The Body in ArtAncient to Renaissance (Western Art History)

Representations of the human form have been around for over 30,000 years.

They often depicted hunters and animals and acted as a form of documentation.

Prehistorical Art

This is a photograph of the so called ‘Venus of Willendorf’ in Austria from prehistoric times, about 20.000 years ago. It is believed, that it had ritual functions concerning fertility.

10.000-15.000 b.c. Austrialimestone, 11,5 cm; Vienna

The combination of geometric regularity is characteristic of all ancient Egyptian art which was often described as cubed and constrained. Its purpose was to keep alive the history of the individual and give eternal life to the Pharaohs.

Artists had to abide by strict rules of representation and symbolism.

Egyptian Art

During the Archaic period, Greek artists try to achieve realistic likeness in picturing the human figure, and the statues are a far cry from the extremely abstract figures of the geometric style which preceded.

ca. 490 BC

Archaic Greek Art

The art of the Classical Greek style is characterized by a joyous freedom of movement and expression. It celebrates mankind as an independent entity. Artists hold their aesthetic standards to a quest for ideal beauty; this leads to their depicting the human figure in a naturalistic manner because it is the first time in human history that the human body is studied for its aesthetic values.

laocoon and his sonsca. 175-50 BC

Classical Greek Art

During the Middle Ages, European artists painted in a way that emphasized religious images and symbolism rather than realism. Most paintings depicted scenes holy figures and people important in the Christian religion. Even the most talented painters of the Middle Ages paid little attention to making humans and animals look lifelike, creating natural looking landscapes, or creating a sense of depth and space in their paintings.

The Middle Ages

The Renaissance

During the Renaissance, meaning ‘Re-birth’, European artists began to study the model of nature more closely and to paint with the goal of greater realism. They were inspired by the early Greek classical sculptures of the human form. They learned to create lifelike people and animals, and they became skilled at creating the illusion of depth and distance on flat walls and canvases by using the techniques of linear perspective.

David by Michealangelo1504

The Birth of Venus by Botticelli1485

Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci1503-6 AD

The Proportions of the Human Figure (Vitruvian Manek)

Leonardo da Vinci, 1490

During the Renaissance, period Art and Science influenced each other and when scientists started to explore the biology of the body, artists were also keen to understand the way the body was constructed.

Leonardo Da Vinci was known for his extensive studies of the human bodies inside and out.