The Greek Canon of Proportion in Art

Summary

In this lecture, Peter Beal explores the Greek Canon of proportions, a foundational concept in Greek art and architecture. He highlights its philosophical ties to objective truth, especially through figures like Pythagoras and Plato, emphasizing the relationship between numbers, ratios, and beauty. Beal contrasts Greek and Egyptian approaches to representing the human body, noting how the Greeks sought idealism and symmetry in both sculpture and architecture. The lecture connects these ideas to broader themes in aesthetics, ethics, and the lasting influence of Greek thought on visual arts.

Takeaways

• 📏 The Greek Canon of proportions is a critical concept in understanding Greek art and architecture, emphasizing mathematical harmony and balance.
• 🧐 Greek philosophy during the classical period prioritized the inquiry and establishment of objective truth, influencing art and aesthetics.
• 🔢 Pythagoras viewed the world as structured by numbers and ratios, a concept that significantly impacted Greek art and architecture.
• 📚 Plato's philosophy of idealism, particularly as discussed in the Symposium, connects beauty with universal truths, influencing visual representations of the human form.
• 🎨 Greek sculptors and painters sought to represent ideal beauty by combining features from multiple bodies, reflecting a general aesthetic ideal.
• 🗿 The Greek preoccupation with the male nude figure developed from the 7th to the 5th centuries BCE, becoming more naturalistic and idealized over time.
• 🏛️ The Parthenon and other structures from the Acropolis reflect the Greeks' pursuit of symmetry and perfect proportions in architecture.
• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 In contrast to the Egyptian Canon, which used external grids to represent the human body, the Greek Canon, particularly the Polykleitan Canon, was self-referential, with parts of the body relating to each other harmoniously.
• 🎻 Music, like architecture and sculpture, was seen by the Greeks as governed by numbers and ratios, with harmony achieved through mathematical principles.
• 💪 Sculptors like Polykleitos aimed to create the perfect human form through the use of symmetry and proportion, exemplified by his famous 'Doryphoros' or spear bearer.

Q & A

What is the Greek Canon of proportions and why is it significant in Greek art and architecture?

The Greek Canon of proportions is a system of rules and ratios used in Greek art and architecture to achieve harmony and ideal beauty. It plays a critical role in understanding the underlying ideas of Greek aesthetics, influencing the development of visual arts for centuries.

How does Greek philosophy relate to Greek art, particularly in terms of proportion and beauty?

Greek philosophy, especially the pursuit of objective truth, deeply influenced Greek art. Philosophers like Pythagoras believed that the world’s true structure lies in numbers and ratios, which artists and architects applied to their work to express ideal beauty through proportional relationships.

What influence did Pythagoras have on the concept of proportion in Greek art?

Pythagoras introduced the idea that the underlying structure of reality is expressed through numbers and ratios. His mathematical approach influenced Greek artists, who sought to reflect these principles in their works, particularly in the proportions of the human body and architecture.

What role does Plato’s idealism play in the understanding of beauty in Greek art?

Plato's idealism, particularly his ideas about beauty from works like the 'Symposium,' influenced Greek art by emphasizing the progression from specific physical beauty to a universal concept of beauty. This philosophical perspective encouraged Greek artists to seek ideal forms in their representations.

What is the relationship between Egyptian and Greek systems of proportion, according to the script?

The Egyptian system used a grid-based approach to create human figures with a geometric, static regularity. In contrast, the Greek system, particularly the Polyclitean Canon, focused on internal symmetry, where parts of the body relate to each other in a harmonious way, reflecting a self-referential balance rather than external imposition.

How did the concept of symmetry play a role in Greek architecture and sculpture?

Symmetry in Greek art refers to the harmonious relationship between different parts of a structure or body. In architecture, this meant that each element of a building was proportionally related to others, creating balance. In sculpture, especially in representations of the human body, symmetry helped to achieve idealized, balanced forms.

What is Vitruvius' contribution to the understanding of Greek art and architecture?

Vitruvius, a Roman architect and author, documented the principles of Greek art and architecture, particularly symmetry and proportion, in his writings. His work became influential during the Renaissance, as it provided a comprehensive written source on Greek aesthetic ideals, such as those found in the human body and temple design.

