The period of Classical Antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BCE and the 5th century CE centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome known as the Greco-Roman world.
Use Polykleitos as an example.
Contrapposto. Looks like he is really walking.
Proportions. Understandings of the contours of the human body. The muscles and bones under the flesh. How the body moves in space and how it distributes and shifts weight in space.
Based on careful direct observation.
There is a focus on the mechanics and the beauty of the human body.
A culture that cared about science and human potential.
Medieval ages.
Jamb figures as an example.
Highly stylized.
Figures are elongated. They don’t resemble a body, but rather more closely resemble a column.
The drapery does not reveal the form of the body.
There is a high focus on pattern.
Figures lack a sense of weight. Their feet stand slightly down.
Figures are above us, they are otherworldly. They are not looking at us, they are not noticing things around them. They are symbols of the human body. Transcendent.