An ornament as a type of syncretic art has its roots in the most ancient times of human history. Then decorative forms carried a magical, protective, identifying, decorative function. And to this day, ornamental motifs surround people everywhere. Their use can be observed in the decoration of national costumes, interior design solutions and many other areas of human activity.
In national costumes, decorating techniques that recreate an ornament of geometric shapes are an indispensable attribute of the decoration of sleeves, hem, necklines of shirts and dresses.
In the formation of the interior ensemble, most designers also use similar forms of art, with the aim of focusing on any national line.
Classification of Ornaments
Each ethnic group has its own styles of ornaments, due to mental and geographical features. The masters themselves also often combine various elements and thus create new types of decoration. Therefore, it makes sense to consider a classification based on technical performance.
The types of ornament are represented by graphic, pictorial and sculptural. In form, it happens to be geometric or plant, sometimes it takes on fantastic forms.
The main classification features of ornamental art are its origin, purpose and content.
The types of ornament differ in construction and are called rosetta, border and rapport.
- Rosetta is a closed composition constructed using a plane or axis of symmetry. Its varieties are as follows. Mirror, axial (rotary version) and mirror-axial symmetry (mirror-rotary), on the basis of which the pattern in the circle is built.
- A border is a closed composition, ornament, the scheme of which has a rhythmic repetition of elements in two opposite directions. It forms a strip.
- A rapport, or static mesh ornament, is an unlimited composition in which straight lines (or planes of symmetry) intersect each other, forming a grid.
Sumero-Babylonian form of ornament
The developed Sumerian-Babylonian culture in the person of the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Akkadians from the 4th millennium AD conveys to the modern man unique forms of Mesopotamian art. It, due to religious and mental features, is characterized by uniformity and rationalism. Sacrifices, persecution of animals and other aspects of the everyday life of the Babylonians are clearly reflected in the decorative and applied fine arts.
Clearly separating the background and the image itself, the Mesopotamian ornament of geometric shapes has an extremely simple rhythm. The combination of triangles, simple circles, squares was the dominant decorative motif, contrasting with large central images. The absence of curved lines, the predominance of pyramidal forms make the ornament, the photo of which is given below, harmonious and balanced.
Ornament of ancient egypt
Ancient Egypt left a certain imprint in the art of Mesopotamia. Religious dogmas put the afterlife of the Egyptian above the earth. Therefore, the ornament of geometric figures that adorns the walls of tombs, sarcophagi and household items that were put in the grave has a magical function. He seems to be trying to fill the main space of the image.
The most favorite ancient Egyptian drawings that fit into the linear ornament were lotus buds and flowers. The Egyptians also used various colors, structured according to human psychology. A large number of light colors, dark stroke and black contrasting elements.
Aegean culture ornament
Aegean civilization included the peoples who inhabited the territory of Asia Minor, the Balkans, as well as the surrounding islands of the Cyclades and Crete. Due to the fact that the Aegean culture is a synthesis of the Minoan and Mycenaean, the absence of religious and artistic-canonical pressure contributed to the expansion of the area of ornaments on the entire inner surface of the walls of buildings. Without defined angles, friezes, belts, forming a rhythmic composition of infinitely unfolding and converging lines. Motifs of tape spirals flowing around the outlet, waves and flexible spiral curls, heart-shaped ribbon figures, plant leaves and animal figures inscribed in them - all these elements of the ornament represented an endless composition in the Cretan-Mycenaean interior. The ancient masters also had at their disposal numerous colored natural pigments with which they gave the pattern a lively dynamic look.
Very rare in ornamental compositions are motifs of a zigzag and a checker grid. Scientists consider them as ancient prototypes of the image of water.
Ornament of ancient greece
Ornamental art of Ancient Greece developed and prevailed in two directions. Namely vase painting and architecture. Through them you can trace all the stages of development of Greek fine art. Decor from the simplest wave-like motifs and concentric circles evolve into an ornament of geometric shapes: the pictures on the left show a new stage in the artistic interpretation of symbols.
There is a division of the composition of the ornament into belts: the upper "heavenly", central and marine as a reflection of the life of people on the sea. A linear meander appears here - a geometric zigzag, covering the body of the vessel with solid belts and perceived as a symbol of water.
New to ancient Greek art was the appearance of palmettes - a leaf-shaped form that fits into linear ornamental rows, crowning the capitals of columns framed by curls of currencies that were placed on memorial plates.
Thus, there was a unification of the internal interior forms of buildings, connecting common elements in the field of decorating architectural forms and wall painting.
Ornament of ancient rome
In ancient Rome there were two periods of development of art. The first, pre-republican, is associated with the predominant influence of the Etruscan culture. The second, actually Roman, is marked by the victory of Greek art, which modified the Roman stylistic and artistic methods of decoration.
The Etruscans were the bearers of a rich culture of forms. For decorating clothes, buildings, gravestones, they used naturalistic images of plants, animals, griffins and palmettes. Etruscan forms of decorating the fabric with crosses inscribed in circles in dots were imprinted in a Roman costume.
The Romans expanded the decorative color scheme, began to use the game of element sizes to achieve the illusion of an internal increase in the building. The Roman ornament, the photo of which is presented on the left, has naturalistic plant forms arranged vertically, symmetrical, rhythmic, perfectly combined with and complementing the main artistic composition of the painting. It uses objects of ordinary life: altars, torches, theater masks, musical instruments, plant fruits.
The architectural Roman style is triumphant and overloaded with details. The use of the Corinthian capital and its decoration with a huge number of currencies, palmettes and curls became the hallmark of the Roman building. The color scheme of such an ornament is bright and saturated, full of unusual combinations.
Arabic ornament
Before the adoption of Islam, the Arabs did not have their own culture. But, having conquered Palestine, Egypt, Syria and Persia, they as soon as possible created their own unique layer of art, closely associated with religion. The ban of the Koran on the image of living creatures brought the artistic imagination of the ancient masters to a new level. He generated a magnificent oriental pattern, known for its infinity and ornateness to a person who is far from Islam. Arab artists use both ornaments of geometric shapes and stylized images of plants interwoven with each other and creating a luxurious, breathtaking complexity coating. It is located on the external and internal architectural and interior parts of churches, covers carpets and clothes of people, is printed as illustrations in books and applied to household items.
Principles of constructing an ornamental composition
Ornamental composition can be both independent and complementary.
In the first case, each element is subordinate to its theoretical meaning and is located relative to the classical compositional structure or according to the canons of the ancient masters. For example, parts can be placed with or without a golden ratio; with the implementation of a realistic transfer of volumes and forms, or with the use of techniques to increase the main elements and reduce secondary and so on.
If an ornament is used only as a component complementing the picture, its appearance and meaning are by no means reduced to simplicity. However, in this case, the dimensions of the image itself are greatly reduced, and the compositional structure is characterized by some cyclical repeatability, designed not to distract the viewer from the center, but to complement its meaning with its own symbolism.
The use of ornamental motifs in decorating objects
The use of national ornamental motifs in decorating things and household items has always been widespread. Modern life is characterized by the use of such patterns in the process of creating an individual style of home. The ornament can decorate objects of a landscape gardening ensemble. Dressing clothes with national elements sets people in a friendly manner, stimulates the interest of others to the person of its owner and simply brings an individual zest to the image of a person.
Children's ornament
Children's ornaments related to folk art do not have any significant differences from the rest of the patterns. The exception here is ritual clothing designed to celebrate any age dates and life stages of a person.