The revival of the Greco-Roman classicism was primarily due to the establishment of Greek Studies in Italian universities. Scholars have obtained various scrolls from the Greek and Roman tombs and former places gained an immediate access to a wealth of knowledge that detailed the importance of strictly adhering to the notions of Humanism. Humanism was one of the legacy given by the Greeks to the world; it was a branch of philosophy yet at the same time an artistic trend that centered on the importance of humans in the world. In other words, the main core of the Humanism was the absolute portrayal of the human physiognomy as accurate to the real world.
One of the finest sculptors who followed this style was Donatello, an Italian who studied Greco-Roman artworks in order to depict human figures that adheres to proportion, scale, and anatomy. His sculpture titled, St. Mark created from 1411 to 1413 depicts the saint as a human, successfully combined the Greco-Roman styles in order to create an elaborate sculpture that is natural, human, and most of all with accurate proportions. Like the Greco-Roman sculptures, the artist used marble as his medium to faithfully copy and produces a sculpture resembling those from the Classical times. Lines were carved deeper sharper onto the surface of the marble thereby creating strong chiaroscuro which heightens the dramatic effect especially when exposed to light. The hairstyle and the beard were most Greek resembling the beard and hairstyle from the Roman copy of the Laocoon. Furthermore, the artist successfully managed to depict the statue of St. Mark akin to the human figure; the bulk of the sculpture corresponds to the space around it, filling the void with its bulky figure. In addition, the statue utilizes the contrapposto, a pose attributed first to the Greeks then later on improved by the Romans. The statue with its slightly bent right leg rests its whole weight to the left leg, thus, giving the body a slight S-shaped posture. Yet despite this, one Roman trait it retained was the presence of the base to support the statue while standing. This balances the figure while on display. As a conclusion, the Romans borrowed styles from the Greeks and the descendants of the Romans from the Renaissance period borrowed their style which contributed to the spread of Humanist idealism throughout Europe.
WORKS CITED
Getlein, Mark. Living with Art. 10th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. E-book.
