even within that of Rome itself. It would not be until the latter 19th century that we would once again see the word decadence used to prolifically describe an art movement across broader society.
When one looks at other periods of revival this description is not to be found. Within the Renaissance period many words are used to describe art in that era.
Whether it be mannerism, naturalism, or humanism, this era of explosive growth in ideas and art is not detailed broadly as decadent.
The Greek societies while often extreme in its imagery and depiction managed to reach beyond ideal imagery.
There are few places within history where art really can depict a society as it was rather than only how they aspired to be. This is one of those few places that it can be found.
Due to how genuine and broad this representation was within the culture can only lend to its broader impact through influence across the world. I believe it is because of this aspect of their society that their influence was not lost to history.
It is real, relatable on a personal level, and can be understood by the common man.