Aristotle's Aesthetics
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Art imitates nature (reality) |
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Beauty is an objective quality of a thing, not a subjective response by the viewer |
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Art should strive for unity of form |
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Art's goal is to represent the inner significance of its subject, not just outer appearance |
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Art is cathartic, purifying antisocial emotions and destructive impulses |
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Art appeals to both intellect and emotions, giving the highest form of pleasure |
The Seven Wonders of the World
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| Poseidon |  | Greek statue, c 450 BCE
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| Relief |  | Athens, c. 800 BCE | | |
| Bust of a Young Boy |  | Athens, c. 500 BCE | | |
| Statue of Demosthenes |  | Orator and rhetorician, 228 BCE
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| Kouros |  | 650 BCE
Large-scale statues of nude young men or gods. Realistic, but simplified and idealized
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| Venus de Milo |  | 200 BCE, also known as Aphrodite, became the ideal for female beauty in Western aesthetics of the 19th century
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| Laocoön |  | 100 BCE,
Now in the Vatican, shows the Trojan who warned against accepting the Athenian horse into Troy: "Beware Greeks bearing gifts." He was eaten by serpents.
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| Carving from Greece |  | Information unknown | | |
| The Muiredach Cross |  | Early Celtic cross, Ireland, 900 CE
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| The Muiredach Cross (detail) |  | Early Celtic cross, Ireland, 900 CE
Crucifixion scene with pagan Phoenix beneath feet and personifications of Moon and Sun (Old and New Testaments?) between the spearmen
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