High

=High Classical Greece=

//from Mr. Bowers AP Art History Courses at East Chapel Hill High School//

//This article is about the art and culture of// "High Classical Greece". //In this period from 450BCE- 400BCE, Pericles dominated Athens, and artists strove to display public images of peace, prosperity, and power.//

=**Architecture**=

The most significant forms of architecture that were constructed during this period were the buildings constructed on the acropolis in Athens. These buildings were to be built under the orders of Pericles, who reigned during the "Golden Age" of Athens.These buildings displayed pride for the city of Athens and the various achievements of Athenians. The structures were characterized by their use of Doric and Ionic Orders. Major structures at the acropolis include the Parthenon (Doric), the Erechtheum (Ionic), and the Propylaea (elements of both Doric and Ionic).

Doric columns stood directly upright without a base. Their vertical shafts were fluted with parallel grooves, and their capitals flared from the column to meet the entablature on top.

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Ionic columns usually stood on a base. A wide collar separated the capital from the fluted shaft. Capitals were designed with volutes. Ionic columns were generally thinner than Doric columns and often more fluted. = = =**Painting**=

Vase painting went into decline by the end of this period. White ground painting emerged, in which figures would be portrayed against a white background. The subject of most paintings involved scenes of everyday Greek life. Characterized by outlined or drawn imagery, white ground painting was a specialty of Athenian potters. Painters used a full range of colors using paints made by mixing tints with white clay. Painters also used tempera- an opaque, water-based medium mixed with glue. However, this decoration was extremely fragile and not practical for everyday use. Hence, the paintings were mainly used for nonutilitarian purposes.

=Sculpture=

Human anatomy became much more accurate than before in the High Classical Period. The drapery became elaborate in design and purpose. Sculptures' poses became easier but remained compact within a certain space. High Classical sculpture was characterized by the choice of a perfect moment of pause within fluid action, reduction of forms to their most characteristic essentials, and its choice of a single, timeless image to stand for an entire historical episode. Sculptors in this period mastered how to depict hard muscles and soft flesh. Steles were also carved as freestanding monuments that were used in cemeteries and often contained domestic scenes involving women.



=**References**=

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Marilyn Stokstad, //Art History, Third Edition// (New York, Prentice Hall, Inc. and Harry Abrams, Inc., 2008), 31.