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Jul 19 25 tweets 10 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
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.
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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.
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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.
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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

Jul 19
One piece of architecture from every U.S. state, in alphabetical order:

1/26 Image
Alabama: Rosenbaum House, Florence

Alaska: Dr Seuss House, Talkeetna
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Arizona: Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona

Arkansas: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville
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Read 26 tweets
Jul 17
This sort of architecture is overrated... Image
The first impression anybody has when they see St Peter's Basilica in Rome, in real life or in a photograph, is one of awe.

Because this is an impressive building, to say the least. In fact, it is the world's largest church by interior volume. Image
The same is true of the inside: a cornucopia of art and architecture, of gold and bronze and marble and mosaic and sculpture.

And, once again, it has proportions that are beyond gargantuan. Image
Read 24 tweets
Jul 16
Some delights of Art Deco design, from clocks to cars and lamps to lobbies: Image
"Manhattan" Cocktail Set designed by Norman Bel Geddes (1940) Image
450 Sutter Street, San Francisco, designed by Timothy L. Pflueger (1929)

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Jul 14
From football's most iconic stadium to one that looks like every other stadium in the world.

The renovation of Barcelona's Camp Nou is a tragedy... Image
There's an old story about the King of Persia, who once gathered the wisest poets and philosophers in the land and asked them to come up with a sentence that would always be true, in every situation, at all times.

They gave him their answer:

"This too shall pass."
As Abraham Lincoln said of this famous phrase, it consoles us in the bad times and keeps us humble in the good times.

But just because all things must pass, that doesn't mean we have no control over when, where, and how that happens.
Read 20 tweets
Jul 13
The oldest shopping mall in the US versus the biggest shopping mall in the US.

What happened to American architecture?
Shopping (or trading) is one of humanity's oldest activities.

Think of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, where it has been going on for centuries.

Our modern shopping malls are simply the logical conclusion, supersized and optimised, of this ancient practice.

The direct ancestor of the modern mall is the arcade of the 19th century; a covered street of separate, enclosed shops.

London's Burlington Arcade was the first, and it set a trend which culminated in ever grander arcades like the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan.

Read 20 tweets
Jul 13
Want to know what the apocalypse will be like?

Look no further than the terrifying art of John Martin, a long forgotten 19th century painter you've probably never heard of...





John Martin was born in northern England in 1789, and started drawing at a young age.

His dream was to be an engineer or architect, but it was painting he studied as a teenager and to painting that he turned for a career.

He made a living by teaching people how to draw.
Martin's early work was heavily influenced by the dominant art form of the day.

He painted landscapes, because it was for landscapes that English artists were most highly regarded.

Picturesque, evocative, but far from apocalyptic.
Read 19 tweets

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