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Ndop (portrait figure) of King Mishe mIShyaang maMbul

- 1760 CE - Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa FORM - Wood and camwood powder - Ndop sculpture have rounded contours creating forms that define the head, shoulders and stomach, and also feature a defined collarbone. - While the relative naturalism may appear to have been informed by an artist's one-to-one observation of the nyim, they are not actually created from direct observation. Instead, cultural conventions and visual precedents guide the artists in making the sculpture. - The expression on the face, the position of the body, and the regalia were meant to faithfully represent the ideal of a king—but not an individual King. - All figures are sculpted using a one-to-three proportion—the head of the statue was sculpted to be one third the size of the total statue. Kuba artists emphasized the head because it was considered to be the seat of intelligence, a valued ideal. - The arms of each ndop extend vertically at either side of the torso, with the left hand grasping the handle of a ceremonial knife (ikul) and the right hand resting on the knee. Artists decorated the surface of the sculpture by carving representations of what was conventionally worn; the finely chiseled details correspond to objects that represent the prerogative and prestige of the nyim. FUNCTION - The ndop sculptural record helps freeze a moment in time that would otherwise be transformed during its transmission from generation to generation. - they each were created about, and for, individuals. Since information and history was transferred orally in Africa, sculptural traditions like the ndop can help us gain insight into information about historical individuals and their cultural ideals. CONTENT - The ndop (literally meaning "statue") are a genre of figurative wood sculpture that portrays important Kuba leaders throughout the eighteenth to twentieth centuries. - Art historians believe that there are seven ndop statues of historical significance in Western museums. These seven are significant because the lives of the nyim they portray were celebrated in oral histories that were recorded and written down by early European visitors, so we know the most about them. - How are we able to identify each ndop, if they are not of a specific individual? There are specific attributes that link each ndop to named individuals. - All ndop sculpture would feature a geometric motif and an emblem (ibol), chosen by the nyim when he was installed as a leader and commissioned his ndop. The geometric motif pattern and the ibol served as identifying symbols of his reign and was sculpted in prominent relief on the front of each base. - The ibol is a signifier that gives the ndop its particular identity, making it clear who the sculpture portrays and what reign it represents. - A drum with a severed hand is the ibol for Mishe miShyaang maMbul's reign, and that helps us identify the sculpture as his likeness. It's holding kind of a drum and there's a hand on it, and it's his emblem CONTEXT - During the first half of the eighteenth century, the Kuba King Mishe miShyaang maMbul was celebrated throughout his kingdom for his generosity and for the great number of his loyal subjects. - At the height of his reign in 1710, he commissioned an idealized portrait-statue called an ndop, which recorded his reign for posterity - Mishe miShyaang maMbul and others commemorated in the arts of Africa are unknown to us because history in Sub-Saharan Africa was passed orally. As these spoken histories were passed down, they were changed and adapted to reflect their times. - The Kuba live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the southern fringes of the equatorial forest in an area bounded by two rivers called the Kasai and Sankuru. -Over a period of three centuries of movement and exchange beginning in the 17th century, this loose confederacy of people formed into a durable kingdom. -Since that time, the name "Kuba" largely refers to nineteen unique but related ethnic groups, all of which acknowledge the leadership of the same leader (nyim). -Historically, Kuba artists were professional woodcarvers, blacksmiths, and weavers who worked exclusively for the nyim. Kuba artists learned their art by becoming apprentices to others who were well-known and accomplished in their community.

Great Mosque (Majid-e Jameh) (isfahan)

- Isfahan iran - 700 CE FORM - The qibla iwan (a vaulted space that opens on one side to a courtyard.) on the southern side of the courtyard -It is the only one flanked by two cylindrical minarets and also serves as the entrance to one of two large, domed chambers within the mosque. - Similar to its three counterparts, this iwan sports colorful tile decoration and muqarnas or traditional Islamic cusped niches. - The domed interior was reserved for the use of the ruler and gives access to the main mihrab of the mosque. - The second domed room lies on a longitudinal axis right across the double-arcaded courtyard. This opposite placement and varied decoration underscores the political enmity between the respective patrons; each dome vies for primacy through its position and architectural articulation. -Nizam al-Mulk, vizier to Malik Shah I, commissioned the qibla dome in 1086. -But a year later, he fell out of favor with the ruler and Taj al-Mulk, his nemesis, with support from female members of the court, quickly replaced him. The new vizier's dome (below), built in 1088, is smaller but considered a masterpiece of proportions. FUNCTION - Positioned at the center of the old city, the mosque shares walls with other buildings abutting its perimeter. - it formed a pedestrian hub, connecting the arterial network of paths crisscrossing the city. -Far from being an insular sacred monument, the mosque facilitated public mobility and commercial activity thus transcending its principal function as a place for prayer alone. - Dome soffits (undersides) are crafted in varied geometric designs and often include an oculus, a circular opening to the sky. - Vaults, sometimes ribbed, offer lighting and ventilation to an otherwise dark space. -Creative arrangement of bricks, intricate motifs in stucco, and there is sumptuous tile-work (later additions) CONTENT - Linking the four iwans at the center is a large courtyard open to the air, which provides a tranquil space from the hustle and bustle of the city. -Brick piers and columns support the roofing system and allow prayer halls to extend away from this central courtyard on each side. CONTEXT - The mosque's core structure dates primarily from the 11th century when the Seljuk Turks established Isfahan as their capital. Additions and alterations were made during Il-Khanid, Timurid, Safavid, and Qajar rule. -An earlier mosque with a single inner courtyard already existed on the current location. -Under the reign of Malik Shah I (ruled 1072-1092) and his immediate successors, the mosque grew to its current four-iwan design. - Indeed, the Great Mosque of Isfahan is considered the prototype for future four-iwan mosques (an iwan is a vaulted space that opens on one side to a courtyard).

Apollo 11 Stones

- Namibia - 25,500 BCE - paleo FORM - small and portable FUNCTION - maybe for religion CONTENT -Depiction of some animal thought to be called a Therianthrope. The animal resembles a feline body and human hind legs. Thought it could be some supernatural being. CONTEXT - It was found along with seven other tablets that contained animal figures on them. Found during the Apollo 11 moon landings and given this name

Stadia II, Julie Mehretu

-2004 CE -US FORM - ink and acrylic on canvas - Mehretu's working process begins with the projection of maps and diagrams onto the work's blank surface. - From these, the artist makes traces and hash marks that eventually grow into characters and communities. The first layer is coated with an acrylic-and-silica mixture that seals the drawing under a transparent ground. After drying, this ground is itself overlaid with more figures and photographs that are again assimilated into the composition. - Because Mehretu builds her piece from multiple layers of figure and ground alike, the colors, shapes, and planar forms in Stadia II seem to be suspended between surfaces, and are often caught in a swirling motion around the axis of her compositions. The dynamism of the work makes reference to traffic patterns, wind and water currents, migrations, border crossings and travel. FUNCTION - The compositions convey the energy and chaos of today's globalized world. Stadia II is part of a triptych of works created in 2004, and explores themes such as nationalism and revolution as they occur in the worlds of art, sports, and contemporary politics. - The artist describes her final product as containing a "stratified, tectonic geology (...) with the characters themselves buried—as if they were fossils."* This distinct sense of temporality serves as a metaphor for history, memory, and the legacies of past cultural epochs that still influence contemporary life. CONTENT - Could be a sports arena, an amphitheater or opera house, a political chamber broadly invoking our experiences as individuals and collective bodies in such spaces. The built environment, for Mehretu, provides a setting in which people can gather, protest, pray, and riot in mass numbers. - In her monumental paintings, murals, and works on paper, Julie Mehretu overlays architectural plans, diagrams, and maps of the urban environment with abstract forms and personal notations. - Gaze back into the painting and observe the various shards of color floating over the work's architectural skeleton. The scene, however abstract, could easily represent our visualization of the sports arena. - Small circles, dots, and hash marks float through the open space at the center of the composition, resembling the eruption of confetti that announces a winning team's victory (or, alternately, that of a lucky political candidate on Election Day). the larger circles, triangles, blocks and parallelograms that float across the upper register. Far from arbitrary, these basic pictorial elements could comprise the designs of nearly any country's national flag. - The cluster of red and blue stripes, for instance, located along the top-right edge of the canvas, resemble the American flag, without necessarily resolving into a perfect match. We may also find corporate logos and religious symbols interspersed throughout; Mehretu is intentional in drawing analogies between these forms and the propagandistic ways in which they are often used. - the painterly grey marks that seem to rise from the lower and central registers like plumes of smoke. Stadiums and capital buildings can represent triumph, pride and celebration, but they are also common targets for bombings and acts of terror, which are often motivated by a comparable degree of zealousness and ideological fervor. - While nationalism, sports and global politics are key points of entry into the work, Mehretu also considers art historical precedents for these themes. - Take a look at the orange diamonds at the side edges, the black quadrilaterals interspersed above, or the dynamic red "X" found at the top edge. These lines and shapes are unmistakable references to the Russian constructivist and Bauhaus movements of the early twentieth century, and to artists such as Alexandr Rodchenko, Kasmir Malevich, El Lissitzky, and Wassily Kandinsky. These artists conceived of pure abstraction as a way to wipe clean the slate of history and to promote universalism and collectivity in art, politics and culture. CONTEXT AND FUNCTION - Mehretu has long explored the use of abstraction in service of revolution and utopian politics throughout the history of Modernist art, "I am (...) interested in what Kandinsky referred to in 'The Great Utopia' when he talked about the inevitable implosion and/or explosion of our constructed spaces out of the sheer necessity of agency. - So, for me, the coliseum, the amphitheater, and the stadium are perfect metaphoric constructed spaces." These can represent both the organized sterility of institutions and the "chaos, violence, and disorder" of revolution and mass gathering.

Calender Stone (Sun stone) (Templo Mayor)

FORM - It looks like a sun. circular shape. FUNCTION - It's become the modern-day emblem of Mexican culture it most likely would have been placed horizontally on the ground. - the disc records this origin of the cosmos as the Aztecs saw it. CONTENT - It has rays emanating out. But in actuality, when you look closely it's an incredibly complicated object. This would have been originally painted, which would have helped pick out the motifs - it was unfinished, cause there are protrusions of uncarved rock that we see on the top and to the left. In the center u see a gruesome looking face with deep-set eyes and a wide mouth, and on either side, hanging down, what look like ear ornaments. - He's wearing ear spools, and within that open mouth you see the tongue protruding out. It's a anthropomorphized sacrificial blade. -The ear spools were decorations that Aztec elite would wear. - if you look to the sides, you also see that he has clawed hands and he's holding something, possibly human hearts. There have been various interpretations of who this individual actually is, and most people identify him as the sun god, Tonatiuh, which is the Nahuatl word for the sun god. - The stone relates to one of the main Aztec myths, essentially the creation of the various eras, or as they called them, suns. So what we're seeing here is a record, a history of previous eras, and then the current era, under which we live. - the current era is actually the fifth era, according to this system. The fifth sun. And yet the name of the fifth sun is "Four Movement," and we see that in the four square lobes that surround the center figure. - The particular shape that it's forming is a sign for Ollin, which in Nahuatl means movement, and we also see four dots surrounding this central figure, which gives us the name Four Movement - inside those squares or rectangular shapes that mean four movement, we see the names of the previous four suns. - On the top right and go counter-clockwise, the four eras are 4-Jaguar, 4-Wind, 4-Tlaloc, and then 4-Chalchiuhtlicue. The idea is that in the first era, it's death by jaguar, devoured by jaguars. In the second era, death by high winds. In the third era, death by rains of fire. And in the fourth era, death by water. - The idea with the fifth sun is it's predicting that this current world in which we live is going to be death by earthquakes. The city where we are and where this is from, the Aztec capital, is surrounded by volcanoes and a fault line. There are devastating earthquakes that happen here. - Theres the idea of sacrifice in the center with that face, and then this idea in Aztec mythology that this era that we're in was formed by two gods agreeing to sacrifice themselves. The sun is brought into creation by the gods sacrificing themselves, but at first, it was static, it couldn't move, and so then another god had to sacrifice himself in order to put the sun in motion. - Then the idea is that because the gods have killed themselves willingly, that we as humans need to be feeding them through offerings, and that could include things like animal sacrifice, piercing of our body to give blood, or human sacrifice. - We have, now, 20 glyphs or symbols, the 20 days, this basic unit of the Aztec calendar. And outside of that band of calendrical dates we see the rays of the sun radiating outwards and you see that the largest ones are pointed in the four cardinal directions. North, South, East, West. - And their cosmos, or their universe was thought to be divided into four quadrants associated with these four cardinal directions. And Tenochtitlan, the city, the capital of the Aztec Empire was divided also into four. Replicating a cosmological diagram. - In the outside band, there are two serpents whose heads meet at the bottom center, and from whose mouths emerge two faces. These are called fire serpents or, in Nahuatl, Xiuhcoatl. They're associated with time, with the solar calendar, and, in some sources, as carrying sun across the sky. So they make time happen. - Next to the date of 4-Wind, if we're going counter-clockwise, the royal insignia of Moctezuma II, and so we typically date this monument to the reign of that Aztec ruler. And across from the insignia of Moctezuma II, right next to that jaguar head for the date 4-Jaguar, we see a flint knife, one of the sacrificial blades, and next to it we see a single dot, which reads as a date glyph for 1 Flint. 1 Flint could be read in two different ways. Some people associate that particular date with the beginning of the era of the fifth sun. So what we have is a sense of the structure and order of the universe for the Aztecs. CONTEXT - Nahuatl is the name of the language spoken by the Nahua people, or the Aztecs. The Aztecs were part of this larger ethnic group of the Nahua.

Pink Panther, Jeff Koons

-1988 CE -US FORM - Glazed porcelain - The glossy textures look garish and factory-made, surfaces one associates with inexpensive commercial art. FUNCTION - the female figure carelessly and partially undressed. At a time of increased feminist presence in the still male-dominated art world this could only be perceived as a rearguard move. Or was Koons—a postmodern provocateur like no other—simply parodying male authority as he had done in some of his other work? CONTENT - an exhibition entitled "Banality" by New York artist Jeff Koons presenting some twenty sculptures in porcelain and polychromed wood. - the sculptures are highly polished and gleaming. The colors—muted pale blue, pink, lavender, green and yellowish gold—seem to belong to the 1950s and 60s. - It depicts a smiling, bare-breasted, blond woman scantily clad in a mint-green dress, head tilted back and to the left as if addressing a crowd of onlookers. The figure is based on the 1960s B-list Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield—here she clutches a limp pink panther in her left hand, while her right hand covers an exposed breast. - From behind one sees that the pink panther has its head thrown over her shoulder and wears an expression of hapless weariness. It too is a product of Hollywood fantasy—the movie of the same name debuted the cartoon character in 1963. - The colors are almost antiquated CONTEXT AND FUNCTION - "Banality" debuted simultaneously in New York, Chicago, and Cologne. Banality means lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring. - Provocation is a mainstay of the modernist avant-gardes reaching at least as back as far as when Marcel Duchamp's Fountain of 1917 the postmodern 1980s inaugurated the contemporary sense of the artist as a critical and serious interrogator of mass culture and mass media. - postmodern artists—were supposed to counter the banality of evil that lurked behind public and popular culture, not revel in it as Koons seemed to do. - What is kitsch? The American art critic Clement Greenberg once defined it as the opposite of what a truly progressive, avant-garde modernism embodied. Greenberg advocated for a modern art that was true to its materials, such as the gestural abstractions of New York School artists like Jackson Pollock, who splattered and spilled paint in abstract fashion on unprimed canvas—declaring a direct creative confrontation that was raw and honest. - Kitsch, a word of German origin, refers to mass-produced imagery designed to please the broadest possible audience with objects of questionable taste (objects and images with popular, sentimental subject matter and style). P -postmodern art attacked Greenberg's influential theory of modern art, creating images in direct opposition to modernism. While modernism championed painting, form and originality, postmodernism foregrounded photography, subject matter, and the reproduction. Postmodernism grounded the rarified atmosphere of genius that was prevalent in modernism in the politics of everyday life. - But postmodernism stopped short of fully embracing kitsch by insisting on a degree of self-aware critical distance. This is where Koons found a fault line that he fully exploited with works like Pink Panther. - Hummel figurines and other popular collector's items are the basis for the art in "Banality." Koons rendered these saccharine and sentimental little figural groupings—cartoonish emblems of childhood innocence—at a life-size scale as an assault upon sincerity but also as an assault upon taste, and it is here that even the most daring of postmodern advocates drew a line in the sand - Like the modernist distinction between art and an everyday object drawn by Greenberg, Pink Panther challenged the distinction between an ironic appropriation of a mass-culture object and the object itself (seemingly without critical distance) thereby challenging the whole critical enterprise of postmodernism itself.

Red and White Plum Blossoms, Ogata Kōrin

- 1710 CE - Japan FORM AND CONTEXT - Pair of two-fold screens, color and gold leaf on paper - Executed in black ink and blotchy washes of gem-like mineral color - the image seems both abstract and realistic at the same time. - This painting exemplifies a style that for many epitomizes Japanese art. It has profoundly impacted modernism in the West, most famously in the work of Gustav Klimt. - Since the 19th century this combination of abstraction and naturalism, monumental presence, dynamism has commonly been referred to as Rinpa, or "School of Kôrin." -But Kôrin neither originated this aesthetic, nor presided over a formal school; more accurately he stood at the forefront of a loose movement of like-minded artists and designers in various media. - Rinpa first appeared a century earlier, in the brilliant relationship of a calligrapher, connoisseur, and intellectual named Hon'ami Kôetsu, and a painter of fans and screens, Tarawaya Sôtatsu, who created works that aimed to satisfy the luxurious tastes of 17th century Kyoto's aristocrats and wealthy merchants - Entranced by a few of Sôtatsu's paintings that he saw in the collection of a patron, Kôrin taught himself the techniques: images pared to bare essentials and then dramatically magnified, emphasis on the interplay of forms, colors, and textures, and unconventional adaptations of ink painting methods. - These methods included tarashikomi, or dilute washes of color blended while very wet, and mokkotsu, or "bonelessness," which creates forms without exterior outlines. Some scholars now use terms such as Sôtatsu-Kôrinha, Kôetsuha, and Kôetsu-Kôrinha rather than Rinpa, in recognition of its actual origins. - His numerous works in this sophisticated style thus encompass many media- paintings in color and ink on large screens, small albums, fans, hanging and hand scrolls, printed books, lacquers, ceramics and even textiles. FUNCTION - Kôrin shows us the vitality of early spring. CONTENT - two flowering trees on either side of a brook—into a dream vision - Its background, a subtle grid of gold leaf, denies any sense of place or time and imbues everything with an ethereal glow. - The stream's swelling metallic curls and spirals are a make-believe of flowing water, and its sharply tapered serpentine contour lines angle the picture plane in an unnatural upward tilt. - The trunks of the trees are nothing more than pools of mottled color without so much as an outline. These forms and spaces appear flat to the eye. Yet the artist's intimate knowledge of how a plum tree grows can be seen in their writhing forms and tangle of shoots and branches. -In planning its imagery Kôrin closely considered the function of the folding screen within the traditional Japanese interior. -The two sections would have been positioned separately yet near enough to each other to define an enclosed space. Kôrin depicted only the lower parts of the trees, as if viewed from very near: the tree with red blossoms thrusts upward from the ground and out of sight; the white pushes leftward out of view and then, two slender branches appear to spring back - With each screen standing hinged at its central fold, a viewer experiences these exaggerated two-dimensional images in three dimensions.

David, Donatello

- Italy - 1440 CE FORM - Compared to Michelangelo's David, it is more intimate and less public and smaller-5 ft - Warm bronze tones, with copper and a bit of tin It's hollow, and it's created through lost-wax casting - Contrapposto - Donatello, after a thousand years, reclaims the ancient Greek and Roman interest in the nude human body. artists in the middle ages, a period when the focus was on God and the soul, rarely represented the nude. (it was the first free standing nude sculpture since classical antiquity) - Donatello seems to have used the excuse of the boy who eschews armor in order to represent not the Judaic tradition but instead the ancient Greek and Roman regard for the beauty of the human body and he uses the classical technique of lost wax to cast the form. -Then, just like the Greeks and Romans, he worked the bronze to smooth the seams and the surface and to cut in details such as in the hair. - because he's free-standing, he is more human, more real -this is from the early renaissance and is influenced by classical greece FUNCTION -Show David's victory - brings attention to the blending of classical and Christian culture -patron was likely a wealthy private family CONTENT - the subject of this sculpture is David and Goliath, from the Old Testament. - Seen in the courtyard of the Medici Palace in Florence, a private setting - This intimacy is not simply a result of the nudity, but also of the emotional experience Donatello renders through the face and even the stance of the body— -There is either relaxation and thoughtfulness with subtle pridem, or confidence and pride (shown in his pose) -Donatello foreshadows the wisdom that will define his later reign as king. -His right hand holds the sword (Goliath's own sword) that he used to cut off Goliath's head, which we see below, resting on a victory wreath. -The gruesome head seems to conflict with the sensuality and beauty of the young David. -n the other hand, he holds the rock he used to slingshot CONTEXT -We dont know who commissioned this -According to the story, Israel (the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) is threatened by Goliath, a "giant of a man, measuring over nine feet tall. He wore a bronze helmet and a coat of mail that weighed 125 pounds." -Goliath threatened the Israelites and demanded that they send someone brave enough to fight him. -But the entire Israelite army is frightened of him. -David, a young shepherd boy, asserts that he is going to fight the giant, but his father says, "There is no way you can go against this Philistine. You are only a boy, and he has been in the army since he was a boy!" -But David insists that he can face Goliath and claims he has killed many wild animals who have tried to attack his flock, "The LORD who saved me from the claws of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!" -They try to put armor on David for the fight, but he takes it off. David faces Goliath and says to him,"You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD Almighty—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." -David kills Goliath with one stone thrown from his sling into Goliath's forehead. Then he beheads Goliath. -The subject of David represented Florence, the Florentine Republic because its people identified with David because they also defeated their enemy (Duke of Milan, who was stronger than them) with the help of God

The Scream, Edvard Munch

- Northern Europe - 1893 CE FORM -It has an androgynous, skull-shaped head, elongated hands, wide eyes, flaring nostrils and ovoid mouth - the swirling blue landscape and especially the fiery orange and yellow sky have engendered numerous theories regarding the scene that is depicted. - The Scream's composition exists in four forms: the first painting, done in oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard, two pastel examples, and a final tempera painting - Munch also created a lithographic version. - The various renditions show the artist's creativity and his interest in experimenting w diff media, while the work's subject matter fits with Munch's interest at the time in themes of relationships, life, death, and dread. - The Scream is in fact a surprisingly simple work, in which the artist utilized a minimum of forms to achieve maximum expressiveness. - It consists of three main areas: the bridge, which extends at a steep angle from the middle distance at the left to fill the foreground; a landscape of shoreline, lake or fjord, and hills; and the sky, which is activated with curving lines in tones of orange, yellow, red, and blue-green. -Foreground and background blend into one another, and the lyrical lines of the hills ripple through the sky. -The human figures are starkly separated from this landscape by the bridge. Its strict linearity provides a contrast with the shapes of the landscape and the sky. - The two faceless upright figures in the background belong to the geometric precision of the bridge, while the lines of the foreground figure's body, hands, and head take up the same curving shapes that dominate the background landscape. - The screaming figure is thus linked through these formal means to the natural realm, which was Munch's intention. FUNCTION - Themes: relationships, life, death, and dread - Munch sought to express internal emotions through external forms and thereby provide a visual image for a universal human experience. CONTENT - Conceived as part of Munch's semi-autobiographical cycle "The Frieze of Life" CONTEXT - The Scream has been the target of dramatic thefts and recoveries, and in 2012 a version created with pastel on cardboard sold to a private collector for nearly $120,000,000 making it the second highest price achieved at that time by a painting at auction. - A passage in Munch's diary dated January 22, 1892, and written in Nice, contains the probable inspiration for this scene as the artist remembered it: "I was walking along the road with two friends—the sun went down—I felt a gust of melancholy—suddenly the sky turned a bloody red. I stopped, leaned against the railing, tired to death—as the flaming skies hung like blood and sword over the blue-black fjord and the city—My friends went on—I stood there trembling with anxiety—and I felt a vast infinite scream [tear] through nature." - The figure on the bridge—who may even be symbolic of Munch himself—feels the cry of nature, a sound that is sensed internally rather than heard with the ears. Yet, how can this sensation be conveyed in visual terms? - Munch's approach to the experience of synesthesia, or the union of senses, results in the visual depiction of sound and emotion. As such, The Scream represents a key work for the Symbolist movement as well as an important inspiration for the Expressionist movement of the early twentieth century. Symbolist artists confronted questions regarding the nature of subjectivity and its visual depiction. - critics and scholars have attempted to determine the exact scene depicted, as well as inspirations for the screaming figure. For example, it has been asserted that the unnaturally harsh colors of the sky may have been due to volcanic dust from the eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia, which produced spectacular sunsets around the world for months afterwards. - This event occurred in 1883, ten years before Munch painted the first version of The Scream. However, as Munch's journal entry, - The Scream is a work of remembered sensation rather than perceived reality. - Art historians have also noted the figure's resemblance to a Peruvian mummy that had been exhibited at the World's Fair in Paris in 1889 or to another mummy displayed in Florence.

Merode Altarpiece, Robert Campin (Annunciation Triptych)

- Northern Europe, Flanders - 1432 CE FORM - Oil paint on oak- so the artist can make reflections on metals - Stylistic and technical evidence suggests that the altarpiece was executed in phases. -The windows of the central panel, originally covered with gold leaf, were painted with a blue sky, and the armorial shields were added afterward. FUNCTION -One of the most celebrated early Netherlandish paintings—particularly for its detailed observation, rich imagery, and superb condition—this triptych belongs to a group of paintings associated with the Tournai workshop of Robert Campin sometimes called the Master of Flémalle. -Documents indicate that he hired at least two assistants, the young Rogier van der Weyden and Jacques Daret -About two feet tall -It's a triptych so it can be folded up and carried to another room -The artist pays attention to everything -There are sharp folds in the clothes (it's not actually how drapery falls) -The cloth is thick and obscures the bodies There are many things in the small room -Realism, but the space is not mathematically accurate according to linear perspective because the floor is too steep -There was an increasing interest in commissioning paintings as aids in prayer for people to use in their homes CONTENT - Having just entered the room, the angel Gabriel is about to tell the Virgin Mary that she will be the mother of Jesus. - An image of Christ's conception in an interior not unlike the one in which they lived also may have reinforced their hope for their own children. - Taking place in a Flemish city -Center: The center scene looks like it's taking place in the living room of someone who lived in this area of Northern Europe in the 1400s - We see archangel Gabriel and Virgin Mary, and a scene that would have taken place 1500 years before this painting was made - This biblical scene of the annunciation is taking place in a Flemish household precisely to make these figures of mary and gabriel closer to us, to make our prayer more profound, to bring us closer to God - Gavriel is announcing to Mary that she will bear Christ - The shiny pot in the background reflects the light from the two windows. This is the symbol of Virgin Mary's purity and sinlessness -Theres a small figure holding a cross that seems to be gliding down golden rays that come through the round window. It's heading right to mary, and this is the holy spirit. *** -This is unusual because we normally see a dove as the symbol of the holy spirit -A lot of symbols we see have to do with the idea of the incarnation of God and Mary's virginity -Mary is reading a bible -Left: The donors, which are the patrons. A man and his wife who commissioned this painting witnessing the annunciation. Theyre shown kneeling, which is a typical positions to recognize them as donors. a town messenger stands at the garden gate. - Theyre set within a walled garden which has important symbolism in the late medieval and renaissance art which often refers to Mary's virginity. -In latin, this is known as the hortus conclusus, a closed garden, but we know we're in the northern renaissance bc there is an incredible amount of detail -Right: We see Joseph, mary's husband, a carpenter, who is in the act of making. He's surrounded by his tools. drilling holes in a board. -The object out the window and next to him are mouse traps -Saint Augustine said that the cross of the lord was the devil's mouse trap, the bait by which he was caught by the lord's death -We also see wood and an axe, a reference to the cross -So even though this painting is a celebration of the coming of Christ, we see references to Christ's death He's making holes in the wood and that references Christ's crucifixion CONTEXT -The Annunciation, which follows a slightly earlier workshop composition, probably was not commissioned. -Shortly thereafter, the male donor ordered the wings, which appear to have been painted by two artists. -At a later point, in the 1430s, presumably following the donor's marriage, the portraits of his wife and of the messenger were added. -The center was painted first, then the donor (left) then the right -They were painted on spec, which means it was hoped that someone would buy it, or get a patron

The Bay, Helen Frankenthaler

- US -1963 CE FORM - Abstract expressionist - an imposing fluid blue promontory - colors ranging from violet to indigo run into one another with a clear zone of navy near the top of the canvas that draw our eyes up to it. - The blurring of the colors gives an immediate sense of the artist's process: paint poured onto the canvas when it was wet. - We can almost watch as the blues meld into one another during this early stage giving the image its blurred and smooth finish. - Soak-stain method with diluted acrylic paint- Acrylics gave her more flexibility with viscosity and movement than oils, and allowed her more control as she poured that thinned paint onto the taut unprimed canvas so that it would get absorbed into the weave of the fabric. - As a substitute for the action of the brush, Frankenthaler would lift the canvas and tilt it at various angles so that the paint would flow across the surface. She had to account for gravity and the ebb and flow of a liquid across a flat surface, so an aspect of Frankenthaler's method is the blend of the artist's control paired with the unpredictability of the forces of nature. - This kind of painting is often classified as Color Field painting, painting characterized by simplicity of line and a focus on color as the subject rather than as an add-on. - The first generation of Abstract Expressionists, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman were the first important Color Field painters, while Helen Frankenthaler is often classified as a second-generation member of the group. FUNCTION - The sense of natural spontaneity and devotion to color is part of what makes The Bay and the work of the Color Field painters so compelling. - The artist said: When you first saw a Cubist or Impressionist picture there was a whole way of instructing the eye or the subconscious. - Dabs of color had to stand for real things. It was an abstraction of a guitar or a hillside. - The opposite is going on now. If you have bands of blue, green and pink, the mind doesn't think sky, grass and flesh. These are colors and the question is what are they doing with themselves and with each other. Sentiment and nuance are being squeezed out. T- he last line: The colors on the canvas don't have to represent something in particular, but can have a more ambiguous, emblematic quality for the viewer. CONTENT - The subject could be what the title suggests—a landform of some kind with certain symbolic associations CONTEXT - When Helen Frankenthaler painted The Bay, she was already a well-regarded artist. - She'd been the subject of a LIFE Magazine profile in 1956 and was one of the handful of women among the traditional all-boys' club of the New York Abstract Expressionists. -The Bay was chosen as one of the paintings for the American pavilion of the 1966 Venice Biennale. -Frankenthaler was inspired by the drip method of Jackson Pollock who began painting on the floor in the late 1940s, but she knew she wanted to work differently.

Terra cotta warriors from mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China

- 221 BCE - Qin Dynasty, China FORM - Painted terracotta FUNCTION - Qin Shihuang conquered much in this life, but his driving purpose was even greater; he sought to conquer death. - In order to achieve immortality, he built himself a tomb—a vast underground city guarded by a life-size terracotta army including warriors, infantrymen, horses, chariots and all their attendant armor and weaponry - the eventual First Emperor ascended to the throne of the Qin state at age of 13 and immediately began to plan his burial, and more importantly, his underground palace, a mausoleum attended by an army including over 7,000 terracotta warriors horses, chariots and weaponry intended to protect him in the afterlife. -The First Emperor envisioned a subterranean domain that would parallel his worldly existence after corporal death. CONTENT - When the burial complex was first discovered by farmers in 1974, the excavation uncovered a sprawling citadel with thousands of warriors, each designed with a unique face and clothing. -In addition to the warriors, they uncovered horses, chariots, bronze ritual vessels, jade jewelry, and gold and silver ornaments. - Besides revealing much about an ancient way of life, observing the physical construction of the underground complex and the methodical production of the figures reveals a set of themes from which we gain a window of insight to the First Emperor's worldview and enduring influence. - the First Emperor lined his burial complex with a treasury of riches and piles of precious gemstones said to represent the stars, sun and moon. He was deeply concerned with the universe and looked to the cosmos as a guide for crossing over to an immortal existence. - Excavation also revealed other mysterious findings, like strangely high levels of mercury and evidence that the poisonous substance coursed through an intricate system of underground troughs, replicating the topography of the actual rivers and seas carving the surrounding landscape. -Some suggest that the emperor believed mercury had life-giving power and so surrounded himself with the toxic element, believing it was yet another way he might live forever. -studies of their proportions reveal that their frames were created using an assembly production system that paved the way for advances in mass production and commerce. -Archaeologists estimate that the objects, including figures, horses, and weapons, number in the thousands, though the true total may never be known. CONTEXT - The First Emperor is known for innovations that consolidated his rule through modernization. - During his reign, he introduced the standardization of currency, writing, measurements, and more. -He connected cities and states with advanced systems of roads and canals. He is also credited with continuing the construction of the Great Wall -He is regarded as a military genius, and while his methods included massacre and destruction, some claim that his ultimate success at bringing the states together justifies the violence, a necessary cost of nation-building. We also see the first assembly-line style production in the creation of his terracotta warriors, horses and chariots. - Born in a time of turmoil in China, known as the Warring States period, The First Emperor founded the short-lived Qin dynasty. -By 221 B.C.E., he united the seven warring states into one nation and took the name Qin Shihuang, which means First Emperor. -He left a legacy of a centralized and bureaucratic state that would be carried onto successive dynasties over the next two millennia. -the emperor feared that his artisans might disclose all the treasure that was in the tomb, . . that after the burial and sealing up of the treasures, the middle gate was shut and the outer gate closed to imprison all the artisans and laborers, so that no one came out. -Enormous numbers of laborers worked on the project - To date, four pits have been partially excavated. Three contain terracotta soldiers, horse-drawn chariots and weapons. The fourth pit was found empty, a testament to the original unfinished construction.

Great Stupa at Sanchi

- 300 BCE - Sanchi, India FORM - sandstone -Before Buddhism, great teachers were buried in mounds. - Some were cremated, but sometimes they were buried in a seated, meditative position. - The mound of earth covered them up. - Thus, the domed shape of the stupa came to represent a person seated in meditation much as the Buddha was when he achieved Enlightenment and knowledge of the Four Noble Truths. - The base of the stupa represents his crossed legs as he sat in a meditative pose (called padmasana or the lotus position). -The middle portion is the Buddha's body and the top of the mound, where a pole rises from the apex surrounded by a small fence, represents his head. -Before images of the human Buddha were created, reliefs often depicted practitioners demonstrating devotion to a stupa. FUNCTION - ("stupa" is Sanskrit for heap) is an important form of Buddhist architecture, though it predates Buddhism. - It is generally considered to be a sepulchral monument—a place of burial or a receptacle for religious objects. - The practitioner does not enter the stupa, it is a solid object. Instead, the practitioner circumambulates (walks around) it as a meditational practice focusing on the Buddha's teachings. - This movement suggests the endless cycle of rebirth (samsara) and the spokes of the Eightfold Path (eight guidelines that assist the practitioner) that leads to knowledge of the Four Noble Truths and into the center of the unmoving hub of the wheel, Enlightenment. - This walking meditation at a stupa enables the practitioner to visualize Enlightenment as the movement from the perimeter of the stupa to the unmoving hub at the center marked by the yasti. - The practitioner can walk to circumambulate the stupa or move around it through a series of prostrations (a movement that brings the practitioner's body down low to the ground in a position of submission). -An energetic and circular movement around the stupa raises the body's temperature. Practitioners do this to mimic the heat of the fire that cremated the Buddha's body, a process that burned away the bonds of self-hood and attachment to the mundane or ordinary world. -Attachments to the earthly realm are considered obstacles in the path toward Enlightenment. -The Buddha did not want to be revered as a god, but wanted his ashes in the stupas to serve as a reminder of the Four Noble Truths. CONTENT - a stupa is a dirt burial mound faced with stone. - In Buddhism, the earliest stupas contained portions of the Buddha's ashes, and as a result, the stupa began to be associated with the body of the Buddha. - Adding the Buddha's ashes to the mound of dirt activated it with the energy of the Buddha himself. - If one thinks of the stupa as a circle or wheel, the unmoving center symbolizes Enlightenment. - Likewise, the practitioner achieves stillness and peace when the Buddhist dharma is fully understood. - Many stupas are placed on a square base, and the four sides represent the four directions, north, south, east and west. - Each side often has a gate in the center, which allows the practitioner to enter from any side. The gates are called torana. - Each gate also represents the four great life events of the Buddha: East (Buddha's birth), South (Enlightenment), West (First Sermon where he preached his teachings or dharma), and North (Nirvana). - The gates are turned at right angles to the axis mundi to indicate movement in the manner of the arms of a svastika, a directional symbol that, in Sanskrit, means "to be good" ("su" means good or auspicious and "asti" means to be). - The torana are directional gates guiding the practitioner in the correct direction on the correct path to Enlightenment, the understanding of the Four Noble Truths. - At the top of stupa is a yasti, or spire, which symbolizes the axis mundi (a line through the earth's center around which the universe is thought to revolve). - The yasti is surrounded by a harmika, a gate or fence, and is topped by chattras (umbrella-like objects symbolizing royalty and protection). -The axis symbolizes the center of the cosmos partitioning the world into six directions: north, south, east, west, the nadir and the zenith. -This central axis, the axis mundi, is echoed in the same axis that bisects the human body. In this manner, the human body also functions as a microcosm of the universe. - The spinal column is the axis that bisects Mt. Meru (the sacred mountain at the center of the Buddhist world) and around which the world pivots. - The aim of the practitioner is to climb the mountain of one's own mind, ascending stage by stage through the planes of increasing levels of Enlightenment - Small stupas can function as votive offerings - In order to gain merit, to improve one's karma, individuals could sponsor the casting of a votive stupa. - Indian and Tibetan stupas typically have inscriptions that state that the stupa was made "so that all beings may attain Enlightenment." -Votive stupas can be consecrated and used in home altars or utilized in monastic shrines. Since they are small, they can be easily transported. Votive stupas are often carved from stone or caste in bronze. The bronze stupas can also serve as a reliquary and ashes of important teachers can be encased inside. - He is making the earth touching gesture (bhumisparsamudra) and is seated in padmasan, the lotus position. He is seated in a gateway signifying a sacred space that recalls the gates on each side of monumental stupas. - there were female figures known as yakshis CONTEXT - The ashes of the Buddha were buried in stupas built at locations associated with important events in the Buddha's life including Lumbini (where he was born), Bodh Gaya (where he achieved Enlightenment), Deer Park at Sarnath (where he preached his first sermon sharing the Four Noble Truths (also called the dharma or the law), and Kushingara (where he died). - The choice of these sites and others were based on both real and legendary events. - According to legend, King Ashoka, who was the first king to embrace Buddhism, created 84,000 stupas and divided the Buddha's ashes among them all. -While this is an exaggeration, it is clear that Ashoka was responsible for building many stupas all over northern India and the other territories under the Mauryan Dynasty in areas now known as Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. -One of Ashoka's goals was to provide new converts with the tools to help with their new faith. In this, Ashoka was following the directions of the Buddha who, prior to his death (parinirvana), directed that stupas should be erected in places other than those associated with key moments of his life so that "the hearts of many shall be made calm and glad." -Ashoka also built stupas in regions where the people might have difficulty reaching the stupas that contained the Buddha's ashes. -While stupas have changed in form over the years, their function remains essentially unchanged -For Buddhists, building stupas also has karmic benefits. Karma is the energy generated by a person's actions and the ethical consequences of those actions. Karma affects a person's next existence or re-birth. -Buddhists visit stupas to perform rituals that help them to achieve one of the most important goals of Buddhism: to understand the Buddha's teachings, known as the Four Noble Truths (also known as the dharma and the law) so when they die they cease to be caught up in samsara, the endless cycle of birth and death. The Four Noble Truths: 1. life is suffering (suffering=rebirth) 2. the cause of suffering is desire 3. the cause of desire must be overcome 4. when desire is overcome, there is no more suffering (suffering=rebirth) - Once individuals come to fully understand The Four Noble Truths, they are able to achieve Enlightenment, or the complete knowledge of the dharma. In fact, Buddha means "the Enlightened One" and it is the knowledge that the Buddha gained on his way to achieving Enlightenment that Buddhist practitioners seek on their own journey toward Enlightenment. - One of the early sutras (a collection of sayings attributed to the Buddha forming a religious text) records that the Buddha gave specific directions regarding the appropriate method of honoring his remains (the Maha-parinibbāna sutra): his ashes were to be buried in a stupa at the crossing of the mythical four great roads (the four directions of space), the unmoving hub of the wheel, the place of Enlightenment.

Hagia Sophia

- Constantinople, Istanbul - 532 CE FORM - The capital is a derivative of the Classical Ionic order via the variations of the Roman composite capital and Byzantine invention. -A capital fragment on the grounds of Hagia Sophia illustrates the carving technique. The stone is deeply drilled, creating shadows behind the decoration. -The capital surface appears thin. -This deep carving appears throughout Hagia Sophia's capitals, spandrels, and entablatures. -The windows at the bottom of the dome are closely spaced, visually asserting that the base of the dome is insubstantial and hardly touching the building itself. -they also lined the jambs or sides of the windows with gold mosaic. -As light hits the gold it bounces around the openings and eats away at the structure and makes room for the imagination to see a floating dome. -Has a high central dome and half dorms on either side and three smaller half domes below that -The walls are marble and the floor is made of huge paving stones FUNCTION -Perception supplies its own explanation: the dome is suspended from heaven by an invisible chain. -This was a way Justinian expressed his power -hagia sophia means "holy wisdom" in greek CONTENT -An old story about Hagia Sophia, a story that comes down in several versions, is a pointed explanation of the miracle of the church: -A youngster was among the craftsmen doing the construction. Realizing a problem with continuing work, the crew left the church to seek help (some versions say they sought help from the Imperial Palace). -The youngster was left to guard the tools while the workmen were away. A figure appeared inside the building and told the boy the solution to the problem and told the boy to go to the workmen with the solution. Reassuring the boy that he, the figure, would stay and guard the tools until the boy returned, the boy set off. -The solution that the boy delivered was so ingenious that the assembled problem-solvers realized that the mysterious figure was no ordinary man but a divine presence, likely an angel. -The boy was sent away and was never allowed to return to the capital. Thus the divine presence had to remain inside the great church by virtue of his promise and presumably is still there. -Any doubt about the steadfastness of Hagia Sophia could hardly stand in the fact that a divine guardian watches over the church. -40 windows- the light was connected with ideas of perfection and the divine -Every surface was covered in mosaics, colored stone, crosses- the clear windows were originally colored CONTEXT -justinian was patron of this church -The great church of the Byzantine capital Constantinople (Istanbul) took its current structural form under the direction of the Emperor Justinian I. -Procopius, biographer of the Emperor Justinian and author of a book on the buildings of Justinian is the first to assert that the dome hovered over the building by divine intervention. - Hagia Sophia was severely damaged by three earthquakes during its early history. Extensive repairs were required. -This church was also burned down by the Nika Riot in the 6th century against Justinian, the patron of this church -Justinian hired two theoreticians to think about how to vault this space -This was a period in byzantine history that was leading up to iconoclasm, which was a point where there was a real crisis of images -The byzantine empire was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Turks who were Muslims. they turned this church into a mosque until 1934 when it was turned into a museum -They covered up the mosaics. They removed some of the paint and plastering because they prohibited figural imagery in a religious space. -Also, he's not depicted as Christ, he's Jesus. He's a prophet. He doesn't appear with Mary. -There are enormous bits of Arabic calligraphy, the most important Islamic art. The lanugage of Arabic is important because it is believed that Mohammed recited the words if God as told to him directly -The mihrab is the niche at the far end of the building that is pointing towards Mecca. It tells you which direction you have to pray, and it's off center. -The Sultan's lodge- the sultan was the political authority. He also had divine authority. He had his own balcony to worship in. everyone can see him but no one can touch him. It is leveled on a different plane -Outside, there are four pencil minarets (compared to thicker minarets in egypt). -The purpose is a high place to call the faithful to prayer. The muezzin goes up and calls everyone. Two earlier ones were bult by Mahmed II and then one by Sinan, the famous architect who built many monuments in Istanbul and two more by Murad III, a sultan from the late 16th century -The Blue mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) had 4, the hadia sophia had six

Golden Haggadah

- Late medieval Spain - 1320 CE FORM - The fact that the Golden Haggadah was so richly illuminated is important. - Although the second commandment in Judaism forbids the making of "graven images," haggadot were often seen as education rather than religious and therefore exempt from this rule. - The style of the manuscript may look familiar- it is very similar to Christian Gothic manuscripts such as the Bible of Saint Louis -for example, the figure of Moses and the Pharaoh doesn't really look like an Egyptian pharaoh at all but more like a French king. -The long flowing body, small architectural details and patterned background reveal that this manuscript was created during the Gothic period. the dominant style of Christian art in Europe clearly influenced the artists of this manuscript. FUNCTION -service book used in Jewish households on Passover Eve to celebrate the Israelites' deliverance from Egyptian enslavement as described in the Book of Exodus. -The reason it is called the "Golden" Haggadah is clear—each miniature is decorated with a brilliant gold-leaf background. As such, this manuscript would have been quite expensive to produce and was certainly owned by a wealthy Jewish family. -So although many haggadot show signs of use—splashes of wine, etc.—the fine condition of this particular haggadah means that it might have served a more ceremonial purpose, intended to showcase the prosperity of this family living near Barcelona in the early fourteenth century. CONTENT - The plague of the first-born: in the upper-right corner, three scenes: an angel strikes a man, the queen mourns her baby, and the funeral of the first-born - upper left: Pharaoh orders the Israelites to leave Egypt, the Israelites, holding lumps of dough, walk with hands raised illustrating the verse: "And the children of Israel went out with a high hand"; bottom right: pursuing Egyptians are shown as contemporary knights led by a king - bottom left: the Israelites' safely cross the Red Sea, Moses takes a last look at the drowning Egyptians. - northern Spain Plagues (clockwise from top left), probably Barcelona -A hagaddah usually includes the prayers and readings said during the meal and sometimes contained images that could have served as a sort of pictorial aid to envision the history of Passover around the table. -In fact, the word "haggadah" actually means "narration" in Hebrew. The Golden Haggadah is one of the most lavishly decorated medieval Haggadot, containing 56 miniatures (small paintings) found within the manuscript. CONTEXT - the ritual narration of the story of Passover, when Moses led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt with a series of miraculous events (recounted in the Jewish Bible in the book of Exodus).*** -For the last and most terrible in a series of miraculous plagues that ultimately convinced the Egyptian Pharaoh to free the Jews—the death of the first born sons of Egypt—Moses commanded the Jews to paint a red mark on their doors. -In doing so, the Angel of Death "passed over" these homes and the children survived. -The story of Passover—of miraculous salvation from slavery—is one that is recounted annually by many Jews at a seder, the ritual meal that marks the beginning of the holiday. -The book used to tell the story of Passover around the seder table each year is a special one, known as a haggadah (haggadot). -The Golden Haggadah, as you might imagine given its name, is one of the most luxurious examples of these books ever created. In fact, it is one of the most luxurious examples of a medieval illuminated manuscript, regardless of use or patronage.

Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel, Giotto

- Padua, Italy - 1303 CE -giotto FORM AND CONTENT -Giotto frescoed the chapel's whole surface, including the walls and the ceiling. The fresco cycle is organized along four tiers, each of which contains episodes from the stories of the various protagonists of the Sacred History. Each tier is divided into frames, each forming a scene.** - there are numerous separate images in the chapel introduction (part 1) - There are lots of narrative scenes, but even in between those scene's are trompe l'oeil, faux marble panels. - We get the sense that there is inlaid stone, but this is all painting. -That extends even onto the ceiling where we have a star-studded blue sky with images of Christ and Mary and other Saint's and figures. -Giotto inserted a panel painting. It's not fresco, he chose to paint it in a style that was more conservative, less earthly within the style that we see in the frescoes. -We begin to see illusionism that we see throughout the cycles. -If we look to Mary and the angel, Giotto has created an architectural space for each of them. -These are not panel paintings with gold backgrounds that suggest a divine space, these are earthly settings for Mary and the angel. -Two scenes below the enunciation are empty architectural spaces, these rooms, that have oil lanterns that hang from their ceiling and there is a delicate sense of space of light and shadow. -It is this bravura example of naturalism and it shows Giotto's interest in the world, the present, the physical space that humanity occupies (end of introduction) FUNCTION - According to the Church, usury (charging interest for a loan) was a sin, and so perhaps one of Enrico's motivations for building the chapel and having it decorated by Giotto was to make up for the sin of usury. -The chapel is known as the Arena Chapel since it is on the site of an ancient Roman arena (or amphitheater) -Private chapel connected to a palace that was owned by the Scrovengi family (the palace was torn down in the nineteenth century, though parts of the arena remain). CONTENT - frescoes were commissioned by a wealthy man named Enrico Scrovegni, the son of a well-known banker (and a banker himself). -Commissioning works of art for churches was a common way of doing "good works" which could help you earn your way into Heaven. -We can see Enrico himself in the fresco of the Last Judgment on the west wall of the Arena Chapel—he is shown on the side of the blessed. -He is depicted kneeling, presenting the chapel to the three Mary's, with virgin mary in the middle - The Arena Chapel is organized in a very strict way. Three registers begin at the top and move downward. - It's a continuous story. It begins with Christ's grandparents, it goes into the birth of Mary, her marriage, and then when we get down to the second register we get to Christ's life or ministry. - Then, the bottom register is the Passion, these are the events at the end of Christ's life and immediately after his death. - the reason for the entire cycle can be seen at the apex of the triumphal arch on the opposite wall with God, who he calls Gabriel to his side telling him to go to the Virgin Mary and announce to her that she will bear humanities savior, that she will bear Christ. CONTEXT - The artist who takes the biggest step away from the Medieval style of spiritual representation in painting in the early 14th century is Giotto. - Dante, the great late medieval poet, in his most famous poem, The Divine Comedy, singles out Scrovengi's father for one of the more treacherous parts of Hell. So Enrico was really worried, and for this reason, he did a good work

Palette of King Narmer

- Predynastic Egypt - 3000 BCE FORM - made of smooth greyish-green siltstone - decorated on both faces with low relief FUNCTION - probably used in temple ceremonies: makeup ritually applied to the image of the god - flat stone objects used for grinding and mixing minerals for cosmetics/ makeup CONTENT - these scenes show a king named Narmer and a series of ambiguous scenes that have resulted in many theories of their meaning - the carving focuses on human actions - Later temple ritual included elaborate daily ceremonies involving the anointing and dressing of divine images; these palettes likely indicate an early incarnation of this process. - the kind is represented twice in human form, once on each face, followed by his sandal-bearer (person who carries his sandals) - he's also represented as a powerful bull destroying a walled city with his massive horns (pharaoh is regularly referred to as "Strong Bull" - includes a pair of fantastic creatures, known as serpopards-- leopards with long, snaky necks-- who are collared and controlled by a pair of attendants. their necks entwine and dfine the recess where the makeup preparation took place. - the lowest register on both sides include images of dead foes, while both uppermost registers display hybrid human-bull heads and the name of the king. - the frontal bull heads are likely connected to the sky goddess known as Bat and are related to heaven and the horizon. - the name of the king, written hieroglyphically as a catfish and a chisel, is contained within a squared element that represents a palace facade - the battle scenes record the initial unification of Egypt under one ruler. this is the first preserved example where both crowns are used by the same ruler. - it could represent order and chaos, but the unification is more clear CONTEXT - dark eyeliner was an essential aspect of life in the sun-drenched Egypt: it reduced glare - among the typical grave goods found during this early era - the general practice was to bury them in a pit under the temple floor - discovered in 1898 by James Quibell and Frederick Green among a group of objects that had been used for ceremonial purposes and then ritually buried within an early temple of the falcon god Horus at the site of Hierakonpolis (the capital of Egypt during the pre-dynastic period) - found in the "main deposit" at Hierakonpolis - why is it so important: it's one of the very few palettes discovered in a controlled excavation. and there are formal and iconographic characteristics appearing on this palette that remain conventional in Egyptian 2D art for the following three millenia - these include the way the figures are represented, the scenes being organized in regular horizontal zones known as registers, and the use of hierarchical scale

The Oxbow, Thomas Cole

- United States - 1836 CE FUNCTION -One of cole's wealthy and prominent patrons, Luman Reed, an affluent merchant who commissioned Cole to paint the five-canvas series -The Course of Empire. - It is in this series that Thomas Cole found the voice to lift the genre of landscape painting to a level that approached history painting. -During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, landscape paintings, in comparison to historical paintings, were often though more imitative than innovative. - But in The Course of Empire, Cole was able to take the American landscape and incorporate a moral message, as was often found in history paintings. -In these works, Cole used the land as a way to say something important about the United States. CONTENT AND FORM -A View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, -Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm, a painting that is generally known as The Oxbow. It's a hudson river school painting -At first glance this painting may seem to be nothing more than an interesting view of a recognizable bend in the Connecticut River. But when viewed through the lens of nineteenth-century political ideology, this painting speaks about the widely discussed topic of westward expansion. -Cole used a diagonal line from the lower right to the upper left to divide the composition into two unequal halves. -The left-hand side of the painting depicts a sublime view of the land, a perspective that elicits feelings of danger and even fear. -This is enhanced by the gloomy storm clouds that seem to pummel the not-too-distant middle ground with rain. This part of the painting depicts a virginal landscape, nature created by God and untouched by man. -It is wild, unruly, and untamed. Rain is pouring and birds are frantic. This half of the painting is called the "sublime"- image of nature that is wild and untamed and scary and awesome -untamed wilderness is represented through the "Blasted Tree, a motif Cole paints into the lower left corner. -That such a formidable tree could be obliterated in such a way suggests the enormous power of Nature. -on the right side of the composition we can observe a peaceful landscape that humankind has subjugated to their will. -the land, which was once as disorderly as that on the left side of the painting, has now been overtaken by the order and regulation of agriculture. -****This side is called "pastoral"- tranquility and peacefulness -You can see a ferry with people crossing over and other ppl that have been let off at one side. There is also a pathway where you can see sheep grazing on the side and you can see chimney stacks of houses. There is a valley where the sun is shining -The thunderstorm, which threatens the left side of the painting, has left the land on the right refreshed and no worse for the wear. The sun shines brightly, filling the right side of the painting with the golden glow of a fresh afternoon. -When viewed together, the right and left side clearly speak to the ideology of ***Manifest Destiny. During the nineteenth century, discussions of westward expansion dominated political discourse. -The Louisiana Purchase of 1804 essentially doubled the size of the United States, and many believed that it was a divinely ordained obligation of Americans to settle this westward territory. -in The Oxbow, Cole visually shows the benefits of this process. The land to the east is ordered, productive, and useful. In contrast, the land to the west remains unbridled. Further westward expansion—a change that is destined to happen—is shown to positively alter the land. -The hill in the center of the painting reads in Hebrew letters. When looked at from above, and in reverse, from God's viewpoint, it reads "shaddai" which means "almighty" referring to God -There is an easily overlooked self-portrait in the lower part of the painting. Cole wears a coat and hat and stands before a stretched canvas placed on an easel, paintbrush in hand. The artist pauses, as if in the middle of the brushstroke, to engage the viewer. -Next to him is his supplies, his umbrella that will shelter him, a portfolio, and a chair. The chair is also a cross, which means this painting is in the Christian CONTEXT -The portfolio has his signature on it and it also reads as a tombstone for the artist. There's a sense of passage of time CONTEXT -During the nineteenth century, the elevation of landscape painting came to a point of national pride—- Thomas Cole reigned supreme as the undisputed leader of the Hudson River School of landscape painters (not an actual school, but a group of New York city-based landscape painters). -It is ironic, however, that the person who most embodies the beauty and grandeur of the American wilderness during the first half of the nineteenth century was not originally from the United States, but was instead born and lived the first seventeen years of his life in Great Britain

House in New Castle County, Robert Venturi, John Rausch and Denise Scott Brown

-US -1978 CE FORM - The New Castle County House dates to an important period in Venturi's career and Post Modernism. - Rather than copy a specific style, he borrowed freely, juxtaposing, collaging, and reinterpreting forms from distinct periods and places. - Like many traditional American farmhouses and barns, the painted siding is white and the intersecting gables are clad with unstained wood shingles. It may look conventional and familiar but on closer inspection the exterior is enlivened by a diverse array of mischievous and sometimes perplexing architectural features. - In "Learning from Las Vegas", the authors celebrated the concept of the "decorated shed"- buildings that exploit easily recognizable two-dimensional elements to generate visual interest and meaning. - The "front" façade of the New Castle County House incorporates a floating arched screen that, like a highway billboard, rises somewhat awkwardly from the lower edge of the gable. - Though Venturi claimed this curved feature had Austrian Baroque origins, like a garden gate or eyebrow dormers found on some Victorian houses, it functions as a sign, identifying the structure as a residence.*** - since the owners enjoyed bird watching it may also have doubled as a blind, camouflaging the large windows behind it. - The "rear" facade is even more complex. While it, too, is dominated by a prominent arched screen, this screen is framed by the edges of the gabled roof. - Supported by what appears to be a Doric colonnade, the four stubby columns are, in fact, almost flat. Thin as the outer walls, these cut-outs carry little weight and enclose the recessed porch. - While the column on the far right grows seamlessly out of the adjoining wall, the left column appears split in half by the addition of an aluminum drain pipe. - Classical in derivation yet slightly cartoonish, this somewhat awkward assemblage gives the house a simultaneously grand and whimsical appearance. - In photographs dating from the time of the building's completion the spacious interiors appear simple and comfortable, with wood decorations inspired by various 19th century design traditions. - The painted arches in the vaulted music room, the quirky chandeliers, and perforated wall patterns exhibit a straight-forward craftsman-like quality, as if cut by hand or jigsaw. - Conspicuously two dimensional, their fanciful silhouettes evoke the Carpenter Gothic and Queen Anne styles. FUNCTION - built for a family of three - he highlighted historic structures that exhibit a "messy vitality over obvious unity" - preferring complexity and contradiction over abstraction and what Venturi called the "fairy stories" of modernist purity. - For Venturi, how buildings look, and are perceived, was far more important than the techniques, systems, and theories used to plan and construct them. CONTENT - sits comfortably in nature. - it neither crowns a hilltop nor hovers above a well-trimmed lawn. Instead, the house sits surrounded by rolling fields, beside a thickly-wooded forest. CONTEXT I- n New Castle County, Delaware - Venturi was an influential teacher and theorist and studied architecture at Princeton University and attended the American Academy in Rome during the mid-1950s, where he developed a "partiality" towards post- Renaissance architecture, particularly works built during the Mannerist and Baroque periods in Italy. In 1966, The Museum of Modern Art in New York published his first book Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture. - Written while he was teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, it contains dozens of small black-and-white photographs of Western architecture from ancient times to the present day, as well as examples of the architect's early work. - Venturi used the first chapter, sub-titled "A Gentle Manifesto," to express his strongly held belief that orthodox Modern architecture and city planning had run its course

The Gates, Christo and Jeanne-Claude

- 1979 CE -US FORM - The saffron color in The Gates was used to create "a golden ceiling creating warm shadows" for the visitor walking along the Central Park path. FUNCTION - Despite a brief exhibition period—February 12th through 27th 2005—The Gates remains a complex testament to two controversial topics in contemporary art: how to create meaningful public art and how art responds to and impacts our relationship with the built environment. - The Gates respond to spaces designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux within the dense urban grid of Manhattan. - The artists complicate an environment that was, in fact, entirely invented in the mid-19th century to express the Victorian ideal of the pastoral and picturesque landscape. - This intrusion into Manhattan's "natural environment" left many visitors uneasy because it just drew attention to itself, not the park - A point of contrast can be seen at the Storm King Art Center, a renowned sculpture park 52 miles north of New York City that has successfully cultivated a dialogue between sculptures and their landscape for over fifty years. -Whereas sculptures are installed within the meadows and rolling hills of Storm King's grounds, The Gates were tied to the paths that meander through the park -This was done for two reasons: to avoid drilling thousands of holes into the soil and potentially harming the root systems of adjacent trees, and because Christo and Jeanne-Claude were inspired by the way the city's pedestrians navigate its paths. -***The Gates reinforce and highlight pre-existing routes within this manmade environment, central park. -Critiques of The Gates that are rooted in the issue of the artwork's relationship with nature are therefore curious since the Park itself is not an untouched natural space. -This installation alters the experience of seeing and walking along the paths that run throughout the park. -The title alludes to a threshold, a point of exit and entrance. -In fact, in some places, the structures form an oval. There is no starting point and no end point. -It is an installation made for the pedestrian in motion and not a static object that asks us to stand still before it. -"Our works are temporary in order to endow the works of art with a feeling of urgency to be seen, and the love and tenderness brought by the fact that they will not last. Those feelings are usually reserved for other temporary things such as childhood and our own life." CONTENT -Each gate, a rectilinear three-sided rigid vinyl frame resting on two steel footings, supported saffron-colored fabric panels that hung loosely from the top. -The gates themselves matched the brilliant color of the fabric. -7,503 gates ran over 23 miles of walkways; each gate was 16 feet high, with widths varying according to the paths' width. CONTEXT -The Gates cost 21 million dollars and both the artists and the supporting institutions (the City of New York and the Central Park Conservancy) were quick to emphasize that Christo and Jeanne-Claude financed the project themselves and that the installation was free to the public. -The artists sold preparatory drawings related to The Gates, and other works, before the exhibition opened; they rely on this method to independently fund their projects since they do not accept sponsors. -Though the City and the Central Park Conservancy did not use public money to support this project, their approval and support were seen as an invaluable currency by many critics. -This took 26 years to make. The artists submitted proposals, attended meetings, and made presentations throughout this period, persisting even after they received a 251-page official rejection only three years into their campaign. -Many consider the 2001 mayoral election of Michael Bloomberg—a Christo and Jeanne-Claude collector—as the turning point in this saga. -the show took about six weeks to install and -The Gates came down the day after the exhibition ended, with most of the materials headed for recycling. -The artists maintain a thorough archive of their work on their website; along with projects that never materialized (including several for New York City) and current projects

Travelers among Mountains and Streams, Fan Kuan

- 1000 CE - China FORM - Ink on silk hanging scroll - Fan Kuan's landscape epitomizes the early Northern Song monumental style of landscape painting. - The mountain form accurately captures the geological traits of southern Shaanxi and northwestern Henan provinces-thick vegetation grows only at the top of the bare steep-sided cliffs in thick layers of fine-grained soil known as loess. - The mountains are triangular with deep crevices. - In the painting they are conceived frontally and additively. - To model the mountains, Fan Kuan used incisive thickening-and-thinning contour strokes, texture dots and ink wash. Strong, sharp brushstrokes depict the knotted trunks of the large trees. - foliage and fir trees silhouetted along the upper edge of the ledge in the middle distance - To convey the sheer size of the landscape depicted, Fan Kuan relied on suggestion rather than description. - The gaps between the three distances act as breaks between changing views. The additive images do not physically connect; they are comprehended separately. - Fan Kuan's landscape shows how the use of scale can dramatically heighten the sense of vastness and space. -Diminutive figures are made visually even smaller in comparison to the enormous trees and soaring peaks. They are overwhelmed by their surroundings. Fan Kuan's signature is hidden among the leaves of one of the trees in the lower right corner. FUNCTION - the hanging scroll composition presents universal creation in its totality, and does so with the most economic of means - look at context CONTENT - Immense boulders occupy the foreground and are presented to the viewer at eye level. - beyond them theres detailed brushwork describing rocky outcroppings, covered with trees. - There are two men driving a group of donkeys loaded with firewood and a temple partially hidden in the forest. - In the background a central peak rises from a mist-filled chasm and is flanked by two smaller peaks. - This solid screen of gritty rock takes up nearly two-thirds of the picture. The sheer height of the central peak is accentuated by a waterfall plummeting from a crevice near the summit and disappearing into the narrow valley. CONTEXT and FUNCTION - Fan kuan is daoist - Bounded by mountain ranges and bisected by two great rivers—the Yellow and the Yangzi—China's natural landscape has played an important role in the shaping of the Chinese mind and character. - From very early times, the Chinese viewed mountains as sacred and imagined them as the abode of immortals. - The term for landscape painting (shanshui hua) in Chinese is translated as "mountain water painting." - During the tumultuous Five Dynasties period in the early 10th century (an era of political upheaval between the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the founding of the Song Dynasty), scholars who fled to the mountains saw the tall pine tree as representative of the virtuous man. - After the long period of political disunity (the Five Dynasties period), Fan Kuan lived as a recluse and was one of many poets and artists of the time who were disenchanted with human affairs. - He turned away from the world to seek spiritual enlightenment. Through his painting Travelers by Streams and Mountains, Fan Kuan expressed a cosmic vision of man's harmonious existence in a vast but orderly universe. - The Neo-Confucian search for absolute truth in nature as well as self-cultivation reached its climax in the 11th century and is demonstrated in this work. - The development of Monumental landscape painting coincided with that of Neo-Confucianism—a reinterpretation of Chinese moral philosophy. -Beginning in the late Tang and early Northern Song, Neo-Confucian thinkers rebuilt Confucian ethics using Buddhist and Daoist metaphysics. - Chinese philosophers found it useful to think in terms of complimentary opposites, interacting polarities— inner and outer, substance and function, knowledge and action. In their metaphysics they naturally employed the ancient yin and yang -The interaction of these complementary poles was viewed as integral to the processes that generate natural order. - Central to understanding Neo-Confucian thought is the conceptual pair of li and qi. -Li is usually translated as principles that underlie all phenomena. Li constitutes the underlying pattern of reality. Nothing can exist if there is no li for it. This applies to human conduct and to the physical world. -Qi can be characterized as the vital force and substance of which man and the universe are made. Qi can also be conceived of as energy, but energy which occupies space. In its most refined form it occurs as mysterious ether, but condensed it becomes solid metal or rock. - By seeing things not through the human eye, but in the light of their own principles (li), Fan Kuan was able to organize and present different aspects of a landscape within a single composition—he does this with a constantly shifting viewpoint. In his masterful balance of li and qi, Fan Kuan created a microcosmic image of a moral and orderly universe.

Maize cobs

- 1440 CE - Inka South America FORM - A garden of miniature llamas, corn, flowers, and people all made of gold and silver. - existed in the courtyard in one of the most important Inka temples, the Qorikancha, in the capital city of Cuzco.**** - a gold-silver alloy corncob sculpture. It mimics the appearance of a ripe ear of corn breaking through its husk, still on the stalk but ready to be harvested. - In this sculptural representation of maize (Zea mays), individual kernels of corn protrude from the cob that is nestled in jagged metallic leaves. - Inka metalsmiths expertly combined silver and copper to mimic the internal and external components of actual corn. Hollow and delicate, the ears of corn on the stalk are life-sized. -While many ancient Andean art traditions favored abstract and geometric forms , Inka visual expression often incorporated more naturalistic forms in small-scale metal objects. -After the Spaniards arrived in the Andes, the European invaders soon desired the gold and silver belonging to the Inka. Some of the earliest Spanish chroniclers record the placement of a garden composed of gold and silver objects among many of the offering and ritual spaces in the Qorikancha. FUNCTION - The life-size garden was a significant offering within the Qorikancha where it became part of a compact version of the cosmos controlled by the Inka state. - It also represented the vast range of ecosystems encompassed by the empire and the most important agricultural products cultivated in them. - The empire reached from the desert coasts to over 6000 feet above sea level. -Plants and animals represented in the golden garden cannot grow and survive at every point in the empire, but only at specified altitudes. For example maize grows up to a mid-range altitude, and llamas graze at the highest points of the empire. -The metallic maize cobs would have represented one of the most important imperial foodstuffs, used for making the chicha (maize beer) consumed at political feasts, which cemented the obligations of local political leaders to the Inka state. - For centuries, an organized "vertical archipelago" system and terracing technologies allowed Andean people to obtain the foods and materials that they needed to survive from different elevations. The Inka adopted these systems, enhanced them, and exploited them on an imperial scale. - The Qorikancha's garden asserted the natural world as a possession of the Inka at the same time it reinforced their divine right to rule across the Andes. CONTENT - The Inka commonly deployed small-scale naturalistic metallic offerings, like the silver alloy corncobs, in ritual practices that supported state religion and government. - Offerings have been found across Inka territories. Besides corn, these offerings included small gold and silver human figurines ornamented with textiles that accompanied qhapaq hucha sacrifices at the furthest reaches of the empire. - All these offerings acted as symbols of the supernatural origin of the Inkas in the Sun, and their control over the natural world as descendants from the most powerful deity. CONTEXT - After the defeat of Inka leadership in the 1530s, Spanish royal agents set up colonies across the continent. - They looted Inka objects in large quantities and sent many back to Spain. The silver corncob and stalk were likely part of the spoils captured in this raid. - By 1534, the collections of the Spanish king Charles V included a gold maize stalk with three leaves and two ears of corn. - Royal inventories also describe gold and silver llamas, female figures, a lamb, and a male figure that purportedly originated in one of the most important Inka temples in the capital city of Cuzco, the Qorikancha.

The Valley of Mexico from the Hillside of Santa Isabel, José María Velasco boop

- Mexico - 1882 CE FORM - romanticism - Velasco's compositions united pre-Hispanic symbols and contemporary national sentiments. - For example, the white peaks that predominate his vistas are the Popocatepetl and Iztacchihuatl volcanoes. - the two volcanoes were the main characters of a legendary ill-fated love between an Aztec princess (Iztacchihuatl, or "white woman") and a courageous warrior (Popocatepetl, or "smoking mountain"). -At one point, the brushstrokes that form the peaks of the snow-covered volcanoes, the rock formations and other details were done from memory, making it possible for the artist to change and manipulate the details of the landscape as he saw fit. FUNCTION -This imagery offered an opportunity to highlight symbols of patriotism valuable to a newly independent society. CONTENT - In the background, there are receding waters of Lake Texcoco and the contours of Mexico City. The ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was founded in the middle of this lake in 1325. - Velasco's home was located at the foot of the small hill shown in the middle of the canvas. - This hill was also an important sacred colonial site where the Virgin of Guadalupe first appeared to the indigenous man Juan Diego in 1531. - This version of The Valley of Mexico from the Hillside of Santa Isabel is perhaps the most celebrated of a dozen or so images with the same subject done by the artist between 1875 and 1892. - Velasco introduces his figures not as mere staffage, or accessories enhancing the rest of the artwork, but as key components behind the composition's poetics. - Velasco explored the romantic relationship between human figures and the scenery they inhabit. - Two indigenous individuals are presented in transit from the city to the country, reflecting a romantic, yet difficult socio-economic relationship between people and their ancestral land. The figures' indigenous garments relate to the national iconography displayed throughout the image - This image has national pride, romantic poetry, and daily life Woman and child CONTEXT - the first art school in the Americas was established in Mexico City in the late eighteenth century. - This important school fostered Romantic and Neoclassical aesthetics through previously unexplored genres of painting. For example, the Valley of Mexico. - The development of these images offered the opportunity for artists to explore the Romantic qualities of "pure landscape," which in Mexico, through the teachings of the Italian professor Eugenio Landesio, emerged as a popular genre in the Academy. After the 1821 war of independence (from Spain), Mexico sought to establish its identity through artistic endeavors. - The development of the practice of national landscape painting was part of the dictator López de Santa Anna's efforts to re-establish the art academy after decades of neglect following the formation of Mexico as an independent nation. - The Valley of Mexico from the Hillside of Santa Isabel can be viewed as a re-interpretation of the common late eighteenth-century German subject, "pastoral idylls," where a sense of poetic harmony and daily life were united.

Ecstacy of St Theresa, Bernini

- Rome, Italy - 1647 CE FORM - Colored marble - Gilding - Baroque art- involve the viewer to inspire faith - Baroque art often appeals to our senses, which is different from the high renaissance and its appeal to the rational mind - There's a broken pediment, a sort of proscenium, a stage-like space - There's a window hidden behind the broken pediment that shines light through and then down onto the sculpture - Outside, there are two pediments and a spiral shaped - broken facade FUNCTION - Bernini used the physical body and a kind of sexual symbolism to get at the spiritual experience - The patron- the Cornaro family - Frederico Cornaro was a cardinal in Venice, but had important ties to Rome -"Light highlights the intensity of St. Teresa's mystical union with God." • "Light is used in the work to suggest the presence of the divine." • "The use of light in the work was intended to encourage intense faith. CONTENT - There's fresco on the ceiling and the stained glass - The ecstasy of teresa is a woman who had recently been canonized (in 1622), been made a Saint, who here is having one of her not so uncommon visions of an angel - The angel is pointing the arrow at the woman. Her body is writhing under the heavy cloth - He has a sweet and angelic smile and his body is graceful - There's a difference between the cloth the angel and the woman wears. The angel's cloth seems to whip around his body with the wind, while the woman wears heavy cloth - On either side of the chapel, we see relief sculptures of figures that look like they're in theater boxes, as if we were a part of an audience - The figures are the Cornaro family - Rays of gold representing light - If we look way up there's a fresco on the ceiling of the chapel that shows the Holdy spirit, a white dove, and light emanating from that- it's like the light is coming from the holdy spirit to the two figures CONTEXT - Bernini was deeply religious and interested in theater - Bernini was both a scupltor and an architect, a dramatist, and stage craftsman - In the Cornaro Chapel within the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria - Saint Teresa wrote accounts of the visions that she had of angels using metaphors - "Beside me on the left appeared an angel in bodily form. He was not tall, but short, and very beautiful. And his face was so aflame that he appeared to be one of the highest ranks of angels, who seemed to be all on fire. In his hands I saw a great, golden spear, and at the iron tip there appeared to be a point to fire. This he plunged into my heart several times so that it penetrated to my entrails. When he pulled it out, I felt that he took them with it and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused me by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease. Nor is one's soul content with anything but God. This is not a physical but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it, even a considerable share." - This was when Protestants in the north were revolting against the Cathlics, and saying that the pomp and ceremony of the Catholic tradition is not necessary - The protestants said that we should have a personal relationship with God, that we didn't need the ceremony of the church - What Bernini is doing is he is using all the pomp and ceremony, all the gold and marble to express a direct relationship between a spiritual realm and an individual

Il Gesù, including Triumph of the Name of Jesus ceiling fresco

Rome, italy - 1568 CE - Giovanni Battista Gaulli FORM - Appeals to people's imagination rather than intellect - Classicizing- the materials are kind of fluted -Corinthian columns and pilasters that we would see in renaissance churches, it's just that they're made of Sicilian jasper, ochre marble and other rich materials, 0some of them spolia- it was common to rebuild the new Christian Rome out of its ancient "pagan past" -There's a focus on the altar, the removal of the aisles as a space for traffic -There's a space for individual chapels on the sides -Where the wall dissolves, it's made of stucco- cheap material -The fresco extends on wooden -There's a glaze of darker paint to create the illusion that we're seeing the shadows from the clouds -There are no aisles- to focus on the openness of the space -Baroque- shows lots of emotions -and Mannerist -Temebrism- using one light source FUNCTION - Founded as the mother church of the Jesuit Order in the mid to late 1500s aafter the death of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, its founder - Ceiling fresco illustrate the beliefs of the Jesuits scared them into not believing in the faith - A strong emphasis to choose this path, or else they will go to hell - Trumphalism for the religion is the theme CONTENT - On the facade of the church, it says IHS, an interpretation of the letters of Jesus' name read in Latin or in Greek -Heaven is represented as a light, and those who don't follow this religion as falling out of the sky into hell -We also see the name of the patron, Alexander Farnese, a rich, powerful and art loving Cardinal -Inside, there's the name of Jesus on the ceiling -The church has a dome over the intersection of the large nave and transept -Similar to Bernini's apse in saint peters- the ihs -Joining of the spiritual realm and earthly realm -There are figures that fall out of the sky into the shade, down to earth, into hell CONTEXT -Called Gesu, which means Jesus

Colosseum

- Rome, Italy - 70 CE FORM - 100,000 blocks of travertine (concrete) - They follow some greek architecture - Corinthian on top two stories - The second story is ionic - Lower story is Tuscan, looks like doric - All gateways were direct entrances - Barrel vaulted rings - has a very complex interior structure of corridors and stairways - The arena (ground) floor was made of wood planks. These wood planks were punctuated every couple meters with a trap door and those trap doors were daps to elevators which were operated manually by slaves and were used to bring animals up to the floor level for animal hunt and scenery and props for gladiatorial combats FUNCTION - Place of slaughter and death (theatrical) - stage CONTENT - Another name is "arena building" (arena means sound) - Theres sand on the ground to absorb blood - It was the center of a vast palace that Nero built for himself - The romans called it the Flavian Amphitheater. It only started to be called colosseum in middle ages***** - Thats bc there was a giant statue of the sun god that the emperor Hadrian moved next to the colosseum, about 100 ft tall. It was not in great condition bc of earthquakes - U get inside by walking thru one of the arch ways - 76 of 80 arches were numbered. The four main entrances in n, s, e, w did not - The 76 numbers on the entrances were key to the number on the ticket of the roughly 50,000 spectators who we think would fit into the colosseum. - Many had to go through a very dark and low corridor on the second story of the building - The cheaper seats are higher up, away from the action. - The emperor, magistrates, and priests sat at the lowest seats. Then its senators, then businessmen, then plebeians, then foreigners, enslaved people, and women on temporary wooden seats. - The elite seats were marble and inscribed with the names of the categories of people who sit in them - In the colosseum, it was used for three things - In morning Animal hunts-exotic animals like tigers lion, elephants, rhinos from africa and slaughtered them in these animal hunts in the colosseum - In afternoon the gladiatorial combats- gladiators sometimes were killed, but before these : there were sometimes execution of prisoners at lunch hour. Romans enjoyed their lunch while watching gruesome acts - Many christians died as martyrs - became an important pilgrimage site - Velarium- "the great awning"- a detachment of marines who manned the ropes of this awning (roof cover). These ropes looped around bollards - The emperors were dangered to be close to the stage, so he had a tunnel that led right ot his box There was a net separating the lowest seats from the stage. Animals were kept away in a ditch so they can't jump up CONTEXT -built on an artificial lake that was part of Nero's Palace (now destroyed) - Nero was unpopular, he committed suicide - When it was built by a later emperor, a Flavian emperor, Vespasian, it was a gift back to the city from the spoils of the Jewish war. The treasures he found in the captured temple of the jews at Jerusalem payed for this structure

The Great Wave, Katsushika Hokusai

- 1830 CE - Japan FORM - It is a polychrome (multi-colored) woodblock print, made of ink and color on paper that is approximately 10 x 14 inches. - Ukiyo-e is the name for Japanese woodblock prints made during the Edo Period. -Ukiyo-e, which originated as a Buddhist term, means "floating world" and refers to the impermanence of the world. -The earliest prints were made in only black and white, but later, additional colors were added. -A separate block of wood was used for each color. Each print is made with a final overlay of black line, which helps to break up the flat colors. -Ukiyo-e prints are recognizable for their emphasis on line and pure, bright color, as well as their ability to distill form down to the minimum. -Hokusai moved away from the tradition of making images of courtesans and actors, which was the customary subject of ukiyo-e prints. Instead, his work focused on the daily life of Japanese people from a variety of social levels. Such as the quotidian scene of fishermen battling the sea off the coast of Mount Fuji that we see in The Great Wave. FUNCTION - This is part of a series of prints titled Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji, which Hokusai made between 1830 and 1833. - Hokusai is often described as having a personal fascination with the mountain, which sparked his interest in making this series. -However, he was also responding to a boom in domestic travel and the corresponding market for images of Mount Fuji. -Japanese woodblock prints were often purchased as souvenirs. -The original audience for Hokusai's prints was ordinary townspeople who were followers of the "Fuji cult" and made pilgrimages to climb the mountain, or tourists visiting the new capital city. CONTENT - All of the images in the series feature a glimpse of the mountain, but as you can see from this example, Mount Fuji does not always dominate the frame. here, the foreground is filled with a massive cresting wave. The threatening wave is pictured just moments before crashing down on to three fishing boats below. - The mountain, made tiny by the use of perspective, appears as if it too will be swallowed up by the wave. -Hokusai's optical play can also be lighthearted, and the spray from top of the crashing wave looks like snow falling on the mountain. - Hokusai has arranged the composition to frame Mount Fuji. The curves of the wave and hull of one boat dip down just low enough to allow the base of Mount Fuji to be visible, and the white top of the great wave creates a diagonal line that leads the viewers eye directly to the peak of the mountain top CONTEXT - Despite the fact that it was created at a time when Japanese trade was heavily restricted, Hokusai's print displays the influence of Dutch art, and proved to be inspirational for many artists working in Europe later in the nineteenth century. - Hokusai went by many different names; he began calling himself Hokusai in 1797. -Hokusai discovered Western prints that came to Japan by way of Dutch trade. -From the Dutch artwork Hokusai became interested in linear perspective. Subsequently, Hokusai created a Japanese variant of linear perspective. -The influence of Dutch art can also be seen in the use of a low horizon line and the distinctive European color, Prussian blue. - Hokusai was interested in oblique angles, contrasts of near and far, and contrasts of manmade and the natural. - These can be seen in Under the Wave off Kanagawa through the juxtaposition of the large wave in the foreground which dwarfs the small mountain in the distance, as well as the inclusion of the men and boats amidst the powerful waves. - Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan and has long been considered sacred. - Beginning in 1640, Japan was largely closed off to the world and only limited interaction with China and Holland was allowed. This changed in the 1850s, when trade was forced open by American naval commodore, Matthew C. Perry. After this, there was a flood of Japanese visual culture into the West. - At the 1867 International Exposition in Paris, Hokusai's work was on view at the Japanese pavilion. This was the first introduction of Japanese culture to mass audiences in the West, and a craze for collecting art called Japonisme ensued. Additionally, Impressionist artists in Paris, such as Claude Monet, were great fans of Japanese prints.

Hiapo (tapa)

- 1850 CE - Africa FORM - Gender played a major role, dictating women's access to training, tools, and materials in the arts. - For example, men's arts were often made of hard materials, such as wood, stone, or bone and men's arts were traditionally associated with the sacred realm of rites and ritual. - Women's arts historically utilized soft materials, particularly fibers used to make mats and bark cloth. - Women's arts included ephemeral materials such as flowers and leaves. Cloth made of bark is generically known as tapa across Polynesia, although terminology, decorations, dyes, and designs vary through out the islands. - Generally, to make bark cloth, a woman would harvest the inner bark of the paper mulberry (a flowering tree). The inner bark is then pounded flat, with a wooden beater or ike, on an anvil, usually made of wood. - In Eastern Polynesia (Hawai'i), bark cloth was created with a felting technique and designs were pounded into the cloth with a carved beater. - In Samoa, designs were sometimes stained or rubbed on with wooden or fiber design tablets. - In Hawai'i patterns could be applied with stamps made out of bamboo, whereas stencils of banana leaves or other suitable materials were used in Fiji. - Bark cloth can also be undecorated, hand decorated, or smoked as is seen in Fiji. - Design illustrations involved geometric motifs in an overall ordered and abstract patterns. - The most important traditional uses for tapa were for clothing, bedding and wall hangings. - Textiles were often specially prepared and decorated for people of rank. Tapa was ceremonially displayed on special occasions, such as birthdays and weddings. In sacred contexts, tapa was used to wrap images of deities. Even today, at times of death, bark cloth may be integral part of funeral and burial rites. FUNCTION - In Polynesia, textiles are considered women's wealth. - In social settings, bark cloth and mats participate in reciprocity patterns of cultural exchange. - Women may present textiles as offerings in exchange for work, food, or to mark special occasions. - For example, in contemporary contexts in Tonga, huge lengths of bark cloth are publically displayed and ceremoniously exchanged to mark special occasions. - Today, western fabric has also been assimilated into exchange practices. In rare instances, textiles may even accumulate their own histories of ownership and exchange. CONTENT - In the 1880s, a distinctive style of hiapo decorations emerged that incorporated fine lines and new motifs. - Hiapo from this period are illustrated with complicated and detailed geometric designs. - The patterns were composed of spirals, concentric circles, squares, triangles, and diminishing motifs (the design motifs decrease in size from the border to the center of the textile). - Niueans created naturalistic motifs and were the first Polynesians to introduce depictions of human figures into their bark cloth. - Some hiapo examples include writing, usually names, along the edges of the overall design. CONTEXT - Polynesia is one of the three major categories created by Westerners to refer to the islands of the South Pacific. - Polynesia means literally "many islands." Each Polynesian culture is unique, yet the peoples share some common traits. - Polynesians share common origins as Austronesian speakers (Austronesian is a family of languages). -The first known inhabitants of this region are called the Lapita peoples. Polynesians were distinguished by long-distance navigation skills and two-way voyages on outrigger canoes. -Native social structures were typically organized around highly developed aristocracies, and beliefs in primo-geniture (priority of the first-born). -At the top of the social structure were divinely sanctioned chiefs, nobility, and priests. Artists were part of a priestly class, followed in rank by warriors and commoners. -Polynesian cultures value genealogical depth, tracing one's lineage back to the gods. -Oral traditions recorded the importance of genealogical distinction, or recollections of the accomplishments of the ancestors. - Cultures held firm to the belief in mana, a supernatural power associated with high-rank, divinity, maintenance of social order and social reproduction, as well as an abundance of water and fertility of the land. - Mana was held to be so powerful that rules or taboos were necessary to regulate it in ritual and society. - For example, an uninitiated person of low rank would never enter in a sacred enclosure without risking death. -Mana was believed to be concentrated in certain parts of the body and could accumulate in objects, such as hair, bones, rocks, whale's teeth, and textiles -Niue is an island country south of Samoa. Little is known about early Niuean bark cloth or hiapo. -Niueans first contact with the west was the arrival of Captain Cook, who reached the island in 1774. No visitors followed for decades until 1830, with the arrival of the London Missionary Society. -The missionaries brought with them Samoan missionaries, who are believed to have introduced bark cloth to Niue from Samoa. -The earliest examples of hiapo were collected by missionaries and date to the second half of the nineteenth century. - Niuean ponchos (tiputa) collected during this era, are based on a style that had previously been introduced to Samoa and Tahiti. It is probable, however, that Niueans had a native tradition of bark cloth prior to contact with the West.

