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Jul 19, 2023 25 tweets 10 min read Read on X
Want to know the difference between the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Romans? Just look at their statues.

Art always tells you what a society wants to believe about itself.

So, from the Soviet Union to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, here's what art says about who we are... Image
We begin in Ancient Greece, with an Athenian statue from the 5th century BC.

Here is the victor of an athletic contest. What do we see?

This is not a specific individual; it is a generic, idealised face and body. Image
The same is true for many Greek statues from the 5th and 4th centuries BC.

Their faces and bodies are not intended to be those of real people. Rather, they represent the Greek ideal of what a human being can be, and what a human ought to aspire to become. Image
And even when a specific person is portrayed, and we can clearly see the features of a recognisable individual, they are still idealised.

Lysippos' bust of Alexander was praised for how it maintained his appearance and personality while also giving it a god-like countenance. Image
Now, for contrast, look at statues from the Ancient Roman Republic, in this case from the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.

The difference is striking. There is no idealisation here, no attempt to portray human beauty. These are the real faces of real people, warts and wrinkles and all.
Image
Image
And this makes sense. For the Ancient Romans poverty was a virtue. They thought of themselves as hard-headed, honest, vigorous people.

To have a weatherbeaten face, worn with age and work, was a sign of wisdom and of virtue.

The ideal Roman was simple, not beautiful. Osimo Head (1st century BC)
And so the Romans were uneasy about the Greeks.

When Ancient Greek art first arrived in Rome, along with Greek philosophy, many people called it decadent, luxurious, and corrupting.

But, in the end, Greek culture won and the Romans were thoroughly Hellenised. Image
It may be true that the Romans weren't *actually* the sort of honest, down-to-earth people they wanted to seem like in their art.

But this makes it more interesting: these statues reflect what they *wanted* to be, even more than what they really were.
And this doesn't stop with the Greeks and the Romans.

It has always been true that we can trust a society's art more than what they said about themselves to figure out who they were and what was important to them.

First and foremost through *what* it depicts...
The art of Ancient Mesopotamia was filled with bulls and sheep; we may conclude that this was an agricultural society.

In Ancient Egypt, meanwhile, we find monumental statues of Pharaohs; it seems clear that these were figures who possessed almost unimaginable power.
Image
Image
In the lead up to the French Revolution there was a major shift in French art.

Throughout the 18th century it was rather frivolous, hedonistic depictions of the aristocracy that had dominated art, as in the work of Jean-Honoré Fragonard. The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1767)
But soon it was scenes from Ancient Roman history that became popular, as in the work of Jacques-Louis David.

Notice too the stylistic shift: from bright colours and loose brushwork to harsh lines and more severity.

Times were clearly changing — revolution followed. The Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David (1787)
It's no coincidence that Horatio Greenough's statue of George Washington, made in 1832, portrays America's first President as a Classical hero.

The Founding Fathers saw themselves as the inheritors of Greece and Rome.

Art, once again, expressing self-perception. Image
In the 19th century it was normal to make statues of politicians and generals — consider Nelson's Column in London, built in honour of Admiral Nelson.

This might either tell us politicians and generals were held in higher regard back then, or simply indicate who held most power. Image
In the 21st century? Statues of sporting stars are far more common than statues of politicians or generals.

Perhaps it indicates how much more democratic we have become, when the real heroes of the people — rather than those who simply hold power — are revered the most.
Image
Image
What did Soviet art depict? One of two things: either the political leaders, as in this colossal and now-demolished statue of Stalin.

Or the workers, as in the huge Worker and Kolkhoz Woman statue.

Art and artists in service of the state.
Image
Image
The portrayal of working people in art was nothing new — the difference came in *how* they were depicted.

Jean-François Millet's The Gleaners, an early example of Realism, portrays workers in a wholly unidealised way.

As opposed to Soviet art, in which workers were heroised.
Image
Image
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance there were endless paintings of Mary and Jesus.

That these were deeply religious societies is clear, but look at how much these paintings differ stylistically.

Art also tells us how a society sees and understands the world. Image
Medieval art was much less "realistic", but this changed during the Renaissance.

One style represents a more distant and symbolic understanding of the world, while the other suggests a proto-scientific one, in which the world exists to be investigated and understood.
Mary Magdalen announcing the Resurrection to the Apostles from the St Albans Psalter (1120–1145)
Christ at Prayer on the Mount of Olives by Noël Coypel (1705)
Much Western art of the 20th century, from Surrealism to Abstract Expressionism, seems to indicate an uncertainty about the world, about reality, and even about humankind.

Strange, incomprehensible, discomforting.

An accurate reflection of how many feel about modern life?
Image
Image
Of course, the most popular art forms of the 21st century are cinema and television, and most popular of all are superheroes.

Is it a form of honest escapism? Or do we want to believe that, like our superheroes, we are in some way special and different from everybody else? Image
And so art also expresses social anxieties.