Why is the male nude a central subject in Greek art, and how did it evolve over time?

The male nude was a focal point in Greek art because it represented the idealized human form, embodying principles of beauty, proportion, and harmony. Over time, Greek artists moved from more rigid, archaic representations to increasingly naturalistic depictions, especially in the way the body bore weight and expressed movement.

What is the significance of the Roman copy of Polykleitos’ 'Doryphoros' (Spear Bearer) in understanding the Greek Canon of proportions?

The Roman copy of Polykleitos' 'Doryphoros' helps us understand the Greek Canon of proportions because Polykleitos applied mathematical principles to create an idealized human figure. Although we cannot exactly reconstruct the original, the Roman copy provides insight into how Greek artists balanced parts of the body according to proportional rules.

How are the principles of proportion in Greek art and architecture related to musical harmony?

Greek theories of proportion are closely linked to musical harmony because both rely on mathematical relationships. In music, harmonious sounds are produced by specific ratios of string lengths or vibrations, while in art and architecture, similar ratios were applied to create aesthetically pleasing forms.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Greek Canon of Proportions and Objective Truth in Greek Philosophy

The paragraph introduces the Greek Canon of Proportions, explaining its importance in Greek art and architecture. It also emphasizes the shift in Greek philosophy towards the search for objective truth, with figures like Pythagoras and Plato playing crucial roles. Pythagoras' focus on numbers and ratios as the underlying structure of reality significantly influenced the visual arts, especially through Plato’s concept of idealism. The passage also references Raphael's famous painting 'The School of Athens' to illustrate the significance of these philosophers.

05:03

🏛️ Greek Art, Proportion, and Naturalism

This paragraph explores the connection between Greek art and the development of idealistic approaches to beauty, especially in sculpture and architecture. The influence of mathematics and proportions on the representation of the human body, particularly male nudes, is highlighted. Greek art gradually evolved towards more naturalistic depictions, especially in capturing human movement. This focus on aesthetic ideals is linked to architectural principles, notably seen in the works of Pericles and the buildings of the Acropolis. A comparison is made with ancient Egyptian art, which relied on grid systems for proportions.

10:04

🦴 Symmetry, Proportions, and the Vitruvian Canon

This paragraph delves into the idea of symmetry and proportions in both the human body and architecture, as articulated by Vitruvius, a key source of ancient Greek artistic principles. Symmetry is described as the relationship between parts and the whole, a concept applied to both the design of temples and the human form. Vitruvius' writings became widely influential during the Renaissance, as artists sought to harmonize human proportions with architectural design. The discussion also touches on the importance of numbers and ratios in achieving aesthetic harmony, both visually and musically.

Keywords

💡Greek Canon of Proportions

The Greek Canon of Proportions refers to a system of idealized ratios used by Greek artists and architects to achieve balance, symmetry, and harmony in their work. It is central to understanding the aesthetics of Greek art and its emphasis on objective beauty. In the video, this concept is discussed as a foundational principle influencing both art and architecture.

💡Objective Truth

Objective truth is a philosophical idea that suggests there are universal truths or facts that exist independent of human perception. In the video, it is mentioned in connection with Greek philosophy, particularly how the pursuit of truth, as seen in ethics, aesthetics, and epistemology, influenced Greek art and its focus on idealism and proportion.

💡Pythagoras

Pythagoras was a Greek philosopher who believed that the underlying structure of the world was based on numbers and ratios. This belief significantly influenced Greek aesthetics and architecture, where mathematical precision and proportion were considered essential to achieving beauty. In the video, Pythagoras is discussed in relation to his contributions to understanding proportions in art and the natural world.

💡Plato

Plato, a Greek philosopher, is noted in the video for his theory of idealism, which emphasizes the existence of perfect, abstract forms or ideas beyond the physical world. His philosophy extended to aesthetics, influencing how Greek artists sought to represent an idealized form of beauty, as discussed in relation to his work 'Symposium'.

💡Symmetry

Symmetry refers to the harmonious balance between different parts of an object or figure, where each part relates to the whole. In Greek art and architecture, symmetry was vital in creating a sense of proportion and beauty. The video mentions symmetry as an important concept in the Greek Canon, where the proportions of the human body and architectural structures follow this principle.