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Pablo Picasso

- France - 1907 CE FORM - Modern cubism - first cubist work - There's flatness- he's not denying the picture plane with a false illusion - This speaks to the oppressiveness with which post-renaissance culture, mannerism, the baroque neoclassism, the academies of the nineteenth century, all weighed on contemporary artists who were seeking on new visual language to represent modern culture - There's no linear perspective or chiaroscuro, the modulation of light and shadow that creates illusion- is absent here. - The figures are very close to us and space has become visible three dimensional fractured planes FUNCTION - Available to a male viewer - He found the formal means to convery the ideas behind sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases- it's a confrontational painting CONTENT - The title means "the young ladies of avignon" which refers to a street that's not in France but is in Barcelona and associated with prostitution - We're looking at a brothel, place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. - the women turn their gaze outward like manet's olympia to engage the viewer directly - The faces of the women on the right are often seen as representation fo African masks that we know picasso was looking at - The fact that it's supposed to represent danger is an expression of france's colonialism. Those masks were coming to france bc france has large colonial possessions in africa** - The figure on the left is an archaic figure, going back to Ancient Spain and going back to Iberian art before the classical period - Usually there is stylistic coherence but here it's kind of an invention - The curtains in between the figures are pressed right up against those figures. There's no space behind or between. There is still some sense of illusion. - There's still some shadow and highlight Art historians look at the central figure as the one that we're both looking across at, but also looking down as if we are standing over her while she lies on a bed - Fruit at the bottom- fertility CONTEXT - Spanish artist that was in paris when he painted this - Goes back to Manet's Olympia - This painting is seen as a break with the 500 years of Europoean painting that begins with the Renaissance I- n the original sketch, the women were focusing on a male sailor ad a medical student (who sees the women in a more scientific or artistic perspective), in a brothel as a customer. - But he takes those men out and the women turn their gaze outward like manet's olympia to engage the viewer directly - The medical student carried in some sketches, a skull. It makes sense for medical student to study anatomy but on the other hand a skull is a reminder of death, a memento mori - So there is tension between the sensuality that the sailor is indulging in and a moralizing reminder that the pleasures of life are short, indicated by the skull carried by the medical student - Considered one of hte greatest photographs of all time- captured history and spoke on art

Last Judgement (arena chapel part 4)

FUNCTION -virtues and vices- these are the good and evil that we confront, all of us, in our lives and these are the things that decide at the day of Judgement we go to Heaven or Hell. CONTENT AND FORM -Below the Passion scene is even more painting. -There are representations of virtues and vices, that is expressions of good and evil. - We're looking at the figure of Envy. Here is a figure in profile engulfed in flames, clutching a bag. but reaching with her other hand for something she does not have, something that she wants. She's not content with what she has, she wants more.She's got huge ears. It's as if every sense is attuned to what she does not have. We see emerging from her mouth, a snake, who moves toward her eyes. it doubles back on itself because it is what she sees that bites her, in a sense. - The final virtue, as we move towards the exit of the Chapel is Hope and she is reaching upward, floating, a classicized figure. she's winged like an Angel and is lifted up toward a figure on the upper right who's handing her a crown. She is in the corner looking up towards The Last Judgement and is of the same scale. Her body is in the same diagonal position as the elect in the bottom left corner. -We see the elect, many of them with their hands in positions of prayer looking up towards the enormous figure of Christ, the largest figure in this Chapel. We should say that the elect are the blessed, that is these are people that are going to Heaven. You'll see that they are actually accompanied by Angel's that look so caring and gentle. They're shepherding these people into Heaven. If you look carefully you can see that there feet are not on the ground, they're actually levitating slightly, they're rising up. -Just below the elect you can see that there are what seem to be children, naked, coming out of coffins, out of tombs. Those nude figures are meant to represent the souls that are to be judged by Christ, who sits in the middle. He sits here as Judge to judge those souls that are being wakened from the dead to determine whether or not they get to go to Heaven or if they're going to end up on the right side of this painting in Hell. -This follows very standard iconography or standard composition of The Last Judgement with the blessed, those who are going to Heaven on Christ's right and the damned below on Christ's left. -Just either side of Christ, though, that division of left and right doesn't happen. That's because this is Heaven. -There we see accord of Saint's and around that mandorla of Christ, we see Angel's blowing trumpets. - These are images that come right out of the Apocalypse, the Gospel according to John.** The book of Revelation. - We have the Angel's announcing the end of time. We have Angel's above them rolling up the sky as if it were a scroll. These are images that we generally see in Last Judgement's because they are in the text of the Bible. - The scene of Hell on the lower right with a large blue figure that is meant to represent Satan, surrounding him are souls being tortured in Hell. -Dante equates the punishments of Hell with the different kinds of sins that people committed. in The Last Judgement that we're looking at and because the patron here was concerned with the send of usury, we see usurers featured and they're being hung with the bags of money on the ropes that they're hanging from. -Below the usurer's you can actually make out a specific individual, also hanged, this is Judas, the Disciple that betrays Christ.

Church of Sainte-Foy

- Conques, Frace - 1130 CE FORM - As a Romanesque church, it has a barrel-vaulted nave lined with arches on the interior. -It is known as a pilgrimage church because many of the large churches along the route to Santiago de Compostela took a similar shape. -The main feature of these churches was the cruciform plan. Not only did this plan take the symbolic form of the cross but it also helped control the crowds of pilgrims. -In most cases, pilgrims could enter the western portal and then circulate around the church towards the apse at the eastern end. -The apse usually contained smaller chapels, known as radiating chapels, where pilgrims could visit saint's shrines, especially the sanctuary of Saint Foy. - They could then circulate around the ambulatory and out the transept, or crossing. -This design helped to regulate the flow of traffic throughout the church FUNCTION -the Church is an important pilgrimage church on the route to Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. -It is also an abbey, meaning that the church was part of a monastery where monks lived, prayed and worked. -When a pilgrim arrived at Conques, they would probably head for the church to receive blessing. CONTENT -before they got inside, an important message awaited them on the portals: the Last Judgment. -This scene is depicted on the tympanum***, the central semi-circular relief carving above the central portal. -In the center sits Christ as Judge. He sits enthroned with his right hand pointing upwards to the saved while his left hand gestures down to the damned. -This scene would have served as a reminder to those entering the Church of Saint-Foy about the joys of heaven and torments of hell. -Immediately on Christ's right are Mary, Peter and possibly the founder of the monastery as well as other saints. -Below these saints, a small arcade is covered by a pediment, meant to represent the House of Paradise. -These are the blessed, those have been saved by Christ -At the center, we find Abraham and above him notice the outstretched hand of God, who beckons a kneeling Saint Faith -On the other side of the pediment, a row of angels opens the graves of the dead. As the dead rise from their tombs, their souls will be weighed and they will be admitted to heaven or hell. -This is the scene that we see right under Christ's feet—you can see the clear division between a large doorway leading to Paradise and a terrifying mouth that leads the way to Hell. -Inside hell, It is a chaotic, disorderly scene—it looks different from the right-hand side of the tympanum. -There is also a small pediment in the lower register of Hell, where the Devil, just opposite to Abraham, reigns over his terrifying kingdom. -The devil, like Christ, is also an enthroned judge, determining the punishments that await the damned according to the severity of their sins. -In particular, to the devil's left is a hanged man. This man is a reference to Judas, who hanged himself after betraying Christ. -Just beyond Judas, a knight is tossed into the fires of Hell and above him, a greedy man is hung by his legs for his sins. -Each of these sinners represents a type of sin to avoid, from adultery, to arrogance, even to the misuse of church offices. -Indeed, this portal was not only a warning for pilgrims, but for the clergy who lived in Conques as well. -Pilgrims arriving in Conques had one thing on their mind: the reliquary of Saint Foy. -The reliquary at Conques held the remains of Saint Foy, a young Christian convert living in Roman-occupied France during the second century. -At the age of twelve, she was condemned to die for her refusal to sacrifice to pagan gods, she is therefore revered as a martyr, as someone who dies for their faith. - Saint Foy was a very popular saint in Southern France and her relic was extremely important to the church; bringing pilgrims and wealth to the town of Conques. -Her face, which stares boldly at the viewer, is thought to have originally been the head of a Roman statue of a child. -The reuse of older materials in new forms of art is known as spolia. Using spolia was not only practical but it made the object more important by associating it with the past riches of the Roman Empire. -the reliquary is the sculpture CONTEXT - Saint-Foy (Saint Faith) -Bernard of Angers was concerned about idolatry—that pilgrims would begin to worship the jewel-encrusted reliquary rather than what that reliquary contained and represented, the holy figure of Saint Foy.

The Burghers of Calais, Auguste Rodin

- France - 1884 CE FORM -Bronze - The men, at first glance, may look fragile but the heavy, rhythmic drapery that hangs from their shoulders falls to the ground like lead weights, anchoring them and creating a mass of strong bodies. -the fabric appears to almost fused to the ground, conveying the conflict between the men's desire to live and the need to save their city. - Includes raised portions of the floor under the men's feet which would have, ultimately, made some of the men appear higher than others, yet they are all sculpted to be around the same height of an adult male. - The burghers were not meant to be viewed in the form of a hierarchal pyramid with Eustache de Saint-Pierre at the top, which would have been typical in a multi-figure statue, but as a group equal in status. - By bringing these men down to 'street level,' Rodin allowed the viewer to easily look up into the men's faces mere inches from his/her own; enhancing the personal connection between the viewer and the six men. FUNCTION - commissioned by the French city of Calais to create a sculpture that commemorated the heroism of Eustache de Saint-Pierre, a prominent citizen of Calais, during the dreadful Hundred Years' War between England and France (begun in 1337). CONTENT - There are six men covered only in simple layers of tattered sackcloth; their bodies appearing thin and malnourished with bones and joints clearly visible. - Each man is a burgher, or city councilmen, of Calais, and each has their own stance and identifiable features. - However, while they may stand together with a sense of familiarity, none of them are making eye contact with the men beside them. - Some figures have their heads bowed or their faces obscured by raised hands, while others try to stand tall with their eyes gazing into the distance. - They are drawn together not through physical or verbal contact, but by their slumped shoulders, bare feet, and an expression of utter anguish. - Bc the patrons wanted a heroic quality with a raised pedestal that would place the figures in a God-like status high above the viewers, Rodin presented them on a pedestal. - However, the raised pedestal did not allow an audience to view the work of art as Rodin had intended. Therefore, he created a second version, one lacking a pedestal, to be placed at the Musée Rodin at the Hôtel Biron in Paris. - Rodin's goal was to bring the audience into his sculpture of The Burghers of Calais, and he accomplished this by not only positioning each figure in a different stance with the men's heads facing separate directions, but he lowered them down to street level so a viewer could easily walk around the sculpture and see each man and feel as if personally experiencing the tragic event. CONTEXT -Rodin followed the recounting of Jean Froissart, a fourteenth-century French chronicler, who wrote of the war. - According to Froissart, King Edward III made a deal with the citizens of Calais: if they wished to save their lives and their beloved city, then not only must they surrender the keys to the city, but six prominent members of the city council must volunteer to give up their lives. The leader of the group was Eustache de Saint-Pierre, who Rodin depicted with a bowed head and bearded face towards the middle of the gathering. -To Saint-Pierre's left, with his mouth closed in a tight line and carrying a giant set of keys, is Jean d'Aire. -The remaining men are identified as Andrieu d'Andres, Jean de Fiennes, and Pierre and Jacques de Wissant. -Wihtout the six men knowing, at the time of their departure, their lives would eventually be spared. -Rodin made the decision to capture these men in the moment that they gathered to leave the city to go to their deaths. Instead of depicting the elation of victory, the threat of death is very real. -Furthermore, Rodin stretched his composition into a circle causing no one man to be the focal point which allows the sculpture to be viewed in-the-round from multiple perspectives with no clear leader. -It was common in the nineteenth-century to depict an event with a single heroic figure. they were displeased with Rodin's concept. the one of Eustache de Saint-Pierre. Instead, Rodin included all six men from Froissart's account.

Dancing at the Louvre, from the series The French Collection, part 1; #1, Faith Ringgold

-1991 CE -US FORM - acrylic on canvas, tie-dyed, pieced fabric border - Ringgold's technique positions her work more in the world of folk art and craft than European traditions of fine art. -Associated with women's domestic work, quilt making has historically been important to maintaining female relationships. Quilting is often done collectively, allowing women time to gather and have conversations away from men or others outside their community. -Young girls watch and participate in the activity in order to learn family stories, cultural background, shared knowledge, and technical skills associated with their maternal and domestic roles. -Although quilts are common in a number of cultures, Ringgold's African-American heritage recalls their historical role, especially within the Underground Railroad, to communicate codes and hidden messages that remain unrecognized by outsiders to the community. FUNCTION -All about breaking the rules and having fun while doing it CONTENT - Ringgold's story-quilting technique is important to meaning in her work. She creates the central image using acrylic paint on canvas, reflecting her knowledge of western art history in both style and subject matter, and surrounds it with a patchwork cloth border that includes her hand-written text. She then uses traditional quilting methods to sandwich a layer of batting by stitching the decorative front to the plain cotton backing. - Never mind Leonardo da Vinci and Mona Lisa, Marcia and her three girls were the show. CONTEXT - Combining representational painting and African-American quilting techniques with the written word, Dancing at the Louvre is the first in Ringgold's series of twelve "story quilts" called The French Collection.*** - The series tells the fictional story of Willia Marie Simone, a young black woman who moves to Paris in the early 20th century. Told through text written around the margin of each quilt, Willia Marie's adventures lead her to meet celebrities such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, Sojourner Truth, and Rosa Parks on the road to becoming an artist and businesswoman. - Drawing on her own struggle for recognition in an art world dominated by European traditions and male artists, Ringgold uses this narrative format to literally rewrite the past by weaving together histories of modern art, African-American culture, and personal biography. This practice reflects the shift toward postmodernism in art of the 1980s and 1990s. - In deliberate contrast to Modernism's emphasis on autonomy and universal meaning, artists like Ringgold highlighted the implicit biases in accepted forms of art, especially in their treatment of race and gender. - Characteristic is her use of appropriation, narrative, biographical references, and non-Western traditions. Through these devices, Ringgold offers an alternative to the European and masculine perspectives that are prevalent in art history. -Women working together

City of Cusco, including Qorikancha (Inka main temple), Santo Domingo (Spanish colonial convent), and Walls at Saqsa Waman (Sacsayhuaman)

- 1440 CE - Central Highlands, Peru FORM - elevation of 11,200 feet - (i think this is walls of sqasa waman aka Sacsayhuaman) The masonry of Cusco displays an understanding of stones as being like people, in that many different ones may fit together if they are properly organized. -Each individual stone was pecked with tools and fitted to the one next to it, with the result that blocks will have a varied number of sides, such as the famous Twelve-Sided stone in the walls of Hatun Rumiyoq Street. -Some sides of each stone were made to curve outward slightly, others to be slightly concave, so that the stones slotted together, while still allowing a small amount of movement. The ability to move a little was important in an area that is seismically active, protecting the walls from earthquakes. -The stones used to construct the city were much larger than those used in the streets and houses of Cusco -The stones were quarried and hauled into place using considerable manpower, obtained through the mit'a, or labor tax, that all able-bodied people of the empire owed the Inka. - The exceptionally fine masonry of the Qorikancha was reserved for the most important buildings, since it was even more time-consuming than regular Inka stonework. - Rather than fitting each stone together as an individual shape, creating an irregular-looking surface, here they were shaped into even courses of rectangular blocks, and polished to a smooth finish. -The walls were then covered in sheets of gold to signify the shrine's dedication to Inti, and would have reflected the sun's rays with a blinding brilliance. Inside, a reproduction of the world in miniature took the shape of a garden made from gold, silver and jewels, with people, animals, and plants. -The riches of the Qorikancha would be taken in the looting of the city following the Spanish conquest in 1532, and melted down for their precious materials FUNCTION - the city of Cusco was the capital of Tawantinsuyu ("Land of the Four Quarters," the Inka name for their empire in their native language, Quechua). - It was also an axis mundi—the center of existence—and a reflection of Inka power. -The Qorikancha was the center point of the empire, CONTENT - The city was divided into two sections, hanan (upper or high) and hurin (lower), which paralleled the social organization of Inka society into upper and lower moieties (social divisions). - Cusco was further divided into quarters that reflected the four divisions of the empire, and people from those sections inhabited their respective quarters of the city. In this way, the city was a map in miniature of the entire Inka empire, and a way for the Inka rulers to explicitly display their power to shape and order that empire. - Some scholars think that the city was deliberately laid out so that it was shaped like a puma, symbol of Inka might, but this is still under debate.*** - At the heart of hurin Cusco was the Qorikancha ("Golden House"), the most sacred shrine of the Inka, dedicated to the worship of the sun. While the Inka had many gods, they claimed descent from the sun, whom they called Inti, and held the sun's worship above all others. ** -The Qorikancha was the center point of the empire, and from it radiated imaginary lines, called ceques, which connected it to shrines throughout the Cusco valley.** -Rebecca Stone refers to the ceques as a "landscape calendar and cosmogram," as the shrines were also a marker of time, with different noble families tending to and holding rituals at the shrines around the ceque system throughout the year. -After the conquest, the Qorikancha was one of many Inka shrines turned into a Christian holy space. -**The monastery and church of Santo Domingo were built around and on top of the original shrine, incorporating the old structure into the new one in a way that makes for a strange appearance today. -Parts of the old temple are still visible, inside and out, alternating with Spanish Baroque architectural features - The Qorikancha itself was renovated by the first emperor, Pachacuti Inka Yupanqui, after he had a mystical revelation that declared him a divine king. All of the doorways, windows, and wall niches of the Qorikancha were the distinctive Inka trapezoid shape, with doorways double-jambed to signify the importance of the building. CONTEXT - The city buzzed with activity, both secular and religious. Not only the Inka rulers and their nobles resided in Cusco. Local leaders from all sections of the empire also lived in Cusco—often compelled to do so as a means of controlling their home populations. - Girls and young women were drawn from across the empire to the capital to serve as cloistered acllas ("chosen women"): to weave fine cloth for gods and nobles and to make corn beer (chicha) for religious rituals, to serve gods in shrines, and in some cases to be given to Inka favorites in marriage. -Young men were also brought to Cusco to be educated and raised in the Inka culture. When they returned to their homes, they would be valuable advocates for Inka traditions and power. -In addition to the Inka gods and ancestor mummies kept in the capital, there were also the captured gods of subject peoples, brought there as another means of controlling their followers. -It is possible that it was never finished, or that parts of it were left incomplete at the time of conquest, as Jean-Pierre Protzen has proposed.

parthenon (acropolis)

- Athens, Greece - 447 BCE - phidias, (Iktinos and Kalikrates designed the building) FORM - When it was a church it had an apse at the east end - Peripheral style - In the west end there were 4 ionic elements - Combines both doric and ionic elements - Doric- triglyphs and metopes - ionic - frieze - Sculptures made out of marble that were originally colorful, but now all white - The west pediment shows detailed renders of clothing that show the body underneath it. The people who carved the stone understood the bone structure of the body - U can tell the difference between gods and goddesses from mortals from their size - Style of sculpture called phidian FUNCTION - The early Christians turned the temple into a church - It served as a church until athens was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century, and it became a mosque - in 1687, during the Venetian siege of the Acropolis, the defending Turks were using the Parthenon as a store for gunpowder, which was ignited by the Venetian bombardment. The explosion blew out the heart of the building, destroying the roof and parts of the walls and the colonnade. 1. Marble temple dedicated to the goddess Athena 2. Greek orthodox church 3. Roman catholic church 4. mosque - Sacred rather than a defensive one during war - It was also a treasury CONTENT - Inside the temple stood a colossal statue representing Athena, patron goddess of the city. The statue, which no longer exists, was made of gold and ivory and was the work of sculptor Pheidias. - The building itself was decorated with marble sculptures representing scenes from Athenian cult and mythology. - There are 3 categories of architectural sculpture you can find on the parthenon: - The FRIEZE: (carved in low relief) high up around all four sides of the building inside the colonnades. - The METOPES: (carved in high relief) were placed at the same level as the frieze above the architrave surmounting the columns on the outside of the temple. - The PEDIMENT sculptures: (carved in the round) at each end. - included ninety-two metopes showing scenes of mythical battle. Those on the south flank of the temple included a series featuring human Lapiths in mortal combat with Centaurs. a young Lapith holds a Centaur from behind with one hand, while preparing to deliver a blow with the other. The composition is perfectly balanced, with the protagonists pulling in opposite directions, around a central space filled by the cascading folds of the Lapith's cloak. -Fragment from the frieze-This block was placed near the corner of the west frieze of the Parthenon, where it turned onto the north. The horseman in front twists around to look back at his companion, and raises a hand (now missing) to his head. This gesture, repeated elsewhere in the frieze, is perhaps a signal. - Symbol of democracy: It was full of valuable stuff. Symbol of wealth and power - Mathematical proportion- visual representation of perfection. However, it's not 100% perfect. The human eye perceives it as perfect with straight lines - From left to right, their posture varies in order to accommodate the slope of the pediment that originally framed them. CONTEXT -By around 500 BCE democracy emerged in Athens. - After the persian invasion, mainland Greece and Athens entered into a golden age - The city's empire stretched from the western - Mediterranean to the Black Sea, creating enormous wealth. This paid for one of the biggest public building projects ever seen in Greece, which included the Parthenon. - There's a myth- two gods vying for the honor of being the patron of this city- athena and poseidon - acropolis is a high spot in athens

Santa Sabina

- Rome, Italy - 422 CE FORM -Classical -Narthex- entrance - It had a longitudinal axis so many people can gather for the liturgy with the focus on the altar - The arches leads our eye to the critical point ^ - Open space, we see a clear view through the nave and one aisle on either side, down toward the apse where the altar is. The apse is the semicircular space opposite the entrance of the church - it is lit through sunlight coming in from a clerestory (it doesnt have glass, it has a crystalline form of gypsum) Light comes in, annd light is God's divine soul - Spolia- columns align the sides and contain a nave arcade of arches. There are images created out of inlaid stone that show a chalice and bread plates. Spolia is reused material from another building - Corinthian capital - Down the nave there is a reference to the eucharist, which is part of the Christian liturgy where the priest enacts the sacrifice and resurrection of christ by offering the bread and the wine, which is body and blood of christ FUNCTION - Basilicas—a type of building used by the ancient Romans for diverse functions including as a site for law courts—is the category of building that Constantine's architects adapted to serve as the basis for the new churches. - The emphasis in this architecture is on the spiritual effect and not the physical. - It was an ancient pagan Rome, and administrative structure CONTENT - has a dominant central axis that leads from the entrance to the apse, the site of the altar. - The architecture is relatively simple with a wooden, truss roof. - The walls now plain, the walls apparently originally were decorated with mosaics. - like the interior of the Pantheon, the wall in the classical building was broken up into different levels by the horizontals of the entablatures. - The columns and pilasters form verticals that tie together the different levels. -Although this decor does not physically support the load of the building, the effect is to visualize the weight of the building. The thickness of the classical decor adds solidity to the building. -The glass tiles of the mosaics would create a shimmering effect and the walls would appear to float. -The emphasis in this architecture is on the spiritual effect and not the physical. -Held huge numbers of people -It had a sense of imperial authority -Has a carved wooden doorway with scenes of the old and New testament -In upper left corner, there may be one of the first examples of a crucifixion. We dont see crosses, but a large central figure with his arms out and two other figures in the same position, perhaps the two thieves that were crucified. The screen is elaborately carved CONTEXT -"Santa" means saint -Sabina became a Christian through her servant -Sabina was a martyr -At top of Aventine Hill -built after about a hundred years after Constantine legalizes Christianity

Y no hai remedio (and there's nothing to be done), Francisco de Goya

- Spain - 1810 CE FORM - Disasters of War series was created using Aquatint- etching and drypoint technique this technique created nuanced shades of light and dark that capture the powerful emotional intensity of the horrific scenes - The first step was to etch the plate. This was done by covering a copper plate with wax and then scratching lines into the wax with a stylus exposed the metal. - The plate was then placed in an acid bath. The acid bit into the metal where it was exposed (the rest of the plate was protected by the wax). - Next the acid was washed from the plate and the plate was heated so the wax softened and could be wiped away. The plate then had soft, recessed lines etched by the acid where Goya had drawn into the wax. -The next step, drypoint, created lines by a different method. Here Goya scratched directly into the surface of the plate with a stylus. -This resulted in a less even line since each scratch left a small ragged ridge on either side of the line. -These minute ridges catch the ink and create a soft distinctive line when printed. However, because these ridges are delicate and are crushed by repeatedly being run through a press, the earliest prints in a series are generally more highly valued. -Finally, the artist inked the plate and wiped away any excess so that ink remained only in the areas where the acid bit into the metal plate or where the stylus had scratched the surface. The plate and moist paper were then placed atop one another and run through a press. The paper, now a print, drew the ink from the metal, and became a mirror of the plate. FUNCTION -The eighty-two images in the series add up to a visual indictment of and protest against the French occupation of Spain by Napoleon Bonaparte.** CONTENT -part of a fourteen painting series created at the end of Goya's life known as the "Black Paintings" -There's a man, blind-folded, head downcast, and he stands bound to a wooden pole. -His white clothes, despite tears and rips, seem to emit light; although his posture signifies defeat, he is yet heroic, an Alter Christus—another Christ. -On the ground in front of him is a corpse, contorted, the spine twisted, arms and legs sprawled in opposite directions. -His face looks at us through obscured eyes as blood and brain matter ooze out of his skull and pool around his head. Seconds ago this man was alive. -To the hero's left, other men on their knees, are similarly secured to wooden stakes. -To his right we see the cause of the carnage: a line of soldiers aiming rifles at the men, the muzzle of their weapons disappearing behind the hero's hip. -Suddenly, the barrel of three rifles appear from the right edge of the picture, aimed at the hero. -Not only is he about to die, but his executioners are everywhere. the caption of the picture tells us, "Y no hay remedio" (And there's nothing to be done). -this theme—the cruelty of one group of people towards another—was a preoccupation of the artist** CONTEXT - napoleonic wars -Francisco Goya created the series The Disasters of War from 1810 to 1820. -the series is a visual indictment of and protest against the French occupation of Spain by Napoleon Bonaparte. -The French Emperor had seized control of the country in 1807 after he tricked the king of Spain, Charles IV, into allowing Napoleon's troops to pass its border, under the pretext of helping Charles invade Portugal. He did not. Instead, he seized the throne and made his brother, Joseph Bonaparte, as ruler of Spain. Soon, a war occurred. -Throughout the entire time, Goya worked as a court artist for Joseph Bonaparte, though he would later deny any involvement with the French "intruder king." -The first group of prints, to which "Y no hay remedio" belongs, shows the consequences of conflict between French troops and Spanish civilians. -The Disasters of War were Goya's second series -This set of images was also a critique of the contemporary world, satirizing the socio-economic system in Spain that caused most people to live in poverty and forced them to act immorally just to survive. -Goya's Disasters of War series was not printed until thirty-five years after the artist's death, when it was finally safe for the artist's political views to be known. -Goya's belief, expressed in The Disasters of War, that war, even if justified, brings out the inhumane in man, and causes us to act like beasts.

Palace (château) of Versailles

- Versailles, France - 1669 CE FORM -baroque It's enormous- The place has 700 rooms, 2,153 windows, and takes up 67,000 square meters of floor space - Rooms of marble and gold and paintings FUNCTION - Versailles was meant to emphasize Louis's importance. - By building Versailles, Louis shifted the seat of French government away from the feuding, gossiping, trouble-making noble families in Paris. - He had the whole palace and its massive gardens built along an East/West axis so the sun would rise and set in alignment with his home. - And he filled both the palace and its gardens with sculpture, painting, and fountains that all focused on himself. CONTENT - ceilings painted to place Louis in the company of the Greek gods, busts of him in a huge formal curly wig staring at you wherever you go - Lots of gold to show how wealthy he was - The king's Official state bedroom was where the incredibly detailed lever (rising) and coucher (going to sleep) rituals would be perfofmed each day -Both involved a whole host of courtiers waiting on the king while he got up or went to bed, following strict rules of position and rank to determine who got to perform which parts of the ceremony. -The queens of France who lived at Versailles were the focus of a similar ritual (the Toilette) in the queen's main bedchamber, a room where they also gave birth in public. - The symmetrical Salon of War and Salon of Peace are decorated with paintings highlighting France's military might and the benefits of living calmly under a tranquil ruling government. -the Cabinet des Chiens (literally, the Study for Dogs) was a room that Louis XV's valets shared with his dogs, who also got to sleep in a room full of gilding and painted decoration. - The most famous room is the Hall of Mirrors, which runs along the entire length of the central building. - One wall contains a row of giant windows looking out over the gardens and the other wall is covered with 357 mirrors that catch the rising sun's rays inside the palace and remind us of Louis XIV's power - Though the room is over the top in its grandeur, it was mainly used as a passageway. -After the king got up for the day, he proceeded through this mirrored hall to his private chapel, and as many courtiers as could fit would squeeze in Since Louis XIV's day, the room has also been used for parties and military agreements -The outside has a basic strcuture that is classical: symmetrical, repetitive, and based on simple elements that are directly borrowed from ancient Greek temples. -The façade that faces the gardens looks similar to the White House. -Louis linked himself to Apollo. There's the Apollo Fountain and Apollo Salon. CONTEXT - When the King of France, Louis XIV, first decided to build a new palace and move his court out of Paris, there was nothing on his chosen site at Versailles but a smallish hunting lodge. -Today, the palace stands as a prime example of the over-the-top excesses of the French nobility that led to the French Revolution. -Important people- Thanks to the team of Louis le Vau (architect to the aristocracy), André le Nôtre (landscape designer), and Charles le Brun (interior decorator and painter), Louis XIV's palace was completed 21 years after it was begun in 1661 allowing Louis to officially set up court there

Temple of Minerva, Apollo sculpture

- Vulca, Italy (Etruscan) - 510 BCE FORM - These structures typically had stone foundations but their wood, mud-brick and terracotta superstructures suffered far more from exposure to the elements. -high podium and frontal entrance. - Etruscan temple high off the ground with a single, defined entrance. - amphiprostyle - (of a classical building) having a portico at each end and no columns along the sides. a portico is a porch, or a small space with a roof supported by columns, serving as the entrance to a building. - Tetra style- consisting of four columns - Composite order and tuscan order -they look like greek temples but theyre diff. They did not use doric or ionic or corinthian. They had very deep porches and temples that were more square. Also not made of stone - Instead of figures lining the pediment, the figures in apulu line the rooftop - Painted FUNCTION - dedicated to the goddess Minerva (Athena) Demonstrates an Etruscan assimilation of Greek gods. CONTENT - The temple is roughly divided into two parts—a deep front porch with widely-spaced Tuscan columns and a back portion divided into three separate rooms. - Known as a triple cella, this three room configuration seems to reflect a divine triad associated with the temple, perhaps Menrva as well as Tinia (Jupiter/Zeus) and Uni (Juno/Hera) CONTEXT -The worship of gods did not happen in temples, rather, in nature. Early Etruscans created ritual spaces in groves and enclosures open to the sky - Around 600 B.C.E., however, the desire to create monumental structures for the gods spread throughout Etruria, most likely as a result of Greek influence. - How do we know wwhat it looked like? an ancient Roman architect by the name of Vitruvius wrote about Etruscan temples in his book De architectura in the late first century B.C.E. -Veii was a principle city of the estruscans Apollo of Veii FORM - terra cotta -Apollo kind of has an archaic smile, but it's more animated. And he's not looking out into space, he's catching the eye of hercules. He is engaged directly Their bodies are stylized. Their shoulders are rounded and broad. Not naturalistic FUNCTION - -The sculpture was put in this way, placed at the peak of the temple roof—creating what must have been an impressive tableau against the backdrop of the sky. - The figures enact a scene. Apollo's counterpart may have been the less well-preserved figure of Hercle (Hercules). One of the them show the third labor of hercules. Hercules is sent out to capture a very large deer with golden horns. This deer is special to apollo's twin sister artemis. The person who sent hercules wants to annoy artemis. So she punishes hercules. Now hercules is known in the original Greek as Herakles He's shown with the Gold Hind under him. He was able to capture it and now hes being confronted by both artemis and her brother apollo. They want the deer back. Hercules promises to release it once he shows it to the king who sent him CONTENT - Aplu (Apollo) of Veii, a dynamic, striding figrure of large scale terracotta sculpture and likely a central figure in the rooftop - Sense of movement and liveliness Apollo and hercules is striding forward.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Frank Gehry

-1997 CE -Spain FORM - itanium, limestone, glass, steel focus on a central rotunda or atrium FUNCTION - museum CONTENT - Though initial discussions focused on converting an existing industrial structure into an art museum, Krens convinced local officials to provide a more central and flexible location, a site on the banks of the Nervión River. - Though his earlier work, sometimes categorized as Deconstructivism, featured everyday building materials like chain link, corrugated metal and plywood, by the late 1980s Gehry had refined his vision, using more costly surfaces to produce unexpectedly sensuous designs. -Aided by sophisticated computer software, his most daring projects evoke aspects of the Italian Baroque style. -Like the drapery folds that animate some pieces of 17th century figurative sculpture, Gehry's more striking works juxtapose elements that bend, ripple and unfurl. -Most photographs depict the Guggenheim Bilbao from across the river. -Although this view is arguably the most dramatic and satisfying, the main entrance is on the opposite side of the building, at the foot of a narrow residential street, the Iparraguirre Kalea. -Arriving visitors cross over concealed railroad tracks and descend through a broad stepped limestone plaza passing from a slender notch into a soaring 165-foot atrium. -A complex and somewhat chaotic interior, this twisting glass-and-steel volume combines irregularly-shaped limestone and plaster walls, glazed elevator shafts, and vertigo-inducing catwalks. -The central atrium serves as a circulation hub and orientation gallery, providing access to approximately 20 galleries on three levels. -While the sequence of "classic" galleries are predictably rectangular, other exhibition spaces have surprising shapes, with angled or curving walls and occasional balconies. Particularly memorable is the so-called "boat gallery." -Though Gehry compares the shape to a fish (a reoccurring motif in his work), this enormous column-free space extends more than 400 feet along the river-front promenade and beneath the adjoining bridge. Ideal for large works of sculpture, this vast space contains an installation by Richard Serra CONTEXT - Prior to the mid-20th century, art museums in Europe and the United States were mostly designed in variants of the neo-classical style. From the Louvre in Paris to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, dc, large and small cultural institutions commissioned stately stone structures, distinguished by pedimented fronts, long colonnades, and lofty rotundas. - Axial and processional, exhibition galleries were traditionally arranged in rows, with understated decorative treatments that complement the artworks. - The 1959 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (originally the Museum of Non-Objective Art), with its spiraling concrete ramps, was one of the first museums to challenge this tradition. - By the 1980s it had outgrown its Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Fifth Avenue home in New York (above right) and Thomas Krens, the museum's director, began developing plans to expand the museum's reach through the establishment of satellite branches funded by foreign governments. - Not only did bilbhao provide the Guggenheim with a large exhibition venue for 20th century and contemporary art but it shifted the direction of museum design. -Born in Toronto, Canada, in 1929, this Los Angeles-based architect -The Guggenheim Bilbao was also part of an ambitious urban renewal program conceived by the Basque regional government. -An aging port and industrial center, the city had entered a period of significant economic decline during the 1980s. Various well-known architects were invited to design new structures. -The Guggenheim Bilbao opened to the public in 1997.

Horn Players, Jean-Michel Basquiat

- 1983 CE -US FORM - Acrylic and oilstick on three canvas panels mounted on wood supports triptych FUNCTION - Basquiat appropriated the work of Leonardo, Edouard Manet, and Pablo Picasso into his own compositions. These appropriations were in part an homage to the great painters Basquiat admired, but they also were a way for Basquiat to rewrite art history and insert himself into the canon. - Looking again at Horn Players, for example, reveals several connections to Picasso's Three Musicians. - Basquiat's use of the triptych format—a popular device for the artist in this period—echoes the triple subjects of the Picasso image. The figure of Parker in Basquiat's composition is also reproduced in the same position as the standing figure (playing the clarinet) in Picasso's work. CONTENT - The main subjects are two famous jazz musicians- the saxophonist Charli Parker and the trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, who Basquiat has depicted in both linguistic and visual portraits - On the left of the canvas, the artist has drawn the figure of Parker, holding his saxophone which emits several hot pink musical notes and distorted waves of sound. - We see Dizzy Gillespie in the right panel, who holds a silent instrument alongside his torso. - The words "DOH SHOO DE OBEE" that float to the left of the figure's head call to mind the scat (wordless improvisational) singing Gillespie often performed onstage. - Many of the words Basquiat has written on the canvas relate specifically to Charlie Parker, but they make sense only for those viewers with some knowledge of the musician's life. - For example, the literal meaning of "ORNITHOLOGY" is "the study of birds," but this is also the title of a famous composition by Parker, who named the tune (first recorded in 1946) in reference to his own nickname "Bird." The words "PREE" and "CHAN" that we see written above and below the saxophonist's portrait refer to Parker's infant daughter and common-law wife, respectively. - This kind of wordplay is a characteristic that extends across most of Jean-Michel Basquiat's work. One of the most recognizable features of the artist's more than 2000 paintings and drawings is the overwhelming abundance of written words on the canvas. The art historian Robert Farris Thompson once declared: "It's as if he were dripping letters." - Contains drawings and words- many that he crossed out. On each panel we also notice large swaths of white paint, which seem to simultaneously highlight the black background and obscure the drawings and/or words beneath. repeated words like "DIZZY," "ORNITHOLOGY," "PREE" and "TEETH" are scattered across all three panels of this work. - The central panel of Basquiat's canvas, which does not show a portrait of an identifiable musician like the other two panels, but instead a distorted head with roughly outlined features, suddenly comes into focus via its comparison with Three Musicians. - Picasso references in paint, his earlier experiments with paper collage especially in rendering the face and head of his central figure, whose jawline dramatically extends beyond what is anatomically possible to create an abstract, bulbous shape. - Basquiat's central figure bears a similar protrusion—this time from the top of the head—which he fills in with hatch marks that are suggestive of the patterning of Picasso's "collaged" paper. Once again, Basquiat seems to be speaking in code. This time, we are being asked not only to draw upon our knowledge of music history but of modern painting to fully understand his work. CONTEXT - Jean-Michel Basquiat Before his success as a painter, Basquiat was famous for writing on the walls of lower Manhattan as a teenager when he and a high school friend, Al Diaz, left cryptic messages in spray paint under the name "SAMO" (an acronym for "Same Old Shit") from 1977 until 1979. - As SAMO, Basquiat and Diaz wrote maxims, jokes, and prophecies in marker and spray paint on subway trains throughout New York City (particularly the "D" train, which ran between downtown Manhattan and Basquiat's home in Brooklyn), as well as on the walls and sidewalks in the SoHo and Tribeca neighborhoods. Many of the locations where SAMO writings were to be found were in close proximity to prominent art galleries. - Combined with these strategic positions, phrases like "SAMO AS AN END TO PLAYING ART" or "SAMO FOR THE SO-CALLED AVANT-GARDE" presented the "SAMO" persona as outside the commercial art world and critical of it. In fact, even after relinquishing the SAMO persona and emerging to the art world as Jean-Michel Basquiat, the artist remained an outsider to the mainstream art world - Basquiat went from SAMO "to commercial success at warp speed" in the early 1980s. He first exhibited (still under the name SAMO) at the Times Square Show—an exhibition in June 1980 that marked the genesis of the eighties art movement. He was later invited to exhibit in New York/New Wave, a group show of sixteen hundred works by 119 artists that opened at P.S. 1 on Valentine's Day. The show was affectionately called "The Armory Show" of the 1980s (the original Armory Show in 1913 was the first large exhibition of international modern art in America). - Almost immediately afterward, 20 yr old Basquiat was invited to exhibit in his first solo show in Modena, Italy. The gallerist Annina Nosei, who showed more established artists like David Salle and Richard Prince, agreed to represent Basquiat, who had a one-man show at her gallery the next year. - That same year, Basquiat had exhibitions in Los Angeles, Zurich, Rome, and Rotterdam and became the youngest artist invited to participate in Documenta 7 (an international contemporary art exhibition that takes place every five years). - By 1983 the average sale price of Basquiat's work had increased by 600 percent, and his popularity (both in the auction house and in popular culture) persists even today. Based on his meteoric success, critics referred to Jean-Michel Basquiat as "the black Picasso." The nickname was complicated for Basquiat, who never embraced it, but was nevertheless concerned with his own place within art history. - He often relied on textbooks and other sources for his visual material; most biographies of the artist note his reliance on the medical textbook Gray's Anatomy (a gift from the artist's mother when Basquiat was hospitalized as a child) for the anatomical drawings and references - Musicians were a popular subject for Basquiat, who himself played briefly in a noise band called Gray—likely a reference to the Gray's Anatomy textbook. Jazz musicians began to appear in the artist's paintings around 1982; references to jazz musicians or recordings appear in more than thirty large-format paintings and twenty works on paper. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie are the two musicians who appear most frequently, both as figures in the paintings and through linguistic references to their work. The artist painted canvases with figures playing the trumpet, the saxophone, and the drums. He also devoted several canvases to replicating the labels of jazz records or the discographies of musicians. - Many scholars have connected Basquiat's interest in jazz to a larger investment in African American popular culture (for example, he also painted famous African American athletes) but an alternative explanation is that the young Basquiat looked to jazz music for inspiration and for instruction, much in the same way that he looked to the modern masters of painting.

Buddha, Bamiyan

- 400 CE - Bamiyan, Afghanistan Form - Stone, stucco, paint - Much of what we know about the monumental Buddha sculptures comes from the Chinese monk Xuanzang (Hsuan-Tsang) who traveled to Bamiyan in 643 and documented his travels in the text The Great Tang Records of the Western Regions. - There are several tens of monasteries with several thousand monks. To the northeast of the city, there is at a corner of the mountains a rock statue of the Buddha standing, one hundred forty or fifty feet in height, a dazzling golden color and adorned with brilliant gems. - To the east there is a monastery built by a previous king of the country. To the east of the monastery there is a copper statue of the Buddha standing, more than one hundred feet tall. It was cast in separate pieces and then welded together into shape. - the monumental rock-cut sculptures are described by Xuanzang as being adorned with metal, color, and gems—not stripped down as we often see them in museums and galleries. - both images were covered in pigments of various hues so that they appeared to be made of metal and other materials - Buddhas' faces were constructed of masks made of wood clad by a thin layer of brass, which were inserted onto ledges that appeared above the lower lips of both images. the cuts to the faces were a later iconoclastic act - While there is debate over the material and treatment of the Buddha's faces, we know that pigments were applied to the stucco that covered the stone surfaces of the sculptures. Stucco helped to even out the textured rock surface. FUNCTION - The two large Buddha images reflected the international environment of the Bamiyan Valley and were influenced by the art and cultures of India, Central Asia and even ancient Greek culture. - For example, both Buddhas wore flowing robes and have been described as having wavy curls of hair. This hairstyle and the flowing drapery are elements rooted in early Gandharan Buddhist imagery that combined Hellenistic Greek traditions of representation with Indian subject matter. -- When merchants coming and going happen to witness visions of heavenly deities, whether as good omens or as predictions of disaster, they worship the deities to pray for blessedness. CONTENT - Bamiyan is located between the Indian subcontinent (to the southeast) and Central Asia (to the north), which made it an important location close to one of the most important branches of the Silk Route. - Bamiyan's central location along the Silk Route, along with its fertile plains amid harsh terrain, made it an ideal location for merchants and missionaries to stop during their travels. Many of the missionaries and merchants in this area during the middle of the first millennium were practitioners of the Buddhist faith. - Prior to their destruction in 2001, two monumental Buddha sculptures could be seen carved into the cliff facing the Bamiyan Valley. The larger of the two figures, located on the western end measured 175 feet in height. It was argued that it represented the Buddha Vairochana. - The smaller of the two monumental statues, located to the east, depicted the Buddha Shakyamuni. This figure was 120 feet in height. - Both images were carved into niches of the cliff side in high relief. The area near the heads of both Buddha figures and the area around the larger Buddha's feet were carved in the round, allowing worshippers to circumambulate. -Circumambulation, which is the act of walking around an object such as a stupa (a reliquary mound) or an image of the Buddha, is a common practice in Buddhist worship CONTEXT - Buddhism spread because believers could worship anywhere at anytime - This freedom resulted in the emergence of Buddhist cave architecture throughout Asia. - if one visits Bamiyan today, one will see nearly 1000 Buddhist caves carved along 1300 meters of cliff face. - Mullah Omar ordered Taliban forces to demolish the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001. Only outlines of the figures and a few details remain. - The direction to destroy the Buddha images was motivated, in part, by the Taliban's extreme iconoclastic campaign as well as their disdain for western interest and funding that had gone to protecting the images while there was an intense and growing need for humanitarian aid in the region. - The Taliban's claim that destroying the Buddha sculptures was an Islamic act is contradicted by the fact that Bamiyan had become predominantly Muslim by the 10th century and that the sculptures had up until 2001 remained a largely intact.

Gold and jade crown

- 550 CE - Korea FORM - Gold and jade Metalworking techniques, such as granulation (a technique whereby a surface is covered in spherules or granules of precious metal) and filigree—seen in the Mediterranean—appear to have traveled along the Silk term-5Road. FUNCTION - Although their fragile gold construction initially led some to believe that these crowns were made specifically for burial, recent research has revealed that they were also used in ceremonial rites of the Silla royalty during the Three Kingdoms Period. - Prior to the adoption of Buddhism, Koreans practiced shamanism, which is a kind of nature worship that requires the expertise of a priest-like figure, or shaman, who intercedes to alleviate problems facing the community. - Silla royalty upheld shamanistic practices in ceremonial rites such as coronations and memorial services. - In these sacred rituals, the gold crowns emphasized the power of the wearer through their precious materials and natural imagery. - Though their use of gold and practice of shamanism related to the northern steppe cultures, the Silla royalty adopted the burial customs of the Chinese by burying their elite in mounded tombs. - In Chinese burials, objects that were important in life were often taken to the grave. - Similarly, power objects like the Silla gold crowns were used both above ground and below, and their luxurious materials conveyed the social status of the tomb occupant in the afterlife. CONTENT - Worn around the forehead, this tree-shaped crown (daegwan) is the headband type found in the south in royal tombs at the Silla capital, Gyeongju. - Between the fifth and sixth centuries, Silla crowns became increasingly lavish with more ornamentation and additional, increasingly elongated branch-like protrusions. - In this crown, three tree-shaped vertical elements evoke the sacred tree that once stood in the ritual precinct of Gyeongju. - This sacred tree was conceived of as a "world tree," or an axis mundi that connected heaven and earth. Two additional antler-shaped protrusions may refer to the reindeer that were native to the Eurasian steppe that lies to the north of the peninsula. - Attached to the branch-like features of the crown are tiny gold discs and jade ornaments called gogok. - These jade ornaments symbolize ripe fruits hanging from tree branches, representing fertility and abundance. - A second type of crown, the conical cap (mogwan), was found throughout the peninsula. Although it was initially thought to be an internal component of the headband crown, mural paintings show that it was worn independently over a topknot to proclaim the rank and social status of its wearer. -The cap was secured to the head with double straps under the chin, as indicated by the small holes along either side of the cap. Appendages in the shape of wings, feathers, or flowers often were used to accessorize the crown, and those ornaments tended to be geographically specific to each kingdom. - In addition to crowns, belts, earrings, other jewelry were placed in Korean tombs during the Three Kingdoms era to represent the rank and identity of the wearer. - Some objects were practical, such as knife sheaths and needle boxes. Others were symbolic, such as the comma-shaped ornaments seen on the Silla crown or miniature fish, which may have been charms to avert evil. - The materials of a belt also corresponded to social status; for example, tombs of the Silla royalty had gold belts, while the nobility in other regions of the peninsula had silver or gilt-bronze belts. CONTEXT - In the fifth and sixth centuries, the Korean peninsula was divided between three rivaling kingdoms. The most powerful of these was the Silla kingdom in the southeast of the peninsula. - The Silla crown demonstrates cultural interactions between the Korean peninsula and the Eurasian steppe (thousands of miles of grassland that stretches from central Europe through Asia). -Scytho-Siberian peoples of the Eurasian steppe created golden diadems similar to the Silla crown, such as a crown from Tillya Tepe -the Silk Road connected a vast terrain of ancient cultures. While the Silla kingdom shared shamanism with the Eurasian steppe and burial customs with China and Japan, the Silk Road was a main route for conveying materials, techniques, and ideas from as far away as Rome.

Borobudur Temple

- 750 CE - Central Java, Indonesia FORM - Its basic structure resembles a pyramid, yet it has been also referred to as a caitya (shrine), a stupa (reliquary), and a sacred mountain. -In fact, the name Śailendra literally means "Lord of the Mountain." -While the temple exhibits characteristics of all these architectural configurations, its overall plan is that of a three-dimensional mandala—a diagram of the cosmos used for meditation—and it is in that sense where the richest understanding of the monument occurs. - Set high upon a hill vertically enhanced by its builders to achieve a greater elevation, Borobudur consists of a series of open-air passageways that radiate around a central axis mundi (cosmic axis). -Devotees circumambulate clockwise along walkways that gradually ascend to its uppermost level. - geometry, geomancy, and theology all instruct adherents toward the ultimate goal of enlightenment. Meticulously carved relief sculptures mediate a physical and spiritual journey that guides pilgrims progressively toward higher states of consciousness. -The repetition of form and the circumabulatory progress of the pilgrim mimic, and thereby access, the cosmological as a microcosm. -The clockwise movement around the cosmic center reproduces the macrocosmic path of the sun. -Thus, when one emerges from the dark galleries representing the realms of desire and form into the light of the "formless" circular open air upper walkways, the material effect of light on one's physical form merges with the spiritual enlightenment generated by the metaphysical journey of the sacred path. -Light is the ultimate goal. The crowning stupa of this sacred mountain is dedicated to the "Great Sun Buddha" Vairocana. T -he temple sits in cosmic proximity to the nearby volcano Mt. Merapi. -During certain times of the year the path of the rising sun in the East seems to emerge out of the mountain to strike the temple's peak in radiant synergy. FUNCTION -the rulers of the Śailendra Dynasty built the Temple of Borobudur as a monument to the Buddha -The most essential tenet the religion promulgates is the impermanent, transient nature of existence. Transcendental wisdom via the Dharma (the Noble Eight-Fold Path) hinges on recognizing that attachment to the idea of a fixed, immutable "self" is a delusion. - Enlightenment entails embracing the concept of "no-self" (anattā), understood to be at the heart of eliminating the suffering and dissatisfaction (dukkha) of sentient beings. - This is the ultimate message expressed in the sacred scriptures that are solidified in artistic magnificence along the stone walls and railings of Borobudur. - The physical movement of circumambulating the structure symbolizes the non-physical—or spiritual—path of enlightenment. - The texts illustrated on the walls refer to pathways as well. For instance, the Gandavyuha Sutra forms a major segment of the temple's upper galleries. The last chapter of a larger text called the Flower Garland Sutra, it relates the story of Suddhana, a youth who commences a journey to meet fifty-three teachers while seeking the path to enlightenment. The concept of "path" is a central theme in the text. He eventually meets an enlightened being (bodhisattva) named Samantabadhra. - The idea of moving from the darkness into the light is the final element of the experience of Borobudur. - The temple's pathway takes one from the earthly realm of desire (kamadhatu), represented and documented on the hidden narratives of the structure's earthbound base, through the world of forms (rupadhatu) as expounded on the narratives carved along the four galleries set at right angles, until one finally emerges into the realm of formlessness (arupadhatu) as symbolized and manifested in the open circular terraces crowned with 72 stupas. CONTENT - Located on the island of Java in Indonesia - The entire site contains 504 statues of the Buddha. 1460 stone reliefs on the walls and opposite balustrades decorate the first four galleries, with an additional 1212 decorative reliefs - The relief sculptures narrate the Buddha's teachings (the Dharma), depict various events related to his past lives (Jataka tales), and illustrate didactic stories taken from important Buddhist scriptures (sutras). - another 160 relief sculptures adorn the base of the monument, but are concealed behind stone buttresses that were added shortly after the building's construction in order to further support the structure's weight. - The hidden narrative reliefs were photographed when they were discovered in the late 19th century before the stones were put back to help ensure the temple's stability. - Moving past the base and through the four galleries, the devotee emerges onto the three upper terraces, encountering 72 stupas each containing a three-dimensional sculpture of a seated Buddha within a stone latticework. CONTEXT - The temple (or candi in Javanese) fell into disuse roughly one hundred years after its completion when, for still unknown reasons, the rulers of Java relocated the governing center to another part of the island.

A philosopher Giving a lecture on the Orrery

- England - 1763 CE -joseph wright FORM -Wright was known for his deft depiction of the contrasts between light and dark, also known as chiaroscuro, and his unflinching portrayal of the true personalities of his subjects. -This trait caused his downfall when he attempted to work as a portraitist—few wanted a portrait, warts and all. -In the 1760s Wright began to explore the traditional boundaries of various genres of painting. According to the French academies of art, the highest genre of painting was history painting, which depicted Biblical or classical subjects to demonstrate a moral lesson. -Wright applied it to this painting. Rather than a moral of leadership or heroism, this painting's "moral" is the pursuit of scientific knowledge. ** -With its collection of non-idealized men, women, boys, and girls informally arranged in a small physical space around a central organizing point, Wright's painting mimics the compositional structure of a conversation piece (an informal group portrait) with the dramatic lighting and scale expected from a major religious scene -Wright mimics Baroque artists like Caravaggio, who inserted strong light sources in otherwise dark compositions to create dramatic effect. -Most of these earlier works were Christian subjects, and the light sources were often simple candles - The gas lamp illuminates the scene, allowing the viewer to clearly see the figures, and it symbolizes the active enlightenment in which those figures are participating. "The artist employs tenebrism, the use of bold contrasting lights and darks." • "The artist uses light to emphasize hands, gestures, expressions and characters to assist in deciphering the narrative." • "The artist uses light to reveal a dingy tavern." FUNCTION -A key idea of the Age of Enlightenment—that empirical observation grounded in science and reason could best advance society—is expressed by the faces of the individuals CONTENT -Two young boys, gazing over the edge of the contraption in playful wonder. -A teenaged girl, her arms resting on the machine, in quiet contemplation. -A young man shielding his eyes from the brilliance of the light emanating from the center, -a young woman staring unblinkingly. -A standing man taking copious notes on the proceedings. Another man leaning back in his seat, listening intently to the gray-haired lecturer, captivating his audience like a magician. -Most likely the man standing and taking notes is Wright's friend Peter Perez Burdett, and the man seated at the far right may be Washington Shirley, 5th Earl Ferrers, the initial owner of the work. (unclear) -The most tempting theory is that his face is modeled on that of Sir Isaac Newton, the great English scientist whose work helped herald in the Enlightenment. -Another possibility is that it is a member of the Lunar Society of Birmingham. -The lamp takes the role of the sun -Theme is nature CONTEXT -encapsulates in one moment the Enlightenment, a philosophical shift in the eighteenth century away from traditional religious models of the universe and toward an empirical, scientific approach."Enlightenment" indicates an active process -The provincial English painter Joseph Wright of Derby became the unofficial artist of the Enlightenment, depicting scientists and philosophers in ways previously reserved for Biblical heroes and Greek gods. -An orrery is a mechanical model of the solar system, a miniature, clockwork planetarium. The orrery depicted by Wright has large metal rings which can simulate eclipses, and give the model a striking and exciting three-dimensionality. -"The painting was created during the time of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, a time of church reform and intense spiritual activities." -"Artists in the Baroque often used light to create dramatic, theatrical effects." -"In the biblical narrative, Matthew is a tax collector, an occupation held in great disdain during Jesus' lifetime.

Last Supper, Leonardo Da Vinci

- Italy - 1494 CE FORM - Oil and tempera - The balanced composition is anchored by an equilateral triangle formed by Christ's body. - He sits below an arching pediment that if completed, traces a circle. - These ideal geometric forms refer to the renaissance interest in Neo-Platonism (an element of the humanist revival that reconciles aspects of Greek philosophy with Christian theology). -In his allegory, "The Cave," the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato emphasized the imperfection of the earthly realm. Geometry, used by the Greeks to express heavenly perfection, has been used by Leonardo to celebrate Christ as the embodiment of heaven on earth. -The twelve apostles are arranged as four groups of three and there are also three windows. -The number three is often a reference to the Holy Trinity in Catholic art. -In contrast, the number four is important in the classical tradition (e.g. Plato's four virtues) -use of linear perspective in combination with ornate forms such as the sphinxes on the ends of the bench and the marble paneling tend to detract from the spirituality of the event. -Because Leonardo sought a greater detail and luminosity than could be achieved with traditional fresco, he covered the wall with a double layer of dried plaster. -Then, borrowing from panel painting, he added an undercoat of lead white to enhance the brightness of the oil and tempera that was applied on top. FUNCTION -Represent the Last Supper- Christ's final meal with his apostles before Judas identifies Christ to the authorities who arrest him CONTENT -Christ says to his apostles "One of you will betray me," and the apostles react, each according to his own personality. -Referring to the Gospels, Leonardo depicts Philip asking "Lord, is it I?" "He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me" (Matthew 26). -We see Christ and Judas simultaneously reaching toward a plate that lies between them, even as Judas defensively backs away. -We can see different reactions -Leonardo also simultaneously depicts Christ blessing the bread and saying to the apostles "Take, eat; this is my body" and blessing the wine and saying "Drink from it all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins" -These words are the founding moment of the sacrament of the Eucharist (the miraculous transformation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ). -dense with symbolic references. Attributes identify each apostle. -For example, Judas Iscariot is recognized both as he reaches toward a plate beside Christ (Matthew 26) and because he clutches a purse containing his reward for identifying Christ to the authorities the following day. - Peter, who sits beside Judas, holds a knife in his right hand, foreshadowing that Peter will sever the ear of a soldier as he attempts to protect Christ from arrest. CONTEXT -(1447) typical of the Early Renaissance. -The Last Supper is in terrible condition. I-t's in a dining hall in a church- a refectory

The Steerage, Alfred Stieglitz

- France - 1907 CE FORM - Photogravure- intaglio printmaking or photo-mechanical process with copper FUNCTION - The Steerage is not only about the "significant form" of shapes, forms and textures, but it also conveys a message about its subjects, immigrants who were rejected at Ellis Island, or who were returning to their old country to see relatives and perhaps to encourage others to return to the United States with them. - it was precisely this discomfort among his peers that prompted him to take a photograph - Stieglitz describes how The Steerage summed up his career's mission to elevate photography to the status of fine art by engaging the same dialogues around abstraction that preoccupied European avant-garde painters CONTENT - In his 1942 account "How The Steerage Happened," Stieglitz recalls: "How I hated the atmosphere of the first class on that ship. One couldn't escape the 'nouveau (modern) riches.'On the third day out I finally couldn't stand it any longer. I had to get away from that company. I went as far forward on the deck as I could [...] As I came to the end of the desk [sic] I stood alone, looking down. There were men and women and children on the lower deck of the steerage. There was a narrow stairway leading up to the upper deck of the steerage, a small deck at the bow of the steamer. To the left was an inclining funnel and from the upper steerage deck there was fastened a gangway bridge which was glistening in its freshly painted state. It was rather long, white, and during the trip remained untouched by anyone. On the upper deck, looking over the railing, there was a young man with a round straw hat. He was watching the men and women and children on the lower steerage deck. Only men were on the upper deck. The whole scene fascinated me. I longed to escape from my surroundings and join these people." - this essay-written 35 years after he took the photograph - Lower class was probably on the lower deck and upper was upper class CONTEXT - After his 8-year-old daughter Kitty finished the school year and he closed his Fifth Avenue art gallery for the summer, Alfred Stieglitz gathered her, his wife Emmeline, and Kitty's governess for their second trip to Europe as a family. - The Stieglitzes departed for Paris on May 14, 1907, aboard the first-class quarters of the fashionable ship Kaiser Wilhelm II. - Although Emmeline looked forward to shopping in Paris and to visiting her relatives in Germany, Stieglitz was not. - His marriage to status-conscious Emmeline had become stressful amid rumors about his possible affair with the tarot-card illustrator Pamela Coleman Smith. -In addition, Stieglitz felt out of place in the company of his fellow upper-class passengers. -Stieglitz would have been familiar with the debates about immigration reform and the ghastly conditions to which passengers in steerage were subjected. -Stieglitz's father had come to America in 1849, during a historic migration of 1,120,000 Germans to the United States. His father became a wool trader and was so successful that he retired by age 48. By all accounts, Stieglitz's father exemplified the "American dream" that was just beyond the grasp of many of the subjects of The Steerage. -Stieglitz was conflicted about the issue of immigration. While he was sympathetic to the plight of aspiring new arrivals, Stieglitz was opposed to admitting the uneducated and marginal to the United States. -Perhaps this may explain his preference to avoid addressing the subject of The Steerage, and to see in this photograph not a political statement, but a place for arguing the value of photography as a fine art.

Transformation mask

- 1890 CE - Northwest coast of Canada FORM - cedar wood, feathers, sinew, cord, bird skin, hide, plant fibers, cotton, iron, pigments, leather, nails, metal plate cedar bark costume -The masks display a variety of brightly colored surfaces filled with complex forms. -use elements of the formline style, a term coined in 1965 to describe the characteristics of Northwest Coast visual culture. -For instance, The Brooklyn Museum mask displays a color palette of mostly red, blue-green, and black, which is consistent with other formline objects like a Tlingit Raven Screen (a house partition screen) attributed to Kadyisdu.axch' - The masks, whether opened or closed, are bilaterally symmetrical. - Typical of the formline style is the use of an undulating, calligraphic line. Also, note how the pupils of the eyes on the exterior of the Brooklyn Museum mask are ovoid shapes, similar to the figures and forms found on the interior surfaces of many masks. This ovoid shape, along with s- and u-forms, are common features of the formline style. FUNCTION - Northwest Coast transformation masks manifest transformation, usually an animal changing into a mythical being or one animal becoming another. - Masks are worn by dancers during ceremonies, they pull strings to open and move the mask—in effect, animating it. -Transformation masks, like those belonging to the Kwakwaka'wakw ( Kwak-wak-ah-wak, a Pacific Northwest Coast indigenous people) are worn during a potlatch, a ceremony where the host displayed his status, in part by giving away gifts to those in attendance. *** -These masks were only one part of a costume that also included a cloak made of red cedar bark. During a potlatch, Kwakwaka'wakw dancers perform wearing the mask and costume. -****The masks conveyed social position (only those with a certain status could wear them) and also helped to portray a family's genealogy by displaying (family) crest symbols. CONTENT - In the Eagle mask from the collection of the American Museum of Natural History, you can see the wooden frame and netting that held the mask on the dancer's head. When the cords are pulled, the eagle's face and beak split down the center, and the bottom of the beak opens downwards, giving the impression of a bird spreading its wings -Transformed, the mask reveals the face of an ancestor. A Transformation Mask at the Brooklyn Museum shows a Thunderbird, but when opened it reveals a human face flanked on either side by two lightning snakes called sisiutl, and with another bird below it and a small figure in black above it. - A whale transformation mask, such as the one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gives the impression that the whale is swimming. The mouth opens and closes, the tail moves upwards and downwards, and the flippers extend outwards but also retract inwards. - Masks take months, sometimes years, to create. - With the introduction and enforcement of Christianity and as a result of colonization in the nineteenth century, masking practices changed among peoples of the Northwest Coast. Prior to contact with Russians, Europeans, and Euro-Americans, masks like the Brooklyn Museums's Thunderbird Transformation Mask, were not carved using metal tools. After iron tools were introduced along with other materials and equipment, masks demonstrate different carving techniques. Earlier masks used natural (plant and mineral based) pigments, post-contact, brighter and more durable synthetic colors were introduced. CONTEXT - The Kwakwaka'wakw ("Kwak'wala speaking tribes") are generally called Kwakiutl by non-Native people. They are one of many indigenous groups that live on the western coast of British Columbia, Canada. The mythology and cosmology of different Kwakwaka'wakw Nations (such as the Kwagu'ł (Kwakiutl) or 'Namgis) is extremely diverse, although there are commonalities. For instance, many groups relate that deceased ancestors roamed the world, transforming themselves in the process (this might entail removing their animal skins or masks to reveal their human selves within). - Kwakwaka'wakw bands are arranged into four clans (Killer Whale, Eagle, Raven, and Wolf clans). The clans are divided into numayn (or 'na'mina), which can be loosely translated as "group of fellows of the same kind" (essentially groups that shared a common ancestor). -Numayns were responsible for safe-guarding crest symbols and for conveying their specific rights—which might include access to natural resources (like salmon fishing areas) and rights to sacred names and dances that related to a numayn's ancestor or the group's origins. - The numayn were ranked, and typically only one person could fill a spot at any given moment in time. Each rank entailed specific rights, including ceremonial privileges—like the right to wear a mask -Animal transformation masks contained crests for a given numayn. Ancestral entities and supernatural forces temporarily embody dancers wearing these masks and other ceremonial regalia. -Many myths relate moments of transformation often involving trickster supernaturals (a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwise disobey normal rules and conventional behavior). -Raven, for instance, is known as a consummate trickster—he often changes into other creatures, and helps humans by providing them with a variety of useful things such as the sun, moon, fire, and salmon. Thunderbird (Kwankwanxwalige') was a mythical ancestor of the Kwakwaka'wakw. He is believed to cause thunder when he beats his wings, and lightning comes from his eyes. He lives in the celestial realm, and he can remove his bird skin to assume human form. -Masks passed between family members of a specific clan (they could be inherited or gifted). -They were just one sign of a person's status and rank, which were important to demonstrate within Kwakwaka'wakw society—especially during a potlatch. -Franz Boas, an anthropologist who worked in this area between 1885 and 1930, noted that "The acquisition of a high position and the maintenance of its dignity require correct marriages and wealth—wealth accumulated by industry and by loaning out property at interest—dissipated at the proper time, albeit with the understanding that each recipient of a gift has to return it with interest at a time when he is dissipating his wealth. -Potlatches were banned in 1885 until the 1950s because they were considered immoral by Christian missionaries who believed cannibalism occurred (for its part, the Canadian Government thought potlatches hindered economic development because people ceased work during these ritual celebrations). With the prohibition of potlatches, many masks were confiscated. Those that weren't destroyed often made their way into museums or private collections. -When the ban against potlatches was removed by the Canadian government, many First Nations have attempted to regain possession of the masks and other objects that had been taken from them. Potlatches are still practiced today among Northwest Coast peoples.

Cadzi Cody, Attributed to Cotsiogo (Hide Painting of the Sun Dance)

- 1890 CE - Cotsiogo, Wyoming FORM -painted elk hide FUNCTION -Painting, and oral traditions, functioned to record history. -Often artists like Cotsiogo, a member of the Eastern Shoshone tribe, who is also known by his Euro-American name, Cadzi Cody, painted on elk, deer, or buffalo hides using natural pigments like red ochre and chalk, and eventually paints and dyes obtained through trade. -Usually, artists decorated the hides with geometric or figural motifs. By the later nineteenth century certain hide artists like Cotsiogo began depicting subject matter that "affirmed native identity" and appealed to tourists. -The imagery placed on the hide was likely done with a combination of free-hand painting and stenciling. Men and women both painted on hides, but men usually produced the scenes on tipis (tepees), clothing, and shields. -Many of these scenes celebrated battles and other biographical details. -may have functioned as a wall hanging and has also been classified as a robe.** -Cotsiogo likely created it Euro-American tourists who visited the reservation. It might explain why there is a scene of buffalo hunting, a scene which was thought to be desirable to tourists. -Its production helped to support him after the Shoshone were moved to the reservation. With newly established trade markets and the influx of new materials, artists like Cotsiogo sometimes produced work that helped support themselves and their families. CONTENT - combines history with the contemporary moment. It displays elements of several different dances, including the important and sacred Sun Dance and non-religious Wolf Dance (tdsayuge or tásayùge). The Sun Dance surrounds a not-yet-raised buffalo head between two poles (or a split tree), with an eagle above it. -Men dressed in feather bustles and headdresses—not to be confused with feathered war bonnets—dance around the poles, which represents the Grass Dance. With their arms akimbo and their bodies bent, Cotsiogo shows these men in motion. Men participating in this sacred, social ceremony refrained from eating or drinking. -The hide painting also shows activities of daily life. Surrounding the Sun Dance, women rest near a fire and more men on horses hunt buffaloes. Warriors on horses are also shown returning to camp, which was celebrated with the Wolf Dance. -Two tipis represent the camp, with the warriors appearing between them. Some of the warriors wear feathered war bonnets made of eagle feathers. These headdresses communicated a warrior acted bravely in battle, and so they functioned as symbols of honor and power. Not just anyone could wear a feathered war bonnet -Cotsiogo shows the warriors hunting with bows and arrows while riding, but in reality Shoshone men had used rifles for some time. Horses were introduced to the Southwest by Spaniards. -Horses made their way to some Plains nations through trade with others like the Ute, Navajo, and Apache. By the mid-eighteenth century, horses had become an important part of Plains culture. -Buffaloes were sacred to the Plains people because the animals were essential to their livelihood. Some scenes display individuals skinning buffaloes and separating the animals' body parts into piles. All parts of the buffalo were used, as it was considered a way of honoring this sacred animal. At the time Cotsiogo painted this hide, most buffalo had either been killed or displaced. Buffaloes had largely disappeared from this area by the 1880s. Cotsiogo's hide thus marks past events and deeds rather than events occurring at the time it was created. CONTEXT -Painting on animal hides is a longstanding tradition of the Great Basin and Great Plains people of the United States, including the Kiowa, Lakota, Shoshone, Blackfeet, Crow, Dakota, and Osage. -During his lifetime, Cotsiogo was placed on the Wind River Reservation in central western Wyoming. It had been established by the Fort Bridger Treaty of 1868 -Prior to their placement on the Wind River Reservation, the Shoshone moved with the seasons and the availability of natural resources. Many Shoshone traversed the geographic regions we now call the Great Plains and Plateau regions. -The Sun Dance was intended to honor the Creator Deity for the earth's bounty and to ensure this bounty continued. It was a sacred ceremony that tourists and anthropologists often witnessed. -However, the United States government deemed it unacceptable and forbid it. The U.S. government outlawed the Sun Dance until 1935, in an effort to compel Native Americans to abandon their traditional ways. Cotsiogo likely included references to the Sun Dance because he knew tourist consumers would find the scene attractive; but he modified the scene combining it with the acceptable Wolf Dance, perhaps to avoid potential ramifications. =The Wolf Dance eventually transformed into the Grass Dance which is performed today during pow wows (ceremonial gatherings).

Power figure (Nkisi n'kondi)

- 1890 CE - Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa FORM - Wood and metal - Nkisi nkondi figures are highly recognizable through an accumulation of pegs, blades, nails or other sharp objects inserted into its surface. - Medicinal combinations called bilongo are sometimes stored in the head of the figure but frequently in the belly of the figure which is shielded by a piece of glass, mirror or other reflective surface. -The glass represents the 'other world' inhabited by the spirits of the dead who can peer through and see potential enemies. -Elements with a variety of purposes are contained within the bilongo. Seeds may be inserted to tell a spirit to replicate itself; mpemba or white soil deposits found near cemeteries represent and enlist support from the spiritual realm. -Claws may incite the spirits to grasp something while stones may activate the spirits to pelt enemies or protect one from being pelted. -The insertions are driven into the figure by the nganga and represent the mambu and the type or degree of severity of an issue can be suggested through the material itself. -A peg may refer to a matter being 'settled' whereas a nail, deeply inserted may represent a more serious offense such as murder. Prior to insertion, opposing parties or clients, often lick the blades or nails, to seal the function or purpose of the nkisi through their saliva - If an oath is broken by one of the parties or evil befalls one of them, the nkisi nkondi will become activated to carry out its mission of destruction or divine protection. FUNCTION - A nkisi nkondi can act as an oath taking image which is used to resolve verbal disputes or lawsuits (mambu) as well as an avenger (the term nkondi means 'hunter') or guardian if sorcery or any form of evil has been committed. CONTENT - A nkisi (plural: minkisi) is loosely translated as a "spirit" yet it is represented as a container of sacred substances which are activated by supernatural forces that can be summoned into the physical world. -Visually, these minkisi can be as simple as pottery or vessels containing medicinal herbs and other elements determined to be beneficial in curing physical illness or alleviating social ills. -In other instances minkisi can be represented as small bundles, shells, and carved wooden figures. -Minkisi represent the ability to both 'contain' and 'release' spiritual forces which can have both positive and negative consequences on the community. -An example of a nkisi can be found in a power figure called nkisi nkondi (a power figure is a magical charm seemingly carved in the likeness of human being, meant to highlight its function in human affairs.). -These minkisi are wooden figures representing a human or animal such as a dog (nkisi kozo) carved under the divine authority and in consultation with an nganga or spiritual specialist who activates these figures through chants, prayers and the preparation of sacred substances which are aimed at 'curing' physical, social or spiritual ailments. CONTEXT -Sacred medicines and divine protection are central to the belief of the Kongo peoples (Democratic Republic of Congo). -The Kongo believe that the great god, Ne Kongo, brought the first sacred medicine (or nkisi) down from heaven in an earthenware vessel set upon three stones or termite mounds. -Europeans may have encountered these objects during expeditions to the Congo as early as the 15th century. However, several of these "fetish" objects, as they were often termed, were confiscated by missionaries in the late 19th century and were destroyed as evidence of sorcery or heathenism. -In Hollywood these figures have morphed into objects of superstition such as New Orleans voodoo dolls covered with stick pins.

Tamati Waka Nene, Gottfried Lindauer

- 1890 CE - Waka Nene, New Zealand FORM - Oil on canvas - Lindauer's paintings are realistic, convincingly three-dimensional, and play beautifully with the contrast between light and shadow, causing his subjects to glow against their dark backgrounds. - Lindauer didn't make many sketches. He worked straight onto stretched canvas, outlining his subjects in pencil over a white background before applying translucent paints and glazes. -Through the thinly painted surface of some of his works you can still see traces of pencil lines that may be evidence of his practice of outlining projected images. -But Lindauer wasn't simply copying photographs. In the 1870s, color photography had yet to be invented—Lindauer was working from black and white images and reimagining them in color. -Moreover, sometimes he dressed his sitters—and those he painted from photos—in borrowed garments and adorned them with taonga that were not necessarily theirs. Thus some of his works contain artistic interventions rather than being entirely documentary. FUNCTION -Paintings like this one—and even photographs—do two important things. They record likenesses and bring ancestral presence into the world of the living. this portrait is not merely a representation of Tamati Waka Nene, it can be an embodiment of him. -After a person has died their portrait may be hung on the walls of family homes and in the wharenui (the central building of a community center), to be spoken to, wept over, and cherished CONTENT -In this portrait, Nene wears a kahu kiwi, a fine cloak covered in kiwi feathers, and an earring of greenstone or pounamu. Both of these are prestigious taonga or treasures. -He is holding a hand weapon known as a tewhatewha, which has feathers adorning its blade and a finely carved hand grip with an abalone or paua eye. -All of these mark him as man of mana or personal efficacy and status. his intricate facial tattoo, called moko. CONTEXT -In Te Ao Māori, the Māori world, a painting can be an ancestor - Portraits and other taonga tuku iho (treasures passed down from the ancestors) are treated with great care and reverence. -Even when portraits like this one, kept in the collection of the Auckland Art Gallery, are absent from their families, the stories woven around them keep them alive and present. - Māori are the indigenous people of New Zealand. - The subject of this portrait, Tamati Waka Nene, was a Rangatira or chief of the Ngāti Hao people in Hokianga, of the Ngāpuhi iwi or tribe, and an important war leader. - He was probably born in the 1780s, and died in 1871. He lived through a time of rapid change in New Zealand, when the first British missionaries and settlers were arriving and changing the Māori world forever. - An astute leader and businessman, Nene exemplified the types of changes that were occurring when he converted to the Wesleyan faith and was baptised in 1839, choosing to be named Tamati Waka after Thomas Walker, who was an English merchant patron of the Church Missionary Society. He was revered throughout his life as a man with great mana or personal efficacy. - Lindauer was a Czech artist who arrived in New Zealand in 1873 after a decade of painting professionally in Europe. He had studied at the Academy of Fine Art in Vienna from 1855 to 1861, and learned painting techniques rooted in Renaissance naturalism. - When he left the Academy he began working as a portrait painter, and established his own portrait studio in 1864. Just ten years later he arrived in New Zealand and quickly became acquainted with a man called Henry Partridge who became his patron. - Partridge commissioned Lindauer to paint portraits of well-known Māori, and three years later, in 1877, Lindauer held an exhibition in Wellington. - The exhibition was important because it demonstrated Lindauer's abilities and he was soon being commissioned by Māori chiefs to paint their portraits. - Lindauer took different approaches to his commissions depending on who was paying. - He tended to paint well-known Māori in Māori clothing for European purchasers, but painted unknown Māori in everyday European clothing when commissioned by their families to do so. - As his patron, Partridge amassed a large collection of portraits as well as large scale depictions that re-enacted Māori ways of life that were thought to be disappearing. - In 1915, Partridge gave his collection of 62 portraits to the Auckland Art Gallery—the largest collection of Lindauer paintings in the world. - It is likely that Lindauer based this portrait on a photograph taken by John Crombie, who had been commissioned to produce 12 photographic portraits of Māori chiefs for The London Illustrated News. - There are several other photographs of Nene, and in 1934 Charles F Goldie—another famous portrayer of Māori—painted yet another portrait of him from a photograph. - So Nene didn't sit for either of his famous painted portraits, but sat for photographic portraits in the later years of his life. - These were becoming more common by 1870, due to developments in photographic methods that made the whole process easier and cheaper. - Many Māori had their portraits taken photographically and produced as a carte de visite, roughly the size of a playing card, and some had larger, postcard sized images made, called cabinet portraits. - Lindauer is thought to have used a device called an epidiascope to enlarge and project small photographs such as these so he could paint them

Great mosque of cordoba

- Cordoba, Spain - 785 CE FORM -The hypostyle hall seems magnified by its repeated geometry. It is built with recycled ancient Roman columns from which sprout a striking combination of two-tiered, symmetrical arches, formed of stone and red brick. -The mihrab- Gold tesserae (small pieces of glass with gold and color backing) create a combination of dark blues, reddish browns, yellows and golds that form intricate calligraphic bands and vegetal motifs that adorn the arch. -The horseshoe-style arch was common in the architecture of the Visigoths, the people that ruled this area after the Roman empire collapsed and before the Umayyads arrived. The horseshoe arch is an easily identified characteristic of Western Islamic architecture -Above the mihrab is a dome. It is built of crisscrossing ribs that create pointed arches all lavishly covered with gold mosaic in a radial pattern. This building technique anticipates later Gothic rib vaulting, though on a more modest scale -Voussoirs- wedged blocks red and white thing FUNCTION - Historians believe that there had first been a temple to the Roman god, Janus, on this site. The temple was converted into a church by invading Visigoths who seized Cordoba in 572. -Next, the church was converted into a mosque and then completely rebuilt by the descendants of the Umayyads—the first Islamic dynasty who had originally ruled from their capital Damascus (in present-day Syria) from 661 until 750. CONTENT - comprised of a large hypostyle prayer hall -a courtyard with a fountain in the middle, an orange grove, a covered walkway circling the courtyard, and a minaret that is now encased in a squared, tapered bell tower. -The focal point in the prayer hall is the famous horseshoe arched mihrab or prayer niche. -Mecca—the birth place of Islam in what is now Saudi Arabia. CONTEXT -Known locally as Mezquita-Catedral, the Great Mosque of Cordoba is one of the oldest structures still standing from the time Muslims ruled Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia including most of Spain, Portugal, and a small section of Southern France) in the late 8th century. -Cordoba is a two hour train ride south of Madrid -Following the overthrow of his family (the Umayyads) in Damascus by the incoming Abbasids, Prince Abd al-Rahman I escaped to southern Spain. -Once there, he established control over almost all of the Iberian Peninsula and attempted to recreate the grandeur of Damascus in his new capital, Cordoba.

Virgin and Child between Saints Theodore and George

- Early Byzantine Europe, Italy - 600 CE FORM -at St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai -encaustic icon painting -"Icon" is Greek for "image" or "painting" -The painter selectively used the classicizing style inherited from Rome. The faces are modeled; we see the same convincing modeling in the heads of the angels (note the muscles of the necks) and the ease with which the heads turn almost three-quarters. -The space appears compressed, almost flat, at our first encounter. Yet we find spatial recession, first in the throne of the Virgin where we glimpse part of the right side and a shadow cast by the throne -we also see a receding armrest as well as a projecting footrest. -The Virgin, with a slight twist of her body, sits comfortably on the throne, leaning her body left toward the edge of the throne. -The child sits on her broad lap as the mother supports him with both hands. -We see the left knee of the Virgin beneath convincing drapery whose folds fall between her legs. -"hierarchy of bodies." Theodore and George stand erect, feet on the ground, and gaze directly at the viewer with large, passive eyes. While looking at us they show no recognition of the viewer and appear ready to receive something from us. -The saints are slightly animated by the lifting of a heel by each as though they slowly step toward us. -The Virgin averts her gaze and does not make eye contact with the viewer. -The ethereal angels concentrate on the hand above. The light tones of the angels and especially the slightly transparent rendering of their halos give the two an otherworldly appearance. -This supremely composed picture gives us an unmistakable sense of visual movement inward and upward FUNCTION -Theotokos means "child bearer" -A private devotional object (used to inspire the pious and help them express their veneration for God and enhance their spirituality) -The composition displays a spatial ambiguity that places the scene in a world that operates differently from our world. The ambiguity allows the scene to partake of the viewer's world but also separates the scene from the normal world. -The passive saints seem to stand ready to receive the veneration of the viewer and pass it inward and upward until it reaches the most sacred realm depicted in the picture. -These zones of holiness suggest a cosmos of the world, earth and real people, through the Virgin, heavenly angels, and finally the hand of God. The viewer who stands before the scene make this cosmos complete, from "our earth" to heaven. CONTENT -The icon shows the Virgin and Child flanked by two soldier saints, St. Theodore to the left and St. George at the right. -two angels who gaze upward to the hand of God, from which light emanates, falling on the Virgin. -At the top of the painting an architectural member turns and recedes at the heads of the angels. The architecture helps to create and close off the space around the holy scene. CONTEXT -One of thousands of important Byzantine images, books, and documents preserved at St. Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai (Egypt)

The Oath of the Horatii, Jacques-Louis David

- France - 1784 CE FORM -There was physicality and intense emotion -example of Neoclassical history painting. -Brings classical elements into the painting -the dramatic, rhetorical gestures of the male figures convey the idea of oath-taking and the clear, even light makes every aspect of the story legible. -Instead of creating an illusionistic extension of space into a deep background, David radically cuts off the space with the arches and pushes the action to the foreground in the manner of Roman relief sculpture. -Before this painting, French history paintings in a more Rococo style involved the viewer by appealing to sentiment and presenting softly modeled graceful figures. -David acknowledged that old approach in the figures of the women in Oath of the Horatii, but challenged it with the starkly athletic figures and resolute poses of the men. -before composing Oath of the Horatii, David went to see Poussin's "Rape of the Sabine Women" and employed the lictor, the caped man, on the far left as the basis for the Horatii. -The men are very geometric and the women are curvilinear and soft looking FUNCTION - tells a story derived from the Classical world that provides an example of virtuous behavior (exemplum vertutis) -Today the painting is typically interpreted in the context of the French Revolution and David's own direct involvement as a revolutionary. CONTENT -depicts three horatii brothers saluting toward three swords held up by their father as the women behind him grieve -In the painting we witness the Horatii taking an oath to defend Rome. -It's a scene set in what might be a Roman atrium -the three men framed by the first arch, bound together with their muscled arms raised in a rigid salute toward their father framed by the central arch. -He holds three swords in his left hand and raises his right hand signifying a promise or sacrifice. -David lit the figures with a stark, clinical light that contrasts with the drama of the scene as if he wanted the viewer to respond to the scene with passion and rationality. CONTEXT -The story of Oath of the Horatii came from a Roman legend encountered by the Roman historian Livy involving a conflict between the Romans and a rival group from nearby Alba. -Rather than continue a full-scale war, they elect representative combatants to settle their dispute. --The Romans select the Horatii and the Albans choose another trio of brothers, the Curatii. -The women know that they will also bear the consequence of the battle because the two families are united by marriage. -One of the wives in the painting is a daughter of the Curatii and the other, Camilla, is engaged to one of the Curatii brothers. At the end of the legend the surviving Horatii brother kills Camilla, who condemned his murder of her beloved, accusing Camilla of putting her sentiment above her duty to Rome. -David was a dominant artist during his time -jacques louis david was the official painter for the rule of the emperor Napoleon I

Self Portrait, Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le brun

- France - 1790 CE FORM - Oil on canvas - It is a late example of the Rococo style. CONTENT - The artist sits in a relaxed pose at her easel and is positioned slightly off center. - She wears a white turban and a dark dress—in the free-flowing style that the queen had made popular at the French court—with a soft, white, ruffled collar of the same material as her headdress. - Her belt is a wide red ribbon. She holds a brush to a partially finished work; the subject is probably queen Marie-Antoinette—perhaps intended as a tribute to her favorite sitter. -She holds slightly used brushes along with a palette, she has everything cradled in her arm close to the viewer. -The painting expresses an alert intelligence, vibrancy, and freedom from care. CONTEXT AND FUNCTION -Painted in rome -Élisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun- a French artist known especially for her portraits of Marie-Antoinette and other European monarchs and nobles -Vigée-LeBrun first met Queen Marie-Antoinette at the royal palace at Versailles in 1778. She painted the queen -Le brun became famous and wealthy as Queen Marie-Antoinette's official court painter. -In her autobiography Souvenirs written towards the end of her life, Vigée-LeBrun wrote that her father, a minor portraitist, adored her, wishing his daughter fame and good fortune. She wrote that her mother thought of her as awkward and ugly. -***Nevertheless, she grew up to be intelligent, beautiful, rich, and talented, characteristics on display in her Self-Portrait -Created soon after her departure from France at the onset of the French Revolution -in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence -one of her best-known pictures. -Rococo summarized a fashionable ideal, wherein eternal youth was pleasure-loving, characterized by a disregard of morality, especially in sexual matters. -Despite this, the artist, like her royal patron, was extremely conservative in her politics. -As she painted this portrait, her Queen was being driven from power by revolutionaries who hated the wasteful lifestyle of the nobility and would later execute both Marie-Antoinette and her husband, King Louis XVI. - Given these circumstances, Vigée-LeBrun—a working painter, wife, and mother—displays an optimistic persona.

