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Minoan Art

Page history last edited by Melissa 14 years, 5 months ago

 

Minoan Art and Culture

(The Middle Bronze Age, about 2200-1800 B.C.)

 

 

(Fresco of Bull-Leaping, from the palace at Knossos, ca. 1450-1400 BCE.)

 

 

 

The Minoans, named after the mythical King Minos, were a graceful and prosperous civilization.  Their art records "a society of joyous disposition, in touch with their environment, and in awe of the logical order of the natural world.  Above all, the unearthed artifcations reveal a people who had developed a high degree of self-respect and a keen eye for observing and adapting to their physical environment. " (see citation below)

 

 

 

 

It was their physical environment, on the remote islands centered around Crete, that allowed them to develop so highly.  Protected by a strong navy, they were free to develop their art and society in safety.  Their palaces in particular reflect the beauty of architecture freed from the need to prepare for war. They were able to build open palaces to allow light and ventilation inside.  Leaving the openings for light and ventilation allowed the beauty of their surrounds to be ever present in the palace and to give spectacular views surrounding them.  The Aegean palaces had amazing staircases, pillars, and courtyards.  The courtyards were a space for the people to gather for games and celebrations.  The palaces were also a space for governmental and religous offices. 

 

The Palace at Knossos is an excellelent example of Minoan architecture.  In legend, it was the home of King Minos, whose beast the minotaur guarded the castle in a giant labyrinth.  In reality, the palace was large and complicated enough that the ruins give the impression of a maze.   It's plan centered on a large courtyard, with storerooms, ceremonial halls, and living quarters arranged around it.  Although more than three stories tall in some places, its skylights and courtyards gave it an open, light-filled interior. 

 

 

Frescos on palace walls are some of the most innovative and instructive examples of Minoan art.  At the Palace at Knossos, the "Bull-Leaping " fresco (two images above) depicts leisure activity in a new way.  Although art celebrating sporting events, especially hunting, was common in the ancient world, this ancient Minoan fresco shows a new kind of fluidity and motion.  Human forms are depicted more naturalistically, without the twisted perspective of the Egyptians.  The flowing lines and exaggerated proportions of the bull, combined with the lithe and off-balance youth upside-down atop him, show movement and life.  This was art created for people, in the present moment, not for the gods or the afterlife.

 

Another innovation was the "Spring Fresco," (below) at a palace on Akrotiri, a neraby island whose art has been preserved by a volcanic explosion.  It is the first known landscape painting.  Bright colors, repeated undulating shapes of rocks and blossoms, and diving birds express the joy of a beautiful day.  Although it is not naturalistic, the enthusiastic painting captures the essence of spring.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During this period, painting was developed for everyday objects, not just palatial walls.  The famous "Octopus Jar" of Palaikastro, on Crete, illustrates typical pottery painting, which were often of marine life.  Like the "Spring Fresco," the shape of the natural subject is not extremely realistic, but instead the realism is in the motion and exuberance captured in the undulating lines and repeated patterns of the swimming octopus.

 

http://ancient-greece.org/art/minoan-art.html- where information was found

 

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