art history
academic discipline dedicated to reconstruction of context in which artwork was created
goal of art history
arrive at understanding of art and its meaning in its historical moment
art history is closely related to
anthropology, history, sociology
aesthetics
philosophical inquiry into nature and expression of beauty
art criticism
explanation of current events to the general public via the press
art
any kind of visual material created by people with special meaning or aesthetic appeal
broad meaning, including crafts
fine art
produced specifically for appreciation by an audience who also understood these objects as works of art
the meaning of a work of art is
open to multiple interpretations depending on who approaches it
formal analysis
focuses on visual qualities of the work of art
basic assumption of formal analysis
artist makes decisions related to visual aspects of the artwork that can reveal to us its meaning
contextual analysis
looking outside of work of art to determine its meaning
comparative study
comparing artworks of different time periods, emphasizing chronological development
examinations of art
preferably direct, but most of the time this is impossible
what do art historians use for contextual analysis?
written documents, interviews with artists and consumers, archival sources
Pliny the Elder
ancient Roman historian who sought to analyze historical and contemporary art in Natural History
Giorgio Vasari
during the Renaissance he gathered biographies of great Italian artists in The Lives of the Artists
The Lives of the Artists
provides insights into changing roles of artists in society during this period and concept of artistic genius
Which time period strongly influenced modern art history?
18th century Enlightenment
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
emphasized study of stylistic development related to historical context
traditional art history has largely focused on
white men
what we know of the earliest life on earth is revealed through
study of objects or artifacts that have been preserved
Why does art history place a greater emphasis on Western cultures?
their art has been preserved and discovered
What are the oldest works of art and where are they found?
cave paintings in Chauvet Cave in southeastern France
When were the oldest works of art discovered?
1994
When are the oldest works of art dated?
30,000 BCE Old Stone Age
What were the oldest paintings created with?
red ochre, black charcoal
What did the oldest paintings depict?
animals
Which cave paintings are most famous?
those in Lascaux and Altamira
What do later cave paintings depict?
large colored drawings of animals and human hands
What were later cave paintings created with?
red and yellow ochre, charcoal
What was the purpose of later cave paintings?
possible - hunting ceremonies or ritual behaviors
What other group of artworks from the Old Stone Age is well known?
small stone female figures with exaggerated features, thought to be fertility figures
Venus of Willendorf
a 4 and 1/8 inch high statue with missing features
How and why did art change in the Middle Stone Age/ Mesolithic Period?
the climate warmed and cave dwellers used rock shelters instead of caves
When are rock shelter paintings dated?
7000 - 4000 BCE
What do rock shelter paintings depict?
human figures dominating animal figures
What are the art forms most linked with the New Stone Age and where are they located?
rings of rough-hewn stones in Western Europe
The New Stone Age art forms are dated from
4000 BCE
Why do historians call the culture of the New Stone Age megalitihic?
the stones were huge - megalith meaning great stones
location of Stonehenge
Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England
Stonehenge was built around
2100 BCE
features of Stonehenge
concentric rings made with sarsen stones and smaller bluestones
heel-stone
vertically placed stone in Stonehenge that marks the point at which the sun rises on the midsummer solstice
Where does art thrive?
highly organized cultures with stable population centers that have patrons
inaccessible locations
Why does Mesopotamia have few examples of art?
perishable materials, valley lacking natural protection from invasion
What were the Sumerians known for creating?
sculptures, buildings, temples
ziggurats
stepped pyramids
Sargon of Akkad
assimilated Sumerian culture
What was art like during the Akkadian dynasty?
emphasis on monarchy due to loyalty to city-state and king
Guti
barbarous mountaineers who took control of Mesopotamia after Akkadians
King of Ur
Neo-Sumerian ruler who was known for building ziggurats
Hammurabi
king of city-state of Babylonia
Code of Hammurabi
code of Babylonian law, the oldest known legal code
Where is the artwork of Code of Hammurabi preserved?
Louvre Museum
What is the artwork of Code of Hammurabi?
stone stele with the code showing a relief sculpture of Hammurabi receiving inspiration from the sun-god Shamash
Where were the Assyrians located?
northern Mesopotamia
notable Assyrian artworks
relief carvings
What was the Neo-Babylonian period known for?
hanging gardens, Ishtar Gate
Ishtar Gate
gateway to great ziggurat of the temple of Bel
animal figures superimposed on surface
notable Persian artwork
architectural achievements, palace at Persepolis
Ancient Egyptian civilization is dated from
3150 BCE
hierarchical scale
used in Egyptian art, uses status of figures or objects to determine relative sizes in an art work
hierarchical scale is exemplified in
Palette of King Narmer, a relic from the Old Kingdom
in the Palette of King Narmer, Narmer is holding
the hair of a fallen enemy
fractional representaiton
figures presented so that each body part is shown clearly as possible, common in Egyptian art
Tutankhamun's burial mask
made of gold with blue glass and semiprecious stones
Cycladic art
simplified geometric nude female figures
decorated pieces of pottery
Minoan art
centered around Knossos on Crete
depicts sea life and female snake goddess
naturalistic pictorial style: frescoes and pottery designs
four major palaces in light flexible organic style
Mycenaean art
elaborate tombs and burial practices
goldsmithing
during the Archaic Period the greeks created
dynamic sculptures carved in marble and limestone in frontal pose
temples during the Archaic period used columns in
Doric and Ionic styles
Corinthian style vases
set figures against a flowered background
Athenian style
black figures but were linear and larger
red-figure
red figures standing agaisnt a black background
best-known ancient Greek Art is from
Athens during the Classical Period
temples during the Early Classical period were built with
sturdy Doric columns
sculpture of Early Classical Periods was characterized by
solemnity, strength, simplicity of form and focused on figure in the moment of an important action
contrapposto
standing figure is posed with weight shifted onto one leg for a more natural appearance
evolved from Greeks
Middle Classical Period art
advances in architecture - Parthenon
Late Classical Period art
architecture declined b/c of Peloponnesian war
Corinthian columns became more popular
Etruscan art is seen as
transition from ideals of Greece to Romans
Etruscan civilization arose in
Italy in the first millenium BCE
Etruscans are known for
tomb decoration and bronze work
early Roman art was influenced by
Etruscan art, and laer Greek
Roman advancements in architecture and engineering
concrete, arch, paved road system, Colosseum, Pantheon
Roman sculptures
relief sculptures, portraits, funerary and public statues
idealistic style
notable Byzantium art
mosaic work, largely Christian
Byzantium mosaics can best be studied in
Ravenna and the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople
illuminated manuscripts and examples
preservation of books by monasteries
Book of Kells, Coronation Gospels
international language in the medieval period was
Latin
notable art of nomadic Germanic peoples
metalwork
notable Viking art
woodwork and ships
Hiberno-Saxon
merged artistic styles of the Vikings and England and Ireland
notable late medieval art
architecture of churches using Roman arch
Where is the Saint-Sernin located?
Toulouse, France
Romanesque churches were made of
stone and vaults
barrel vault
tunnel of arches
vault
arch shaped structure to support a roof
Gothic style developed in the
12th century
characteristics of Gothic style
pointed arches
ribbed vaults
ribbed vaults
framework of thin stone ribs built under intersection of vaulted sections of the ceiling
flying buttresses
additional bracing material on the exterior of the building
flying buttresses allowed for
larger windows and higher ceilings
example of Gothic cathedral
Chartres Cathedral in France