Petra, Jordan: Treasury and Great Temple

- Jordan - 400 BCE there are two diff pics of petra FORM - "Hellenistic" can also refer to artistic and cultural similarities in the eastern part of the Mediterranean, Egypt and the Middle East in this era FUNCTION - Capital of the Nabataen kingdom CONENT - the Siq- a narrow, curving canyon - Stone carvings, camel caravans and betyls (the famous god blocks) set in niches, appear. - But these elaborate carvings are merely a prelude to one's arrival into the heart of Petra, where the Treasury, or Khazneh, a monumental tomb, awaits CONTEXT - Nabataeans, a people who occupied the area from Sinai and Negev to northern Arabia in the west and as far north as southern Syria. - Petra was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom for most of its history until the Roman Emperor -Trajan created the province of Arabia in 106 C.E., annexed the Nabataean kingdom, and moved the capital of this new province to Bosra (also spelt Bostra) in what is today modern southern Syria. -Nabataeans were great traders, who controlled the luxury trade in incense during the late Hellenistic and early Roman periods. -The Hellenistic period stretches from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E. to 31 B.C.E. when the Roman Empire emerged. petra and the treasury FORM -The Treasury's façade most clearly embodies the Hellenistic style and reflects the influence of Alexandria, the greatest city in the Eastern Mediterranean at this time. -Its architecture features a broken pediment and central tholos (a circular building) on the upper level; this architectural composition originated in Alexandria. -Above the broken pediments, the bases of two obelisks appear and stretch upwards into the rock. a legacy of the Nabataean artistic tradition that was largely aniconic, or non-figurative. -Many of the smaller tombs were less complex and also drew far less upon the artistic conventions of the Hellenistic world - The column capitals are typically Nabataean, modeled on the Corinthian order, but abstracted. -The façade features a Doric entablature, but rather than having figures in the metopes, roundels with no decoration appear. the Monastery deploys many elements of Classical architecture FUNCTION -The prominence of the tombs in the landscape led many early explorers and scholars to see Petra as a large necropolis (cemetary); however, archaeology has shown that Petra was a well-developed metropolis (capital) with all of the trappings of a Hellenistic city. -it was probably a tomb for one of the Nabataean Kings -Aretas IV (reigned, 9 B.C.E. - 40 C.E.) is the most likely candidate, because he was the Nabataeans' most successful ruler, and many buildings were erected in Petra during his reign. CONTENT -The tomb facades draw upon a rich array of Hellenistic and Near Eastern architecture and, in this sense, their architecture reflects the diverse and different cultures with which the Nabateans traded, interacted, and even intermarried (King Aretas IV's daughter was married to Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, whose mother was also Nabataean). -Many of the tombs contain niches or small chambers for burials, cut into the stone walls. -On the upper level, Amazons (bare-breasted) and Victories stand, flanking a central female figure (on the tholos), who is probably Isis-Tyche, a combination of the Egyptian Goddess, Isis, and Tyche, the Greek Goddess of good fortune. -The lower level features the Greek twin gods, Castor and Pollux, the Dioscuri, who protected travelers and the dead on their journeys. -There are other details from the artistic traditions of the Hellenistic world, including eagles, the symbols of royal Ptolemies, vines, vegetation, kantharoi (vase with large handles), and acroteria (architectural ornaments on a pediment). -However, the tomb also features rosettes, a design originally associated with the ancient Near East. -the Monastery (also known as ed-Deir) is most the famous rock-cut monument -Much like the Treasury, ed-Deir was not a monastery, but rather behind its façade was a monumental cella (the inner chamber of a temple) with a large area for dining with a cultic podium at the back. - The façade features a broken pediment around a central tholos, but its decoration is more abstract and less figurative than that of the Treasury. CONTEXT -Today scholars believe that the tombs were probably constructed when the Nabateans were wealthiest between the second century B.C.E. and the early second century C.E. petra and the great temple FORM - Column capitals at Petra are truly unique in part for their carvings of winged lions and elephants. FUNCTION - Theater, garden-pool complex, baths, domestic residences CONTENT - Petra had a large theater, which was probably built during the reign of Aretas IV (9 B.C.E. - 40 C.E.) as well as a monumental colonnaded street. - Important buildings graced both sides of the Wadi. - On the southside of the street was a nymphaeum (a shrine consecrated to water nymphs, often with a fountain) and a series of monumental spaces, which were once identified as markets. - The so-called Lower Market has recently been excavated and shown to be a garden-pool complex. This stood adjacent to so-called Great Temple of Petra. - Within the cella, or inner sanctuary room, of the Great Temple, a series of stone seats were discovered; this may suggest that the structure was not a temple, but an audience hall at least for part of its history. - Baths were also located in its vicinity. Opposite the so-called Great Temple is the Temple of the Winged Lions, from which a unique god block of a female goddess, was recovered. Column capitals at Petra are truly unique in part for their carvings of winged lions and elephants. - Just to the west, past a gate in a temenos, or sacred precinct, was the Qasr el-Bint, the most important temple in the city. -It was also probably built under Aretas the IV, but we do not know to which gods the Qasr el-Bint was dedicated. -Petra is also filled with more mundane architecture, including domestic residences, as well as the all-important water-catchment and storage systems that allowed life and agriculture to flourish here. CONTEXT - Petra is often seen in isolation; in fact, it was one of many Nabataean sites; the Nabataean lands stretched from the Sinai and Negev in the west, as far north as Damascus at one point, and as far south as Egra, modern-day Madain Saleh, in Northern Saudi Arabia

Folio from a Qur'an

- North Africa or near East - 700 CE FORM - Folio means page - Red dots are for vowels - Pyramid gold dots divide the lin- the verse changes Read left to right - The main text of the mushaf, as manuscripts of the - Qur'an are known, is written in brown ink. - Arabic, the language of the divine word of Islam, is read from right to left. -In this manuscript, these short vowels are marked with red circles positioned above, next to, or below the consonants, depending on the vowel. -The text of each sura (a chapter or section of the Koran.) is further divided into verses by triangles made up of 5 gold circles located at the end of each verse (left). -The title of each sura is written in gold ink, and surrounded by a rectangle, filled here with an undulating golden vine (below). -Combined with a rounded palmette extending into the margin of the folio, it allows readers to quickly locate the beginning of each sura. - Because figural imagery such as human or animal forms was considered inappropriate for the ornamentation of sacred monuments and objects, artists relied on vegetal and geometric motifs when they decorated mosques and sacred manuscripts. -Vines and palmettes appear alone in sacred contexts, but they also accompanied animal and human forms in the secular decoration of palaces and textiles. -The art of producing a mushaf began well before a pen was ever dipped into ink. -The dimensions of each page were calculated before the parchment was cut, and the text was carefully situated relative to the edges of the pages. -Each page of costly parchment (or vellum) in this Qur'an is larger than a standard sheet of printer paper, and contains only nine lines of calligraphy. These materials suggest both the dignity of the sacred text and the wealth of its patron, who was probably a member of the aristocratic elite. -the pages of this manuscript are wider than they are tall. -The text-block of this manuscript has a height-to-width ratio of 2:3, and the width of the text-block is approximately equal to the height of the page. -The height of each line of text was derived from the first letter of the alphabet, alif, which was in turn derived from the width of the nib of the reed pen used by the calligraphers to write the text. -Each line was further divided into a set number of "interlines," which were used to determine the heights of various parts of individual letters. -There is no ruling on the parchment, however, so scribes probably placed each sheet of the semi-transparent parchment on a board marked with horizontal guidelines as they wrote. Memorizing and producing the proportions of each pen stroke, however, must have been part of the training of every scribe. FUNCTION -used for sacred rituals and recitations -The Qur'an which means "recitation" suggests that the manuscripts were secondary importance to oral tradition.** CONTENT - two-page spread (or bifolium) of a Qur'an manuscript, which contains the beginning of Surat Al-'Ankabut (The Spider) -One page includes an inscription, which states that ʿAbd al-Munʿim Ibn Aḥmad donated the Qur'an to the Great Mosque of Damascus in 298 A.H. (July, 911 C.E.) -The calligraphic style used by these early scribes of the Qur'an is known today as Kufic. *** -Kufic is not so much a single type of handwriting as it is a family of 17 related styles based on common principles, including a preference for strokes of relatively uniform thickness, short straight vertical lines and long horizontal lines, and a straight, horizontal baseline. -Scribes used a wide reed pen dipped in ink to write. -In some letters the angle of the pen was adjusted as the scribe wrote in order to maintain an even thickness throughout the entire letterform, but in others the angle could be held constant in order to produce both very thick and very thin lines. Although letters and even entire words at first appear to consist of a single stroke of the pen, in fact individual letters were often formed using multiple strokes. CONTEXT -The Qur'an is the sacred text of Islam, consisting of the divine revelation to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic. -Over the course of the first century and a half of Islam, the form of the manuscript was adapted to suit the dignity and splendor of this divine revelation. -However, the word Qur'an, which means "recitation," suggests that manuscripts were of secondary importance to oral tradition. -In fact, the 114 suras (or chapters) of the Qur'an were compiled into a textual format, organized from longest to shortest, only after the death of Muhammad, although scholars still debate exactly when this might have occurred. -In this mushaf, the spaces between non-connecting characters within a word are as wide as the spaces that separate different words (sometimes even wider). For readers unfamiliar with the text, it is therefore difficult to figure out which letters should be grouped together to form words. -This deliberate obfuscation would have slowed down readers, and it suggests that anyone who read aloud from these manuscripts had probably already memorized the text of the Qur'an and used the lavish manuscript only as a kind of mnemonic device.

Illustration from The Results of the First Five-Year Plan, Varvara Stepanova

- Soviet Union -1932 CE FORM - Photomontage- images are combined and manipulated to express a message. FUNCTION - The public targeted by USSR in Construction was mostly foreign. - The purpose of the magazine was to show countries such as France and Great Britain that the USSR was also a leading force in the global market and economy. - By choosing to include images rather than just articles, the public would be able to see with their own eyes the accomplishments achieved under Stalin. - At first the subjects depicted were strictly industrial, but as the magazine gained recognition and readers, topics diversified, and included subjects from education to sports and leisure. - Soviet strategists were well aware that many European countries were witnessing the rise of a small base of devoted Communists, despite general mistrust and even contempt by the continental social and political elite. - ********As its title suggests, this photomontage is an ode to the success of the First Five-Year Plan, an initiative started by Stalin in 1928. -****The Plan was a list of strategic goals designed to grow the Soviet economy and accelerate its industrialization. These goals included collective farming, creating a military and artillery industry and increasing steel production. -By the end of the First Five-Year Plan in 1933, the USSR had become a leading industrial power, though economists from the USSR inflated results to enhance the image of the Soviet Union. -In this work of art, Stepanova has also used the tools of the propagandist. This photomontage is an ideological image intended to help establish, through its visual evidence, the great success of the Plan. CONTENT - The artist uses only three types of color and tone. She alternates black and white with sepia photographs and integrates geometric planes of red to structure the composition. - On the left, Stepanova has inserted public address speakers on a platform with the number 5, symbolizing the Five Year Plan along with placards displaying the letters CCCP, the Russian initials for USSR. - The letters are placed above the horizon as is a portrait of Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union. - The cropped and oversized photograph of Lenin shows him speaking; his eyes turned to the left as if looking to the future. L- enin is linked to the speakers and letter placards at the left by the wires of an electrical transmission tower. - Below, a large crowd of people indicate the mass popularity of Stalin's political program and their desire to celebrate it. - Red, the color of the Soviet flag, was often used by Stepanova in her photomontages. She also commonly mis-matched the scale of photographic elements to create a sense of dynamism in her images. - Despite the flat, paper format, different elements are visually activated and can even seem to 'pop out.' Several clear artistic oppositions are visible in The Results of the First Five-Year Plan. -For example, there is a sharp contrast between the black and white photographs and the red elements, such as the electric tower, the number 5, and the triangle in the foreground. - Our eyes are attracted to these oppositions and by the contrast between the indistinct masses and the individual portrait of Lenin, as an implicit reference to the Soviet political system. CONTEXT -After the First World War, artists in Germany and the Soviet Union began to experiment with photomontage, the process of making a composite image by juxtaposing or mounting two or more photographs in order to give the illusion of a single image. A photomontage can include photographs, text, words and even newspaper clippings. -Russia had for centuries been an absolute monarchy ruled by a tsar, but between 1905 and 1922 the country underwent tremendous change, the result of two wars (World War I and Civil War) and a series of uprisings that culminated in the October Revolution of 1917. -The Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR) was established in 1922 under Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. -The young communist state was celebrated by many artists and intellectuals who saw an opportunity to end the corruption and extreme poverty that defined Russia for so long. -The Russian avant-garde had experimented with new forms of art for decades and in the years after the Revolution, photomontage became a favorite technique -Stepanova was a talented painter, designer and photographer. She defined herself as a constructivist and focused her art on serving the ideals of the Soviet Union. -She was a leading member of the Russian avant-garde and later in her career, she became well known for her contributions to the magazine USSR in Construction, a propagandist publication that focused on the industrialization of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, a ruthless dictator who took power after Lenin's death and who's totalitarian policies are thought to have caused suffering and death for millions of his people. -this image celebrating of the results of the First Five-Year Plan is the artist's interpretation of events, under the strict supervision of Party ideologues. -The Plan resulted in radical measures that forced farmers to give up their land and their livestock. - Many people were reduced to extreme poverty and famine became widespread. Terror, violence, and fear replaced the initial optimism about the Plan. What started as positive propaganda became a means to hide a disastrous economic policy from the rest of the world. -It became an absolute necessity for the State to project a pristine image of its society no matter how dire the situation became. Stepanova admits no fault or imperfection in The Results of the First Five-Year Plan.

Pure Land, Mariko Mori

-1998 CE -Japan FORM - a photograph set within glass - glass with photo interlayer FUNCTION - Through the integration of sensory elements such as 3D imagery, sound, scent, and the gentle touch of a breeze, combined with the limited viewing audience, Nirvana created an immersive, intimate experience. - As its photographic counterpart, Pure Land captures a moment of this experience, enabling the viewer a longer, perhaps more meditative, relationship with the work. CONTENT - Set within a golden landscape, a female figure serenely floats above a lotus blossom while six alien musicians whirl by on bubbly clouds. Her pink robes mirror the predominantly pale orange, yellow and pink of the water, land and sky—firmly embedding her within the tranquil scene. - it's the counterpart of Mori's 3D video installation, Nirvana, 1997. - Nirvana animates the imagery we see in Pure Land. Viewed within a darkened room with the aid of 3D glasses, Nirvana's audience was limited to a group of 20 people at a time. - During the seven minute video, the central female figure would hum and whisper echoed rhythms as if meditating, while the little musicians floated around her. - At the conclusion, a fan came on and blew cool, scented air into the audience's faces. - Every element we see here has significance that may not be apparent at first glance—the serene landscape, with its golden sky, smooth pink land masses, and perfectly still water, is rich with symbolism. - Pure Land is set during sunrise in the landscape of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, called "dead" because the high salinity of its water does not support fish or plant life. In Shinto tradition, salt is used as an agent of purification. -Floating in the water is a lotus blossom—symbol of purity and rebirth into paradise. - This blossom resembles one in Mori's 1998 sculptural installation, Enlightenment Capsule, which featured a rainbow-colored acrylic lotus blossom set within a space-age capsule illuminated by sunlight. In both Enlightenment Capsule and Pure Land Mori blends traditional symbolism with futuristic elements. -On the right hand side of the background of Pure Land is a fantastical object which resembles a playful futuristic spacecraft with arms. This may be a variation of a Tibetan stupa—a sacred Buddhist monument originally used as a burial mound. -Through her imaginative reinterpretation of symbols steeped in tradition, the artist creates a timeless setting appropriate for meditation on death, purification, and rebirth. -The distant horizon line, combined with the larger island in the foreground that seems to continue into the viewer's space, create a sense of immersion, as if one were present with these fantastical figures. -Perhaps this feeling of personal involvement ties in with the title itself, Pure Land, which is the paradise of Amida (or Amitabha) Buddha who descends to greet devotees at the moment of their death and takes them back to his "Pure Land of Perfect Bliss." - these celestial attendants are pastel-colored alien figures with large pointy heads and delicate bodies. Each figure plays a different instrument as they float on their light blue bubbly clouds. -The two musicians in the foreground are blurred, as if they are flying quickly toward the viewer. -As in the Nirvana video installation upon which Pure Land is based, Mori seems to want to engage more than just the viewer's sense of sight and for each participant to have a direct experience with the artwork. -Perhaps more significantly, Oneness is a metaphor for bringing in the outsider, achieved through revealing commonalities of experience. - The binding together of seemingly disparate realities is a central theme throughout Mori's work.**** - In the Pure Land photograph, Mori's light blue, pupil-less eyes, gaze serenely somewhere beyond our vision. - Like the Amida Buddha, she rests above a lotus blossom and holds her right hand in a mudra of blessing and teaching; the circle formed by the index finger and thumb is the sign of the Wheel of Law. -In her left hand she holds a hojyu, or magical wishing jewel, in the shape of a lotus bud. This figure is inspired by Kichijoten, originally the Indian goddess, Shri Lakshmi, who was eventually incorporated into Buddhism, and typically represents fertility, fortune, and beauty. -Here Mori bares comparison with a well-known 8th century painting of Kichijoten from Yukushi-ji Temple in Nara. - Similarities include the serene elegance, softly fluttering gown, and wish-granting jewel. The 8th century painting depicts the clothing and appearance of an elegant lady of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, and it may have been an object of veneration during the annual New Year event when devotees prayed for happiness and fertility. - In this manner, a beautiful, elegant woman was seen to embody the ideas of good fortune and prosperity and became an object of worship. - By taking on this ancient persona, Mori dissolves her own identity and is transformed into the elegant Tang lady and goddess of fortune, while simultaneously performing the welcoming role of Amida Buddha. - Mori's enlightened self-representation descends to guide the viewer into a "Pure Land of Perfect Bliss" of her own creation. - Perhaps more significantly, the artist seeks to lead the viewer into her immersive paradise. In both formats, the multi-sensory video Nirvana and purely visual Pure Land photograph, the message is clear: enlightenment is for all*** CONTEXT - Another element typical in Mori's work is for the artist to cast herself in the principle role, and Pure Land is no exception. -*******The central female figure is the artist herself, wearing an elaborate costume and headdress, both of her own design. - Born in Tokyo in 1967, Mori studied design at Tokyo's Bunka Fashion College and worked part-time as a fashion model, which she originally considered a form of personal creativity. - However, she found modeling an inadequate medium in which to express herself fully, so she began to stage elaborate tableaux, taking full creative control of the process, acting as director, producer, set and costume designer, and model. - This recalls the practices of other photographers, most notably Cindy Sherman, as well as Yasumasa Morimura, the Japanese photographer notorious for substituting himself for figures in famous paintings throughout art history.

All-T'opaqu Tunic

- 1450 CE - Inka South America FORM - Camelid fiber and cotton - Weaving in Andean cultures was usually done on backstrap looms made from a series of sturdy sticks supporting the warp, or skeletal threads, of the textile. - A backstrap loom is tied to a post or tree at one end, while the other end is attached to a strap that passes around the back of the weaver. -By leaning forward or tilting back, the weaver can adjust the tension on the warp threads as he or she passes the weft threads back and forth, creating the pattern that we see on the surface of the textile. -By the time of the Inka, an incredible number of variations on this basic technique had created all kinds of textile patterns and weaves. -The two main fibers spun into the threads of the tunic came from cotton and camelids. Cotton plants grew well on the Andean coast, in a variety of natural colors. -Camelids thrived in the highlands (this includes the wild guanacos and vicuña and their domesticated brethren, the llama and the alpaca). Most Andean camelid-fiber textiles were made with the silky wool of the alpaca. -Animal fibers are more easily dyed than plant fibers, so when weavers wanted bright colors they most commonly used alpaca wool. -The All-T'oqapu Tunic is made of dyed camelid wool warp over a cotton weft, a common combination for high-status textiles. -Collecting, spinning, and dyeing the fibers for a textile represented a huge amount of work from numerous people before a weaver even began their task. -Some dyes, like cochineal red or indigo blue, were especially prized and reserved for high-status textiles. Cochineal dye comes from the bodies of small insects that live on cacti, and it takes thousands of them to make a small amount of dye. Indigo dyeing requires a high level of technical skill and a large investment in time. Red- and blue-dyed textiles were not only beautiful, they also represented the apex of the resources needed to produce them and the social and political power that commanded those resources. -In the Inka empire, textiles were produced by a number of groups, but the finest cloth, called qompi in Quechua (the language of the Inkas), was produced by acllas ("chosen women"), women who were collected from across the empire and cloistered in buildings to weave fine cloth. - The threads in the All-T'oqapu Tunic were spun so finely that there are approximately 100 threads per centimeter, making for a light, strong weave. It was traditional to weave garments in a single piece if possible, as cutting the cloth once it was off the loom would destroy its spirit existence (camac), which formed as it grew on the loom. - The All-T'oqapu Tuni c is a single piece of cloth, woven with a slit in the center for the head to pass through, and folded over and sewn together along the sides with spaces left open as arm holes. FUNCTION - Object of high status, more valuable than gold or gems - Expression of power -The acllas also performed religious rituals, and made and served chicha (corn beer) at state feasts. These women spun, dyed, and wove fibers that were collected as part of the Inka taxation system. -The textiles they produced were then given as royal gifts, worn by the royal household, or burned as a precious sacrifice to the sun god, Inti. CONTENT - The decoration of the tunic is where its name derives from. - T'oqapu are the square geometric motifs that make up the entirety of this tunic. These designs were only allowed to be worn by those of high rank in Inka society. - Normally, an Inka tunic with t'oqapu on it would have a band or bands of the motif near the neck or at the waist. - Individual t'oqapu designs appear to have been related to various peoples, places, and social roles within the Inka empire. - Covering a single tunic with a large variety of t'oqapu, as seen in this example, likely makes it a royal tunic, and symbolizes the power of the Inka ruler (the Sapa Inka). - The Sapa Inka's power is manifest in the tunic in several ways; firstly, its fine thread, expert weave, and bright colors signify his ability to command the taxation of the empire, access to luxury goods like rare and difficult dyes, and the weaving expertise of the acllas. - Secondly, among the t'oqapu in the tunic is one pattern than contains a black and white checkerboard. This was the tunic pattern worn by the Inka army, and shows the Sapa Inka's military might. - Lastly, the collection of many patterns shows that the Sapa Inka (which means "unique Inka" in Quechua) was a special individual who held claim to all t'oqapu and therefore all the peoples and places of his empire. It is a statement of absolute dominion over the land, its people, and its resources, manifested in an item that is typically Andean in its material and manufacture. CONTEXT - The Inka were masters of statecraft, forging an empire that at its height extended from modern Quito, Ecuador to Santiago, Chile.

Frontispiece of the Codex Mendoza

- Spain - 1541 CE -antonio de mendoza FUNCTION - Around 1541, the first viceroy (ruler) of New Spain, Antonio de Mendoza, commissioned a codex (manuscript) to record information about the Aztec empire. CONTENT AND FORM - contained information about the lords of Tenochtitlan, the tribute paid to the Aztecs, and an account of life "from year to year." - The Codex contains a wealth of information about the Aztecs and their empire. -For instance, the Codex's frontispiece relates information about the organization and foundation of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, or the place of the prickly pear cactus. -it shows us a schematic diagram of Tenochtitlan, with the city divided into four parts by intersecting blue-green canals. -The division of the city into four parts was intended to mirror the organization of the universe, believed to be four parts aligned with the four cardinal directions (north, east, south, west). -At the center of the schematic diagram of Tenochtitlan is an eagle on a cactus growing from the midst of a lake. -The eagle and the cactus relate to the narrative surrounding the capital's establishment. -According to Aztec myth, their patron deity, Huitzilopochtli (Hummingbird Left), told the Aztecs' ancestors to leave their ancestral home of Aztlan and look for a place where they saw an eagle atop a cactus growing from a rock. -He informed them that when they saw this sign, they should settle and build their city. -For the Aztecs, they observed the sign in the middle of Lake Texcoco, and so established their capital on an island in the lake -The cactus upon which the eagle rests also symbolizes the place name of Tenochtitlan. -The cactus is a nopal, or prickly pear cactus, which in Nahuatl is nochtli. -The cactus grows from a stone, or tetl. When paired together, they form te-noch to connote the place of the prickly pear cactus, or Tenochtitlan. -below the cactus and stone in the middle of the drawing is a war shield, indicating the Mexica did not settle peacefully in the Valley of Mexico. -The simple structure above the eagle likely symbolizes a temple, possibly an early phase of the Templo Mayor, or the Aztec's main temple that was located at the heart of the city in the sacred precinct -To the right of the eagle is a simplified skull rack (tzompantli), another structure found near the Templo Mayor. -Different types of plants, including maize, or corn, dot the city's four quadrants, no doubt alluding to the agricultural fertility associated with the city. -Ten men are also depicted in the four quadrants, wearing white garments and displaying top knots in their hair. -These figures led the Aztecs to this island location. Their name glyphs are attached to them in a manner typical of pre-Conquest manuscripts; a thin black line connects to a symbol that denotes their name. -One man, different than the rest and seated to the left of the eagle, has gray skin, as well as a different hairstyle and red mark around his ear. -These traits identify him as a priest because he let blood from his ear as offerings to deities and ash covers his skin. His name glyph identities his as Tenoch. -Other motifs, such as the speech scroll coming from his mouth and the woven mat upon which he sits, convey his high status as well. -Surrounding the entire page are year glyphs, beginning on the upper left with the date 2-House (1325 C.E.) and finishing (counter clock-wise) with the date 13-Reed. There are a total of fifty-one year glyphs. -One year is marked—the year 2-Reed, which occurred twenty-six years after Tenochtitlan's establishment -the reed has a cord wound around it and a fire drill appears above it. -These symbols note that the year 2-Reed was the first year of a new 52-year cycle, the time during which new fire was drilled to begin the new cycle and signal the completion of the previous 52-year cycle. -For the Aztecs, the New Fire ceremony occurred every 52 years—a complete cycle of the solar calendar—and it assured that the sun would rise again. -Just prior to the beginning of a new cycle, new fire was drilled in the body of a sacrificial victim. After this point, the fire was distributed among people to light their homes. -Below the diagram of the city are two scenes of military conquest. The artist emphasizes the military power of the Aztecs by showing two soldiers in hierarchic scale: they physically tower over the two men they defeat. -The Aztec warriors are also identified by their shields and their obsidian-bladed weapons (called macana). -burning temples paired with specific hills note that Colhuacan and Tenayuca were defeated. -This scene of conquest alludes to early Aztec military victories, which aided them in building their power even prior to their first official tlatoani came to power. CONTEXT - The artist or artists were indigenous, and the images were often annotated in Spanish by a priest that spoke Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Nahuas. -Viceroy Mendoza intended to send the Codex to the Spanish King, Emperor Charles V of Spain, although it never made it to Spain; French pirates acquired the Codex and it ended up in France. -Upon its appearance in sixteenth-century France, it was acquired by André Thevet, the cosmographer to King Henry II of France, and Thevet included his name on several pages, including at the top of the Codex Mendoza's frontispiece.

Tomb of the Triclinium

- (Etruscan) located in the Monterozzi necropolis of Tarquinia, Italy. - 480 BCE FORM - Chamber tombs are subterranean rock-cut chambers accessed by an approach way (dromos) in many cases. - There are stylistic comparisons between this painted scene that includes figures reclining on dining couches (klinai) and the contemporary fifth century B.C.E. Attic pottery that the Etruscans imported from Greece - Common painterly conventions of gender typing are employed—the skin of females is light in color while male skin is tinted a darker tone of orange-brown. - Tufa and fresco FUNCTION - not only holds the remains of the deceased but also various grave goods or offerings - Another purpose of the funeral meal, games, and other activities was to reinforce the socio-economic position of the deceased person and his/her family, a way to remind the community of the living of the importance of these people - visual reminders of socio-political status, including indications of wealth and civic achievements, notably public offices held by the deceased. CONTENT - Triclinium means dining room - composed of a single chamber with wall decorations painted in fresco. - the tomb takes its name from the three-couch dining room of the ancient Greco-Roman Mediterranean, known as the triclinium. - The rear wall of the tomb carries the main scene, one of banqueters enjoying a dinner party - The people on the painting are high status eating on couch - it is likely that there were originally three couches, each hosting a pair of reclining diners, one male and one female. Two attendants—one male, one female—attend to the needs of the diners. - The diners are dressed in bright and sumptuous robes, befitting their presumed elite status. - Beneath the couches we can observe a large cat , as well as a large rooster and another bird. - Scenes of dancers occupy the left and right walls. The left wall scene contains four dancers—three female and one male—and a male musician playing the barbiton, an ancient stringed instrument similar to the lyre (left). - Servants are serving food - The dancers and musicians with the feasting, suggest the overall convivial tone of the Etruscan funeral. - The tomb's ceiling is painted in a checkered scheme of alternating colors, perhaps meant to evoke the temporary fabric tents that were erected near the tomb for the actual celebration of the funeral banquet.. like a carnival, festival CONTEXT -Etruscan funeral sites were not somber but festive, with the aim of sharing a final meal with the deceased as the latter transitioned to the afterlife. - The city of Tarquinia, one of the most powerful and prominent Etruscan centers, is known for its painted chamber tombs. - An advanced Iron Age culture, the Etruscans amassed wealth based on Italy's natural resources (particularly metal and mineral ores) - funerals were often accompanied by games

Moai on platform (ahu)

- 1100 CE - Easter Island. akaRapaNui FORM - Basalt, volcanic tuff - Coral eye sockets FUNCTION - The moai were probably carved to commemorate important ancestors CONTENT - Moai means statue - Over a few hundred years the inhabitants of this remote island quarried, carved and erected around 887 moai. - The size and complexity of the moai increased over time, and it is believed that Hoa Hakananai'a dates to around 1200 C.E. - It is one of only fourteen moai made from basalt, the rest are carved from the island's softer volcanic tuff. - With the adoption of Christianity in the 1860s, the remaining standing moai were toppled. - Hoa Hakananai'a was probably first displayed outside on a stone platform (ahu) on the sacred site of Orongo, before being moved into a stone house at the ritual center of Orongo. It would have stood with other moai, their backs to the sea, keeping watch over the island. - Its eye sockets were originally inlaid with red stone and coral and the sculpture was painted with red and white designs, which were washed off when it was rafted to the ship, to be taken to Europe in 1869. - It was collected by the crew of the English ship HMS Topaze, under the command of Richard Ashmore Powell, on their visit to Easter Island in 1868 to carry out surveying work. - It was moved to the beach and then taken to the Topaze by raft. - The crew recorded the islanders' name for the statue, which is thought to mean "stolen or hidden friend." - They also acquired another, smaller basalt statue, known as Moai Hava - Hoa Hakananai'a is similar in appearance to a number of Easter Island moai. It has a heavy eyebrow ridge, elongated ears and oval nostrils. The clavicle is emphasized, and the nipples protrude. The arms are thin and lie tightly against the body; the hands are hardly indicated. Its head is slightly tilted back, as if scanning a distant horizon. The nose is long and straight, ending in large oval nostrils. The thin lips are set into a downward curve, giving the face a stern, uncompromising expression. A faint vertical line in low relief runs from the centre of the mouth to the chin. The jawline is well defined and massive. The figure's collarbone is emphasized by a curved indentation, and his chest is defined by carved lines that run downwards from the top of his arms and curve upwards onto the breast to end in the small protruding bumps of his nipples. The arms are held close against the side of the body, the hands rudimentary, carved in low relief. - In the British Museum, the figure is set on a stone platform just over a meter high so that it towers above the visitor. - It is carved out of dark grey basalt—a hard, dense, fine-grained volcanic rock. The surface of the rock is rough and pitted, and pinpricks of light sparkle as tiny crystals in the rock glint. Basalt is difficult to carve and unforgiving of errors. The sculpture was probably commissioned by a high status individual. - The back is covered with ceremonial designs believed to have been added at a later date, some carved in low relief, others incised. - These show images relating to the island's birdman cult. -The key birdman cult ritual was an annual trial of strength and endurance, in which the chiefs and their followers competed. The victorious chief then represented the creator god, Makemake, for the following year. -Carved on the upper back and shoulders are two birdmen, facing each other. These have human hands and feet, and the head of a frigate bird. - In the centre of the head is the carving of a small fledgling bird with an open beak. This is flanked by carvings of ceremonial dance paddles known as 'ao, with faces carved into them. On the left ear is another 'ao, and running from top to bottom of the right ear are four shapes like inverted 'V's representing the female vulva. These carvings are believed to have been added at a later date. CONTEXT - Easter island is known to its inhabitants as Rapa Nui. - Around 1500 C.E. the practice of constructing moai peaked, and from around 1600 C.E. statues began to be toppled, sporadically. - The island's fragile ecosystem had been pushed beyond what was sustainable. Over time only sea birds remained. As these changes occurred, so too did the Rapanui religion alter—to the birdman religion. After 1838 at a time of social collapse following European intervention, the remaining standing moai were toppled

Great Mosque of Djenné

- 1200 CE - Mali, Africa FORM AND CONTENT - It is the largest mud-built structure in the world. - The Great Mosque that we see today is its third reconstruction, completed in 1907. - According to legend, the original Great Mosque was probably erected in the 13th century, when King Koi Konboro—Djenné's twenty-sixth ruler and its first Muslim sultan (king)—decided to use local materials and traditional design techniques to build a place of Muslim worship in town. - King Konboro's successors and the town's rulers added two towers to the mosque and surrounded the main building with a wall. The mosque compound continued to expand over the centuries, and by the 16th century, popular accounts claimed half of Djenné's population could fit in the mosque's galleries. - Great Mosque require periodic and often annual re-plastering. If re-plastering does not occur, the exteriors of the structures melt in the rainy season. - The Great Mosque that we see today is rectilinear in plan and is partly enclosed by an exterior wall. An earthen roof covers the building, which is supported by monumental pillars. - The roof has several holes covered by terra-cotta lids, which provide its interior spaces with fresh air even during the hottest days. - The façade of the Great Mosque includes three minarets and a series of engaged columns that together create a rhythmic effect - At the top of the pillars are conical extensions with ostrich eggs placed at the very top—symbol of fertility and purity in the Malian region. -Timber beams throughout the exterior are both decorative and structural. These elements also function as scaffolding for the re-plastering of the mosque during the annual festival of the Crepissage. - During the annual festival of the Crepissage de la Grand Mosquée, the entire city contributes to the re-plastering of the mosque's exterior by kneading into it a mud plaster made from a mixture of butter and fine clay from the alluvial soil of the nearby Niger and Bani Rivers. - The men of the community usually take up the task of mixing the construction material. As in the past, musicians entertain them during their labors, while women provide water for the mixture. Elders also contribute through their presence on site, by sitting on terrace walls and giving advice. FUNCTION - Over the centuries, the Great Mosque has become the epicenter of the religious and cultural life of Mali, and the community of Djenné. - It is also the site of a unique annual festival called the Crepissage de la Grand Mosquée (Plastering of the Great Mosque). CONTEXT - Djenné was founded between 800 and 1250 C.E., and it flourished as a great center of commerce, learning, and Islam, - the Great Mosque became one of the most important buildings in town primarily because it became a political symbol for local residents and for colonial powers like the French who took control of Mali in 1892. - Some of the earliest European writings on the first Great Mosque came from the French explorer René Caillié who wrote in detail about the structure in his travelogue Journal d'un voyage a Temboctou et à Jenné (Journal of a Voyage to Timbuktu and Djenné). - A second mosque built between 1834 and 1836 replaced the original and damaged building described by Caillié. We can see evidence of this construction in drawings by the French journalist Felix Dubois. In 1896, three years after the French conquest of the city, Dubois published a plan of the mosque based on his survey of the ruins.

Female deity

- 1800 CE - Micronesia FORMA ND CONTENT - Wood - The first Europeans to collect the Nukuoro sculptures found them coarse and clumsy. - It is not known whether the breadfruit tree (Artocarpus altilis) images were carved with local adzes equipped with Tridacna shell blades or with western metal blade tools (Tridacna is a genus of large saltwater clams). - The surfaces were smoothed with pumice which was abundantly available on the beach. - All the sculptures, ranging in size from 30 cm to 217 cm, have similar proportions: an ovoid head tapering slightly at the chin and a columnar neck. The eyes and nose are either discretely shown as slits or not at all. The shoulders slope downwards and the chest is indicated by a simple line. Some female figures have rudimentary breasts. - Some of the sculptures, be they male, female or of indeterminate sex, have a sketchy indication of hands and feet. The buttocks are always flattened and set on a flexed pair of legs. FUNCTION - Local deities in Nukuoro resided in animals or were represented in stones, pieces of wood or wooden figurines (tino aitu). - Each of the figurines bore the name of a specific male or female deity which was associated with a particular extended family group, a priest and a specific temple. - They were placed in temples and decorated with loom-woven bands, fine mats, feathers, paint or headdresses. - The tino aitu occupied a central place in an important religious ceremony that took place towards the month of Mataariki, when the Pleiades are visible in the west at dusk. - The rituals marked the beginning of the harvesting of two kinds of taro, breadfruit, arrowroot, banana, sugar cane, pandanus and coconuts. - During the festivities—which could last several weeks—the harvested fruits and food offerings were brought to the wooden sculptures, male and female dances were performed and women were tattooed. - Any weathered and rotten statues were also replaced during the ceremony. For the period of these rituals, the sculptures were considered the resting place of a god or a deified ancestor's spirit. CONTEXT - Nukuoro is a small isolated atoll in the archipelago of the Caroline Islands. It is located in Micronesia, a region in the Western Pacific. - people left the Samoan archipelago in two canoes led by their chief Wawe. The canoes first stopped at Nukufetau in Tuvalu and later arrived on the then uninhabited island of Nukuoro. - These new Polynesian settlers brought with them ideas of hierarchy and rank, and aesthetic principles such as the carving of stylized human figures. -However the new inhabitants also incorporated Micronesian aspects such as the art of navigation, canoe-building and loom-weaving with banana fiber. - Because Nukuoro is geographically situated in Micronesia, but is culturally and linguistically essentially Polynesian, it is called a Polynesian Outlier. -The Spanish navigator Juan Bautista Monteverde was the first European to sight the atoll on 18 February 1806 when he was on his way from Manila (in the Philippines) to Lima (in South America). -The estimated 400 inhabitants of Nukuoro engaged in barter and exchange with Europeans as early as 1830, as can be attested from the presence of Western metal tools. - A trading post was only established in 1870. From the 1850s onwards, American protestant mission teachers who had been posted in the area, visited Nukuoro regularly from the Marshall Islands and from the islands Lukunor, Pohnpei, and Kosrae. - However, when the American missionary Thomas Gray arrived in Nukuoro in 1902, to baptize a female chief, he found that a large part of the population was already acquainted with Christianity through a Nukuoran woman who had lived on Pohnpei. -When Gray returned three years later, he found that the local sacred ground (marae) and the large temple had been replaced by a church. -By 1913, many of the pre-Christian traditions including dances, songs, and stories were lost. Most of the wooden images had been taken off the island and lost their function. -in 1874, the missionary Edward T. Doane made the first mention of carved wooden figures. It is unclear, however, where this missionary got his information from as he never left his ship, the Morning Star. -Johann Stanislaus Kubary, who visited the island in 1873 and in 1877 while working for the Godeffroy trading company and its museum, and Carl Jeschke, a ship's captain who first visited the atoll, give the most detailed information on the Nukuoron figures. - The shape was recreated in modern day

Buk (mask)

- 1850 CE - Torres Strait FORM - Turtle shell mask - Pieces are stitched together FUNCTION - This is one part of a costume used in masquerade - It would have been in motion, with the feathers, the raffia - Art historians conjecture that the face is a face of a hero or a ancestor - The bird could be seen as a totem- a mythological create thats connected to a particular lineage or family - Connected to something supernatural CONTENT - Divided into three registers- in the bottom, a human face, above it, the face and body of a bird, and above it are the feathers - The bird is a frigate bird - The face has raffia attached to it as if it were hair CONTEXT - Made by people who lived on an island in the Torres Strait- a particular island called Mabuiag island - It's only in the torres strait that there are masks made of precious material like turtle shell - Turtle shell was actively traded - They were kept in special houses of stone

Portrait mask (Mblo)

- 1900 CE -Cote D'lvoire, Africa FORM - Portrait masks characteristically have an oval face with an elongated nose, small, open mouth, downcast slit eyes with projecting pieces that extend beyond the crest to suggest animal horns. - Most also have scarification patterns at the temple and a high gloss patina. These stylistic attributes are actually a visual that suggests what it means to be a good, honorable, respected, and beautiful person in Baule society. - The half slit eyes and high forehead suggest modesty and wisdom respectively. -The nasolabial fold depicted as a line between the sides of the nose to the outsides of the mouth and the beard-like projecting triangular patterns that extends from the bottom of the ears to the chin, suggest age. -The triangular brass additions heighten the lustrous patina when danced in the sunlight, a suggestion of health. FUNCTION - The Gbagba masquerade is a form of entertainment no longer practiced in Kami since the 1980s, replaced today by newer masks and performance styles. -What is known, however, is that masks like this one were not intended to be hung on a wall and appreciated. Sculpture throughout West Africa has the power to act; to make things happen. -A carving of a figure, for example, can be utilized by practitioners to communicate with ancestors and spirits. -The physical presence of a mask can allow the invisible world to interact with and influence the visible world of humans. Scholar Susan Vogel mentions that Gbagba could bring social relief at the end of a long day and respite from everyday chores. It allowed residents to socialize, mourn, celebrate, feast, and even, court. CONTENT - This mask was part of a secular masquerade in the village of Kami in the early 1900s. - The hairstyles of portrait masks are known to be quite realistic but other features, like the six projecting tubular pieces at the crown, are abstract. This is not a realistic representation of the woman in the photograph, rather, it suggests an idealized inner state of beauty and morality associated with Moya Yanso. CONTEXT - The 400,000 Baule who live in central Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa have a rich carving tradition. Many sculpted figures and masks of human form are utilized in personal shrines and in masquerade performances. -In the case of this Gba gba mask, Vogel tells us that it was meant to honor a respected member of Baule society. -This mask is unusual. Most older African carving come into Western collections without information about the artist or subject, but in this case, both the carver and the sitter have been recorded. -Moya Yanso is the person carved in this mask by a well-known Baule artist, Owie Kimou. -her stepson danced this mask in a Gbagba performance. -It was commissioned and originally worn by Kouame Ziarey, Moya Yanso's husband and later his sons. Revered as a great dancer, Moya Yanso accompanied the mask in performances throughout her adult life until she was no longer physically able. - This portrait mask tradition came to end in the early 1980s with the decline of Gbagba and while entertainment masks continue, they are no longer carved to represent specific individuals. -This mask was acquired from the family of Moya Yanso in 1997 by a collector in Brussels, then sold to a French collector, and finally sold through the Sotheby's auction house in 1999 for 197,000 US dollars to a collector in Minneapolis.

Veranda post of enthroned king and senior wife (Opo Ogoga) (and Olowe of Ise, veranda post)

- 1910 CE - Yoruba peoples, Africa FORM - Hand carved from one sizeable piece of high-density hardwood timber - proportion and scale are altered and exaggerated to symbolize ideas. The disproportionately large heads represent character, self-control, and motivation. Eyes are large to suggest awareness. - The sculpture's formal complexity is enhanced by its textured surface, with details originally painted in black, white, and royal blue. The deep carving style was well suited to the intense sunlight of its original setting inside an exterior veranda - He treats the heads as a single ovoid form leading the eye to the crowned head of the king (Ogoga) and his attendant queen. - The heads project at a diagonal angle that are mounted on highly elongated and slightly forward-bending necks, creating a distinct line down to their squared shoulders. - The convention of elongating the figure, head, and neck can be seen in many of Olowe's carvings, creating a solid "mounting" to visually highlight the importance of the head that holds ase, or the inner spiritual power, dignity, strength, and sacredness of one's destiny. - Yoruba traditional thought and belief is often made manifest through hieratic proportions. The status of the king's consort is visually relayed by her physical size. - However, it is balanced by the location of the seated king at the center of the post. - His crowned head has been positioned so that it would be viewed at eye level in the original veranda setting. His feet are not allowed to touch the earth, a symbol of his transcendent position. - His eyes are downcast, introspective, and attentive to the world beyond. He wears a conical beaded crown, signifying the legitimacy of his reign. The crown is decorated with four carved ancestral faces or 'heads' with open eyes, a reference to the divine line of descent and spiritual wisdom (ase) it contains. FUNCTION - Originally intended to be among the structural posts of a palace porch - Created for a palace among the Yoruba in Nigeria Represents military power and leadership, the power of the enthroned king CONTENT - head is most important part - originally one in a suite of five veranda posts comprised of five figural elements on a circular base: the crowned king, his senior wife, and three smaller attendants (one now missing) in the royal household. - also the spiritual is represented by the bulging eyes, where we can still see a little bit of the original blue pigment. The idea that one can look into the spiritual realm - The style of the hats with serrated lines can be found in many of Olowe's works. -In traditional Yoruba religious belief, the crown is the key emblem of the power of a sanctified reign, signaling the transformation of the human wearing it into a conduit to the spiritual, ancestral realm. - Three small figures, scaled according to culturally-specific status, are at the base: a female who kneels in a gesture of humility and reverence; a standing court messenger identified by his half-shaved head playing a flute announcing the king's presence; and a third, now missing, standing while holding a large circular fan, emblem of royalty and Osun, the river deity. - The king sits poised, leaning slightly forward, his weight held by his hands on his knees. A bird at the summit of his crown, a sign of transformational abilities and the protection of ancestral mothers, is rendered with an elongated beak that extends down to touch the very center of the beaded crown. Its tail points upward to the head of the standing consort who wears three vertical parallel facial marks with a line running from the left side of the bridge of the nose, identifying lineage to a principal Yoruba family, the Egbas. - She displays a once common practice in the Ekiti area of filing the front teeth as a sign of beauty and rank. Her elaborate hairstyle would reflect one worn for a festival honoring a deity (orisha) or during a chieftaincy installation. On her back, Olowe has replicated the queen's scarification patterns that are associated with her community and high status. -The queen stands erect behind and towering over the king, yet they are visually connected by her hands gently resting on the back of the throne. -Beaded coral adornments worn by the king and queen echo the form of their squared shoulders, and other beaded adornments are included, worn by entitlement as a member of the royal household. Traces of blue, red, and white pigments can be seen. They were once most likely prominent, but the colors have faded over time as the work was exposed to the outdoors. - A suite of five architectural posts commissioned from Olowe by the crowned king (Ogoga) of the town of Ikere, in Ekiti state, could be found situated in the principal entry to the local palace veranda and reception courtyard. - Three of the major carvings appear to be functional supports, extending to the top of the veranda roof. Two multi-tiered figural posts flank a central geometric form, while two others facing outward represent a senior mother presenting her twins and a royal equestrian. A smaller freestanding equestrian figural group is at the center CONTEXT - Ise is a region in Southwestern Nigeria where olowe of ise came from - nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Yoruba artistic traditions were maintained by artists working in specialized carving centers throughout the southwest area of Nigeria. - "Master carver" designated a person who attained the skills through training and advanced from apprentice to master within a locally established carving center or compound. A carver with exceptional talent often set up a studio on his own, accepted apprentices and assistants, and was commissioned directly. - most of Olowe of Ise's life was spent working in the court center of Ise though he took commissions from other royal patrons over a wide area in the Ekiti region. - Olowe of Ise was flourishing in southwest Nigeria in the early twentieth century, coinciding with the time when early Modernism was emerging - Admired by his contemporaries, Olowe's artistic talent is recalled in oriki, or praise poems, composed in his honor.

Black-on-black ceramic vessel Maria Martinez and Julian Martinez

- 1950 CE - New Mexico US FORM - blackware ceramic - Maria and Julian Martinez pioneered a style of applying a matte-black design over polished-black. - the design was based on pottery sherds found on an Ancestral Pueblo dig site dating to the twelfth to seventeenth centuries at what is now known as Bandelier National Monument. The Martinezes worked at the site, with Julian helping the archaeologists at the dig and Maria helping at the campsite. - Julian Martinez spent time drawing and painting the designs found on the walls and on the sherds of pottery into his notebooks, designs he later recreated on pots. - In the 1910s, Maria and Julian worked together to recreate the black-on-black ware they found at the dig, experimenting with clay from different areas and using different firing techniques. - Taking a cue from Santa Clara pots, they discovered that smothering the fire with powdered manure removed the oxygen while retaining the heat and resulted in a pot that was blackened. - This resulted in a pot that was less hard and not entirely watertight, which worked for the new market that prized decorative use over utilitarian value. - The areas that were burnished had a shiny black surface and the areas painted with guaco were matte designs based on natural phenomenon, such as rain clouds, bird feathers, rows of planted corn, and the flow of rivers. FUNCTION - Before the arrival of the railroad to the area in the 1880s, pots were used in the Pueblos for food storage, cooking, and ceremonies. - But with inexpensive pots appearing along the rail line, these practices were in decline. - By the 1910s, Ms. Martinez found a way to continue the art by selling her pots to a non-Native audience where they were purchased as something beautiful to look at rather than as utilitarian objects. CONTENT - The olla features two design bands, one across the widest part of the pot and the other around the neck. - The elements inside are abstract but suggest a bird in flight with rain clouds above, perhaps a prayer for rain that could be flown up to the sky. - These designs are exaggerated due to the low rounded shapes of the pot, which are bulbous around the shoulder then narrow at the top. - The shape, color, and designs fit the contemporary Art Deco movement, which was popular between the two World Wars and emphasized bold, geometric forms and colors. With its dramatic shape and the high polish of surface, this pot exemplifies Maria Martinez's skill in transforming a utilitarian object into a fine art. CONTEXT - Born Maria Antonia Montoya, Maria Martinez became one of the best-known Native potters of the twentieth century due to her excellence as a ceramist and her connections with a larger, predominantly non-Native audience. - Though she lived at the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, about 20 miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico, from her birth in 1887 until her death in 1980, her work and her life had a wide reaching importance to the Native art world - Her mastery as a ceramist was noted in her village while she was still young. She learned the ceramic techniques that were used in the Southwest for several millennia by watching potters from San Ildefonso, especially her aunt Nicholasa as well as potters (including Margaret Tafoya from Santa Clara), from other nearby Pueblos. - All the raw materials had to be gathered and processed carefully or the final vessel would not fire properly. The clay was found locally. - To make the pottery stronger it had to be mixed with a temper made from sherds of broken pots that had been pounded into a powder or volcanic ash. - When mixed with water, the elasticity of the clay and the strength of the temper could be formed into different shapes, including a rounded pot (known as an olla) or a flat plate, using only the artist's hands as the potting wheel was not used. -The dried vessel needed to be scraped, sanded, smoothed, then covered with a slip (a thin solution of clay and water). - The slip was polished by rubbing a smooth stone over the surface to flatten the clay and create a shiny finish—a difficult and time-consuming process. - Over the polished slip the pot was covered with designs painted with an iron-rich solution using either pulverized iron ore or a reduction of wild plants called guaco. These would be dried but required a high temperature firing to change the brittle clay to hard ceramics. E - ven without kilns, the ceramists were able to create a fire hot enough to transform the pot by using manure. - Making ceramics in the Pueblo was considered a communal activity, where different steps in the process were often shared. - Throughout her career, she worked with different family members, including her husband Julian, her son Adam and his wife Santana, and her son Popovi Da. As the pots moved into a fine art market, Ms. Martinez was encouraged to sign her name on the bottom of her pots. Though this denied the communal nature of the art, she began to do so as it resulted in more money per pot.

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings

- 450 CE - Montezuma Country, Colorado, US FORM - Home built into the side of a cliff - stone, mortar, and plaster remain the most intact. -To build these structures, people used stone and mud mortar, along with wooden beams adapted to the natural clefts in the cliff face. This building technique was a shift from structures built prior to 1000 CE in the Mesa Verde area, which had been made primarily of adobe, a type of brick made of clay, sand and straw or sticks. - We often see traces of the people who constructed these buildings, such as handprints or fingerprints in many of the mortar and plaster walls. - The inhabited region encompassed a far larger geographic area than is defined now by the national park and included other residential sites like Hovenweep National Monument and Yellow Jacket Pueblo. FUNCTION - Homes of Anasazi*** -These structures were mostly residential but some were used for storage and ritual. CONTENT - There are more than 4300 sites and more than 600 cliff dwellings - "Verde" is Spanish for green. "Mesa" means table but here refers to the flat-topped mountains common in the southwestern United States. - The Ancestral Puebloans accessed these dwellings with retractable ladders - To access Mesa Verde National Park, you drive up to the plateau along a winding road. - The largest of all the cliff dwellings, Cliff Palace, has about 150 rooms and more than 20 circular rooms. Due to its location, it was well protected from the elements. - The buildings originally ranged from one to four stories, and some hit the natural stone ceiling. - These buildings, along with the decorative elements and objects found inside them, provide important insights into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloan people during the thirteenth century.*** - At sites like Cliff Palace, families lived in architectural units, organized around kivas, circular, subterranean rooms. -A kiva typically had a wood-beamed roof held up by six engaged support columns made of masonry above a shelf-like banquette. Other typical features of a kiva included a fire pit or hearth, a ventilation shaft, a deflector (low wall designed to prevent air drawn from the ventilation shaft from reaching the fire directly), and a sipapu ( a small hole in the floor that is ceremonial in purpose). -They developed from the pithouse, also a circular, subterranean room used as a living space. -Kivas continue to be used for ceremonies today by Puebloan peoples, though not those within Mesa Verde National Park. - In the past, these circular spaces were likely both ceremonial and residential. If you visit Cliff Palace today, you will see the kivas without their roofs, but in the past they would have been covered. The space around them would have functioned as a small plaza -Connected rooms fanned out around these plazas, creating a housing unit. One room, typically facing onto the plaza, contained a hearth (the floor of a fireplace.) Family members most likely gathered here. Other rooms located off the hearth were most likely storage rooms, with just enough of an opening to squeeze your arm through a hole to grab anything you might need. -Cliff Palace also features some unusual structures, including a circular tower. Archaeologists are still uncertain as to the exact use of the tower. - The builders of these structures plastered and painted murals, although what remains today is fairly fragmentary. Some murals display geometric designs, while other murals represent animals and plants. - For example, Mural 30, on the third floor of a rectangular tower (more accurately a room block) at Cliff Palace, is painted red against a white wall. The mural includes geometric shapes that are thought to portray the landscape. - This mural is similar to murals inside other cliff dwellings, including Spruce Tree House and Balcony House. Scholars have suggested that the red band at the bottom symbolizes the earth while the lighter portion of the wall symbolizes the sky. The top of the red band, then, forms a horizon line that separates the two. We recognize what look like triangular peaks, perhaps mountains on the horizon line. The rectangular element in the sky might relate to clouds, rain, or the sun and moon. The dotted lines might represent cracks in the earth. - The creators of the murals used paint produced from clay, organic materials, and minerals. For instance, the red color came from hematite, a red ocher. Blue pigment could be turquoise or azurite, while black was often derived from charcoal. -Along with the complex architecture and mural painting, the Ancestral Puebloan peoples produced black-on-white ceramics and turquoise and shell jewelry. -Goods were imported from afar including shell and other types of pottery. Many of these high-quality objects and their materials demonstrate the close relationship these people had to the landscape. for example, the geometric designs on the mugs above appear similar to those in Mural 30 at Cliff Palace. CONTEXT - The Ancestral Puebloan peoples, formerly known as the Anasazi lived in these homes. - Beginning after 1000-1100 CE, they built more than 600 structures into the cliff faces of the Four Corners region of the United States: the southwestern corner of Colorado, northwestern corner of New Mexico, northeastern corner of Arizona, and southeastern corner of Utah. - The dwellings depicted here are located in what is today southwestern Colorado in the national park known as Mesa Verde. - Ancestral Puebloans occupied the Mesa Verde region from about 450 CE to 1300 CE. - Not all Ancestral Puebloans lived in cliff dwellings. only about 125 people lived in Cliff Palace, the largest of the Mesa Verde sites. - From 500-1300 CE, Ancestral Puebloans who lived at Mesa Verde were sedentary (seated) farmers who cultivated beans, squash, and corn. -Corn originally came from what is today Mexico at some point during the first millennium of the Common Era. Originally most farmers lived near their crops, but this shifted in the late 1100s when people began to live near sources of water and often had to walk longer distances to their crops. -So why move up to the cliff alcoves at all, away from water and crops? They certainly provide shade and protection from snow. but we are left only with educated guesses -The cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde were abandoned around 1300 CE. why did people leave the area? We dont know, maybe bc droughts occurred from 1276 to 1299 CE. These dry periods likely caused a shortage of resources - People living in mesa verde were trading extensively with people

The Ambum Stone

- Ambum Valley, Enga Province, Papua New Guinea - 1500 BCE - neo FORM -greywacke -8 inches tall -Greywacke: really hard to carve, really long lasting and durable - so very valuable and important to whoever made it FUNCTION -small and easy to carry around. -Perhaps some religious purpose. -perhaps used to grind or mash things CONTETN -possibly a sculpture of an echidna. -very prominent eyes and nose. CONTEXT -Settled communities. more time for sculpture.

Angkor, the temple of Angkor Wat, the city of Angkor Thom

- 800 CE - Angkor Thom, Cambodia FORM - largest religious monument in the world - The site is built entirely out of stone - almost every surface is treated and carved with narrative or decorative details. FUNCTION - Angkor Wat, translated from Khmer (the official language of Cambodia) literally means "City Temple." - Angkor Wat is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu who is one of the three principal gods in the Hindu pantheon (Shiva and Brahma are the others). - Among them he is known as the "Protector." - The major patron of Angkor Wat was King Suryavarman II, whose name translates as the "protector of the sun." - Many scholars believe that Angkor Wat was not only a temple dedicated to Vishnu but that it was also intended to serve as the king's mausoleum in death. - The building of temples by Khmer kings was a means of legitimizing their claim to political office and also to lay claim to the protection and powers of the gods. - Hindu temples are not a place for religious congregation; instead; they are homes of the god. - In order for a king to lay claim to his political office he had prove that the gods did not support his predecessors or his enemies. To this end, the king had to build the grandest temple/palace for the gods, one that proved to be more lavish than any previous temples. CONTENT - There are 1,200 square meters of carved bas reliefs at Angkor Wat, representing eight different Hindu stories. - Perhaps the most important narrative represented at Angkor Wat is the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, which depicts a story about the beginning of time and the creation of the universe. - It is also a story about the victory of good over evil. - In the story, devas (gods) are fighting the asuras (demons) in order reclaim order and power for the gods who have lost it. In order to reclaim peace and order, the elixir of life (amrita) needs to be released from the earth; however, the only way for the elixir to be released is for the gods and demons to first work together. To this end, both sides are aware that once the amrita is released there will be a battle to attain it. - The relief depicts the moment when the two sides are churning the ocean of milk. In the detail you can see that the gods and demons are playing a sort of tug-of-war with the Naga or serpent king as their divine rope. The Naga is being spun on Mt. Mandara represented by Vishnu (in the center). - Several things happen while the churning of milk takes place. One event is that the foam from the churning produces apsaras or celestial maidens who are carved in relief throughout Angkor Wat (we see them here on either side of Vishnu, above the gods and demons). - Once the elixir is released, Indra (the Vedic god who is considered the king of all the gods) is seen descending from heaven to catch it and save the world from the destruction of the demons. - An aerial view of Angkor Wat demonstrates that the temple is made up of an expansive enclosure wall, which separates the sacred temple grounds from the protective moat that surrounds the entire complex. -The temple proper is comprised of three galleries (a passageway running along the length of the temple) with a central sanctuary, marked by five stone towers. - The five stone towers are intended to mimic the five mountain ranges of Mt. Meru—the mythical home of the gods, for both Hindus and Buddhists. - The temple mountain as an architectural design was invented in Southeast Asia. - The galleries and the empty spaces that they created between one another and the moat are envisioned as the mountain ranges and oceans that surround Mt. Meru. - Mt. Meru is not only home to the gods, it is also considered an axis-mundi. An axis-mundi is a cosmic or world axis that connects heaven and earth. - In designing Angkor Wat in this way, King Suryavarman II and his architects intended for the temple to serve as the supreme abode for Vishnu. - Similarly, the symbolism of Angkor Wat serving as an axis mundi was intended to demonstrate the Angkor Kingdom's and the king's central place in the universe. - In addition to envisioning Angkor Wat as Mt. Meru on earth, the temple's architects designed the temple so that embedded in the temple's construction is a map of the cosmos (mandala) as well as a historical record of the temple's patron. - According to ancient Sanskrit and Khmer texts, religious monuments and specifically temples must be organized in such a way that they are in harmony with the universe, meaning that the temple should be planned according to the rising sun and moon, in addition to symbolizing the recurrent time sequences of the days, months and years. - The central axis of these temples should also be aligned with the planets, thus connecting the structure to the cosmos so that temples become spiritual, political, cosmological, astronomical and geo-physical centers. - They are, in other words, intended to represent microcosms of the universe and are organized as mandalas—diagrams of the universe. CONTEXT - Angkor Wat was not the original name given to the temple when it was built in the 12th century. We have little knowledge of how this temple was referred to during the time of its use - A possible reason why the temple's original name may have never been documented is that it was such an important and famous monument that there was no need to refer to it by its name. - The construction of Angkor Wat likely began in the year 1116 C.E.—three years after King Suryavarman II came to the throne—with construction ending in 1150, shortly after the king's death. - Evidence for these dates comes in part from inscriptions, which are vague, but also from the architectural design and artistic style of the temple and its associated sculptures. - The building of Angkor Wat is likely to have necessitated some 300,000 workers, which included architects, construction workers, masons, sculptors and the servants to feed these workers. Construction of the site took over 30 years and was never completely finished.

The Ardabil Carpet

- Iran - 1539 CE FORM AND CONTENT - Carpets are portable, typically made of silk and wools -carpets were traded and sold across the Islamic lands and beyond its boundaries to Europe and China. -The pile of the carpet is made from wool, rather than silk because it holds dye better. -The knot-count of a carpet still directly impacts the value of carpets today; the more knots per square centimeter, the more detailed and elaborate the patterns can be. -The dyes used to color the carpet are natural and include pomegranate rind and indigo. -The Ardabil carpet has 340 knots per square inch -Today, a commercial rug averages 80-160 knots per square inch, meaning that the Ardabil carpet was highly detailed. -A central golden medallion dominates the carpet; it is surrounded by a ring of multi-colored, detailed ovals. Lamps appear to hang at either end. -The carpet's border is made up of a frame with a series of cartouches (rectangular-shaped spaces for calligraphy), filled with decoration. The central medallion design is also echoed by the four corner-pieces. -Art historians have debated the meaning of the two lamps that appear to hang from the medallion. They are of different sizes and some scholars have proposed that this was done to create a perspective effect, meaning that both lamps appear to be the same size when one sat next to the smaller lamp. -includes a four-line inscription placed at one end. -This short poem is vital for understanding who commissioned the carpet and the date of the carpet. -"Except for thy threshold, there is no refuge for me in all the world. Except for this door there is no resting-place for my head. The work of the slave of the portal, Maqsud Kashani." -Maqsud was probably the court official charged with producing the carpets. By referring to himself as a slave, he may be presenting himself as a humble servant. -The fourth line of the inscription is also important. It provides the date of the carpet, AH 946. The Muslim calendar begins in the year 620 CE when Muhammad fled from Mecca to Medina; this year is known as the year of the Hijra or flight FUNCTION - Those from Iran were highly prized. Carpets decorated the floors of mosques, shrines and homes, but they could also be hung on walls of houses to preserve warmth in the winter. - This carpet was one of a matching pair that was made for the shrine of Safi al-Din Ardabili when it was enlarged in the late 1530s. CONTEXT - one of the world's oldest Islamic carpets, as well as one of the largest the carpet takes its name from the town of Ardabil in north-west Iran. - Ardabil was the home to the shrine of the Sufi saint, Safi al-Din Ardabili, who died in 1334 (Sufism is Islamic mysticism) -The dynasty he founded is known as the Safavids. -Their rule, which lasted until 1722, was one of the most important periods for Islamic art, especially for textiles and for manuscripts. -Up to ten weavers could have worked on the carpet at any given time.

Terra cotta fragment

- Lapita, Solomon Islands, Reef Islands - 1000 BCE - neo Form: -made from molded terra cotta, a reddish-brown, unglazed type of clay -many tools were used to create it, like stones, clam shells, their fingernails, bird bones and coral to create the designs on the pottery -made on volcanic islands, interesting materials available -they used a method called dentate stamping, involving carving designs into existing natural materials (turtle shells, bamboo, or wood) and using this as a stamp on the terra cotta clay before it was dried -terra cotta uses fire to harden, showing their developed civilization FUNCTION -fragments are from a pot that would have been used by the Lapita people for culinary purposes -possibly food storage (used like a jar) or even actual cooking (used like a pot) -a "wagelie" was the name for a food storing vessel -pottery was a large part of Lapita culture, it was very widespread and even had cultural significance -could have been a form of reverence for ancestors, ritualistic/religious use -different groups had specific characteristics in their pottery, different family groups, social classes, and economic classes -exchanged within these groups CONTENT -clear anthropomorphic figure depicted -faces, highly geometric, large, clear features, designs around the face are not the focus -nose serves as a line of symmetry in the piece, common characteristic of other Lapita pottery - the human face has linear designs, opposed to the designs rippling from it which are circular and radial -consistency in Lapita design reflects the stability and development of their culture -the design code influenced Polynesian art, and oceanic art in general Context: -created by artisans in the Lapita culture (a Pacific culture, which is an ancestor of Polynesia, Micronesia, and parts of Melanesia) -culture had a series of villages each ruled by a chief who was politically in control but also had perceived spiritual importance due to their spiritual ability to connect with the ancestors -seafaring culture, explored the ocean, and lived on the coast

The Virgin of Guadalupe, Miguel Gonzalez

- Mexico - 1697 CE FORM -paint and mother-of-pearl, or enconchado. -the bodies of the angels and the frames they support, and most of the Virgin Mary's clothing uses pieces of mother-of-pearl shell. -The iridescent shell would reflect shimmering candlelight to emphasize the sacredness and importance of the Virgin Mary. -González also created a frame that includes more pieces of shell inlaid into wood. -Floral decorations in red and gold alternate with common symbols of the Virgin Mary. We see a ladder, palm tree, ship, lily, and fountain. -The ladder connoted Jacob's Ladder or the ladder to Paradise (u can think of Mary as the ladder by which her son descended to earth and by which mortals will ascend into heaven), while the palm tree signified an Exalted Palm and the righteous and chosen ones. -Mary is seen as the ship of salvation, but the ship could also refer to Noah's Ark. -The lily refers to Mary's purity, and the fountain refers to Mary as "the fountain of living water" -Enconchado artworks were popular in seventeenth-century Mexico. The shell is placed into the painting like mosaic, then covered with glazes. -Some scholars have noted the connection between enchonchado and Japanese namban lacquer work that uses a similar technique with shell inlaid into wood. FUNCTION - Portray the story of Virgin of Guadalupe and Juan Diego CONTENT - The images portray the Virgin as she appears on the tilma: in three-quarter view, crowned, hands clasped, eyes cast downwards, encased in light, and standing on a crescent moon that an angel supports. - The manner in which the Virgin of Guadalupe appears relates to Immaculate Conception* (the doctrine that Mary was conceived without original sin in her mother's womb) imagery which was based on Revelation 12: "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head." -In the four corners of the painting there are four framed scenes carried by angels- they represent different moments in the story of the miracle. -In the upper left, Juan Diego is led to the Virgin Mary by angels. -In the upper right, Juan Diego has a vision of the Virgin Mary at the Hill of Tepeyac -in the lower left, Juan Diego takes leave of the Virgin Mary with a full cloak -and in the lower right Juan Diego reveals the image on his cloak to the bishop and others. -Above Mary is the dove representing the Holy Spirit in a golden cloud, and below an eagle perches on a cactus. -this symbol is in the Mexican flag, which refers to the Mexica (or Aztec) and the mythic founding of their capital city, Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City). -The symbol signals the Virgin of Guadalupe's direct connection to the people of New Spain CONTEXT -On December 9th, 1531, a decade after the downfall of Tenochtitlan (the capital of the Mexica, or Aztec, empire, today Mexico City) and the beginnings of Spanish colonization, a man named Juan Diego (born Cuauhtlatoatzin) was walking across the Hill of Tepeyac near a razed shrine (Tenochtitlan—including temples, shrines, and buildings—was destroyed in the Spanish colonial period) to the Mexica (Aztec) earth goddess Tonantzin when a woman appeared and spoke to him in Nahuatl, his native tongue. -The Nahua are an ethnic group from Central Mexico whose pre-Hispanic empire, the Aztec empire, was defeated by the Spanish in 1521. The language they spoke, Nahuatl, was the indigenous lingua franca in the colonial period in New Spain - She was Virgin Mary, and asked Juan Diego to go to the local bishop, Juan de Zumárraga, and ask for a church to be built on the hill in her honor. The bishop did not believe Juan Diego's story. - Mary asked Juan Diego two more times with the same request, but still no shrine was constructed. - During her fourth request on December 12th, she told Juan Diego to gather roses from the hill into his cloak (or tilma). -When he stepped before the bishop and opened his cloak, the roses—Castillian roses (which are not native to Mexico) spilled forth. - Imprinted on the tilma was an image of the Virgin Mary herself, known today as the Virgin of Guadalupe. -Zumárraga recognized the miracle, and a shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe was built on the Hill of Tepeyac, with a basilica to her constructed below. -Today, the original miraculous tilma image hangs in the new basilica at Tepeyac in Mexico City. -the viceroyalty of New Spain consisted of Mexico, much of Central America, parts of the West Indies, the southwestern and central United States, Florida, and the Philippines. -Japanese goods were imported to Mexico via the Manila Galleons, where they were sold or sent on to Spain. Eventually, non-Japanese artists began to copy the Japanese technique.

Untitled #228, Cindy Sherman

-1900 CE -US FORM - chromogenic color print - illusion FUNCTION - She imagined a renaissance interpretation of the painting CONTENT - Copy of oil painting of the Biblical heroine Judith holding the head of Holofernes- work of art from the revered European tradition - Judith looks boldly out at her audience and presents the head of Holofernes in her right hand, displaying the dagger she used to decapitate him in her left. She is garbed in billowing red, blue, and green drapery and stands in front of a curtain made of pieces of brocaded and patterned fabric. Her head is tilted slightly to her left, much like the heroines in paintings by Botticelli; she likewise stands on a carpet of green grass speckled with flowers. But unlike Botticelli's pristine and idealized nudes, Judith's makeup is heavy-handed, almost tacky. The fabrics that at first seem to glimmer are, upon closer inspection, chintzy and cheap. And Holofernes' head, which is usually frightening and powerful, looks like a used Halloween mask. -Sherman has drawn upon Renaissance and Baroque images of Judith with the head of Holofernes. The Book of Judith (included In some versions of the Bible), tells of the devout widow Judith—a heroine who saves the Israelites from a conquering Assyrian general by befriending him and visiting his tent one night while he is drunk. She takes advantage of his unfit state and decapitates him. The Assyrians, shocked by the assassination of their leader, retreat. The Israelites are saved. -Because she uses her sexuality to kill Holofernes and because she is a woman who is able to murder a man, Judith has always been a heroine that engendered great anxiety. Cindy Sherman's photograph captures that. She is dressed in red, the color of lust and seduction, as well as the color of blood. She fills the entire length of the 7' tall photograph. While her face is resolute, "Holofernes'" is grotesque and comedic. In Sherman's photograph, it is the woman, not the man, who is in control, a vital force. CONTEXT - Sherman is a contemporary master- known for embodying and enacting images from popular media - Untitled #228 is part of her series of photographs, History Portraits. This body of work was completed from 1988-90, while the artist was living in Rome. However, she did not go and visit the great works of Italian Renaissance and Baroque art that was all around her, but rather chose to look at them as reproductions in books. In this way, she remained a consumer of print culture, utilizing only what images were available to any person, anywhere in the world. -Sherman never recreated specific images, but rather used the original media as inspiration for her own art. Thus, the photographs feel both familiar and original, contemporary and classic, and create a feeling of unsettled anxiety in the audience. although Sherman's interpretation of Judith has much in common with Cristofano Allori's painting of the same subject —both in the amount of and color saturation of the fabric and the pose of the body—it is also heavily reminiscent of Benvenuto Cellini's Florentine Perseus with the Head of Medusa. It is likely that Allori, also a Florentine, was inspired by Cellini's sculpture, too. -Because of her subject matter, Sherman is often considered a feminist artist. She did indeed come of age during the Feminist Movement in America and tackles issues regarding female identity and sexuality, as well as pornography and media objectification of women. Sherman has said that she hopes that her work is understood as feminist in nature, but that she never intentionally created Feminist art. -Another misconception is that her photographs are self-portraits. In the same year that she created Untitled #228, Sherman explained to The New York Times that in looking at the portraits, she often did not see herself in them at all. Rather, she thought she disappeared while creating the character. Sherman is still an active artist. It is perhaps because of this idea of self-invention that her art remains so popular. We may see her photos over and over but we are never sure of what she looks like. -Her art embodies all of our own bodily and psychological insecurities, our fears about our fluid identities in an unstable world, and the angst of finding oneself in a world in which we must always perform.

Rebellious Silence, from the Women of Allah series, Shirin Neshat (artist); photo by Cynthia Preston

-1994 CE -US FORM -B&W RC print & ink photo FUNCTION -Shirin Neshat's photographic series "Women of Allah" examines the complexities of women's identities in the midst of a changing cultural landscape in the Middle East—both through the lens of Western representations of Muslim women, and through the more intimate subject of personal and religious conviction. -A single subject, it suggests, might be host to internal contradictions alongside binaries such as tradition and modernity, East and West, beauty and violence. In the artist's own words, "every image, every woman's submissive gaze, suggests a far more complex and paradoxical reality behind the surface." CONTENT -the central figure's portrait is bisected along a vertical seam created by the long barrel of a rifle. -Presumably the rifle is clasped in her hands near her lap, but the image is cropped so that the gun rises perpendicular to the lower edge of the photo and grazes her face at the lips, nose, and forehead. The woman's eyes stare intensely towards the viewer from both sides of this divide. -While the composition—defined by the hard edge of her black chador against the bright white background—appears sparse, measured and symmetrical, the split created by the weapon implies a more violent rupture or psychic fragmentation. -Most of the subjects in the series are photographed holding a gun, sometimes passively, as in Rebellious Silence, and sometimes threateningly, with the muzzle pointed directly towards the camera lens. -With the complex ideas of the "gaze" in mind, we might reflect on the double meaning of the word "shoot," and consider that the camera—especially during the colonial era—was used to violate women's bodies. The gun, aside from its obvious references to control, also represents religious martyrdom, a subject about which the artist feels ambivalently, as an outsider to Iranian revolutionary culture. -The contradictions between piety and violence, empowerment and suppression, are most prevalent in the use of calligraphic text that is applied to each photograph. Western viewers who do not read Farsi may understand the calligraphy as an aesthetic signifier, a reference to the importance of text in the long history of Islamic art. Yet, most of the texts are transcriptions of poetry and other writings by women, which express multiple viewpoints and date both before and after the Revolution. -Some of the texts that Neshat has chosen are feminist in nature. However, in Rebellious Silence, the script that runs across the artist's face is from Tahereh Saffarzadeh's poem "Allegiance with Wakefulness" which honors the conviction and bravery of martyrdom. Reflecting the paradoxical nature of each of these themes, histories and discourses, the photograph is both melancholic and powerful—invoking the quiet and intense beauty for which Neshat's work has become known. CONTEXT -Cynthia Preston ©Shirin Neshat -The Women of Allah series confronts this "paradoxical reality" through a haunting suite of black-and-white images. Each contains a set of four symbols that are associated with Western representations of the Muslim world: the veil, the gun, the text and the gaze. -While these symbols have taken on a particular charge since 9/11, the series was created earlier and reflects changes that have taken place in the region since 1979, the year of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. -Iran had been ruled by the Shah (Mohammad Reza Pahlavi), who took power in 1941 during the Second World War and reigned as King until 1979, when the Persian monarchy was overthrown by revolutionaries. -His dictatorship was known for the violent repression of political and religious freedom, but also for its modernization of the country along Western cultural models. Post-war Iran was an ally of Britain and the United States, and was markedly progressive with regards to women's rights. -The Shah's regime, however, steadily grew more restrictive, and revolutionaries eventually rose to abolish the monarchy in favor of a conservative religious government headed by Ayatollah Khomeini. -In line with the Shah's expansion of women's rights, Neshat's father prioritized his daughters' access to education, and the young artist attended a Catholic school where she learned about both Western and Iranian intellectual and cultural history. -She left, however, in the mid-1970s, pursuing her studies in California as the environment in Iran grew increasingly hostile. It would be seventeen years before she returned to her homeland. When she did, she confronted a society that was completely opposed to the one that she had grown up in. -One of the most visible signs of cultural change in Iran has been the requirement for all women to wear the veil in public. While many Muslim women find this practice empowering and affirmative of their religious identities, the veil has been coded in Western eyes as a sign of Islam's oppression of women. -This opposition is made more clear, perhaps, when one considers the simultaneity of the Islamic Revolution with women's liberation movements in the U.S. and Europe, both developing throughout the 1970s. Neshat decided to explore this fraught symbol in her art as a way to reconcile her own conflicting feelings. In Women of Allah, initiated shortly after her return to Iran in 1991, the veil functions as both a symbol of freedom and of repression -The veil is intended to protect women's bodies from becoming the sexualized object of the male gaze, but it also protects women from being seen at all. The "gaze" in this context becomes a charged signifier of sexuality, sin, shame, and power. Neshat is cognizant of feminist theories that explain how the "male gaze" is normalized in visual and popular culture: Women's bodies are commonly paraded as objects of desire in advertising and film, available to be looked at without consequence. -Many feminist artists have used the action of "gazing back" as a means to free the female body from this objectification. The gaze, here, might also reflect exotic fantasies of the East. In Orientalist painting of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for instance, Eastern women are often depicted nude, surrounded by richly colored and patterned textiles and decorations; women are envisaged amongst other beautiful objects that can be possessed. In Neshat's images, women return the gaze, breaking free from centuries of subservience to male or European desire -As an outspoken, feminist and progressive artist, Neshat is aware that it would be dangerous to show her work in conservative modern-day Iran, and she has been living in exile in the United States since the 1990s. For audiences in the West, the "Women of Allah" series has allowed a more nuanced contemplation of common stereotypes and assumptions about Muslim women, and serves to challenge the suppression of female voices in any community.

The Crossing, Bill Viola

-1996 CE -US FORM - video/sound - a room-sized video installation that comprises a large two-sided screen onto which a pair of video sequences is simultaneously projected. - the Crossing makes use of Viola's signature manipulation of filmic time. Like many of the artist's recent works, it was shot using high-speed film capable of registering 300 frames per second, thus attaining a much greater level of detail than would be discerned by the naked eye. In postproduction, Viola reduces the speed of playback to an extreme slow motion—further enhancing the level of definition to a dramatic and scrutinizing effect. FUNCTION -Viola's use of slow-motion is meant to invite a meditative and contemplative response, one that requires the viewer to concentrate for a longer duration of time and simultaneously to increase his or her own awareness of detail, movement and change. -This is consistent with the artist's intent to reignite the longstanding relationship between artistic and spiritual experience. ***A devoted practitioner of Zen Buddhist meditation, Viola has explained that after "fifty minutes of quiet stillness in a room of solitary individuals"—a description that could, just as easily, reflect a museum-goer's experience of his installations—"time opens up in an unbelievable way." -The Crossing might be interpreted through the lens of mythology or religious thought, even though the work does not make iconographic or stylistic reference to a particular narrative. -***Viola has been inspired by a rich variety of spiritual traditions, including Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufism. Viewers may recall, for instance, the ring of flames that surrounds images of Shiva Nataraja in which he sets in motion the continuous cycles of creation and destruction through his cosmic dance, or the biblical tales of fire and brimstone, rapture and the Great Floods. -Throughout such narratives, the elemental forces of fire and water often symbolize change, redemption, transformation and renewal— common themes in Viola's oeuvre. - For viewers, the experience of viewing Viola's works need not be spiritually inscribed. - In many cases, his works appeal to or reflect raw human emotions (the theme of his acclaimed exhibition The Passions) or universal life experiences. While The Crossing can be interpreted in light of a host of religious associations, the act of "self-annihilation" represented in the figure's disappearance at each conclusion also serves as a metaphor for the destruction of the ego. -In the artist's words, this action "becomes a necessary means to transcendence and liberation," especially in the face of life's inevitable unpredictability. CONTENT - each door opens in the same fashion: a male figure walks slowly towards the camera, his body dramatically lit from above so that it appears to glow against the video's stark-black background. After several minutes he pauses near the foreground and stands still. He faces forward, staring directly into the lens, motionless. - At this point the two scenes diverge; in one, a small fire alights below the figure's feet. It spreads over his legs and torso and eventually engulfs his whole body in flames; yet, he stands calm and completely still as his body is immolated, only moving to raise his arms slightly before his body disappears in an inferno of roaring flames. -On the opposite screen, the event transpires not with fire but with water. Beginning as a light rainfall, the sporadic drops that shower the figure build up to a surging cascade of water until it subsumes him entirely. -After the flames and the torrent of water eventually retreat, the figure has vanished entirely from each scene, and the camera witnesses a silent and empty denouement. CONTEXT -Viola's education and artistic practice have long been guided by questions of "how we see, how we hear, and how we come to know the world." -The artist grew up in Queens, New York and attended Syracuse University in the late 1960s where he enrolled not only in fine arts classes, but also in a variety of academic subjects ranging from the humanities to the hard sciences. - In particular, he was captivated by religious studies, psychology and electrical engineering, interests that are clearly assimilated throughout his oeuvre. -As early as the 1970s, Viola was one of the first visual artists to make use of new video technologies. As a student he experimented enthusiastically with new portable recording devices, with which he created short video performances that explored a variety of gestures, sounds and expressions. -During the 1970s and 1980s, he was artist-in-residence at a number of media laboratories and television stations -Eventually, Viola conceived of multi-channel and immersive installations where viewers are surrounded by carefully arranged screens and projections, sometimes displayed within an otherwise pitch-black room. -Between 1974 and 1976, Viola lived in Italy, where religious paintings and sculptures are often displayed in-situ, in the cathedrals for which they were commissioned. -The continuing integration of historical art into contemporary public and religious life inspired Viola to design installations that mimicked the forms of devotional paintings, diptychs, predellas and altarpieces—formats that encourage intimate contemplation of religious icons.

fresco cycle (arena chapel part 2)

FORM - kiss of judas or golden gate?1- example of the humanism of Giotto. We see their faces together, it is a kiss, it is incredibly intimate and personal. - Their faces come together, they touch, and almost become a single face. The warmth of their embrace, the warmth of the figures around them who watch, and something that we see throughout the cycle, figures who have mass and volume to their bodies, who exist three dimensionally in space. -Gone are the elongated, swaying, ethereal bodies of the Gothic period and Giotto gives us figures that are bulky and monumental where drapery pulls around their bodies and taken together with the emotion in their faces, it's almost like we have real human beings in art for the first time -Giotto was Cimabue's student and learned from that great master who had begun to experiment with the chiaroscuro, this ability to model form, and mass -Giotto does not really care to depict every single one of the 12 apostles. He's really giving us only three or four faces and the rest are just an accumulation of halos. -painted in bone fresco, true fresco. That is, pigment is applied to wet plaster. - Enrico Scrovegni, when he drew up the contract with Giotto, did not want the blue's brilliance to be diminished by being mixed with the plaster so he asked that it be applied as secco fresco. Dry freso, but it didn't adhere CONTENT -The narrative cycle begins on the right altar side in the top register. It introduces Yoakim and Anna, the grandparents of Christ (mary's parents) -Yoakim begins by being thrown out of the temple for his childlessness. He's grown old without children. This is not in the Bible though. These are the extra stories that were added to the Biblical narrative because people wanted to know what happened in between the events that really are mentioned in the Bible -Much of this is from a book called The Golden Legend that filled in that narrative. -the last scene on the right side of the upper register is the meeting at the Golden Gate. -To get here, Yoakim has prayed to God, wanting a child. Anna, his wife, has done the same and they've both been visited and been told that there is hope and they're shown coming together for the first time in front of the Golden Gate of Jerusalem -If we move across to the other wall, the upper register continues the narrative. Mary is born, she's presented in the temple, she's married, and then we get back to the altar side of the chapel and there we reach the triumphal arch and we're back to God the Father now, but below that we have the enunciation. -In the register below, we see scenes from Christ's childhood, including the circumcision, the flight into Egypt. -The massacre of the innocents and then moving to the next wall we begin the story of the ministry of Christ and his miracles. -As the story unfolds from scene to scene, Christ is often shown in profile, which is derived from the Roman tradition of coinage, which is the most noble way of representing a figure and he's shown moving from left to right, which is the way that we're meant to read the scenes. -We see Christ on a donkey with the apostles behind him. -the figures in the lower right, there are three of them, begin to pull off their outer garment. One man is pulling his arm out of his sleeve. The next is taking the garment off his head. And the final one is placing that garment at the feet of the donkey in an act of respect, but it is almost cinematographic. - move on to the bottom register, to the end of Christ's life. On the lowest register, the register that's devoted to the scenes of the passion, is the arrest of Christ also known as the kiss of Judas. this is the moment when Judas leads the Romans to Christ and they arrest him, and take him away, and torture him, and ultimately crucify him. -Judas is one of the 12 apostles, one of those considered closest to Christ. He betrays him for 30 pieces of silver. -It's a terrible betrayal because this is one of the people that Christ trusted most and Judas has betrayed Christ, not by pointing at him from afar but with a kiss. -Judas is a little bit shorter. He looks up at Christ Giotto has created this sense of violence and one of the ways that he's done that is by reserving half the painting, the sky, just for those lances, for those torches, for those clubs, and the way in which they're not held in an orderly way, but they are helter-skelter crossing at angles. -The crowd is multiplied because we can see numerous helmets, which would have originally been silver but have oxidized. -And there's one man on a horn who's blowing, creating the sense of energy, this audio that goes with this painting that finishes the whole scene and it's chaos and it's drama. CONTEXT -There is this idea that is, part of the chapel as a whole that it is about the movement of time.

Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan, Liu Chunhua

- 1969 CE - China FORM - Oil on canvas - The cool color tonalities of this painting differ from other Mao paintings, which tended toward warm tones with clear, blue skies. - Others often featured vibrant red accents—red being the color of revolution. Instead, Liu Chunhua opted for deep blue and purple hues to capture Mao's determination as he marched to address the plight of those suffering - Liu Chunhua adapted Chinese landscape conventions to a new style and purpose—an evocative portrayal that suggested that Mao was capable of leading the country toward revolution. - He pictured his subject emerging atop a mountain with clouds of mist below. FUNCTION - In picturing a moment in Chinese Communist Party history, Liu Chunhua celebrated Chairman Mao and his longstanding commitment to Communist Party ideals. - this work uses socialist realism to portray Chairman Mao as a revolutionary leader committed to championing the common people CONTENT -A young Mao Zedong (Chinese Communist revolutionary, founding father of the People's Republic of China, and leader of China from 1949-76) is Striding atop a mountain peak wearing a look of determination on his face, ready to weather any storm. - Based on his findings, he rendered Mao wearing a traditional Chinese gown rather than Western attire. - In China, landscapes such as this often evoked immortal realms, or extraordinary sites invested with the misty vapors of the mountain. - However, a telephone pole is discernable in the lower left corner of the composition, and water cascades from a dam in the right—hints of modernity within the ethereal landscape. - With an umbrella tucked beneath one arm and the other hand clenched into a fist, and wearing windswept robes, Mao appears superhuman, yet also practical and charismatic. CONTEXT -Painted in 1967 at the dawn of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution - During the Cultural Revolution, artists focused on creating portraits of Mao, or "Mao paintings," which represented Mao's effort to regain his hold after bitter political struggles within the party. - With the leadership of Mao's last wife, Jiang Qing, the movement aimed to end criticisms of Mao in drama, literature, and the visual arts. - More broadly, it aimed to correct political fallout from the disasters of the 1950s, especially the widespread famine and deaths that resulted from the Great Leap Forward (an attempt from 1958-61 to rapidly modernize China, transforming it from an agrarian economy into an industrialized, socialist society), and reinvigorate Communist ideology in general. - In the years that followed, Mao would lead the country through a decade of violent class struggles aimed at purging traditional customs and capitalism from Chinese society. - in the early years of the Cultural Revolution, artists such as Liu Chunhua turned to a style known as socialist realism for creating portraits of Mao Zedong. - Socialist realism was introduced to China in order to address the lives of the working class. - Suitable for propaganda, socialist realism aimed for intelligible subjects and emotionally moving themes. - Subjects often included peasants, soldiers, and workers—all of whom represented the central concern of Mao Zedong and the Communist Party. - Modeled after works in the Soviet Union, paintings in this style were rendered in oil on canvas. - They notably departed from Chinese hanging scrolls in ink and paper, such as Li Keran's Ten Thousand Crimson Hills, painted in 1964 (left). - Standardized by the Central Propaganda Department, Mao paintings typically pictured the Chinese leader in an idealized fashion, as a luminous presence at the center of the composition. - Unlike Chairman Mao en Route to Anyuan, portraits usually depicted Mao among the people, such as strolling through lush fields alongside smiling peasants. - This painting presents a critical moment in Chinese Communist Party history: Mao marching toward the coal mines of Anyuan, Jiangxi province in south-central China, where he organized a nonviolent strike of thirteen thousand miners and railway workers. - Occurring only a year after the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, the Anyuan Miners' Strike of 1922 was a defining moment for the Chinese Communist Party because the miners represented the suffering of the masses at the heart of the revolutionary cause. - Many of the miners enlisted as soldiers in the Red Army (the army of the Chinese Communist Party), intent on following the young Mao toward revolution. - Painting nearly half a century after the Anyuan Miners' Strike, Liu Chunhua created this painting for a national exhibition. Liu Chunhua was a member of the Red Guard, or the group of radical youth whose mission was to attack the "four olds" (customs, habits, culture, and thinking). - To create this painting, he studied old photographs of Mao and visited Anyuan to interview workers for visual accuracy.

Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright

- US -1936 CE FORM - Perched above a mountain cataract on a rocky hillside deep in the rugged forest of Southwestern Pennsylvania, some 90 minutes from Pittsburgh - Wright appears to be concerned with responding to the European Modernist design that he had in part inspired - It looks like there are no corners - Influenced by japanese architecture- sliding doors FUNCTION -The commission for Fallingwater was a personal milestone for the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright CONTENT - from the beginning, the architect rejected a site that presented a conventional view of the waterfall; instead, he audaciously offered to make the house part of it, stating that the "visit to the waterfall in the woods stays with me" - The South-southeast orientation gives the illusion that the stream flows, not alongside the house, but through it. - Edgar Kaufmann Jr. pointed out that Wright's famous concept of "Organic Architecture" stems from his Transcendentalist background. The belief that human life is part of nature. Wright even incorporated a rock outcropping that projected above the living room floor into his massive central hearth, further uniting the house with the earth. - Wright further emphasizes the connection with nature by liberal use of glass; the house has no walls facing the falls, only a central stone core for the fireplaces and stone columns. This provides elongated vistas leading the eye out to the horizon and the woods. - The kaufmanns loved the idea, but edgar kaufmann sent the blueprints to his engineer, and his engineer said that the ground was not stable and he would not recommend that he proceed with the house. - Wright was not happy but permitted an increase in the number and diameter of the structure's steel reinforcements—Kaufmann agreed to proceed. the engineer's warnings later proved valid, an issue that "haunted" Wright for the rest of his life. - he chose ferro-concrete for his cantilevers, this use of reinforced concrete for the long suspended balconies was revolutionary. He boldly extended the balcony of the second floor master bedroom soaring six feet beyond the living room below. - However, due to the lack of proper support, cracks began appearing in the balcony floors soon after they were poured. - Over the years since, cracks have been repeatedly repaired as the cantilevers continued to sag. By 2001 some of the 15 foot cantilevers had fallen more than 7 inches. - To avoid a complete collapse, an ingenious system was devised using tensioned cables to correct the problem and stabilize the house - He built around a tree. He didn't cut it down CONTEXT - the sixty-seven year old went on to create a series of highly original designs that would validate his claim as "The world's greatest architect. - The mid-1930s were among the darkest years for architects in American history; the country's financial system had collapsed. - Almost no private homes were built. Now in his sixties, Wright and his new wife Olgivanna were struggling to keep Taliesin, his Wisconsin home and studio, out of foreclosure. - The Wrights devised an architectural apprenticeship program that came to be known as the "fellowship." And among the first candidates was Edgar Kaufmann Jr. who became enamored with Wright after reading his biography. Kaufmann was the son of Pittsburgh department store tycoon Edgar Kaufmann Sr.. Kaufmann senior was involved in numerous public projects and built several stores and homes. Kaufmann let Wright know that he had several civic architectural projects in mind for him. He and his wife Liliane were invited to Taliesin and were impressed. There are varying accounts regarding the circumstances that brought Kaufmann to offer Wright a chance to design a "weekend home" in the country; but we know that Wright made his first trip to the site on Bear Run, Pennsylvania in December, 1934. - Perhaps the most famous tale about Fallingwater is the story that Wright, after receiving the commission procrastinated for nine months until he was forced to draw up the complete plans while his patron was driving the 140 miles from Milwaukee to Taliesin. - However, the essential story is validated by several witnesses. Apprentice Edgar Taffel recalled that after talking with Kaufmann on the phone, Wright sketched the design effortlessly. the whole process took about two hours.

Earth's Creation, Emily Kame Kngwarreye

-1994 CE -Australia FORM - synthetic polymer paint on linen mounted on canvas, four panels nearly twenty feet wide and nine feet high - Patches of bold yellows, greens, reds and blues seem to bloom like lush vegetation over the large canvas. Comprised of gestural, viscous marks, each swath of color traces the movement of the artist's hands and body over the canvas, which would have been laid horizontally as she painted, seated on (or beside) and intimately connected to her art. FUNCTION - Kngwarreye was an established elder of her community and was trained to create ceremonial sand paintings inspired by her ritual "dreamings,'" as well as to paint decorative motifs on women's bodies as part of a ceremony called Awelye. -These visual forms were connected to cultural expressions in song, storytelling and dance. While her paintings have never been figural, they remain influenced by the culture in which she grew up as well as the natural environment. CONTENT - Earth's Creation belongs to the "high colorist" phase in Kngwarreye's work, which is characterized by a loosening of her compositions—which were no longer reliant on pseudo-geometric patterns—and the expansion of her color palette to include a range of tones beyond the familiar clay and ochre hues that dominated her prior works. Still connected to the natural environment, however, these works reference the changing atmospheric character of seasonal cycles. -Earth's Creation documents the lushness of the "green time" that follows periods of heavy rain, and makes use of tropical blues, yellows and greens. The piece has often been likened to Claude Monet's studies of seasonal and temporal change -Earth's Creation was created as part of the larger Alhalkere Suite which contains twenty-two panels, and is still considered one of the most virtuosic of Kngwarreye's immense and prolific artistic output. In the last two weeks of her life, Kngwarreye completed a suite of twenty-four small paintings. These were characterized by extremely broad, milky strokes of jewel-toned hues of blue and rose, and communicate the artist's long-standing fascination with color and her sophisticated grasp of abstract composition. CONTEXT =The work made records at auction when it was sold in 2007 for over $1,000,000—the highest price ever fetched for a work by a female artist in Australia. Yet, just decades earlier, Kngwarreye was virtually unknown to the world outside her small desert community in the Australian country of Alhakere. -A self-taught artist who was trained in ceremonial painting, she rose to international prominence only in her eighties, and enjoyed a flourishing career at the end of her life. Kngwarreye was born around 1910, and spent most of her life in an isolated Anmatyerr community in Central Australia. -The area, however, was forcibly occupied by European pastoralist settlers in the 1920s, and the artist, alongside other members of her community, worked on the pastoral property (pastoral refers to the tending of cattle and sheep). In 1976, Aboriginal land rights were legally granted, and she was able, finally, to live independently. -Aboriginal culture has long been intimately connected to the landscape of Australia; inhabited by humans for over 40,000 years, the region is characterized by deserts, grasslands and dramatic arched rock formations. -In the late 1970s, Kngwayere began to work in the medium of batiks, making works that were purely artistic endeavors for the first time. In 1977, she was a founding participant of the Utopia Women's Batik Group. Her compositions were abstract and featured the motif of repeated dots, acting sometimes as a linear stroke, or elsewhere used to fill large patches of space. -A decade later, in 1988, the S.H. Ervin Gallery in Sydney initiated a "Summer Project" that sought to facilitate the creation of Aboriginal art, as well as to establish a market for the genre. After two weeks they returned to find "abstract and richly expressive" compositions created by many of the artists, and held a group exhibition in Sydney. -Kngwarreye held her first solo exhibition at Utopia Art Sydney -The arc of Kngwarreye's career runs alongside a period of tremendous change in Australia, moving from the end of a phase of colonial settlement through to a more ethical embrace of Aboriginal culture by the nation's Western population. *** -Yet the period in which she came to prominence also reflects changes taking place in the contemporary art world internationally, as the 1980s and 1990s saw a notable expansion within the mainstream to include non-Western or minority artists.

Bayeux Tapestry

- Romanesque Eruopse (England) - 1066 CE -Bishop Odo- patron FORM - Measuring twenty inches high and almost 230 feet in length - Although it is called the Bayeux Tapestry, this commemorative work is not a true tapestry as the images are not woven into the cloth; instead, the imagery and inscriptions are embroidered using wool yarn sewed onto linen cloth - No shadows- very stylized FUNCTION - commemorates a struggle for the throne of England between William, the Duke of Normandy, and Harold, the Earl of Wessex (Normandy is a region in northern France) CONTENT - The Bayeux Tapestry consists of seventy-five scenes with Latin inscriptions (tituli) depicting the events leading up to the Norman conquest*** and culminating in the Battle of Hastings*** in 1066. -The textile's end is now missing, but it most probably showed the coronation of William as King of England. -The tapestry is sometimes viewed as a type of chronicle. -However, the inclusion of episodes that do not relate to the historic events of the Norman Conquest complicate this categorization. -the tapestry favorably depicts the Normans in the events leading up to the battle of Hastings, thus presenting a Norman point of view. -Most importantly, Odo Episcopus appears in several scenes in the tapestry with the inscription - The artists skillfully organized the composition of the tapestry to lead the viewer's eye from one scene to the next and divided the compositional space into three horizontal zones. -The main events of the story are contained within the larger middle zone. -The upper and lower zones contain images of animals and people, scenes from Aesop's Fables, and scenes of husbandry and hunting. -The seventy-five episodes depicted present a continuous narrative of the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and the battle itself. - A continuous narrative presents multiple scenes of a narrative within a single frame and draws from manuscript traditions such as the scroll form. -The subject matter of the tapestry, however, has more in common with ancient monumental decoration such as Trajan's Column, which typically focused on mythic and historical references. -The embroiderers' attention to specific details provides important sources for scenes of eleventh-century life as well as objects that no longer survive. -In one scene of the Normans' first meal after reaching the shores of England, we see dining practices. -We also see examples of armor used in the period and battle preparations. -To the left of the dining scene, servants prepare food over a fire and bake bread in an outdoor oven. Servants serve the food as the tapestry's assumed patron, Bishop Odo, blesses the meal -Immediately after dining, William and his half-brothers Odo and Robert meet for a war council. -Preparations for battle flank both sides of the first meal episode. -Here we see visual evidence of eleventh-century battle gear and the construction of a motte-and-bailey to protect the Normans' position. -A motte-and-bailey is a fortification with a keep (tower) situated on a raised earthwork (motte), surrounded by an enclosed courtyard (bailey). -Images of battle horns, shields, and arrows as crucial ammunition shed light on military provisions and tactics for the time period. -William's tactical use of cavalry is displayed in the "Cavalry" scene. The cavalry could advance quickly and easily retreat, which would scatter an opponent's defenses allowing the infantry to invade. It was a strong tactic that was flexible and intimidating. -Although foot soldiers are included in the tapestry, the cavalry commands the scene, thus presenting the impression that the Normans were a cavalry-dominant army.*** -Cavalrymen are shown wearing conical steel helmets with a protective nose plate, mail shirts, and carrying shields and spears whereas the foot soldiers are seen carrying spears and axes. -Representations of the cavalry show that the soldiers were armored but the horses were not. -Made by queen matilda - one scene depicts the death of king Harold of england CONTEXT -1066—William invaded and successfully conquered England, becoming the first Norman King of England -The Bayeux Tapestry was probably made in Canterbury around 1070. -Based on a few key pieces of evidence, art historians believe the patron was Odo, Bishop of Bayeux. Odo was the half-brother of William, Duke of Normandy. -By the late Middle Ages, the tapestry was displayed at Bayeux Cathedral, which was built by Odo and dedicated in 1077, but its size and secular subject matter suggest that it may have been intended to be a secular hanging, perhaps in Odo's hall. -Many of the scenes are believed to have been adapted from images in manuscripts illuminated at Canterbury.

George Washington, Jean-Antoine Houdon

- United States - 1788 CE FORM - Given Houdon's skill and ambition, the sculptor likely hoped to cast a larger than life-sized bronze statue of General Washington on horseback. Houdon wanted an equestrian bronze final product, but delivered more than a decade later, it was a simple standing marble. FUNCTION - Represent george washington as a hero CONTENT - Washington stands and looks slightly to his left; his facial expression could be described as fatherly. -He wears his military uniform. His stance mimics that of the contrapposto seen in Polykleitos' classical sculpture of Doryphoros. -Washington's left leg is slightly bent and half a stride forward, while his right leg is weight bearing. His right arm hangs by his side and rests atop a gentleman's walking stick. -His left arm—bent at the elbow—rests atop a fasces, a bundle of thirteen rods that symbolizes not only the power of a ruler but also the strength found through unity. -This visually represents the concept of E Pluribus Unum, a congressionally approved motto of the United States from 1782 until 1956. -Rather than hold his officer's sword, a symbol of military might and authority, it instead hangs on the outside of the fasces, beyond Washington's immediate grasp. -This surrendering of military power is further reinforced by the presence of the plow behind Washington. -This refers to the story of Cincinnatus, a Roman dictator who resigned his absolute power when his leadership was no longer needed so that he could return to his farm. Like this Roman, Washington resigned his power and returned to his farm to live a peaceful, civilian life. CONTEXT -After the successful conclusion of the American Revolutionary War, the Virginia General Assembly wanted a statue of George Washington for display in a public space because of his critical role in Virginia and the colonial cause -in 1784, the Governor of Virginia, Benjamin Harrison V, asked Thomas Jefferson, a Virginian who was then in Paris as the American Minister to France, to select an appropriate artist. He sought a European sculptor. So he picked Jean-Antoine Houdon. -Houdon was, by the middle of the 1780s, the most famous and accomplished neoclassical sculptor at work in France. -Jefferson commissioned Houdon to complete a monumental statue of Washington. -Evidence suggests that Houdon was to remain in Paris and sculpt Washington from a likeness Charles Willson Peale had drawn. -Dissatisfied, and uncomfortable with carving in three dimensions what Peale had drew in two dimensions, Houdon made plans to visit Washington in person. -Houdon departed for the United States and was joined by Benjamin Franklin and two assistants. The group went to Washington's home where they took detailed measurements of Washington's body and sculpted a life mask -Houdon created a slightly idealized and classicized bust portrait of the future president. Unfortunately, Washington disliked this classicized aesthetic and insisted on being shown wearing contemporary attire rather than the garments of a hero from ancient Greece or Rome. -Houdon returned to Paris in December 1785 and set to work on a standing full-length statue carved from Carrara marble. Although Houdon dated the statue 1788, he did not finish it until about four years later, and the statue was not delivered to the State of Virginia until May of 1796

Great pyramids of Giza (Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure) and Great Sphinx

- Giza, Egypt - 2550 BCE FORM - each pyramid was part of a royal mortuary (funerary) complex that included a temple at its base and a long stone causeway leading east from the plateau to a valley temple on the edge of the floodpain (an area of low-lying ground adjacent to a river) - the shape of the pyramid is a solar reference, as a solidified version of the rays of the sun FUNCTION - considered a place of regeneration for the deceased ruler - burial places, memorials, and places of worship for a series of deceased rulers CONTENT - largest belonging to King Khufu - middle to his son Khafre - smallest to Khufu's grandson, Menkaure. - in addition there are several smaller pyramids belonging to queens. they are arranged as satellites (separated from something else but is dependent on it.) a major cemetery of smaller tombs known as mastabas fill the area to the east and west of the pyramid of khufu and were consturcted in a grid-like pattern for prominent members of the court. being buried near the pharaoh was a great honor and helped ensure a prized place in the afterlife -pyramids dont stand alone. Those at Giza are only a part of a larger complex that included a temple at the base of the pyramid itself, long causeways and corridors, small subsidiary pyramids, and a second temple (known as a valley temple) some distance from the pyramid. These Valley Temples were used to preserve the cult of the deceased king and were active places of worship for hundreds of years after the king's death. Images of the king were placed in these temples to serve as a focus for worship KHUFU: - contained 7 boat shaped models (not actual boats) prob used in afterlife to transport - constructed of core stones which is all we see today. and angled, outer casing blocks laid in even horizontal courses with spaces filled with gypsum plaster. these blocks of white Tura limestone gave the pyramid a smooth surface and was bright and reflective. - at the top of the pyramid would have sat a capstone, known as a pyramidion - There is an unfinished hidden chamber w unknown function and a number of 'air shafts' that radiate out from the upper chambers. - When entering the pyramid, you crawl up a cramped ascending chamber that opens into a Grand Gallery. - This passage leads up to the King's Chamber, which is made of red granite - Above the King's Chamber are five stress-relieving chambers of massive granite blocks topped with immense cantilevered blocks forming a pent roof to distribute the weight of the mountain of masonry above it. -The king's sarcophagus, also carved from red granite, sits empty at the exact central axis of the pyramid. -This burial chamber was sealed with a series of massive granite blocks and the entrance to the shaft filled with limestone to obscure the opening. - had two massive, rectangular stone-lined pits that contained completely disassembled boats. MENKAURE: - include a chamber carved with decorative panels and another chamber with six large niches. - The burial chamber is lined with massive granite blocks. - His black stone sarcophagus, carved with niched panels, was inside, but was lost at sea - Within his mortuary and valley temples, neither of which were completed before his death, a series of statues of the king were revealed - This temple was still an active place of cult late in the Old Kingdom and was almost entirely rebuilt at the end of the 6th dynasty after it was damaged by a flood. - The diad of the king with his primary queen, Khamerernebty II, as well as some triads showing the king being embraced by various deities, were discovered in the valley temple and were originally set up surrounding the open court. THE GREAT SPHINX - for Khafre - carved from the bedrock of the Giza plateau, and it appears that the core blocks used to construct the king's valley temple were quarried from the layers of stone that run along the upper sides of this massive image. - The king's head is on a smaller scale than the body. this is bc of a defect in the stone; a weakness recognized by the sculptors who compensated by elongating the body. - lion was a royal symbol and was connected with the sun as a symbol of the horizon - Right next to the causeway leading from Khafre's valley temple to the mortuary temple - this image was often used throughout Egyptian history CONTEXT - the three primary pyramids were constructed during the height of a period known as the Old kingdom and served as burial - the pyramid was connected to the sacred ben-ben stone, an icon of the earliest mound (a rounded mass projecting above a surface) that was considered the place of initial creation - the three pyramids were constructed during the height of a period known as the Old Kingdom - they were built over the span of three generations by the three rulers - It is likely that there was a permanent group of skilled craftsmen and builders who were supplemented by seasonal crews of approximately 2,000 recruited peasants. These were divided into 200 men, each group further divided into 20. these groups of 20 men could haul the 2.5 ton blocks from quarry (a place, typically a deep pit, from which materials are extracted) to pyramid in about 20 minutes, their path eased by a lubricated surface of wet silt

Mosque of Selim II, Sinan

- Edirne, Turkey - 1568 CE FORM - composed of a mosque, two symmetrical square madrasas (one of which served as a college for studying the hadiths, or traditions of the Prophet Muhammad), and there was a row of shops (arasta) and a school for learning the recitation of the Quran located to the west and added during the reign of Sultan Murad III, whose rule followed Selim II. - Muqarnas are the faceted decorative forms that alternately protrude and recess and that are commonly used in Islamic architecture to bridge a point of transition—in this case, the broad base of the dome above and the slender piers below. -Note that the muqarnas steps outward it rises, creating a corbelled effect, and allowing for a more open space below. -The squinches are the architectural support, decorated by the muqarnas, transition from the dome down to the eight piers. -They allow the round base of the dome to join octagon formed by the piers. -A complex system of exterior buttresses support the east and west piers and do most of the work to hold up the massive weight of the dome. These buttresses are artfully hidden among the exterior porticos and galleries. - In the interior, galleries fill the spaces in between the walls and the piers. -The Qibla wall (the wall that faces Mecca) projects outward further emphasizing the openness the interior space. - The position of the muzzin's platform creates a vertical alignment of square, octagon, and circle, using geometry to refer to the earthly and heavenly spheres. FUNCTION - mosque - An example of Ottoman Empire's wealth and greatness, along with its power and vastness CONTENT - The mosque's nearly square prayer hall is approached through a porticoed courtyard, making the central block of the complex rectangular. -The approach to the north façade of the mosque: the aligned gates of the outer precinct wall and forecourt focus the eye upwards toward the dome, which could also been seen from a distance. -The grand dome rests on eight muqarnas-corbelled squinches that are in turn supported by eight large piers. - From this muzzin's platform, the muzzins who lead prayers, chant to the congregation. CONTEXT - Selimiye complex was located in Edirne rather than the capital, Istanbul. -It was built by the Sultan Selim II, the son of Süleyman the Magnificent, between 1568 and 1574. -Edirne was one of Selim II's favorite cities. He was stationed here as a prince when his father campaigned in Persia in 1548 and he enjoyed hunting on the outskirts of the city. -Edirne was selected not only because of Selim II's fondness of the city, but also for its historical and geographic significance. -Located in the Balkans, within the European lands of the Ottoman Empire, Edirne had been a capital of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century before Istanbul and was effectively the second city of the Empire through the 17th century.

Adam and Eve, Albrecht Durer

- Northern Europe - 1504 CE FORM - Engraving - Despite the chill of the forest, the two human figures appear nude. -Their bodies are frontal, and they stand in a classical contrapposto, or counterpoise -The corresponding shift in hips and shoulders creating a convincing illusion of a body capable of movement but temporarily at rest. -Despite this apparent naturalism, their heads are turned to the side as they gaze at one another. -This twisting configuration of head and body is artificial. -The naturalizing contrapposto clashing with the artificiality of the rest of the pose establishes a pattern of contradictions that run throughout the picture. -the artist is enthralled by Italian and classical tradition. -The German forest is ennobled by classically proportioned figures who actually reference Greek sculptures of Venus and Apollo, and anchored in tradition with the symbolism of the humors. In Renaissance fashion, the perfect physical proportions of the body correlate with the interior harmony FUNCTION - the picture tells us primarily about the Renaissance, about Germany, and about Dürer himself rather than the text of Genesis - The poses of the two human figures are contrived to show off this German artist's knowledge of classical (Greco-Roman) proportions. -Based on the ideals of the Roman architect Vitruvius, the proportions of the face—for instance the distance from forehead to chin—determine the ideal proportions of the rest of the body. Dürer sacrifices naturalism to showcase his mastery of Vitruvian ideals. CONTENT -In the picture, Adam and Eve stand together in a dense, dark forest. -Far from the garden evoked in Genesis, this forest is distinctly German, the dark woods of the devils and spooks of Grimm's fairy tales. -Foreign and unexpected motifs intrude into this German wood. -A tree becomes distinctly odd, as we recognize that Eve is plucking an apple from a tree with fig leaves. -A parrot, a tropical bird, perches on a branch to the viewer's left. Six other animals stroll disinterestedly through or stand about—an elk, ox, cat, rabbit, mouse, and goat. -The elk, ox, rabbit, and cat exemplify the four humors or human personality types, all of which correlate with specific fluids in the body. 1. Melancholic: elk, black bile 2. Phlegmatic (cold, indifferent): ox, phlegm 3. Sanguine (optimistic): rabbit, blood 4. Choleric (irritable): cat, yellow bile - Only Adam and Eve are in perfect balance internally. - After the Fall, one humor predominates in everyone, throwing our temperaments into imbalance. - Dürer's placid animals signify that in this moment of perfection in the garden, the human figures are still in a state of equilibrium. The cat does not yet chase the mouse, and the goat (a reference to the scapegoat of the bible) is still standing on his mountain perch. CONTEXT - by the German renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer - The cartelino or small sign hanging from branch Adam grasps contains its own contradiction. It proudly identifies the artist as a citizen of the Franconian city of Nuremberg (Noricus), but does so in Latin, the language of the Mediterranean, of the Roman Empire and of the Italian Renaissance. - Colorful, tropical parrots were collectors items in Germany, and they were also symbols in art. - The call of the parrot was believed to sound like "Eva-Ave" —Eve and Ave Maria. -This word play underpins the Christian interpretation of the story of the Fall of Humanity by characterizing the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ, as the antidote for Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. -The advent of mechanically reproducible media, both woodcuts and 0intaglio prints, was a revelation for Dürer. More people had access to the pictures -wrote a work on human proportion

Acropolis Temple of Athena Nike and Victory adjusting her sandal

- kallikrates FORM - Smallest temple at acropolis - Built in ionic order of white pentelic marble- its side columns have volutes both in the front and at the side - amphiprostyle- Columns at front and back but not sides of the cella (a cella is an interior chamber of an ancient Greek temple) - Because of the small size of the structure, there are only four columns on each side. The columns are monolithic, which means that each one of them was made of a single block of stone (instead of horizontal drums, as it is in the case of the Parthenon) FUNCTION - The location was used for religious rituals in Mycenaean age (Mycenaean was a period of early Greek history, roughly from 1600 to 1100 B.C.E.) - As with all greek temples, this temple was considered a home of the deity - It was a symbol of victory CONTENT -The spot it was built was vulnerable to attack but also well placed for defense - The believers would perform rituals in front of the temple, where a small altar was placed, and could take a glimpse of the sculpted figure of the goddess thru the space between the columns - The privilege of entering the temple was reserved for the priestesses, who held a respected position in Greek society. - Nike usually had wings, but in this case we know that the statue had no wings, hence it was called Athena Apteros (without wings). - It was later explained that the statue of Athena had no wings, so that she could never leave Athens. CONTEXT - Completed during high classical period - replaced an earlier small temple, which got completely destroyed during the Persian wars - The Greeks considered their temples as a kind of monumental sculpture, which was supposed to be viewed from all sides and experienced in connection to its surroundings. - the temple was converted into a Christian church, then it was completely dismantled by the Ottoman Turks who needed its material to build fortifications -The temple was later reconstructed after Greece regained independence victory adjusting her sandal FORM - A figure that is off-balance, unlike other sculptures - the drapery is transparent and you can see the nude body - Phidian style FUNCTION - show the importance of military victory and battle CONTENT -She could be taking it on or off, but she might be taking it off to walk on sacred ground barefoot -Theres 2 wings behind her. The wings keep her balanced

Funeral banner of Lady Dai (Xin Zhui)

- 180 BCE - Han Dynasty, China FORM - silk FUNCTION - Although scholars still debate the function of these banners, we know they had some connection with the afterlife. - They may be "name banners" used to identify the dead during the mourning ceremonies, or they may have been burial shrouds intended to aid the soul in its passage to the afterlife. CONTENT - Three elite tombs, discovered in 1972, at Mawangdui, Hunan Province (eastern China) are the tombs of a high-ranking Han official civil servant, the Marquis of Dai, Lady Dai (his wife), and their son. - In Lady Dai's tomb, archaeologists found a painted silk banner over six feet long in excellent condition. - The T-shaped banner was on top of the innermost of four nesting coffins. -Lady Dai's banner is important for two primary reasons. It is an early example of pictorial (representing naturalistic scenes not just abstract shapes) art in China. Secondly, the banner features the earliest known portrait in Chinese painting. - We can divide Lady Dai's banner into four horizontal registers: heavenly realm, lady dai and her attendants, body of lady dai with mourners, underworld - In the lower central register, we see Lady Dai in an embroidered silk robe leaning on a staff. This portrait of Lady Dai is the earliest example of a painted portrait of a specific individual in China. -She stands on a platform along with her servants-two in front and three behind. -Long, sinuous dragons frame the scene on either side, and their white and pink bodies loop through a bi (a disc with a hole thought to represent the sky) underneath Lady Dai. -this is not a portrait of Lady Dai in her former life, but an image of her in the afterlife enjoying the immortal comforts of her tomb as she ascends toward the heavens. -next register we see sacrificial funerary rituals taking place in a mourning hall. - Tripod containers and vase-shaped vessels for offering food and wine stand in the foreground. -In the middle ground, seated mourners line up in two rows. Theres a mound in the center, between the two rows of mourners. If you look closely, you can see the patterns on the silk that match the robe Lady Dai wears in the scene above. Her corpse is wrapped in her finest robe! More vessels appear on a shelf in the background. - In the mourning scene, we can also appreciate the importance of Lady Dai's banner for understanding how artists began to represent depth and space in early Chinese painting. They made efforts to indicate depth through the use of the overlapping bodies of the mourners. They also made objects in the foreground larger, and objects in the background smaller, to create the illusion of space in the mourning hall. - Lady Dai's banner gives us some insight into cosmological beliefs and funeral practices of Han dynasty China. Above and below the scenes of Lady Dai and the mourning hall, we see images of heaven and the underworld. - Toward the top, near the cross of the "T," two men face each other and guard the gate to the heavenly realm. Directly above the two men, at the very top of the banner, we see a deity with a human head and a dragon body. - On the left, a toad standing on a crescent moon flanks the dragon/human deity. - On the right, we see what may be a three-legged crow within a pink sun. - The moon and the sun are emblematic of a supernatural realm above the human world. - Dragons and other immortal beings populate the sky. - In the lower register, beneath the mourning hall, we see the underworld populated by two giant black fish, a red snake, a pair of blue goats, and an unidentified earthly deity. The deity appears to hold up the floor of the mourning hall, while the two fish cross to form a circle beneath him. -The beings in the underworld symbolize water and earth, and they indicate an underground domain below the human world. - Four compartments surrounded Lady Dai's central tomb, and they offer some sense of the life she was expected to lead in the afterlife. -The top compartment represented a room where Lady Dai was supposed to sit while having her meal. In this compartment, researchers found cushions, an armrest and her walking stick. The compartment also contained a meal laid out for her to eat in the afterlife. Lady Dai was 50 years old when she died, but her lavish tomb—marked by her funeral banner —ensured that she would enjoy the comforts of her earthly life for eternity. CONTEXT - The elite men and women of the Han dynasty enjoyed an luxurious lifestyle that could stretch into the afterlife. - The Marquis died in 186 B.C.E., and his wife and son both died by 163 B.C.E. The Marquis' tomb was not in good condition when it was discovered. However, the objects in the son's and wife's tombs were of extraordinary quality and very well preserved. From these objects, we can see that Lady Dai and her son were to spend the afterlife in sumptuous comfort.

House of Vetti

- Pompeii Italy - 62 BCE FORM - The standard house (domus) plan has several key architectural elements. -Generally entered from the street via a narrow doorway (fauces), the large centralized reception hall (atrium) is flanked by wings (alae) and often bounded by bedrooms (cubicula). The office of the head of household (paterfamilias), known as the tablinum, links the public part of the house (pars urbana) to the private part of the house (pars rustica). This latter area often focuses on an open, colonnaded courtyard (peristylium) and serves as the center of family life, with the kitchen (culina), dining room(s) (triclinium or oecus), and often a small garden (hortus). - The house was built atop the remains of an earlier house that survives, in part, in the form of the wings (alae) and a doorway. - The plan of the House of the Vettii has two large central halls (atria) and, significantly, lacks an office space (tablinum). - Entry to the house was gained from the east by way of a vestibule that granted admission to the larger atrium. - The stone-lined basin for collecting rainwater (impluvium) lies at the center of the atrium. This larger atrium communicates directly with the peristyle (an open courtyard surrounded by fluted Doric columns) by means of a set of folding doors. - The smaller atrium was the focus of the service portion of the house, while the peristyle and its well-appointed rooms was meant for entertainment and dining. - The atrium is richly decorated, as are the rooms opening onto the peristyle. - Most art historians point to the house's decorative schema as being representative of a key transitional phase, between the Third and Fourth styles of Pompeian wall painting. FUNCTION - symbolising the economic prosperity of the owners, the brothers Aulus Vettius Restitutus and Aulus Vettius Conviva liberti, who became rich through trade.Both men have been identified as former slaves or freedmen (liberti). CONTENT - is a Roman townhouse (domus) - Two strongboxes (arca - essentially lockable boxes for storing valuables)—concrete signs of wealth of the brothers—paired with a painting of the god Priapus in the vestibule were placed in the large atrium so that visitors would be sure to notice them. CONTEXT -A volcanic eruption destroyed Pompeii in 79 C.E., thus preserving archaeological remains of the Roman town - Since Republican society operated on the basis of this patron-client relationship, the domus played a key part in the reinforcement of social hierarchy as the patron would receive his clients in the atrium of his domus each business day. - While visiting with the patron, each client would get an eyeful of the patron's household wealth, thus applying pressure on the patron to ensure that his house was tasteful and fashionable. - The patron-client system revolved around asymmetrical social relationships whereby lower ranking clients were bound to their patrons by the qualities of trust and dutifulness - Governed by ancestral custom, clients would seek support and favors from the patron; in turn the patron provided protection, support, and benefaction, collectively known as patrocinium. - The decorative schema of the House of the Vettii provides important evidence for trends in domestic decoration in the final years of Pompeii's occupation.

Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja)

- 1000 CE - Hindu, India FORM - Copper alloy FUNCTION - the bronze Shiva as Lord of the Dance ("Nataraja"—nata meaning dance or performance, and raja meaning king or lord), is a sacred object that has been taken out of its original context— we don't even know where this particular sculpture was originally venerated. - this particular statue was intended to be movable, which explains its moderate size and sizeable circular base, ideal for lifting and hoisting onto a shoulder. - Hindu devotees carried these statues in processional parades as priests followed chanting prayers and bestowing blessings on people gathered for this purpose. -Sometimes the statues would be adorned in resplendent red and green clothes and gold jewelry to denote the glorious human form of the gods. In these processions The Shiva Nataraja may have had its legs wrapped with a white and red cloth, adorned with flowers, and surrounded by candles. - In a religious Hindu context, the statue is the literal embodiment of the divine. -When the worshiper comes before the statue and begins to pray, faith activates the divine energy inherent in the statue, and at that moment, Shiva is present. CONTENT -During this period (chola dynasty) a new kind of sculpture is made, one that combines the expressive qualities of stone temple carvings with the rich iconography possible in bronze casting. -This image of Shiva is taken from the ancient Indian manual of visual depiction, the Shilpa Shastras (The Science or Rules of Sculpture), which contained a precise set of measurements and shapes for the limbs and proportions of the divine figure. -Arms were to be long like stalks of bamboo, faces round like the moon, and eyes shaped like almonds or the leaves of a lotus. The Shastras were a primer on the ideals of beauty and physical perfection within ancient Hindu ideology. -Here, Shiva embodies those perfect physical qualities as he is frozen in the moment of his dance within the cosmic circle of fire that is the simultaneous and continuous creation and destruction of the universe. -The ring of fire that surrounds the figure is the encapsulated cosmos of mass, time, and space, whose endless cycle of annihilation and regeneration moves in tune to the beat of Shiva's drum and the rhythm of his steps. - In his upper right hand he holds the damaru, the drum whose beats syncopate the act of creation and the passage of time. - His lower right hand with his palm raised and facing the viewer is lifted in the gesture of the abhaya mudra, which says to the supplicant, "Be not afraid, for those who follow the path of righteousness will have my blessing." - Shiva's lower left hand stretches diagonally across his chest with his palm facing down towards his raised left foot, which signifies spiritual grace and fulfillment through meditation and mastery over one's baser appetites. - In his upper left hand he holds the agni, the flame of destruction that annihilates all that the sound of the damaru has drummed into existence. - Shiva's right foot stands upon the huddled dwarf, the demon Apasmara, the embodiment of ignorance. - Shiva's hair, the long hair of the yogi, streams out across the space within the halo of fire that constitutes the universe. - Throughout this entire process of chaos and renewal, the face of the god remains tranquil, transfixed in what the historian of South Asian art Heinrich Zimmer calls, "the mask of god's eternal essence." CONTEXT - Shiva constitutes a part of a powerful triad of divine energy within the cosmos of the Hindu religion. -There is Brahma, the benevolent creator of the universe; there is Vishnu, the sagacious preserver; then there is Shiva, the destroyer. -"Destroyer" in this sense is not an entirely negative force, but one that is expansive in its impact. In Hindu religious philosophy all things must come to a natural end so they can begin anew, and Shiva is the agent that brings about this end so that a new cycle can begin. -Made during Chola Dynasty.

Forbidden City

- 1400 CE - beijing, China FORM - The architectural style reflects a sense of hierarchy. Each structure was designed in accordance with the Treatise on Architectural Methods or State Building Standards (Yingzao fashi), an eleventh-century manual that specified particular designs for buildings of different ranks in Chinese social structure. FUNCTION - was the political and ritual center of China for over 500 years. - After its completion in 1420, the Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors, their families and servants during the Ming and the Qing dynasties. - The last occupant (who was also the last emperor of imperial China), Puyi, was expelled in 1925 when the precinct was transformed into the Palace Museum. - Since the Forbidden City is a ceremonial, ritual and living space, the architects who designed its layout followed the ideal cosmic order in Confucian ideology that had held Chinese social structure together for centuries. - This layout ensured that all activities within this micro-city were conducted in the manner appropriate to the participants' social and familial roles. -All activities, such as imperial court ceremonies or life-cycle rituals, would take place in sophisticated palaces depending on the events' characteristics. Similarly, the court determined the occupants of the Forbidden City strictly according to their positions in the imperial family. - Although the Palace of Heavenly Purity was a grand palace building symbolizing the emperor's supreme status, it was too large for conducting private activities comfortably. -Therefore, after the early 18th century Qing emperor, Yongzheng, moved his residence to the smaller Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxindian) to the west of the main axis, the Palace of Heavenly Purity became a space for ceremonial use and all subsequent emperors resided in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. -The residences of the emperor's consorts flank the three major palaces in the inner court. Each side contains six identical, walled palace compounds, forming the shape of K'un "☷," one of the eight trigrams of ancient Chinese philosophy. It is the symbol of mother and earth, and thus is a metaphor for the proper feminine roles the occupants of these palaces should play. - Such architectural and philosophical symmetry, however, fundamentally changed when the empress dowager Cixi renovated the Palace of Eternal Spring (Changchungong) and the Palace of Gathered Elegance (Chuxiugong) in the west part of the inner court for her fortieth and fiftieth birthday. - The renovation transformed the original layout of six palace compounds into four, thereby breaking the shape of the symbolic trigram and implying the loosened control of Chinese patriarchal authority at the time. - The eastern and western sides of the inner court were reserved for the retired emperor and empress dowager. - The emperor Qianlong built his post-retirement palace, the Hall of Pleasant Longevity (Leshoutang), in the northeast corner of the Forbidden City. - In addition to these palace compounds for the older generation, there are also structures for the imperial family's religious activities in the east and west sides of the inner court, such as Buddhist and Daoist temples built during the Ming dynasty. CONTENT - is a large precinct of red walls and yellow glazed roof tiles located in the heart of China's capital, Beijing. - As its name suggests, the precinct is a micro-city in its own right. - the Forbidden City is composed of more than 90 palace compounds including 98 buildings and surrounded by a moat - Public and domestic spheres are clearly divided in the Forbidden City. - The southern half, or the outer court, contains spectacular palace compounds of supra-human scale. This outer court belonged to the realm of state affairs, and only men had access to its spaces. It included the emperor's formal reception halls, places for religious rituals and state ceremonies, and also the Meridian Gate (Wumen) located at the south end of the central axis that served as the main entrance. - Upon passing the Meridian Gate, one immediately enters an immense courtyard paved with white marble stones in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihedian). Since the Ming dynasty, officials gathered in front of the Meridian Gate before 3 a.m., waiting for the emperor's reception to start at 5 a.m. - While the outer court is reserved for men, the inner court is the domestic space, dedicated to the imperial family. - The inner court includes the palaces in the northern part of the Forbidden City. Here, three of the most important palaces align with the city's central axis: the emperor's residence known as the Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqinggong) is located to the south while the empress's residence, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility (Kunninggong), is to the north. - The Hall of Celestial and Terrestrial Union (Jiaotaidian), a smaller square building for imperial weddings and familial ceremonies, is sandwiched in between. CONTEXT - The construction of the Forbidden City was the result of a scandalous coup d'état plotted by Zhu Di, the fourth son of the Ming dynasty's founder Zhu Yuanzhang, that made him the Chengzu emperor (his official title) in 1402. - In order to solidify his power, the Chengzu emperor moved the capital, as well as his own army, from Nanjing in southeastern China to Beijing and began building a new heart of the empire, the Forbidden City. - The establishment of the Qing dynasty in 1644 did not lessen the Forbidden City's pivotal status, as the Manchu imperial family continued to live and rule there.

City of Machu Picchu

- 1450 CE - Central Highlands, Peru FORM - Water management at the site was crucial, and throughout Machu Picchu a system of stone channels drains water from rainfall and from a spring near the site. - Some of the water was channeled to stone fountains. There are sixteen in all, descending in elevation through the site. - The first in the series is placed outside the door of the emperor's compound. That fountain is constructed with walls that may have created a ritual bath for the emperor, connected to his duties as a sacred king who performed religious rituals. - The construction of the main buildings is typical of Inka elite architecture. - The walls were built of stones that had been individually shaped to fit closely with one another, rather than being shaped into similar units. This was accomplished by a laborious process of pecking at the stones with tools, gradually shaping them so that each stone was uniquely nested against those around it. Each stone had some sides that protruded slightly, and some with slight concave faces, socketing the stones so that they held together, but allowed for earthquake-damping movement in this seismically active region. Outward faces were then worked smooth, so that the walls resemble an intricate mosaic. - Most structures were roofed with wood and thatch. Entryways were in the unique Inka shape of a trapezoid, rather than a rectangle. The trapezoid shape was also used for niches and windows in the walls of buildings. - Buildings for people or activities of lower status were made using a rough construction technique that did not take the time to shape the stones. FUNCTION - It was built as a royal estate for the first Inka emperor, Pachacuti Inka Yupanqui, in the middle of the 15th century, on a mountain saddle overlooking the Urubamba River (in modern day Peru). - The location was approximately three days' walk from the Inka capital of Cusco, and nearly 3,000 feet lower in elevation with a pleasant climate. - It was intended as a place where the Inka emperor and his family could host feasts, perform religious ceremonies, and administer the affairs of empire, while also establishing a claim to land that would be owned by his lineage after his death. - The site was chosen and situated for its relationship to the Andean landscape, including sight lines to other mountain peaks, called apus, which have long been considered ancestral deities throughout the Andes. - The site contains housing for elites, retainers, and maintenance staff, religious shrines, fountains, and terraces, as well as carved rock outcrops, a signature element of Inka art. - Also called the Temple of the Sun, this building's purpose is echoed in its unique shape. It is composed of two main parts: an upper curved stone enclosure with windows and niches placed in it, and a cave beneath this structure with masonry additions that hold more niches. -Modifications of the windows in the Observatory's upper walls indicate that they were used to calculate the June solstice, as well as the first morning rise of the constellation Pleiades and other important constellations. The cave beneath the enclosure may refer to the place of the underworld in Inka myth, making the Observatory a building that embodied cosmological thought as much as it facilitated astronomical observation. CONTENT - the site features architecture, from houses to terraces, built by carefully fitting individual stones against each other. Terraces were a common element of highland agriculture long before the Inka. They increased the arable land surface and reduced erosion by creating walled steps down the sides of steep mountains. Each step could then be planted with crops. Terracing took advantage of the landscape and provided some sustenance for the emperor and his entourage during his visits, as well as producing ritually-important maize crops. - Further provisions came from the rich lands at the foot of the mountain peak, which were also beholden to Pachacuti and his family. - The Intihuatana ("hitching post of the sun") is a carved boulder located in the ritual area of the site, to the west of the main plaza. Carved boulders were a part of the Inka relationship with the earth, and expressions of belief in a landscape inhabited by supernatural forces. Carved boulders of this type are found throughout the heart of the Inka empire. - The stone's name refers to the idea that it was used to track the passage of the sun throughout the year, part of the reckoning of time used to determine when religious events would take place and similar to the Observatory. CONTEXT - The emperor and his retinue would only reside at Machu Picchu for part of the year. - Most of the people who lived there permanently were yanaconas (retainers) and mitimaes (colonists obligated to move to their location). - Graves at Machu Picchu have yielded evidence that many of the yanaconas there were craftspeople, including metalsmiths, who came from all over the empire. T - he ability to command people across the empire and to oblige them to work for the Inka nobility was an expression of imperial power. - The buildings of Machu Picchu clearly show the social divisions of the site, with most of the high-status residential buildings in a cluster to the northeast. - The emperor himself lived in a separate compound at the southwest of the site, indicating his unique status as the ruler. - The Observatory was adjacent to the royal residence, emphasizing the relationship between the elites, religious ritual, and astronomical observation, including Pachacuti's claim as both a descendant of the sun (whom the Inka called Inti) and the sun himself. - One of the obligations of the royal family was performing rituals that sustained relationships with the supernatural forces that drove existence. The number of religious structures at Machu Picchu is high, indicating that Pachacuti and his lineage were heavily involved in the religious functioning of the empire, a task that underscored his right to rule.

Taj Mahal

- 1632 CE - Agra, India FORM - White marble and red sandstone - whereas most Mughal-era buildings tended to use red stone for exteriors and functional architecture (such as military buildings and forts)—reserving white marble for special inner spaces or for the tombs of holy men, the Taj's entire main structure is constructed of white marble and the auxiliary buildings are composed of red sandstone. -This white-and-red color scheme of the built complex may correspond with principles laid down in ancient Hindu texts—in which white stood for purity and the priestly class, and red represented the color of the warrior class. FUNCTION -During his third regnal year, shah jahan's favorite wife, known as Mumtaz Mahal, died due to complications arising from the birth of their fourteenth child. Deeply saddened, the emperor started planning the construction of a suitable, permanent resting place for his beloved wife almost immediately. CONTENT -Entry to the Taj Mahal complex via the forecourt, which in the sixteenth century housed shops, and through a monumental gate of inlaid and highly decorated red sandstone made for a first impression of grand splendor and symmetry: aligned along a long water channel through this gate is the Taj—set on a raised platform on the north end. - The white-marble mausoleum is flanked on either side by identical buildings in red sandstone. One of these serves as a mosque, and the other, whose exact function is unknown, provides architectural balance. -The marble structure is topped by a bulbous dome and surrounded by four minarets of equal height. While minarets in Islamic architecture are usually associated with mosques—for use by the muezzin who leads the call to prayer—here, they are not functional, but ornamental, once again underscoring the Mughal focus on structural balance and harmony. - The interior floor plan of the Taj exhibits the hasht bishisht (eight levels) principle, alluding to the eight levels of paradise. -Consisting of eight halls and side rooms connected to the main space in a cross-axial plan—the favored design for Islamic architecture from the mid-fifteenth century—the center of the main chamber holds Mumtaz Mahal's intricately decorated marble cenotaph on a raised platform. -The emperor's cenotaph was laid down beside hers after he died three decades later—both are encased in an octagon of exquisitely carved white-marble screens. -The coffins bearing their remains lie in the spaces directly beneath the cenotaphs. There are Qur'anic verses inscribed into the walls of the building and designs inlaid with semi-precious stones—coral, onyx, carnelian, amethyst, and lapis lazuli -The dominant theme of the carved imagery is floral,—another link to the theme of paradise -Some of the Taj Mahal's architecture fuses aspects from other Islamic traditions, but other aspects reflect with indigenous style elements. In particular, this is evident in the umbrella-shaped ornamental chhatris (dome shaped pavillions) atop the pavilions and minarets. -Stretching in front of the Taj Mahal is a char bagh garden. Typically, a char bagh was divided into four main quadrants, with a building (such as a pavilion or tomb) along its central axis. When viewed from the main gateway today, the Taj Mahal appears to deviate from this norm, as it is not centrally placed within the garden, but rather located at the end of a complex that is backed by the river, such as was found in other Mughal-era pleasure gardens. - When viewed from the Mahtab Bagh, moonlight gardens, across the river, however, the monument appears to be centrally located in a grander complex. This view, only possible when one incorporates the Yamuna River into the complex -by raising the Taj onto an elevated foundation, the builders ensured that Shah Jahan's funerary complex as well as the tombs of other Mughal nobles along with their attached gardens could be viewed from many angles along the river. - The garden incorporated waterways and fountains. This was a new type of gardening that was introduced to India by Babur, Shah Jahan's great great grandfather in the sixteenth century. CONTEXT - Shah Jahan was the fifth ruler of the Mughal dynasty. - In general terms, Sunni Muslims favor a simple burial, under an open sky. But notable domed mausolea for Mughals were built prior to Shah Jahan's rule, so in this regard, the Taj is not unique. The Taj is, however, exceptional for its monumental scale, stunning gardens, lavish ornamentation, and its overt use of white marble. -Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in Agra, where he took the throne in 1628. -First conquered by Muslim invaders in the eleventh century, the city had been transformed into a flourishing area of trade during Shah Jahan's rule. Situated on the banks of the Yamuna River allowed for easy access to water, and Agra soon earned the reputation as a "riverfront garden city," on account of its meticulously planned gardens -The finest marble came from quarries 250 miles away in Makrarna, Rajasthan. - Mir Abd Al-Karim was designated as the lead architect. Abdul Haqq was chosen as the calligrapher, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri was made the supervisor. -Shah Jahan made sure that the principles of Mughal architecture were incorporated into the design throughout the building process. -When Mumtaz Mahal died at age 38 in 1631, the emperor is reported to have refused to engage in court festivities, postponed two of his sons' weddings, and allegedly made frequent visits to his wife's temporary resting place (in Burhanpur) during the time it took to build the Taj -Stories like these have led to the Taj Mahal being referred to as an architectural "symbol of love" in popular literature. -But there are other theories: one suggests that the Taj is not a funeral monument, and that Shah Jahan might have built a similar structure even if his wife had not died. -Based on the metaphoric specificity of Qur'anic and other inscriptions and the emperor's love of thrones, another theory maintains that the Taj Mahal is a symbolic representation of a Divine Throne—the seat of God—on the Day of Judgment. -A third view holds that the monument was built to represent a replica of a house of paradise. In the "paradisiacal mansion" theory, the Taj was something of a vanity project, built to glorify Mughal rule and the emperor himself. -The emperor died not as a ruler, but as a prisoner. Relegated to Agra Fort under house arrest for eight years prior to his death in 1666, Shah Jahan could enjoy only a distant view of the Taj Mahal.

Presentation of Fijian Mats and Tapa Cloths to Queen Elizabeth II

- 1953 CE - Fiji, Polynesia FORM - silver gelatin print CONTENT - the procession of Fijian women making their way through a group of seated Fijian men and women. - Several of the processing women are wearing skirts made of barkcloth painted with geometric patterns. - Barkcloth, or masi, as it is referred to in Fiji, is made by stripping the inner bark of mulberry trees, soaking the bark, then beating it into strips of cloth that are glued together, often by a paste made of arrowroot. - Bold and intricate geometric patterns in red, white, and black are often painted onto the masi. - The practice of making masi continues in Fiji, where the cloth is often presented as gifts in important ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, or to commemorate significant events, such as a visit by the Queen of England. - While in this photograph, the masi is only worn by the women and not carried, as far as can be ascertained in this picture; it is very likely that the women also presented the cloth to the Queen to celebrate the occasion of her visit. - There are rolls of woven mats that each woman in the procession carries. Like masi, Fijian mats served and continue to serve an important purpose in Fijian society as a type of ritual exchange and tribute. - Made by women, Fijian mats are begun by stripping, boiling, drying, blackening, and then softening leaves from the Pandanus plant. The dried leaves are then woven into tight, often diagonal patterns that culminate in frayed or fringed edges. - While the mats that the women in this photograph are carrying may seem too plain to present to the Queen of England, their simplicity is an indication of their importance. - In Fiji, the more simple the design, the more meaningful its function. - Fijian artists continue to create mats and it is a practice that is growing, with many mats beings sold at market, often to tourists. - With the advent of processed pandanus, they are more widely available than masi, and used heavily in wedding and funeral rituals. - Fijian art also includes elaborate carvings made of wood or ivory, as well as small woven god houses called bure kalou, which provided a pathway for the god to descend to the priest. CONTEXT AND FUNCTION - On December 17, 1953, a newly crowned Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, arrived on the island of Fiji, then an English colony, and stayed for three days before continuing on their first tour of the commonwealth nations of England in the Pacific Islands. - while in Fiji the queen visited hospitals and schools and held meetings with various Fijian politicians. - She witnessed elaborate performances of traditional Fijian dances and songs and even participated in a kava ceremony, which is an important aspect of Fijian culture. - The kava drink is a kind of tea made from the kava root and is sipped by members of the community, in order of importance. - On the occasion of the Queen's visit, she wasgiven the first sip of kava. everyone from a large group takes a sip from the same cup and of the same liquid. - Although sipped in order of hierarchical importance, it would, in the end, put everyone in the group on the same level before beginning the event, meeting, or ceremony. - After three days on the island of Fiji, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip departed for the Kingdom of Tonga where they stayed for two days before leaving for extended stays in New Zealand and Australia. - On Tonga, they were greeted warmly by Queen Sälote and other members of the royal Tongan family. - On the occasion of her visit to Tonga, an enormous barkcloth was commissioned in Queen Elizabeth's honor and had her initials, "ERIII," painted onto the rare piece of ngatu. - Referred to as ngatu launima in Tongan, it is 75 feet long and is significant not only because it commemorated Queen Elizabeth's visit, but also because it was placed under the coffin of Queen Sälote when her body was flown back to Tonga in 1960 after an extended stay in a New Zealand hospital.

The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh

- France - 1889 CE FORM AND CONTENT - Oil on canvas - curving, swirling lines of hills, mountains, and sky simplified forms, thick impasto, thickly layered brushstrokes brilliantly contrasting blues and yellows - flame-like cypress trees - it is assumed that Van Gogh composed The Starry Night using elements of a few previously completed works still stored in his studio, as well as aspects from imagination and memory. It has even been argued that the church's spire in the village is somehow more Dutch in character and must have been painted as an combination of several different church spires that Van Gogh had depicted years earlier while living in the Netherlands. - Van Gogh also understood the painting to be an exercise in deliberate stylization. Van Gogh was experimenting with a style inspired in part by medieval woodcuts, with their thick outlines and simplified forms. -"It often seems to me that the night is even more richly colored than the day, colored with the most intense violets, blues and greens. If you look carefully, you'll see that some stars are lemony, others have a pink, green, forget-me-not blue glow. And without labouring the point, it's clear to paint a starry sky it's not nearly enough to put white spots on blue-black." - Van Gogh followed his own advice, and his canvas demonstrates the wide variety of colors he perceived on clear nights. - Bright stars represent venus (love) - Inspired by Ukiyo-e FUNCTION - Van Gogh mentioned it briefly in his letters as a simple "study of night" or "night effect." CONTEXT - comparison to favored subjects like irises, sunflowers, or wheat fields, night landscapes are rare. - His brother Theo, manager of a Parisian art gallery and a gifted connoisseur of contemporary art, was unimpressed. Although Theo Van Gogh felt that the painting ultimately pushed style too far at the expense of true emotive substance, the work has become iconic of individualized expression in modern landscape painting. - Van Gogh had the subject of a blue night sky dotted with yellow stars in mind for many months before he painted The Starry Night. It presented a few technical challenges he wished to confront— the use of contrasting color and the complications of painting en plein air (outdoors) at night. - the idea of painting an invented scene from imagination troubled Van Gogh because he often painted in front of the actual scene. - When he painted a first example of the full night sky in "Starry Night over the Rhône", the work was completed outdoors, but evidence suggests that his second Starry Night was created largely if not exclusively in the studio. - After he cut part of his own ear, Van Gogh was ultimately hospitalized at Saint-Paul-de-Mausole, an asylum and clinic for the mentally ill near the village of Saint-Rémy. During his time there, Van Gogh was encouraged to paint, though he rarely ventured more than a few hundred yards from the asylum's walls. - After leaving Paris for more rural areas in southern France, Van Gogh was able to spend hours contemplating the stars without interference from gas or electric city street lights, which were increasingly in use by the late nineteenth century.

The Coiffure, Mary Cassatt

- France - 1890 CE FORM - Drypoint and aquatint on laid paper (drypoint etching) - As the viewer, we are placed at a slight leftward angle from the woman in the chair so that we see her through her reflection in the mirror while she is looking away from it. - It's partly a study of shape and line so that the viewer, realizing that he or she is not looking at a psychological portrait, could focus more intently on the compositional elements of the work. - The curve of the woman's sloping back and neck echoes the curves of the chair which stand in contrast to the vertical lines of the mirror—a compositional counterpoint that further enhances the tension within the tight composition. - The limited color palette of shades of rose, brown, and white, enables us to focus closely on the form and clarity of line. I- t also mimics the quality of pastels. Through the process of the drypoint and aquatint etching, La Coiffure combines Cassatt's propensity for hazy shading and soft tones with a bold sharpness in line allowing the artist to integrate the qualities of two disparate media. - Her desire to emulate the haziness, sensual, and suggestive possibilities of pastels is what motivated Cassatt not to use woodblock printing but intaglio. -First, Cassatt carved her designs onto a smooth copper plate with a fine metal needle. Then the plate would be dusted with a powdered resin and heated until the resin melted in tiny mounds that hardened as they cooled. Acid was then added on to the metal plate biting the channels along the resin droplets. The deeper penetration of acid produced richer, darker tones, while a lighter application of acid produced lighter shades of color and a variety of nuanced gradients could be generated within a single print. Once Cassatt had replicated a certain number of images from a plate, she would incise the plate with a needle so that no one could use the same image again. FUNCTION - This is one of the hundreds of drypoints that Mary Cassatt made in her in-home studio in the summer and fall of 1890 and in the winter of 1891. It was inspired in part by a woodblock print in her personal collection, Kitagawa Utamaro's boudoir image of the daughter of a prosperous Edo businessman, Takashima Ohisa Using Two Mirrors to Observe Her Coiffure. - The voyeuristic (relating to or denoting sexual pleasure gained from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity) element to the scene is drawn from precedents like Ingres (La Grand Odalisque), which Cassatt studied at the Louvre when she was a young student in the mid 1860s. - The woman in La Coiffure is not sexualized. Though her breasts are exposed, her chest and the details of her body are deliberately muted into an overall structure of curves and crisp lines. - This is an exercise in clarity and tone where the subject, the woman's body, is a compositional element in the picture—as vividly realized as the other significant patterns of the room—the wallpaper, the fabric of the armchair, and the carpet. - The prints provided artists with an opportunity to showcase their skill in concision—using no more than is necessary to convey an idea - Cassatt's motivation in making the prints was to make her art more accessible for a large audience. CONTENT - The woman sits in a plush armchair in front of mirror, her head focused downward, her back arched, as she adjusts her bun. - Cassatt was inspired in part by some of Degas' pastels of women grooming. - In the spirit of ukiyo-e and Impressionism, these prints capture fugitive, fleeting moments of the busy lives of the Parisian bourgeois and working class. CONTEXT - In April of 1890, the École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts) in Paris showcased an exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints. These ukiyo-e images, "pictures of the floating world," as they were evocatively called, were comprised mostly of scenes of urban bourgeois pleasure—geishas, beautiful women, sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors—and pictures of the natural beauty around Edo (present day Tokyo)—the mists of Mount Fuji, cherry blossoms, rain showers, and surging waves along the port of Kanagawa. - Among the audience at the exhibition was the American expatriate painter, Mary Cassatt. Cassatt was spellbound. - The word "la coiffure" evokes a precise image, one of wealthy women in glamorous settings. The ritual of grooming, dressing, and preparing one's hair from the seventeenth and eighteenth century court days was passed down to nineteenth-century ideals of femininity and beauty. - To wear such an elaborate hairstyle, one needed to have a maid to help with one's hair. "La coiffure" was part of a specific lifestyle. - Yet the woman in Cassatt's print is tending to her hair alone. - Perhaps what we are seeing is a working woman getting ready to start her day.** - The counterpoint of the print's title and the reality of its subject matter characterizes the ironic tension within the image. artists were always aware that their works were made for a male-dominated market and designed them to be enticing

Bahram Gur Fights the Karg, folio from the Great Il-Khanid Shahnama

- Persia - 1330 CE FORM - Large painted surface area - calligraphy FUNCTION -is a book illumination depicting one of the many stories from the Shahnama, the Persian Book of Kings. - The Shahnama incorporates many older stories once told orally,** chronicling the history of Persia before the arrival of Islam and celebrating the glories of the Persian past and its ancient heroes. - the Mongol artists who created this work were fulfilling their patrons' strong desire to identify with the noble, virtuous, and powerful warrior-kings of ancient Persia. -images like Bahram Gur Fights the Karg were not just meant as illustrations of simple, enjoyable fairy tales, but contained deeper meaning and significance for the Mongol nobility. - Bahram Gur symbolizes just rule and civilized society triumphing over chaos and disorder, represented by the Karg. - In simple terms, this means good defeating evil, but it also implies that a good and stable social order is based upon kingship, and that warrior-kings like Bahram Gur are moral and courageous models to be emulated by the readers of the book. - The Shahnama therefore also provided a teaching tool, subtly incorporating moral stories and illustrating desirable behaviors for future kings and nobles. CONTENT - The illustration Bahram Gur Fights the Karg depicts one such story of the brave deeds of a Persian king, - Bahram Gur, who singlehandedly defeated the monstrous Karg (horned wolf). - Some translations of Firdawsi's work describe the Karg as a rhinoceros, some as a wolf, and some, as we find here in Bahram Gur Fights the Karg, as a combination of the two—a ferocious horned wolf. - The hero went forward alone, first using his bow to weaken the Karg with arrows, then using his blade to cut off the Karg's head to present to Shangal. CONTEXT - Though this particular image was painted in the fourteenth century by artists in the Mongol court in Persia (present-day Iran), the text of the Shahnama was composed by a poet named Firdawsi four hundred years earlier, around 1000 C.E. - Bahram V was a king of the Sasanian empire that ruled Persia from the third to the seventh century, just prior to the arrival of Islam. - His nickname, Bahram Gur, refers to a "gur" or onager—a type of wild ass which is one of the world's fastest-running mammals.The word "gur" may also mean "swift." - He was known as a great hunter of onagers, a favorite game animal in ancient Iran, and he was renowned for his talents in warfare, chivalry, and romance. - On a trip to India, according to the Shahnama, the king of India, a ruler named Shangal, recognized Bahram Gur's abilities and sought his help in ridding the Indian countryside of the frightening and fierce Karg. - The Sasanian empire fell in the seventh century, and it was not until well after this that the Mongols invaded Persia. - They came from the eastern Asian plains, where open grasslands had encouraged a nomadic lifestyle of herding, horsemanship, and fierce warfare. - They first became a serious force under the leadership of Genghis Khan in the early thirteenth century, and later, under his grandson Hulagu, the Mongols expanded their reach all the way to the Mediterranean.

The Jungle, Wilfredo Lam

-France -1943 CE FORM - Gouache on paper mounted on canvas - Latin American art - Nearly an 8 foot square - During the interwar period in Paris, Lam befriended the Surrealists, whose influence is evident in The Jungle. Surrealists aimed to release the unconscious and suppressed mind by the rational—in order to achieve another reality. - In art, the juxtaposition of irrational images reveal a "super-reality," or "sur-reality." In Lam's work, an other-worldly atmosphere emerges from the constant shifting taking place among the figures; they are at once human, animal, organic, and mystical. - This transformation among the figures is also related to Lam's interest in Afro-Caribbean culture. ** -When the artist resettled in Cuba in 1941, he began to integrate symbols from Santería, an Afro-Cuban religion that mixes African beliefs and customs with Catholicism, into his art. During Santería ceremonies the supernatural merges with the natural world through masks, animals, or initiates who become possessed by a god. -These ceremonies are moments of metamorphosis where a being is at once itself and otherworldly. FUNCTION - Sugarcane does not grow in jungles but rather is cultivated in fields. - In 1940s Cuba, sugarcane was big business, requiring the toil of thousands of laborers similar to the cotton industry in the American South before the Civil War. The reality of laboring Cubans was in sharp contrast to how foreigners perceived the island nation, a playground. - Lam's painting is an unusual Cuban landscape compared to the tourism posters that depicted the country as a destination for Americans seeking beachside resorts. While northern visitors enjoyed a resort experience, U.S. corporations ran their businesses, including sugar production. - There's a cluster of enigmatic faces, limbs, and sugarcane - The painting is a game of perception. The artist haphazardly constructs the figures from a collection of distinct forms—crescent-shaped faces; prominent, rounded backsides; willowy arms and legs; and flat, cloddish hands and feet. - When assembled these figures resemble a funhouse mirror reflection. - The disproportion among the shapes generates an uneasy balance between the composition's denser top and more open bottom—there are not enough feet and legs to support the upper half of the painting, which seems on the verge of toppling over. - Another significant element within Lam's game of perception is how he places the figures within an unorthodox landscape. - Lam's panorama excludes the typical elements of a horizon line, sky or wide view; instead this is a tight, directionless snapshot, with only the faintest sense of the ground. CONTEXT - 1959 Revolution- revolution that overthrew the corrupt government of Cuba's leader at the time, Fulgencio Batista. - Cuba had already spent over four decades at the mercy of United States-interests when lam painted this - In the 1920s and 30s, Lam was in Madrid and Paris, but in 1941 as Europe was engulfed by war, he returned to his native country, cuba - Though he would leave Cuba again for Europe after the war, key elements within his artistic practice intersected during this period: Lam's consciousness of Cuba's socio-economic realities; his artistic formation in Europe under the influence of Surrealism; and his re-acquaintance with Afro-Caribbean culture. This resulted in The Jungle. - Though Cuba gained independence from Spain at the end of nineteenth century, the United States maintained the right to intervene in Cuba's affairs, which destabilized politics on the island for decades.

Conical tower and circular wall of Great Zimbabwe

- 1000 CE - Africa FORM - Surrounded by many large rocks - granite blocks of same size - entirely built in curves - Begun during the eleventh century A.D. by Bantu-speaking ancestors of the Shona, Great Zimbabwe was constructed and expanded for more than 300 years in a local style that eschewed rectilinearity for flowing curves - has walls as high as 36 feet extending approximately 820 feet, making it the largest ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert. FUNCTION - Zimbabwe means "house of stone" (dzimba dza mabwe)- the country was named after this historical monument - Royal residence for the king -either the queen's residence or temple -The function of these stone walls has often been misinterpreted. At first glance, these massive nonsupportive walls appear purely defensive. But scholars doubt they ever served a martial purpose and have argued instead that cattle and people were valued above land, which was in any event too abundant to be hoarded. -The walls are thought to have been a symbolic show of authority, designed to preserve the privacy of royal families and set them apart from and above commoners. -conical tower: functioned as a granary (a storehouse for threshed grain.). According to tradition, a Shona ruler shows his largess towards his subjects through his granary, often distributing grain as a symbol of his protection. CONTENT - The site had ritual sites and cemeteries - A town was at the bottom of the hill - Between the town and the royal hill is a circular monument made of stone bricks known as the Great enclosure -The ruins of this complex of massive stone walls undulate across almost 1,800 acres of present-day southeastern Zimbabwe. - In the 1800s, European travelers and English colonizers, stunned by Great Zimbabwe's grandeur and its cunning workmanship, attributed the architecture to foreign powers. Such attributions were dismissed when archaeological investigations conducted during the first decades of the twentieth century confirmed both the antiquity of the site and its African origins. - The enormous walls are the best-preserved testaments of Great Zimbabwe's past and the largest example of an architectural type - the walls surrounded and later adjoined huts made of daga (mud and thatch), linked with them to form a series of courtyards. Daga was also used to form raised seats in particularly significant courtyards, and was painted to enrich its artistic effect. -Since Great Zimbabwe's daga elements have long since eroded, the remaining stone walls provide only partial evidence of the architecture's original appearance. -In addition to architecture, Great Zimbabwe's most famous works of art are the eight birds carved of soapstone that were found in its ruins. -The birds surmount columns more than a yard tall and are themselves on average sixteen inches tall. The sculptures combine both human and avian elements, substituting human features like lips for a beak and five-toed feet for claws. -Excavated at the turn of the century, it is known that six of the sculptures came from the Eastern Enclosure of the Hill complex -Scholars have suggested that the birds served as emblems of royal authority, perhaps representing the ancestors of Great Zimbabwe's rulers. their precise significance is still unknown CONTEXT - The shona people founded the kingdom - Little is known about the Bantu-speaking people who built Great Zimbabwe or how their society was organized. - The ruling elite appears to have controlled wealth through the management of cattle, which were the staple diet at Great Zimbabwe. - At its height, Great Zimbabwe is estimated to have had a population greater than 10,000, although the majority lived at some distance from the large stone buildings. Only 200 to 300 members of the elite classes are thought to have lived within Great Zimbabwe's massive edifices.

Fruit and Insects, Rachel, Ruysch

- Amsterdam - 1711 CE FORM - Still life painting - She painted the subjects as though they were scientific specimens - there are Color Harmonies - Use of complementary colors red and green - On the red purple grapes and Plum, they have a little bit of dust powder blue - Vanitas painting- A still life artwork which includes various symbolic objects designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the worthlessness of worldly goods and pleasures FUNCTION - it seems to be about the Autumn, the subject of the Harvest, fruits and vegetables that are harvested in the autumn CONTENT - full of fruits and insects - corn, squash, chestnuts and grapes, wheat - Symbolic value- Christians in the 17th century would have seen the wheat and the grapes And bread and wine and thought of the Eucharist, of the sacrament of communion of the body and blood of Christ CONTEXT - by a Dutch artist- Rachel Ruysch-She specialized in Still Life paintings, Especially flowers ( in Holland, artists specialized in certain types of paintings) -They were painting for a widening Merchant class in 17th century Holland - The artist did not assemble a scene, but put together studies of these fruits and then combined them imaginatively into this composition Into a microcosm - Microcosm was perfected in the late 17th and early 18th century - The butterfly or moth in the foreground is a reminder that Rachel's father, Frederick (scientists) collected specimens like butterflies and preserved them- his father was also a botanist

Nan Madol

- 700 CE - Micronesia FORM - Nan Madol specialist Mark McCoy has used the chemistry of the stones to link some to their source on the opposite side of the island. -The creators of Nan Madol managed to quarry columns of basalt from a site in Sokehs, on the other side of Pohnpei, and transport them more than 25 miles to the submerged coral reefs that are the foundations of Nan Madol. -There, they used ropes and levers to stack them in an intersecting formation, making raised platforms, ceremonial sites, dwellings, tombs, and crypts. -They used no mortar or concrete, relying solely on the positioning and weight of each basalt column, with a little coral fill, to hold each structure in place. -The human power required to move these materials over such an extended period of time and space is evidence of an impressive display of power by the rulers of Pohnpei as well as ecological and economic systems capable of supporting a busy labor force. - Madol Pah in the southwest was the administrative center of the complex and Madol Powe in the northeast was its religious and mortuary sector. - This area comprises 58 islets, most of which were inhabited by priests. -The most elaborate building is Nandauwas, the royal mortuary, which covers an area greater than a football field. Its walls are 25 feet high and just one of its cornerstones is estimated to weigh 50 tons. -Elsewhere, log-cabin style walls of stone reached 50 feet in height and are 16 feet thick, and were topped with thatched roofs. All were protected from surging tides by large breakwaters and seawalls. - Columnar grey basalt is a volcanic rock that breaks naturally into flat-sided rods when it cools. Though it appears quite marvelously to have been shaped by chisels, its predominantly hexagonal or pentagonal columns are due to natural fractures that form while a thick lava flow cools. Rapid cooling results in slender columns while slow cooling results in longer and thicker columns. FUNCTION - Once the political and ceremonial center for the ruling chiefs of the Sau Deleur dynasty - Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest that certain islets (small islands) were dedicated to specific activities—Dapahu to food preparation and canoe building, and Peinering ("place of coconut oil preparation"), Sapenlan ("place of the sky") and Kohnderek ("place for dancing and anointing the dead") to the activities their names describe. -Tombs surrounded by high walls can be found on Peinkitel, Karian and Lemonkou. CONTENT - The abandoned megalithic capital of Nan Madol, located in a lagoon adjacent to the eastern shoreline of the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean - Nan Madol is a complex of close to 100 artificial rectilinear islets spread over 200 acres that are thought to have housed up to 1000 people. - Its basalt and coral rock structures were built from the 13th to the 17th century by a population of less than 30,000 people and their total weight is estimated at 750,000 metric tons. - Artifacts found at Nan Madol include stone and shell tools, necklaces, arm rings, "trolling lure" ornaments, drilled porpoise and fruit bat teeth, quartz crystals, lancet and disc-shaped bead necklaces, pottery, remnants of turtle and dog status foods, and large pounders used to process the root of the kava plant (Piper methysticum) into a ceremonial drink. -Kava has mild sedative, anesthetic and euphoriant qualities, and its botanical name literally means "intoxicating pepper." -Extensive personal adornments, food, and kava are evidence of Nan Madol's significance as the ceremonial center of Eastern Micronesia - Pohnpei is rich in natural resources and has been called "the garden of Micronesia." It has fertile soil and heavy rainfall, that promotes the growth of lush vegetation from its coastal mangrove swamps to the rainforests at the apex of its central hills, as well as lagoons. - These natural resources would have provided the necessary food for the workers who built the nan madol, as well as timber that may have been used to help shift the basalt rocks. - It seems unlikely that any foods were cultivated within Nan Madol, and likely no source of freshwater existed within the complex—food and water were brought from the island's interior. - Since Nan Madol was built on a coral foundation, it is sometimes called "the Venice of the Pacific." Like Venice, the islands of Nan Madol are connected by a network of tidal channels and waterways. - These are referred to in the name Nan Madol, which means 'in the space between things' CONTEXT - the people of Pohnpei moved an average of 1,850 tons of basalt per year over four centuries—and no one knows how they did it. - Oral histories of Nan Madol describe great birds or giants moving the basalt rocks into place, others recall the magic used by the twin sorcerers Olosohpa and Olosihpa to create a place to worship their gods. ** - Beyond these creation narratives, aspects of the oral history of Nan Madol, passed down through many generations, correlate with archaeological evidence. - For example, oral histories describe a series of canals cut to allow eels to enter the city from the sea. - A well on the island of Idehd is said to have housed a sacred eel who embodied a sea deity, and to whom the innards of specially raised and cooked turtles were fed by priests. - Traces of the canal system as well as a large midden (mound) of turtle remains on Idehd are among the archaeological evidence that supports these histories. - dynasty known as the Sau Deleurs - for many centuries Pohnpei was under the rule of a series of chiefs (Sau) descended from Olosohpa, who began as gentle leaders but came to exert extraordinary power over their people before deteriorating into tyrants. -Under their rule the people of Pohnpei not only built the Nan Madol structures, but also made tributes and food offerings to the Sau Deleur, including turtles and dogs, which were reserved for their consumption. -This period of history is remembered as the "Mwehin Sau Deleur"—the "Time of the Lord of Deleur." -The dynasty was overthrown by the culture hero Isokelekel, who destroyed the last of the Sau Deleurs in a great battle. -Following his victory, Isokelekel divided power into three chieftainships and established a decentralized ruling system called Nahnmwarki which remains in existence today. -He took up residence at Nan Madol on the islet of Peikapw. A century later, his successor abandoned the site and established a residence away from Nan Madol. -The site gradually lost its association with prestige and its population dwindled, though religious ceremonies continued to be held here from time to time into the late 1800s.

Tōdai-ji

- 743 CE - Nara, Japan FORM - The grand Buddhist architectural and sculptural projects of early Japan share a common material—wood-and are thus closely linked to the natural environment and to the long history of wood craftsmanship in Japan. - When Korean craftsmen brought Buddhist temple architecture to Japan in the 6th century, Japanese carpenters were already using complex wooden joints (instead of nails) to hold buildings together. - The Korean's technology allowed for the support of larger, tile-roof structures that used brackets and sturdy foundation pillars to funnel weight to the ground. This technology ushered in a new, larger scale in Japanese architecture. - Monumental timber-framed architecture requires enormous amounts of wood. The wood of choice was cypress - The 8th century campaign to construct Buddhist temples in every Japanese province under Imperial control (mostly in the Kinai area, today home to Osaka and Kyoto) is estimated to have resulted in the construction 600-850 temples using 3 million cubic meters of wood. - 8th century Todai-ji had two 9-storey pagodas and a 50 x 86 meter great hall supported by 84 massive cypress pillars that used at least 2200 acres of local forest. - This colossal Buddha required all the available copper in Japan and workers used an estimated 163,000 cubic feet of charcoal to produce the metal alloy and form the bronze figure. FUNCTION When completed in the 740s, Todai-ji (or "Great Eastern Temple") was the largest building project ever in japan. -Its creation reflects the complex intermingling of Buddhism and politics in early Japan. -When it was rebuilt in the 12th century, it ushered in a new era of Shoguns and helped to found Japan's most celebrated school of sculpture. - Buddhism's influence grew in the Nara era during the reign of Emperor Shomu and his consort, Empress Komyo who fused Buddhist doctrine and political policy—promoting Buddhism as the protector of the state. -reportedly following the Empress' wishes, Shomu ordered temples, monasteries and convents to be built throughout Japan's 66 provinces. -This national system of monasteries, known as the Kokubun-ji, would be under the jurisdiction of the new imperial Todai-ji ("Great Eastern Temple") to be built in the capital of Nara. -Todai-ji would be the chief temple of the Kokubun-ji system and be the center of national ritual.*** CONTENT - Todai-ji included the usual components of a Buddhist complex. At its symbolic heart was the massive hondō (main hall), also called the Daibutsuden (Great Buddha Hall) was supported by 84 massive cypress pillars. - It held a huge bronze Buddha figure (the Daibutsu) - Subsequently, two nine-story pagodas, a lecture hall and quarters for the monks were added to the complex. - The statue was inspired by similar statues of the Buddha in China and was commissioned by Emperor Shomu. - It was completed in 749, although the snail-curl hair (one of the 32 signs of the Buddha's divinity) took an additional two years. - The Daibutsu sits upon a bronze lotus petal pedestal that is engraved with images of the Shaka (the historical Buddha, known also as Shakyamuni), Buddha and varied Bodhisattvas (sacred beings). - The petal surfaces are etched with fleshy figures with swelling chests, full faces and swirling drapery in a style typical of the elegant naturalism of Nara era imagery. - The petals are the only reminders of the original statue, which was destroyed by fire in the 12th century. Today's statue is a 17th century replacement but remains a revered figure with an annual ritual cleaning ceremony each August. - When completed, the entire Japanese court, government officials and Buddhist dignitaries from China and India attended the Buddha's "eye-opening" ceremony. - Overseen by the Empress Koken and attended by the retired Emperor Shomu and Empress Komyo, an Indian monk named Bodhisena is recorded as painting in the Buddha's eyes, symbolically imbuing it with life. - The Emperor Shōmu himself is said to have sat in front of Great Buddha and vowed himself to be a servant of the Three Treasures of Buddhism: the Buddha, Buddhist Law, and Buddhist Monastic Community. -Noted for its austere realism and the dynamic, muscularity of its figures, the Kei School reflects the Buddhism and warrior-centered culture of the Kamakura era -Unkei is considered the leading figure of the Kei school, with a career spanning over 30 years. Unkei's fierce guardian figure Ungyō in the Nandaimon is typical of Unkei's powerful, dynamic bodies. -It stands in dramatic contrapposto opposite the other muscular Guardian King, Agyō, created with Kaikei and other Kei sculptors. - Both figures are fashioned of cypress wood and stand over eight meters tall. They were made using the joint block technique (yosegi zukuri), that used eight or nine large wood blocks over which another layer of wooden planks were attached. The outer wood was then carved and painted. Only a few traces of color remain. CONTEXT - The roots of Todai-ji are found in the arrival of Buddhism in Japan in the 6th century. Buddhism made its way from India along the Silk Route through Central Asia, China and Korea. Mahayana Buddhism was officially introduced to the Japanese Imperial court around 552 by an emissary from a Korean king who offered the Japanese Emperor Kimmei a gilded bronze statue of the Buddha, a copy of the Buddhist sutras (sacred writings) and a letter - Buddhism quickly became associated with the Imperial court whose members became the patrons of early Buddhist art and architecture. -The Genpei Civil War saw countless temples destroyed as Buddhist clergy took sides in clan warfare. - Japan's principal temple Todai-ji sided with the eventually victorious Minamoto clan but was burned by the soon-to-be defeated Taira clan in 1180. -At the war's end, the reconstruction of Todai-ji was one of the first projects undertaken by Minamoto Yoritomo who, as the new ruling Shogun -the Buddhist priest Shunjobo Chogen was placed in charge of reconstruction. His experience of Song Dynasty Buddhist architecture inspired the rebuilding of the temples of Nara, in what became know as the "Great Buddha" or the "Indian" style. -The key-surviving example of this style is Todai-ji's Great South Gate—Nandaimon. An elaborate bracketing system supports the broad-eaved, two-tiered roof. The Nandaimon holds the 2 massive wooden sculptures of Guardian Kings (Kongō Rikishi) by masters of the Kei School of Sculpture. - The large scale rebuilding after the Genpei Civil War created a multitude of commissions for builders, carpenters and sculptors. This concentration of talent led to the emergence of the Kei School of sculpture—considered by many to be the peak of Japanese sculpture. - After Todai-ji's destruction in 1180, it was rebuilt under the supervision of the monk Chogen, Todai-ji's reconstructed main hall was only half the size of the original and its pagodas several stories shorter. The availability or scarcity of quality local wood was a major factor in the design and evolution of architecture in Japan

Chavín de Huántar

- 900 BCE - Northern Highlands, Peru FORM - At 10,330 feet in elevation, it sits between the eastern (Cordillera Negra—snowless) and western (Cordillera Blanca—snowy) ranges of the Andes, near two of the few mountain passes that allow passage between the desert coast to the west and the Amazon jungle to the east. - It is also located near the confluence of the Huachesca and Mosna Rivers, a natural phenomenon of two joining into one that may have been seen as a spiritually powerful phenomenon. - The temple complex that stands today is comprised of two building phases: the U-shaped Old Temple, built around 900 B.C.E., and the New Temple (built around 500 B.C.E.), which expanded the Old Temple and added a rectangular sunken court. - The majority of the structures used roughly-shaped stones in many sizes to compose walls and floors. Finer smoothed stone was used for carved elements. - From its first construction, the interior of the temple had a multitude of tunnels, called galleries. While some of the maze-like galleries are connected with each other, some are separate. - The galleries all existed in darkness—there are no windows in them, although there are many smaller tunnels that allow for air to pass throughout the structure. Archaeologists are still studying the meaning and use of these galleries and vents, but new explorations are examining the acoustics of these structures, and how they may have projected sounds from inside the temple to pilgrims in the plazas outside. It is possible that the whole building spoke with the voice of its god. FUNCTION -The location of Chavín helped make it a special place—the temple built there became an important pilgrimage site that drew people and their offerings from far - Over the course of 700 years, the site drew many worshipers to its temple who helped in spreading the artistic style of Chavín throughout highland and coastal Peru by transporting ceramics, textiles, and other portable objects back to their homes. - **The god for whom the temple was constructed was represented in the Lanzón Stela, a notched wedge-shaped stone over 15 feet tall, carved with the image of a supernatural being, and located deep within the Old Temple, intersecting several galleries. - Lanzón means "great spear" in Spanish, in reference to the stone's shape, but a better comparison would be the shape of the digging stick used in traditional highland agriculture. That shape seem to indicate that the deity's power was ensuring successful planting and harvest. - The Lanzón depicts a standing figure with large round eyes looking upward. Its mouth is also large, with bared teeth and protruding fangs. The figure's left hand rests pointing down, while the right is raised upward, encompassing the heavens and the earth. Both hands have long, talon-like fingernails. -A carved channel runs from the top of the Lanzón to the figure's forehead, perhaps to receive liquid offerings poured from one of the intersecting galleries. CONTENT - Two key elements characterize the Lanzón deity: it is a mixture of human and animal features -The fangs and talons most likely indicate associations with the jaguar and the caiman—apex predators from the jungle lowlands that are seen elsewhere in Chavín art and in Andean iconography. -The eyebrows and hair of the figure have been rendered as snakes, making them read as both bodily features and animals. -on the figure's tunic, where two heads share a single fanged mouth. This technique, where two images share parts or outlines, is called contour rivalry, and in Chavín art it creates a visually complex style that is confusing, creating a barrier between believers who can see its true form and those outside the cult who cannot. - While the Lanzón was hidden deep in the temple and probably only seen by priests, the same iconography and contour rivalry was used in Chavín art on the outside of the temple and in portable wares that have been found throughout Peru - The serpent motif seen in the Lanzón is also visible in a nose ornament in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. This pinches or passes through the septum, is a common form in the Andes. - The two serpent heads flank right and left, with the same upward-looking eyes as the Lanzón. The swirling forms beneath them also evoke the sculpture's eye shape. -An ornament like this would have been worn by an elite person to show not only their wealth and power but their allegiance to the Chavín religion. -Metallurgy in the Americas first developed in South America before traveling north, and objects such as this that combine wealth and religion are among the earliest examples. -This particular piece was formed by hammering and cutting the gold, but Andean artists would develop other forming techniques over time. CONTEXT -Once thought to be the birthplace of an ancient "mother culture," the modern understanding is more nuanced (elaborate?). -The cultural expressions found at Chavín most likely did not originate in that place, but can be seen as coming into their full force there. - The visual legacy of Chavín would persist long after the site's decline in approximately 200 B.C.E., with motifs and stylistic elements traveling to the southern highlands and to the coast.