💡Vitruvius

Vitruvius was a Roman architect and author who wrote extensively on Greek art and architecture. His concept of symmetry and proportion in buildings influenced later interpretations of the Greek Canon. In the video, Vitruvius's writings are cited as critical in understanding the relationship between human proportions and architectural design, particularly in how the human body can be seen as a microcosm of larger structures.

💡Polykleitos

Polykleitos was a Greek sculptor who developed the 'Canon', a treatise that outlined ideal proportions for the human body in sculpture. His famous work, the 'Doryphoros' or 'Spear Bearer', is an example of his theory of ideal human proportions. The video discusses his contributions in shaping the aesthetic ideals of the Greek Canon of Proportions, focusing on balance and symmetry.

💡Idealism

Idealism in Greek philosophy and art refers to the pursuit of representing perfect or ideal forms. In the context of the video, idealism is linked to Plato's philosophy, where beauty is seen as an abstract, perfect concept that artists strive to depict. This concept greatly influenced Greek art, where the human form and architecture were designed to reflect an idealized, harmonious beauty.

💡Egyptian Canon

The Egyptian Canon refers to the system used by ancient Egyptians to depict the human body in art, based on a grid system that imposed strict geometric proportions. The video compares this to the Greek Canon, noting that while the Egyptian Canon was more rigid and geometric, the Greek Canon sought a more dynamic, naturalistic representation of the human body.

💡Harmony

Harmony refers to the pleasing arrangement of parts that work together to create a balanced and aesthetically satisfying whole. In the video, harmony is discussed as a key element of both Greek art and music, where proportions and ratios are used to achieve visual and auditory balance, respectively. It ties into the Greek belief in objective beauty, grounded in mathematical relationships.

Highlights

The Greek Canon of proportions is a critical principle in understanding the underlying ideas of Greek art and architecture.

By the fifth century BCE, Greek philosophy emphasizes the inquiry and establishment of objective truth, departing from divine or supernatural explanations.

Pythagoras believed that the true underlying structure of the world was based on numbers and ratios, influencing both philosophy and art.

Plato's idealism, particularly his views on beauty, influenced the development of Greek aesthetics, with a focus on moving from the particular to the general.

In Plato’s 'Symposium,' love is described as moving from the beauty of one body to the beauty of all bodies, mirroring the artistic approach of finding beauty in many forms.

Greek sculptors and painters sought beauty by selecting features from multiple bodies, reflecting an aesthetic ideal of proportion and ratio.

Proportion and ratio play an essential role in both architecture and the representation of the human body in Greek art, particularly in the male nude.

The evolution of Greek sculpture from the archaic period to the fifth century BCE shows a growing focus on naturalistic representations of weight-bearing and movement.

The development of perfect proportions and symmetry reaches its height in architecture, exemplified by the Acropolis buildings initiated by Pericles.

The Egyptian Canon used a grid system to create static, geometric forms in art, while the Greek Canon, particularly Polykleitos', focused on internal symmetry and proportion.

Symmetry in Greek art is defined as the harmonious relationship between the parts of the body or structure and the whole.

Vitruvius, writing in the first century BCE, emphasized symmetry in architecture, drawing parallels between the human body's proportions and architectural design.

Vitruvius' idea of symmetrical harmony between parts of the body influenced Renaissance art and architecture, notably seen in Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.

Vitruvius argued that failure to adhere to symmetrical proportions in temples would result in visible faults and displeasure from the gods.

Polykleitos' 'Doryphoros' (Spear Bearer) embodies the Greek ideal of proportion and symmetry in the human body, reflecting the broader philosophical pursuit of order.