19th century Romanticism was a reaction against the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution.

The Romantics preferred mystery, emotion, and nature to science, reason, and industry — they feared the effects of the latter. The Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich (1818)
Whether a renewed focus on the beauty of the natural world itself or a fascination with its cataclysmic power — which we, however clever we think ourselves, are helpless to resist — the message is clear.

Horror at the ongoing destruction of nature, literally and spiritually. The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum by John Martin (1822)
Actions speak louder than words, because actions result from choices, and choices are a consequence of priorities and intentions.

Art — making it and consuming it — is action. And so through art we can read into those choices, priorities, and intentions.
What a society believes in, how it sees itself, what it wants to be — art tells us all of this.

What a society feared, how it worked, who held power — art also tells us this.

And so, if we want to understand the 21st century, art might be the best way to do so...

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More from @culturaltutor

Aug 31
We spend more than 90% of our time inside, so why do we design so many of our interiors like this?

Grey carpets, white walls, harsh lighting.

It's generic, boring, and genuinely bad for our physical and psychological health... Image
Not all interiors look like this, but too many do, and more all the time.

Grey carpets, white walls, harsh lighting, neutral colours for details, everything plastic, shiny, and rectangular.

This has become the standard for new buildings (and refurbishments) around the world. Image
A common response is that some people like it, or at least don't mind it.

Maybe, but that's the problem.

The sum of all tastes is no taste at all, and if our aim is simply to make things that people "don't mind" then we end up with blandness. Image
Read 22 tweets
Aug 21
The world's most famous neoclassical buildings are kind of boring and generic when you actually look at them.

It's even hard to tell them apart: which one below is Versailles, or Buckingham Palace?

So here's why neoclassical architecture (although it's nice) is overrated: Image
Buckingham Palace, despite being one of the world's most famous and visited buildings, is essentially quite boring and uninspiring from the outside.

There's a certain stateliness to it, but (like most big neoclassical buildings) it's really just a box wrapped in pilasters. Image
The same is true of Versailles.

Again, it's evidently pretty (largely thanks to the colour of its stone) but there's something weirdly plain about it, almost standardised.

Plus the emphasis on its horizontal lines makes it feel very low-lying, undramatic, and flat. Image
Read 26 tweets
Aug 17
These aren't castles, palaces, or cathedrals.

They're all water towers, literally just bits of infrastructure relating to water management.

Is it worth the additional cost and resources to make things look like this... or is it a waste? Image
These old water towers are an architectural subgenre of their own.

There are hundreds, mostly Neo-Gothic, and all add something wonderful to the skylines of their cities.

Like the one below in Bydgoszcz, Poland, from 1900.

But, most importantly, they're just infrastructure. Image
We don't think of infrastructure as something that can improve how a town looks and feels.

Infrastructure is necessary to make life convenient; but also, we believe, definitionally boring.

These water towers prove that doesn't have to, and shouldn't be, the case. Image
Read 24 tweets
Aug 8
If one thing sums up the 21st century it's got to be all these default profile pictures.

You've seen them literally thousands of times, but they're completely generic and interchangeable.

Future historians will use them to symbolise our current era, and here's why... Image
To understand what any society truly believed, and how they felt about humankind, you need to look at what they created rather than what they said.

Just as actions instead of words reveal who a person really is, art always tells you what a society was actually like.
And this is particularly true of how they depicted human beings — how we portray ourselves.

That the Pharaohs were of supreme power, and were worshipped as gods far above ordinary people, is made obvious by the sheer size and abundance of the statues made in their name: Image
Read 23 tweets
Aug 6
This is St. Anne's Church in Vilnius, Lithuania.

It's over 500 years old and the perfect example of a strange architectural style known as "Brick Gothic".

But, more importantly, it's a lesson in how imagination can transform the way our world looks... Image
Vilnius has one of the world's best-preserved Medieval old towns.

It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, filled with winding streets and architectural gems from across the ages.

A testament to the wealth, grandeur, and sophistication of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Image
Among its many treasures is the Church of St Anne, built from 1495 to 1500 under the Duke of Lithuania and (later) King of Poland, Alexander I Jagiellon.

It's not particularly big — a single nave without aisles — but St Anne's makes up for size with its fantastical brickwork. Image
Read 18 tweets
Jul 31
Tell your friends! Your enemies! Your lovers!

The Spanish edition of my new book, El Tutor Cultural, is now available for pre-order.

It'll be released on 22 October — and you can get it at the link in my bio.

To celebrate, here are the 10 best things I've written about Spain: from why Barcelona looks the way it does to one of the world's most underrated modern architects, from the truth about Pablo Picasso to the origins of the Spanish football badge...Image
What makes Barcelona such a beautiful city? It wasn't an accident — this is the story of how the modern, beloved Barcelona was consciously created:

Image
And, speaking of Barcelona, here's why the renovation of the Camp Nou is — although necessary — a shame:

Image
Read 11 tweets

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