Egyptian Art vs Greek Art: Difference and Comparison

Art opens an extraordinary sphere for us. In our busy life, art offers a gust of fresh air. We all enjoy art, but not all of us know the difference between various art forms.

Egyptian art and Greek art are both extraordinarily aesthetic and yet so diverse from each other. Their characteristics make them distinct and unique.

Key Takeaways

1. Egyptian art emphasizes stability and continuity, depicting subjects in a highly stylized and rigid manner, focusing on the afterlife and religious themes.
2. Greek art is more concerned with naturalism and the human form, pursuing ideals of beauty, balance, and proportion and emphasizing religious and secular themes.
3. The two art styles greatly influenced Western art, but Greek art had a more direct impact on the development of later European artistic movements.

Egyptian Art vs Greek Art

The difference between Egyptian art and Greek art is that Egyptian art had many restrictions to follow, but Greek art did not have this issue. Egyptian art embodied larger-than-life sculptures, but Greek art was very realistic, with humans and human emotions as topics. Egyptian art chose religion as the topic of its art.

Egyptian art carries different notions of religion. It was interested neither in humans nor in realism.

Egyptian art does not try to reflect reality through its artworks. They were limited and organized, and there was no place for experiments in style.

Mythology could never be a part of this art form. Greek art is known to be modern liberal art.

Its subject, context, as well as movements were very realistic and natural. Human figures were largely used in this form.

Greek art was extraordinary in exhibiting movement. Life, with all its glory and sorrow, acted as a primary theme in this art form.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Egyptian Art	Greek Art
Based on	Egyptian art was centered around religion.	Greek art was centered around the philosophy.
Mythology	Egyptian art was not inclined toward mythology.	Greek art was inclined towards mythology.
Emotion	Egyptian art did not showcase any emotion in its statues.	Greek art was very realistic, and it portrayed emotions in their statues.
Form of art	The Pharaohs regulated Egyptian art. Artists did not have much liberation while creating.	Greek art was very liberal and not subjected to any rules.
Human figure	In Egyptian art, humans and human figures were not primary subjects.	In Greek art, humans were a primary subject of the art form.
Statues	The statues in Egyptian art are very large with large figures.	The statues of Greek art are not larger than reality.

What is Egyptian Art?

Egyptian art was never independent in expressing itself. It was rather thriving under strict restrictions.

Egyptian art mainly got its inspiration from religion. The influence of religion could be seen in the royal hieroglyphs and incantations written on the Great Pyramids.

The Egyptians used to believe their kings to be divine beings. God sent kings to them, which is why they used to abide by the stylistic laws made by the Pharaohs.

This form of art never used humans and human attributes much. The statues are massive and capture no movement.

The statues have huge heads combined with plump faces. They are expressionless as well.

Realistic emotions never emerge from the statues. The use of stone in Egyptian architecture was very common.

Strong ornamental stones were used to adorn the structures of the art.

What is Greek Art?

Greek art was used to depict the creative revolution without any inhibition. Greek art was influenced largely by philosophy.

We can see this in their moral preaching rather than depicting religion. It drew a lot from mythology as well.

Greek art can be tagged as modern. Greek sculptures and statues show expressions.

They bear the touch of realism, unlike Egyptian art. This liberal form of art let the artists experiment with different styles and methods.

Greek sculptures and paintings also seem to grasp the movements of the action. Humans get a place in the realm of Greek art.

Greek statues represent human anatomy. The combination of muscles and expressions makes them very realistic.

They are not at all static. The flawless reflection of various human organs would definitely leave anyone in awe.

Main Differences Between Egyptian Art and Greek Art

1. Egyptian art was centered around religion. It was created mostly based on religion and its different aspects, whereas Greek art was pivoting the philosophy of life.
2. Egyptian art includes gigantic statues portraying larger-than-life figures, while Greek art statues are realistic yet striking.
3. Egyptian art did not uphold any expression and emotion in its statues. However, Greek art advocated realistic statues with vivid expressions as well as emotions. It is not unknown to the connoisseurs of this art form.
4. Egyptian art was not very liberated. Strict laws and regulations bound it. These restrictions were put on the artists by the Pharaohs. Artists were not allowed to be allowed to give expression to their artistic pursuits. On the other hand, Greek art was very liberating. It was not restricted by any rules. Artists were entitled to manifest their artistic pursuits.
5. Humans could never find a place in Egyptian art, whereas, in Greek art, humans have always been a primary topic in creating art.

References

1. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=JVl_fWPDERMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=difference+between+Egyptian+art+and+Greek+art&ots=Pa3bvdc4AW&sig=tLkritbiMDt-LwCZwik3VOqRQGw
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/030751337906500121

Last Updated : 13 July, 2023