Classical Greece refers to the time in the history of the Greeks when they were advanced in terms of culture and other aspects of their social, political, and economic affairs.
During the classical period, Greece had many scientists, philosophers, and artists who influenced the life of the Greeks in terms of culture, politics, and economic wellbeing.
During this time art and architecture were highly developed and realistic because of new ideas or approaches towards design and purpose behind arts and architecture.
The forces behind this success and advancement were political, social, economic, and intellectual.
For our case, we shall focus on the intellectual factors that led to the development of arts and architecture in this period.
Advancement in painting as a form of art was due to the contribution of a number of Greek scholars.
Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti through their writings led to the development of the perception of creating a painting to be a window into space.
The formalization of this technique was a wider scheme towards making Greek art more realistic through painting. Other techniques were also developed by painters, for instance, studying shadow and light. This was accomplished by the likes of Leonardo da Vinci who was concerned with human anatomy.
All these efforts came up as the desire of the artists moved towards bringing out the beauty of nature in their works.
The introduction of oil painting and the use of canvas in Italy also led to the development of art in classical Greece.
The dynamic period in a change of science also occasioned development in art and architecture. This is because art and science were very much intermingled.
Philosophy also led to the development of art and architecture.
As Greek philosophers came up with new ideologies and schools of thought there was a need for such philosophies to be depicted in works of art so as to enhance popularity in classical Greece.
An ideology such as humanism led to the belief in the rationality of the human being and thus the need to create more realistic arts and architecture.
The geometric period was very significant in the development of Greek sculptures.
Sculptures such as vases and statues were highly decorated stylized due to the knowledge of geometry. Geometry was introduced by Greek mathematicians who therefore contributed a great deal to the world of science and art.
An increasing trend towards subtle and complexity in the utilization of drapery was also a significant drive towards the development of classical styles of art.
Therefore, we can say that development of art and architecture in classical Greece was mainly driven by the intellect of the Greeks in the field of science and philosophy. This is because they are the ones who came up with ideas and concepts which were later implemented in the form of paintings and sculptures by artists. Most of the artists got their inspiration and influence from Greek intellectuals and philosophers like Aristotle and Plato.
