Basic Art HistoryPart 1: Prehistory- Roman Art

Prehistoric Art

•Upper-Paleolithic (40,000-10,000 B.C.E)

•representational imagery made by pre-literate humans, nomadic hunter/gatherers

•cave paintings, animal carvings, venus figurines

Venus Figures• oldest known representational image is the Venus at Hohle-

Fels in Germany

• Made from Mammoth ivory

• dates c. 35,000 B.C.E.

• all female

• large breasts, hips and genitals

• possibly fertility figures

Venus of Willendorf• most famous Venus figurine

• also known as Woman of Willendorf

• found in 1908

• only 11cm in size, seems to be meant to be held, it can’t stand

• dated between 28,000-25,000 BCE

Cave Paintings

•caves mostly in France and Spain

•first one found in 1879 in Altamira Spain

•changed how we view prehistoric man

•other caves: Lascaux and Chauvet

Chauvet Cave• Oldest known cave paintings , approx. 30,000 BCE

• in Chauvet, France. Cave is 1,000 feet in length

• depict rhinoceroses, horses, mammoths, oxen, deer

• fairly realistic and sophisticated

• makers used charcoal, ochre, and hematite

• drew by fire, torches

Neolithic Art• 11,500-5,000 BCE

• due to better climate, humans start to settle in more stable, small agrarian communities

• pottery, jewelry, megaliths

• art more symbolic, less realism than in prehistoric art, leads to language (pictograms)

The Thinker and Sitting Woman of

Cernadova• found in Romania, dates approx 5,000 BCE

• terracotta clay

• oldest known sculpture depicting introspection rather than hunting or fertility

Stonehenge• c. 3,000 BCE, in Salisbury Plain, England

• approx 320 feet in circumference, largest stones weigh about 50 tons

• smaller sones (6 tons) quarried as far away as 450 miles

• had to be designed, planned, use huge labor force for many years, unquestioned authority

• calendar, astronomical observatory, used for rituals, symbol of Druid pagans

Mesopotamian Art• Mesopotamia- between Tigris and

Euphrates rivers

• Near East region known as “fertile crescent”, largely in modern Iraq

• The “Cradle of Civilization” because first place where complex urban centers grew

• Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian

• lots of war and chaos, Hammurabi’s Code

Mesopotamian Art

Ziggurats• tiered pyramid with steps that led to temple at the top

• used for rituals, sacrifices, food storage

• Ziggurat at Ur built c. 2100 BCE

Mesopotamian artreflected military rule and

conquests

Akkadian Ruler

Lamassu

winged bull or lion with head of man

Assyrian protective deity

installed at openings ofcity gates and palaces

Egyptian Art• Huge impact on West, building blocks for

Greek and Roman cultures

• Lasted 3000 years, Very long and stable civilization (as opposed to the highly volatile Mesopotamian region)

• order and continuity

• death and afterlife were common themes

• pyramids, statuary, hieroglyphic reliefs

Egyptian Art• Purpose is religious and to impose order

• Pharaoh is god-king

• human forms shown in stylized way to make form as easily read as possible (legs in profile, torso facing front head profile, eye facing front), stays consistent for thousands of years

The Great Pyramids of Giza

• Last remaining 7 wonders of world

• Royal tombs for Pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure

• Height unsurpassed for thousands of years

• inside is network of chambers and shafts to house mummies, food and items needed for afterlife

• estimated about 2,000 conscripted peasants and stone workers, divided into groups of 20,moved about 330 blocks of stone per day

• no longer existing it the smooth limestone covering that made the structure shine

revolution of Akhenaten

• strangely different period of Egyptian rule from c 1350-1365 BC

• Akhenaten changed to monotheistic religion, made art more naturalistic and less rigid

• Bust of Queen Nefertiti, elegance

Ancient Greek Art• Divided into 3 eras : Archaic, Classical,

and Hellenistic

• characterized by rationalism, humanism, idealism, and naturalism

• most major influence on western culture by ancient culture, philosophy, science, art, medicine, law, politics, etc

• freestanding sculptures, painted pottery, and architecture

Archaic (Kouros) • young nude male

• influenced by Egyptian figuration in rigid style

• freestanding

• an idealized male individual rather than king or god

Classical Greek• begins with Greek victory over Persians

in 480 BC

• set standard of Western art for centuries (Renaissance to the modern era)

• highly naturalistic human forms based on keen observation, idealized bodies

• begin to see artist names attached to works like Polykleitos

Doryphorus (Spear-bearer)• by Polykleitos

• known by Roman copy in marble of original bronze

• based on Polykleitos’ Canon- set the standard, idealized proportions of human form

• contrapposto - Italian for counterposed, depicting a stance with most weight on one foot, shows dynamic twist of body and angled hips and shoulders

The Parthenon• Temple in Athens to goddess Athena, completed 438 BC

• replaced earlier temple destroyed by Persians, so its purpose is to show gratitude to gods for victory and show Athenian supremacy

• enduring symbol of ancient Greece, highpoint of culture

• proportions based on Golden Ratio

Hellenistic Greek Art

• refers to period after Alexander the Great and the spread of Greek ideals

• retains high level of naturalism but now more theatrical and emotional (later to be viewed as “Romantic”)

• two best known Hellenistic art works are the Laocoon, and the Venus de Milo

Ancient Roman Art• great expansive empire from Western

Europe to Near East to Northern Africa

• influenced by all the conquered cultures, especially Greek

• revered the Greeks and made numerous copies of ancient Greek statues

Roman Painting and Sculpture

• began as burial (mummy) portraits or death masks

• Meant to be true-likenesses, therefore not idealized (warts and all shown)

• paintings in tempera or encaustic on wood panel (very few still exist)