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During the Enlightenment, 18th-century individuals reverted to the ways of the Ancient Greeks, especially in the field of visual art. The period of art became known as Neo-Classicism, or returning back to the classics. The period of Neo-Classicism relies heavily on mimicking Greek art. During the time period, the concept of naturalism was a main concern. Artists especially made great efforts to model the ways in which the ancients portrayed bodies and emotions in their works of art.

            Johnann Joachim Winckelmann explores this new age of visual art in his, Reflections on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture. In the start of his text Winckelmann outright states that, “the only way to become great, or, if this be possible, inimitable, is to imitate the ancients”(Winckelmann, 5), especially the Greeks. Although Greek art ultimately should be mimicked there is still a controversy between the value of Greek and Roman art; however, there is a clear division between Greek and Northern European art. Also, the idea and concept of “Greek” is often difficult to grasp and proves to be problematic in the field of art. Winckelmann points directly to Raphael, Poussin, and Michelangelo as artists who were able to capture the qualities of the Greek artists in their works. Their works of art will serve as references to see how to properly imitate and create great art and perfection. Greek art was often considered a perfection of which is already there, hence why it was a Greek law that artists were “to create a resemblance and at the same time a more handsome one”(Winckelmann, 17).

            Unlike modern values, which focus on the soul being content and the comforts of the body, the Greeks focused on the physical. Therefore, Greeks were considered to be strict, disciplined, and of moral superiority. During ancient times the body was to be taken care of and to always be in perfect form. Every part of the body was supposed to represent the ideal. The...