The Horse in Motion, Eadweard Muybridge

- France - 1878 CE FORM - 4 rows and 4 columns in a rectangle FUNCTION - Designed to settle the question of whether or not a horse ever takes all four legs completely off the ground during a gallop, the series of photographs also demonstrated the new photographic methods that were capable of nearly instantaneous exposure. CONTENT - Racing horse with a jockey - Each still captures different moments in the horse's stride - Collectively, the photos create a sense of movement. CONTEXT - Further advances in technology continued to make photography less labor intensive. -By 1867 a dry glass plate was invented, reducing the inconvenience of the wet collodion method. -Prepared glass plates could be purchased, eliminating the need to fool with chemicals. -In 1878, new advances decreased the exposure time to 1/25th of a second, allowing moving objects to be photographed and lessening the need for a tripod. -This new development is celebrated in Galloping Horse

Mont Sainte-Victoire, Paul Cézanne

- France - 1902 CE FORM - after his adoption of Impressionism, he began to consistently feature the mountain in his landscapes. - Cézanne divides his composition into three roughly equal horizontal sections. Our viewpoint is elevated. Closest to us lies a band of foliage and houses; next, rough patches of yellow ochre, emerald, and viridian green suggest the patchwork of an expansive plain and extend the foreground's color scheme into the middleground; - and above, in contrasting blues, violets and greys, we see the rough mountain surrounded by sky. The blues seen in this section also accent the rest of the work while, conversely, touches of green enliven the sky and mountain. - In other words, Cézanne introduced subtle adjustments in order to avoid too simple a scheme. - So the peak of the mountain is pushed just to the right of center, and the horizon line inclines gently upwards from left to right. - In fact, a complicated counterpoint of diagonals can be found in each of the work's bands, in the roofs of the houses, in the lines of the mountain, and in the arrangement of the patches in the plain, which connect foreground to background and lead the eye back. - Cézanne evokes a deep, panoramic scene and the atmosphere that fills and unifies this space. But we also remain aware of the painting as a fairly rough, worked surface. - Flatness coexists with depth and we find ourselves caught between these two poles—now more aware of one, now the other. The mountainous landscape is both within our reach, yet far away. - the left side of the mountain- Though the outermost contour is immediately apparent, inside of it one can also discern a second line (or, more accurately, a series of lines and edges). The area between this outer contour and the interior line or ridge divides a distinctive spatial plane; this slope recedes away from us and connects to the larger mountain range lying behind the sheer face. the mountain seems to gain volume. - It becomes less of an irregular triangle and more of a complicated pyramid. - the painting's most obvious focus of interest- the top of the mountain. Cézanne's other works show that the mountain has a kind of double peak, with a slightly higher point to the left side and a lower one to the right. - At first glance, the Philadelphia canvas seems to contradict this: the mountain's truncated apex appears to rise slightly from left to right. But a closer look reveals that Cézanne does respect topography. The small triangular patch of light gray—actually the priming of the canvas—can be read as belonging to the space immediately above the mountain or perhaps as a cloud behind it. - Thus it is the gray and light blue brushstrokes immediately below this patch that describe the downward slant of the mountain top. FUNCTION - Dating from the very last years of the artist's life, these landscapes feature a heightened lyricism and a consistent viewpoint. They show the mountain as it can be seen from the hill of Les Lauves, located just to the north of Aix. CONTENT - Mont Sainte-Victoire has a commanding presence over the country and in particular, over Aix-en-Provence, the hometown of Paul Cézanne. - our point-of-view is actually a little misleading. the left peak is not the highest point, but merely appears to so from Les Lauves. - A huge iron cross—la croix de Provence—was erected on this spot in the early 1870s, the fourth to be placed there. Though visible from afar, the cross appears in none of Cézanne's depictions of the mountain. CONTEXT - He has many oil paintings and watercolors of the mountain so the painter has become unforgettably associated with it. - Steeped in centuries of history and folklore, both classical and Christian, the mountain—or, more accurately, mountain range—only gradually emerged as a major theme in Cézanne's work. - Cézanne would return to the motif of Mont Sainte-Victoire throughout the rest of his career, resulting in an incredibly varied series of works. T - hey show the mountain from many different points of view and often in relationship to a constantly changing cast of other elements (foreground trees and bushes, buildings and bridges, fields and quarries). - From this series we can extract a subgroup of over two-dozen paintings and watercolors. - Cézanne bought an acre of land on this hill in 1901 and by the end of the following year he had built a studio on it. From here, he would walk further uphill to a spot that offered a sweeping view of Mont Sainte-Victoire and the land before it. - Cézanne perhaps even wanted to be documented painting it. When they visited Aix in 1906, the artists Maurice Denis and Ker-Xavier Roussel found themselves being led to the same location. - In an oil painting by Denis and in some of Roussel's photographs, we see Cézanne standing before his easel and painting the mountain. - Cézanne had presumably stood on this summit, or these summits, several times. He had thoroughly explored the countryside around Aix And we know for certain that he had climbed to the top of the mountain as recently as 1895. - Armed with these experiences, he could have estimated the distance from Les Lauves to the top of Mont Sainte-Victoire with some accuracy—it's about ten miles as the crow flies.

Self-Portrait as a Soldier, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

- Germany - 1915 CE FORM - The roughly sketched, long forms and tapered limbs of the nude model in this painting is representative of the style of Kirchner's nudes from the primitive period FUNCTION - Kirchner never fought in the war, and this painting is instead an exploration of the artist's personal fears. - The severed hand is not a literal injury, but a metaphor. self-amputation—a potential injury, not to the body—but to his identity as an artist. CONTENT -shows Kirchner dressed in a uniform but instead of standing on a battlefield (or another military context), he is standing in his studio with an amputated, bloody arm and a nude model behind him. - It is in this contrast between the artist's clothing and studio space that we can read a complicated coming of age for an idealistic young artist. - "Self-Portrait As a Soldier" can perhaps be best understood by comparing it with an earlier painting by the artist with similar subject-matter, his "Self-Portrait with Model". Here, a rounder, healthier-looking Kirchner stands confidently in his studio in a jaunty striped robe. He holds a brush and palette and seems to be wearing less clothing than the model seated behind him, clearly suggesting a sexual relationship. Even the warm colors give the work a sensuous atmosphere. This is the artist at the height of youthful confidence. - Compare that with the sallow, angular artist we see in the Self-Portrait as a Soldier. The later painting features darker, colder colors, and the glassy-eyed model looks more like a carved statue than an actual person. Even the skinny, limp cigarette seems to stand in opposition to the robust pipe that the artist smokes in the earlier portrait. - Kirchner the soldier stands impotently in his studio, surrounded with everything he would need to make art, if he were able to do so. CONTEXT - In 1905, Kirchner, together with several other young artists from Dresden founded the German Expressionist group Die Brücke (The Bridge). - Kirchner created their manifesto, a woodblock print that was to be widely disseminated as a call to arms: "We call all young people together, and as young people, who carry the future in us, we want to wrest freedom for our actions and our lives from the older, comfortably established forces." - Kirchner was a great admirer of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche's book, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" uses the bridge as a metaphor for the connection between the barbarism of the past and the modernity of the future. - The Brücke artists considered themselves the inheritors of this idea, and created art that looked to the past and the future at once. - Another important influence on the Die Brücke artists was so-called "primitive" art (art and ritual objects from ancient cultures or nonwestern societies, particularly in Africa and Central Asia). This art was perceived to be more honest and direct, more natural than work produced by artists from industrialized Western European nations. - There was also interest in the so-called "folk art" of Europe, particularly the art and craft found among rural populations. It is important to note that Germany remained a major colonial power in Africa through the First World War. There is, therefore, a complex hierarchy that frames this cultural appropriation. - this "primitive" and "natural" aesthetic (despite the fact that it is a modernist construction), had a strong impact on Expressionist art. Paintings created outside, in nature, together with the unidealized nudes were hallmarks of the group's work. - Kirchner volunteered to serve as a driver in the military. However, he was soon declared unfit for service due to issues with his general health, and was sent away to recover. Self-Portrait was painted during that recovery. - During the war, Kirchner suffered from alcoholism and drug abuse and for a time his hands and feet were partially paralyzed. In a sense his fears about the war were self-fulfilling. Kirchner recovered and his work was exhibited internationally to much praise during the interwar period. - Adolf Hitler persecuted artists who painted in a style that he considered outside of the Aryan ideal. The Degenerate Art exhibition of 1937 was a grand spectacle that the Nazis organized to mock the modernist art they hated. This was a humiliating time for Kirchner. At least thirty-two of his works were exhibited in the Degenerate Art exhibition. In addition, more than 600 of his works were removed from public collections. He committed suicide in 1938.

Memorial Sheet of Karl Liebknecht, Käthe Kollwitz

- Germany - 1919 CE FORM - Woodcut heightened with white and black ink - in the style of a lamentation, a traditional motif in Christian art depicting the followers of Christ mourning over his dead body, casting Liebknecht as the Christ figure. The iconography would have been easily recognizable by the masses who were the artist's intended audience. - Woodblock printing is a technique in which a design is carved into a slab of wood which is then covered with ink and printed onto paper. Ink coats the original surface of the wood block, which prints as black, while the cut away areas stay blank. - This is different from printmaking methods such as engraving in which the ink is caught in the recesses carved into the metal plate by the stylus and therefore the lines print black and the untouched areas of the plate come out white - Kollwitz' felt that her protest against the horrors of war was best communicated in the rough edges and stark black and white that woodblock prints afforded. FUNCTION - Celebrated the plight of the working class - This work is unique among her prints, and though it memorializes the man, it does so without advocating for his ideology. - focuses not on the man himself, but on the workers who had put their faith in him. The focus on those broadly affected, rather than those in the spotlight is a constant theme in the artist's work CONTENT - The composition divides the sheet into three horizontal sections. The top section is densely packed with figures. Their faces are well modeled and have interesting depth in themselves, but the sense of space is very compressed - the heads push to the foreground and are packed into every available corner of space. - It gives the impression of multitudes coming to pay their respects, without compromising the individuality of the subjects. - The middle layer contains fewer details, further emphasizing the crowding at the top of the printing plate. This section draws attention to the specific action of the bending mourner. His hand on Liebknecht's chest connects this section to the bottommost level of the composition, the body of the martyred revolutionary. - Above the bending mourner, a woman holds her baby up to see over the heads of those in front of them. Women and children were a central concern of Kollwitz's work, making her a unique voice in a creative environment dominated by young men (in fact, Kollwitz was the first woman to be admitted into the Prussian Academy). - Engraving at the bottom about what he did and how he died? CONTEXT - In the political turmoil after the First World War, many artists turned to making prints instead of paintings. - The ability to produce multiple copies of the same image made printmaking an ideal medium for spreading political statements. German artist Käthe Kollwitz worked almost exclusively in this medium and became known for her prints that celebrated the plight of the working-class. - She rarely depicted real people she frequently used her talents in support of causes she believed in. - Created in response to the assassination of Communist leader Karl Liebknecht during an uprising of 1919. - From the end of the First World War to the founding of the Weimar Republic (the representative democracy that was the German government between the two World Wars), Germany went through a period of social and political upheaval. - During this time, Germany was led by a coalition of left-wing forces with Marxist sympathies, the largest of which was the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Other, more radical groups were grappling for control of Germany at the same time, including the newly founded German Communist Party (KPD). - The Socialists and Communists both wanted to eliminate Capitalism and establish communal control over the means of production, but while the Socialists believed that the best way to achieve that goal was to work step by step from within the Capitalist structure, the Communists called for an immediate and total social revolution that would put governmental power in the hands of the workers. - In this spirit, the KPD staged an uprising in Berlin in January 1919. Military units called in by the SPD suppressed the uprising and captured two of the leaders, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. Liebknecht and Luxemburg were murdered while in custody. Their deaths struck a chord across the left-wing landscape and they were widely celebrated as martyrs to the Communist cause. - Kollwitz was not a Communist, and even acknowledged that the SPD (generally more cautious and pacifist than the KPD), would have been better leaders. But she had heard Liebknecht speak and admired his charisma, so when the family asked her to create a work to memorialize him she agreed. - Several artists at the time created memorial works for Liebknecht and Luxemburg. - Kollwitz's career overlapped with the German Expressionists but she was not an Expressionist herself and was about a generation older than most of them. Her use of such a trendy technique was uncharacteristic, and in fact, she only worked in woodblocks for a few years after the First World War. Kollwitz created some of her most powerful work in this style

Dedication Page with Blanche of Castile and King Louis IX (Saint Louis Bible) from the apocolypse

- Gothic Europe, France - 1194 CE FUNCTION -Moralized bible (bible morlisée) CONTENT AND FORM -Blanche of Castile and her son Louis, a beardless youth crowned king. -each figure is set against a ground of burnished gold, seated beneath a trefoil arch. -Stylized and colorful buildings dance above their heads, suggesting a sophisticated, urban setting—perhaps Paris, the capital city of the Capetian kingdom (the Capetians were one of the oldest royal families in France) and home to a renowned school of theology. -In the upper register, an enthroned king and queen wear the traditional medieval open crown topped with fleur-de-lys—a stylized iris or lily symbolizing a French monarch's religious, political, and dynastic right to rule. -The blue-eyed queen, left, is veiled in a white widow's wimple. An ermine-lined blue mantle drapes over her shoulders. Her pink T-shaped tunic spills over a thin blue edge of paint which visually supports these enthroned figures. - A slender green column divides the queen's space from that of her son, King Louis IX, to whom she deliberately gestures across the page, raising her left hand in his direction. -Her pose and animated facial expression suggest that she is dedicating this manuscript, with its lessons and morals, to the young king. -iIn his right hand he holds a scepter, indicating his kingly status. It is topped by the characteristic fleur-de-lys on which a small bird sits. -A four-pedaled brooch, dominated by a large square of sapphire blue in the center, secures a pink mantle lined with green that rests on his shoulders. -In his left hand, between his forefinger and thumb, Louis holds a small golden ball or disc. -During the mass that followed coronations, French kings and queens would traditionally give the presiding bishop of Reims 13 gold coins (all French kings were crowned in this northern French cathedral town.) This could reference Louis' 1226 coronation, just three weeks after his father's death, suggesting a probable date for this bible's commission. -A manuscript this lavish would have taken eight to ten years to complete—perfect timing, because in 1235, the 21-year-old Louis was ready to assume the rule of his Capetian kingdom from his mother. -Queen Blanche and the young king echo a gesture and pose that would have been familiar to many Christians: the Virgin Mary and Christ enthroned side-by-side as celestial rulers of heaven, found in the numerous Coronations of the Virgin carved in ivory, wood, and stone. -This scene was especially prevalent in tympana, the top sculpted semi-circle over cathedral portals found throughout France. -The illumination's bottom register depicts a tonsured cleric (churchman with a partly shaved head), left, and an illuminator, right (scribe). -The cleric wears a sleeveless cloak appropriate for divine services—this is an educated man—and emphasizes his role as a scholar. -He tilts his head forward and points his right forefinger at the artist across from him, as though giving instructions. No clues are given as to this cleric's religious order, as he probably represents the many Parisian theologians responsible for the manuscript's visual and literary content—all of whom were undoubtedly told to spare no expense. -On the right, the artist, wearing a blue surcoat and wearing a cap, is seated on cushioned bench. -Knife in his left hand and stylus in his right, he looks down at his work: four vertically-stacked circles in a left column, with part of a fifth visible on the right. We know, from the 4887 medallions that precede this illumination, what's next on this artist's agenda: he will apply a thin sheet of gold leaf onto the background, and then paint the medallion's biblical and explanatory scenes in brilliant hues of lapis lazuli, green, red, yellow, grey, orange and sepia. CONTEXT -In 1226 a French king died, leaving his queen to rule his kingdom until their son came of age. -The 38-year-old widow, Blanche of Castile, had her work cut out for her. Rebelling barons were eager to win back lands that her husband's father had seized from them. They rallied troops against her, defamed her character, and even accused her of adultery and murder. -Caught in this, Blanche persuaded, negotiated, and fought would-be enemies after her husband, King Louis VIII, died of disease after only a three-year reign. -When their son Louis IX took the helm in 1234, he inherited a kingdom that was at peace. -As patron and ruler, Queen Blanche of Castile would have financed this production. -As ruler-to-be, Louis IX's job was to take its lessons to heart **** -Blanche undoubtedly hand-picked the theologians whose job was to establish this manuscript's guidelines, select biblical passages, write explanations, hire copyists, and oversee the images that the artists should paint. - Art and text, mutually dependent, spelled out advice Louis IX could practice in his rule. -The nobles, church officials, and perhaps even common folk who viewed this page could be reassured that their ruler had been well trained to deal with whatever disaster came his way. bible morlisée FORM -contained a separate illustration for every few sentences in the entire bible. -the artist had to create a coherent arrangement for the biblical text, its accompanying commentary text, and an illustration for each. -On each page of this manuscript there are eight circles, called roundels, that illustrate biblical scenes and commentary scenes. -There are short snippets of text, either from the bible or commentary, that accompany each scene. -The illustrations are more than simple representations of the text, they are contemporary interpretations of it. The commentary text does not mention bishops or kings, but the illustrator adds those. CONTENT -This page, or folio, is from the Apocalypse, or Book of Revelation. -Bible moralisée contain two texts: the biblical text and the commentary text, which is sometimes called a gloss. -these commentary texts interpreted the biblical text for the thirteenth century reader. -Commentary authors often created comparisons between people and events in the biblical world and people and events in the medieval world. -In the case of the Bible moralisée, the commentary often draws parallels between the bad guys of the biblical text and those who were perceived as bad guys in the thirteenth century. -In France, as in most of western Europe at this time, Jews and corrupt priests were the bad guys and there are anti-semitic themes throughout the commentary and illustrations. -the Paris-Oxford-London Bible moralisée, which is broken up into three volumes in three different cities. -The text tells the story of John's vision, where an angel takes him on a tour of heaven and shows him everything that will happen until the end of time, but in symbols. The gist of the story is that there is an ongoing battle between God and evil and ultimately God and his angels win. CONTEXT -The Bible moralisée, or moralized bibles, are a small group of illustrated bibles that were made in thirteenth-century France and Spain -. These books are among the most expensive medieval manuscripts ever made because they contain an unusually large number of illustrations. -These books were generally commissioned by members of royal families, as no one else would have been able to afford such luxury.

Alhambra

- Granada, Spain - 1354 CE FUNCTION -include structures with three purpose -a residence for the ruler and close family - the citadel, Alcazaba—barracks for the elite guard who were responsible for the safety of the complex -and an area called medina (or city), near the Puerta del Vino (Wine Gate), where court officials lived and worked. FORM AND CONTENT -1 mile of walls and thirty towers of varying size enclose this city within a city. Access was restricted to four main gates. -The different parts of the complex are connected by paths, gardens and gates but each part of the complex could be blocked in the event of a threat. -The Alhambra's most celebrated structures are the three original royal palaces. -Comares Palace, the Palace of the Lions, and the Partal Palace, each of which was built during 14th century. -A large fourth palace was later begun by the Christian ruler, Carlos V. -El Mexuar is an audience chamber near the Comares tower at the northern edge of the complex. It was built by Ismail I as a throne room, but became a reception and meeting hall when the palaces were expanded in the 1330s. -The room has complex geometric tile dadoes (lower wall panels distinct from the area above) and carved stucco panels that give it a formality suitable for receiving dignitaries. -Behind El Mexuar stands the formal and elaborate Comares façade set back from a courtyard and fountain. -The façade is built on a raised three-stepped platform that might have served as an outdoor stage for the ruler. The carved stucco façade was once painted in brilliant colors, though only traces remain. -A dark winding passage beyond the Comares façade leads to a covered patio surrounding a large courtyard with a pool, now known as the Court of the Myrtles. This was the focal point of the Comares Palace. -The Alhambra's largest tower, the Comares Tower, contains the Salón de Comares (Hall of the Ambassadors), a throne room built by Yusuf I -The double arched windows illuminate the room and provide breathtaking views. -Additional light is provided by arched grille (lattice) windows set high in the walls. At eye level, the walls are decorated with tiles laid in intricate geometric patterns. -The remaining surfaces are covered with intricately carved stucco motifs organized in bands and panels of curvilinear patterns and calligraphy. - The Palacio de los Leones (Palace of the Lions) stands next to the Comares Palace but should be considered an independent building. The two structures were connected after Granada fell to the Christians. -Muhammad V built the Palace of the Lions' most celebrated feature in the 14th century, a fountain with a complex hydraulic system consisting of a marble basin on the backs of twelve carved stone lions situated at the intersection of two water channels that form a cross in the rectilinear courtyard. -An arched covered patio encircles the courtyard and displays fine stucco carvings held up by a series of slender columns. Two decorative pavilions (open shelter) protrude into the courtyard on an East-West axis (at the narrow sides of the courtyard), accentuating the royal spaces behind them. -To the West, the Sala de los Mocárabes (Muqarnas Chamber), may have functioned as an antechamber and was near the original entrance to the palace. -It takes its name from the intricately carved system of brackets called "muqarnas" that hold up the vaulted ceiling. -Across the courtyard, to the East, is the Sala de los Reyes (Hall of the Kings), an elongated space divided into sections using a series of arches leading up to a vaulted muqarnas ceiling; the room has multiple alcoves, some with an unobstructed view of the courtyard, but with no known function. - This room contains paintings on the ceiling representing courtly life. The images were first painted on tanned sheepskins, in the tradition of miniature painting. They use brilliant colors and fine details and are attached to the ceiling rather than painted on it. - There are two other halls in the Palace of the Lions on the northern and southern ends; they are the Sala de las Dos Hermanas (the Hall of the Two Sisters) and the Hall of Abencerrajas (Hall of the Ambassadors). Both were residential apartments with rooms on the second floor. Each also have a large domed room sumptuously decorated with carved and painted stucco in muqarnas forms with elaborate and varying star motifs. -The Palacio del Partal (Partal Palace) was built in the early 14th century and is also known as del Pórtico (Portico Palace) because of the portico formed by a five-arched arcade at one end of a large pool. It is one of the oldest palace structures in the Alhambra complex. CONTEXT -The Alhambra, an abbreviation of the Arabic: Qal'at al-Hamra, or red fort, was built by the Nasrid Dynasty (1232-1492)—the last Muslims to rule in Spain. Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr (known as Muhammad I) founded the Nasrid Dynasty and secured this region in 1237. He began construction of his court complex, the Alhambra, on Sabika hill the following year.

Pyxis of al-Mughira

- India (Umayyad) - 968 CE FORM -A pyxis is a cylindrical box used for cosmetics. -Carved ivory -The pyxis was probably cut from the cross-section of an elephant's tusk and it was adorned in highly specific, royal iconography. -There are also traces of inlaid jade. Jade and other precious and semi-precious stones were used in the decoration of these boxes. -Horror vacury- afraid of margins FUNCTION -Held perfume or cosmetics -a gift to the then-eighteen-year-old al-Mughira, the son of a caliph, perhaps as a coming-of-age present. -They were bestowed upon members of the royal family, specifically sons, wives and daughters on important or memorable occasions, such as a marriage, birth or coming of age - later they were given as Caliphal gifts to important allies, such as the Berbers, who are the indigenous peoples of North Africa, many of whom converted to Islam and swore their allegiance to the Umayyad Caliphs in Spain. -Human and animal figures expressing the political authority and legitimacy of Umayyad Caliphs CONTENT - contains an inscription and figurative work which are important for understanding the traditions of ivory carving and Islamic art in Al-Andalus. -decorated with four eight-lobed medallions which are surrounded by figures and animals that include falconers, wrestlers, griffons, peacocks, birds, goats and animals to be hunted. -Each medallion has princely iconography. -shows two men collecting eggs from the nests of Falcons, a symbol of Umayyad legitimacy. -This medallion centers around a lute player flanked by two figures, one of whom holds the braided scepter and flask of the Umayyads, while the other holds a fan. -Presumably the man with the scepter and flask symbolizes the Umayyad Caliph, and the figure with the fan, the Abassids. -Another medallion shows lions attacking two bulls. As in Arabic poetry, these lions symbolize the victorious (in this case, perhaps the Umayyads). -The final scene shows men on horseback date-picking. The date-palm, found primarily in the Middle East and North Africa, may allude to the lost lands of the East (the lands under Abbasid control). This too was a theme of Umayyad poetry. - An Arabic inscription in the kufic script runs around the base of the lid and reads: "God's blessing, favours, joy, beatitude to al-Mughira son of the Commander of the faithful, may God have mercy upon him, in the year 357." CONTEXT -An example of the royal ivory carving tradition in Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain). -It was probably fashioned in the Madinat al-Zahra workshops

Rottgen Pieta

- Late Medieval Europe, France - 1300 CE FORM -Painted wood, 34 1/2 inches high Terrifying, This is part of the beauty and drama of Gothic art, which aimed to create an emotional response in medieval viewers. -Generally speaking, the exaggerated expressiveness shown in the Röttgen Pietà is typical of German art FUNCTION -All of these Pietàs were devotional images and were intended as a focal point for contemplation and prayer. -the intent was to show that God and Mary, divine figures, were sympathetic to human suffering, and to the pain, and loss experienced by medieval viewers. -By looking at the Röttgen Pietà, medieval viewers may have felt a closer personal connection to God by viewing this representation of death and pain. CONTENT Christ clearly died from the horrific ordeal of crucifixion, but his skin is taut around his ribs, showing that he also led a life of hunger and suffering. -Mary in the Röttgen Pietà appears to be angry and confused. She doesn't seem to know that her son will live again. She shows strong negative emotions that emphasize her humanity, just as the representation of Christ emphasizes his. CONTEXT -Earlier medieval representations of Christ focused on his divinity. In these works of art, Christ is on the cross, but never suffers. -These types of crucifixion images are a type called Christus triumphans or the triumphant Christ. -His divinity overcomes all human elements and so Christ stands proud and alert on the cross, immune to human suffering. -Late medieval devotional writingleaned toward mysticism and many of these writers had visions of Christ's suffering. -Francis of Assisi stressed Christ's humanity and poverty. Several writers, such as St. Bonaventure, St. Bridget of Sweden , and St. Bernardino of Siena, imagined Mary's thoughts as she held her dead son.

Spaniard and indian produce a Mestizo, Attributed to Juan Rodriguez Juarez

- Mexico - 1715 CE -José Joaquín Magón FORM - This genre of painting, known as pinturas de castas, or caste paintings (racial and social identifier), attempts to capture reality, yet they are largely fictions. FUNCTION - This painting belongs to a larger series of works that seek to document the inter-ethnic mixing occurring in New Spain among Europeans, indigenous peoples, Africans, and the existing mixed-race population. - evidence suggests that some of these casta series were commissioned by Viceroys, or the stand-in for the Spanish King in the Americas, who brought some casta series to Spain upon their return. - Other series were commissioned for important administrators. - However, little is known about the patrons of casta paintings in general. - However Because casta paintings reflect increasing social anxieties about inter-ethnic mixing, it is possible that elites who claimed to be of pure blood commissioned casta paintings. CONTENT - "In America people are born in diverse colors, customs, temperaments and languages. From the Spaniard and the Indian is born the mestizo, usually humble, quiet and simple."- in an inscription on "The Mestizo" - The painting displays a Spanish father and Indigenous mother and two children, one of whom is a servant carrying the couple's baby. - This family model is possibly modeled on depictions of the Holy Family showing the Virgin Mary, saint Joseph, and Christ as a child. - The indigenous mother, dressed in a huipil (traditional woman's garment worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to parts of Central America) with lace sleeves and wearing sumptuous jewelry, turns to look at her husband as she gestures towards her child. -Her husband, who wears French-style European clothing and a powdered wig, gazes down at the children with his hand either resting on his wife's arm or his child's back. -The young servant looks upwards to the father. The family appears calm and even loving. This is not always the case, however. -Often as the series progresses, discord can erupt among families or they are displayed in unglamorous surroundings. -People also appear darker as they become more mixed. Casta paintings from the second half of the eighteenth century in particular focus more on families living in less ideal conditions as they become more racially mixed. ** -Earlier series, like Rodríguez Juáre's, often display all families wearing more fanciful attire. CONTEXT - Typically, casta paintings display a mother, father, and a child (sometimes two). - This family model is possibly modeled on depictions of the Holy Family showing the Virgin Mary, saint Joseph, and Christ as a child. - Casta paintings are often labeled with a number and a textual inscription that documents the mixing that has occurred. - The numbers and textual inscriptions on casta paintings create a racial taxonomy, akin to a scientific taxonomy. - In this way, casta paintings speak to Enlightenment concerns, specifically the notion that people can be rationally categorized based on their ethnic makeup and appearance. -They are commonly produced in sets of sixteen, but occasionally we see sixteen vignettes on a single canvas. -Costume, accouterments, activities, setting, and flora and fauna all aid in racially labeling the individuals within these works. -The first position of the casta series is always a Spanish man and an elite Indigenous woman, accompanied by their offspring: a mestizo, which denotes a person born of these two parents. - As the casta series progresses and the mixing increases, some of the names used in casta paintings to label people can often be pejorative. - Casta paintings convey the perception that the more European you are, the higher you are on the racial hierarchy. - Pure-blooded Spaniards always occupy the highest position in casta paintings and are often the best dressed and most "civilized." casta paintings convey that one's social status is tied to one's racial makeup.

The Two Fridas, Frida Kahlo

- Mexico -1939 CE FORM - Oil on canvas - Her self portraits were accurate FUNCTION - why would Kahlo paint herself twice? One way to answer this question is to examine The Two Fridas as a bookend to the 1931 portrait, Frieda and Diego Rivera. Though this painting was meant to celebrate the birth of their union, their tentative grasp seems to reflect Kahlo's misgivings about her husband's fidelity. - By contrast, the double self portrait, though burdened with emotional suffering, exhibits resilience. - Kahlo utilized blood as a visceral metaphor of union She paints so many self portraits because she is the person she knows best CONTENT - The double self portrait features two seated figures holding hands and sharing a bench in front of a stormy sky. - The Fridas are identical twins except in their attire, a poignant issue for Kahlo at this moment. - The year she painted this canvas she was divorced from Diego Rivera, the acclaimed Mexican muralist. Before she married Rivera in 1929, she wore the modern European dress of the era, evident in her first self portrait (left) where she dons a red velvet dress with gold embroidery. - With Rivera's encouragement, Kahlo embraced attire rooted in Mexican customs. - In her second self portrait (left) her accessories reference distinct periods in Mexican history—her necklace is a reference to the pre-Columbian jadite of the Aztecs, and the earrings are colonial in style—while her simple white blouse is a nod to peasant women. - white, stiff-collared dress. the grotesque view into each woman's insides is heightened by the virginal whiteness of both dresses. - The two Fridas clasp hands tightly. This bond is echoed by the vein that unites them. Where one is weakened by an exposed heart, the other is strong; where one still pines for her lost love—as underscored by the vein feeding Rivera's miniature portrait—the other clamps down on that figurative and literal tie with a hemostat. - The centerpoint is where their hands are clasped CONTEXT - Facial hair marks the self portraits of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. In an era when women still wore elaborate hairstyles, hosiery, and attire, Kahlo was a rebellious loner, often dressed in indigenous clothing. - Moreover, she lived as an artist during a period when many middle-class women sacrificed their ambitions to live entirely in the domestic sphere. Kahlo defied both conventions of beauty and social expectations in her self-portraits. - These powerful self images explore complex and difficult topics including her culturally mixed heritage, the harsh reality of her medical conditions, and the suppression of women. - Kahlo's growing fondness for indigenous attire and hair-styling is evident in The Two Fridas. - Yet Kahlo never abandoned dressing her subjects and herself in mainstream, European dress - In her brief lifetime, Kahlo painted about two hundred works of art, many of which are self portraits. - Kahlo's work often graphically exposes human anatomy, a topic she knew well after a childhood bout with polio deformed her right leg and a bus accident left her disabled and unable to bear children when she was eighteen years old. She would endure 32 operations as a result of this accident.

Woman Holding a Balance, Johannes Vermeer

- Northern Europe - 1664 CE FORM - The light from the window is illuminating her face and the front of her body - The painting was very carefully planned- the vanishing point is at the pinky finger of the woman's right hand - the exact center of the painting is where those balances meet - There's a subtle modulation from the deep Shadow near the light - and the gold of the curtain is picked up by the two bars of the frame on the right side and then picked up again by the gold quality of some of the pearls and overdress - Except for the red in the box, all the colors are dull FUNCTION - Perhaps the meaning could be: what was the relationship between wealth and spirituality? - maybe the dalen signifies that - mirrors are often symbols of vanity and so maybe that relates to the worldly possessions on the table in front of her. Nearest can also signify self-knowledge and truth - She's attending to the world of the physical and wealth other than the world of the spiritual CONTENT - Vanitas (still life artwork which includes various symbolic objects designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the worthlessness of worldly goods and pleasures)- symbol and theme - Shows a scene of everyday life- it's quiet - Woman dressed up in very fine clothing- she's part of the upper merchant class in Holland in the 17th century - She's wearing a typical cap made of linen that women would have worn when they were at home - She's also wearing a fur trimmed jacket - She stands at a table Karma and the wall opposite her is a window which is letting in a tiny bit of light in - also there's a mirror - in her hand there's a very fine balance. there is nothing on either side. It's as if she was waiting for the balance to come to rest - on the table before her we see a number of boxes. One box is open and that would have held the balance and the weights. In the other box are strings of pearls - we see some coins so we have an indication of material wealth and perhaps she's about to weigh the valuables that are in front of her - This painting it has more meaning though- in the back of the woman said you can see that there's a painting with Christ in a brilliant mandorla towards the top functioning as judge over all the souls that have ever lived and those souls are at the bottom - The souls at Christ's right would have been the Blessed, the shows on Christ's left would have been the Damned, and so this is The Last Judgement Her head divides the Blessed from the Damned CONTEXT - The upper merchant class was increasingly buying art when interpreting this painting, art historians think about the context of 17th-century Holland

The Court of Gayumars, folio from Shah Tahmasp's Shahnama

- Persia - 1522 CE - Sultan Muhammad FORM - blending of painting styles from both Tabriz and Herat - there are multiple points of perspective, and perhaps even multiple moments in time—rendering a scene dense with details meant to absorb and enchant the viewer. - One might see stylistic similarities between the swirling blue-gray clouds floating overhead with pictorial representations in Chinese art; this is no coincidence. Persianate artists under the Safavids regularly incorporated visual motifs and techniques derived from Chinese sources. FUNCTION - Folio - This piece is a testament to the longstanding cultural reverence for Ferdowsi's epic tale and the unparalleled craftsmanship of both Sultan Muhammad and Shah Tahmasp's workshops. -This sumptuous page, The Court of Gayumars (also spelled Kayumars— see top of page, details below and large image here), comes from an illuminated manuscript of the Shahnama (Book of Kings)—an epic poem describing the history of kingship in Persia CONTENT -comes from an illuminated manuscript of the Shahnama (Book of Kings) -When the sun reached the lamb constellation, when the world became glorious, When the sun shined from the lamb constellation to rejuvenate the living beings entirely, It was then when Gayumars became the King of the World. -He first built his residence in the mountains. His prosperity and his palace rose from the mountains, and he and his people wore leopard pelts. -Cultivation began from him, and the garments and food were ample and fresh we can see some parallels between the content of the calligraphic text and the painting itself. -Seated in a cross-legged position, as if levitating within this richly vegetal and mountainous landscape, King Gayumars rises above his courtiers, who are gathered around at the base of the painting. -According to legend, King Gayumars was the first king of Persia, and he ruled at a time when people clothed themselves exclusively in leopard pelts, as both the text and the represented subjects' speckled garments indicate. -Perched on cliffs beside the King are his son, Siyamak (left, standing), and grandson Hushang (right, seated). -Onlookers can be seen to surreptitiously peer out from the scraggly, blossoming branches onto King Gayumars from the upper left and right. -the miniature's spatial composition is organized on a vertical axis with the mountain behind the king in the distance, and the garden below in the foreground. CONTEXT -It is often assumed that images that include human and animal figures are forbidden in Islam. at specific moments and places, the representation of human or animal figures was tolerated to varying degrees.

Palace of Westminster, Charles Barry and Augustus W.N.

- Pugin, London, England - 1840 CE FORM -Perpendicular high Gothic style, which was from the late medieval period, which was long ago -In England in the 19th century, the gothic was English -This is not real gothic. It's a modern invention. -In fact the building itself uses a number of modern innovations in its constructive technique. -It's built on a concrete bed, certainly not a medieval tradition, concerned with ventilation. - In fact the central tower (Elizabeth tower (Big Ben)) was added to support the ventilation of the building so this building really is a product of the 19th century -Large windows and emphasis on the rectilinear, vertical, tracery, and lacework -Each window has its top tracery work that divides the glass up, like a filigree -The architecture is maximizing the window space Barry was interested in classical- this building has the regularity of the facade, the sense of rhythm and balance, symmetrical, which are classical FUNCTION -Seat of government- where the House of Commons and House of Lords meets -This building represents the Parliamentary system CONENT -It spans the River of Thames at the Houses of Parliament in London -Based on the chapel of Henry VII -It's at the east end of the Westminster Abbey CONTEXT -Built in the early Victorian era -There was a great fire in 1834 that burned down the old palace that had been at the houses of parliament in london and there was a competition that was held for designs for a new building. The new structure had to be designed in one of two historical styles: gothic or elizabethan -The competition was won by an architect whos name is Charles Barry with the assistance of Augustus Pugin, who's responsible for the interior designs and stained glass and some of the exterior decorative forms. -Pugin was known for his love of the Gothic. He believed that it was the true moral style of architecture and was associated with Englishness -People disliked the ugly modern era full of factories and hunger for money, so they liked the beautiful past -The gothic was a time of medieval artisan craftsmanship. And this is not only an architectural style, but a set of values that the Victorians were trying to return to.

Catacomb of Priscilla

- Rome, Italy - 200 CE FORM - Tufa, the stone of rome- soft material, ideal for this kind of excavation - The passageways are stacked on top of each other - Low ceiling, rough earth and floor - On either side of the narrow hall, there are horizontal niches that are long enough to accommodate a body. Short ones held children while longer ones held adults - The passages seem to go on endlessly - Decorated with Roman first style wall painting- plaster built up and then painted to imitate marble panels FUNCTION - Places where the earliest Christians were buried - villa (home) of a wealthy woman named Priscilla - She donated the land as a place where at first her family would be buried and then eventually the Christian community CONTENT - Occupy about 10 km or more than five miles of burials - This is a labyrinth of narrow passageways - Some passageways are three stories deep Wealthier people would have a space large enough for a sarcophagus but most of the tombs are for the poor - The slots were covered with a slab of marble, or for the poor, just tiles of terracotta. All of that would be covered with plaster, which were often painted - Cubiculum- The larger rooms - Loculi- Horizontal shelves for burial - earliest Christian art is found: - The Madonna and child- an image of a nursing woman and another person that points to the mother and child, who seems to be holding a book (christian symbolism). A mother and child is a common subject in western art history - Inscribed Christian symbols - The anchor which speaks to safe harbor which is a reference to salvation - Theres also representations of a fish, which is a reference to Christ - We also see subjects that relate to christian themes of salvation, subjects from both the Old and New Testament. - This is especially true in a cubiculum called the Greek Chapel - Its not a chapel and it has nothing to do with Greeks. It has this name bc Greek and latin letters were found there - Held the sarcophagi of members of Priscilla's family. - There were meals taken in these spaces as part of a memorial to the dead - There's an image of the story from the book of daniel- the three youths were asked to worship a pagan golden idol and they refused and were sentenced to be burned alive but were saved. this appealed to christians who were persecuted at the time - The images show the miracles and teachings of Christ - Painting of old testament subject of abraham and isaac - Breaking of the bread scene - Reference to liturgy (public religious ritual), the practice of the Eucharist - Cubiculum of the Veil: Same woman depicted three times. On left she is being married, on right she is nursing. In the center she is in a pose called arrant, a pose of prayer meant to represent the woman in the afterlife, the woman resurrected - The largest painting is in the shallow dome of the cubiculum of veil is Christ represented as the Good Shepherd- contrapposto, similar to roman sculpture - Doves with olive branches surrounding Jesus CONTEXT - Now the tombs are emptied and uncovered - perhaps bc of a grave robbing for relics, because some who were buried there were martyrs (they were killed for being christian). - So their remains had spiritual importance and power - There's a myth that catacombs are a secret place where christians practiced their christianity during times of persecution -Its not until 313 when Constantine issues the Edict of Milan that Christianity becomes tolerated within the Roman empire

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?, Paul Gauguin

- Tahiti (French Polynesia) - 1897 CE FORM - Oil on canvas - Symbolist work - post-impressionism - Painted on rough, heavy sackcloth - Gauguin himself provided a description of the painting's esoteric imagery in the letter to de Monfried he said: The two upper corners are chrome yellow, with an inscription on the left and my name on the right, like a fresco whose corners are spoiled with age, and which is appliquéd upon a golden wall. -To the right at the lower end, a sleeping child and three crouching women. Two figures dressed in purple confide their thoughts to one another. An enormous crouching figure, out of all proportion and intentionally so, raises its arms and stares in astonishment upon these two, who dare to think of their destiny. -A figure in the center is picking fruit. Two cats near a child. A white goat. -A blue idol, its arms mysteriously raised in a sort of rhythm, seems to indicate the Beyond. or the artist himself -lastly, an old woman nearing death appears to accept everything, to resign herself to her thoughts. She completes the story -At her feet a strange white bird, holding a lizard in its claws, represents the futility of words.... -Gauguin's text clarifies some of the painting's obscure, distinctive iconography and invites us to "read" the image. -Stylistically, the composition is designed to recall frescoes or icons painted on a gold ground. The upper corners have been painted with a bright yellow to contribute to this effect, and the figures appear out of proportion to one another deliberately as if they were floating in space rather than resting firmly upon the earth. FUNCTION -"So I have finished a philosophical work on a theme comparable to that of the Gospel." Gauguin suggests that the figures have mysterious symbolic meanings and that they might answer the questions posed by the work's title. -in the manner of a sacred scroll written in an ancient language, the painting is to be read from right to left: from the sleeping infant—where we come from—to the standing figure in the middle—what we are—and ending at the left with the crouching old woman—where we are going. -Although this is painted on a large scale, it is essentially a private work whose meaning was likely known only to Gauguin himself CONTENT -Contains numerous human, animal, and symbolic figures arranged across an island landscape. -The sea and Tahiti's volcanic mountains are visible in the background. -themes of life, death, poetry, and symbolic meaning. -Like other Symbolist works of this period, precise, complete interpretations remain out of reach. The painting is a deliberate mixture of universal meaning—the questions asked in the title are fundamental ones that address the very root of human existence—and esoteric mystery. CONTEXT - It is Paul Gauguin's largest painting, and he understood it to be his finest work. -Where are we going? represents the artist's painted manifesto created while he was living on the island of Tahiti. The French artist transitioned from being a "Sunday painter" (someone who paints for his or her own enjoyment) to becoming a professional after his career as a stockbroker (professional trader who buys and sells shares on behalf of clients) failed in the early 1880s. -He visited the Pacific island Tahiti in French Polynesia staying from 1891 to 1893. -Gauguin completed this within one month's time, and even claimed that he went into the mountains to attempt suicide after the work was finished. -Gauguin may or may not have actually poisoned himself with arsenic, but this legend was in line with the painting's themes of life, death, poetry, and symbolic meaning. -A few months after completing the painting, Gauguin sent it to Paris along with several other works of art, intending that they should be exhibited together in a gallery or an artist's studio. -He sent de Monfried careful instructions about how the painting should be framed ("a plain strip of wood, 10 centimeters wide, and white-washed to resemble a mural") and who should be invited to the exhibition ("in this way, instead of crowds one can have whom one wants, and thus gain connections that cannot harm you.") -The concern Gauguin reveals in the details indicates his continued awareness of the Parisian art market, which remained a central focus even as he exiled himself on a small tropical island on the other side of the globe.

Running horned Woman

- Tassili n'Ajjer, Algeria - 6000 BCE - neo FORM - pictograph - painting on a rock - minerals and liquid = pigmented "paint" - the "paint" was likely applied with feathers, weeds, and fingers - involves the illusion of movement - profile perspective but horns are sort of frontal FUNCTION - emphasize the importance of survival - significance of the relationship between animals and humans - created as part of a religious/spiritual worship - used to display the role of the woman CONTEXT - thousands of other paintings and drawings from this period were found in the same area as the Running Horned Woman - found in a very difficult to reach area (high elevation and unique topology- perhaps a holy place - the Running Horned Woman is the most elaborate figure- she could be the most important, or a goddess CONTENT - white dots -body paint - arms and shin guards - decoration and protection

Camelid sacrum in the shape of a canine

- Tequixquaic, central Mexico - 14,000-7000 BCE - paleo? FORM - made from the now fossilized remains of the sacrum—the triangular pelvic bone—of a camelid (now extinct), a member of the Camelidae family (along with alpacas, llamas, camels) - symmetrical, precisely cut nostrils (precision and sharp cut indicate someone using tools, carving with a purpose) FUNCTION - people made what they saw in their everyday life CONTENT - head of a canine. natural shape of sacrum bone - nostrils, mouth, other details added by artist Context: - spiritual significance of the sacrum by looking at later Mesoamerican cultures, which viewed the sacrum as spiritual and sacred - pelvic bone is the support of the body, and central to internal organs -sacrum could be symbol of fertility, or connection to ancestry - The English word "sacrum" is derived from Latin: "os sacrum," meaning "sacred bone."

Woman I, Willem de Kooning

- US -1950 CE FORM - Layers of different textures of paint- some thin and drippy and some thick and matte - There's a quickness of the brushstrokes, which are visible, which imply the painting is made quickly - The brushwork is almost calligraphic and muscular and tough. - The paint is thick - The colors are bright. He also put a border of silver on the right side - The eyes and breasts are emphasized - Abstract- where are her limbs? FUNCTION - He didn't want a finished product, but the process - Similar to images of pinup girls- sexualized images of women - De kooning was able to draw traditionally, but he wanted to find art that was still meaningful in a sea of reproductive technologies CONTENT - Large scale seated female figure - Her teeth are bare - There's aggression and improvisation. It's a contemporary representation of the female figure CONTEXT - Worked on this painting for years - De kooning worked on a whole series of images of a woman on the same canvas and would work on it until it fell apart. Then he would wipe it away and start over again - Willem de kooning is one of the central abstract expressionists - Goes back to the history of Madonna - This was sacred art brought into the 20th century and made profane - Women were sexualized on screen or movie posters after the war - You have to know jackson ____? In order to know de kooning

Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building, Louis Sullivan

- US - 1899 CE FORM - bronze-colored ground floor and broad white façade stretching twelve stories above it. - an important example of early Chicago skyscraper architecture - The firm of Adler & Sullivan first became known in Chicago in the early 1880s for the design of the Auditorium Building and other landmarks utilizing new methods of steel frame construction and a uniquely American blend of Art Nouveau decoration with a simplified monumentality. - The corner entryway and the entire base section are differentiated from the spare upper stories by a unified system of extremely ornate decoration. - The cast-iron ornament contains the same highly complicated, delicate, organic and floral motifs that had become hallmarks of Sullivan's design aesthetic. -For Sullivan, the decorative program served a functional project as well, to distinguish the building from those surrounding it, and to make the store attractive to potential customers. - The upper parts of the building also reflect Sullivan's adaptation of his skyscraper theory to a department store. - Each successive story of the white terra-cotta façade contains identical windows, in this case the three-sectioned "Chicago" window common to late nineteenth-century skyscrapers in the city. - There is an overhanging cornice at the very top that seems to signify the end of the building's ascent, and makes the slightly set-back attic level distinct from the broad mid-section and the dark cast-iron decoration of the base level. - Unlike Sullivan's office buildings, however, the building's primary thrust is horizontal rather than vertical. Sullivan's design emphasizes the long, uninterrupted lines running under each window from each side of the building towards the entry bay, while the decorative base at the bottom and the cornice line at the top flow seamlessly around the corner. - The wide rectangular window frames and relatively squat twelve-story frame were intended to meet the specific requirements of a department store, whose mission called for expansive open spaces to display products to customers, not endless individual offices. - Combined classical elements - Hypostyle - Has columns FUNCTION - a department store constructed in two stages in 1899 and 1903-04. CONTENT -In Chicago -At the intersection of State and Madison Streets with large glass windows and a rounded corner entryway covered with lavish decoration. CONTEXT (and some form) -can be seen as an indicator of the relationship between architecture and commerce. -Sullivan wrote his treatise on skyscraper architecture called "The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered," In it, Sullivan analyzed the problem of high-rise commercial architecture, arguing with his famous phrase "form must ever follow function" that a building's design must reflect the social purpose of a particular space. -Sullivan illustrates this philosophy by describing an ideal tripartite skyscraper. First, there should be a base level with a ground floor for businesses that require easy public access, light, and open space, and a second story also publicly accessible by stairways. - These floors should then be followed by an infinite number of stories for offices, designed to look all the same because they serve the same function. -Finally, the building should be topped with an attic storey and distinct cornice line to mark its endpoint and set it apart from other buildings within the cityscape. -For Sullivan, the characteristic feature of a skyscraper was that it was tall, and so the building's design should serve that goal by emphasizing its upward momentum. - Later, Sullivan adapted these ideas to a department store for the Schlesinger & Mayer company that was soon purchased by Carson, Pirie, Scott. - In contrast to Sullivan's earlier office buildings, Carson, Pirie, Scott in downtown Chicago was intended to meet its patron's needs in a different way. Instead of emphasizing the identical windows meant to reflect the identical work in each office, in the Carson Pirie Scott building, Sullivan highlighted instead the lower street-level section and entryway to draw shoppers into the store. - This was done in a number of ways. The windows on the ground floor, displaying the store's products, are much larger than those above. The three doors of the main entrance were placed within a rounded bay on the corner of the site, so that they are visible from all directions approaching the building. - Some later critics viewed the lower, ornamental section of the building as an uncomfortable disruption to the otherwise stripped-down, planar style they favored.

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson

- United States - 1768 CE FORM -Monticello is a example of French Neoclassical architecture in the United States. FUNCTION -By helping to introduce classical architecture to the United States, Jefferson intended to reinforce the ideals of the classical past: democracy, education, rationality, civic responsibility -Jefferson's home CONTENT -From 1793 until 1809, Jefferson redesigned and rebuilt his home, creating one of the most recognized private homes in the history of the United States. He integrated the ideals of French neoclassical architecture for an American audience. -In this later construction period, Jefferson fundamentally changed the proportions of Monticello. -Jefferson's later remodeling gives the impression of a symmetrical single-story brick home under an austere Doric entablature. -The west garden façade shows Monticello's most recognized architectural features. -The two-column deep extended portico contains Doric columns that support a triangular pediment that is decorated by a semicircular window. -Although the short octagonal drum and shallow dome provide Monticello a sense of verticality, the wooden balustrade that circles the roofline provides a sense of horizontality. -Monticello means "little mountain" CONTEXT -Jefferson was the Governor of Virginia, American minister to France, the first Secretary of State, the third president of the United States, and one of the most accomplished gentleman architects in American history. -Jefferson believed art was a powerful tool; it could elicit social change, could inspire the public to seek education, and could bring about enlightenment for the American public -Although never formally trained as an architect, Jefferson expressed dissatisfaction with the architecture that surrounded him in Williamsburg, believing that the Wren-Baroque aesthetic common in colonial Virginia was too British for a North American audience. -Construction began in 1768 when the hilltop was first cleared and leveled, and Jefferson moved into the completed South Pavilion two years later. -The early phase of Monticello's construction was largely completed by 1771. Jefferson left both Monticello and the United States in 1784 when he accepted an appointment as America Minister to France.

Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Central Park, Diego Rivera

-Mexico -1947 CE FORM -mural - Though Rivera never officially joined the Surrealists, he uses this approach in this painting - 40 ft long fresco and 13 ft high - Hieratic scale - Horror vacui- scared to not fill space - Didactic painting-teach a lesson FUNCTION -In the spirit of Surrealism, this is a complex dream. -For Surrealists, dreams were the principal subject matter. Since dreams are so personal and strange, this allowed artists to juxtapose unrelated matter. -The artist reminds the viewer that the struggles and glory of four centuries of Mexican history are due to the participation of Mexicans from all strata of society. CONTENT AND CONTEXT - Right hand side is mexican revolution -hundreds of characters from 400 years of Mexican history gather for a stroll through Mexico City's largest park. -But the colorful balloons, impeccably dressed visitors, and vendors with diverse wares cannot conceal the darker side of this dream: a confrontation between an indigenous family and a police officer; a man shooting into the face of someone being trampled by a horse in the midst of a skirmish; a sinister skeleton smiling at the viewer. -a scene composed of disparate historical personages, including Hernán Cortés (the Spanish conqueror who initiated the fall of the Aztec Empire), Sor Juana (a seventeenth-century nun and one of Mexico's most notable writers), and Porfirio Díaz (whose dictatorship at the turn of the twentieth century inspired the Mexican Revolution). -Perhaps the most striking grouping is a central quartet featuring Rivera, the artist Frida Kahlo, the printmaker and draughtsman José Guadalupe Posada, and La Catrina. -"Catrina" was a nickname in the early twentieth century for an elegant, upper-class woman who dressed in European clothing. This character became infamous in Posada's La Calavera de la Catrina (The Catrina Skeleton) -Here, the renowned printmaker depicted La Catrina as a skeleton in order to critique the Mexican elite. -In this painting, Rivera reproduces the original Posada print and adds an elaborate boa—reminiscent of the feathered Mesoamerican serpent god Quetzalcóatl—around her neck. -La Catrina unites two great Mexican artists in this mural: she holds Rivera's hand as her other arm is held by Posada. Though Posada died in obscurity in 1913, artists later brought attention to his work and he was a significant influence on the Mexican muralists. - The fourth character in this quartet is Kahlo. She stands behind a child-version of her husband, with one hand protectively on his shoulder as her other holds a Yin and Yang object. - In Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang refers to opposite yet interdependent forces, like day and night. - Within the name of this concept is perhaps the most fundamental duality in humanity: female ("Yin") and male ("Yang"). - Thus, this Chinese symbol becomes a metaphor for Rivera and Kahlo's complex relationship: Rivera began as Kahlo's mentor; they then married, separated, and got back together; they were political comrades; and they painted each other frequently. - Their double-portraits often reflect the state of the couple's relationship at that moment. -if one reads the mural like a text, a chronology emerges: the left side of the composition highlights the conquest and colonization of Mexico, the fight for independence and the revolution occupy the majority of the central space, and modern achievements fill the right. -For some art historians the central area is a snapshot of bourgeois life in 1895—as refined ladies and gentlemen promenade in their Sunday best, under the watchful eye of Porfirio Díaz in his plumed military garb. -One gets a sense of the inequality that stirred average Mexicans to overthrow their dictator and initiate the Mexican Revolution which lasted from 1910 until 1920. -In this light we can appreciate the dreams and nightmares within each era. -To the left of the balloons the nightmares of the conquest and religious intolerance during the colonial-era give way to the dream of a democratic nation during the nineteenth century, represented by the over-sized figure of Benito Juárez, who restored the republic after French occupation and attempted to modernize the country as president. -On the right of the composition, beyond the bandstand, the battles of the revolution give way to a society where "land and liberty," as championed by the workers' flags, becomes a tangible reality.

Marilyn Diptych, Andy Warhol

-US -1962 CE FORM - made of two silver canvases on which the artist silkscreened a photograph of Marilyn Monroe fifty times. - At first glance, the work—which explicitly references a form of Christian painting (Diptych with the virgin and child enthroned and the crucifixion) in its title—invites us to worship the legendary icon, whose image Warhol plucked from popular culture and immortalized as art. FUNCTION AND CONTEXT - in all of Warhol's early paintings, this image is also a carefully crafted critique of both modern art and contemporary life. - With sustained looking, Warhol's works reveal that he was influenced not only by pop culture, but also by art history—and especially by the art that was then popular in New York. - For example, in this painting, we can identify the hallmarks of Abstract Expressionist painters like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. - As in the work of these older artists, the monumental scale of Marilyn Diptych (more than six feet by nine feet) demands our attention and announces the importance of the subject matter. - Furthermore, the seemingly careless handling of the paint and its "allover composition"—the even distribution of form and color across the entire canvas, such that the viewer's eyes wander without focusing on one spot—are each hallmarks of Abstract Expressionism, as exemplified by Jackson Pollock's drip paintings. - Yet Warhol references these painters only to undermine the supposed expressiveness of their gestures: like Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, whose work he admired, he uses photographic imagery, the silkscreen process and repetition to make art that is not about his interior life, but rather about the culture in which he lived. - Aside from radically changing our notion of painting, Warhol's choices create a symmetry between the artist and his subject, who each seem to be less than fully human: the artist becomes a machine, just as the actress becomes a mask or a shell. -Another word we could use to describe the presence of both the artist and the actress might be ghostly, and in fact, Warhol started making his series of "Marilyn" paintings only after the star had died of an apparent suicide, and eventually collected them with other disturbing paintings under the title "Death in America." -Her death haunts this painting: on the left, her purple, garishly made-up face resembles an embalmed corpse, while the lighter tones of some of the faces on the right make it seem like she is disappearing before our eyes. -Warhol once noted that through repeated exposure to an image, we become de-sensitized to it. In that case, by repeating Monroe's mask-like face, he not only drains away her life, but also ours as well, by deadening our emotional response to her death. -Then again, by making her face so strange and unfamiliar, he might also be trying to re-sensitize us to her image, so that we remember she isn't just a symbol, but a person whom we might pity. -From the perspective of psychoanalytic theory, he may even be forcing us to relive, and therefore work through, the traumatic shock of her death. The painting is more than a mere celebration of Monroe's iconic status. - It is an invitation to consider the consequences of the increasing role of mass media images in our everyday lives. CONTENT - Warhol takes as the subject of his painting an impersonal image. -Though he was an award-winning illustrator, instead of making his own drawing of Monroe, he appropriates an image that already exists. -Furthermore, the image is not some other artist's drawing, but a photograph made for mass reproduction. Even if we don't recognize the source (a publicity photo for Monroe's 1953 film Niagara), we know the image is a photo, not only because of its verisimilitude but also because of the heightened contrast between the lit and shadowed areas of her face, which we associate with a photographer's flash. -True to form, the actress looks at us seductively from under heavy-lidded eyes and with parted lips; but her expression is also a bit inscrutable, and the repetition remakes her face into an eerie, inanimate mask. -Warhol's use of the silkscreen technique further "flattens" the star's face. By screening broad planes of unmodulated color, the artist removes the gradual shading that creates a sense of three-dimensional volume, and suspends the actress in an abstract void. -Through these choices, Warhol transforms the literal flatness of the paper-thin publicity photo into an emotional "flatness," and the actress into a kind of automaton. -In this way, the painting suggests that "Marilyn Monroe," a manufactured star with a made-up name, is merely a one-dimensional (sex) symbol—perhaps not the most appropriate object of our almost religious devotion. While Warhol's silkscreened repetitions flatten Monroe's identity, they also complicate his own identity as the artist of this work. -The silkscreen process allowed Warhol (or his assistants) to reproduce the same image over and over again, using multiple colors. -Once the screens are manufactured and the colors are chosen, the artist simply spreads inks evenly over the screens using a wide squeegee. -Though there are differences from one face to the next, these appear to be the accidental byproducts of a quasi-mechanical process, rather than the product of the artist's judgment. -Warhol's rote painting technique is echoed by the rigid composition of the work, a five-by-five grid of faces, repeated across the two halves of its surface. -Here, as in many Neo-Dada, minimalist and conceptual works, the grid is like a program that the artist uses to "automate" the process of composing the work, instead of relying on subjective thoughts or feelings to make decisions. -In other words, Warhol's "cool," detached composition is the opposite of the intimate, soulful encounter with the canvas associated with Abstract Expressionism. -But whereas most works that use grids are abstract, here, the grid repeats a photo of a movie star, causing the painting to resemble a photographer's contact sheet, or a series of film strips placed side-by-side. -These references to mechanical forms of reproduction further prove that for Warhol, painting is no longer an elevated medium distinct from popular culture.

Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well and Jacob Wrestling the Angel, Vienna Genesis

- Early byzantine, Europe - 500 CE Rebecca and Eliezer FORM -Tempera, gold and silver on purple vellum (wealthier people) also blue is expensive (lapiz lazuli) -written in silver ink on parchment that had been dyed purple, the color associated with royalty and empire. -The folds of the clothing are simplified and reduced. -The figures appear to be more cartoon-like than portraits of actual people. -Medieval artists weren't interested in realistic, consistent representations, but the more symbolic representations that we see here. FUNCTION -illustrated biblical book CONTENT -The Vienna Genesis is a fragment of a Greek copy of the Book of Genesis. -There are 24 surviving folios (pages) and they are thought to have come from a much larger book that included perhaps 192 illustrations on 96 folios -This story is from Genesis 24. -Abraham wanted to find a wife for his son Isaac and sent his servant Eliezer to find one from among Abraham's extended family. -Eliezer took ten of Abraham's camels with him and stopped at a well to give them water. -Eliezer prayed to God that Isaac's future wife would assist him with watering his camels. -Rebecca arrives on the scene and assists Eliezer, who knows that she is the woman for Isaac. -This story is about God intervening to ensure a sound marriage for Abraham's son. -The illustration of this biblical story shows two episodes, which is common in medieval art. Rebecca is shown twice, as she leaves her town (city or citadel) to get water and then assisting Eliezer at the well with his camels. -On the one hand, there are clear classical elements that recall artwork from ancient Greece and Rome. Rebecca walks by a colonnade (row of columns) that recall the details of classical architecture. -Some of Eliezer's camels are shaded to emphasize that some are in the front and others in the back. The camel on the far right has one of its back legs in shadow to show a spatial relationship. -The figure that most obviously recalls the Ancient Greek and Roman world is the reclining nude next to the river. -This figure isn't part of the story of Rebecca and Eliezer, but serves as a personification of the source of the well's water. -Representations of rivers and other bodies of water as people were common in the classical world -The figure's sensuality is emphasized by her nudity and reclining pose, typical of Greek and Roman art. This stands in contrast to Rebecca's heavily draped and fully-covered body, typical of Early Christian art. CONTEXT -The visual arts have undergone numerous changes and transitions from their prehistoric origins to the present. -In Europe, artists and patrons of the ancient world loved realistic details and veracity. -Medieval artists and patrons instead valued symbolism and abstraction. -The artist of the Vienna Genesis was caught between these two artistic value systems. -Books were luxury items Jacob wrestling the angel FORM -Pages made from animal skin -Text written in silver -Dyed purple, which suggest royal commission -The artist tried to find a way to stretch this linear narrative and make it fit in the space of the book. -The figures on top are supposed to be further away but there's no difference in size In the architecture of the bridge, we see references to the classical. The bridge includes a colonnade and we can imagine classical columns. -There are roman arches that the water courses through underneath. -Skewed perspective- the columns on the farther end of the bridge are taller andbigger than the columns closer to us, so it's not linear perspective FUNCTION Manuscript of the first book of the Bible CONTENT -Illustrations at the bottom of each page following handwritten text -Jacob is the son of Isaac, and the grandson of Abraham -Jacob wakes up and leads his family across the river. We see jacob in brown with a red tunic. He's leading servants and his wives, and his wives are on donkeys. -His sons are behind and they are crossing the river. We see a bridge. -After they cross the river, jacob becomes separated from his family and meets an angel. He wrestles with the angel and wants him to bless him. The angel blesses him and the family goes on their way -One thing that resulted from this story is that the Old Testament patriarch Jacob, is no longer called Jacob but he's called Israel.** -one servant or son is looking off the bridge and looking at the water running below -One of the wives is turned around and we can see the form of her body underneath her drapery which recalls classical forms** CONTEXT -From early Christian or Byzantine era -This book is very rare bc books from this time dont usually survive. Also not too many books were made at the time; it was a major undertaking to make a book

Winged Victory of Samothrace

- Hellenistic Greek - 175 BCE FORM - 8'1 ft high - Theres so much movement in different directions - Shows lots of shadows FUNCTION - Guards the naval ship to victory CONTENT - This goddess is responding to natural forces, the environment -The wind is whipping around her and her drapery and you can sense her movement -She could have been holding a wreath -She would have been painted CONTEXT -Hellenistic period, found on the island in the north of the Aegean which is called Samothrace - Located on a stone boat in a temple - Found in a sanctuary

Pantheon

- Imperial Roman, Italy - 118 CE FORM - had a portico with tall columns and pediment and a rotunda (circular hall) behind it, in similar dimensions to the current building. - Bronze - The dome's coffers (inset panels) are divided into 28 sections, equaling the number of large columns below. - A portico with free-standing columns is attached to a domed rotunda. - In between, to help transition between the rectilinear portico and the round rotunda is an element generally described in English as the intermediate block - Its walls are made from brick-faced concrete - Further, the concrete of the dome is graded into six layers with a mixture of scoria, a low-density, lightweight volcanic rock, at the top. - Columns with no fluting - Marble corinthian capitals, monoliths - Radial building- it has a central point and radiates outward from the point - Lots of geometric circles and rectangles FUNCTION - dedicated to all the gods of Rome. "pan"meansall - It has this name perhaps because it received among the images which decorated it the statues of many gods, including Mars and Venus - maybe because of its vaulted roof, it resembles the heavens. - Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (roman consul) wished to place a statue of Augustus there also and to bestow upon him the honor of having the structure named after him; but when Augustus wouldn't accept either honor, Agrippa placed in the temple a statue of the former Julius Caesar and in the ante-room statues of Augustus and himself. - This was done not out of any rivalry or ambition on Agrippa's part to make himself equal to Augustus but from his hearty loyalty to him and his constant care for the public good. -scholars have suggested that the original Pantheon was not a temple in the usual sense of a god's dwelling place. Instead, it may have been intended as a dynastic sanctuary, part of a ruler cult emerging around Augustus, with the original dedication being to Julius Caesar, the progenitor of the family line of Augustus and Agrippa and a revered ancestor who had been the first Roman deified by the Senate. - emperor Hadrian held court in the Pantheon. Whatever its original purposes, the Pantheon by the time of Trajan and Hadrian was primarily associated with the power of the emperors and their divine authority. - The pediment tells the different purposes of the building CONTENT - There is an oculus, a hole in the center of the dome- it is the only light source, and theres no glass so when it rains the floor gets wet - Light moves into the space from the sun through the oculus. The sharp circle moves across the walls and floor of the building as the sun moves - Shows the movement of the heavens - The walls have geometric patterns because it makes the concrete lighter CONTEXT -Most textbooks and websites confidently date the building to the Emperor Hadrian's reign and describe its purpose as a temple to all the gods but some scholars now argue that these details are wrong - the bricks used in the building's construction—some of which were stamped with identifying marks that can be used to establish the date of manufacture-- shows that almost all of them date from the 110s, during the time of Trajan, not hadrian - the inscription on the frieze in raised bronze letters. It identifies, in abbreviated Latin, the Roman general and consul Marcus Agrippa as the PATRON***** - However Agrippa could not have been the patron of the present building. - Agrippa built the original Pantheon in honor of his and Augustus' military victory at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.E. - Written sources suggest the building was damaged by fire and restored to some unknown extent under the orders of Emperor Domitian - When the building was damaged by fire again in 110 C.E., the Emperor Trajan decided to rebuild it, but only partial groundwork was carried out before his death. - Trajan's successor, Hadrian conceived and possibly even designed the new building with the help of architects. - Today, we know that many parts of this story are either unlikely or false. - Pantheon, or Pantheum in Latin, was more of a nickname than a formal title. - We do not know who designed the Pantheon, but Apollodorus of Damascus, Trajan's favorite builder, is a likely candidate

Chartres Cathedral

- Chartres, France - 1145 CE FORM -High Gothic style, developed in Ile de France -The windows on either side of the doorway are small -The first story of the towers recalls the Romanesque -Theres stone vaulting- the ceiling of the churches, very heavy -All solid limestone -You need very strong walls and piers to support the vaulting -The facade- from left to right, there are three parts. A tower on the left, the central area, and the tower on the right. -If we go form bottom to top, there is also a division of three -At the top, there's Kings gallery, Old Testament royal figure. -Below, the round rose window (plate tracery, as opposed to bar tracery) -Below the rose window are three large lancets, and these vertical windows reflect the portals below them. The portals are covered with sculpture -At the top of the portal there are sculptures within the archivolts and the archway that is framed by archivolts is known as tympanum. -Below that, supporting each of the tympana is the lintel, a kind of crossbeam of stone. -those are supported by small engaged columns known as colonettes that line each side of the three doors. -They are door jambs, and attached to those are figures known as jamb figures -Hieratic scale -Jamb drapery are indicated by lines. emphasis on linear, and little sense of mass, sense of isolation from other figures -Inside the cathedral, it's a long space which was based on a basilica plan. A basilica is a type of building that christians borrowed from the ancient romans. It's longitudinal. It has an entrance on one end, opposite that is the apse, the holiest part of the church -The church is in the shape of a cross. Because it is the long hallway, the nave is crossed by something called the transept -The north and south transept have doorways that are sculpted -On either side of the nave, there are additional hallways known as aisles. This was so that pilgrims, that is religious visitprs, could enter the church and more through to the apse and around the other side without disturbing a mass that might be taking place. -High gothic style instead of just gothic- unlike earlier Gothic churches like at Paris where there was a four-part elevation, here we have a three-part elevation. -The three-part elevation consists of a nave arcade, these very tall, pointed arches that are very slender and graceful- thats the lowest level -On top of that, we see an arcade standing in front of a wall. And that area is called the triforium. -Above that, we see tall clerestory windows. -at each bay of the nave we see two lancet windows topped by an oculus. -The three segments of the elevation are united by the piers and the colonettes that are attached to the piers. -interest in linearity and these lines that draw our eye upward that are so typical of Gothic architecture -As we follow those colonettes up, we see that they divide into ribs that form the four-part ribbed groin vaults -The pointed rib groin vault allowed for greater height than a round arch would, and that's because a pointed ribbed groin vault pushes its trust more down than out. And as a result, it can rest on smaller piers and not as much buttressing is required. -one of the primary goals of the Gothic architect was to open up the walls to the stained glass, glass that helped to make the interior a space that recalled the divine, that gave one a sense of heaven here on earth. -One of the ways you could do that was with a flying buttress supporting the building from the outside instead of massive walls -light itself was an expression of the divine -the stone was covered with a thin layer of plaster and then painted onto that was this light ochre color with white lines painted on top of it to mimic the joinery of the stones below. That layer of plaster and paint obscures the true masonry. -"The windows at Chartres demonstrate the concept of lux nova, or 'new light'..." • "The light permeating the church symbolically represents God, God's word and/or heaven CONTENT -Chartres was a destination for a reason- it still has the tunic that the virgin mary wore, it was believed, when she gave birth to christ -This was once part of a complex of buildings that included a school, a palace for the bishop, a hospital -The west facade of Chartres dates to the mid 12th century and we see it as an early gothic facade -The three tympanum -The left showed the Ascension of Christ -New interpretation- Christ before he takes on physical form. That is, Christ out of time. Before incarnation and before God made flesh. -Below, we see four angels. The angels try to reach below the barrier that separates them from the prophets -The largest, the middle, showed the second coming of Christ -The right showed scenes that related to the life of Virgin Mary -Mary makes possible God taking on physical form and entering the world so that we can be saved -On the lintel, theres a winged figure. This is archangel gabriel announcing to the virgin mary that she will bear christ -Next we see a scene known as the visitation where mary is visited by her cousin elizabeth/ mary is pregnant with Christ, and her cousin is pregnant with saint john the baptist. -The most important scene in the lintel- mary in the manger had just given birth to Christ who's swaddled above her. -Above this, we see the presentation of christ in the temple. Mary and joseph have brough the christ child to the temple. -Above that, in the tympanum, we see the virgin mary enthroned with the christ child on her lap with angels on either side. This represents the throne of wisdom. When christ is on mary's lap, mary's body is understood as the Throne of Wisdom. Christ is understood as the personification of wisdom -Both mary and christ are shown frontally, symmetrically. -On the left, (period before time) theres an image of christ before the incarnation, before taking human form -On the right, (period of human time)we have the moment when christ enters the world to save it -In the center, (period of the end of time)we have the second coming of Christ when the dead rise from their graves and all of mankind is judged -Christ is surrounded by symbols of the four evangelists, the four writers of the gospels and is shown in the center larger than any other figure. -He, Christ, is surrounded by a mandorla (a pointed oval figure). A large, full-bodied halo -Below him are the 12 apostles -The jamb figures represent old testament prophets and kings and queens of france -The pilgrims primarily come to see the relic of the tunic of the Virgin, and later another relic that was acquired by the cathedral, the head of Saint Anne, the Virgin Mary's mother. -One particular stained glass window that dates from the early gothic period from before the fire Known as the Virgin of the Beautiful Window -Mary and christ is frontal and elongated, on the throne of wisdom- heavenly image -At the end of the north transept is an enormous rose window on top of five lancets. -This is a much bigger rose than what we've seen in the earlier west front. This was paid for by Blanche of Castile, the mother of Saint Louis, King Louis IX, who was a major patron of Gothic art. -We can see fleur-de-lis throughout this window, a reference to the French monarchy. -In the center of the rose, we once again see the Virgin Mary holding the Christ child. Surrounding Mary we see doves and angels and then prophets and kings. For example, in the 12 o'clock position we see King David. -When we look at the five lancets below, we see in the center Saint Anne, Mary's mother. - the two lancet windows on either side, we see these interesting pairings of virtuous and villainous kings, and also Old Testament priests. -The porch outside the south transept is different from the west front. The porch projects much more than the west front did, and the jamb figures changed. Before, the figures were isolated. They were columns. Now, the figures are still in front of columns, but now they are independent from the architecture -The most famous figure on the south porch is the Saint Theodore. he looks almost like an ancient Greek or a Roman figure. We see that the body has movement. Theodore seems almost as though he could walk off the porch and greet us. -In his right hand he carries a spear with a banner, and we see much more than on the west front a sense of volume to the drapery, especially when we look to the hem of the garment where we see real three dimensional folds. -In his belt we see the hilt of a sword, and his left hand rests on a shield, which is pressed against his thigh. There's a naturalism to his movement- High Gothic Period. - CONTEXT -The king only controlled the area immediately around paris -Ppl associated with the school of chartres believed that the pursuit of knowledge, learning about the world around us, was the pathway to understanding the divine -in 1194, there was a fire and most of the church burned to the ground. When the people of Chartres saw that the tunic was saved, they interpreted this as a miracle, one with a message. That the Virgin Mary wanted an even more beautiful and grander church to house her relic.

Lindisfarne Gospels: St. Matthew, cross-carpet page; St. Luke portrait page; St. Luke incipit page

- Early Medieval Europe (Hiberno-Saxon) - 700 CE -Eadfrith FORM -Four separate "covers" for each gospel- matthew, mark, luke, john -codex (a bound book, made from sheets of paper or parchment) -stacked wine-glass shapes horizontally and vertically against his intricate weave of knots. - On closer inspection many of these knots reveal themselves as snake-like creatures curling in and around tubular forms, mouths clamping down on their bodies. Chameleon-like, their bodies change colors: sapphire blue here, verdigris green there, and sandy gold in between. -The sanctity (holiness) of the cross, outlined in red with arms outstretched and pressing against the page edges, stabilizes the background's gyrating activity and turns the repetitive energy into a meditative force. -Luke's incipit page grows with animal life, spiraled forms, and swirling vortexes. -Blue pin-wheeled shapes rotate in repetitive circles, caught in the vortex of a large Q that forms Luke's opening sentence—Quoniam quidem multi conati sunt ordinare narrationem. -Birds also abound. One knot enclosed in a tall rectangle on the far right unravels into a blue heron's chest shaped like a large comma. -Eadfrith repeats this shape vertically down the column, cleverly twisting the comma into a cat's forepaw at the bottom. -The feline, who has just consumed the eight birds that stretch vertically up from its head, presses off this appendage acrobatically to turn its body 90 degrees; it ends up staring at the words - Renarrationem: Eadfrith also has added a host of tiny red dots that envelop words, except when they don't—the letters "NIAM" of "quoniam" are composed of the vellum itself, the negative space now asserting itself as four letters. -Evangelist writing- Luke's incipit (the opening words of a text) page is in marked contrast to his straightforward portrait page. Here Eadfrith seats the curly-haired, bearded evangelist on a red-cushioned stool against an unornamented background. -Luke holds a quill in his right hand, poised to write words on a scroll unfurling from his lap. His feet hover above a tray supported by red legs. He wears a purple robe streaked with red, one that we can imagine on a late fourth or fifth-century Roman philosopher. -The gold halo behind Luke's head indicates his divinity. -Above his halo flies a blue-winged calf, its two eyes turned toward the viewer with its body in profile. The bovine clasps a green parallelogram between two forelegs, a reference to the Gospel. this calf, or ox, symbolizes Christ's sacrifice on the cross. There are no margins in the carpets- "harra margarin"? FUNCTION -containing the four gospels recounting the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The manuscript was used for ceremonial purposes to promote and celebrate the Christian religion -Aldred is a 10th-century priest from a priory at Durham. Aldred's colophon—an inscription that relays information about the book's production—informs us that Eadfrith, a bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 who died in 721, created the manuscript to honor God and St. Cuthbert. -Aldred also inscribed a vernacular translation between the lines of the Latin text, creating the earliest known Gospels written in a form of English. CONTENT -This book is the monk's exemplar, the codex from which he is to copy the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. For about the next six years, he will copy this Latin. -He will illuminate the gospel text with a weave of images— snakes that twist themselves into knots or birds, their curvaceous and overlapping forms creating the illusion of a third dimension into which a viewer can lose him or herself in meditative contemplation. -A Northumbrian monk, very likely the bishop Eadfrith, illuminated the codex -Two-hundred and fifty-nine written and recorded leaves include full-page portraits of each evangelist; highly ornamental "cross-carpet" pages, each of which features a large cross set against a background of ordered and yet teeming ornamentation; and the Gospels themselves, each introduced by an historiated initial. -The codex also includes sixteen pages of canon tables set in arcades. Here correlating passages from each evangelist are set side-by-side, enabling a reader to compare narrations. CONTEXT -A medieval monk takes up a quill pen, fashioned from a goose feather, and dips it into a rich, black ink made from soot. - Seated on a wooden chair in the scriptorium of Lindisfarne, an island off the coast of Northumberland in England, he stares hard at the words from a manuscript made in Italy. -The book is a spectacular example of Insular or Hiberno-Saxon art—works produced in the British Isles between 500-900 C.E., a time of devastating invasions and political upheavals. Monks read from it during rituals at their Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island, a Christian community that safeguarded the shrine of St Cuthbert, a bishop who died in 687 and whose relics were thought to have curative and miracle-working powers.

Angel with Arquebus, Master of Calamarca

- South America - 1650 CE FORM - The angel in Asiel Timor Dei holds the gun like a professional, close to his chest. - Although the gun is ready for firing, the angel does not hold the trigger, nor does he hold it at eye level. - Contrary to the aggressive face of Gheyn's soldier, the face of the angel is serene. The figure is graceful and almost looks like a dancer - The extended lines of the angel's body recall the Mannerist style still preferred in the Americas in the seventeenth century (Mannerism was a style that came after the Renaissance, in the early 1500s). - During the first half of the eighteenth century, when Asiel Timor Dei was painted, the use of gold and silver became prohibited in the clothing of nobility. - The military was, however, exempt from this rule. - Really small hand compared to body FUNCTION - these angels were created after the first missionizing period, as Christian missionary orders persistently sought to terminate the practice of pre-Hispanic religions and enforce Catholicism. -Paintings of angels with guns were perhaps representative of both the power of the Spaniards over indigenous people and protection offered to faithful Christians.** CONTENT - Guns, angels and fashion- three elements in this painting - Depictions of androgynous, stunningly attired, harquebus (a type of gun) carrying angels were produced from the late-seventeenth century through the nineteenth century in the viceroyalty of Peru (a - Spanish colonial administrative region which incorporated most of South America, and was governed from the capital of Lima, c. 1534-1820) - Representing celestial, aristocratic, and military beings all at once - The Latin inscription of Archangel with Gun, Asiel Timor Dei indicates the name of the angel, Asiel, and a particular quality: Fears God. ** - The Latin inscriptions in the upper left corner of the painting Asiel Timor Dei are approximates of the original names of angels, and were related to the names of planetary and elemental angels in indigenous religions. - The dress of the angels with guns corresponds to the dress of Andean aristocrats and Inca royalty, and is distinct from the military attire of Gheyn's harquebusiers. - The dress of Asiel Timor Dei was an Andean invention that combines contemporary European fashion and the typical dress of indigenous noblemen. - The excess of textile in Asiel Timor Dei indicates the high social status of its wearer. - The elongated plumed hat is a symbol of Inca nobility, as feathers were reserved for nobles and religious ceremonies in pre-Hispanic society. - The broad-brim hat on which the feathers are planted was in style in France and Holland around 1630. CONTEXT - By Master of Calamarca- bolivian painter identitified as Jose Lopez de los Rios - The harquebus is a firearm with a long barrel created by the Spanish in the mid-fifteenth century. - It was the first gun to rest on the shoulder when being fired - This painting was found by itself, but was likely part of a larger series that included angels performing other activities such as drumming and holding lances. - The Catholic Counter Reformation held a militaristic ideology that portrayed the Church as an army and angels as its soldiers. - The asexual body of the angel in Asiel Timor Dei is consistent with biblical descriptions. - early American images often alluded to angels' connection to certain indigenous sacred planets and natural phenomena, such as rain, hail, stars and comets. - Firearms did not exist in the Americas before the Spanish conquests, and there is evidence suggesting indigenous people saw guns as supernatural manifestations.

Henry IV Receives portrait of Marie de'Medici, Peter Paul Ruben

- Italy - 1621 CE FUNCTION - This canvas is the sixth in a series of twenty-four paintings on the life of Marie de' Medici commissioned by the queen from Peter Paul Rubens in 1622 to adorn one of the two galleries in the Luxembourg Palace, her newly-built home in Paris. - dedication to the major life events of a queen -The cycle idealizes and allegorizes Marie's life in light of the peace and prosperity she brought to the kingdom, not through military victories but through wisdom, devotion to her husband and her adopted country, and strategic marriage alliances—her own as well as the ones she brokered for her children. -This is the message she wished to convey - The painting presents Henry's engagement to Marie de Medici as a union ordained by the gods, counseled by France, and inspired by Marie's beauty and virtues CONTENT AND FORM - this is catholic Europe, but this is filled with ancient greek and roman mythological figures -it is an idealized portrayal of the conclusion in April of 1600 of marriage negotiations that were two years in the making. -Focal point- A young woman in a bejeweled dress with a stiff lace collar gazes confidently out of a simply-framed, bust-length portrait placed at the very center of a large canvas. -Her name is Marie de' Medici, daughter of the Grandduke of Tuscany. -The ancient gods of marriage and love—Hymen and Amor (Cupid), to the left and right, respectively—hover in midair as they present this portrait to Henry IV, the king of France. -Hymen holds in his left hand a flaming torch, symbolizing the ardor of love, while Cupid praises the virtues of the Medici princess. -Cupid's arrow has hit its mark; the king is smitten. He gazes up in gratitude, his left hand extended as he expresses his delight in his bride-to-be. -From the heavens above, Jupiter and Juno, the king and queen of the Olympian gods, look down with approval, their own hands touching in a tender gesture of marital union. -Jupiter's fierce eagle, seen in the top left corner, looks away from the couple and clenches its lightening bolts in its talons. -In contrast, Juno's tamed peacock looks at the divine couple, while his mate cranes her neck to look at the portrait. -A pink silk ribbon binds the brids together. The peahen perches on Juno's chariot, directly above a golden relief of Cupid who balances a yoke-shaped garland (a symbol of marriage) on his shoulders as he playfully dances on the wings of a proud eagle. -The message is clear: even the king of the gods can be subdued by love. -Following Jupiter's lead, Henry must also turn his attention to marriage. -this match is about politics as well as love. -Behind Henry stands the personification of France, wearing a blue silk garment embroidered with gold fleur-de-lys (the coat of arms of the French monarchy) and an elaborate plumed helmet encircled by a gold crown. -She gently touches Henry's shoulder and whispers in his ear, assuring him that a match with the Medici princess is indeed good for the kingdom. -France urges Henry to turn away from the field of battle, the aftermath of which is visible in the burning town in the background, and attend to hearth and home, for domestic matters are no less important to the survival of the monarchy than military exploits. -Henry obliges; his helmet and shield—now the playthings of two tender cherubs—lie at his feet. -henry recognized the political and financial necessity of the Medici marriage -Rubens asserts Marie's successful role as wife and mother by establishing a dominant vertical axis through the center of the composition from Juno, with her exposed, full breasts, through Marie's portrait to the chubby cherub directly below. -Of all of the figures in the painting, Marie and the cherub are the only ones who look out at the viewer, pointedly reaffirming the centrality of Marie de' Medici and of her royal progeny to the future of France. -There is a theme of peace CONTEXT -After Henry was assassinated in 1610, Marie ruled the kingdom of France for seven years. many French nobles resented her power. -Divisions in the court, including tensions with her own son, led to Marie's exile from the Paris in 1617. -The commission of the biographical cycle marked her reconciliation with Louis and her return to the capital city in 1620. It vindicated her reign as the queen of France. -For Henry, a Protestant who had converted to Catholicism upon ascending to the throne in 1593, a Catholic wife would lessen any concerns about his loyalty to the Catholic Church in France. -Additionally, Marie's hefty dowry eased Henry's large debt to the Medici, major financial backers of his military activities. -And, perhaps most importantly, Henry was nearing the age of 50 and had yet to father an heir, putting France's future stability in danger. -A fruitful union with Marie was key to this stability. In this matter, marie have birth to a son one year after the wedding, and five additional children, four of whom survived to adulthood.