Transcripts

hi everyone this is Peter Beal and in

this short lecture I want to talk uh

just briefly about the Greek Canon of

proportions is a critical principle in

understanding um the underlying ideas of

Greek art and architecture and it's a

concept that has a great deal of

influence uh going forward in the

history of the visual

arts the first thing that you have to

understand and we'll be summing this up

much too briefly but it's a good

founding principle is that by the time

we come into the sort of Heyday of

so-called classical uh Greek sculpture

and architecture in the fifth century

we're also seeing a uh priority in Greek

uh philosophy uh towards the inquiry and

establishment of objective truth um this

is something that

is uh a critical departure and marks uh

the significance of Greek

Philosophy for you know succeeding

Millennia basically um we see this in

the presocratic uh who were looking

for uh in essence non- Divine non-s

Supernatural explanations for natural

phenomena and we're certainly going to

see explorations of the same uh sort in

in a sense in the areas of uh

ethics uh epistemology and Aesthetics so

the study of beauty and of course that

feeds uh directly into the realm of the

visual arts the idea of objective truth

and understanding the true nature of

things is particularly

important in the work of

Pythagoras who is looking at the

world and seeing that the true

underlying structure of it is contained

in numbers and ratios the relationships

of numbers to one another another and

this is something uh that Plato in

particular is going to pick up on in his

um understanding uh of the nature of of

reality and certainly I think uh is at

least present um perhaps attempted by um

a number of important uh artists and

works of

art so here's a sort of reconstruction

of the appearance from left to right of

Pythagoras has immortalized in Raphael's

famous rendering of the theme of

philosophy commonly known as the School

of Athens in um the Vatican in the stad

Delia uh de

segur um and then in the middle a

rendition of

Socrates uh and on the right uh version

of Plato So this is uh just have a kind

of visual equivalent about of some of

the characters we're talking

about if we think about Plato in his

understanding of beauty the theme of

idealism is uh certainly Paramount and

if we look uh for instance at a

description of the process of love as

seen in um Plato Symposium it's it's

pretty clear that this sense of moving

from the particular to the general is

quite critical so in this discussion

from the Symposium where uh the woman

dioda describes the process of love we

can see as it says here this process

Beginning by following in love with the

beauties of the body and as it says

falling in love with one individual body

and uh then uh waking up to the thought

the understanding that the beauty of any

one body is closely related to the

beauty of any other and that if you're

going to be uh devoted to loveliness in

the general sense then you're going to

have to look at a lot of different

bodies and then as this passage notes

Here we must become the lovers of every

lovely body and um ultimately recognize

the relationship of the individual to

the whole and ultimately as the passage

concludes calling the individual one of

little or no

importance for the visual arts this has

a number of important equivalents there

are stories for instance of sculptors

and painters in

essence uh finding Beauty by selecting

um

particular um features from a number of

different uh beautiful bodies another

thing that's implied by this might be

that the um the individual that's

described In this passage might ask why

or how beauty is related to others and

that I think logically uh leads to to

the problem of uh proportion and ratio

that

um is is present for instance in

architecture present in the creation of

the human body um I think it's alluded

to by the likes of Pythagoras

particularly in his studies of Music if

we think about Greek art and aesthetic

Theory uh there's a little question when

we study the record of of Greek Visual

Arts that the human figure and

particularly the male nude is a pre

occupation uh of Greek art history um

this develops over time uh certainly

initially influence going back to the

Archaic Period so in essence the 7th

Century

bcee uh from that time forward to the

fifth century an increasingly idealistic

approach is uh seen and perhaps

concommittant with that a closer link

with principles of architecture and

again the aspects of mathematics

proportions ratio and looking for a Kind

of Perfect

visual uh expression of beauty is

present

there if we follow for instance this uh

trajectory from uh roughly the fifth

sorry going back to the 6th Century the

late 6th Century into the uh middle late

fifth century we can see how Greek arst

are concerned with an increasingly

naturalistic

representation of the human body

particularly in terms of weightbearing

and uh weightbearing functions and

movement and this is realized in uh

kuros figures as seen on the left grave

markers um uh and bronze uh sculptur as

we see on the right particularly prized

as bronze the ability of bronze to uh

represent Bodies in Motion and extending

into space as we go forward into the

fifth century that preoccupation with a

perfect aesthetic ideal uh something

that perhaps reaches its fruition

architecture and the buildings of the

Acropolis as uh started by

