Egyptian Art vs Greek Art
Egyptian art and Greek art are two types of art that have adorned the early human civilization. At the same time they show differences between them in terms of their styles and characteristics. The characteristics of the Greek art are certainly different from those of the Egyptian art.
It is important to know that Egyptian artists followed the implementation of certain stylistic laws in their art especially in the creation of statues. The Pharaohs made them work with strict rules and regulations regarding art. On the other hand, Greek art was much more liberal when compared to the Egyptian art. Greek art did not follow strict stylist rules nor were they imposed on them by others.
Greek art gave more importance to the mythology in the creation of their art work. The artists were encouraged to follow the style that suited them. They were made to observe the world and proceed according to what they saw. It is interesting to note that the artists depicted paintings on the pottery work as well to show their expertise and freedom, which the Egyptians rarely performed.
Egyptians like the Romans strived for objective representation. At the same time, they worked hard to get the objective part of their art right. In other words, it can be said that objective representation was given the primary importance in their works of art. In fact, their pictures sported large heads that lacked expressions.
On the other hand, the Greek art aimed at the representation of reality rather than objective truths. Human expression was given the primary importance by the Greek artists. As a result the statues created by the Greek artists brought out the true emotions of human beings. These statues often exhibited the muscles and the organs of the human body as well.
It is interesting to note that both the forms of art encouraged nudity in their art. While, the Greek art used nudity more than the Egyptian art, the latter confined nudity only to children. In fact, Greek artists exhibited their interest in the human form. Human form was not of primary interest in the case of the Egyptian artists.
Another interesting difference between Greek art and Egyptian art is that Greek art was laden with movement, while the Egyptian art was static and it lacked movement. Sculptures and paintings done by the Greek artists could catch movement as well. They in fact captured action. Egyptian artists did not capture action in the creation of their sculptures and paintings.
The ideology of Greek art and Egyptian art differed too in the sense that the Egyptian art was inclined towards religion. The early artists from Egypt believed that their kings were divine beings that came from heaven. They portrayed the kings in their art in a bid to honor them. This is not the case with the Greek artists. They created their art inclining more towards philosophy. These are the most important differences between the two important forms of art of the early human civilization, namely, Greek art and Egyptian art.