Great Serpent Mound

- 1070 CE - Southern Ohio, US FORM - the largest serpent model in the world. - The serpent is slightly crescent-shaped and oriented such that the head is at the east and the tail at the west, with seven winding coils in between. - The shape of the head-Whereas some scholars read the oval shape as an enlarged eye, others see a hollow egg or even a frog about to be swallowed by wide, open jaws. But perhaps that lower jaw is an indication of appendages, such as small arms that might imply the creature is a lizard rather than a snake. -Many native cultures in both North and Central America attributed supernatural powers to snakes or reptiles and included them in their spiritual practices. -The native peoples of the Middle Ohio Valley in particular frequently created snake-shapes out of copper sheets. -The mound conforms to the natural topography of the site, which is a high plateau overlooking Ohio Brush Creek. In fact, the head of the creature approaches a steep, natural cliff above the creek. The unique geologic formations suggest that a meteor struck the site approximately 250-300 million years ago, causing folded bedrock underneath the mound. FUNCTION - Aspects of both the zoomorphic form and the unusual site have associations with astronomy. -The head of the serpent aligns with the summer solstice sunset, and the tail points to the winter solstice sunrise. Could this mound have been used to mark time or seasons, perhaps indicating when to plant or harvest -Likewise, it has been suggested that the curves in the body of the snake parallel lunar phases, or alternatively align with the two solstices and two equinoxes. - Some have interpreted the egg or eye shape at the head to be a representation of the sun. Perhaps even the swallowing of the sun shape could document a solar eclipse. - Another theory is that the shape of the serpent imitates the constellation Draco, with the Pole Star matching the placement of the first curve in the snake's torso from the head. An alignment with the Pole Star may indicate that the mound was used to determine true north and thus served as a kind of compass. -Halley's Comet appeared in 1066, although the tail of the comet is straight rather than curved. Perhaps the mound served in part to mark this astronomical event or a similar phenomenon, such as light from a supernova. -the serpent mound may represent a mixture of all celestial knowledge known by these native peoples in a single image. CONTENT - The Great Serpent Mound measures approximately 1,300 feet in length and ranges from one to three feet in height. CONTEXT -The mound is both architectural and sculptural and was erected by settled peoples who cultivated maize, beans and squash and who maintained a stratified society with an organized labor force, but left no written records. - Numerous mounds were made by the ancient Native American cultures that flourished along the fertile valleys of the Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois, and Missouri Rivers a thousand years ago, though many were destroyed as farms spread across this region during the modern era. - They invite us to contemplate the rich spiritual beliefs of the ancient Native American cultures that created them. - Determining exactly which culture designed and built the effigy mound, and when, is a matter of ongoing inquiry. - A broad answer may lie in viewing the work as being designed, built, and/or refurbished over an extended period of time by several indigenous groups. -The leading theory is that the Fort Ancient Culture (1000-1650 C.E.) is principally responsible for the mound, having erected it in c. 1070 C.E. This mound-building society lived in the Ohio Valley and was influenced by the contemporary Mississippian culture (700-1550), whose urban center was located at Cahokia in Illinois. The rattlesnake was a common theme among the Mississippian culture, and thus it is possible that the Fort Ancient Culture appropriated this symbol from them (although there is no clear reference to a rattle to identify the species as such). - An alternative theory is that the Fort Ancient Culture refurbished the site c. 1070, reworking a preexisting mound built by the Adena Culture (c.1100 B.C.E.-200 C.E.) and/or the Hopewell Culture (c. 100 B.C.E.-550 C.E.). - The mound contains no artifacts, and both the Fort Ancient and Adena groups typically buried objects inside their mounds. Although there are no graves found inside the Great Serpent Mound, there are burials found nearby, but none of them are the kinds of burials typical for the Fort Ancient culture and are more closely associated with Adena burial practices. Archaeological evidence does not support a burial purpose for the Great Serpent Mound. - One scholar has recently suggested that the mound was a platform or base for totems or other architectural structures that are no longer extant, perhaps removed by subsequent cultures. -the culture had the name "Great Snake"

Self Portrait with Saskia, Rembrandt

- Amsterdam - 1636 CE FORM -etching -Typically, Rembrandt used a soft ground that would allow him to "draw" freely on his plate (most early etchers used a hard ground) -many of his early etchings have the immediacy and spontaneity of a rapid sketch. -most evidence suggests that he worked directly on the plate, most likely with a preparatory drawing in front of him to serve as a guide. -Rembrandt is also known for his practice of varying the degree to which he etched a plate, an approach seen here. -The figure of Rembrandt is more deeply bitten than that of Saskia, a technique that not only suggests that the artist is closer to us, but also places greater emphasis on him. -The figure of Saskia, on the other hand, is more lightly etched, with the effect that she is seated farther away and plays a less important role. -These differences have led some to suggest that Rembrandt may have etched Saskia first, and then added himself in the front. This notion is supported by the lines of her dress which appear to continue under his overcoat. -he often created multiple states of a single image. This etching, for example, exists in three states. -By reworking his plates he was able to experiment with ways to improve and extend the expressive power of his images. FUNCTION - Such play-acting was not unusual for Rembrandt who only twice represented himself in the manner that was most popular at the time, as a contemporary Amsterdam gentleman. - can also be regarded as an example of a marriage portrait. The young woman shown seated at the table with the 30 year old Rembrandt is his wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh CONTENT - both he and his wife are shown wearing historical clothing - Rembrandt wears a fanciful 16th-century style plumed beret tilted at a jaunty angle and a fur-trimmed overcoat, while Saskia wears an old-fashioned veil. - The two figures are presented in half-length, seated around a table before a plain background. - Rembrandt dominates the image as he engages the viewer with a serious expression. - The brim of his hat casts a dark shadow over his eyes, which adds an air of mystery to his countenance. - Saskia, rendered on a smaller scale and appearing rather self-absorbed, sits behind him. - It's almost as if we have interrupted the couple as they enjoy a quiet moment in their daily life. - This is the first time that Rembrandt has presented himself as an artist at work. In his left hand he holds a porte-crayon (a two-ended chalk holder) and appears to have been drawing on the sheet of paper before him. - By identifying himself as a draftsman, Rembrandt draws attention to his mastery of what was regarded as the most important basic skill of an artist. CONTEXT - seventeenth-century Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn - Whether painting, etching or drawing, Rembrandt, who produced more self-portraits than any artist before him (roughly 75), preferred to show himself in a variety of different imagined roles. - You can see him as a soldier in old-fashioned armor, a ragged beggar, a stylish Renaissance courtier, an exotically clad Oriental leader and even Saint Paul. - Rembrandt most likely met Saskia while working for her cousin, Hendrick Uylenburgh, an art dealer who had a workshop in Amsterdam. - The two married on June 22, 1634 and remained together for thirteen years until Saskia's untimely death at the age of 30. - Surprisingly, it is the only etching that Rembrandt ever made of Saskia and himself together. -It was not unusual for rembrandt to use his wife as a model. She would often sit for her husband -he frequently painted bible subjects, especially from the New Testament

Ryōan-ji

- 1480 CE - Kyoto, Japan FORM - The Ryōanji garden is a rock garden—a form that developed during the Muromachi period. -This type of garden consists of rocks and pebbles rather than vegetation and water, and was mainly created on the grounds of temples for encouraging contemplation. -White gravel often symbolizes flowing elements such as waterfalls, rivers, creeks, or sea, while rocks suggest islands, shores, or bridges. -The garden may have been inspired by aspects of both Japanese and Chinese culture. For instance, Shinto, an indigenous religion of Japan, focuses on the worship of deities in nature. - Also, Zen Buddhism, which derived from Chan Buddhism in China, emphasizes meditation as a path toward enlightenment. - Medieval Chinese landscape paintings associated with this sect of Buddhism often displayed a sparse, monochromatic style that reflected a spontaneous approach to enlightenment - Together, these concepts promoted the aesthetic values of rustic simplicity, spontaneity, and truth to materials that came to characterize Zen art. FUNCTION - "Ji" is temple - Ryoanji means (Peaceful Dragon Temple) - Temple located in north Kyoto, Japan affiliated with a branch of Zen Buddhism. -The followers of Zen Buddhism pursued "enlightenment" or "awakening" by means of self-introspection and personal experience in daily life. -Ryōanji thrived as a great Zen center for the cultural activities of the elite from the late 16th through the first half of the 17th century under the patronage of the Hosokawa family. -Many different theories on the garden's meaning have been suggested—some say it represents islands floating on an ocean, or a mother tiger carrying cubs over the sea, while others say it symbolizes the Japanese aesthetic concept of wabi (refined austerity) and sabi (subdued taste), or the fundamental ideal of Zen philosophy. -A more recent theory argues that it is an expression of a pure form of abstract composition meant to incite meditation. CONTENT - The temple and its gardens are listed as one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto. - When visitors pass through main gate, they encounter the Mirror Pond (Kyōyōchi) on the left with a scenic view of surrounding mountains. - Walking along the pilgrim's path and entering the second gate, visitors arrive at the main building of the monastery, the hōjo (abbot's residence). -the rock garden is located in the front of the hojo and is viewed either from the wooden veranda embracing the building or from inside the room. -The essential element of Zen Buddhism is found in its name, for Zen means "meditation." Zen teaches that enlightenment is achieved through the profound realization that one is already an enlightened being. This awakening can happen gradually or in a flash of insight. But in either case, it is the result of one's own efforts. Deities and scriptures can offer only limited assistance. -Like other Japanese rock gardens, the Ryōanji garden presents stones surrounded by raked white gravel with a minimal use of plants. Fifteen rocks of different sizes are carefully arranged in groups amidst the raked pebbles - The stones are carefully arranged so that one can only see no more than fourteen of the fifteen at once from any angle. Staring from the largest group on the far left, a visitor's eyes rhythmically move through the garden from the front to the rear and back, and then from the front to the right upper corner. - The garden is located on the south side of the hōjō, the main building used for the abbot's personal study and living quarters. - The hōjō is divided into six rooms by sliding doors called fusuma; three rooms on the south (a reception, a lecture room and a meeting room) and those on the north (a study, a changing room and a central room consisting of three subdivisions of a serving chamber, alter, and sleeping room). -The hōjō also includes gardens on each side of the building—a moss garden called the West Garden, a stone and moss garden, and a garden with a tea house. -The fame of the stone garden at Ryōanji is so imposing that it has overwhelmed the other parts of the temple, including Kyōyōchi (Mirror Pond, located in the lower part of the site), a small west garden, and a rear garden with a teahouse. -The Mirror Pond is reminiscent of courtly gardens from the Heian period. Near the teahouse is a famous stone water basin. - The wall door paintings that once decorated the hōjō are preserved today in Japanese and overseas collections. Among them, two large panels depicting "Chinese Immortals" and the "Four Elegant Accomplishments" belonged to Ryōanji's main hall and once faced its rock garden. -They were removed from Ryōanji and sold in 1895, when Buddhism was persecuted during the new Meiji regime. -These works entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1989. -Contrary to the austere monochrome ink paintings of landscapes and bird-and-flower paintings decorating the abbot's quarters in Zen temples dating from the Muromachi period, they depict Chinese narrative themes rendered with extravagant colors on golden backgrounds. This permits a glimpse into a radical shift in the interior program of the Zen monastery during the late Momoyama and early Edo periods, led by the rise of samurai warlords as prominent patrons of art and formidable political entities. CONTEXT -Zen traces its origins to India, but it was formalized in China. Chan, as it is known in China, was transmitted to Japan and took root there - Scholars debate the exact dating of the garden, but the consensus is that it was originally created in the fifteenth century and that its present design dates from the Edo period ( (1615-1868). - The identity of the garden's creator is also controversial, as no records of the rock garden can be found prior to the early 1680s. - Early descriptions explain that the garden has nine big stones representing "tiger cubs crossing the water" and attribute the design to Matsumoto, the chief patron of Ryōanji, or Sōami, the connoisseur, painter, and garden designer attending the Ashikaga shogunate. - An inscription carved on the back of one stone bears witness to the involvement of professional laborers in the garden's architecture—the stone has two names, Kotaro and Hikojiro, who were known as sensui kawaramono (riverbank workers) belonging to the lower social strata. - As the garden has fifteen stones today, it is certain that the arrangement we see now cannot be the same as the original medieval design (which had nine stones).

Wall plaque, from Oba's palace (and Benin plaques)

- 1550 CE - Nigeria, Africa FORM - Brass - Artists working in brass were organized under Esigie. - Today, artists working in brass in Benin are part of a brass workers guild, and it was likely that previous generations would have also worked collectively. - These artists created plaques and other sculptures using what is known as the "lost wax casting technique," in which, first, a more malleable wax version of the final brass work is made. - It is then covered in clay and fired to harden the clay, removing the wax, which melts away in the process (hence the term, "lost wax"). Hot, molten liquid brass is then poured into the clay mold. - As the brass cools, it hardens, and the clay is removed, revealing the finished plaque. - The rosette shapes that adorn the background of the plaque were possibly derived from Christian crosses brought by these European traders. - Even the horse that the Oba rides was originally introduced to West Africa from across the sea. FUNCTION - The plaque originally hung alongside many others on posts throughout the palace of the Oba. The order of their placement on these posts would have told the history of the royal lineage of Benin's Obas, who traced their dynasty all the way back to Oranmiyan, whose son was the first Oba of Benin. -However, the sequence of plaques is lost to us since they were long held in storage when found by westerners in the 19th century. CONTENT - depicts an Oba (or king) and his attendants from the Benin Empire—a powerful kingdom located in present-day Nigeria. We know that the central figure is an Oba because of his distinctive coral beaded regalia. Also, attendants hold shields above his head, either to protect him from attack or possibly from the hot, tropical sun. This was a privilege only afforded to an Oba. - The figures around him range in size, not because of their actual height or distance from the Oba, but rather due to their level of importance within the court. hierarchic scale -The Oba would have traveled with a large cohort of attendants, warriors, servants, diplomats, chieftains, and priests. -the Oba rides sidesaddle on horseback, which would seem to indicate a connection to Oba Esigie (who ruled c. 1504-1550), the first Oba to travel by horse. However, without knowing the original order of the plaques, we will never know for certain whether this was Esigie, or a later Oba who emulated his brash new mode of travel. CONTEXT -Almost every detail in this work speaks to the Benin Kingdom's mutually beneficial trade with Portugal, which first made contact with Benin in the late 15th century. -The Portuguese received items like peppers, cloth, and stone beads from Benin, while Benin received—among other items—the coral that makes up the beads worn by the Oba, and even the brass that makes up this plaque in the form of manillas, or armbands, worn by the Portuguese -Trade began to decline with Portugal as the Portuguese empire waned in the 18th century. By the 19th century, Britain was seeking to make inroads with Benin as a new trading partner. However, this partnership was much less mutually beneficial and was marked with frequent tension. -After increased aggression from both nations, the British launched the Punitive Expedition of 1897, seizing the Oba's palace, burning down the city around it, killing many, and looting the royal court's vast stores of art and treasure. -We know that this plaque was one of the artworks looted in the siege because Norman Burrows, a known trafficker in stolen Benin objects, owned it briefly during this time. This act of looting perpetrated by the British was later condemned as a criminal and violent act of British imperialism and colonialism. -A consortium of European museums called the "Benin Dialogue Group", formed in 2007, has been meeting with representatives from Nigeria to discuss issues around repatriation. Their hope is to establish a system of rotating loans of artworks to Benin City

Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo

- Vatican City, Italy - 1508 CE FORM - Frescoes in the high vaulted ceiling - michelangelo was key to the development of renaissance art FUNCTION - Commisioned by Pope Julius II CONTENT - Scenes from the book of genesis - Scenes of Old Testament divided by the fictive architecture - The narrative begins at the altar and is divided into three sections. - In the first three paintings, Michelangelo tells the story of The Creation of the Heavens and Earth; this is followed by The Creation of Adam and Eve and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden; finally is the story of Noah and the Great Flood. -Ignudi, or nude youths, sit in fictive architecture around these frescoes, and they are accompanied by prophets and sibyls (ancient seers who, according to tradition, foretold the coming of Christ) in the spandrels. -In the four corners of the room, in the pendentives, one finds scenes depicting the Salvation of Israel. -The most famous- The Creation of Adam- hidden anatomy of brain -In The Deluge, the physical space of the water and the sky separates four distinct parts of the narrative -On the right side of the painting, a cluster of people seeks sanctuary from the rain under a makeshift shelter. -On the left, even more people climb up the side of a mountain to escape the rising water. Centrally, a small boat is about to capsize because of the unending downpour. -And in the background, a team of men work on building the ark—the only hope of salvation. -Up close, this painting confronts the viewer with the desperation of those about to perish in the flood and makes one question God's justice in wiping out the entire population of the earth, save Noah and his family, because of the sins of the wicked. -Unfortunately, from the floor of the chapel, the use of small, tightly grouped figures undermines the emotional content and makes the story harder to follow. -the Delphic Sibyl (ancient seers who, according to tradition, foretold the coming of Christ)- from the Vatican's collection- The overall circular composition of the body, which echoes the contours of her fictive architectural setting, adds to the sense of the sculptural weight of the figure. Her arms are powerful, the heft of her body imposing, and both her left elbow and knee come into the viewer's space -The Libyan Sibyl- Although she is in a contorted position that would be nearly impossible for an actual person to hold, Michelangelo nonetheless executes her with a sprezzatura (a deceptive ease) that will become typical of the Mannerists who closely modelled their work on his. CONTEXT -By Michelangelo, lying on his back, wiping sweat and plaster from his eyes as he spent years hundreds of feet in the air completing this commission that he never wanted to accept in the first place -Michelangelo began to work on the frescoes for Pope Julius II in 1508, replacing a blue ceiling dotted with stars -In 1510, Michelangelo took a yearlong break from painting the Sistine Chapel. The frescoes painted after this break are characteristically different from the ones he painted before it -

Templo Mayor (Main Temple)

-1375 CE - Tenochtitlan, Mexico - Aztec FORM - Volcanic stone - approximately ninety feet high and covered in stucco. FUNCTION - the twin temples were dedicated to the deities Tlaloc and Huitzilopochti. CONTENT - Located in the sacred precinct at the heart of the city, the Templo Mayor was positioned at the center of the Mexica capital and thus the entire empire. -The capital was also divided into four main quadrants, with the Templo Mayor at the center. This design reflects the Mexica cosmos, which was believed to be composed of four parts structured around the navel of the universe, or the axis mundi. -Two grand staircases accessed twin temples, which were dedicated to the deities Tlaloc and Huitzilopochti. - Tlaloc was the deity of water and rain and was associated with agricultural fertility. Huitzilopochtli was the patron deity of the Mexica, and he was associated with warfare, fire, and the Sun. - Paired together on the Templo Mayor, the two deities symbolized the Mexica concept of atl-tlachinolli, or burnt water, which connoted warfare—the primary way in which the Mexica acquired their power and wealth. - In the center of the Huitzilopochtli temple was a sacrificial stone. Near the top, standard-bearer figures decorated the stairs. They likely held paper banners and feathers. Serpent balustrades adorn the base of the temple of Huitzilopochtli, and two undulating serpents flank the stairs that led to the base of the Templo Mayor as well. - By placing the Coyolxauhqui Stone at the base of Huiztilopochtli's temple, the Mexica effectively transformed the temple into Coatepec. -Many of the temple's decorations and sculptural program also support this identification. The snake balustrades and serpent heads identify the temple as a snake mountain, or Coatepec. -It is possible that the standard-bearer figures recovered at the Templo Mayor symbolized Huitzilopochtli's 400 brothers. -Ritual performances that occurred at the Templo Mayor also support the idea that the temple symbolically represented Coatepec. For instance, the ritual of Panquetzaliztli (banner raising) celebrated Huitzilopochtli's triumph over Coyolxauhqui and his 400 brothers. People offered gifts to the deity, danced and ate tamales. -During the ritual, war captives who had been painted blue were killed on the sacrificial stone and then their bodies were rolled down the staircase to fall atop the Coyolxauhqui monolith to reenact the myth associated with Coatepec. -For the enemies of the Mexica and those people the Mexica ruled over, this ritual was a powerful reminder to submit to Mexica authority. Clearly, the decorations and rituals associated with the Templo Mayor connoted the power of the Mexica empire and their patron deity, Huitzilopochtli. -At the top center of the Tlaloc temple is a sculpture of a male figure on his back painted in blue and red. The figure holds a vessel on his abdomen likely to receive offerings. This type of sculpture is called a chacmool, and is older than the Mexica. It was associated with the rain god, in this case Tlaloc. - At the base of the Tlaloc side of the temple, on the same axis as the chacmool, are stone sculptures of two frogs with their heads arched upwards. This is known as the Altar of the Frogs. The croaking of frogs was thought to herald the coming of the rainy season, and so they are connected to Tlaloc. - While Huiztilopochtli's temple symbolized Coatepec, Tlaloc's temple was likely intended to symbolize the Mountain of Sustenance, or Tonacatepetl. This fertile mountain produced high amounts of rain, thereby allowing crops to grow. - Over a hundred ritual caches or deposits containing thousands of objects have been found associated with the Templo Mayor. Some offerings contained items related to water, like coral, shells, crocodile skeletons, and vessels depicting Tlaloc. Other deposits related to warfare and sacrifice, containing items like human skull masks with obsidian blade tongues and noses and sacrificial knives. Many of these offerings contain objects from faraway places—likely places from which the Mexica collected tribute. Some offerings demonstrate the Mexica's awareness of the historical and cultural traditions in Mesoamerica. -For instance, they buried an Olmec mask made of jadeite, as well as others from Teotihuacan - After the Spanish Conquest in 1521, the Templo Mayor was destroyed, and what did survive remained buried. - The stones were reused to build structures like the Cathedral in the newly founded capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain CONTEXT - The city of Tenochtitlan was established in 1325 on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco and with the city's foundation the Templo Mayor was built. -Between 1325 and 1519, the Templo Mayor was expanded, enlarged, and reconstructed during seven main building phases, which likely corresponded with different rulers, or tlatoani ("speaker"), taking office. Sometimes new construction was the result of environmental problems, such as flooding. -archeologists have found that with each phase, the same subject of Coyolxauhqui, was placed in the same location over and over.

Spiral Jetty, Robert Smithson

-US -1970 CE FORM -By creating a spiral, smithson created lots of opportunities where the land and water could meet one another - Right now the American west is in the midst of a drought so the water has receded. - So instead of water filling the spaces between the spiral, it's sand - So this is a work of art that changed based on natural principles And as we stand here, we see mountains, we see the basalt that's formed from a volcano. So we have a very powerful sense of the passage of time FUNCTION - By putting art outside in the world it becomes part of the process of nature. It can't be conserved. And thereby outside of the commercial, of a work that could be bought and sold. - However, there are documentations of it - entropy, which was so important to Smithson, this idea that the tendency of all things, according to the laws of physics, is to move from order to disorder, to chaos. - So Smithson is imposing a geometric order into this natural landscape, into this vast space that is in the process, over millions of years, of disassembling. we can see the way his intervention is slowly coming apart. CONTENT - At the edge of the Great Salt Lake in Utah- a terminal basin, a huge lake that had been largely freshwater, but there is no outlet so when the water flows here from the rivers and streams, collects and then simply evaporates. - Which means that the water is dense with minerals, especially with salt. - Like the Dead Sea. almost nothing can live here. - We are not seeing it how it existed when Smithson first created it, where it was an intersection between the land and the odd water of the lake. CONTEXT - Smithson hired several people to help create this - He brought a front-loader and dump trucks, a tractor, to help move these basalt stones and sand and some soil into place. - The shape of the spiral is a form that has shown up in petroglyphs throughout the American West. and it appears in nature frequently - One of the anecdotes that Smithson was aware of was the centuries-old idea that the Great Salt Lake contained a whirlpool that somehow connected it to the Pacific Ocean. So the idea of a spiral or whirlpool is active even in these stories that predate Smithson. - But this is also a sculpture that is rooted in the 20th century, in an industrial culture. 1970 was the year of the first Earth Day, and that signaled an important early moment in the environmental movement. - The idea of the ruination that man was visiting on nature is clearly informing work like this. - And Earth Day being this time when we reflect on environmental issues, but the relationship between the growing industrial nature of the United States and the vast, virgin landscape that was here when Europeans arrived, is a theme throughout 19th-century American painting. - This work of art and the land that it sits on came under the control of the Dia Art Foundation. What does an institution like Dia do with something like this? Does it try to protect it? Does it allow natural and industrial forces to play with the landscape around it? And so what Dia did is, in concert with the Getty Conservation Institute, is to make the decision to regularly document this object.

Sarcophagus of the Spouses

- Etruscan - 520 BCE FORM - is an anthropoid (human-shaped), painted terracotta sarcophagus - archaic Etruria - rounded, serene faces and the treatment of hairstyles would have fit in with contemporary Greek styles. - However, the posing of the figures, the angular joints of the limbs, and their extended fingers and toes reflect local practice in Etruria. - Stylized cushions and people - Both figures have elongated proportions - The male's beard and the hair atop his head is quite abstracted without any interior detail. - The artist wouldve burnished the object (smooth it with a hard surface) to create a glossy surface - Then it was cut in half probably bc it did not fit in the kiln. So it would have been fired in four pieces - Like the archaic smile, it's very stylized These are not portraits - The eyes are hollow, sothere must have been something laid there - The figures, unlike greek kouros, are not stiff and have movement. Their arms are stretched out, into our space. they are intimate FUNCTION - contained cremated human remains CONTENT - they are at home in the archaic period in the Mediterranean. - depicts a reclining man and woman on its lid. The pair rests on highly stylized cushions, just as they would have done at an actual banquet. - Both figures have highly stylized hair, in each case plaited with the stylized braids hanging rather stiffly at the sides of the neck. In the female's case, the plaits are arranged so as to hang down in front of each shoulder - The female wears a soft cap on her head; she also wears shoes with pointed toes that are characteristically Etruscan. - The male's braids hang neatly at the back, splayed across the upper back and shoulders. - No shoes, bare chest has been interpreted as belonging to a banqueting scene, with the couple reclining together on a single dining couch while eating and drinking and feasting - They were likely holding objects relating to a banquet (maybe perfume bottle or pomegranate, the symbol of the eternal) CONTEXT -While we cannot identify the original owner of the sarcophagus, it is clear that the person(s) commissioning it would have been a member of the Caeretan elite. - found in the ancient Etruscan city of Caere - discovered during the course of archaeological excavations in the Banditaccia necropolis of ancient Caere during the nineteenth century and is now in Rome. - The sarcophagus is quite similar to another terracotta sarcophagus from Caere depicting a man and woman. They are perhaps the products of the same artistic workshop. - Inspiration from convivial (social) sphere; conviviality was central to extruscan mortuary rituals - at Etruscan banquets, men and women reclined and ate together, a circumstance that was quite different from other Mediterranean cultures, especially the Greeks. - This custom generated resentment from greek and Latin authors. They found it offensive. - Women enjoyed a different and more privileged status in Etruscan society than did their Greek and Roman counterparts. - The convivial theme of the sarcophagus reflects the funeral customs of Etruscan society - Tombs were the only way to learn about their culture - Rome was ruled by estruscan kings - Found in a necropolis, that is a cemetery called Banditaccia at Cerveteri, the principle cities of the Estruscans - Found broken into 400 pieces and reassembled

Great Hall of Bulls

- Lascaux, France - 15,000 BCE - paleo FORM - located in the main part of the cave. probably deep inside cave for protection - Charcoal and Ochre on white calcite nonporous rock - narrative FUNCTION - Aid with hunting/ ritual to ensure good hunting - probably used for religious rituals, storytelling, and history by drawing what they saw CONTENT - there's a Disemboweled bison and bird-headed human figure CONTEXT - animals were important (bulls, horses, cattle, and deer)- food or predator - hunter-gatherer lifestyle

lamentation (arena chapel part 3)

FORM -Giotto simplified the background, but where we might expect to see, the most important figure, Christ, in the center Giotto has moved him off to the left. - The landscape is in service of drawing our eye down toward Christ, that rocky hill that forms a landscape that moves our eye down to Mary and Christ. - Mary raised her right knee to prop him up. She twists her body. And puts her arms around him, one hand on his shoulder, another on his chest. - She leans forward as if to plead with him to wake up as if in disbelief that this could have happened. - Giotto is so interested in naturalism that he's willing to show two figures where we only see the backs. we would never have seen this in the medieval period. that's because those figures provide no information to the narrative. All that they do is frame Christ and Mary. They draw our eye to those most important figures. FUNCTION Show the mourning of Mary over Christ's death CONTENT - Lamentation- Christ has been crucified, has been taken down off the cross, and he's now being mourned by his mother, by his followers. - Putting emphasis on Christ as physical, as human. at the top there's a tree and the tree might look dead, but of course, it might also be winter and that tree might grow leaves again in the spring and it is an analogy to Christ and his eventual resurrection. - At Christ's feet we see Mary Magdalene with her typical red hair, who is attending to his feet and, of course, that's appropriate given the biblical tradition as well because she had anointed Christ's feet and there's a real sense of tenderness there. -There are angels, but these angels are not detached figures. They mourn as we mourn. They rent their clothing. They tear at themselves. They pull their hair. They are in agony. -So, like the figures with their backs to us, they assist in Giotto's creating an illusion of space and like the angels above them, the human figures display their grief in different ways. Some are sad and resigned and kind of keep to themselves, other figures throw their arms out. -There's a real interest in individuality, in the different ways that people experience emotion. we move to the next image, which is the scene where Christ says, "Do not touch me." Where Mary Magdalene recognizes him as he has been resurrected and you'll notice that Giotto has continued that mountain. -Our eye then moves down and so there is this visual relationship that is drawn between Christ's death, Christ's mourning and Christ's resurrection by the landscape that frames them. -In the trompe-l'oeil depictions of inset stone there is another painted scene in the little quatrefoil. And here we see Jonah being swallowed by the giant fish- It is a perfect Old Testament analogy to the New Testament story of Christ's crucifixion and ultimate resurrection. It's a tour de force of emotion. -It's such an expression of his late medieval period, his moving towards what we will eventually call the Renaissance. CONTEXT Lamentation comes from the word to lament, to grieve

Pazzi Chapel, Brunelleschi

- Florece, Italy - 1429 CE FORM - Filippo Brunelleschi built the Pazzi chapel as a perfect space with harmonious proportions. - He could achieve this by including the knowledge gained during his stay in Rome when he focused primarily on measuring ancient buildings, for instance the Pantheon. -Supported by corinthian columns -The pietra serena, the grayish green stone that articulates the decorative elements on the walls -Attention to perfect geometry -impost block- one of brunellesci's favorite details FUNCTION - Chapel (a chapter house, not a church) - Originally used as a chapter house, which is a meeting room for the monks of Santa Croce- so it has a bench that lines the wall, just off the cloister, which is the traditional place for the chapter house CONTENT - The chapel, used as the chapter house by Santa Croce friars, is proceeded by an atrium, a sort of entrance hall, supported by six Corinthian columns placed next to the central arch. -It is a rectangular layout containing one square room, covered by an umbrella-shaped dome, and two sides of the remaining space, each covered by a barrel vault with round windows. -The wall opens on a small square apse called scarsella covered by a dome decorated with a fresco painting reproducing the sky over Florence on July 4th 1442. -The central dome is decorated with round sculptures and the coat of arms of Pazzi Family (two paired dolphins) made of glazed terracotta, works by Luca della Robbia. -Has the elements that we come to expect of Brunelleschi -Central planned space- similar to pantheon -Classicism, revival of the standards of ancient Rome Fluted pilasters, long walls, and the hemispherical dome with an oculus in the center, and windows on the sides, and light coming into the chapel, and a dome on pendentives. -He used what we considered modern glazes There are small barrel vaults on either side. He took a rectangular space and made it, as much as possible, into a square with a dome on top CONTEXT - The chapel was commissioned to Brunelleschi by Andrea de' Pazzi in 1429 but the works went on also after the death of the architect in 1446 and were never finished because the family suffered the consequences of the conspiracy organized by Jacopo and Francesco de' Pazzi, together with the archbishop of Pisa Francesco Salviati, against the Medici family -Numerous artists contributed to the conclusion of the decoration works of the Pazzi chapel: Giuliano da Maiano made the frame and the door; Luca della Robbia made the relief representing Saint Andrews on the throne above the portal and glazed terracotta rounds with Apostles. -The four Evangelists have been attributed to Brunelleschi, the cherubs on the medals of the external frieze to Desiderio da Settignano and his brother Geri. Alesso Baldovinetti drew the pattern of the stained glass window with the figure of Saint Andrew. -It was completed after brunelleschi's death

Palazzo Rucellai, Leon Battista Alberti

- Florence, Italy - 1450 CE FORM -Geometrically proportional -Classical elements- pilaster, rounded arches -We have more classical entablature, which gives us a sense of horizontality -It's a façade that was truly separated from the medieval style, and could finally be considered Renaissance -Like traditional Florentine palazzi, the façade is divided into three tiers. Alberti divided these with the horizontal entablatures that run across the facade -The first tier grounds the building, giving it a sense of strength. -This is achieved by the use of cross-hatched, or rusticated stone that runs across the very bottom of the building, as well as large stone blocks, square windows, and portals of post and lintel construction in place of arches. -the overall horizontality of this façade is called "trabeated" architecture, which Alberti thought was most fitting for the homes of nobility. -Each tier also decreases in height from the bottom to top. On each tier, Alberti used pilasters, or flattened engaged columns, to visually support the entablature. -On the first tier, they are of the Tuscan order. -On the second and third tiers, Alberti used smaller stones to give the feeling of lightness, which is enhanced by the rounded arches of the windows, a typically Roman feature. -second tier they are of the Ionic order, and on the third they are Corinthian. -The building is also wrapped by benches for visitors to Florence. -In many ways, this building is very similar to the Colosseum. The great Roman amphitheater is also divided into tiers. More importantly, it uses architectural features for decorative purposes rather than structural support -like the engaged columns on the Colosseum, the pilasters on the façade of the Rucellai do nothing to actually hold the building up. -The building was never finished FUNCTION -the home was just one of many important commissions that Alberti completed for the Rucellais—a wealthy merchant family. -It was important that Rucellai expressed his loyalty to the Medici family Content --The Palazzo Rucellai actually had four floors: the first was where the family conducted their business; the second floor, or piano nobile, was where they received guests; the third floor contained the family's private apartments; and a hidden fourth floor, which had few windows and is invisible from the street, was where the servants lived. -In addition to the façade, Alberti may have also designed an adjacent loggia (a covered colonnaded space) where festivities were held. -The loggia may have been specifically built for a 1461 wedding that joined the Rucellai and Medici families. -It repeats the motif of the pilasters and arches found on the top two tiers of the palazzo. -The loggia joins the building at an irregularly placed, not central, courtyard -Between the ground floor and the first floor, we see a Medici device of a diamond ring with three feathers coming out of it, and between the second floor and the third floor, we see a device of the Rucellai family, of a sail that appears to be blowing in the wind CONTEXT -Alberti constructed the façade of the Palazzo over a period of five years, from 1446-1451 -The main difference between the Palazzo Rucellai and other palazzi was Alberti's reliance on ancient Rome. This may have reflected Giovanni Rucellai's pretensions for his family. Rome was the seat of the papacy, and though Rucellai was not a cleric, he claimed to have descended from a Templar.

Last Judgement of Hu-Nefer

- New Kingdom, Egypt - 1275 BCE FORM - preserved well - large, clear vignettes (accounts of events) painted and drawn - human figures and animals and language characters drawn on 2d papyrus book. papyrus is a reed that grows in the Nile Delta. - There is a variety of color - Human forms are more realistic, not tested perspective. profile view FUNCTION - The book was specially produced for Hunefer. It was made to ensure Hunefer's continued existence in the afterlife - unlike Christian beliefs, those who don't pass the test don't have an afterlife at all - Originally made for kings, but then came to be used by ppl who are not part of the royal family but still high rank. Hunefer had a priestly status. He was literate CONTENT - (this is the smaller image)"The Opening of the Mouth" ritual was illustrated, and it's one of the most famous pieces of papyrus on a page from [the Book of the Dead of Hunefer] - The centerpiece of the upper scene is the mummy of Hunefer, supported by the god Anubis (or a priest wearing a jackal mask). - Hunefer's wife and daughter mourn, and three priests perform rituals. The white building is a tomb, with a portal doorway and small pyramid - To the left of the tomb is a stela, which would have stood to one side of the tomb entrance - At the right of the lower scene is a table bearing the various implements for the Opening of the mouth ritual. There is an image of a ritual where a foreleg of a calf, cut off while the animal is still alive, is offered. the animal is then sacrificed. The calf is with its mother, perhaps showing distress - On a page from [the book of the dead of Ani]: the scene reads from left to right - (this is the longer image) Anubis brings hunefer into the judgment area and is supervising the judgement scales. Anubis is carrying an ankh, a symbol of eternal life Hunefer's heart, represented as a pot, is being weighed against a feather, the symbol of Ma'at, the ethical order of things - ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the seat of the emotions, the intellect and the character, so it represented the good or bad aspects of a person's life If the heart did not balance with the feather, then the dead person was condemned to non-existence, and devour by Ammit, the beast who has a head of a crocodile, the body of a lion, and the hind of a hippopotamus - Hunefer lived an ethical life because the feather is heavier. Hunefer is shown being brought into the presence of Osiris by his son Horus, having become "true of voice" or "justified". Horus has a falcon head and holds an ankh Osiris is shown seated under a canopy with his sisters Isis and Nephthys. The canopy shows how important he is The sisters are standing on a white platform. It represents natron, the natural salts that are deposited in the Nile and used to dry out mummies - There is a lotus flower in front of osiris, and on top is horus's four children representing north, south, east, west. They preserve the organs of the dead - Horus is also flying symbolized as an eye. He carries an ostrich feather, a representation of eternal life - At the top, Hunefer is adoring a row of deities who supervise the judgement On the right is another deity called Thoth, with the head of an ibis, a bird. He is reporting that Hundefere passed CONTEXT -Hunefer, a scribe, lived during the Nineteenth Dynasty, around 1310 BCE - The titles "Royal Scribe" and "Scribe of Divine Offerings" and "overseer of Royal Cattle" meant that he held prominent administrative offices and was close to the king, a high status - There were prayers, spells, and incantations needed by the dead in the after life for eternal life

Isenheim altarpiece, Matthias Grunewald

- Northern Europe - 1512 CE FORM -four panels - enormous moveable altarpiece, essentially a box of statues covered by folding wings -interior ensemble is symmetrical, rational, mathematical and replete with numerical perfections—one, three, four and twelve. - All three scenes are highly idiosyncratic (distinctive) and personal visions of Biblical exegesis - the musical angels, in their Gothic bandstand, are lit by an eerie orange-yellow light while the adjacent Madonna of Humility sits in a twilight landscape lit by flickering, fiery atmospheric clouds. - realism and intensity of feeling may have been inspired by: the visions of St. Bridget of Sweden FUNCTION -created to serve as the central object of devotion in an Isenheim hospital built by the Brothers of St. Anthony. CONTENT -At the heart of the altarpiece, central carved and gilded ensemble consists of rather staid, solid and unimaginative representations of three saints important to the Antonine order; -a bearded and enthroned St. Anthony flanked by standing figures of St. Jerome and St. Augustine. -Below, in the carved predella, usually covered by a painted panel, a carved Christ stands at the center of seated apostles, six to each side, grouped in separate groups of three. -Grünewald's painted panels come from a different world; visions of hell on earth, in which the physical and psychological torments that afflicted Christ and a host of saints are rendered as visions wrought in dissonant psychedelic color, and played out by distorted figures—men, women, angels and demons—lit by streaking strident light and placed in eerie other-worldly landscapes. - The painted panels fold out to reveal three distinct ensembles. In its common, closed position the central panels close to depict a horrific, night-time Crucifixion. -The Virgin swoons into the waiting arms of the young St. John the Evangelist while John the Baptist, on the other side (not commonly depicted at the Crucifixion), gestures towards the suffering body at the center and holds a scroll which reads "he must increase, but I must decrease." -The emphatic physical suffering was intended to be thaumaturgic (miracle performing), a point of identification for the denizens of the hospital. -The flanking panels depict St. Sebastian, long known as a plague saint because of his body pocked by arrows, and St. Anthony Abbot. -In the predella panel is a Lamentation, the horrifyingly punctured dead body of Christ is presented as an invitation to contemplate mortality and resurrection. -The second position emphasizes this promise of resurrection. Its panels depict the Annunciation, the Virgin and Child with a host of musical angels, and the Resurrection. -The progression from left to right is a highlight reel of Christ's life. -The Resurrection panel is the strangest of these inner visions. Christ is wreathed in orange, red and yellow body haloes and rises like a streaking fireball, hovering over the sepulchre and the bodies of the sleeping soldiers, a combination of Transfiguration, Resurrection and Ascension. -Grünewald saves his most esoteric visions for the fully open position of the altar, in the two inner panels that flank the central sculptures. -On the left, St. Anthony is visited in the blasted-out wilderness by St. Paul (the first hermit of the desert)— the two are about to be fed by the raven in the tree above, and Anthony will later be called upon to bury St. Paul. -The meeting cured St. Anthony of the misperception that he was the first desert hermit, and was therefore a lesson in humility. -In the final panel, the depiction of St. Anthony's temptations in the desert; sublime hybrid demons, like Daliesque dreams, torment Anthony's waking and sleeping hours, bringing to life the saint's torment and mirroring the physical and psychic suffering of the hospital patients. CONTEXT -Nicolas of Hagenau? -St. Anthony was a patron saint of those suffering from skin diseases (Isenheim is a village about 15 miles south of Colmar). -The pig who usually accompanies St. Anthony in art is a reference to the use of pork fat to heal skin infections, but it also led to Anthony's adoption as a patron saint of swineherds, totally unrelated to his reputation for healing and as the patron of basket-weavers, brush-makers and gravediggers (he first lived as an anchorite, a type of religious hermit, in an empty sepulchre) -At the Isenheim hospital, the Antonine monks devoted themselves to the care of sick and dying peasants, many of them suffering from the effects of ergotism, a disease caused by consuming rye grain infected with fungus. =Ergotism, popularly known as St. Anthony's fire, caused hallucinations, skin infection and attacked the central nervous system, eventually leading to death. -It is perhaps not incidental to Grünewald's vision for his altarpiece that the hallucinogen LSD was eventually isolated from the same strain of fungus

Allegory of Law and Grace (gospel), Lucas Cranach the Elder

- Northern Europe - 1530 CE FORM -woodcut and letterpress, oil on wood, northern renaissance FUNCTION -The Reformation, initiated by Martin Luther in 1517, was originally an attempt to reform the Catholic Church. -However, reform quickly became rebellion, as people began to question the power and practices of the Catholic Church, which had been the only church in western Europe up until Luther. CONTENT -Two subjects divided by a tree -The left means that law alone without gospel does not get you to heaven -In the background you can see adam and eve -The Law and the Gospel explains Luther's ideas in visual form, most basically the notion that heaven is reached through faith and God's grace. -Luther despised and rejected the Catholic idea that good deeds, what he called "good works," could play any role in salvation. -two nude male figures appear on either side of a tree that is green and living on the "Gospel" side to the viewer's right, but barren and dying on the "law" side to the viewer's left. -Six columns of Bible citations appear at the bottom of the panel. -On the "gospel" side of the image (theright side), John the Baptist directs a naked man to both Christ on the cross in front of the tomb and to the risen Christ who appears on top of the tomb -The risen Christ stands triumphant above the empty tomb, acting out the miracle of the Resurrection. This nude figure is not vainly hoping to follow the law or to present a tally of his good deeds on the judgment day. He stands passively, stripped down to his soul, submitting to God's mercy. -In the left foreground a skeleton and a demon force a frightened naked man into hell, as a group of prophets, including Moses, point to the tablets of the law. -Christ sits in Judgment as Adam and Eve (in the background) eat the fruit and fall from grace. -Moses beholds these events from his vantage point toward the center of the picture, his white tablets standing out against the saturated orange robe and the deep green tree behind him, literally highlighting the association of law, death, and damnation. -Taken together, these motifs demonstrate that law leads inescapably to hell when mistaken for a path to salvation, as the damned naked man demonstrates. CONTEXT -The Law and the Gospel is the single most influential image of the Lutheran Reformation. -A decisive difference between Catholics and followers of Luther was the question of how to get to heaven, and what role, if any, religious art could play. -The Catholic Church insisted that believers could take action to vouchsafe their salvation by doing good deeds, including making financial donations and paying for elaborate art to decorate Christian churches. -Luther, however, insisted that salvation was in God's hands, and all the believer had to do was to open up and have faith. -As people became disillusioned with Catholic teaching, they grew angry about the ways the Catholic Church became rich in money, art, and power. When reform became impossible and rebellion the only course of action, furious, frustrated believers directed their anger at works of art, an easy and powerful target. -The Law and the Gospel is concerned with two roles that God plays, to judge and to show mercy. -On the one hand, God judges and condemns human sin; but on the other hand, God also shows mercy and forgiveness, granting unearned salvation to sinful believers.

Tlatilco female figurine

- Central Mexico - 1200 BCE - neo CONTENT -Two-faced, one body -Naked, as no clothes are depicted and the nipples are emphasized -Matching (elaborate) hairstyles FORM -emphasized curves, rounded -Faces blended into one another -"Tally mark" lines indicating texture and shape of hair (possibly alludes to race/ethnicity) - discolored by time and wear FUNCTION - depict the female figure and signify its importance -Possibly an idol or physical manifestation/representation of a deity

Augustus Primaporta

- Imperial Roman, Italy - 5 CE FORM - He stands in contrapposto -Probably a copy of a bronze - Idealized, more athletic, almost god-like - Proportions of his body is following "Kanon" aka doryphoros sculpture, shows beauty of the body - Thick leather cuirass (breastplate) - hes in the position of Orator FUNCTION - this statue is not simply a portrait of Augustus as an orator and general but this sculpture also communicates a good deal about the emperor's power and ideology - it expresses Augustus' connection to the past, his role as a military victor, his connection to the gods, and his role as the bringer of the Roman Peace. CONTENT - in this portrait Augustus shows himself as a great military victor and a strong supporter of Roman religion. - The statue also foretells the 200 year period of peace that Augustus initiated, called the Pax Romana. - The emperor wears military regalia and his right arm is outstretched, demonstrating that the emperor is addressing his troops. - We immediately sense the emperor's power as the leader of the army and a military conqueror. - It has lots of symbolism - at Augustus' right leg is cupid figure riding a dolphin. The dolphin became a symbol of Augustus' great naval victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. a conquest that made Augustus the sole ruler of the Empire. - - The cupid astride the dolphin sends another message: that Augustus is descended from the gods. Cupid is the son of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. Julius Caesar, the adoptive father of Augustus, claimed to be descended from Venus and therefore Augustus also shared this connection to the gods. - he is wearing a cuirass, or breastplate, that is covered with figures that communicate additional propagandistic messages. - In the central zone of the cuirass are two figures, a Roman and a Parthian. On the right, the enemy Parthian returns military standards. This is a direct reference to an international diplomatic victory of Augustus in 20 B.C.E., when these standards were finally returned to Rome after a previous battle - Surrounding this central zone are gods and personifications. At the top are Sol and Caelus, the sun and sky gods respectively. - On the sides of the breastplate are female personifications of countries conquered by Augustus. - These gods and personifications refer to the Pax Romana. The message is that the sun is going to shine on all regions of the Roman Empire, bringing peace and prosperity to all citizens. - Beneath the female personifications are Apollo and Diana, two major deities in the Roman pantheon - clearly Augustus is favored by these important deities and their appearance here demonstrates that the emperor supports traditional Roman religion. - At the very bottom of the cuirass is Tellus, the earth goddess, who cradles two babies and holds a cornucopia. Tellus is an additional allusion to the Pax Romana as she is a symbol of fertility with her healthy babies and overflowing horn of plenty. CONTEXT -Roman art was closely intertwined with politics and propaganda - He invoked the power of imagery to communicate his ideology. - the sculpture gets its name from the town in Italy where it was found in 1863. - Found in the villa (home) of Livia, his wife - Compare to doryphoros- Both have a similar contrapposto stance and both are idealized. - The Romans often modeled their art on Greek predecessors. This is significant because Augustus is essentially depicting himself with the perfect body of a Greek athlete: he is youthful and virile, despite the fact that he was middle-aged at the time of the sculpture's commissioning.

King Menkaure and Queen

- Old Kingdom, Egypt - 2490 BCE FORM - Smooth as silk, the meticulously finished surface of the dark stone - The two figures stand side-by-side on a simple, squared base and are supported by a shared back pillar. - They both face to the front, although Menkaure's head is noticeably turned to his right—this image was likely originally positioned within an architectural niche, making it appear as though they were emerging from the structure. - The broad-shouldered, youthful body of the king is covered only with a traditional short pleated kilt, known as a shendjet, and his head sports the primary pharaonic insignia of the iconic striped nemes headdress and an artificial royal beard. - In his clenched fists, held straight down at his sides, Menkaure grasps ritual cloth rolls. - His body is straight, strong, and eternally youthful with no signs of age. His facial features are remarkably individualized with prominent eyes, a fleshy nose, rounded cheeks, and full mouth with protruding lower lip. - Menkaure's queen provides the perfect female counterpart to his youthful masculine virility. Sensuously modelled with a beautifully proportioned body emphasized by a clinging garment, she articulates ideal mature feminine beauty. FUNCTION - captures the physical ideals of the time and creates a sense of eternity and immortality even today to ensure rebirth for the king in the Afterlife CONTENT - There is a sense of the individual in both faces. Neither Menkaure nor his queen is depicted in the purely idealized manner that was the norm for royal images. - Menkaure and his queen stride forward with their left feet—this is entirely expected for the king, as males in Egyptian sculpture almost always do so, but it is unusual for the female since they are generally depicted with feet together. They both look beyond the present and into timeless eternity, their otherworldly face displaying no human emotion whatsoever. - Unusual for a pharaoh's image, the king has no protective cobra (known as a uraeus) perched on his brow. This notable absence has led to the suggestion that both the king's nemes and the queen's wig were originally covered in precious metal and that the cobra would have been part of that addition. - In the southwest corner of the structure, the team discovered a magnificent cache of statuary carved in a smooth-grained dark stone called greywacke or schist. There were a number of triad statues—each showing 3 figures—the king, the fundamentally important goddess Hathor, and the personification of a nome (a geographic designation, similar to the modern idea of a region, district, or county) - Hathor was worshipped in the pyramid temple complexes along with the supreme sun god Re and the god Horus, who was represented by the living king. The goddess's name is actually 'Hwt-hor', which means "The House of Horus," and she was connected to the wife of the living king and the mother of the future king. Hathor was also a fierce protector who guarded her father Re; as an "Eye of Re" (the title assigned to a group of dangerous goddesses), she could embody the intense heat of the sun and use that blazing fire to destroy his enemies There were 4 complete triads, one incomplete, and at least one other in a fragmentary condition. The precise meaning of these triads is uncertain. CONTEXT -Menkaure was also known as Mycerinus - there is no doubt that this sculpture shows Menkaure, but the identity of the queen is a different matter. She is clearly a royal female. - The prominence of the royal female—at equal height and frontal—in addition to the protective gesture she extends has suggested that, rather than one of Mekaure's wives, this is actually his queen-mother

San Vitale

- Ravenna, Italy - 526 CE FORM -3f (flooring) 1g -Narthex- the entrances (same for hagia sophia) -Centrally planned church- its focus is on its center instead of basilica, which has a long, or longitudinal axis -Usually, a church is built like a cross. But this isn't -It has a ambulatory, or an aisle that surround its central space -on the east, theres an extension with an apse at the end -It has eight sides, octagon -Made out of reused brick from ancient Roman buildings -There are big piers that support the building -Doubled columns- stacked columns -Every surface is covered with imagery The only surfaces that are made of stone are made of decorative marble, cut to create abstract designs -The columns have classical orders -On top of the capitals are impost blocks that help make the transition up to the arches FUNCTION -church CONTENT -Mosaics are lit with windows and reflect light -The apse has three large windows and a large mosaic-Christ is dressed royally in purple sitting in an orb, the orb of Earth, the universe. Hes holding the book of the apocalypse with the seven seals visible. -In his right hand, he's handing a crown to San Vitalis, who was adopted as the primary martyr of this city -On the other side there is Ecclesius, who founded and sponsored the building of this church. we see him handing the church to the angel beside Christ -Below flow the four rivers of paradise -On either side of him, angels -Above the altar, theres an image of the Lamb of God. the Lamb of God refers to Christ. He wears a halo. The lamb was sacrificed for the redemption of mankind. The lamb is surrounded by a wreath of victory. In this case, the idea of the triumph of Christianity itself. -The wreath is held in place by four angels who stand on globes that refer to the globe upon which christ in the apse sits -We see Christ again, but this time bearded, older, in the archway at the beginning of the chancel. -Moving down the arch on either side are 14 figures, including the apostles -We see scenes from the old Testament, specifically ones that pre-figure the life of Christ, and the new testament Justinian mosaic and Theodora FORM -3f (flat, floating, frontal), 1g -Made out of tesserae, which are small pieces of colored glass, many with gold leaf -Overlapping suggests that Justinian is the closest figure to the viewer, but Maximianus's feet are lower on the picture plane which suggests that he is closer to the viewer. -This can perhaps be seen as an indication of the tension between the authority of the Emperor and the church. FUNCTION -This mosaic thus establishes the central position of the Emperor between the power of the church and the power of the imperial administration and military. -Like the Roman Emperors of the past, Justinian has religious, administrative, and military authority. -This identifies the mosaic as the so-called Little Entrance which marks the beginning of the Byzantine liturgy of the Eucharist. CONTENT -The two most important mosaics in San Vitale flank the apse. -They show the reassertion of Eastern imperial control. -They show the emperor Justinian in purple with a halo (hes divine)and his empress Theodora. -Justininan holds a bowl associated with the Eucharist, which he is handing in the direction of Christ in the apse. this wouldve held the bread for the sacrament of the Eucharist -Justinian is surrounded by his court. There are religious figures representing the church and the military. They never came to Ravenna. They're in the mosaics to reassert their control over the city. -For much of the 400s, Ravenna was under the control of a Goth, Theodoric, and he was an Arian, which means he didn't follow the orthodox doctrines of the church -The Arians believed that Christ was the creation of God the Father and therefore was lower in the hierarchy of the Trinity -Justinian, the emperor in Constantinople in the early 500s, sends his general, Belisarius, to conquer Italy, to reconquer Ravenna, and reestablish orthodox Christian belief. -The Arian belief was suppressed - So in the mosaic there are three sets of power- the church, emperor, and military***** -Justinian and Maximian (bishop) are more individualized. You can tell who they are. -Maximian holds a jeweled cross and wears the same purple that the emperor wears, associating him with the power of the emperor in Constantinople -The figure at the far right holds an incense burner -All figures are frontal, not realistic. They seem to float in eternal space. -The figures stand in front of a field of gold, a byzantine tradition -Justinian is thus Christ's vice-regent on earth, and his army is actually the army of Christ as signified by the Chi-Rho on the shield. -To the right of the apse windows, we see the panel of Theodora, the empress and it mirrors the panel with Justinian. She is seen as co-equal with Justinian, even though she was lower class, an entertainer apparently. -Shes wearing rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls. She has a halo -Theodora is carrying the chalice for the wine for the eucharist -At the bottom u can see Three Magi is visiting when Christ is born CONTEXT - As the Christian Emperor, he saw himself as the defender of the faith. -As such it was his duty to establish religious uniformity or Orthodoxy throughout the Empire. -Spiritual power go hand in hand with political power, the emperor

Forum of Trajan

- Rome, Italy - 106 CE FORM - surrounded by Exedrae - basilica, porches - The height of the columns shows the height of the hill removed - Shows roman's interest in making nature subservient to man's will FUNCTION - Its a civic space. It was an administrative center, a commercial center, and political and social center CONTENT - likely at the top was a sulpture of a chariot pulled by six horses with the emperor trajan followed by the goddess of victory. - Once u enter the space of the forum, in the center was an equestrian (horse riding) sculpture, a sculpture showing trajan on a horse - There is the largest basilica in rome, the basilica ulpia. Its called basilica ulpia bc it's trajan's family name. - Beyond that, there were two libraries on either side, one for greek literature and one for roman literature. The library was designed with porches, so you can get a view of the relief carving on the column of trajan - Trajan was proud of his miltary endeavors and the expansion of the empire -Throughout his imperial forum, trajan had sculpture of captured dacians, showing the Dacians as quite noble as dangerous aversaries - Trajan wanted to build a temple, but he died before building it, so emperor hadrian built it in honor of him CONTEXT - Standing on a terrace, you can see the imperial Fora. a forum is something u can find in any roman city. - Caesar wanted to show his own political power so he started to build forums, continued by more emperors - The real estate was already filled with the fora of the previous emperors. So Trajan asked his architect to remove the hill that was in the way to build the forum - trajan expanded the roman empire Markets of trajan FORM - Concrete allowed to shape space in a way you cant with post and intel architecture - Groin vaults were built in concrete, done by trajans chief architect, apollodorus of damascus - Lots of light is let in thru windows FUNCTION - Huge shopping complex CONTENT - 150 offices and storefronts CONTEXT - He not onlt built the largest imperial forum in rome's history, he also built a vast public bathhouse, and markets - Emperors built projects for the roman public. - The romans had a nickname for trajan, Optimus Princeps aka "best leader" Column of trajan FORM - Marble - The base is oak FUNCTION - Way of displaying wealth -Celebration of the army and greatness of the empire and engineering power CONTENT -part of the forum of trajan - 22 diff layers in a spiral - Narrates two main wars- two main campaigns, that trajan fought against the dacians, chronologically - It goes from beginning of war up to the top - At the end, theres a scene of sacrifice In some of the scenes, there are building camps, building bridges - There is a beared man with his back to us who represents the Danube River, where the campaign started, in germany - All rivers are represented as beared, half naked men - - There are a series of boats and soldiers on top This is a famous description of apollodorus of Damascus (the architect) being able to cross the danube, built an entire bridge of boats to do it - The base is a representation of typical Dacian weapons and cuirasses (the defeated weapons) - There's a staircase inside CONTEXT - The army was the building force during these wars

School of Athens, Raphael

- Vatican City, Italy - 1509 CE FORM - High Renaissance - One point perspective - we see architecture that is very Bramantian, but also very ancient Roman - There are coffered Barrel vaults, Pilasters - The middle for ground is fairly empty, so the linear perspective at the bottom of the painting balance is too strong orthogonals at the top of the painting. -he wants to make way for the advancement a Plato and Aristotle as they walked down the stairs FUNCTION -Commissioned by Pope Julius II CONTENT - In the room called Stanza Della Segnatura - Raphael painted on the four walls, the four branches of human knowledge: - philosophy, having to do with things of this world - theology, having to do with issues relating to God and the divine - poetry - Justice - These four areas of human knowledge are symbolized by allegorical figures that we see on the ceiling - In the center, There are two great philosophers Plato and Aristotle surrounded by other philosophers and mathematicians from antiquity. - we can tell Plato from Aristotle because Plato is older and was his teacher. - Plato is also holding one of his own books, the Timaeus. -And Aristotle holds his book, the ethics the books represent the contrasting philosophies of the two men - Plato was known for being interested in the ethereal, the theoretical, which cannot be seen - He's pointing up - Hes wearing red (fire) and purple (air) - On the side of Plato, we see philosopher is concerned with issues of the ideal. for example we see Pythagoras, a mathematician - Aristotle focused his attention on the observable, the actual, the physical - His palm is down - Wearing blue (water) and brown (earth) - on his side, We see Euclid, the figure we associate with geometry. she seems to be drawing a geometric diagram for students interested in measure, the idea of the practical - Euclid is modeled on a friend of Rafael's - there's Bramante, the great architect asked by Pope Julius II to provide a model for a new Saint Peter's. -Bramante's design for Saint Peter's was based on perfect geometry of circles and squares. and it's really visible in the architecture that Raphael constructed for the School of Athens. -We see representations of classical sculpture in the niches on the left, that is on the platonic side. -we see Apollo the god of the sun, music, poetry, things that would be appropriate to the platonic -on right we see Athena, the god of war and wisdom, who presumably is involved in the more practical Affairs of man -In the middle there is Diogenes -And heraclitus, a philosopher, who seems to be writing and thinking quietly by himself. Others are engaged with others in the painting, but not him. His features are those of Michelangelo known for his rather lonely and brooding personality. Raphael has painted him here in the same pose as the prophet Isaiah on the Sistine ceiling although Isaiah looks up, Michelangelo's heraclitus looks down - Raphael also included himself- It's the young figure looking directly at us in a black cap, and standing among some of the most important astronomers of all time- Ptolemy and Zoroaster CONTEXT - Painted during the same time the Michelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling just a few doors away. this room was originally a library, part of the papal Apartments, which is where the pope lived Commissioned by Pope julius II

Standard of Ur

- (Sumerian) Iraq - 2600 BCE FORM - when found, the original wooden frame for the mosaic of shell, red limestone and blue lapis lazuli had decayed, and the two main panels had been crushed together by the weight of the soil. the bitumen acting as glue had disintegrated and the end panels were broken. - everyone is in perfect profile - the shoulders are squared in the picture plane - the feet are going in one direction, rather than in perspective - small and expensive - three levels called registers FUNCTION - unknown but: - imagined that it was carried on a pole as a standard (banner, flag) - another theory is that it formed the soundbox of a musical instrument CONTENT - the main panels are known as "War" and "Peace." - War (bloody and violent) shows one of the earliest representations of the Sumerian army. - top: large figure in center is king. he breaks the decorative border on the top with his head just like the other side. on the left there are chariots and soldiers. on right there are soldiers bringing prisoners of war. they are naked and wounded and presented to the king - middle: the actual battle is taking place. line of soldiers ready for battle. u see order and discipline. on the right there are soldiers being captured. - bottom: 4 chariots pulled by donkeys. there's a driver and warrior. there's also figures holding a spear or axe - Peace depicts animals, fish and other goods brought in procession to a banquet. Seated figures, wearing woolen fleeces or fringed skirts, drink to the accompaniment of a musician playing a lyre and someone singing on the right. - top: king is sitting. he is bigger than everyone else. there are secondary figures sitting and drinking and servants that are even smaller. - bottom: figures carrying things on their shoulders and leading animals - hierarchal scale- bigger and smaller CONTEXT - The royal graves of Ur- The most complete tomb discovered belonged to a lady identified as Pu-abi - the site is Known today as Tell el-Muqayyar, the "Mound of Pitch" - Ur was the capital of an empire stretching across southern Mesopotamia. - Close to temple buildings at the center of the city of Ur, people started to bury their dead there and hundreds of burials were made in pits. Many of these contained very rich materials. Standard of ur- was found in one of the largest graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, lying in the corner of a chamber above the right shoulder of a man. - surplus of food allowed for organized society, so people could be rulers and artists and artisans

Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace

- 1250 CE - Kamakura period, Japan FORM - Hand scroll - a common East Asian painting format in Japan called an emaki. - example of the action‐packed otoko‐e, "men's paintings," created in the Kamakura period FUNCTION - incident at Sanjô Palace designed to be unrolled in sections for close‐up viewing - The emaki depicts the seizing of the retired emperor Go‐Shirakawa. CONTENT - a bird's eye view of action moves right‐to‐left (between a written introduction and conclusion). In vibrant outline and washes of color, the story unfolds sequentially, so the main characters appear multiple times. - The attention to detail is so exact that historians consider it a uniquely valuable reference for this period: from the royal mansion's walled gateways, unpainted wooden buildings linked by corridors, bark roofs, large shutters and bamboo blinds that open to verandas, to the scores of foot soldiers, cavalry, courtiers, priests, imperial police, and even the occasional lady—each individualized by gesture and facial expression from horror to morbid humor, robes, armor, and weaponry easily identifiable according to rank, design, and type. - Beginning from a point of ominous calm, a single ox carriage transports the eye to a tangle of shoving and colliding carts and warriors. With escalating violence, the energy pulses and then rushes to a crescendo of graphic mayhem—decapitations, stabbings and hacking - the battle's apex marked at the center by the palace rooflines followed by an explosion of billowing flame and women fleeing for their lives - The chaos recedes as victors and dazed survivors stream through the rear gate, and ends in grisly, surreal calm with the dressed and tagged heads of nobles on pikes, a disorderly cluster of foot soldiers and cavalry surrounding the ox carriage, their general trotting before them in victorious satisfaction over the smoking and bloody atrocity left behind. - Three key elements appear multiple times, orienting the eye and organizing the sweep of events: guided by a groom inside, the elegant ox carriage that will carry off Go‐Shirakawa opens the action. - We see it knocked about with others in the crush of fighting at the palace wall, on the veranda where Nobuyori in colorful armor orders Go‐Shirakawa into it, and finally in the surge of departing victors where two soldiers lolling on top lending an air of indignity and insult to the monarch. - Nobuyori, now in court robes and on horseback, appears in front, glancing back at the carriage. - A mounted Minamoto Yoshitomo, distinguished by red armor and a distinctive horned helmet, appears twice—behind the carriage as it crashes onto the veranda, and brandishing a bow and arrow, cantering behind it in the departing crowd. CONTEXT - The incident at Sanjô Palace depicted on the scroll was one chapter in the vicious Heiji Insurrection of 1159‐60. - This short war marked a brutal era that came to a close in 1192 with the establishment of the Kamakura shogunate. - These stories, collectively called gunki monogatari, or "war tales," have inspired a huge body of art over the centuries. -The Night Attack on the Sanjô Palace, once part of a larger set that pictorialized the entire Heiji incident, survives with two other scrolls, one of them only in remnants. -Stories of romanticized martial derring‐do, gunki monogatari are history recounted by the victors. They celebrate Japan's change from a realm controlled by a royal court to one ruled by samurai. -But the events originated in the unusual nature of Japan's imperial world. Centered in the city of Kyôto, in some ways it resembled many ancient kingdoms. -It was prey to shifting loyalties, betrayals, and factional divisions among ambitious families who would stop at nothing in the quest for power. As elsewhere, emperors had several spouses, and noble daughters served as tools in political marriages to elevate the power of their families, and above all their clan head. -Unusually, a few patriarchs managed over time to displace imperial authority, lowering emperors to suppressing ceremonial functions. -And possibly, Japanese emperors found a way to reclaim some of that lost power: by resigning in favor of a successor. Freed from onerous rituals, a "retired" emperor could assert himself. -By the twelfth century, nobles as well as current and retired emperors had all turned to samurai clans to resolve their bitter rivalries. -Sanjô Palace was the home of former Emperor Go‐Shirakawa, known for a career as the wiliest and longest‐lived of retired royals. -He had recently resigned in favor of his son Emperor Nijô. The two emperors backed vying sides of the Fujiwara clan, a conspiratorial family unsurpassed in subjugating and sometimes choosing a succession of emperors. -One member of this clan, Fujiwara no Nobuyori, plotted against everyone. The Taira and the Minamoto clans served powerful interests in all of these disputes, while also pursuing their own ambitions as bitter rivals of the other. -******* Simply put the Night Attack was part of Fujiwara no Nobuyori's bid to seize power by abducting both the emperor and the retired emperor. -Backed by Minamoto no Yoshitomo, head of that clan, Nobuyori saw an opportunity when the head of the Taira clan, who supported Emperor Nijō, left Kyōto on a pilgrimage. -The emaki depicts the seizing of the retired emperor Go‐Shirakawa. - The remainder of the Heiji Rebellion story appeared on other emaki in the set, now mostly lost: the kidnapping of Emperor Nijô, the slaughter of another noble household, Nobuyori forcing Nijô to appoint him chancellor, Taira Kiyomori's return to decimate the schemers, and finally Kiyomori's mistake—banishing rather than executing several of Minamoto sons. -Minamoto no Yoritomo and his brother Yoshitsune would return years later to destroy the Taira clan in the Gempei War and found the first of four military governments of the Shōgunate that ruled Japan from 1192 until 1867. -Emperors and nobles remained in Kyoto, but were politically powerless. Feudal culture came to a violent end in 1868 at the hands of other samurai clans. They brought the young emperor Meiji into a new role as the monarch (really a figurehead) of a modern nation. -Japanese surnames come first and given names come second. Fujiwara and Taira are surnames.

The David Vases

- 1351 CE - Yuan Dynasty, China FORM - Blue and white porcelain- made of a pure kind of clay - Porcelain is white but the blue is from a mineral called cobalt, and its painted on - Covered in clear glaze - It's fired in very high temperature so it becomes like glass - The chinese had kilns that were technologically far advanced of anything in the west or near east FUNCTION - They were made for the altar of a Daoist temple in honor of a general who had recently been made a God CONTENT - their importance lies in the dated inscriptions on one side of their necks, above the bands of dragons. - He inscribed his name, date, and purpose of this dedication - Theres a great dragon in the serpentine form - At the base, above the dragon motif, and at the top, theres a vine and floral motif The neck of the vase is divided into two parts- the bottom includes a phoenix and the top leaves but interspersed between the leaves is the inscription the hangles are elephants - Originally the vases, modeled after bronzes, had porcelain rings attached through the elephant head shaped handles- you can see the break marks CONTEXT - The dedication records that in 1351 a man named Zhang Wenjin from Yushan county presented these two vases and an incense burner to a Daoist temple in Xingyuan (modern day Wuyuan county). - Yushan county is in northeast Jiangxi, which lies 120 km to the southeast of Jingdezhen, where these vases were made. - This inscription demonstrates that blue-and-white porcelain production was already well-established at Jingdezhen by 1351. - These vases were owned by Sir Percival David, who built the most important private collection of Chinese ceramics in the world. China was part of a vast mongol empire aka yuan dynasty - This work is a result of a global mongol empire and the interaction of china and iran

Portrait of Sin Sukju (1417-1475)

- 1417 CE - Korea FORM - Hanging scroll, ink and color on silk - Crisp, angular lines and subtle gradations of color characterize the folds of his gown. FUNCTION - Portrait paintings commemorated the sitter in both life and death in Joseon dynasty. -This painting depicts Sin Sukju as a "meritorious subject," or an official honored for his distinguished service at court and loyalty to the king during a tumultuous time. - artists in the Royal Bureau of Painting (a government agency staffed with artists) created portraits of officials awarded this honorary title. -These paintings would be cherished by their families and worshipped for generations to follow. CONTENT -This painting shows Sin Sukju dressed in his official robes with a black silk hat on his head. -In accordance with Korean portraiture conventions, court artists pictured subjects like Sin Sukju seated in a full-length view, often with their heads turned slightly and only one ear showing. -Here, the subject is seated in a folding chair with cabriole-style arms, where the upper part is convex and the bottom part is concave. - Leather shoes adorn his feet, which rest on an intricately carved wooden footstool. - In proper decorum, his hands are folded neatly and concealed within his sleeves. -He wears a rank badge on his chest. Rank badges are insignia typically made of embroidered silk. They indicate the status of the official, which could be anyone from the emperor down to a local official. -As in Ming-dynasty China, images of birds on rank badges precisely identified the rank of the wearer. Here, Sin Sukju's rank badge shows a pair of peacocks amongst flowering plants and clouds, especially luminous with the use of gold embroidery. --Crafted in sets, rank badges were worn on both the front and back of the official overcoat. -Although portraiture conventions, such as the attire and posture of the sitter, were quite formulaic, the facial features were painted with the goal of transmitting a sense of unique, physical likeness. This careful attention to the sitter's face, such as wrinkles and bone structure, served the Korean belief that the face could reveal important clues about the subject. -There are wrinkles around the edges of Sin Sukju's eyes ("crow's feet"). His thin, almond-shaped eyes are bright and clear, and his mouth is surrounded by deep grooves where his moustache meets his chin. His solemn visage exudes wisdom and dignity. -The meticulous brushwork on Sin Sukju's face is even more striking in comparison with the solid, undulating lines and bold blocks of color that define his attire. -Highly skilled artists at the court may have collaborated on portraits, such that one artist may have painted the robes according to the prescribed rank or title, while another may have painted the face in great detail. -Later portraits developed this interest in the face even further with the use of Western painting techniques introduced to Korea by Jesuit missionaries in China in the eighteenth century. CONTEXT - Sin Sukju was an eminent scholar and a powerful politician who rose to the rank of Prime Minister. -Named a meritorious subject four times in his life, he served both King Sejong and King Sejo. -he managed to maintain court favor through the tumult of King Sejo's overthrow in 1453. -In the course of capturing the throne, King Sejo arrested and killed his own brother, Prince Anpyeong, who Sin Sukju had also served until the prince's death. -It was his service to Prince Anpyeong that earned Sin Sukju a significant place in the history of art. -In 1445, Sin Sukju compiled Hwagi (Commentaries on Painting), which contains a catalogue of Prince Anpyeong's collection of paintings. -Sin Sukju's detailed records revealed the prince's interest in Chinese paintings and his patronage of the Joseon court painter, An Gyeon, who was professionally active as an artist for 30 years beginning in approximately 1440. -Sin Sukju's commentaries have helped scholars to identify specific works and prompted speculation on the cultural exchange between China and Korea. -In addition to the virtue of loyalty (such as the devotion of a subject to his ruler), Confucianism emphasized filial piety, or honor and respect for one's elders and ancestors. -Even more important than recording the sitter's appearance and preserving his rank during life, portrait painting served as a focus for ancestral rituals after his death. It was thought that when a person died, the soul of the deceased remained among the world of the living until it gradually disappeared -Rendered in the format of a hanging scroll, this painting likely hung within the family shrine to guide the soul in the practice of ancestral worship. In this way, Portrait of Sin Sukju reflected both the honor that Sin Sukju brought to his lineage as a meritorious official as well as Confucian beliefs about the afterlife.

Ruler's feather headdress (probably of Motecuhzoma II)

- 1428 CE - Mexico FORM AND CONTENT - quetzal tail feathers, which only come from the male quetzal, and we see so many of them, and usually the bird only has two, three tail feathers. So these come from a lot of different quetzals, a kind of bird that you find in Central America, like costa rica - this is speaking to is the long distance trade that's happening as well as tribute items that are sent back to the Aztec capitol of Tenochtitlan. - There are pure gold ornaments as well as other colors of feathers like a turquoise blue. FUNCTION - The feathers were part of an entire costume, and in so much Aztec art, we see not only the feather headdress, but we see paper ornaments, we see other kinds of elaborate aspects of costume that were part of rituals, part of performances. - Costume was incredibly important to the Aztecs, as it was to many Meso-American culture CONTEXT - This is a replica of a feathered headdress that's currently in the museum in Vienna, sent to Europe by Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztecs. So, Cortes comes in with his army of Spanish soldiers, conquers the Aztec people, and is overwhelmed by the beauty of much of what he sees, especially these feathered objects, and sends a lot of them back to Spain to Charles V. - even though this is a replica, it gives us a really good sense of what some of these feather objects would have looked like. - the Aztecs have an empire with lots of cities that they've conquered, and what they exact from those cities is luxury goods, and that includes feathers, that includes textiles, cacao, shells, and they're all coming to the capitol of the empire, which is actually here in what is present-day Mexico City, but was then Tenochtitlan - The people who made this lived in a special quarter of the capitol. They were called in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, amanteca, feather workers. they were highly regarded - after the Spanish conquest when people like Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador, encountered objects like this, they were so impressed, that this is actually a type of artistic production that doesn't cease with the conquest, but what we see is a shift in subject matter. - Instead of making ritual headdresses like this, we see objects that display Christian iconography. - Very close to the feathered headdress here in the museum, we see a replica of a chalice covering that is made of feathers, and if we're looking at the subject matter, it looks very Aztec. We see water glyphs, and what looks like a ray of fire and a strange kind of mouth, or symbols that are very unfamiliar to us, in other words. And this is the beginning of a reinterpretation of Christian iconography using Aztec glyphs. - So we have a coming together of these two cultures, a hybrid art form. A chalice is something that we see in Christian rituals, it's the vessel that contained the wine that becomes the blood of Christ during Mass. And so this coming together of these two very different cultures, but Aztec culture forced to become a Christian culture by the Spanish.

Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings, Bichitr

- 1620 CE - South Asia FORM - Opaque watercolor, gold and ink on paper FUNCTION - Allegorical portraits were a popular painting genre among Jahangir's court painters from 1615. -To flatter their Emperor, Jahangir's artists portrayed him in imagined victories over rivals and enemies or painted events reflecting imperial desire. -Regardless of whether Jahangir actually met the Shaikh or was visited by a real Ottoman Sultan (King James I certainly did not visit the Mughal court), Bichitr has dutifully indulged his patron's desire to be seen as powerful ruler (in a position of superiority to other kings), but with a spiritual bent. While doing so, the artist has also cleverly taken the opportunity to immortalize himself. CONTENT - In this miniature painting, flames of gold radiate from the Emperor's head against a background of a larger, darker gold disc. A slim crescent moon hugs most of the disc's border, creating a harmonious fusion between the sun and the moon (thus, day and night), and symbolizing the ruler's emperorship and divine truth. - Jahangir is shown seated on an elevated, stone-studded platform whose circular form mimics the disc above. The Emperor is the biggest of the five human figures painted, and the disc with his halo—a visual manifestation of his title of honor—is the largest object in this painting. - Jahangir faces four bearded men of varying ethnicity, who stand in a receiving-line format on a blue carpet embellished with arabesque flower designs and fanciful beast motifs. - Almost on par with the Emperor's level stands the Sufi Shaikh, who accepts the gifted book, a hint of a smile brightening his face. -By engaging directly only with the Shaikh, Jahangir is making a statement about his spiritual leanings. -Inscriptions in the cartouches on the top and bottom margins of the folio reiterate the fact that the Emperor favors visitation with a holy man over an audience with kings. -Below the Shaikh, and thus, second in the hierarchical order of importance, stands an Ottoman Sultan. The unidentified leader, dressed in gold-embroidered green clothing and a turban tied in a style that distinguishes him as a foreigner, looks in the direction of the throne, his hands joined in respectful supplication. -The third standing figure awaiting a reception with the Emperor has been identified as King James I of England. By his European attire—plumed hat worn at a tilt; pink cloak; fitted shirt with lace ruff; and elaborate jewelry—he appears distinctive. His uniquely frontal posture and direct gaze also make him appear indecorous and perhaps even uneasy. -Last in line is Bichitr, the artist responsible for this miniature, shown wearing an understated yellow jama (robe) tied on his left, which indicates that he is a Hindu in service at the Mughal court—a reminder that artists who created Islamic art were not always Muslim. -This miniature folio was once a part of a muraqqa', or album, which would typically have had alternating folios containing calligraphic text and painting. -In all, six such albums are attributed to the rule of Jahangir and his heir, Shah Jahan. But the folios, which vary greatly in subject matter, have now been widely dispersed over collections across three continents. -During Mughal rule artists were singled out for their special talents. In recent scholarship, Bichitr's reputation is strong in formal portraiture, and within this category, his superior rendering of hands. - Clear to the observer is the stark contrast between Jahangir's gem-studded wrist bracelets and finger rings and the Shaikh's bare hands, the distinction between rich and poor, and the pursuit of material and spiritual endeavors. - Less clear is the implied respect to the Emperor by the elderly Shaikh's decision to accept the imperial gift not directly in his hands, but in his shawl (thereby avoiding physical contact with a royal personage, a cultural taboo). - A similar principle is at work in the action of the Sultan who presses his palms together in a respectful gesture. By agreeing to adopt the manner of greeting of the foreign country in which he is a guest, the Ottoman leader exhibits both respect and humility. -King James' depiction is slightly more complex: Bichtir based his image of the English monarch on a portrait by John de Crtiz, which is believed to have been given to Jahangir by Sir Thomas Roe, the first English Ambassador to the Mughal court (this was a way to cement diplomatic relations and gifted items went both ways, east and west). - In Bichitr's miniature, only one of King James's hands can be seen, and it is worth noting that it has been positioned close to—but not touching—the hilt of his weapon. Typically, at this time, portraits of European Kings depicted one hand of the monarch resting on his hip, and the other on his sword. Thus, we can speculate that Bichitr deliberately altered the positioning of the king's hand to avoid an interpretation of a threat to his Emperor. -Finally, the artist paints himself holding a red-bordered miniature painting as though it were a prized treasure. In this tiny painting-within-a-painting, Bichtir replicates his yellow jama (a man's robe)—perhaps to clarify his identity—and places himself alongside two horses and an elephant, which may have been imperial gifts. He shows himself bowing in the direction of his Emperor in humble gratitude. To underscore his humility, Bichitr puts his signature on the stool over which the Emperor's feet would have to step in order to take his seat. -Beneath Jahangir's seat, crouching angels write (in Persian), "O Shah, May the Span of Your Life be a Thousand Years," at the base of a mighty hourglass that makes up the pedestal of Jahangir's throne. -This reading is a clear allusion to the passage of time, but the putti figures (borrowed from European iconography) suspended in mid-air toward the top of the painting provide few clues as to their purpose or meaning. -Facing away from the Emperor, the putto on the left holds a bow with a broken string and a bent arrow, while the one on the right covers his face with his hands. Some scholars say he shield his eyes from the Emperor's radiance Or as others suggest, hes crying because time is running out for the Emperor (as represented in the slipping sand in the hourglass)? -Also mysterious is the many-headed kneeling figure that forms the base of Jahangir's footstool. CONTEXT - When Akbar, the third Emperor of the Mughal dynasty, had no living heir at age 28, he consulted with a Sufi (an Islamic mystic), Shaikh Salim, who assured him a son would come. -Soon after, when a male child was born, he was named Salim. Upon his ascent to the throne in 1605, Prince Salim decided to give himself the honorific title of Nur ud-Din ("Light of Faith") and the name Jahangir ("Seizer of the World").

Sika dwa kofi (Golden Stool)

- 1700 CE - Africa FORM - Wooden stool covered in gold- said to have been made in the heavens -Gold symbolizes royalty for the asante FUNCTION - Said to be the soul of the Asante nation - The stool is more important than any single king of the asante people - Stools often take on their sunsum- an asante concept or traditional idea that your energy is like an aura that touches things you use a lot. In order to keep your sunsum intact, when you leave the room, you traditionally tip over your stool so no one else would sit on it - In this sense the golden stool is also kept turned on its side - That's why the golden stool is the soul of the asante nation CONTENT -The stool is always given its own stool or its own chair in which to sit next to the Asantehene CONTEXT - In the early 1700s a man named Osei Tutu, an important king, was able to unify all the surrounding lands (of Asante Nation?) he created the nation of the asante people - The golden stool falls from the sky and lands in the lap of osei tutu- miracle - The asante were in charge of the gold trade in north africa - Umbrella and sandals symbolized the king - In 1874 the british destroyed the asante capital and took lots back to england- they wanted the golden stool - The asante hid the golden stool- the stool remained hidden - By the 1920s the british agreed to allow prempeh I to return and promised to not take the golden stool - People were gifted stools by their parents when they come of age

Ahu 'ula (feather cape)

- 1790 CE - Hawaii FORM - Olona fibre - Across Polynesia the color red was associated with both gods and chiefs. - In the Hawaiian Islands, yellow feathers became equally valuable, due to their scarcity. They consisted of olona (Touchardia latifolia) fibre netting made in straight rows, with pieces joined and cut to form the desired shape. - Tiny bundles of feathers were attached to the netting in overlapping rows starting at the lower edge. - The exterior of this example is covered with red feathers from the 'i'iwi bird (Vestiaria cocchinea), yellow feathers from the 'o'o (Moho nobilis), and black feathers also from the 'o'o. FUNCTION - The Hawaiian male nobility wore feather cloaks and capes for ceremonies and battle. Such cloaks and capes were called 'ahu'ula, or "red garments." CONTENT - This small cape has a shaped neckline which would closely fit the wearer. This style of semi-circular cape is considered a later development from the trapezoidal shape. CONTEXT - Large numbers of feathered cloaks and capes were given as gifts to the sea captains and their crews who were the earliest European visitors to Hawaii. - Some of these attractive items would then have passed into the hands of the wealthy patrons who financed their voyages. - It is not known who brought this particular cape to England.

Staff god

- 1800 CE - Cook Islands, Central Polynesia FORM - paper mulberry bark, feather - It is made of ironwood wrapped with lengths of barkcloth. - The wood carvers of the island of Rarotonga, one of the Cook Islands, have a distinctive style. - They varied in size from about 73 cm to nearly four metres, like this rare example. FUNCTION - Representations of the deities worshipped by Cook Islanders before their conversion to Christianity included wooden images in human form, slab carvings and staffs such as this, known as "god sticks." - ethnologist Roger Duff speculated that they represent Tangaroa the creator god, but without evidence. - What is clear is that in their materials they combine the results of the skilled labor of men and women. They also have an explicit sexual aspect, thus embodying male and female productive and reproductive qualities. CONTENT - The upper part of the staff consists of a carved head above smaller carved figures. - The lower end is a carved phallus. Some missionaries removed and destroyed phalluses from carvings, considering them obscene. - Reverend John Williams observed of this image that the barkcloth contained red feathers and pieces of pearl shell, known as the manava or spirit of the god. - He also recorded seeing the islanders carrying the image upright on a litter. This image was among fourteen presented to Reverend John Williams at Rarotonga in May 1827. - The only surviving wrapped example of a large staff god, this image is composed of a central wood shaft wrapped in an enormous roll of decorated barkcloth. - There are no other surviving large staff-gods from the Cook Islands that retain their barkcloth wrapping as this one does. This was probably one of the most sacred of Rarotonga's objects. - The shaft is in the form of an elongated body, with a head and small figures at one end. - The other end, composed of small figures and a naturalistic penis, is missing. A feathered pendant is bound in one ear. - This staff god is a potent combination of male and female elements. The wooden core, made by male carvers, has a large head at one end and originally terminated in a phallus. Smaller figures in profile appear to be prominently male. - the other figures facing outwards could depict women in childbirth. The barkcloth, made by women, not only protects the ancestral power ('mana) of the deity, but contains it within the different layers. CONTEXT - The Cook Islands are in the middle of the South Pacific. - Captain Cook made the first official European sighting of the islands in 1773, but spent little time in the area during his voyages. - In 1821 the London Missionary Society set up a mission station on the island of Aitutaki, followed by one on Rarotonga in 1827. -The Cook Islands became a British Protectorate in 1888, and were annexed in 1901. Since then they have been administered by New Zealand.

