The Art of Archaic Greece Author:E. Homann-Wedeking, J. R. Foster (translator) The Archaic Greek period, which lasted from about 1000 BC to the beginning of the fifth century, was, no less than the Classical period, a time of remarkable artistic activity. At the beginning of the Archaic era, vase painting in the geometric style had already reached its full flowering, and by the fifth century such artists as Execias and th... more »e Amasis painter had developed black-figure painting to its fullest extent, while the Attic vase painters were in command of the subtle red-figure technique.
Archaic sculpture, on the other hand, did not reach its fullest expression until relatively late, but the great kouri sculpted in the last centuries of this period reveal a technical mastery at least equal to the skill of such Classical sculptors as Pheidias and his contemporaries. The latter part of the Archaic era also saw the development of the austere Doric and more elegant Ionic orders of architecture; and massive temples such as that of Apollo at Delphi were constructed.
Professor Homann Wedeking's sympathetic and scholarly appraisal of the achievements of the Archaic period demonstrates the enduring quality of its art, and his text is illustrated with more than fifty color plates, an appendix of black-and-white photographs, and numerous line drwaings.« less