paricles um we can see uh the

development of this theory of symmetry

in perfect proportion it's worth uh just

going back briefly to think about the

um that source of inspiration and

knowledge for much of Greek culture

that's of course that of ancient Egypt

to see uh the Egyptian Cannon by means

of comparison to the um what I'll call

the greek Cannon and perhaps more

specifically the polycan Canon on the

left we have a grid diagram this is

derived from numerous examples of uh

Egyptian uh tomb painting and carving

where the surface to be decorated is in

essence laid out with a grid pattern

that indicates to an observer that it's

it's quite clear that the

um the Egyptian system was to create the

human body in terms of a series of

segments and the segments would be

understood through a grid

system uh in such a way that a human

body could be constructed according to

sort of lining up those segments and

this type of system is particularly

effective for the relatively static and

geometric forms Egyptian architecture in

essence to submit the irregularities and

complexities of the human bodies to an

external geometric regular Grid it's a a

great way to map out the body and

perhaps appropriate for the other

worldly effects of um of Egyptian art

the Greek Canon or the what we'll talk

about is the polycan Canon uh as

Illustrated somewhat anachronistically

here by um Leonardo da Vinci

um we also think of the vetruvian cannon

has to do with the quality that uh vrus

an important author from the first

century BCE to CE writes about uh known

as Symmetry and symmetry is an important

uh uh factor in understanding of the

Greek Canon because it in essence seeks

a map of the human body that is

self-referential

um and I think that this is an important

um an important point to keep uh clear

it's not an external standard that's

imposed from without the way that we see

in the um in the Egyptian example so

symmetry is the idea that the parts of

Any Given thing relate to each other and

that they relate to the uh relate to the

whole I guess is the best way uh the

best way of thinking of the way that

truus puts it is this is translated from

the Latin symmetry is a proper agreement

between the members of the work itself

and relation between different parts in

the whole General scheme in accordance

with a certain part selected as standard

thus in the human body there's a kind of

symmetrical Harmony between forearm foot

palm finger and other small parts and so

it is because petrius is writing about

architecture so it is with perfect

buildings here's a a just a an edition

of the truus he becomes very popular uh

in the Renaissance uh Latin and then

later vernacular editions of his book

start appearing in the 15th and 16th

century um and he's really the the

critical the only comprehensive written

source for the ideas of of the Greeks in

in art and

architecture so uh as I've just read

here right there's this kind of

symmetrical Harmony between forearm and

foot you can test this yourself and

compare the length of your forearm and

your foot and you'll see that uh by and

large across a broad sample of

population it's exactly exactly the

same now p truus is going to use this

knowledge to say that when you design a

temple that you have to depend upon this

symmetrical aspect um that you uh must

pay attention to Symmetry and proportion

there really can't be any principles any

fundamental law logic to designing a

temple and the problem with that is that

if you make a uh a temple that that

fails to subscribe to these um these

principles whereas it says your merits

and faults are are visible especially

false that the gods to whom the temple

is going to be dedicated are not going

to be happy with it and so that's why

when we think about numbers and

perfection in architecture that's the

the priority that the trus is is putting

forward and it's a good thing to think

about also in terms of Music which

depends upon numbers and ratios uh that

Harmony as is kind of almost literally

physically perceived through the ear

depends upon agreeable arrangement of

geometrical lengths such as with

strained instruments um and that if we

analyze for instance sound patterns in

the sort of basic physical vibrational

sense that the same principles apply

so if we look at something like uh the

very famous dorus or spear Bear by

polyus there a

Roman copy on the left in this scene we

can uh begin to

reconstruct uh thanks to the

truus uh the possibility again we don't

know this for sure what the system is we

know that such a system existed because

ancient authors point to this and of VRI

mentions poly as specifically um while

we can't NE necessarily reconstructed

exactly thanks to the variations that

Roman artists might have introduced in

their copies nevertheless we know that

there's a close correspondence between

the principles that the truus is

expressing such as we might see in the

Parthenon or any number of other ancient

Greek temples and poly cletus's own

attempt to create the perfect balanced

harmonious human and really typically

male uh

body so when we see uh whether it's in

sculpture on the right or Leonard is V

truvian man uh we see in both uh artists

an effort to understand and frame the

complexity of the human uh uh world as

it were within the body sometimes

described by classical authors and

theard himself as a microcosm to see it

in relation to a larger Cosmos of order

expressed through numbers