Bandolier bag

- 1850 CE - Americas FORM -Wool and cotton trade cloth, wool yarn, glass, metal -Bandolier Bags are often large in size and decorated with a wide array of colorful beads and ribbons. They are worn as a cross-body bag -The NMAI Bandolier Bag relates to a broader array of objects that demonstrate the Prairie Style. -The artist of the NMAI Bandolier Bag borrowed from older Delaware traditions, as well as those of other native peoples after they were forcibly relocated. -Another Bandolier bag in the NMAI collection by an Anishnaabe artist, demonstrates the "Prairie Style" clearly in the upper section where a floral motif floats against a dark ground. -The Prairie Style used colorful glass beads fashioned in floral patterns. The patterns could be either naturalistic flowers or abstract floral designs. -A Sac and Fox breechcloth in the NMAI collection is a clear example of the more abstract Prairie Style because the floral designs do not closely resemble flowers (the Sacs or Sauks are an Eastern Woodlands group, the Fox tribe is closely related to them). -The Prairie Style is the result of peoples coming into contact with one another, particularly in the wake of removal from their ancestral homelands. -Bandolier Bags, as well as other objects and clothing, helped to express group identities and social status. In the wake of forced removals and threats to traditional ways of life, objects like the NMAI Bandolier Bag demonstrate the resilience and continued creativity of groups like the Lenape. FUNCTION -in the Ojibwe language they are called Aazhooningwa'on, or "worn across the shoulder" -Bandolier Bags are based on bags carried by European soldiers armed with rifles, who used the bags to store ammunition cartridges. -While Bandolier Bags were made by different tribes and First Nations across the Great Lakes and Prairie regions, they differ in appearance. The stylistic differences are the result of personal preference as much contact with Europeans and Euro-Americans, goods acquired in trade, and travel. -The designs on the bag are abstracted and symmetrical. White beads act as contour lines to help make the designs more visible to the naked eye. -On the cross-body strap, we see a design that branches in four directions. the artist made each side slightly different. The left portion of the strap displays a light blue background, and the repeating form is more rounded, with softer edges. On the right side of the strap, the blue is darker, the framing pink and green is varied, and the repeating form displays more straight lines. The small size of seed beads allowed for more curvilinear designs than quillwork. - It is possible that the contrasting colors represent the Celestial/Sky and Underworld realms. The abstracted designs on the sash may also be read in relation to the cosmos because they branch into four directions, which might relate to the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west) and the division of the terrestrial (earthly) realm into four quadrants. - While men most commonly wore these bags, women created them. Initially, Bandolier Bags did not have a pocket, but were intended to complement men's ceremonial outfits. Men even wore more than one bag on occasion, dressing themselves in a rainbow of colors and patterns. Even those bags with pockets weren't necessarily always used to hold objects CONTENT - Women typically produced Bandolier Bags using trade cloth, made from cotton or wool. It is often possible to see the exposed unembroidered trade cloth underneath the cross-body strap. -The NMAI bag uses animal hide in addition to the cotton cloth, combining materials that had long been used among these groups (animal hides) with new materials (cotton trade cloth). -Beads and other materials were embroidered on the trade cloth and hide. The tiny glass beads, called seed beads, were acquired from European traders, and they were prized for their brilliant colors. Glass beads replaced porcupine quillwork, which had a longstanding history in this area. Before the use of glass beads, porcupine quills were acquired softened and dyed. Once they were malleable enough to bend, the quills were woven onto the surfaces of objects (especially clothing or other cloth goods like bags). Quillwork required different working techniques than embroidering with beads, so people adopted new methods for decorating the surfaces of bags, clothing, and other goods. -In addition to glass beads, the NMAI bag is decorated with silk ribbons—also procured via trade with Europeans. Much like the glass beads, silk ribbons offered a new material with a greater variety of color choices. -we can see that the artists attached strips of yellow, blue, red, and green ribbons, like tassels, to the ends of the straps, as well as longer orange ribbons that fall below the bottom of the bag. -Before the introduction of ribbons, women would paint the surface of hides in addition to decorating the bags with quillwork. Ribbons afforded women the opportunity to produce more textural variation, and to expand the surface of the bags in new ways. - Further animating the surface of the NMAI Bandolier Bag is a red wool fringe, capped with metal cones that attach to the bag's rectangular pouch. the fringe and metal offered more colors and textures to the bag's surface. CONTEXT - The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in New York City has an example of a Bandolier Bag, most likely made by a Lenape artist - These bags were especially popular in the late nineteenth century in the Eastern or Woodlands region, which comprised parts of what is today Canada and the United States. - The Woodlands area encompasses the Great Lakes Region and terrain east of the Mississippi River. - Bandolier Bags were created across this vast expanse of land, and the NMAI has examples from the Upper Great Lakes region and Oklahoma. - Due to events and laws like the Indian Removal Act of 1830 , the Lenape were forcibly removed from these ancestral lands and relocated to areas of Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Ontario, Canada. Despite these traumatic relocations, tribes like the Lenape continued to create objects as they had in ancestral lands. - Bandolier Bags are still made and worn today

Aka elephant mask

- 1900 CE - Africa FORM - Covered in beads - The main form is the isosceles triangle, which relates to the patterning on the body of a leopard FUNCTION - It was danced by the members of the elephant society, the kuosi society, in the bamileke kingdom of Cameroon - Worn to honor the king and bring about social harmony - Worn by court officials, titleholders, warriors- people with great power - Expressed the political stability of the hierarchal order CONTENT - Bamileke society would wear these with a red feather head dress, a leopard skin pelt and a full body costume - The leopard and elephant were symbols of rule and powerful symbols for the Fon, the divine king who could transform into the elephant and the leopard was thought to be an animal that could transform into a human so that theres a connection ebtween divine rule and the essence of these powerful animals - Full of energy and dynamism CONTEXT - Worn in a masquerade

Female (pwo) mask

- 1900 CE - Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa FORM - Made of very thin wood thats difficult to carve and fiber - Deep dark red- mixture of red earth and oil - There's white kalyan or white powder around her eyes- her eyes are the most important part of the face- they're abstractly big and draws attention. - She has the spiritual ability and almost a second sight that her power comes from being able to give birth - Her face is very symmetrical - The chin comes to a narrower point - the broadest point of the face is byt he eyes and ears - The wide forehead is accentuated by the hairstyle - There are constant circles that are bisected by the lines of the mouth of the eyes and there is also a circle of the earring in the ear - There are pounded dots around the eys which further emphasizes cynical nature but also suggests women's tattoo patterns- women wore tattoos that had special references in special meaning FUNCTION - This mask would have been danced by a male dancer - Represents an Ideal woman - The masker and carver are both men and he would have made this in honor to women- particularly to women who were young and fertile and had successfully given birth- the idea that women had gone through childbirth and retain this inner wisdom and beauty CONTENT - Elaborate hairstyle - This would have been worn with a tight-fitted bodystocking covered in raffia cloth. The groin area would be covered in loincloth and be wearing wooden breasts - There's a sense of calm in the face - her eyes are closed, her mouth is closed- she's turning inward- shes not talking- she deoesnt need to talk because at this point she deserves respect - She doesnt have to open her eyes because she is already knowing - There is a repair on the side of the face so they can continue to use it CONTEXT - Chokwe people- in the democratic Republic of Congo - This culture was matrilieal- They believed that the family line was passed down through the mother - The dancer walked in a graceful and respectful and slow and fluid way and chokwe women actually dance like that - The hairstyle would be popular at the time

Reliquary figure (byeri)

- 1900 CE - Fang peoples, southern Cameroon, Africa FORM - Wooden - Elongated torso, large rounded head, eyes that look down, a closed mouth, the arms are clasped together, and there's a sense of very powerful musculature - The top of the head is enlarged - The coiffeur is emphasized - Eyes are half circular shape - The cheeks form diagonal lines - Reduction to geometric shapes- abstraction - The herniated belly button is emphasized- the umbilical cord first gives life to humans just as this reliquary is guarding the remains fo the deceased who have returned back into the spiritual world, waiting for rebirth - The hairstyle is consisted of three crests and a king of duck tail in the back which is what Fang high status men were wearing at the time - Intentionally not naturalistic - the purpose of the object is to express spiritual ideas - The limbs are very cylindrical and rounded FUNCTION - Guarded a reliquary - A talisman- an object with supernatural properties that protects from evil or brings good luck - These figures also had a second life as puppets during young men's initiations. They were brought to educate young men about their ancestors and help young men experience or be int he same place as the essence or energy of their ancestors CONTENT - The contents of the box that this figure guarded were sacred and powerful - They were usually the bones of important members of society, important ancestors, along with potent substances like beads that may have owned in medicine - A great man for the Fang people is a very high-status noble person who had lived a long and good life. This includes lineage heads, clan heads, special warriors, even craftsmen who were exceptionally talented, and women who birthed lot of healthy children - There's a balance between calm and contemplativeness and power and strength - This particular one is male but the fang also made female - This is a conceptual piece- about the idea of the guardian figure rather than depicting an actual human - There's tension because there is honor and respect with eyes closed and patience. At the same time he is suggesting his strength to ward off spirits or humans that CONTEXT - The fang utilized the reliquary boxes with remains instead of putting them into a permanent cemetery because they were nomadic or semi-nomadic - They were probably maintained by elder men n the community who would be in charge of putting them together and consulting them when there was some great decision to be made

Navigation chart

- 1900 CE - Marshall Islands, Micronesia FORM - Wood, shell FUNCTION - In order to determine a system of piloting and navigation the islanders devised charts that marked not only the locations of the islands, but their knowledge of the swell and wave patterns as well. - The charts were composed of wooden sticks; the horizontal and vertical sticks act as supports, while diagonal and curved ones represent wave swells. - Cowrie or other small shells represent the position of the islands. - The information was memorized and the charts would not be carried on voyages. CONTENT - This (photo) chart is of a type known as a rebbelib, which cover either a large section or all of the Marshall Islands. - Other types of chart more commonly show a smaller area. - This example represents the two chains of islands which form the Marshall Islands. It was collected by Admiral E.H.M. Davis during the cruise of HMS Royalist from 1890 to 1893. - This (photo) chart is of the type known as a mattang, specifically made for the purpose of training people selected to be navigators. - Such charts depict general information about swell movements around one or more small islands. Trainees were taught by experienced navigators. CONTEXT - The Marshall Islands in eastern Micronesia consist of thirty-four coral atolls consisting of more than one thousand islands and islets spread out across an area of several hundred miles. - In order to maintain links between the islands, the Marshall Islanders built seafaring canoes.

Lukasa (memory board)

- 1900 CE - Mbudye Society, Luba Peoples, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa FORM - Wood, beads, and metal FUNCTION - used by experts in the oral retelling of history in Luba culture. The recounting of the past is performative and includes dance and song. - The master who has the skill and knowledge to read the lukasa will utilize it as a mnemonic device, touching and feeling the beads, shells, and pegs to recount history and solve current problems. - The most important function of the lukasa was to serve as a memory aid that describes the myths surrounding the origins of the Luba empire, including recitation of the names of the royal Luba line. CONTENT - Each lukasa is different but small enough to hold in the left hand. - The board is "read" by touching its surface with the right forefinger. - The lukasa illustrated here is one of the oldest known examples, with carved geometric designs on the back and sides, and complex clusters of beads of various sizes whose colors have faded over time. The board is narrower at the center making it easy to hold. - The lukasa is typically arranged with large beads surrounded by smaller beads or a line of beads, the configuration of which dictates certain kinds of information. - This information can be interpreted in a variety of ways and the expert might change his manner of delivery and his reading based upon his audience and assignment. CONTEXT - in the Luba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of Congo, history was traditionally performed—not read. - Luba royal history is not chronological and static. Rather, it is a dynamic oral narrative which reinforces the foundations upon which Luba kingship is established and supports the current leadership. - This history is also used to interpret and judge contemporary situations. - The Luba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of Congo was a very powerful and influential presence from the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries in central Africa. - Their art highlights the roles that objects played in granting the holders the authority of kingship and royal power. - The Luba people are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa and the largest ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Kingdom of the Luba arose in the Upemba Depression (a large marshy area comprising some fifty lakes) in what is now the southern Democratic Republic of Congo. - The Luba had access to a wealth of natural resources including gold, ivory, and copper, but they also produced and traded a variety of goods such as pottery and wooden sculpture. - For the Luba people, kingship is sacred, and the elite Mbudye Society (whose members are considered "men of memory," and who have extensive religious training) use the lukasa to recount history in the context of spiritual rituals. Diviners (who have the power to predict the future) can also read the lukasa.

Ikenga (shrine figure)

- 1900 CE - Nigeria, Africa FORM - Carved wooden figures - Can be small and abstract - Sometimes can be naturalistic - Theres a great saying in the Igbo that a ram fights with his head first- the idea that any action is taken first with the heads- so the head is emphasized - The horns have pod-shaped forms with dots and lines incised into them, which seems to mirror what the figure has on the sides of his head - There are decorative patterns that have been cut into the body, which are likely the representation of scarification of body decoration- the scarification suggested that the wearer was a title holding member of the Igbo society- so this figure seems to have high-rank FUNCTION - Likely made for a warrior - The ikenga stood for the power of the right hand - Its not about what it looks like, but what its trying to convey - The ikenga were personal objects that suggested the achievement of their owners, and they would relate to the person's occupation such as hunter, farmer, smith, or professor - Known as the place of strength- a personal spirit of ones achievements - It holds a knife because it allows one to cut through things to get what one wishes in life CONTENT - Human face with animal attributes - He's seated on a stool which is an important signifier of honor - In his right hand, as all of Ikenga have, is a sword- expression of power - In his left hand, this particular figure holds a human head- expression of his warrior status - Some of the ikenga are abstract and dont have arms The left hand can hold different things including a tusk of an elephant in the form of a trumpet, a head, or even a staff to suggest ones rank - This particular one has rams horns that are almost as big as the entire body- they curl at the top, and theyre decorated with vertical and horizontal abstract forms - This is not a portrait but a representation of power or the authority and the accomplishment of the individual for whom this was made CONTEXT - Once an ikenga had been commissioned by a master carver, had been consecrated, it would enter into a shrine within the owners home

Bundu mask

- 1900 CE - Sierra Leone and liberia, Africa FORM - The person wearing it would be obscured by raffia hung down over face - It has a deep black sheen- black symbolizes water and humanity - The surface is smooth and glistening, incontrast ot the chalky white of the clay on the face -shaped like a caterpillar FUNCTION - Worn on top of the head - Men carved it and it was made for women - Made to help young girls go through initiation - The black shininess creates an image that suggests an inner quality or inner morality that young girls should strive for - The mask is an ideal for the young girls to mimic in their adult lives - The sowei mask is thought to be a spirit. She comes from the bottoms of rivers and lakes - The mask teaches through dance CONTENT - Eyes that are largely closed and seem quite demure - These downcast eyes suggest that she should be reserved. The small mouth suggests she should keep her mouth closed and not gossip because gossip can be a dangerous thing in a small society - Small ears so as not to listen to that gossip - Wildly elaborate hairstyle - There are rolls under the chin- she has enough body fat to be able to bear children. She is expected after intitation to marry and have children - Below her eyes are four lines on either side- scarification marks. Part of the ideal aesthetic for a young mende woman - There's a spiritual presence CONTEXT - Sande society- a secret society where all girls were initiated into - This is a pan west African phenomenon where several different ethnic groups participated in this masquerade tradition - It is the only masquerade tradition where women wore the mask - Young girls would have been taken from their everyday lives to a secluded area in the forest where they were instructed on how to become good wives and mothers by members of the Sande society - This is a liminal time for girls - Their bodies would be anointed with white clay to make them dry and pasty and unattractive to suggest that they are not girls anymore, but still hadn't yet become women - They are referred to as chrysalis, not quite the butterfly but no longer the caterpillar. - That shape is echoed in the shape of her neck - Initiation is the only time a young girl is given rich foods to eat and can enjoy time off- fattens her up a little - Girls are exposed to different knowledge at different times in their life that sande members thought was appropriate - It would have been housed in an elder woman's 's home who is an official from the sande society - When it was not being performed iwth, it was just a piece of wood

Malagan display and mask

- 1900 CE - new Ireland province, Papua New Guinea FORM - high, wood, vegetable fiber, pigment and shell (turbo petholatus opercula) - Mask: wood, pigment, vegetable fiber, operculum. FUNCTION - This figure was made for malangan, a cycle of rituals of the people of the north coast of New Ireland, an island in Papua New Guinea. - Malangan express many complex religious and philosophical ideas. They are principally concerned with honoring and dismissing the dead, but they also act as affirmation of the identity of clan groups, and negotiate the transmission of rights to land. ​ - Malangan sculptures were made to be used on a single occasion and then destroyed. - They are symbolic of many important subjects, including identity, kinship, gender, death, and the spirit world. - Malangan masks are commonly used at funeral rites, which both bid farewell to the dead and celebrate the vibrancy of the living. - The masks can represent a number of things: dead ancestors, ges (the spiritual double of an individual), or the various bush spirits associated with the area. CONTENT ​- They often include representations of fish and birds of identifiable species, alluding both to specific myths and the animal's natural characteristics. - For example, at the base of this figure is depicted a rock cod, a species which as it grows older changes gender from male to female. - The rock cod features in an important myth of the founding of the first social group, or clan, in this area; thus the figure also alludes to the identity of that clan group. CONTEXT - This figure was collected by Hugh Hastings Romilly, Deputy Commissioner for the Western Pacific while he was on a tour of New Ireland in 1882-83. - It was one a group of carvings made to be displayed at a particular malangan ritual. - They were originally standing in a carved canoe, which unfortunately Romilly did not collect. -The whole group was presented to the British Museum by the Duke of Bedford in 1884, after Romilly had sent it to him. - The ownership of Malangan objects is similar to the modern notion of copyright; when a piece is bought, the seller surrenders the right to use that particular Malangan style, the form in which it is made, and even the accompanying rites. - This stimulates production, as more elaborate variations are made to replace the ones that have been sold. - Malangan ceremonies became extremely expensive affairs, taking into account the costs of the accompanying feasting. - As a result, the funeral rites could take place months after a person had died. In some circumstances the ceremony would have been held for several people simultaneously.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Maya Lin

- 1982 CE -US FORM - V shape- minimalism - Highly reflective black granite - Theyre walls sunk into the ground - As you walk down the path, you sink into the earth - She couldnt get granite from Canada or Sweden because there was too much political baggage- draft dodgers had gone to both of those countries FUNCTION - Maya lin wanted to unite the memorial to the naiton's past - She didnt want the memorial to be seen as a wall, but an edge to the open earth. The mirrored effect would double the size of the park creating two worlds- one we are a part of and one we can not enter CONTENT - Situated between the washington monument and the lincoln memorial. This memorial points to both of these monuments - A long series of slabs of stone Inscribed with names of the servicemen who died in the vietnam war - Now there are more thn 58,000 names. There are more names being added - The names are the substance of the monument - Maya wanted to cut into the earth and reveal the edge - In the center, the chronology begins and goes down toward the right as you face the wall and picks up again on the low edge of the left side and moves toward the center again - As you move toward the center the path widens and the granite rises more than ten feet above - Maya lin says that the name is an abstraction that means more to family and loved ones than a picture- a picture is the person at a particular time but a name recalls everything about that person CONTEXT - Vietnam war - The committee who worked on this didn't know hwo maya lin was- she was an undergraduate at yale, architecture student - There were 1400 entires, anonymous - Once her identity was revealed, there was racism and backlash

Summer Trees, Song Su-Nam

- 1983 CE -Korea FORM - Ink on paper - vertical parallel brush strokes of ink blend and bleed from one to the other in a stark palette of velvety blacks and diluted grays. The feathery edges of some reveal them to be pale washes applied to very wet paper, while the darkest appear as streaks that show both ink and paper were nearly dry. - The forms overlap and stop just short of the bottom edge of the paper, suggesting a sense of shallow space. Only a practiced hand could control ink with such simplicity and impact. The painting exudes psychological power, despite its relatively modest proportions (it is only a little more than 2 feet high). FUNCTION - the title refers to the natural world. CONTENT - Song created Summer Trees in 1979, but he made at least two similar paintings. One, in 1986, he called Tree. Not until the second, painted in 2000, did he fully embrace abstraction by leaving the work untitled. His title—and even his decision to create a work in ink—shows us that though clearly addressing issues of contemporary art—Song's work is deeply rooted in tradition. CONTEXT - To choose the medium of ink on paper was important for the artist‚ a leader of Korea's "Sumukhwa" or Oriental Ink Movement of the 1980s. Sumukwha is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese word for "ink wash painting," also called "literati painting." The "literatus" can be defined as a "scholar-poet" or "scholar-artist," a type of ideal man that emerged in China in the 11th century or before. Chinese poetry was considered the noblest art and "ink wash painting" was its twin - In their simplicity and reductiveness, the style of ink wash paintings created centuries ago often seem to match Western notions of abstraction - In Chinese poetry, mountainous landscapes and the plants that grow in them serve as metaphors for the ideal qualities of the literatus himself—qualities such as loyalty, intelligence, spirituality, and strength in adversity. - The world the literatus wants to live in is one of beauty, deep in nature, away from the centers of power and money. These themes provided painters with a library of motifs. - From the 1970s-90s, Song created many such landscapes, executed unconventionally, with and without titles. Summer Trees may also reference a traditional theme: a group of pine trees can symbolize a gathering of friends of upright character. Whatever his intention with this title, Song was clearly alluding to the special world of the literati. Highly educated and a respected professor, he stood among the modern literati of Korea. - Song's interest in abstraction and the formal properties of ink has led some art historians to attribute the inspiration for his work to that of American artists like Morris Louis who used the medium of acrylic resin on canvas in his "Stripe" paintings of the 1960s, which resemble Song's works of later decades such as Summer Trees. - But in Korea during the 1980s there was a tension between the influence of Western art that used oil paint (whether traditional or contemporary in style), and traditional Korean art that used an East Asian style, the vocabulary of traditional motifs, and the medium of ink for calligraphy and painting. Song felt very strongly that the materials and styles of Western art did not express his identity as a Korean. -Sumukwha provided Song and his circle with a way to express Korean identity. Since antiquity, the country had taken great pride in a political and cultural distinctiveness that was recognized throughout Asia. -Yet the twentieth century had brought humiliating trauma: the end of Korea's ancient monarchy, colonization by the Japanese who had attempted to obliterate the Korean language, mass destruction during the Korean War (1950-53), and the partitioning of the nation. In South Korea, where Song lived, the country was healing but endured authoritarian government and student unrest. People lived in constant fear of hostility from North Korea. For protection, they accepted a conspicuous American military presence, but this cast modernization in a decidedly Westernized light. -Sumukwha's ideal—the literatus—presented a compelling antidote to the psychological displacement felt by Song's circle of artists and intellectuals: a model individual of character and moral compass no matter what challenges life presents; and a way of expressing those ideals through his iconic tools of ink and brush. Summer Trees, with its allusions to friendship and a balmy season, could be Song's statement of optimism in the rediscovery of traditional values recast for modern times.

Electronic Superhighway, Nam June Paik

- 1995 CE -US FORM -fifty-one channel video installation (including one closed-circuit television feed), custom electronics, neon lighting, steel and wood; color, sound -this new artistic medium was well-suited to the speed of our increasingly electronic modern lives. It allowed artists to create moving images more quickly than recording on film (which required time for negatives to be developed), and unlike film, video could be edited in "real-time," using devices that altered the video's electronic signals. (Paik created his own video synthesizer with engineer Shuya Abe in 1969.) -Furthermore, because the image recorded by the video camera could be transmitted to and viewed almost instantaneously on a monitor, people could see themselves "live" on a TV screen, and even interact with their own TV image, in a process known as "feedback." In the years to come, the participatory nature of TV would be redefined by two-way cable networks, while the advent of global satellite broadcasts made TV a medium of instant global communication. -Roughly forty feet long and fifteen feet high FUNCTION -Paik's goal was to reflect upon how we interact with technology, and to imagine new ways of doing so. -This work also can be read as posing some difficult questions about how that technology is impacting culture. For example, the physical scale of the work and number of simultaneous clips makes it difficult to absorb any details, resulting in what we now call "information overload," and the visual tension between the static brightness of the neons and the dynamic brightness of the screens points to a similar tension between national and local frames of reference. CONTENT -over 300 TV screens into the overall formation of a map of the United States outlined in colored neon lights. the work is a monumental record of the physical and also cultural contours of America: within each state, the screens display video clips that resonate with that state's unique popular mythology. -for example, Iowa (where each presidential election cycle begins) plays old news footage of various candidates, while Kansas presents the Wizard of Oz. -For the German Pavilion at the 1993 Venice Biennale, Paik produced a series of works about the relationship between Eastern and Western cultures, framed through the lens of Marco Polo; along with Hans Haacke, another artist representing Germany, Paik was awarded the prestigious Golden Lion. -One of the works, Electronic Superhighway, was a towering bank of TVs that simultaneously screened multiple video clips (including one of John Cage) from a wide variety of sources. -Two years later, Paik revisited this work in Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii -The states are firmly defined, but also linked, by the network of neon lights, which echoes the network of interstate "superhighways" that economically and culturally unified the continental U.S. in the 1950s. -However, whereas the highways facilitated the transportation of people and goods from coast to coast, the neon lights suggest that what unifies us now is not so much transportation, but electronic communication. -Thanks to the screens of televisions and of the home computers that became popular in the 1990s, as well as the cables of the internet (which transmit information as light), most of us can access the same information at anytime and from any place. CONTEXT -In 1974, artist Nam June Paik submitted a report to the Art Program of the Rockefeller Foundation, one of the first organizations to support artists working with new media, including television and video. -Entitled "Media Planning for the Post Industrial Society—The 21st Century is now only 26 years away," the report argued that media technologies would become increasingly prevalent in American society, and should be used to address pressing social problems, such as racial segregation, the modernization of the economy, and environmental pollution. -Paik's report forecasted the emergence of what he called a "broadband communication network"—or "electronic super highway"—comprising not only television and video, but also "audio cassettes, telex, data pooling, continental satellites, micro-fiches, private microwaves and eventually, fiber optics on laser frequencies." -By the 1990s, Paik's concept of an information "superhighway" had become associated with a new "world wide web" of electronic communication then emerging—just as he had predicted. -Paik was well-positioned to understand how media technologies were evolving: in the 1960s he was one of the very first people to use televisual technologies as an artistic medium, earning him the title of "father" of video art. -Born in Seoul in 1932, Paik studied composition while attending college in Tokyo; he eventually travelled to Germany, where he hoped to encounter the leading composers of the day. He met John Cage in 1958, and soon became involved with the avant-garde Fluxus group, led by Cage's student George Maciunas. -Following the example of Cage's oeuvre, many of Paik's Fluxus works undermined accepted notions of musical composition or performance. This same irreverent spirit informed his use of television, to which he turned his attention in 1963 in his first one-man gallery show, "Exposition of Music—Electronic Television," at the Galerie Parnass in Wuppertal, Germany. Here, Paik became the first artist to exhibit what would later become known as "video art" by scattering television sets across the floor of a room, thereby shifting our attention from the content on the screens to the sculptural forms of the sets. -Paik moved to New York in 1964, where he came into contact with the downtown art scene. In 1965, he began collaborating with cellist Charlotte Moorman, who would wear and perform Paik's TV sculptures for many years; he also had a one-man show at the 57th Street Galeria Bonino, in which he exhibited modified or "prepared" television sets that upset the traditional TV-watching experience. -Paik then purchased the first commercially-available portable video system in America, the Sony Portapak, and immediately used it to record the arrival of Pope Paul VI at St. Patrick's Cathedral. -Later that night, Paik showed the tape at the Café au Go Go in Greenwich Village, ushering in a new mode of video art based not on the subversion or distortion of television broadcasts, but on the possibilities of videotape. The evolution of these tendencies into a new movement was announced by a 1969 group show, "TV as a Creative Medium." Held at the Howard Wise Gallery in New York, the show included one of Paik's interactive TVs, and also premiered another one of his collaborations with Moorman.

Longmen caves

- 493 CE - Luoyand, China FORM - Limestone cliffs- extend for almost a mile located on both sides of the Yi River (south of the ancient capital of Luoyang) - Central Binyang Cave- carvings painted in brilliant blue, red, ochre and gold (most of the paint is now gone) - The style of the reliefs may be inspired by secular painting, since the figures all appear very gracious and solemn. They are clad in Chinese court robes and look genuinely Chinese - Tang dynasty realism—whether fleshy or wizened, dignified or light-hearted—is displayed in the Kanjing cave Temple at Longmen. we see accurate portrayals of individuals. This temple was created under the patronage of Empress Wu. FUNCTION - Foreign rulers of the Northern Wei, yearning for assimilation and control, made use of Buddhist images for authority and power. - Tang dynasty leaders thrived during China's golden age, asserting their sovereignty with the assistance of Buddhist iconography. CONTENT - 2300 caves and niches - Contains about 110,000 buddhist stone statues, 60 stupas, and 2800 insciptions carved on steles - The Central Binyang Cave was one of three caves started in 508 C.E. It was commissioned by Emperor Xuan Wu in memory of his father. The other two caves, known as Northern and Southern Binyang, were never completed. - Across from the entry is the most significant devotional grouping—a pentad - The central Buddha, seated on a lion throne, is generally identified as Shakyamuni (the historical Buddha), - although some scholars identify him as Maitreya (the Buddha of the future) based on the "giving" mudra—a hand gesture associated with Maitreya. - He is assisted by two bodhisattvas and two disciples—Ananda and Kasyapa (bodhisattvas are enlightened beings who have put off entering paradise in order to help others attain enlightenment). - The Buddha's monastic robe is rendered to appear as though tucked under him. - Ripples of folds cascade over the front of his throne. These linear and abstract motifs are typical of the mature Northern Wei style. - The flattened, elongated bodies of the Longmen bodhisattvas are hidden under elaborately pleated and flaring skirts. The bodhisattvas wear draping scarves, jewelry and crowns with floral designs. Their gentle, smiling faces are rectangular and elongated. - Low relief carving covers the lateral walls, ceiling, and floor. Finely chiseled haloes back the images. T - the halo of the main Buddha extends up to merge with a lotus carving in the middle of the ceiling, where celestial deities appear to flutter down from the heavens with their scarves trailing. - In contrast to the Northern Wei style seen on the pentad, the sinuous and dynamic surface decoration displays Chinese style. - The Northern Wei craftsmen were able to marry two different aesthetics in one cave temple. - Two relief carvings of imperial processions once flanked the doorway of the cave entrance. These reliefs most likely commemorate historic events. - Theres an imposing group of nine monumental images carved into the hard, gray limestone of Fengxian Temple at Longmen. - Sponsored by the Emperor Gaozong and his wife, the future Empress Wu, the high relief sculptures are widely spaced in a semi-circle. - The central Vairocana Buddha (more than 55 feet high including its pedestal) is flanked on either side by a bodhisattva, a heavenly king, and a thunderbolt holder (vajrapani). - Vairocana represents the primordial Buddha who generates and presides over all the Buddhas of the infinite universes that form Buddhist cosmology. - This idea—of the power of one supreme deity over all the others—resonated in the vast Tang Empire which was dominated by the Emperor at its summit and supported by his subordinate officials. - These monumental sculptures intentionally mirrored the political situation. -The Buddha, monks and bodhisattvas display new softer and rounder modeling and serene facial expressions. In contrast, the heavenly guardians and the vajrapani are more engaging and animated. - In the images of arhats (worthy monks who have advanced very far in their quest of Enlightenment), who line the walls, the carver sought to create intense realism. - Although they are still mortal, arhats are capable of extraordinary deeds both physical and spiritual (they can move at free will through space, can understand the thoughts in people's minds, and hear the voices of far away speakers). - Twenty-nine monks form a procession around the cave perimeter, linking the subject matter to the rising interest in Chan Buddhism (the Meditation School) fostered at court by the empress herself. These portraits record the lineage of the great patriarchs who transmitted the Buddhist doctrine. CONTEXT - Buddhism, born in India, was transmitted to China intermittently and haphazardly. - Buddhism brought to China new images, texts, ideas about life and death, and new opportunities to assert authority. - Most of the carvings at the Longmen site date between the end of the 5th century and the middle of the 8th century—the periods of the Northern Wei through early Tang dynasties. - The Northern Wei was the most enduring and powerful of the northern Chinese dynasties that ruled before the reunification of China under the Sui and Tang dynasties. - The Wei dynasty was founded by Tuoba tribesmen (nomads from the frontiers of northern China). - Northern Wei Emperor Xiao Wen decided to move the capital south to Luoyang, a region considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. - Many of the Tuoba elite opposed the move and disapproved of Xiao Wen's eager adoption of Chinese culture. Even his own son disapproved and was forced to end his own life. - At first, Emperor Xiao Wen and rich citizens focused on building the city's administrative and court quarters—only later did they shift their energies and wealth into the construction of monasteries and temples. - the court barely managed to complete one cave temple at Longmen—the Central Binyang Cave - The Tang dynasty is considered the age of "international Buddhism." Many Chinese, Indian, Central Asian and East Asian monks traveled throughout Asia. The centers of Buddhism in China were invigorated by these travels, and important developments in Buddhist thought and practice originated in China at this time.

Jowo Rinpoche, enshrined in the Jokhang Temple

- 641 CE - Lhasa, Tibet FORM - Gilt metals with semi precious stones, pearls, and paint - Today, the Jowo Shakyamuni can be seen seated against a resplendent gold and bejeweled throne. The image itself is made of gilt metal—the effect is an image of gold hue with blue hair. FUNCTION - The Jowo Shakyamuni is considered the most sacred and important Buddha image in Tibet because it is believed to have been carved by the divine architect Viswakarma in India during the lifetime of the Buddha Shakyamuni - The purpose of the statue's carving was to act as the Buddha's proxy (the authority to represent someone else, especially in voting) after his parinirvana or departure from the world. - The religious significance and sacred power of the Jowo Shakyamuni therefore comes from its actual likeness of the Buddha as well as its having been carved by Viswakarma. - Such claims of likeness and celestial origins are not unique to the Jowo Shakyamuni—the Emerald Buddha in Thailand and the Seiryoji Buddha in Japan have almost identical origin stories. - the Jowo Shakyamuni is not a sculpted-from-life portrait of the Buddha, nor is it the earliest image of the BuddhaIn - examining the Jowo Shakyamuni, it is the sculpture's purported direct linage to the Buddha, as well as the belief that it is the most accurate portrait of the Buddha Shakyamuni. CONTENT - The Jowo Shakyamuni, or Jowo Rinpoche (Rinpoche means "precious one" in the Tibetan language), is a larger than life-size image of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni housed in the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet. - Jowo Shakyamuni is seated with his legs in the lotus position or padmasana. - His left hand is in the mudra (hand gesture) of meditation (dhyana mudra) and his right hand is in the gesture of "calling the earth to witness" (bhumisparsha mudra). -Together, these postures signify the moment of the Buddha's enlightenment. He is shown wearing a thin monk's robe, which drapes over his body and covers his left shoulder. When dressed, Jowo Shakyamuni is presented with a magnificent jeweled crown and robes. CONTEXT - The sculpture has undergone restoration and reconstruction over its history. The most recent of which took place after the Cultural Revolution. - It is not known what the image may have originally looked like in the 7th century when it was made; however, early texts describe the sculpture as being depicted in a similarly enlightened state (seated in padmasana with hands in bhumisparsha mudra). - One of the main variations is described in an 11th century text titled the Vase-Shaped Pillar Testament—the earliest written description of the image—which states that a wrathful deity is seen protruding from the Buddha's neck which is not seen today on the sculpture. - Similarly, the resplendent crown and robes that the sculpture is seen wearing today are much later additions. - the continued restoration and veneration of the Jowo Shakyamuni over the course of its 1300 year history is a testament to its religious and cultural importance in Tibet. - Texts such as the 11th century Vase-Shaped Pillar Testament suggest that the Jowo Shakyamuni was sculpted from a life portrait of the Buddha. - the earliest evidence for the sculpture dates to the 7th century when the Chinese princess, Wencheng Gongzhu, is said to have brought it to Tibet as part of her marriage dowry to emperor Songtsen Gampo in 641. -This date also coincides with the foundation of Buddhism in Tibet. What this suggests is that while the Jowo Shakyamuni is not among the first images of the Buddha, its importance is not diminished as its appearance in Tibet coincides with the foundation of Buddhism in the country.

Yaxchilan (and Yaxchilan Lintels)

- 725 CE - Mexico - Mayan FUNCTION -Reinforce the reign of the ruler and his dynastic ties and wife - Before the construction of Structure 23, there was a gap in building at Yaxchilán for about 150 years. - There was a focus on Lady Xook rather than Shield Jaguar II because it might be that the ruler wanted to promote his lineage and power through his principal wife (who had more prestige than his other wives). -Structure 23 is therefore important not only for advertising Shield Jaguar II's power, but also for highlighting the important role of royal women in Maya culture. -Other relief sculptures, such as Lintel 45 on Structure 44, show Shield Jaguar II with war captives to commemorate his victory in battles against rival city-states. FORM AND CONTENT - Yaxchilan Structure-Pyramid shape - Floating down the Usumacinta River in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala, Yaxchilán is located in Chiapas, Mexico (close to the border of Guatemala) between the Maya cities of Copán and Palenque. -The site hosts over 100 structures and monuments and is especially famous for its high-quality relief carvings. -Shield Jaguar II's commissions at Yaxchilán's central complex of buildings (called the Central Acropolis) include carved lintels (the beam at the top of a doorway), stairs faced with hieroglyphic writing, and stele (upright wood or stone slab monuments). -Some of the most famous lintels are those on Structure 23—a yotoot (palace building) showing Shield Jaguar II's wife, Lady K'abal Xook. -Anyone entering Structure 23 would pass underneath the limestone lintels when entering the doorways; the lintels are thus situated in a liminal space between exterior and interior. - The three lintels on Structure 23—known as lintels 24, 25, and 26—depict different ritual moments in the life of Lady Xook. -While they appear to have been carved years apart from one another, they seem to show a narrative. the monuments and objects uncovered at Yaxchilán are numbered in the order in which they were found - On Lintel 24, Lady Xook pulls a thorned cord through her tongue so that she can bleed onto paper that fills a basket on the ground before her. -She is engaged in bloodletting—the ritual shedding of blood. Her husband, Shield Jaguar II, holds a lit torch above her. The glyphs (writing) on the top note Lady Xook's titles, and mention that the events depicted occurred on 28 October 709 C.E. -Bloodletting was a common ritual among elites and it is one of the most frequent subjects in Maya art. A ruler or other elites (including women), would let blood to honor and feed the gods, at the dedication ceremony of a building, when children were born, or other occasions. -Rulers needed to shed blood in order to maintain order in the cosmos. The ruler was believed to be a descendent of the gods, and the act of bloodletting was of critical importance in maintaining their power. - Bloodletting was also an act related to rebirth and rejuvenation. - The loss of blood and the burning of incense produced hallucinations, which were desired in certain ritual contexts to access other realms. -In lintel 25, Lady Xook (in the lower right) kneels before a vision serpent, from whose mouth emerges a figure. Lady Xook holds a bowl in her left hand while she looks up towards the rising serpent. In addition to her patterned huipil (square-cut blouse), Lady Xook is festooned with a headdress, elaborate bracelets, earrings, and a necklace—likely made of jade. In the bowl are pieces of paper stained with her blood. She has likely burned the paper to allow the blood to ascend to the gods, and to bring about the vision serpent. - you can see that the figure emerging from the vision serpent's mouth is armed with a shield, spear and a war helmet. He, too, wears an elaborate headdress, a breastplate and ear spools. The identity of this figure is debated; some scholars claim it is an ancestral figure while other believe it is Shield Jaguar II or perhaps even Lady Xook. -A glyphic inscription ( written backwards) in the upper left corner of Lintel 25 notes the date of Shield Jaguar II's ascension to the throne in October 681. The image and the inscription both reinforce the reign of the ruler and his dynastic ties, in this case via his wife. - The lintels exemplify the skilled carving of Maya artists at Yaxchilán—and the Maya more generally. The scenes are carved in high relief with carefully incised details decorating the raised surfaces. A diamond pattern decorates Lady Xook's huipil, for instance, in Lintel 24 - The contour and incised lines of the lintels possess a calligraphic quality, as if they were drawn or painted rather than carved. - The Yaxchilán lintels were originally painted, although only traces remain, including red on Lady Xook's clothing and the brilliant Maya blue color on the background of Lintel 24 - Also located within the Central Acropolis near Structure 23, Structure 33 (dedicated around 756 C.E.) is an example of Maya Classic architecture, particularly of the Usumacinta and Peten region or "style" as some would call it. -It was most likely built by Bird Jaguar IV, who like his father Shield Jaguar II engaged in a series of building projects and commissioned various monuments as part of his campaign to legitimate his rule. Bird Jaguar ascended the throne ten years after his father died, suggesting that there was perhaps a conflict about who was to become Yaxchilán's ruler. - Structure 33 rests on the side of the main plaza, making it a focal point for the area. The building itself is narrow, only one vault deep, so it was not intended to hold many people. -Three entryways punctuate the exterior—which is embellished with stucco ornamentation. -****An elaborate roof-comb (a masonary "wall" that rises upwards above a building to give the impression that it is taller than it actually is), arguably the most famous component of the temple, incorporates a decorative frieze, niches, and sculptural elements, including a sculpted human being in the central niche. It is possible that this is Bird Jaguar IV. -Intricate latticework covers the symmetrical roof-comb and the building's overall style is reminiscent of buildings found at other important Classic Maya city-states like Palenque. -Like Structure 23, carved lintels form the underside of each of the doorways on Structure 33. Lintel 1, for example, shows Bird Jaguar festooned in the clothing of a Maya ruler. -The other lintels show a similar concern with rulership****. Lintel 2 displays Bird Jaguar and his son and heir, Chel Te' Chan K'inich (later known as Shield Jaguar IV), while another depicts Bird Jaguar once again dressed in royal regalia.* - Hieroglyphic Stairway #2 leads up to the building. The top step of Structure 33 displays rulers, including Bird Jaguar IV and his father and grandfather playing the ballgame in a series of thirteen carved limestone blocks. They play against Yaxchilán enemies—such as Lord Jeweled Skull who Bird Jaguar defeats. - Bird Jaguar IV also had Structure 40 built as part of his political campaign to secure his rulership. Structure 40 sits in the South Acropolis, flanked by two other structures. It displays the typical Yaxchilán architectural style—a rectangular vaulted building with a stuccoed roof comb. -Like many other Yaxchilán buildings it had stele associated with it, such as Stela 11 that showed Bird Jaguar IV towering over war captives accompanied by his parents. The stela, like the buildings and other commissioned works, were intended to advertise Bird Jaguar IV's dynastic lineage and thus his right to rule. - Lintels 24, 25 and 26, set above the three doorways of Structure 23, depict a series of rituals performed by Shield Jaguar II and his wife. -Structure 21, commissioned by Bird Jaguar IV, housed lintels 15, 16 and 17. CONTEXT - Yaxchilán's ruling dynasty rose in the 4th century C.E., but its bloom followed several hundred years later (during what art historians call the Classic period), with Lord Shield Jaguar II who ruled for 60 years beginning in 681. - He commissioned some of the most famous sculptural works at the site. His son and heir, Bird Jaguar IV, continued this tradition. - the city-state Maya collapsed in the 9th century.

Lakshmana Temple

- 930 CE - India FORM - The Lakshmana Temple is an example of Nagara style Hindu temple architecture. - In its most basic form, a Nagara temple consists of a shrine known as vimana (essentially the shell of the womb chamber) and a flat-roofed entry porch known as mandapa. - the shrine of Nagara temples include a base platform and a large superstructure known as sikhara (meaning mountain peak), which viewers can see from a distance. - The Lakshmana temple's superstructure appear like the many rising peaks of a mountain range. - In general, there are two main styles of Hindu temple architecture: the Nagara style, which dominates temples from the northern regions of India, and the Dravida style, which appears more often in the South. FUNCTION - Depicting idealized female beauty was important for temple architecture and considered auspicious (favorable), even protective. - Texts written for temple builders describe different "types" of women to include within a temple's sculptural program, and emphasize their roles as symbols of fertility, growth, and prosperity. - Additionally, images of loving couples known as mithuna (literally "the state of being a couple") appear on the Lakshmana temple as symbols of divine union and moksha, the final release from samsara (the cycle of death and rebirth). - Yashovarman sought to build a temple to legitimize his rule over these territories, though he died before it was finished. His son Dhanga completed the work and dedicated the temple in 954 C.E. CONTENT - an elegant woman walks barefoot along a path accompanied by her attendant. She steps on a thorn and turns—adeptly bending her left leg, twisting her body, and arching her back—to point out the thorn and ask her attendant's help in removing it. - As she turns the viewer sees her face: it is round like the full moon with a slender nose, plump lips, arched eyebrows, and eyes shaped like lotus petals. While her right hand points to the thorn in her foot, her left hand raises in a gesture of reassurance. - The central deity at the Lakshmana temple is an image of Vishnu in his three-headed form known as Vaikuntha who sits inside the temple's inner womb chamber also known as garba griha —an architectural feature at the heart of all Hindu temples regardless of size or location. - The womb chamber is the symbolic and physical core of the temple's shrine. It is dark, windowless, and designed for intimate, individualized worship of the divine—quite different from large congregational worshipping spaces that characterize many Christian churches and Muslim mosques. - Devotees approach the Lakshamana temple from the east and walk around its entirety— circumambulation. **** - ****They begin walking along the large plinth of the temple's base, moving in a clockwise direction starting from the left of the stairs. - Sculpted friezes along the plinth depict images of daily life, love, and war and many recall historical events of the Chandella period - Devotees then climb the stairs of the plinth, and encounter another set of images, including deities sculpted within niches on the exterior wall of the temple. - In one niche the elephant-headed Ganesha appears. His presence suggests that devotees are moving in the correct direction for circumambulation, as Ganesha is a god typically worshipped at the start of things. - Other sculpted forms appear nearby in lively, active postures: swaying hips, bent arms, and tilted heads which create a dramatic "triple-bend" contrapposto pose, all carved in deep relief emphasizing their three-dimensionality. -It is here —specifically on the exterior juncture wall between the vimana and the mandapa —where devotees encounter erotic images of couples embraced in sexual union -This place of architectural juncture serves a symbolic function as the joining of the vimana and mandapa, accentuated by the depiction of "joined" couples. -Four smaller, subsidiary shrines sit at each corner of the plinth. These shrines appear like miniature temples with their own vimanas, sikharas, and mandapas, and womb chambers with images of deities, originally other forms or avatars of Vishnu. - Following circumambulation of the exterior of the temple, devotees encounter three mandapas, which prepare them for entering the vimana. Each mandapa has a pyramidal-shaped roof that increases in size as devotees move from east to west. - Once devotees pass through the third and final mandapa they find an enclosed passage along the wall of the shrine, allowing them to circumambulate this sacred structure in a clockwise direction. - The base platform is sometimes known as pitha, meaning "seat." A flattened bulb-shaped topper known as amalaka appears at the top of the superstructure or sikhara. The amalaka is named after the local amla fruit and is symbolic of abundance and growth. CONTEXT - The Lakshmana temple was the first of several temples built by the Chandella kings in their newly-created capital of Khajuraho. -Between the 10th and 13th centuries, the Chandellas patronized artists, poets, and performers, and built irrigation systems, palaces, and numerous temples out of sandstone -The original patron of the Lakshmana temple was a leader of the Chandella clan, Yashovarman, who gained control over territories in the Bundelkhand region of central India that was once part of the larger Pratihara Dynasty.

Anthropomorphic stele

- Arabian Peninsula - 3000 BCE - neo CONTENT - represents a human (anthropomorphic) - carving is on the front, both sides are carved - The face/head is trapezoidal in shape with a pair of eyes and a long nose - The chest has a necklace running parallel, across the body with an awl (small pointed tool) running perpendicularly through it - Along the waist there is some sort of belt or sheath holding a double bladed daggerT - he belt runs all the way around the front and back -small FORM - Sandstone - The carvings are not very intricate despite sandstone not being difficult to carve - Simple and abstrac -tindicates artistic ability - bas-relief CONTEXT -This specific Stele was found among over 60 other similar ones near Ha'il - This area was heavily populated for the time due to its fertile ground -this possibly indicates a similar belief system also indicates that objects like these were traded and exchanged during the Neolithic period FUNCTION -Stele- A stele is a vertical stone monument or marker often inscribed with text or relief carving -considering that they were found in large quantities near a village, they may have had some cultural importance -Connected to the pre-islamic belief in the afterlife -Shows the importance of the human figure

Anavysos Kouros

- Archaic Greek - 530 BCE FORM - marble, 6' 4". About life size - the earlier kouros is stiffer - and an abstraction of the human body. This is because the body represented symbols. Later, during the archaic period, the figures become more life-like. More rounded, less blocky. - Earlier, you can tell there was inscribing in the stone, whereas in the later ones you see modeling in the round. The face and body is more integrated and flows better But in both figures there is continuity. In both, the left leg is out. The weight is evenly distributed on both legs, both knees are locked - they both have a traditional headband, braids, and curls - The hands were attached to the hips so it did not break off FUNCTION - Grave markers, offerings in sanctuaries (to a god), or represented a god, usually Apollo - The latest figure was set up by an aristocratic family as a grave marker to their son who died in war CONTENT - Ideal male youth. Kouros means "youth" - In both sculptures the figure is smiling (archaic smile), which gives a sense of aristocratic nobility - There were often inscriptions on the bases of the kouros figures The scuptutre is not a portrait: it is not a specific individual. The body is an ideal, perfected body CONTEXT -Sculpture from the archaic period - Inspired by contact with ancient Egypt. Resemblance to Egyptian sculptutres - The latest figure was found in 1936 and spirited out of Greece. It was recovered by the greek police in paris and brough back a year later

Peplos Kore

- Archaic Greek - 530 BCE FORM - small sculpture = Her left arm is pointed straight out, bent at the elbow. She mightve been carrying a bow - Her right hand is in a fist - She could be Artemis, the goddess Romans would later call Diana - There are a lot of holes crowning her head. She probably wore a metal diadem, a metal crown with rays coming up, which could've shown her divinity - There is a rod on top of her head, which could have been a crescent above the diadem - There are holes for bronze earrings - Her face wouldve been more complexly painted. - You can only see the red now. There is a sense of her legs under the dress - She has an archaic smile. A symbol of ideal wellbeing (not an emotion). Ideal femininity - The paint is made by melting hot wax FUNCTION - Generally offerings to the goddess Athena, brought by men, usually Perhaps represented fecundity or fertility CONTENT - There are paintings of animals only visible under special lighting - Kore- ("young woman" in Greek) a type of figure that was found throughout ancient greece, of a female figure that is clothed. - - The counterpart is the nude kouro. - Peplos is an ancient greek costume, with a rectangle of cloth, often linen that is pinned at the shoulders and then falls down - Among all the sculptures that were found on the acropolis, this was the only one dressed this way - Art historians are arguing that she could be wearing a peplos or a chiton - It might not be a young woman, it could be a goddess - We don't know what she is carrying, which would tell who she was CONTEXT -Both kore and kouros were found in great numbers during the archaic period, which is before classical period

The Kiss, Gustav Klimt

- Austria - 1907 CE FORM - Almost a perfect square painting - There's lots of gold. This usually reminds people of religious icons (byzantine tradition) , so Klimt was trying to create a modern icon and a sense of spirituality and transcendence The gold circles rise off the surface of the canvas and catch the light - On the male figure there are patterns that are direct of linear in contrast to the curvilinear to the circles and the ovals in the female figure - The background is darker gold FUNCTION - It seems as if the figures are lost in the intensity and eternity of the kiss CONTENT - Removed from the everyday world - The bodies are not present here, they are cloaked in such decorative forms. The sensuality is covered - The female is fully frontal but horizontal. There's a sense of passivity receiving that kiss, but also a kind of deep interior feeling with her eyes closed. - Her fingers delicately touching his hands as he holds her head and his neck reaches out and round, and you get a sense of physical power through the strength of that neck, and the intensity of his desire - They're both crowned. The male has a wreath of leaves and the females' looks like the stars of the heavens CONTEXT - During Modernization of Vienna-- in a time of chaos and stress

Code of Hammurabi

- Babylon, Susian, Iran - 1792 BCE FORM - stele: a tall carved object - the god's face is a profile but the shoulders are frontal FUNCTION - Law Code Stele CONTENT - Divided into three parts: - prologue: carved in relief at the top. the scene is the investiture (inauguration) of Hammurabi (king). There's a king on the left. He's smaller, and he is facing the god Shamash, the sun god, the god of justice. We can tell he's a god bc of the special horned crown and the flames or light coming from his shoulders. We see a halo. Under his feet are mountains that he rises from each day. He's giving the king a scepter and a ring, signs of power. - Below that on all sides, there is an inscribed script called cuneiform. It is written in the language of Akkadian (court language of the Babylonians) which was used for official government decrees. There are divine laws. Shows that Hammurabi's authority comes from Shamash. There are more than 300 laws. They announce an action and its consequences - The last part of the text (epilogue) speaks to the importance of the king's rule CONTEXT -the laws showed a lot about Babylonian culture and what was important to them

Doryphoros

- Classical Greek - 450 BCE - Polykleitos FORM - The sculpture is an ancient Roman copy of a Greek bronze original by Polykleitos. He originally called it Canon. -Mathematically perfect, very realistic compared to kouros. - There is movement - Different from the archaic, turned away from the stiff position - Contrapposto- Doryphoros puts his weight on his right foot, his left foot is relaxed. But the left hand would have been weight-bearing the spear. The right arm is relaxed. - There is a sense of counterbalancing and harmony. - the axis of the knees are tilted, and the axis of the hips are parallel to the axis of the knees. His head is also tilted. - Kouros is perfectly symmetrical, both feet are firmly planted, although one leg is forward. Still, the ankles are on the same plane. FUNCTION - polykleitos uses the idea of relating beauty to ratio. - all beauty is through ratio, and the ratio is shown through the human body. the human body was perfection. CONTENT - This was not an individual The human body is perfect to Greeks. That's why the sculpture is nude, to show the physcial features. - Doryphoros means spear bearer. - He wouldve originally been holding a bronze spear - The figure is part of the human world, not outside our world. It's an ideal mirror of ourselves - 1-7 ratio, s curve CONTEXT -The Doryphoros was one of the most sought after, and most copied, Greek sculptures. - The Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer) is a Roman copy of a lost Greek original that we think was found, largely intact, in the provincial Roman city of Pompeii. - For the most part, the free-standing sculpture was created in bronze, but bc bronze is valuable and can be melted down and reused, sculpture was often recast into weapons. - This is why so few ancient greek bronze originals survive, and why we have to look at ancient roman copies in marbles - This was found in a palestra in Pompeii, where athletes worked out

Niobides Krater

- Classical Greek - 460 BCE FORM - A vase - The forms still have a kind of stiffness that is associated with the early classical. Especially with the figure of apollo who strides forward but does not have a sense of movement -This is a red figure painting. The bodies are part of the red clay of the pot. The silhoutte is formed by the black background. This allows for a lot of detail - The goddess and god are rendered in perfect profile whereas the children as more frontal or ¾ This is a period that is called the Severe Style (early classical style) - The archaic is becoming the classical. The figures, unlike earlier styles, occupy different levels rather than a single ground (illusion of space) although all the figures are the same size FUNCTION - Calyx krater- a large punchbowl. Used to mix wine and water CONTENT - On the back, there's a scene about a mortal woman named Niobe. She had 14 children- 7 daughters and 7 sons. She bragged about them being more numerous and beautiful than the children of the goddess Leto. This was a bad idea. The children of Leto were the god Apollo (arts and sun) and goddess Artemis (hunt). - These children seek revenge for their mother. The image shows Apollo and artemis killing the 14 children. - Artemis is reaching into her quiver for another arrow. - Apollo is drawing his bow back - The children are littering the field - In the front, the hero Herakles, the child of Zeus, and Alkmene, a mortal (he was part mortal and part god). He holds a club and lion skin, which distinguishes him. - This painting might be a copy of a wall painting by the artist Polugnotus. He was the first artist to paint in depth -Herakles is surrounded by warriors and Athena is on the left of him -The warriors are honoring a sculpture of the god, not the god himself. This might be bc there is a slightl visible platform on which Herakles is standing. -Greek soldiers are coming to honor Herakles asking him for protection before they go into battle. The Greeks battled Persians and won in overwhelming odds. CONTEXT -c. 460-50 B.C.E. -Artist is the Niobid painter -Greeks were often concerned about mortals displaying hubris and pride -The front is more calm and relaxed than the violent back. This shows that the Greeks love to contrast the active against passive -The relationship between the two stories is uncertain

Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

- Hellenistic Greek at acropolis - 175 BCE FORM - There are figures coming from behind, below - All of this was brightly painted - The figures pour out onto the stairs - It's in like a circular motion, everything is intertwined - ionic FUNCTION - It was a symbol of the greek's fear, but also optimism that they came overcome chaos CONTENT - There are moments of battle - These are two fragments from a frieze from Pergamon - This shows a battle between the giants and gods and goddesses of mount olympus for the supremacy of the earth and the universe - In a fragment in the center athena is gracious even as she battles a fercoious giant, a titan. - Athena clearly is in control and will win. - She's grabbing the hair of alcyoneus and his mother is in fear - One of athena's snakes is biting him - Athena is being crowned by winged nike - Zeus in another fragment is in the center and he's also in control - He's taking on three giants - He has an eagle fighting the giants - He also has his thunderbolts stabbing the giants - Up the stairs of the altar is the most sacred part. Where the fire, probably to Zeus, would have been lit and where sacrifices might have been offered CONTEXT -Love of the body - Hellensitic (last phase of greek art)- associates expressiveness and drama -The depiction of the gigantomachy on the reliefs of the Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamon may have served as an allegory of King Attalos' victory over the Gauls

Merovingian looped fibula

- Early Medieval Europe - 550 CE FORM -They all consist of a body, a pin, and a catch. -This was a very popular style of fibula, and is called a "crossbow" fibula because of its resemblance to the weapon. -Unscrewing the left knob at the end of this "crossbow" would release the pin -The detailed incising on the body is called pierced openwork and bears a Christian cross amongst a circular leaf motif. -Although precious and intricate, it is a relatively simple design, indicative of the Byzantine/Roman fibulae style. -Frankish fibulae is an example of cloisonné, which is a technique characterized by inlaid semi-precious stones. In fact, the word cloisonné literally means "partitioned" (divided) in French. -The artisan would solder wires onto a metal base and fill the areas those wires created with stones (to be distinguished with cloisonné enamel, which has colored enamel baked within these partitions). -Shows a popular motif in barbarian art- The eagle, originally a pagan symbol of the sun, was used by Imperial Rome, and would later become an emblem to St. John. -The end of these fibulae are in the shape of Eagle heads, and little fish are shown on the main body. -Garnets were used to decorate the eyes of the eagles, and a wide range of gems were used to decorate the rest of the fibulae. -Visigothic fibulae is another example of barbarian metalwork and cloisonné. These were decorated with garnets, amethyst, and colored glass. Pendants could have been hung from the small loops on the bottom on each fibulae. FUNCTION -brooches that were made popular by Roman military campaigns -one of the most commonly found objects in barbarian* grave sites CONTENT -Lombardic fibula is a stylized variation of the crossbow fibula -It is gilded and inlaid with niello, a black metal alloy. The incisions are hatched lines, a popular decoration technique in Lombardic fibulae. -Merovingian- looped fibulae CONTEXT -Ornate fibulae became all the rage in the early middle ages -Grave goods like fibulae provide the most concrete cultural information about barbarians, due to the sparse amount of written documentation about them. -The diverse ethnic groups were constantly borrowing from one another, while putting their own spin on things -The Byzantines were a part of the eastern Roman empire, their capital being Constantinople. Their empire was a continuation of the Roman empire during the middle ages, while the majority of modern-day Italy was overtaken by barbarian tribes.

Slave Ship, Joseph Mallord William Turner

- England - 1840 CE FORM - The paint is thick and sensual - Sublime- enhances the dramatic effect. scary and wild FUNCTION - Tell the story of a poem and what actually happened -Beauty of nature (Has typical Turner sunset) and power of nature CONTENT -Full title: "Slave Ship Throwing overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On" -We're looking at an image of a slave ship which is a ship carrying slaves and a typhoon has come on -The captain of the ship decided to throw the slaves overboard because the typhoon is coming -That's the only way you could collect insurance. If the slaves died of illness of other things while on board, the captain of hte ship couldn't claim insurance -bottom right hand corner- there's a foot and a leg and a shackle in chains -There's a sense of divine retribution- the punishment of the storm is justified by what's happening on the ship -There's a sense of indifference of nature because the same storm that's going to overcome the slave ship is also going to drown the slaves themselves CONTEXT -Based on a poem, but it actually happened in reality too -The first owner of this painting was the great Victorian art critic, John Ruskin. Then it made its way to boston to an abolitionist -Ruskin wrote: "Purple and blue, the lurid shadows of the hollow breakers are cast upon the mist of night, which gathers cold and low, advancing like the shallow of death upon the guilty ship, as it labors amidst the lightning of the sea, it's thin masts written upon the sky in lines of blood"

Statues of Votive figures (Standing male worshipper)

- Eshunna, Tell Asmar, Iraq - 2700 BCE FORM - made of alabaster - hands are clasped together, he stands erect, his shoulders are broad, there's a sense of frontality - the hair comes down in waves or braids then frames the beard - there is fine incising at the bottom - his body is very cylindrical and his torso is flat and v-shaped - his eyes are big and attentive. his eyes are inlaid shell and his pupils are black limestone - his body is very geometric and not natural FUNCTION - the figures from Tell Asmar are considered to be a great expression of early dynastic Sumerian art - the temple could have been dedicated to the god Anu - An elite member of ancient Sumerian culture paid to have this sculpture made and placed before the god to be a kind of stand-in to perhaps continually offer prayer, to continually be attentive to the god CONTENT - He is looking at statues, a sculpture of a god who was believed to be embodied in the sculpture - compared to the egyptians, the sculpture is the worshipper, not the god/king - all the 12 figures look similar, so it seems that the figures are a symbol of a person, not a specific person (most male) - he looks very humble and attentive - his unnatural figure gives a sense of timelessness. he is standing stiff, almost forever, offering prayers to the god CONTEXT -someone buried a small group of figures in the floor of a temple in a city called Eshunna in northern ancient Mesopotamia, now called Tell Asmar - this was the end of the neolithic era, when civilizations are founded in the great river valleys

The Swing, Jean-Honore Fragonard

- France - 1767 CE - Jean-Honore Fragonard FORM -Rapid brush strokes for movement -Rococo- the style of art that comes out of the Baroque but abandons the seriousness and morality but maintained the sense of energy and movement -Baroque used diagonal lines and we see those lines in this painting, through the female figure and down to her lover FUNCTION -Commissioned by a member of the French royal court (aristocracy) who asked Fragonard to paint his lover on a swing being pushed by a bishop while he hid and looked up his mistress's dress -A private commission, for a private home Meant to be playful, erotic, sexually charged. You can see the man is very in love with the woman CONTENT -The bishop is no longer a bishop in the rendering, but just an older man. He's barely visible in the lower right T-he young woman is wearing a pink silk dress lined with lace, and her shoe is flying in the air. She's sitting on red velvet that has a gilded molding at the bottom of it -At the left there's a sculpture and the sculpture is by a Rococo sculptor named Falconet and it's called "Menacing Love" -The cupid has his finger to his mouth as if asking us to keep a secret -Below that we see a relief sculpture that looks like maenads or nymphs dancing -To the lower right there are two Cupid figures that seem to be riding a classicizing dolphin, part of a fountain, and you can see the water spraying out towards the lower right of the painting -The setting is a cultivated aristocratic garden- where nature is abundant and fertile, relating to the sensuality of the story -Different from the spareness, severity, and plainness that is seen in paintings by David before the revolution CONTEXT -Fragonard is known for large scale formal history paintings and this painting abandons that kind of career -His technique changed too - rapid brush strokes- you can see the movement in the dress because of the rapid brush strokes -People opposed rococo because it was different from neoclassicism ("Oath of the Horatii")

Seated Scribe

- Saqqara Egypt - 2600 BCE FORM - lifelike, painted limestone - the nipple and eyes are wooden dowels - eyes are lifelike bc made of polished crystal and organic material added to the back that functions as an adhesive but also color to the iris - very frontal, meant to be seen from the front - symmetrical - skin is rich red-browns - we don't know if this is a portrait of someone FUNCTION - funerary sculpture meant for a tomb CONTENT - sense of awareness, intelligence, presence, formality - not idealized bc pharaohs were never in a relaxed, cross legged position and rolls of fat that make him look more human - the right hand wouldve held a brush or pen - the left hand holds a rolled piece of papyrus that he's writing on. it shows the momentary, even tho the Egyptians are so concerned with the eternal CONTEXT - Found in necropolis (cemetery) southwest of Cairo in a place called Saqqara, an important Old Kingdom necropolis - We would know more about him if the base on which he sits was not cut (wouldve included his name and titles) - Scribes were very highly regarded in Egyptian culture (people who read and write)

La Grande Odalisque, Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres

- France - 1814 CE FORM - Oil on canvas - Neoclassical and romanticism - Ingres's early Romantic tendencies can be seen in this painting -At first glance this nude seems to follow in the tradition of the Great Venetian masters, for instance, Titian's Venus of Urbino. But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this is no classical setting. -Instead, Ingres has created an aloof (not friendly and distant) eroticism accentuated by its exotic context. -The peacock fan, the turban, the enormous pearls, the hookah (a pipe for hashish or perhaps opium), and the title of the painting all refer us to the French conception of the Orient. -orientalism -Elongated back- sensuality was more important than anatomy -The left leg is in an impossible position- it would not connect with the hip -Historically, the image is inaccurate because Ingres has never been to a harem, and this image is a harem. So this is a Western idea of what a harem would look like. -She doesnt fit the painting- she is touching almost all four edges of the canvas FUNCTION -Commissioned likely by a French male viewer. the sister of Napoleon Hired Ingres to paint it. She was married to the king of Naples -Ingres covered his object of desire in a misty, distant exoticism. CONTENT - A nude with lack of energy in a luxurious interior. - Odalesque is a mistress or female slave, or woman in harem - The look she gives is an aloof look, and there is tension because of the distant between her and the viewer - She is a concubine (mistress) CONTEXT - jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres worked in Jacques Louis David's studio - Ingres returned to neoclassicism after being rejected the lessons of his teacher David - He could even be said to have laid the foundation for the emotive expressiveness of Romanticism -In the mind of an early 19th century French male viewer, the sort of person for whom this image was made, the odalisque would have conjured up not just a harem slave—itself a misconception—but a set of fears and desires linked to the long history of aggression between Christian Europe and Islamic Asia. -Ingres' porcelain sexuality is made acceptable even to an increasingly strict French culture because of the subject's geographic distance. - By the time ingres finished the painting, napoleon was overthrown and there was no more Naples -Shown in the Salon of 1819 -It caused a scandal-it's a female nude and it's not Venus

Liberty Leading the people, Eugene Delacroix

- France - 1830 CE FORM - Oil on canvas - French romanticism - Chaotic, but fille with subtle order - There's a classicizing pyramid to organize these figures - Historical painting - Liberty- classical profile - Loose brushwork to energize the painting and brilliant colors FUNCTION - He depicts an event from the July Revolution of 1830, an event that replaced the resigned King Charles X with Louis Phillipe I. - It's the Trois Glorieuses—the Three Glorious Days as it came to be known—of the July Revolution CONTENT - Setting- barricade in the streets of paris - The monumental- a nude to the waist- a female figure. - The fact that her breasts are visible is a reference to antiquity, to the birth of democracy, to Ancient Greece and the Roman republican tradition. - Her yellow dress has fallen from her shoulders, as she holds a bayonetted musket in her left hand and raises the tricolor—the French national flag—with her right. - This red, white, and blue arrangement of the flag is mimicked by the attire worn by the man looking up at her. -She powerfully strides forward and looks back over her right shoulder as if to ensure those who she leads are following. -Her head is shown in perfect profile—like a ruler on a classical coin—and she wears a Phrygian cap, a classical signifier of freedom -This is an important bit of costuming—in ancient Rome, freed slaves were given one to wear to indicate their newly liberated status, and this headwear became a symbol of freedom and liberty on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. -this figure is not a specific individual. Instead, she serves as an allegory— a pictorial device intended to reveal a moral or political idea—of Liberty. -The man on the far left holds a briquet (an infantry saber commonly used during the Napoleonic Wars). -His clothing—apron, working shirt, and sailor's trousers—identify him as a factory worker, a person in the lower end of the economic ladder. His other attire identifies his revolutionary leanings. -The handkerchief around his waist, that secures a pistol, has a pattern similar to that of the Cholet handkerchief, a symbol used by François Athannase de Charette de la Contrie, a Royalist solider who led an ill-fated uprising against the First Republic, the government established as a result of the French Revolution. The white cockade and red ribbon secured to his beret also identify his revolutionary sensibilities. -This factory worker provides a counterpoint to the younger man beside him who is clearly of a different economic status. He wears a black top hat, an open-collared white shirt and cravat, and an elegantly tailored black coat. Rather than hold a military weapon like the man beside him, he has a hunting shotgun. -These two figures make clear that this revolution is not just for the economically oppressed, but for the wealthy too. -There are two young boys. On the left, a fallen adolescent who wears a light infantry bicorne and holds a short saber, struggles to regain his footing amongst the piled cobblestones that make up a barricade. -The other is on the right side. He wildly wields two pistols. He wears a faluche—a black velvet beret common to students—and carries what appears to be a school or cartridge satchel (with a crest that may be embroidered) across his body. - With no less than five guns and three blades among these six primary figures, it is not surprising that the ground is littered with the dead. -Some are members of the military, perceived by the uniform decorated with shoulder epaulettes on the figure in the lower right, while others are likely revolutionaries. -Notre Dame can be seen on the right side of the painting. This cathedral was a symbol of the monarchy and conservatism. At the top of one of its towers is the tricolor, the flag of the revolutionaries -Delacroix signed and dated his painting underneath this monument. CONTEXT - He painted this the same time the events were happening - the painting accurately renders the fervor and chaos of urban conflict - The revolutionaries dug up cobblestones that paved the streets and piled them up and erected barricades that were both defensive positions and impeded the movements of the Royalist troops. Liberty climbs over the barricade, trespassing the barrier, and continues to fight for her ideals - Delacroix completed what has become both a defining image of French romanticism and one of the most enduring modern images of revolution. - Purchased by King louis Phillippe to show he was a champion of democratic values. But it was returned to delacroiz bc it was perceived as dangerous- an image showing people coming together to overthrow a king

Still Life in Studio, Jacques-Mande Daguerre

- France - 1837 CE FORM -Daguerrotype- one-of-a-kind photographic image on a highly polished, silver-plated sheet of copper, sensitized with iodine vapors, exposed in a large box camera, developed in mercury fumes, and stabilized (or fixed) with salt water or "hypo" -Black and white -Used thin metal plate CONTENT -Images of other works of art CONTEXT -By Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre -Artists from the Renaissance onwards used a camera obscura (Latin for dark chamber), or a small hole in the wall of a darkened box that would pass light through the hole and project an upside-down image of whatever was outside the box. -However, it was not until the invention of a light sensitive surface by Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce that the basic principle of photography was born. -Many of Niépce's early images simply turned black over time due to continued exposure to light. This problem was largely solved in 1839 by the invention of hypo, a chemical that reversed the light sensitivity of paper. -Photographers after Niépce experimented with a variety of techniques. -Louis Daguerre invented a new process he dubbed a daguerrotype in 1839, ***which significantly reduced exposure time and created a lasting result, but only produced a single image. -At the same time, Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot was experimenting with what would eventually become his calotype method, patented in February 1841. Talbot's innovations included the creation of a paper negative, and new technology that involved the transformation of the negative to a positive image, allowing for more than one copy of the picture. -The collodion method was introduced in 1851. - This process involved fixing a substance known as gun cotton onto a glass plate, allowing for an even shorter exposure time (3-5 minutes), as well as a clearer image. The big disadvantage of the collodion process was that it needed to be exposed and developed while the chemical coating was still wet, meaning that photographers had to carry portable darkrooms to develop images immediately after exposure. - Further advances in technology continued to make photography less labor intensive. By 1867 a dry glass plate was invented, reducing the inconvenience of the wet collodion method. -Finally in 1888 George Eastman developed the dry gelatin roll film, making it easier for film to be carried.

The Stone Breakers, Gustave Courbet

- France - 1849 CE FORM -The painting seems disjointed (not connected) The brushwork is rough, like the stones. -Suggests that the way the artist painted his canvas was in part a conscious rejection of the highly polished, refined neoclassicist style that still dominated French art in 1848 -He refused to focus on the parts of the image that would usually receive the most attention like the hands, faces, and foreground. He instead focused on the faces and rock equally. -This painting seems to lack the basics of art (things like a composition that selects and organizes, aerial perspective and finish) and as a result, it feels more "real." -The large size gives respect to ordinary people FUNCTION -Show's the artist's concern for the plight of the poor CONTENT -Two figures labor to break and remove stone from a road that is being built. Such work was reserved as punishment for chain-gangs -Coubet depicts figures who wear ripped and tattered clothing. -The stone breakers are set against a low hill of the sort common in the rural French town of Ornans, where the artist had been raised and continued to spend much of his time -The hill reaches to the top of the canvas everywhere but the upper right corner, where a tiny patch of bright blue sky appear -The effect is to isolate these laborers, and to suggest that they are physically and economically trapped -There's a man that seems too old and a boy that seems too young for such labor. -This is not meant to be heroic. It's meant to be an accurate account of the abuse and deprivation that was common in mid-century French rural life CONTEXT -mid-century French rural life They're going to be stonebreakers forever -Working class here Reminds of augustine, calling of matthew, hunters in the snow

Nadar Raising photography Honore Daumier

- France - 1862 CE FORM - Lithograph (printing from a stone or smooth metal plate to produce mass images.) - Impressionist- nadar wanted to do this?? FUNCTION - To mock Nadar; to show that ridiculous and dangerous means have to be used to elevate photography to the height and importance of "high art." Serves as a commentary on the 1862 court decision permitting photography to be seen as high art. CONTENT - Daumier depicts Nadar as a daring photographer; - Nadar's hat is flying off, and in his own excitement to capture the perfect shot, he almost falls out of his balloon. - All building have "photographie" on them CONTEXT - The big disadvantage of the collodion process was that it needed to be exposed and developed while the chemical coating was still wet, meaning that photographers had to carry portable darkrooms to develop images immediately after exposure. - Both the difficulties of the method and uncertain but growing status of photography were lampooned by - Honoré Daumier in his Nadar Elevating Photography to the Height of Art (1862). - Nadar, one of the most prominent photographers in Paris at the time, was known for capturing the first aerial photographs from the basket of a hot air balloon. - Obviously, there were difficulties in developing a glass negative under these circumstances - Further advances in technology continued to make photography less labor intensive. - By 1867 a dry glass plate was invented, reducing the inconvenience of the wet collodion method. Prepared glass plates could be purchased, eliminating the need to fool with chemicals. - In 1878, new advances decreased the exposure time to 1/25th of a second, allowing moving objects to be photographed and lessening the need for a tripod. - Photographers in the 19th century were pioneers in a new artistic endeavor, blurring the lines between art and technology. - Frequently using traditional methods of composition and innovative techniques, photographers created a new vision of the material world. Despite the struggles early photographers must have had with the limitations of their technology, their artistry is also obvious.

The Kaaba, Mecca

- Saudi Arabia - 631 CE FORM - The Kaaba, meaning cube in Arabic, is a square building elegantly draped in a silk and cotton veil. - Tradition holds that it was originally a simple unroofed rectangular structure. - The Quraysh tribe, who ruled Mecca, rebuilt the pre-Islamic Kaaba in c. 608 CE with alternating courses of masonry and wood. - A door was raised above ground level to protect the shrine from intruders and flood waters. - The area around the Kaaba was expanded in order to accommodate the growing number of pilgrims by the second caliph, 'Umar, who ruled 634-44 CE. - The Caliph 'Uthman, who ruled 644-56 CE, built the colonnades around the open plaza where the Kaaba stands and incorporated other important monuments into the sanctuary. - During the civil war between the caliph Abd al-Malik and Ibn Zubayr, who controlled Mecca, the Kaaba was set on fire in 683 CE. Reportedly, the Black Stone broke into three pieces and Ibn Zubayr reassembled it with silver. - He rebuilt the Kaaba in wood and stone, following Ibrahim's original dimensions and also paved the space around the Kaaba. - Today, the Kaaba is a cubical structure, unlike almost any other religious structure. It is fifteen meters tall and ten and a half meters on each side; its corners roughly align with the cardinal directions. - The door of the Kaaba is now made of solid gold; it was added in 1982. - The kiswa—the large cloth that covers the Kaaba—used to be sent from Egypt with the hajj caravan but today is made in Saudi Arabia. FUNCTION - sanctuary CONTENT - Reportedly under the Umayyad caliph al-Walid, who ruled 705-15 CE, the mosque that encloses the Kaaba was decorated with mosaics like those of the Dome of the Rock and the Great Mosque of Damascus. By the seventh century, the Kaaba was covered with kiswa, a black cloth that is replaced annually during the hajj. CONTEXT - Located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, it is the holiest shrine in Islam. - In Islam, Muslims pray five times a day and after 624 CE, these prayers were directed towards Mecca and the Kaaba rather than Jerusalem; this direction—or qibla in Arabic—is marked in all mosques and enables the faithful to know in which direction they should pray. - The Qur'an established the direction of prayer. - All Muslims aspire to undertake the hajj, or the annual pilgrimage, to the Kaaba once in their lives if they are able. - Prayer five times a day and the hajj are two of the five pillars of Islam, the most fundamental principles of the faith. - Upon arriving in Mecca, pilgrims gather in the courtyard of the Masjid al-Haram around the Kaaba. They then circumambulate—tawaf in Arabic—or walk around the Kaaba, during which they hope to kiss and touch the Black Stone—al-Hajar al-Aswad—embedded in the eastern corner of the Kaaba. - The Kaaba was a sanctuary in pre-Islamic times. Muslims believe that Abraham—known as Ibrahim in the Islamic tradition—and his son, Ismail, constructed the Kaaba. - Muhammad was driven out of Mecca in 620 CE to Yathrib, which is now known as Medina. - Upon his return to Mecca in 629/30 CE, the shrine became the focal point for Muslim worship and pilgrimage. - The pre-Islamic Kaaba housed the Black Stone and statues of pagan gods. - Muhammad reportedly cleansed the Kaaba of idols upon his victorious return to Mecca, returning the shrine to the monotheism of Ibrahim. - The Black Stone is believed to have been given to Ibrahim by the angel Gabriel and is revered by Muslims. - Muhammad made a final pilgrimage in 632 CE, the year of his death, and thereby established the rites of pilgrimage. - The Kaaba has been modified extensively throughout its history. - The last major modifications were carried out in the 1950s by the government of Saudi Arabia to accommodate the increasingly large number of pilgrims who come on the hajj. Today the mosque covers almost 40 acres. - Until the advent of modern transportation, all pilgrims undertook the often dangerous hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca in a large caravan across the desert, leaving from Damascus, Cairo, and other major cities in Arabia, Yemen, or Iraq.

Olympia, Edouard Manet

- France - 1863 CE FORM - Modern - The model was Titian's Venus of Urbino, except Manet strips away the academic technique of the representation of space of the turn of the body, and the veil of mythology - Academic art is the kind of art that was sanctioned by the official Academy that was associated with the government of France academic artists barely show any brushstrokes, while manet does - People believed that "great art" was based on the classical and the Renaissance. Manet is challenging these established ideas - Venus and other nudes were often shown in a coy way. Olympia looks directly at us. - The reality of a nude woman is present. It's not a represetntation of beauty like Venus - The area that you can see the two=dimensional surface is the way her toes peek out from under her slipper. - The awkwardness reminds us of the illusion and 2 dimensionality - realistic FUNCTION - Confronts the 19th century Paris with its own corruption CONTENT - She's not Venus, she's olympia. She looks like a real woman in a real apartment in Paris - She looks real bc her features are not idealized - This woman is a courtesan, which is a prostitute - We see olympias servant handing her flowers that probably came from one of her customers or patrons - The viewer is probably the customer that startled the cat on the right and the two people CONTEXT - Olympia was a common name for prostitutes - Ancient Greeks and Romans have a tradition of Goddess Venus modestly covering herself nude - Prostitutes were thought of to be of lower class, but in this painting she is of higher class. - So people were not pleased. The press said she looked like she was dead. - Manet outlined her in black and hardly modeled her flesh. - There were caricatures that emphasize the shadow on her hands and feet and some of the press said her hands were filthy and that those are the only areas where there's significant modeling. - The breasts and abdomen were expected to have modeling. - Manet kept these flat and the shadows on her hands draw attention to her sexuality even though nudes for centuries had shown women with their hand placed across their genitals. - There's a flatness to her body.

The Saint-Lazare, Claude Monet

- France - 1877 CE FORM - Expresses modernity and architecture through impressionism - Trains were powered by burning coal and creating steam, that required large open sheds which were held aloft by iron - Painting is drenched in steam and light and smoke - Monet is interested in pure color and light - Monet reduced the figures to quick brushstrokes, you can't make out faces - There's no atmospheric perspective. The atmosphere is in the foreground as well as in the background the paint has built up over time - Light!-the dominant formal element in many impressionist paintings - Atmosphere is everywhere. No perspective FUNCTION - Show urban life CONTENT - One of the largest train stations in the city of Paris, part of urban life (Gare Saint-Lazare - The apartment buildings int he back look modern - The puffs of steam obscure the iron framework on the top - Light is pouring in through the opening at the top of the shed creating a prism of color that is playing across the steam within - The trains dissolve into light and atmosphere, even though a train is very solid - has the Pont de l'Europe (a bridge that overlooked the train station) CONTEXT - During the 19th century, Paris was rebuilt to be more modern, a place where there's more leisure and more cash to spend and catering to middle class - The painting is not so much a single view of a train platform, it is rather a component in larger project of a dozen canvases which attempts to portray all facets of the Gare Saint-Lazare. - Of these twelve linked paintings, Monet exhibited between six and eight of them at the third Impressionist exhibition of 1877, which was independent of the official exhibitions called salons that were sponsored by the Royal Academy - So this painting is not a factual account of this station but an optical experience of light and atmosphere, a very subjective experience - this is one of only two paintings of the train station shown on a bright bright, sunny, day - Monet's paintings of trains, steam and industrial activity were severely criticized. Perhaps the criticism is due to the fact that Monet shows the locomotives as the main subject, rather than as background elements. he does not show is the grand hotel, lavish entrance or sculpture of the station's impressive façade.

The Kiss, Constantin Brancusi

- France - 1907 CE FORM - Limestone - The arms turn at right angles and those angles are aligned with the corners of the block - Each figure is defined by the single line between them - The female is slightly thinner and her eyes are smaller - The surface is allowed to be rough - We can describe it as archaic, before the classical - It's not on a base like a typical sculpture. In fact brancusi didnt want anything underneath the sculpture to display it. It takes the sculpture out of the academic realm. (truth in nature) FUNCTION - To show something primitive and truthful ( union of the male and female) - This was the fourth version of the kiss and it was commissioned by an american collector who was interested in acquiring the first but Bracusi said it was not available CONTENT - The hands clasp and hold the other figure - The figure on the right is a woman because the line makes an arch to create breasts - The eyes join together to create almost a single cyclopean eye in the miggle of the forehead - The mouths which are lips reaching to each other, are singular Female has longer hair CONTEXT - Brancusi redefined sculpture in the modern age - He briefly worked in auguste rodin's (another well known sculptor) studio - He's romanian (in romania there was a longstanding peasant tradition of stone carving and wood carving, a kind of folk art) and went to the academy in Bucharest and made his way as a young man in paris - Paris is the center of the art world for the 19th century - Artists wanted to elave paris to find other traditions so there's this interest in something that was thought of as more primitive and true. Brancui brings that king of primitive truth to paris rather than leaving paris to find it - The third version was used for a tombstone for a person who committed suicide

The Portuguese, Georges Braque

- France - 1911 CE FORM - Oil on canvas - The artists adopted a neutral palette of browns and blacks, intending the viewer to focus on the geometric composition rather than the color. Almost monochromatic - Synthetic cubism- more simple but this is analytical cubism CONTENT - Portuguese musician- person playing a guitar and there's a dog - As a Cubist, he wanted to express his total visual understanding of an object, such as a cup. He wanted to express the entire cup simultaneously on the static surface of the canvas since he can hold all that visual information in his memory. He wanted to render the cup's front, its sides, its back, and its inner walls, its bottom from both inside and out, and he wanted to do this on a flat canvas. - In this canvas, everything was fractured. There are jagged edges, sharp and multifaceted lines. There are so many pieces of broken form, almost broken glass. -By breaking these objects into smaller elements, Braque and Picasso are able to overcome the unified singularity of an object and instead transform it into an object of vision. CONTEXT AND FUNCTION - Following their 1907 meeting in Paris, artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque pioneered the Cubist style, a new vision for a new century that inspired paintings that were initially ridiculed by critics for consisting of "little cubes." - Often painting side-by-side in their studios Traditional subjects like nude figures, landscapes, and still lifes were reinvented as increasingly fragmented compositions by Picasso, Braque, and other artists working in and around the French capital. - To understand Cubism it helps to go back to the Renaissance. If he were a Renaissance artist in Italy painting a cup on a table, he would position himself at particular point in space and construct the surrounding objects and space frozen in that spot and from that single perspective. - But Braque or Picasso in the early 20th century would want to express even more on the canvas. They would not be satisfied with the limiting conventions of Renaissance perspective - Also inspired by cezanne

The Goldfish, Henri Matisse

- France - 1912 CE FORM - The goldfish immediately attract attention due to their color. The bright orange strongly contrasts with the more subtle pinks and greens that surround the fish bowl and the blue-green background. Blue and orange, as well as green and red, are complementary colors and, when placed next to one another, appear even brighter. - Although he subsequently softened his palette, the bold orange is reminiscent of Matisse's fauvist years, which continued to influence his use of color throughout his career. - Matisse admired the Moroccans' lifestyle, which appeared to him to be relaxed and contemplative. - For Matisse, the goldfish came to symbolize this tranquil state of mind and, at the same time, became evocative of a paradise lost. - Matisse paints the plants and flowers in a decorative manner. - The upper section of the picture resembles a patterned wallpaper composed of flattened shapes and colors. - the table-top is tilted upwards, flattening it and making it difficult for us to imagine how the goldfish and flowerpots actually manage to remain on the table. - Matisse constructed this original juxtaposition of viewpoints and spatial ambiguity by observing Paul Cézanne's still-life paintings. - Cézanne described art as "a harmony parallel to nature". And it is clear here that although Matisse was attentive to nature, he did not imitate it but used his image of it to reassemble his own pictorial reality. - This painting is an illustration of some of the major themes in Matisse's painting: his use of complementary colors, his quest for an idyllic paradise, his appeal for contemplative relaxation for the viewer and his complex construction of pictorial space. FUNCTION - Goldfish, 1912 belongs to a series that Matisse produced. However, unlike the others, the focus here centers on the fish themselves. - Matisse distinguished predatory observation from disinterested contemplation, the latter being his preferred approach. - Goldfish invites the viewer to indulge in the pleasure of watching the graceful movement and bright colors of the fish. CONTENT - We see Matisse's own plants, his own garden furniture, and his own fish tank T- he artist was drawn to the tank's tall cylindrical shape, as this enabled him to create a succession of rounded contours with the top and bottom of the tank, the surface of the water and the table. Matisse also found the goldfish themselves visually appealing. - Matisse painted Goldfish in his garden conservatory, where, like the goldfish, he was surrounded by glass. - The painting contains a tension created by Matisse's depiction of space. - The fish are seen simultaneously from two different angles. From the front, the goldfish are portrayed in such a way that the details of their fins, eyes and mouths are immediately recognizable to the viewer. Seen from above, the goldfish are suggested by colorful brushstrokes. - If we then look at the plants through the transparent glass surface, we notice that they are distorted compared to the 'real' plants in the background. CONTEXT - Goldfish were introduced to Europe from East Asia in the 17th century. goldfish became a recurring subject in the work of Henri Matisse. They appear in no less than nine of his paintings, as well as in his drawings and prints. - Why was he so interested in goldfish? One clue may be found in his visit to Tangier, Morocco. He noted how the local population would day-dream for hours, gazing into goldfish bowls. - The paradise theme is prevalent in Matisse's work. the goldfish should be understood as a kind of shorthand for paradise in Matisse's painting. - The mere name "gold-fish" defines these creatures as ideal inhabitants of an idyllic golden age. It is also likely that Matisse, who as already familiar with the art of Islamic cultures, was interested in the meaning of gardens, water and vegetation in Islamic art—as well as symbolizing the beauty of divine creation, these were evocations of paradise. - However, Goldfish was not painted in Morocco. Henri Matisse painted it at home, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris. Influenced by asian art- japanese block print

Villa Savoye, Le Corbusier

- France -1929 CE FORM - During the 1920s, Le Corbusier designed a series of houses which allowed him to develop his ideas further. - By 1926, he had devised his Five Points of Architecture, which he viewed as a universal system that could be applied to any architectural site. The system demanded - pilotis (slender columns) to raise the building off the ground and allow air to circulate beneath; - roof terraces, to bring nature into an urban setting; - a free plan that allowed interior space to be distributed at will; - a free façade whose smooth plane could be used for formal experimentation; - and ribbon windows, which let in light but also reinforced the planarity of the wall. - The Villa Savoye incorporated these principles, and also many of the concepts expressed in Vers Une Architecture. - Made of reinforced concrete, the ground floor walls are recessed and painted green so that the house looks like a box floating on delicate pilotis. - Visitors arrive by car, in true machine-age fashion. The stark white exterior wall, with its strips of ribbon windows, has a smooth, planar quality. - This stands in contrast to the fluidity of the interior, which is organized by a multistory ramp that leads the viewer on a gently curving path through a building that is nearly square. - The contrast between the sharp angles of the plan and the dynamism of the spaces inside charge the house with a subtle energy. - The ramp winds from the entrance up to the salon, a formal interior space that flows seamlessly into the roof terrace outside. -Corbu, as he is also known, treated the terrace as a room without walls, reflecting his desire to fully integrate landscape and architecture. - The ramp finally culminates in the curved solarium crowning the house, whose rounded enclosure appears to be an abstract sculpture when viewed from below. -Seen from the roof terrace, the ramp and cylinder of the solarium echo the forms of the ocean liners lauded in Vers une Architecture. - Le Corbusier and Madame Savoye believed in the health benefits of fresh air and sunshine, and considered leisure time spent outdoors one mark of a modern lifestyle. *** -The Villa Savoye's integration of indoor and outdoor spaces allowed the family to spend time outdoors in the most efficient way possible—the house was, in a sense, a machine designed to maximize leisure in the machine age. -The Villa Savoye can be understood as Le Corbusier's refinement of his architectural system, his own personal Parthenon. -Its essential geometric volumes embody his concept of the type form, and its careful consideration of procession and proportion connect the building to Classical ideals. At the same time, its clean simplicity and its use of concrete evoke the precisely-calibrated works of engineering so admired by the architect. FUNCTION - represents the culmination of a decade during which the architect worked to articulate the essence of modern architecture. CONTENT -Located just outside Paris, it offered an escape from the crowded city for its wealthy patrons. -Its location on a large unrestricted site allowed Le Corbusier total creative freedom. The delicate floating box that he designed is both functional house and modernist sculpture, elegantly melding form and function CONTEXT -Throughout the 1920s, via his writings and designs, Le Corbusier (formerly Charles-Edouard Jeanneret) considered the nature of modern life and architecture's role in the new machine age. His famous saying, that "The house should be a machine for living in," is perfectly realized within the forms, layout, materials, and siting of the Villa Savoye. -Le Corbusier had been developing his theories on modern architecture throughout the previous decade. -In 1920, he founded the journal L'Esprit Nouveau, and many of the essays he published there would eventually be incorporated into his landmark collection of essays, Vers une architecture (Toward an Architecture) -This book celebrated science, technology, and reason, arguing that modern machines could create highly precise objects -Le Corbusier lavished praise on the totems of modernity—race cars, airplanes, and factories—marveling at the beauty of their efficiency. -However, he also argued that beauty lay not only in the newest technology but in ancient works such as the Parthenon, whose refined forms represented, in his view, the perfection of earlier Archaic systems. -Le Corbusier sought to isolate what he called type forms, which were universal elements of design that can work together in a system. He found these in the fields of architecture and engineering.

