Aegean Art

                  I found the section on Aegean art the most interesting, so I decided to base my assignment around it. Aegean art caught my attention because I didn’t know anything about it. When I was in elementary school, our art classes would teach us about Egyptian and ancient Greek art, but I don’t think I ever even heard the word Aegean. Which is very fascinating considering that Aegean art was being created around the same time as Egyptian and Greek art.

                  There are three main Aegean cultures that all created their own types of art, the first one I will discuss is Cycladic. The Cycladic culture was centered around a group of islands in the Aegean. No one knows who created Cycladic art, but it all mainly consists of nude female figures. The figures can vary in size from 2 ft. tall to life size. What I like about the Cycladic figures are that they seem so abstract for their time. They are very minimal with simple geometric shapes and lines, how streamline they all are really appeals to me. Most of the figures that have been uncovered have been found near burial grounds. This suggests that these figurines were used in a type of ritual, maybe a ritual around fertility or praying to a female God.

Statue of a Woman. Cycladic, c. 2600-2400 B.C.E. Marble, Height 24 ¾. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 

The next culture I will talk about is Minoan culture. The Minoan culture was located on the island a Crete, close to the southern end of the Aegean. Minoan culture was based in the city of Knossos and can be traced to around 2000 B.C.E. There have been many frescos found that were created during this period. The frescos show happy and playful people participating in sport activities. You can see the resemblance between the Cycladic figurines and the people in the frescos, but the frescos are much more detailed.

Toreador Fresco, from the palace at Knossos. c. 1500 B.C.E. Fresco, height approx. 32”. Archeological Museum, Heraklion, Crete.

The final Aegean culture I will discuss is the Mycenaean culture. This culture was located on the mainland of Greece. Mycenaeans were master gold-smiths and were known for their intricate burial customs. It is possible that the Mycenaeans often traded with the people of Egypt for their gold. Many gold objects have been found around the location where the Mycenaens lived, and their craftsman ship is incredible    

Rhyton in the shape of a lion’s head, from Mycenae. c. 1550 B.C.E. Gold, height 8.” National Museum, Athens