Acropolis (Plaque of the Ergastines)

FORM - Originally it would have been brightly colored, but there's no trace of paint - The citizens of athens look noble heroic, beautiful - Phidian- intricate folds on the forms of the body, curvilinear folds at the edges of peplos - In other areas, there are very straight lines like a column but the knees are breaking through the static clothes to show movement - Standing in contraposto -The frieze wrapped around the entire parthenon FUNCTION -Citizens of athens gathered in a procession, made their way up the sacred way to the acropolis where the parthenon stood CONTENT -It's a fragment of the frieze in the acropolis in athens - Represents pan-athenaic procession - We see women solemn;y processing. They are interrupted by two male figures - This is a religious procession, in honor of athena

Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow, Piet Mondrian

- France -1930 CE FORM - Modernism - de stijl - Inspired by analytic cubism - This is a system he called neoclassism - Primary colors and black and white -The composition is similarly reduced to the simplest of rectilinear forms, squares and rectangles defined by vertical and horizontal lines. - You can see the brushs trokes if you look closely but it's not painterly -It looks liek the red is receding and the blue is coming forward -Mondrian called his style Neo-Plasticism or "The New Plastic Painting," the title of his famous 1917 essay promoting abstraction for the expression of modern life. -Don't be confused by Mondrian's use of the term "plastic." He uses it to refer to the plastic arts—media such as sculpture, that molds three-dimensional form, or, in Mondrian's case, painting on canvas. - For centuries, European painters had attempted to render three-dimensional forms in believable spaces—creating convincing illusions of reality. - He wanted to focus on the material properties of paint and its unique ability to express ideas abstractly using formal elements such as line and color. FUNCTION - Replicate nature with wild symbolist color - The colors are about elemental purity and elemental balance CONTENT -It looks like the red and blue are held by the black bars, like the grid of a stained glass window -There's vertical and left and right balance -And a balance that has to do with what moves towards us and what creates the illusion of space CONTEXT - Mondrian is a dutch artist who just came out of the first world war and he also lived through the second world war - Mondrian was interested in balance and reducing things to their basic elements bc in the world in the 20s, Europe had just been devastated - There was a Utopian notion that art could have a kind of agency that could help to create harmony in the world - Mondrian's earliest paintings were quite traditional in both subject and style. He studied at the art academies in the Hague and in Amsterdam in his home country of the Netherlands. - Then, he began to emulate a variety of contemporary styles, including Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and Symbolism in an effort to find his own artistic voice. -His emphasis on line, color, and geometric shape sought to highlight formal characteristics.

Object (Le Déjeuner en fourrure), Meret Oppenheim

- France -1936 CE FORM - it has become the definitive surrealist object...ultimately to Oppenheim's dismay. - Such physical manifestations of our internal psyches were indicative of a surreality, or the point in which external and internal realities united FUNCTION - The art historian Whitney Chadwick has described it as linked to the Surrealist's love of alchemical transformation by turning cool, smooth ceramic and metal into something warm and bristley, while many scholars have noted the fetishistic qualities of the fur-lined set—as the fur imbues these functional, hand-held objects with sexual connotations. - In a 1936 issue of the New Yorker Magazine, it was reported that a woman fainted "right in front of Object [while it was exhibited at MoMA]. Such visceral reactions to the sculpture come closest to what were likely the artist's aspirations. In an interview later in life, Oppenheim described her creations as "not an illustration of an idea, but the thing itself." - Oppenheim stresses the physicality of Object, reinforcing the way we can imagine the feeling of the fur while drinking from the cup, and using the saucer and spoon. - The chill we experience when china is wrapped in fur is based on our familiarity with both objects - Object insists we imagine what sipping warm tea from this cup feels like, how the bristles would feel upon our lips. how we understand those visceral memories, how we create metaphors and symbols out of this act of tactile extension, is entirely open to interpretation by each individual Which is the whole point of Surrealism CONTENT an ordinary cup, spoon, and saucer wrapped evocatively in gazelle fur context - The story behind the creation of Object has been told so many times its importance in modernist history transcends the fact it might be fictitious - The twenty-two year old Basel-born artist, Meret Oppenheim, had been in Paris for four years when, one day, she was at a café with Pablo Picasso and Dora Maar. Oppenheim was wearing a brass bracelet covered in fur when Picasso and Maar, who were admiring it, proclaimed, "Almost anything can be covered in fur!" As Oppenheim's tea grew cold, she jokingly asked the waiter for "more fur." Inspiration struck—Oppenheim is said to have gone straight from the café to a store where she purchased the cup, saucer, and spoon used in this piece. - Object was created at a moment when sculpted objects and assemblages had become prominent features of Surrealist art practice. - British art critic Herbert Read emphasized that all Surrealist objects were representative of an idea and Salvador Dalí described some of them as "objects with symbolic function." - When Object was finished, Oppenheim submitted it to Breton for an exhibition of Surrealist objects at the Charles Ratton Gallery in Paris in 1936. However, while Oppenheim preferred a non-descriptive title, Breton called the piece Le Déjeneur en fourrure, or Luncheon in Fur. - This title is a play on two works: Édouard Manet's infamous modernist painting Luncheon on the Grass and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's erotic novel Venus in Furs. - With these two references, Breton forces an explicit sexualized meaning onto Object. the original inspiration for this work was implicitly practical: when Oppenheim asked the waiter for more fur for her cooling teacup, it was suggested as a way to keep her tea warm, and not necessarily sexual. - Yet, the early acclaim for the fur-covered Object had a negative effect on Oppenheim's early career. When it was purchased by The Museum of Modern Art and featured in their influential 1936-37 exhibition "Fantastic Art, Dada, and Surrealism" visitors declared it the "quintessential" (typical) Surrealist object. - And that is how it has been seen ever since. But for Oppenheim, the prestige and focus on this one object was too much, and she spent more than a decade destroying much of the work she produced during that period. - It was only later when she re-emerged, and began publicly showing new paintings and objects

Improvisation 28 (second version), Vasily Kandinsky

- Germany - 1912 CE FORM - Brilliant color and hazy atmosphere - The black diagonal lines cross each other like weapons (see context) - Enitrely abstract (we dont immediately recognize the things of the world) - But it's not an abstract painting, but an abstracted painting, which means we can still be able to recognize some elements of the natural world - Kandinsky was concerned that if we can recognize things too clearly, our conscious minds would take over the interpretation and we would close off our emotional abiility to respond to pure color and form - Even though this is a mdoern painting, it's still rooted in this ancient tradition of representing christian stories - Color and lines are used in a new way, for it's own sake. Not to mimic or describe FUNCTION - The title is a kind of notation that a composer uses Kandinsky is composing with form but this is still rooted in stories of the bible and of his particular historical moment - He's trying to associate painting with music - you can hear color an see music- he was interested in synesthesia CONTENT - The painting would sound chaotic and dangerous - You can see a mountain with some buildings on it, mabe chimney sacks or a church on a hill (an ideal city, a king of heavenly Jerusalem)*** - He was deeply influenced by biblical imagery - It makes sense that this is a battle field with forces at war - Art historians interpreted this as a representation of an apocalypse, of a moment when the sins of the world are going to be washed away - In the lower left, there's a great flood. There's a wave- the idea of the way in which God in the old testament had wiped man from the earth except Noah and his family - Above that wave there are canons being fired. The atmospheric effect almsot reads like the smoke on a battle field - On the bottom art historians recognize the manes and the arcs of the necks of horses and we know that Kandinsky was really interested throughout his career in the idea of the horse and rider - Symbolizing diff meanings- referencing the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but also the idea of redemption. This was a utopia- the idea that we can wash away the old world , a world that was about to be destroyed not only by the russian revolution, but also by the first world war CONTEXT - He was influenced by Arnold Schonberg, a composer - This was during 1912, two years before the first world war began and early twentieth century russian hsitory is filled with political chaos

Grave stele of Hegeso

- Greece - 410 BCE FORM - Stele- Upright slab decorated with relief sculptures - Phidian style - Shape of a temple or building - Marble and Encaustic- hot wax paint FUNCTION - Grave marker - Attributed to kallimachos CONTENT - Hegeso is the woman who is seated and opening a box of jewelry presented to her by her servant and examining a necklace, which is no longer there, but was once represented in paint - She is in a domestic setting, the home - It says "hegeso, daughter of proxenos" - Her foot is resting on a foot rest. Wearing sandal. She is not touching the ground - HIERATIC SCALE- the servant is smaller than her CONTEXT -End of 5th century bc, end of high classical moment - Women in ancient greece led very restricted lives that were defined by their relationship with men - Females run the home. They were respected at home.

Seated Boxer

- Hellenistic Greek - 100 BCE - Apollonius FORM - Bronze Lost wax casting. The lines were cut into the surface. The sculpture is hollow - There would have been eyes - There are wounds, where the copper is more of a red color (blood) FUNCTION - Show humility and emotion - Most heroic figures are shown standing. But he is sitting and slouching -it's still idealized as an athletic form CONTENT - His face is not "beautiful" in a traditional sense - The beauty comes from understanding his life and his suffering, instead of the beauty coming from his body. He's muscular and powerful but he's defeated and exhausted. - Broken nose, swollen ears - Sense of pathos- it engages us emotionally - His hands are wrapped in leather - placed in a gymnasium CONTEXT -Greek Hellenistic (period after alexander the great died after he conquered vast land) Pathos - Incorporate environment - Capture a moment in time - In the round - Depiction of age - Erotic/sensual -Light and shadow -Boxing in ancient greek focused on blows to the head, that's why his body is still perfect and athletic

Athenian Agora

- Hellenistic Greek - 600 BCE FORM - many columns in a row FUNCTION - place of marketing and selling at first. Later it became a place of government and democracy. It was also sacred. The primary sacred spot was on the acropolis - In the Stoa (the great hall in Athens in which the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno gave the founding lectures of the Stoic school of philosophy), people conducted business and political discussion CONTENT - At the top of the Acropolis - At the base was the place of public discourse, the heart of the Athenian experiment in democracy - There are inscriptions in small pieces of pottery that were used to vote to ostracize corrupt public leaders - People can make their way to the Parthenon CONTEXT - In the 5th century, there is an opening up of the ability for citizens to participate in the government. But you had to be a citizen. In order to be a citizen, you had to be a male and Athenian. Both parents have to be Athenian - Participants did not vote, but participated directly - Anyone who is a good speaker or is wealthy could become politically powerful. So, offices were held by rotation instead of election. - Some positions were voted on the ones that required particular skill - Athena is the goddess protector of the city

Basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis), Mohammed ibn al-Zain

- Islamic - 1320 CE FORM - The basin is brass. - It has areas of silver and gold and black paste - Theres not much movement and energy, like the leopards, camels, and antelopes jumping and running FUNCTION - Used to baptize the children of the royal family of France CONTENT - Normally, vessels like this would have calligraphy. But this one doesn't - This one is filled with figures and animals and decorative patterns -the only part thats not covered is the bottom few inches of the walls inside the basin. Even the floor is covered - On the floor there is a pattern of sea animals, similar to tile work. There are eels - Above that, there is a continuous band of animals that parade around the inner wall and then a wide frieze of men on horseback interspersed by animals as well as medallions, figures, that are rulers, and coats of arms - There are two rulers. Sitting frontally. They hold goblets - The figures in between are hunting - And scenes of battle- limbs, decapitated head - The largest frieze is on exterior - There are four figures in roundels. Each on horseback, slightly different. Two of them are hunting. Another one is drawing his bow. Another is holding a club - On either side, they are all in procession toward the royal figures - One figure holds a leopard by a leash - Another raises a goblet in one had, perhaps in celebration and holding a vessel in the other - On the bottom band, there are small roundels that carry Fleur-de-lis, a symbol of the royal family of France. -It was also associated with a Malmuk Sultan -Under the rim, theres Arabic inscription, the signature of the artist -Ibn Al-Zain, he designed it six times CONTEXT - Originally comes from the area of egypt and syria, 1320-1340 - Created by Mamluk artisans - The mamluks had been slaves warriors and they asserted their independance and had been able to rule in the countries that are today egypt and syria - During this period they became known as extraordinary craftsmen - Usually, there are islamic inscriptions on this object. -However, this one doesnt, so there are speculations that this may have been made for somebody who was not muslim

Madonna and Child with Two Angel, Fra Fillipo Lippi

- Italy - 1465 CE FORM AND CONTENT -realistic -Very somber, mary knowing the fate of her son. Yet playful- the angels look like children playing on the streets of Florence. -The angel in the front has a playful, mischievous smile -The halos above Mary and Christ are just a simple circle -The frame of the window is the frame of the painting. -So it's as if we are looking through a window Mary - is youthful and beautiful sculpted face, fair blond hair coiffured hair small mouth bowed nose delicate - her ear is shown through the translucent part of her headpiece - has her hands clasped in prayer - Mary is leaning forward in prayer, facing down almost her eyes seem to be on the smiling angel not Christ - Mary and Christ seem lost in thought wearing a headpiece that is both translucent and made of cloth green dress with ruffles and buttons - body had bulk and solidity of her body careful folds of drapery around her lap sits on an ornate piece of furniture Angels - look playful - angel in the foreground is smiling at the audience one hand under christ and one on his back - angel in the background has half of his face covered by christ both angels are holding Christ up as he kneels on them - their wings seem wooden (brown) rather than feathery and white - golden curly hair (like christ) - wearing loose white tunics careful folds of drapery around the waist - healthy, cherub-like Christ - small "chubby" fair blond eyes looking up - arms stretching out towards Mary head facing towards her facial expression - a cloth around his midsection and lower torso kneeling on angels -Frame of the window is partly the frame of the painting a landscape is seen through a window both christ and mary and the audience cultivated fields, soaring rocks, a distant city FUNCTION -Medici family paid for this art - show wealth (this guy is a very famous artist)Decorative -show religiousness (piety) CONTEXT -Lots of money in Florence during this time -growing middle and upper class of merchants and bankers lots of money means more indulgences - "Florence saw itself as the ideal city state, a place where the freedom of the individual was guaranteed, and where many citizens had the right to participate in the government-humanism -The Medici's were his main patrons

Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli

- Italy - 1484 CE FORM - Venus covers her body almost like Eve covered hers when she was expelled front he Garden of Eden. but here we have a gesture of modesty, not one of shame - The canvas feels flat because Theres emphasis on pattern. -The left side has flowers on the foreground and also on the dress worn by the attendant and the cloth she carries -The v's that represent the waves of the sea create a sense of two dimensionality -Also the figures are not in front of or behind another -Botticelli has an understanding of human anatomy -They are weightless- they dont stand firmly on the ground -Venus has a serpentine shape that would be impossible to stand in FUNCTION -painted for the leading family of Florence -Celebration of beauty and love CONTENT - The subject, a full length, nude female was highly unusual for the 15th century - Goddess of love - She floats on a seashell. Shes born from the sea- she was born fully grown - She is blown by the west wind Zephr and we see his body entwined with the body of Chloris (nymph or goddess who was associated with spring) -On the right we see an attendant who is ready to wrap the newborn goddess CONTEXT -Nudity in Christian art was often an expression of soemthing traumatic- Christ is almsot nude on the cross -There may be meaning behind this painting that connects classcial mythology to certain Christian ideas via a philosophy called Neoplatonism

Entombment of Christ, Jacopo Pontormo

- Italy - 1525 CE FORM - Capponi chapel- Large altar painting with four rondels (St. Mark, St. Matthew, St. John the Evangelist, St. Luke) - two frescoes on the wall that abuts the facade and a painting in the dome that no longer survives -The artist removed all the stage props that are traditional in painting like this. He left us with only the human bodies and one cloud and a little bit of a steep ground -A move away from the renaissance style- No illusion of space No linear or atmospheric perspective No sense of weight No accurate anatomy -Christ's torso is massive, but the attendant figure to the left is holding him with no effort, and the one below Christ is holding him with the weight on his tippy toes -There's rejection of the high renaissance naturalism This painting is an example of the new **mannerist style, built on the naturalism of the High renaissance, but introducing a dance-like elegance -Christ's body recalls michelangel's figure of Christ in the Pieta -But in the pieta there is a pyramid form, whereas in this it takes a form of a circle FUNCTION -Burial chapel altar painting CONTENT -Christ in the painting is assumed to be lowered into his tomb -Other historians say he is being lifted onto the lap of Virgin Mary -Others say he is physically being lowered onto the table of the altar that exists physically in the chapel -The figures looking at us are two angels, and they removed Christ from Mary's lap and are going to elevate his body toward heaven CONTEXT -In the church of Santa Felicita in Florence -Immediately to the right of the entrance is a small burial chapel (capponi chapel) -Belonged to the Capponi family who acquired it in the 1520s -They hired the artist Pontormo to produce it -Occurred during this time: beginning of reformation in Northern Europe, the dismantling of the Republic in Florence, the consolidation of the Medici rule

Venus of Urbino, Titian

- Italy - 1538 CE FORM - There is glowy softness from the paint achieved by glazing- the artist applies very thin layers of oil paint that are almost translucent, on top of each other- up to 15 layers of paint - Use of chiaroscuro - The figures in the background balance the mass of her body without distracting from it - Her torso is too long, her feet are small - Even though the wall behind her is black, her diagonal form balances FUNCTION - About sensuality and beauty of the physical CONTENT -She's gazing directly at us - Symbol- theres a dog- loyalty, shes holding flowers- bride? - There are three different levels- foreground, nude woman, and servants CONTEXT By one of the great Titians- the Venetian master

Calling of Saint Matthew, Caravaggio

- Italy - 1597 CE FORM - Baroque- the divine entered everyday life- very relatable - The environment they're in is important for Caravaggio- he's not showing Christ in Heaven or an elevated, plasticized environment - Very real- removed from the idealized beauty of the high Renaissance - The lighting- Christ is the embodiment of a spiritual force- the light is guiding a diagonal line from Christ's finger to matthew's finger - Christ's slight bend of the wrist is similar to the hand that Michelangelo painted in Creation of Adam - There has been a tradition of seeing Christ as the second Adam- Adam who causes the fall of mankind and Christ who redeems mankind - Just as Adam was created, in a sense, Matthew was recreated -Light is associated with divinity, in contrast to the darkness of sin, eliciting an emotional response from the viewer. -The artist's use of light created a dramatic scene, drawing the viewers into the narrative. FUNCTION - Incredible moment of spiritual awakening - Spiritual awakening is a typical subject in baroque art -Light and setting communicate to the audience that Christian salvation was open to all. CONTENT - In the back room of a tavern or a bar - Christ is walking in on the right (half obscured) with his arm outstretched, Saint Peter is in front of Christ (sort of a heavy, powerful rough looking guy - Christ looks much more noble, younger and delicate than Saint Peter - There's a delicacy that removes him from the regular world - Matthew is pointing to himself in disbelief- he's the older figure with the large beard with a black hat and a dark tunic - Matthew is a tax collector and he's sitting with his fellow tax collectors- who are younger than him, counting money. They are leaning over with greed and they're armed- they have swords, they're dressed in fancy clothes - Christ basically says, "you, you're going to be Saint Matthew" to matthew and matthews like, "me?" -The money was not gotten legally -The painting is not only real and immediate, but also pedestrian and dirty- if you look at the bare feet of Peter and Christ, there's something gritty about -Caravaggio's realism- also the window CONTEXT - In San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, in the Contarelli Chapel - Matthew was one of Christ's disciples who wrote the Gospel - There are negative implications- he works for the IRS, which was shady - Commissioned by Conterelli family- in the Conterelli chapel

Dome of the Rock

- Jerusalem - 691 CE -Abd al-Malik FORM - The Rock is enclosed by two ambulatories (place for walking) (in this case the aisles that circle the rock) and an octagonal exterior wall. - the central colonnade (row of columns) was composed of four piers and twelve columns supporting a rounded drum that transitions into the two-layered dome more than 20 meters in diameter. -The colonnades are clad in marble on their lower registers, and their upper registers are adorned with mosaics. -The ethereal interior atmosphere is a result of light that pours in from grilled windows located in the drum and exterior walls. - The building enclosing the Rock also seems to take its form from the imperial mausolea (the burial places) of Roman emperors, such as Augustus or Hadrian. - Its circular form and Dome also reference the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. - The circular Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem was built to enclose the tomb of Christ. - The Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Dome of the Rock have domes that are almost identical in size; this suggests that the elevated position of the Dome of the Rock and the comparable size of its dome was a way that Muslims in the late 8th century proclaimed the superiority of their newly formed faith over Christians. FUNCTION -he probably the most important Umayyad caliph, as a religious focal point for his supporters, while he was fighting a civil war against Ibn Zubayr -Today, Muslims believe that the Rock commemorates the night journey of Muhammad. - Sitting atop the Haram al-Sharif, the highest point in old Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock's golden-color Dome and Turkish Faience tiles dominates the cityscape of Old Jerusalem and in the 7th century served as a testament to the power of the new faith of Islam. CONTENT - At the center of the Dome of the Rock sits a large rock, which is believed to be the location where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son Ismail - One night the Angel Gabriel came to Muhammad while he slept near the Kaaba in Mecca and took him to al-Masjid al-Aqsa (the farthest mosque) in Jerusalem. -From the Rock, Muhammad journeyed to heaven, where he met other prophets, such as Moses and Christ, witnessed paradise and hell and finally saw God enthroned and circumambulated by angels. - Golden mosaics depicting jewels shimmer in this glittering light. Byzantine and Sassanian crowns in the midst of vegetal motifs are also visible. - The mosaics in the Dome of the Rock contain no human figures or animals. -While Islam does not prohibit the use of figurative art per se, it seems that in religious buildings, this proscription was upheld. -Instead, we see vegetative scrolls and motifs, as well as vessels and winged crowns, which were worn by Sasanian kings. -Thus, the iconography of the Dome of the Rock also includes the other major pre-Islamic civilization of the region, the Sasanian Empire, which the Arab armies had defeated. - The Dome of the Rock also contains an inscription, 240 meters long, that includes some of the earliest surviving examples of verses from the Qur'an - in an architectural context or otherwise. - -The bismillah (in the name of God, the merciful and compassionate), the phrase that starts each verse of the Qu'ran, and the shahada, the Islamic confession of faith, which states that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet, are also included in the inscription. The inscription also refers to Mary and Christ and proclaim that Christ was not divine but a prophet. - Thus the inscription also proclaims some of the core values of the newly formed religion of Islam. - Below the Rock is a small chamber, whose purpose is not fully understood even to this day. CONTEXT -The Dome of the Rock is one of the earliest surviving buildings from the Islamic world. - the use of mosaics reflects an artistic tie to the world of Late Antiquity. Late Antiquity is a period from about 300-800, when the Classical world dissolves and the Medieval period emerges

Temple of Amun-Re

- Karnak, Luxor, Egypt -1250 BCE FORM - The main temple of Amun-Re had two axes—one that went north/south and the other that extended east/west. The southern axis continued towards the temple of Luxor and was connected by an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes FUNCTION - it's one of the four main temple enclosures that make up the Karnak Temple Complex - The massive temple complex of Karnak was the principal religious center of the god Amun-Re in Thebes during the New Kingdom. - it held not only the main precinct (area or enclosure) to the god Amun-Re—but also the precincts of the gods Mut and Montu. -as the pharaoh progressed into the temple complex, he intended to encounter spaces that were increasingly dark and mysterious, leading to the inner sanctum housing the cult statue CONTENT - the tallest obelisk in Egypt stood at Karnak and was dedicated by the female pharaoh Hatshepsut who ruled Egypt during the New Kingdom. Made of one piece of red granite, it originally had a matching obelisk that was removed by the Roman emperor Constantine and re-erected in Rome. - Another unusual feature was the Festival Temple of Thutmose III, which had columns that represented tent poles, a feature this pharaoh was no doubt familiar with from his many war campaigns. - a hypostyle hall is a space with a roof supported by columns. The hall has 134 massive sandstone columns with the center twelve columns standing at 69 feet. Like most of the temple decoration, the hall would have been brightly painted and some of this paint still exists on the upper portions of the columns and ceiling today. With the center of the hall taller than the spaces on either side, the Egyptians allowed for clerestory lighting (a section of wall that allowed light and air into the otherwise dark space below). In fact, the earliest evidence for clerestory lighting comes from Egypt. - hypostyle hall built during the Ramesside period -hypostyle recalls dense clusters of papyrus reeds on the nile CONTEXT -first developed during the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 B.C.E - Karnak was known in ancient times as "The Most Select of Places" (Ipet-isut) and was not only the location of the cult image of Amun and a place for the god to dwell on earth but also a working estate for the priestly community who lived on site.

Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus

- Late Imperial Roman, Italy - 250 CE FORM - The romans have more ideal features than the Goths, who have puffy noses, cheeks, and wild expressions (they are barbarians) - The bodies are piled on top of each other - There are 2-4 layers of figures and forms - The figures get smaller as u go down, not linear perspective - Marble, drilled to make dark and light with deep cuts FUNCTION - sarcophogus CONTENT The Romans show themselves as the noble, more heroic side - The center at the top is where the hero is, on his horse, twisting around opening his right arm. He looks wild and passionate but calm. Shows his victory and power - The horse is smaller bc the person is more important - He doesnt wear a helmet bc he is so powerful - Theres a sense of seriousness There is one roman with no expression (stoic) who is holding the face of a goth, thinking if he should kill him or take him as a slave CONTEXT - The Romans are the good guys and the enemies are the Goths - Moves away from the high classical greek carving

Jade cong

- Liangzhu, China - 3300 BCE - neo CONTENT - square hollow tube -the hole depicts the divine - lines and circles form human / animal / monster face on each corner - represent dead ancestors or deities - rectangle / external part = earth - circle / internal part = heavens of the sky / sun FORM - jade - engravings are very precise and uniform - engravings are sanded - jade is hard to create things out of so people needed lots of time to create this - some bas relief some high relief - some short and some tall CONTEXT - The culture developed at the Yangzi delta - had sophisticated neolithic culture - delta is a place with crops FUNCTION - show power / wealth - protect in after life / telling one what happens after death -found in graves - connection to nature

Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut

- Luxor, Egypt - 1473 BCE FORM - (Large kneeling statue) granite sculpture of female pharaoh Hatshepsut. symmetrical, no space between her legs and arms, sense of timelessness, eternal, visually looks masculine (broad shoulders and small breasts) - (temple) cut into the stone of a cliff side - done purposefully to make it seem more powerful, as if it is a part of nature and holds the stability of the mountainside itself FUNCTION (statue) - made for the mortuary temple - to show her kingship - a king would only kneel to a god. making an offering of two bowls. but the god is an embodiment of herself. (temple) - funerary shrine to queen Hatshepsut CONTENT - (temple) features a lengthy, colonnaded terrace - you must walk up a ramp to enter. - had many statues of hatshepsut, as well as relief depictions of her - aligned with the winter solstice sun - (statue) there are 6-10 of these kneeling figures. there were also a representation of her as a sphinx. - the head cloth she wears is a symbol of the king that would have originally been a cobra CONTEXT -there was no word for queen-just king's mother, king's wife - The majority of pharaohs were male. Women ruled until a male in the family could assume power However Hatshepsut is unusual. She created a whole mythology around her kingship that described her divine birth. An oracle predicted that she would become king - She ruled egypt for more than 2 decades

Screen with Siege of Belgrade and hunting scene (Brooklyn Biombo)

- Mexico - 1697 CE FORM - Japanese landscape elements - Floral elements bordering the entire screen - Thin painting, some parts are brilliantly illuminated - This is part of the only known surviving biombo econchado - enconchado means shell inlay so this is a shell encrusted biombo. so it's a combination of oil painting and mother-of-pearl that's been placed into the screen itself -You can see it in the helmets that seemed to shine and it's most prominent in the floral motifs that are at the very top that frame the battle scene FUNCTION - Folding screen - The Viceroy (ruler) himself, Jose Sarmiento de Valladares owned this object - We don't know who the artist was, but we know it's made by an artist in New Spain at the time for the viceroy. most likely to be placed inside of his new Palace in Mexico City. - each side of the biombo were intended for different audiences. - the side with the battle would have been intended for the viceroy and important individuals - the hunting scene was intended for the individuals the viceroy (smth smth receiving) often women - So this would have political used as an expression of his power. this particular viceroy has come from Spain to rule over this colony and so this would assert the dominance of the Habsburg in Mexico over the ottomans CONTENT - There's half a battle scene because this biombo is actually half of the original. the other half is in a museum in Mexico City - it's a chaotic scene between members of the Habsburg empire, the Spanish Empire at the time, and the Turks - the Habsburgs were the family that ruled Spain and was in control of so much of the new world but was also in control of Central Europe - This scene is taking place not long before this object is produced - ^Battle of Belgrade- between the Ottoman Turks and crouching into Central Europe - The other side: It's much more decorative and relaxed. it's a hunting scene but it is showcasing the artist's ability to display a beautiful landscape- asian inspired tapestry - The design for the hunting scene came from a Medici tapestry that was made in France. the tapestry was then copied into a print. and the same thing with the other side with the battle scene -Classical elements- the swags are the top held in the mouths by lions- these are classical elements that you see in the Renaissance that's coming from ancient Rome CONTEXT -Inspired by japanese folding screen and Japanese people call it biombo -This was a word that would have been used in the Spanish colony that is now Mexico -at this point in time Mexico is part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, comprised of parts of the southwestern United States, Mexico and down through Central America -**the Viceroy is actually the administrator for the king It was trade with Philippines- included folding screens, lacquer boxes -The base and top looks like japanese lacquer

Portrait of Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz

- Mexico - 1750 CE -Miguel Cabrera FORM - She looks towards us, her gaze direct and assertive, as she sits at a desk, surrounded by her library and instruments of learning. - The rosary—a sign of her religious life—is juxtaposed with items signifying her intellectual life. -The books, the desk, the quills and inkwell aid in conveying her intellectual status. The red curtain, common in elite portraiture of this period, also confers upon her a high status. FUNCTION -a depiction of the esteemed Mexican nun and writer. CONTENT -Cabrera never actually met sor Juana, so he likely based his image of her on earlier portraits of her, possibly even some self-portraits. -Cabrera likely modeled this painting on images of male scholars seated at their desks. Most importantly, he possibly found inspiration in depictions of St. Jerome, the patron saint of sor Juana's religious order. -Images often portray St. Jerome seated at a desk within a study, surrounded by books and instruments of learning. -Sor Juana wears the habit of her religious order, the Jeronymites. -She also wears an escudo de monja, or nun's badge, on her chest underneath her chin. Escudos de monja were often painted, occasionally woven, and they usually displayed the Virgin Mary. Sor Juana's escudo shows the Annunciation, the moment in which the archangel Gabriel informs Mary that she will bear the son of God. -Her left hand toys with a rosary, while she turns a page of an open book with her right hand. The book is a text by St. Jerome, the saint after whom her religious order was named. -Advanced technology- clock CONTEXT -About Sor Juana: Born to a creole family in 1648, she was a child prodigy. At the age of fifteen, she amazed people at court by excelling at an oral exam that tested her knowledge of physics, philosophy, theology, and mathematics. -Considered the first feminist of the Americas, Sor Juana lived as a nun of the Jeronymite order -Rather than marry, she chose to become a nun so she could pursue her intellectual interests. -She wrote poetry and plays that became internationally famous -In 1690 she became involved in a dispute between the bishops of Mexico City and Puebla. -She responded to the criticism she received as a woman writer -the Church forced her to abandon her literary pursuits and her library. -After giving up her intellectual pursuits, she cared for the sick during an epidemic but she fell sick and passed away.

Lamassu

- Neo-Assyrian, Khorosabad, Iraq - 720 BCE FORM - They look fearsome and powerful - Carved out of monolithic stone- no cuts, single pieces of stone - One of the lamassus that guarded the exterior gate of the city is in good condition, has crown with rosettes, and double horns, and a ring of feathers on top. Very delicate form a massive creature. Wavy hair, ears of a bull, connected eyebrow, earrings, complex intricate beard with ringlets - Under the creature there are inscriptions in cuneiform, some of which declare the power of the king - has 5 legs. From the side, it looks like the creature is moving forward, but from the front the two legs are static FUNCTION - Could be the expression of the power of the Assyrian king - They are the guardian figures that protected the city's gates and the gates of the citadel itself. That is, the area within which were both the temple and the royal palace CONTENT - At each of the city's gates, these figures were winged bulls with heads of men - They stood between huge arches CONTEXT - Ancient mesopotamia is the place where farming aand cities began - This is a sculpture from the Assyrians. This is from the palace of Sargon II, from an excavation from modern day khorsabad - Various assyrian kings established palaces at diff cities

Akhenaten, Nefertiti and three daughters

- New Kingdom, Egypt - 1353 BCE FORM - small stone plaque with relief carving something wrong with their anatomy the children have swollen bellies, thin arms, and elongated skulls - curvilinear form, compared to linear and stiff traditional egyptian art - profile view of face- one eye - squared shoulders FUNCTION - shows love and domesticity and relationship with aten CONTENT - akhenaton is holding his eldest daughter, almost ready to kiss her. this daughter is pointing at her mother - another daughter is on her mothers lap, pointing at her father -the third daughter is on moms shoulder, playing with her earring - aten is present as a sun disk - from the sun, theres a small cobra in it, which signifies that this is the supreme deity, the only deity bc akhenaten was monotheistic - there are hands and ankhs (symbol of life) at the end of the rays, as if aten is giving life to these two people alone. the ankh is right at their noses, breathing in the symbol of life CONTEXT -in 1350 BC, there's a radical change bc the ruler akhenaten changes te state religion from the god Amun to a new god, the sun god, Aten - he changed his name to Akhenaten - he makes him and his wife the only representatives of aten (the only access to aten) on earth so he upsets the entire priesthood of egypt - so egypt returns to its traditional religion. it was a brief period in history

Las Meninas, Diego Velazquez

- Spain - 1656 CE FORM - There's a kind of informality in the portrait- the people are spontaneous, unlike the formal portrait paintings of royal families, where they are usually posing for the painting - Naturalistic, but you can see the raw strokes of the paint FUNCTION - Meant for the study of the king, who would have been the person looking at the painting - So the figures in the painting are meant to look at the king, who's looking at the painting - This painting could support the idea that an artist is not only a painter, but an important craftsman, an intellectual CONTENT - We're looking at the painting that Velázquez himself is painting inside the painting, while looking directly at the viewer - In the center is the princess attended by the maidens of honor, a dwarf, her governess, and some other attendants - on the back wall, a mirror which is sort of a puzzle- we know its a mirror because unlike the canvases on the back wall, there is a much more reflective surface. -In The reflection, we see the King and Queen of Spain, Philip IV and his wife- we could be them looking into the mirror (which is why the princess and dog is looking at us), or the reflection could be the painting on in the painting

Tutankhamen's Tomb, innermost coffin

- NewKingdom, Egypt - 1323 BCE FORM - The outer two coffins were made of wood and covered in gold with many semiprecious stones, such as lapis lazuli and turquoise. - The inner coffin was made of solid gold. When it was first found, it was not shiny like how it is now - The death mask was constructed of two sheets of gold that were hammered together FUNCTION - To preserve the body and symbolic values of tut CONTENT - Tut's sarcophagus (a box-like stone container) held three coffins to hold the body of the king - The image of the pharaoh is that of a god. The gods were thought to have skin of gold, bones of silver, and hair of lapis lazuli—so the king is shown here in his divine form in the afterlife. - He holds the crook and flail, symbols of the king's right to rule. - The goddesses Nekhbet (vulture) and Wadjet (cobra), inlaid with semiprecious stones, stretch their wings across his torso. - Beneath these goddesses are two more—Isis and Nephthys—etched into the gold lid - The death mask originally rested directly on the shoulders of the mummy inside the innermost gold coffin. - Tut is wearing the striped nemes headdress with the goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet depicted again protecting his brow. He wears a false beard that further connects him to the image of a god as with the inner coffin. - He wears a broad collar, which ends in terminals shaped as falcon heads. - The back of the mask is covered with Spell 151 from the Book of the Dead, which was used as a road map for the afterlife. This spell protects the limbs of Tutankhamun CONTEXT -tut was nine when he became king of egypt during the 18th dynasty of the New Kingdom (c. 1332-1323 BCE) - His story would have been lost to history if it were not for the discover of his tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter in the Valley of the Kings. His nearly intact tomb held a wealth of objects - During the 20th century, Howard Carter, a British egyptologist, ran out of money to support his archaeologist digs when Lord Carnarvon, his financial backer, granted him one more year. On nov 1922 he made a hole in the entrance of the antechamber in order to look into the tomb of tut - Tut ruled after the Amarna age which is when the pharaoh Akhenaten, his father, turned the religious attention of the kingdom to the worship of the god Aten. - after Akhenaten's death and the rule of a short lived pharaoh, Smenkhkare, Tutankhamen shifted the focus of the country's worship back to the god Amun and returned the religious center back to Thebes. - Tut married his half sis, Ankhesenamun, but did not produce an heir - Tut died at 18. Tut's much-older advisor (and possible step-grandfather), Ay, married the widowed Ankhesenamun and became pharaoh.

The Arnolfini Portrait, Jan Van Eyck

- Northern Europe - 1434 CE FORM - Oil paint on oak - He painted in thin layers to get the soft light - The figures are elongated, the room is cramped - It's not perspectively correct - We're not in the italian renaissance but in the northern renaissance- the love of texture, the use of oil FUNCTION -Portrays their wealth through their clothing, their furniture -likely commissioned by Mr arnolfini CONTENT - It is widely accepted that this is not an actual wedding taking palace, but a double portrait of a couple who are already married - The man is an italian merchant who worked in Bruges. Bruges was a thriving economic town int he early 15th century - Theyre joining hands, their shoes are off which means maybe something sacred is taking place - Theres a single candle in the chandelier which could be a symbol of the presence of God - The mans hand it up, which means perhaps he is greeting the two people at the doorway we see in the mirror - The signature above the mirror says "Johannes van eyck was here" so the artist's presence is there - There are scenes from the passion of Christ painted on the back pieces of glass panels that are set into the wooden frame- attention to detail - Theres a dog-symbol of fidelity or loyalty - Theres fruit on the trees outside but theyre wearing fur lined clothing. So even though it is warm weather, they are wearing their finest winter wear - At their window, they ave oranges, which represents their wealth because oranges were expensive in Flanders - Taking place in a bedroom- usually a place where it is private, but back then, it was a place where you receive visitors CONTEXT - the house in which the couple resides is located in the Netherlands - Some scholars suggested that perhaps it's a memorial portrait and the woman on the right had actually passed away the previous year - Some suggested that this is a witnessing of the male giving authority to the woman in legal affairs

Hunters in the Snow, Pieter Brueghel the Elder

- Northern Europe - 1565 CE FORM - Oil on wood panel from the Renaissance, from Flanders - In italy, there's an attempt to perfect the most ideal moment. But this is different from Northern painting which is concerned with narratives - The footprints in the snow show how deep the snow is - There is a visual rhythm and narrative- our eyes, following the trees, go own to the frozen pond where a woman is pulling somebody else on a sleigh -Then following the black crows you go under the arches and there's a woman above who is carrying firewood - Then we see lots of play on the ice- children, ice hockey - This painting was composed partially imagined FUNCTION - Made for a merchant in Antwerp that asked Bruegel to make six panel paintings, which were study of the labors of the months- each painting represented the diff times of the year. This one is winter - This is an idea that goes back to manuscript illumination, back to the Medieval Period - Virgil- The idea of landscape given meaning by the activities of the people that in habit it - The patron may have been thinking about virgil when he commissioned the series CONTENT - The landscape feels frozen and harsh, but warmed by the human inhabitants - Some hunters returning from their hunt with their dog, but they don't have much from their hunting - There's a rabbit hanging from the back of one of the hunters, but it is a pretty meager catch- shows the stresses of winter - There's a sense of melancholy- their backs are turned to us, the dog's heads are down - There's no middle ground- the eye moves immediately to the different side of winter, where there's playfulness - This painting is full of the activities of winter CONTEXT - By Pieter Bruegel- the Return of the Hunters/ Hunters in the Snow - We can see the distant hills that are a reminder that bruegel made his way from northern Europe across the Alps to Italy - When he traveled, he seemed to be most impressed by the Alps

The Tete a Tete, from Marriage a la Mode, William Hogarth

- Northern Europe - 1743 CE FUNCTION - Prompted by a concern in the 18th century that marriages were sometimes arranged for economic benefit rather than for love - marriage a la mode means "modern marriage" Hogarth is trying to remove any kind of sympathy we could have four Lord Squanderfield CONTENT AND FORM - makes fun of aristocracy - The six paintings in the series tell a story of an aristocratic family named the Squanderfields, suggesting that they squandered their aristocratic fortune - second canvas- Tete a Tete (head to head or face to face) - The husband has come home from a night of gambling and drinking and womanizing, which we know because the dog is sniffing at what looks like a woman's bonnet it in his pocket And he looks like he didn't sleep for a while - his wife looked like while he was gone, she also had some fun- her bodice is undone, she looks flirtatious -She seems to be signaling with a mirror held above her head to her lover perhaps- the chairs overturned, and instrument is on the floor, a music book is open which implies lovemaking which ended when the Husband came home - In the room behind them, we see images of saints Hogarth is commenting on immorality of this couple - To make sure the signals are noticed, Hogarth placed a third figure in the foreground. - he's an accountant and you can see that he is not happy- he holds receives, he holds bills and he throws his hands up because he cannot get this young couple to take their finances seriously - if you look at the mantelpiece, there are knick knacks lined up that look recently purchased and look inexpensive compared to the aristocratic environment- there's a contrast between the tawdry things that the young couple brought in and the classicism that is part of the aristocratic life - There is also a classical sculpture, but its nose is broken as if it were knocked over at a party - Behind it there is a painting of cupid among the ruins which shows that love is ruined - On one of the paintings in the other room, that is partially covered by a curtain, you can see a nude foot on a bed. this is a clear signal in the 18th century to a lewd painting CONTEXT -18th century- By William Hogart- best known for making prints, not paintings - Prints are a lot less expensive than paintings - During the industrial revolution in England and France- so as a result theres a widening middle class that wants to buy art. - The aristocracy is losing power while the merchant class is becoming wealthy

Beaker (bushel) with Ibex motifs

- Susa, Iran - 4200 BCE - neo FORM - Uses lines and geometrical shapes; depicts an ibex. - Similar bushels range from 0.5 to 2 feet tall. FUNCTION - buried with the dead CONTENT - Centralized mountain goat, surrounded by geometrical forms - Running greyhound-like animals are above the ibex - Birds with elongated neck surround the top CONTEXT -people of Susa lived near a fertile river valley. -Found with 5-10 other similar vessels.

Audience Hall (Apādana), Persepolis

- Persepolis, Iran - 520 BCE FORM - The Apādana palace is a large ceremonial building, likely an audience hall with an associated portico FUNCTION - the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Persian empire - was the seat of government of the Achaemenid Empire, though it was designed primarily to be a showplace and center for the receptions and festivals of the kings and their empire. - The relief program of the Apādana serves to reinforce and underscore the power of the Persian king and the extent of his dominion. - The motif of conquered people contributing their wealth to the empire's central authority serves to visually cement this political dominance. CONTENT - Persepolis, a Greek toponym meaning "city of the Persians", was known to the Persians as Pārsa - Persepolis was intentionally founded in the Marvdašt Plain during the later part of the sixth century B.C.E. It was marked as a special site by Darius the Great when he indicated the location of a "Royal Hill" that would serve as a ceremonial center and citadel for the city. - Darius's program at Persepolis included the building of a massive terraced platform covering 125,000 square meters of the promontory. This platform supported four groups of structures: residential quarters, a treasury, ceremonial palaces, and fortifications. - Apadana- (audience hall)The monumental stairways that approach the Apādana from the north and the east were adorned with registers of relief sculpture that depicted representatives of the twenty-three subject nations of the Persian empire bringing valuable gifts as tribute to the king. - The sculptures form a processional scene, leading some scholars to conclude that the reliefs capture the scene of actual, annual tribute processions—perhaps on the occasion of the Persian New Year--that took place at Persepolis CONTEXT -By the early fifth century B.C.E. the Achaemenid (Persian) Empire ruled about 44% of the human population of the planet. - Through regional administrators the Persian kings controlled a vast territory which they constantly sought to expand. - - - Famous for monumental architecture, Persian kings established numerous monumental centers, among those is Persepolis - The Achaemenid Empire is notable for its strong, centralized bureaucracy that had a king and relied upon regional satraps (regional governors). - In creating monumental centers, including Persepolis, the Persian kings employed art and architecture to craft messages that helped to reinforce their claims to power and depict, iconographically, Persian rule - Persepolis was excavated by German archaeologists Ernst Herzfeld, Friedrich Krefter, and Erich Schmidt between 1931 and 1939. - Persepolis would remain an important site until it was sacked, looted, and burned under Alexander the Great of Macedon in 330 B.C.E.

Alexander mosaic from the House of Faun

- Pompeii, Italy - 100 BCE -Philoxenus of Eretria FORM - You can feel the momentum -Rendered in tiny pieces of stone and glass (mosaic) on top of fabric, about 1.5mil pieces of stone and glass -Material: tesserae -Naturalism -Its in a frame - Lightness and darkness- chiaroscuro FUNCTION - Probably based on an ancient greek wall painting showing a battle between alexander and darius, aka two civilizations (greek and persia) CONTENT - Battle- The moment when the great ruler of Persia turns and flees under the attack of the great Greek general Alexander - Darius, the king of the Persians, has ordered his troops to retreat. You can tell they are going back because some spears are pointed towards alexander but some are turning back - On the ground you can see the wounded and dying - One persian soldier can see the reflection of himself in his own shield - On dariuss face there's compassion, worry. Alexander is known for his compassion towards dariuss family - On alexander's armor, there's a face of medusa- good fortune that he won't die CONTEXT -This mosaic is linked to a literary description of an ancient greek painting by an artist named Philoxenos (roman replica of a greek painting from 315 bce) - Found in the floor between two peristyles aka two open courtyards that were surrounded by columns in the largest and more elaborately decorated mansion in pompeii, called house of the Faun

Head of a Roman patrician

- Republican Roman, Italy - 75 BCE FORM - The figure is frontal without any hint of dynamism or emotion—this sets the portrait apart from some of its near contemporaries. - The portrait head is characterized by deep wrinkles, a furrowed brow, and generally an appearance of sagging, sunken skin—all indicative of the veristic style of Roman portraiture. - Their faces show experience (exaggereated) - Versitic- comes from latin word "verus" or truth - marble FUNCTION - this portrait image are meant to convey seriousness of mind (gravitas) and the virtue (virtus) of a public career by demonstrating the way in which the subject literally wears the marks of his endeavors. - the Otricoli head is a reminder that one's public image played a major role in what was a turbulent time in Roman history. - The adoption of such an austere appearance was a tactic to lend familial "seriousness" to families who had none—and thus (hopefully) increase the chances of the aristocrat's success in both politics and business. - ****If they portray themselves more realistically, theyre recalling the virtues of the ancient roman republic. If they idealize themselves more, they're recalling ancient greek tradition CONTENT - Seemingly wrinkled and toothless, with sagging jowls, the face of a Roman aristocrat The name of the individual depicted is now unknown, but the portrait is a powerful representation of a male aristocrat with a hooked nose and strong cheekbones. He's wearing a toga, which suggests he was involved in some sort of ritual CONTEXT -comes from Otricoli (ancient Ocriculum) - Before the emperor ruled rome, Rome was ruled by a republic, by a senate. A counsel of elders, which which comes from elite families. They had most power - Verism can be defined as a sort of hyperrealism in sculpture where the naturally occurring features of the subject are exaggerated, often to the point of absurdity. - In the case of Roman Republican portraiture, middle age males adopt veristic tendencies in their portraiture to such an extent that they appear to be extremely aged and worn. - This stylistic tendency is influenced both by the tradition of ancestral imagines as well as a deep-seated respect for family, tradition, and ancestry. - The imagines were essentially death masks of notable ancestors that were kept and displayed by the family. -in the case of aristocratic families these wax masks were used at subsequent funerals so that an actor might portray the deceased ancestors in a sort of familial parade. The ancestor cult, in turn, influenced a deep connection to family. For Late Republican politicians without any famous ancestors (a group famously known as 'new men' or 'homines novi') the need was even more acute—and verism rode to the rescue.

San Carlo Alle Quattro Fontane, Borromini

- Rome, italy - 1646 CE FORM - The walls move in and out, they undulate - Everything is about movement in this church - There are columns alternating with niches, curving rectangular panels and arches, coffers with rosettes - The Trinitarians had very little money and most of this church is made from inexpensive materials- stucco, kind of like plaster- soft cement that's easy to carve -Based on careful geometric structure -There are two triangles that share one side and within each of those triangles are circles and those circles are inscribed within an oval, and the oval is the primary shape of the floorplan -The two triangles form a diamond, and the opposite ends of the diamond define the ends of the lobes, on one side the apse, and the other side the entrance -When we look up, there's a love entablature -Above that we see arches that stretch and deform -Above that is a dome -We see hectagons, octagons, crosses, and at the center, another oval, and in that oval is a dove inside a triangle, a symbol of the Holy spirit, part of the three -part nature of God -There is a light, a supernatural light- there are windows next to the Dove that makes it look like it's glowing, and the windows can't be seen by people directly under -The lobing of the church is similar to the medieval use of the Mandorla, a full body halo in which Christ is often represented -Outside, there is concave and convex undulation -Above that, there are three concave spaces -The central space projects outward because of the medallion held by the angels -The entablature and the cornice above it are like the waves of an ocean -The columns are the pivot points for the building to move in and out FUNCTION - Tiny church - Borromini received this commission from the Trinitarian Order, the order that was dedicated to saving Christians that had been taken in war or by pirates CONTENT - The complexity on the bottom of the church and the clarity towards the top of the church is a metaphor that a divine geomtery underlies what seems like chaos of the earthly - Idea of God as the divine geometer CONTEXT - At San Carlino, "the Four Fountains" in Rome - Designed by by the Baroque architext, Borromini- he didn't want to be paid bc he wanted to design it how he wanted - The Trinitarians focused their devotion on the Holy Trinity- which explains the triangles - Before this church was made, Johannes Kepler wrote about how the universe was structured by the laws of geometry in the Harmony of the World

White Temple

- Uruk, Sumerian (Iraq) - 3500 BCE (the Late Uruk Period, or Uruk III) FORM - the four sides of the ziggurat are broad and sloping but broken up by recessed stripes or bands - rectangular - mud bricks bc stone is rare - the flat top is coated with bitumen (asphalt-like material similar to what is used for road paving) and overlaid with brick for a firm and waterproof foundation for the white temple - the temple has a tri-partite plan: a long rectangular central hall with rooms on either side FUNCTION - dedicated to sky god Anu - ziggurats were at the heart of the theocratic political system (theocracy is a type of government where a god is recognized as the ruler, and the state officials operate on the god's behalf) CONTENT - the only way up to the top is a steep stairway that led to a ramp that wrapped around the north end of the ziggurat and brought one to the temple entrance - three entrances - archaeologists uncovered about 19 tablets of gypsum on the floor of the temple. they also found a foundation deposit of the bones of a leopard and a lion (these are common) - archaeologists conjecture that liquids have flowed from the terrace to collect in a pit in the center hall of the temple CONTENT - the temple gets its name bc it was entirely white washed inside and out, which gave it a brightness in sunlight - Uruk (modern Warka in Iraq) is where city life began and where the first writing emerged - the greatest monument in uruk was the Anu Ziggurat on which the White Temple was built - no doubt some sort of force (corvée labor—unpaid labor by the state/slavery) was involved

Stonehenge

- Wiltshire, UK (England) - 1500 BCE - neo FORM -made mainly of bluestone which is very durable -most of the rocks are mined from a quarry (mine) hundreds of miles away -post-and-lintel construction -monolithic stones arranged in a circle CONTENT -lintel stones (the ones sitting on top) are carved to create the curved lines of a circle -originally made of 30 trilithons -the trilithons increase in height, which "pull" a viewer visually into the interior of the structure the stones stay upright because they were placed in huge pits that were dug into the ground -archeologists are using technology that looks underground to find that Stonehenge was actually much more expansive than what we see now FUNCTION -there is evidence that in the second stage of construction in particular, Stonehenge was used as a burial site (all burials were males, aged 20-50-could speak to who held power in society) Stonehenge would have been a mark of elite status -the horseshoe of trilithons frames mark both the midsummer's solstice and the midwinter's sunset, which are the longest and shortest days of the year could signify a divine connection to solar and lunar calendars, the importance of the movement of the sun/seasons to the people of the society that built Stonehenge CONTEXT -first phase of construction started around 3100 BCE -construction was continued for the next 500 years -building the structure would require precise planning and massive amounts of labor, which speaks to a higher level of sophistication in the society -the stones weigh from 2-4 pounds, not only from the quarry site 250 miles away but also use some kind of machinery to get the lintel stones on top of the post -long-term communal effort (may speak to a hierarchical society) -understanding of astronomy understanding of basic architecture--stones were carved out so that they would fit with each other and create a geometrically correct circle

Androgyne III, Magdalena Abakanowicz

-1985 CE -Poland FORM - Made it with only his hands- hid hands transmit energy to it burlap, resin, wood, nails, and string FUNCTION -It is an expression of suffering, both mournful and disturbing CONTENT -Androgyne III uses the same molded-torso shell that Abakanowicz employed in her sculpture series Backs (1976-1980). Unlike the Back series, however, in which the figures sat directly on the floor, the Androgyne torsos are seated on low stretchers of wooden logs, perhaps filling in for lost legs. Abakanowicz's figures are mostly androgynous, with their sexual characteristics de-emphasized. The artist wants the viewer to focus on the humanity of the figures rather than their gender. - At the same time, the fragmentary nature of the figures is important, perhaps a reflection of the time she spent helping in the hospital during World War II and her memories of the attack on her mother. - A distinguishing feature of all of the burlap casts is the wrinkled skin and the implication of backbones, musculature and veins. The bodies, or body parts, more accurately, are intended to be seen in the round as the hollow interior is as much a part of the piece as the molded exterior. - Space is as significant as mass in these works. - Abakanowicz draws on her personal history, but her sculptures possess an ambiguity that encourages multiple interpretations that speak broadly to human experience. Androgyne III alludes to the brutality of war and the totalitarian state. The body is a husk without arms, legs or a head. CONTEXT - At the beginning of World War II, Abakanowicz, then a young girl, witnessed German tanks enter her family's estate. At one point, a drunken soldier burst into her house and, in Abakanowicz's presence, shot off her mother's arm. In 1944, the family was forced to flee the advance of the Soviet army and ended up in Warsaw, where the artist still lives and works. - As a teenager, Abakanowicz worked as a nursing assistant in a makeshift hospital caring for the wounded while also finishing her high school education. Her family lost everything during the war and had to hide their aristocratic roots when the nobility became the enemy in postwar Communist Poland. Abakanowicz remembered, "...we, as family, lost our identity. We were deprived of our social position and...thrown out of society. We were punished for being rich. So I had to hide my background. I had to lie. I had to invent." -Magdalena Abakanowicz was born in 1930 and spent her early years on the family's estate about 200 miles east of Warsaw. There, she often played in the nearby forest, an experience that later influenced the materials she uses in her work. Her family had both Tartar and aristocratic roots (the term Tartar has a complex history but in this case the artist's father was a descendant of Abaqa Khan, a thirteenth-century Il-khan of Persia). -Abakanowicz graduated the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 1955. Post-war Poland was part of the Soviet bloc and had a Communist government. Social Realism was the style taught in art schools during this era and initially Abakanowicz experimented with textiles and weaving in order to avoid it. Social Realism demanded images of smiling workers and a perfected society and although Abakanowicz disliked the style, she was ultimately required to adopt it in order to obtain a degree and enter the Polish Artists Union—a step required of all professional sculptors. -Throughout her life Abakanowicz has continued to live in Poland despite the communist government that held power there until 1989 and the hardships that she and her fellow Poles endured. After Joseph Stalin's death in 1953 there was considerable hardship in Warsaw but also a flourishing of the arts. Abakanowicz attended gatherings of artists, intellectuals, scientists, and politicians in the one-room apartment of the Polish Constructivist painter Henryk Stażewski -In 1967 Abakanowicz began creating forms made with fabric and tapestry. She became well known for work she called Abakans, a series of monumental fiber sculptures that created the framework for her later work. The Abakan sculptures refer to clothing but are not functional. They hang from the ceiling and although they allude to human figures, they also reference the natural world. Some gently swing, suggesting the rocking of underwater vegetation, or the flight of birds. -In the 1970s, Abakanowicz began to experiment with other materials including burlap, string, and cotton gauze. In 1974, she began to form figures by dipping burlap and string into resin, which she then pressed into a plaster mold. Sometimes she took a cast from the body of a friend for these forms. The figures are hollow and repetitious as can be seen in Seated Figures (1974-79) and Backs (1976-80). -The body as a structure became increasingly important to Abakanowicz and she visited laboratories to learn more about dissection and the construction of the human body. The effect of Seated Figures and Backs can be chilling and is often understood as expressing dehumanization in the twentieth century. In these works, the same shape is repeated but the surface of each figure has an individual texture, the result of Abakanowicz's unique handling of the materials.

A Book from the Sky, Xu Bing

-1987 CE -China FOMR - He carved wooden blocks instead of rendering the chractaers by hand, looking back to the ancient Chinese system of movable type - Very early form of mass production that relates to the contemporary moment in which print media played a large role The books on the foor create a series of waves, like a sea and the banners on the ceiling act as a sky - The panels on the walls seem like landscape FUNCTION - Book from the Sky is a contradiction—its text cannot be read, rendering the book meaningless. Such absurdity invites reflection. Book from the Sky has been interpreted by some as a reaction to the propaganda of Xu's youth in Maoist China, where language was manipulated and abused by those in power. CONTENT - There are Chinese characters in columns everywhere- the walls, floors, ceiling, and the open book pages from the volumes that he has hand bound in the form of traditional Chinese book arts (theyre on the floor) - Three long pieces of paper scroll like stretch across the ceiling - Xu Bing invented over 1000 new characters. These are not real Chinese characters because traditional Chinese characters are composed in a modular way meaning that different components are brought together to form a character in a block form Xu Bing uses some real components and some that are invented in combinations that are entirely new to create a character that looks familiar to somebody who can read Chinese - So the characters dont mean anything CONTEXT - He was a young man during the Cultural Revolution, a period when intellectuals were vilified, when the notion of the individual was distrusted and everything was about the group and state - He was sent to the countryside where he was put to work creating banners by hand for events. He was asked to combine modern and traditional forms of calligraphy When he was in art school he was trained in the arts of propaganda - He was also living during the time when China opened up to receiving and translating Western philosophy, theory literature and art history

Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People), Jaune Quick-to-See Smith

-1992 CE -US FORM - oil paint and mixed media, collage, objects, canvas FUNCTION - This is a response to the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in North America in 1992, the artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Nation - Trade, part of the series "The Quincentenary Non-Celebration," illustrates historical and contemporary inequities between Native Americans and the United States government. - Trade references the role of trade goods in allegorical stories like the acquisition of the island of Manhattan by Dutch colonists in 1626 from unnamed Native Americans in exchange for goods worth 60 guilders or $24.00. Though more apocryphal than true, this story has become part of American lore, suggesting that Native Americans had been lured off their lands by inexpensive trade goods. - The fundamental misunderstanding between the Native and non-Native worlds—especially the notion of private ownership of land—underlies Trade. Smith stated that if Trade could speak, it might say: "Why won't you consider trading the land we handed over to you for these silly trinkets that so honor us? Sound like a bad deal? Well, that's the deal you gave us." CONTENT - Smith layered images, paint, and objects on the surface of the canvas, suggesting layers of history and complexity. Divided into three large panels, the triptych (three part) arrangement is reminiscent of a medieval altarpiece. - Smith covered the canvas in collage, with newspaper articles about Native life cut out from her tribal paper Char-Koosta, photos, comics, tobacco and gum wrappers, fruit carton labels, ads, and pages from comic books, all of which feature stereotypical images of Native Americans. - She mixed the collaged text with photos of deer, buffalo, and Native men in historic dress holding pipes with feathers in their hair, and an image of Ken Plenty Horses—a character from one of Smith's earlier pieces, the Paper Dolls for a Post Columbian World with Ensembles Contributed by US Government from 1991-92. - She applied blocks of white, yellow, green, and especially red paint over the layer of collaged materials. The color red had multiple meanings for Smith, referring to her Native heritage as well as to blood, warfare, anger, and sacrifice. With the emphasis on prominent brushstrokes and the dripping blocks of paint, Smith cited the Abstract Expressionist movement from the 1940s and 50s with raw brushstrokes describing deep emotions and social chaos. - For a final layer, she painted the outline of an almost life-sized canoe. Canoes were used by Native Americans as well as non-Native explorers and traders in the eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth century to travel along the waterways of North America. The canoe suggests the possibility of trade and cultural connections—though this empty canoe is stuck, unable to move. - Above the canvas, Smith strung a clothesline from which she dangled a variety of Native-themed toys and souvenirs, especially from sports teams with Native American mascots. The items include toy tomahawks, a child's headdress with brightly dyed feathers, Red Man chewing tobacco, a Washington Redskins cap and license plate, a Florida State Seminoles bumper sticker, a Cleveland Indian pennant and cap, an Atlanta Braves license plate, a beaded belt, a toy quiver with an arrow, and a plastic Indian doll. - Smith offers these cheap goods in exchange for the lands that were lost, reversing the historic sale of land for trinkets. These items also serve as reminders of how Native life has been commodified, turning Native cultural objects into cheap items sold without a true understanding of what the original meanings were. CONTEXT - The Native Ameircan artist was born at the St. Ignatius Jesuit Missionary on the Reservation of the Flathead Nation. Raised by her father, a rodeo rider and horse trader, Smith was one of eleven children. Her first name comes from the French word for "yellow" (jaune), a reminder of her French-Cree ancestors. - Her middle name "Quick-to-See" was not a reference to her eyesight but was given by her Shoshone grandmother as a sign of her ability to grasp things readily. From an early age Smith wanted to be an artist; as a child, she had herself photographed while dressed as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Though her father was not literate, education was important to Smith. - She received a bachelor of arts from Framingham State College in Massachusetts in 1976 in art education rather than in studio art because her instructors told her that no woman could have a career as an artist, though they acknowledged that she was more skilled than the men in her class. In 1980 she received a master of fine arts from the University of New Mexico.

Pisupo Lua Afe (Corned Beef 2000), Michel Tuffery

-1994 CE -New Zealand FORM - flattened cans of corned beef FUNCTION - Teaches about ecological and population health issues CONTENT - Series of life-sized bulls Whereas a real cow has a visual softness suggested by its movements, eyes and coat, Tuffery's tin cans and rivets—overlapping like large metal scales— better convey the capacity of beef and dairy cattle to destroy fragile island eco-systems. - Tuffery is gesturing rather obviously towards the challenge of rubbish disposal in Island economies where creative "upcycling" of materials into new objects is often more common than the civic recycling regimes of larger cities and countries - Food sovereignty (sometimes called food security) is a great lens through which to view the various threads of traditional economic exchanges, population health, environmental degradation and industrialized food production introduced so far. - Food sovereignty is the right of a nation and its peoples to decide who controls how, where and by whom their food is to be produced, and what that food will be. For Indigenous peoples in the Pacific, food and the environment are sacred gifts. -There cannot be food sovereignty without control over food production and ownership, and without appropriate care of the environment. -Tuffery has also brought his "tinned beef" bulls to smoky life in various performative installations throughout the world, by installing fireworks inside their heads to give them the appearance of breathing fire. -Mounted on castors with their necks articulated so their heads can be turned, he has staged bullfights with his fire breathing monsters, accompanied by drummers and groups of human performers issuing fierce challenges. -But these performances have not been restricted to the sanctuary of the white walled gallery—these were performed outdoors, on city streets, to reach a community that might not otherwise come into the gallery to encounter his work. CONTEXT - Michel Tuffery is one of New Zealand's best-known artists of Pacific descent, with links to Samoa, Rarotonga and Tahiti. He majored in printmaking at Dunedin's School of Fine Arts, and describes art quite literally as his first language because he didn't read, write or speak until he was 6 years old. he aims artworks at children, hoping to engage their curiosity and inspire them to care for both their own health and that of the environment. - Despite evident connections to Pop Art, especially Andy Warhol's celebrations of the humble Campbell's Soup Cans (1962), it's impossible to read this work solely in the terms of Western art history. - Pisupo is the Samoan language version of "pea soup," which was the first canned food introduced into the Pacific Islands. Pisupo is now a generic term used to describe the many types of canned food that are eaten in the Islands—including corned beef. -Not only is corned beef a favorite food source in the Islands, it has also become a ubiquitous part of the ceremonial gift economy. -At weddings and birthdays, and other important life events both in the Islands and in Islander communities in New Zealand, gifts of treasured textiles like fine mats and decorated barkcloths are made alongside food items and cash money. -But unlike the Island feast foods gifted at these events—such as pigs and large quantities of root vegetables—canned corned beef is a processed food high in saturated fat, salt and cholesterol (a type of fat that clogs arteries). These are all things that contribute to disproportionately high incidences of diabetes and heart disease in Pacific Island populations as diets formerly high in locally grown fruits and vegetables, seafood, coconut milk and flesh, give way to cheap, imported foodstuffs. -So Tuffery's sculpture is impossible to separate from the ceremonies at which brightly colored tins of corned beef now figure in large quantities. -Pisupo Lua Afe also critiques serious issues of ecological health and food sovereignty. Tuffery is interested in the introduction of cattle to New Zealand and the Pacific Islands and how they impact negatively on the plants, landscapes and waterways of these countries, as well as how industrialized approaches to farming disrupt traditional food production.

En la barberia no se llora (No Crying Allowed in the Barbershop), Pepón Osorio

-1994 CE -Puerto Rico FORM - Mixed media installation FUNCTION - Spanish for trinkets or knick-knacks, and known to art historians as kitsch (mass produced objects characterized by—or ironically admired for—their bad taste), chucherías overpopulate Osorio's work. - These include Puerto Rican flags, religious ornaments, plastic toys, dolls, ribbons, beads, etc., all of which function—to quote art historian Anna Indych-Lopez—as a "gesture of cultural resistance," presented as something universal yet personal. - The chucherías included in the installation (a flag, fake foliage, baseballs, framed portraits of famous Latin American and Latino men), serve to localize the work, yet these objects also raise issues of social class expressed here through taste, and the distinction between high and low art—effectively straddling a fine line between cultural celebration and social critique. - While No Crying Allowed in the Babershop challenges definitions of masculinity, it also brings up—in a more subtle way—the relationship between machismo and homophobia, violence, and infidelity, and the ways in which popular culture, religion, and politics help craft these identities and issues. CONTENT - commissioned by Real Art Ways (RAW) from Hartford, Connecticut No Crying Allowed in the Babershop is located in the Puerto Rican community of Park Street in Hartford. - Created in collaboration with local residents, Osorio engaged the public through conversation, workshops, and artistic collaborations. - The art itself is visually lavish—his installations have often been dubbed "Nuyorican Baroque" (a reference to the seventeenth-century style characterized by theatricality and opulence and found in both Europe and Latin America). - Inspired from his first haircut in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Osorio recreates the space of the barbershop as one that is intensely packed with "masculine" symbols like barber chairs, car seats, sports paraphernalia, depictions of sperm and a boy's circumcision, phallic symbols, and male action figurines. -Osorio boldly challenges the idea of masculinity, and particularly of machismo (a strong sense of masculine pride), in Latino communities. -One prominent aspect of En la barberia no se llora are the video installations featuring Latino men from Park Street in stereotypically "masculine" poses. The men vary in age. Osorio included older men from the retirement home, Casa del Elderly, presenting the issue of machismo as multi-generational and deeply ingrained in Nuyorican culture. -the artist also included videos of men crying, with the public reacting both in sympathy and disgust. -These same men then participated in workshops, in which they discussed how notions of masculinity had shaped their personal relationships as brothers, husbands, and fathers. Despite this participation of men, most of the visitors to the barbershop installation were, in fact, women CONTEXT AND FUNCTION - Osorio is Puerto Rico born artist who trained as a sociologist and became a social worker in the South Bronx. His work is inspired by each of these experiences and is rooted in the spaces, experiences, and people of American Latino culture, particularly Nuyorican communities (Nuyorican refers to the Puerto Rican diaspora living in New York, especially New York City). - Osorio's large-scale installations are meant for a local audience, yet they have also been exhibited in mainstream cultural institutions (though after the 1993 Whitney Biennial, Osorio vowed to show his work first within the community, and then elsewhere). - Puerto Rico is a United States territory. Its residents are United States citizens and carry an American passport, yet they cannot vote in presidential elections or have representatives voting for their interests in Washington. -This sense of marginality is further complicated when one considers that Nuyoricans often retain a distinct sense of cultural pride that is informed by their dual American and Puerto Rican identities. -Having lived both experiences—that of a Puerto Rican and Nuyorican—Osorio is best known for large-scale installations that address street life, cultural clashes, and the rites of passage experienced by Puerto Ricans in the United States.

The Swing (After Fragonard), Yinka Shonibare

-2001 CE -England FORM - Though tailored in the fashion of eighteenth-century French aristocratic style, the costume that is modeled by Shonibare's protagonist has been sewn from colorful and abstractly patterned fabrics with quite different origins: the bright golds, reds and blues arranged in geometric motifs across her ruffled skirt are typical of the 'African' Dutch wax fabrics that Shonibare has famously used to adorn his figural tableaux throughout his career. - While these fabrics have come to signify African identity today, the patterns on Dutch Wax fabrics were originally based on motifs found in Indonesian batiks, and were manufactured in England and Holland in the nineteenth-century. - Predictably, the European imitations did not prove lucrative when sold in South Asian markets, so Dutch manufacturers then marketed the textiles to their West African colonies, where they have since been appropriated and integrated into local visual culture. - As such, Dutch Wax fabrics as we know them today are the product of the complex economic and cultural entanglements that resulted from European imperialism. As curator Okwui Enwezor has explained, Shonibare uses the fabrics "as a tool to investigate the place of ethnicity and the stereotype in modernist representation. (...) The textile is neither Dutch nor African, therefore, the itinerary of ideas it circulates are never quite stable in their authority or meaning." - As fictional as their 'African-ness' may appear to be, however, the fabrics have now been completely assimilated in places like Nigeria, where Shonibare grew up. As Enwezor points out, the material is "both fake and authentic, both readymade and original," not to mention indisputably cosmopolitan. - The question of what is "authentically" African has personal resonance for Shonibare, who, as an art student in London, was shocked when one of his instructors suggested that he make work that expressed his African identity. This conversation prompted him to think about stereotypes and the areas that exist between categories of identity and culture. The artist began using the material in 1992. FUNCTION - is a three-dimensional recreation of the Rococo painting after which it was titled, which itself offers testimony to the opulence and frivolity of pre-Revolutionary France. the beautiful young protagonist of - Fragonard's painting has somehow become headless. This is likely a reference to the use of the guillotine during the Reign of Terror in the 1790s, when members of the French aristocracy were publicly beheaded. - Drawing our attention to questions of excess, class and morality that were raised by revolutionaries two centuries ago, Shonibare invites us to also consider the increasing disparity between economic classes today, especially alongside the growing culture of paranoia, terror and xenophobia in global politics since 9/11. - As a British-born Nigerian, raised between Lagos and London, Shonibare is especially perceptive to the ways in which issues of access, nationalism and belonging have their roots in modern European history, particularly with regards to the United Kingdom and its relationship to its former colonies. - Here is where the specific fabrics that Shonibare utilizes become more relevant, as their symbolism is steeped in histories of cultural appropriation, imperialism and power. - In imaging this particular moment in European history, Shonibare wishes to forge connections between imperialism, the aristocracy, and the "colonized wealthy class." In The Swing (After Fragonard), which is loaded with references to the French Revolution, the Age of Enlightenment and colonial expansion into Africa, Shonibare asks us to consider how a simple act of leisure can be so controversial. - "While the leisure pursuit might look frivolous (...) my depiction of it is a way of engaging in that power. It is actually an expression of something much more profoundly serious insofar as the accumulation of wealth and power that is personified in leisure was no doubt a product of exploiting people." - In this and other works, Shonibare chooses stories—including biographies, world events, and works of art—which are already effective allegories concerning race, class, corruption and greed, calling our attention to some of the darker moments in Western history. - However, his use of the Dutch Wax fabric, with its spurious origins and its misleading aesthetic identity, serve as a reminder that history and truth are also themselves constructions. CONTENT - With her fingers delicately grasping the thickly coiled rope of a swing suspended mid-flight, a life-sized female mannequin flirtatiously kicks up her left foot, projecting her slipper into the air where it hovers above a tangle of branches. Our gaze is directed from the arch of her foot towards the vibrant trim of her petticoat, gown and coat. CONTEXT - Jean-Honoré Fragonard's The Swing depicts a coquettish young girl swinging in a lush and fertile forest and, of course, playfully kicking up her shoe. A sculpture of a bashful cherub looks on, but he is not alone; the female figure is flanked by two male figures lurking in the shadows, one seems to push her swing from behind, as the other mischievously glances up the layers of her dress to catch a glimpse of what is beneath.

Darkytown Rebellion, Kara Walker

-2001 CE -US FORM - cut paper and projection on wall occupies a 37 foot wide corner of a gallery FUNCTION - tests the participant's tolerance for imagery that occupies the nebulous space between racism and race affirmation. - Though the activity gives the participant only two options at the end (whether or not to feature one of Walker's silhouettes on the "Culture Shock" homepage), the activity explores the multiple and complex reactions Walker's work elicits. - reflects on the historical representation of African Americans in American visual culture. powerful visuals shape African-American stereotypes and inform how popular culture perceives this community. Walker is one of several African-American women who use art to engage with and challenge - visualizations of race within popular culture; others include Renee Cox, Adrian Piper, and Faith Ringgold. - Walker's dedication to recovering lost histories through art is a way of battling the historical erasure that plagues African Americans, like the woman lynched by the mob in Atlanta. Though this lynching was published, how many more have been forgotten? Who was this woman, what did she look like, why was she murdered? The impossibility of answering these questions finds a visual equivalent in the silhouetted voids in Walker's artistic practice. - Walker herself developed the narrative for the orphaned figures that compose Darkytown Rebellion. - Though the title suggests a historical event, both the original nineteenth-century painting and Walker's response are visual inventions rather than documents in a traditional sense. Walker enjoys this ambiguity between history and fiction: "I'm not making work about reality; I'm making work about images. I'm making work about fictions that have been handed down to me, and I'm interested in those fictions because I'm an artist, and any sort of attempt at getting at the truth of a thing, you kind of have to wade through these levels of fictions, and that's where the work is coming from. - Darkytown Rebellion does not attempt to stitch together facts, but rather to create something more potent, to imagine the unimaginable brutalities of an era in a single glance. CONTENT - Here, a brilliant pattern of colors washes over a wall full of silhouettes enacting a dramatic rebellion, giving the viewer the unforgettable experience of stepping into a work of art. - Walker's talent is not about creating controversy for its own sake, but building a world that unleashes horrors even as it seduces viewers. - made up of over a dozen characters, plays out a nightmarish scene on a single plane: one figure stands upright over his severed limb, despite his bleeding leg stump, with bones protruding from his hips; another figure, also exhibiting a severed limb, rolls on his back; a woman with a bonnet and voluminous hoop skirt may be attacking a smaller figure on its back, perhaps a crying baby, with a long, plunger-like instrument. - What is most remarkable about these scenes is how much each silhouettes conceals. - Without interior detail, the viewer can lose the information needed to determine gender, gauge whether a left or right leg was severed, or discern what exactly is in the black puddle beneath the woman's murderous tool. - The color projections, whose abstract shapes recall the 1960s liquid light shows projected with psychedelic music, heighten the surreality of the scene. CONTEXT - Walker is a well-rounded multimedia artist, having begun her career in painting and expanded into film as well as works on paper. - The layering she achieves with the color projections and silhouettes in Darkytown Rebellion anticipates her later work with shadow puppet films. - Walker anchors much of her work in documents reflecting life before and after the Civil War. - Walker discovered a landscape painting in American Primitive Painting, a book featuring artwork by unschooled artists. - One anonymous landscape, mysteriously titled Darkytown, intrigued Walker and inspired her to remove the over-sized African-American caricatures. She placed them, along with more figures (a jockey, a rebel, and others), within a scene of rebellion, hence the re-worked title of her 2001 installation. - Through Darkytown Rebellion, Walker is not attempting to correct a late-nineteenth century depiction of African-Americans but rather to broach a discussion: are these merely images from the past or do these caricatures still resonate in the twenty-first century? - Silhouettes began as a courtly art form in sixteenth-century Europe and became a suitable hobby for ladies and an economical alternative to painted miniatures, before devolving into a craft in the twentieth century. - Traditionally silhouettes were made of the sitter's bust profile, cut into paper, affixed to a non-black background, and framed. - Except for the outline of a forehead, nose, lips, and chin all the subject's facial details are lost in a silhouette, thus reducing the sitter to a few personal characteristics. - In Walker's hands the minimalist silhouette becomes a tool for exploring racial identification. - ****All things being equal, what distinguishes the white master from his slave in Darkytown Rebellion? Walker forces the viewer to confront the visual cues that make up stereotypes: these cues distill human forms into basic and arbitrary shapes that compose the basis of racial discrimination.**** - Though Darkytown Rebellion is full of shapes lacking detail, Walker reserves sharp outlines for faces and limbs. Walker's silhouettes are (mostly) full-bodied figures, captured in various poses from the traditional profile, to a three-quarter turn, to full frontal. - This plurality of poses, often in a single body, is another example of obscured detail within the silhouette tradition: here not only is the face absent, but the body's action is also ambiguous. - As mentioned earlier, it is impossible to make out which leg is severed on the standing figure near the corner, yet Walker manages to give the gory details of that man's tragedy. - If traditional silhouettes illustrated a contained shape, Walker's figures overflow these boundaries, whether through graphic violence or metaphorically, in terms of subject matter

Lying with the Wolf, Kiki Smith

-2001 CE -US FORM - ink and pencil on paper FUNCTION - represents the assimilation of several themes that Kiki Smith has explored throughout her decades-long career. - Featuring an act of bonding between human and animal, the piece speaks not only to Smith's fascination with and reverence for the natural world, but also her noted interests in religious narratives and mythology, the history of figuration in western art, and contemporary notions of feminine domesticity, spiritual yearning, and sexual identity.** - It has been suggested by some critics that Smith's reinterpretations of Red Riding Hood and Sainte Geneviève represent a feminist approach to popular folktales. - This is supported by her placement of "woman" amidst the natural world, but also, importantly, at a structural level: in the way in which the two narratives are fragmented and combined. - Borrowing from divergent sources in order to forge a new storyline, Smith demonstrates the slippery relationship between a visual image and its multiple references, adopting a narrative style indebted to feminist re-writings of history. - Instead of presenting them in their traditional roles as predator and prey, Smith re-imagined these characters as companions, equals in purpose and scale.****** - The distinction between "predator" and "prey" might be thought of as a metaphor for hierarchies of power in human relationships, which have traditionally been drawn along the lines of gender, race, and class.*** - Because patriarchal societies typically grant more power to men, while requiring women to be submissive or dependent, we can think of this "overturning" in Smith's art as a political statement against such inequalities. *** - The artistic narratives portrayed in her work are ones in which binaries are flipped and opposing qualities are merged CONTENT - depicts a female nude reclining intimately alongside a wolf - Lying with the Wolf is one in a short series of works executed between 2000 and 2002 that illustrates women's relationships with animals, drawing from representations found in visual, literary, and oral histories. - Smith is most interested in narratives that speak to collectively shared mythologies; these include folk tales, biblical stories and Victorian literature, yet the once-familiar stories are then fragmented and conflated with one another to form new clusters of meaning and association. - Many of Smith's works from this period feature a female protagonist who is based on Little Red Riding Hood as well Sainte Geneviève, the Patron Saint of Paris. - Geneviève is herself often associated with Saint Francis of Assisi because of her close relationships with animals and her ability, in particular, to domesticate wolves. - The pair, however, seems locked in a more intimate embrace, as the wolf nuzzles affectionately into the nude woman's arms. - She wraps herself around the animal's body in a gesture of comforting, her fingers stroking the soft fur beneath its ears and along the side of its stomach. - The wolf's wildness is tamed, and both figures seem to nurture one another, floating within the abstract space of the textured paper surface upon which they are delicately drawn. ** - Smith imbues a story that is normally quite violent with a kind of tenderness that is characteristic of her overall aesthetic. -several of Smith's works integrate a diverse list of themes and motifs that she has accumulated over the course of her career. - The artist continuously re-imagines tropes she has used in past works, with the result that her practice does not seem to progress through discrete artistic stages. Rather, she works in cycles and layers; she has described her career as an act of meandering, or "walking around in a garden." CONTEXT - While Kiki Smith's early work is aligned with the collaborative and activist art scene of the 1980s, she became known for intimate explorations of the human body in the following decade, often through life-sized sculpture that honored the figural tradition in Western art. - These works emphasized the body's vulnerability and made reference to feminist theories of the "abject," which conceived of the body as a messy, porous, and boundary-less system. -Throughout the 1990s, Smith would come to embrace her religious upbringing, creating works that are spiritual, ethereal, and markedly more decorative. - Celestial motifs and references to the natural world became ubiquitous, although these themes are still deeply connected to the body. As an investigation of the body in its capacity for fertility, reproduction, and nurturing, this turn towards the natural environment would eventually lead Smith to her interest in animals and our connections to them. - Lying with the Wolf is an extension of this yearning to connect the earthly with the spiritual and the personal with the collective.

Old Man's Cloth, El Anatsui

-2003 CE -Africa FORM - aluminum and copper wire - At first glance, it's a textile and a textile is important in ghana and has a long history In the kente cloth, gold is the predominant color, which is associated with royalty and the ashanti control fo the gold trade - So el anatsui is using gold to give a sense of royal reverence and authority - Arranged within a shifting grid of stripes and blocks of color, the components form their own internal maps across the surface, melding into vertical gold bands, interlocking black and silver rows, or a deviant red piece floating in a field of black. - It would have been laid flat during its construction, it is contorted and manipulated during installation, so that the individual metal pieces can catch the light from every angle. - This brilliant visual effect makes its humble origins all the more impressive. - **Old Man's Cloth has been constructed from flattened liquor bottle labels that the artist collects near his home in Southern Nigeria. - While critics often write about Anatsui's metal wall hangings using the language of textiles, the labels and bottle caps are typically fastened together with copper wire and attached corner-to-corner. As such, the issue of medium is one of the first to inspire debate amongst viewers—are the wall hangings two-dimensional or three-dimensional? Are they sculptures, even as they hang against the wall like paintings? Are they individual works or immersive installations? Lastly, are they "fine art" or simply an innovative form of "craft"? FUNCTION - Anatsui's choice of discarded liquor bottle caps as a medium has as much to do with their formal properties as with their historical associations. - As an African artist whose career was forged during the utopia of mid-century African independence movements, his work has always engaged his region's history and culture. The bottle caps, for Anatsui, signify a fraught history of trade between Africa and Europe. - Alcohol was one of the commodities brought with [Europeans] to exchange for goods in Africa. Eventually alcohol become one of the items used in the transatlantic slave trade. They made rum in the West Indies, took it to Liverpool, and then it made its way back to Africa. I thought that the bottle caps had a strong reference to the history of Africa. - The luminescent gold colors also recall the colonial past of Anatsui's home country—modern Ghana was previously a British colony called The Gold Coast until its independence in 1957. - The fluid movements of the work's surface remind us of the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, which carried slave-ships and traders between Africa, Europe and the New World. By bestowing his works with titles such as Man's Cloth and Woman's Cloth, Anatsui also makes reference to the significance of textiles in African societies, and their own historical role in trade networks. - his work provides an excellent opportunity for discussion about the relationships between artists at the center and at the periphery, and between the West and the Global South. CONTENT - Anatsui's work differed slightly from that of his colleagues in his insistence on abstraction. In some of his first mature works, he used an electric chainsaw to slash geometric patterns into wood. - Though abstract, these works were metaphorically rich; Anatsui chose woods of different colors to represent the diversity of African cultures, while the violence of the chainsaw enacted the ruptures imposed by European imperialist expansion. CONTEXT - Purposefully disregarding the limited categories imposed by Western art history, Anatsui's practice emerges from a more expanded understanding of what art can be that stems from both the radical practices of the late-1960s, and from a vantage point outside of the Western tradition completely. - As scholar Susan Vogel has explained, "such categories did not exist in classic African traditions, which made no distinction between art and craft, high art and low." - Old Man's Cloth was included in one of Anatsui's first exhibitions of hanging metal sculptures. Held at London's October Gallery in 2004, the show was entitled "Gawu," which means "metal cloak" in Ewe. - El Anatsui was born in Ghana in 1944, and was trained in an academic European curriculum. In 1964, when he began his studies, many parts of Africa were experiencing a cultural renaissance associated with decolonization movements. Anatsui himself joined the unofficial "Sankofa" movement, which was invested in unearthing and reclaiming Africa's rich indigenous traditions and assimilating these with the European-influenced aspects of society. -In 1975, Anatsui joined the faculty at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Nsukka was a vibrant creative capital for African artists and writers in the 1970s, many of whom spearheaded the Zaria Rebellion in the early 1960s and revived the traditional art form of uli wall and body painting in their contemporary works. - When two of Anatsui's metal wall hangings appeared in the 2007 Venice Biennale, they were lauded by the public and swiftly cemented his place as a leading international contemporary artist. - In west africa there's a strong importance of venerating and honoring ancestors especially when one eats- so before taking the first bite you pour a bit of palm wine or some other kind of alcohol to the ancestors just dribbling a bit onto the ground- there's a reference to this tradiiton in this artwork He has a workshop where workers help create squares - In african culture, traditional cloth was often a more communal activity

Preying Mantra, Wangechi Mutu

-2006 CE -Africa FORM - mixed media on mylar FUNCTION - Mutu creates new worlds that re-imagine culture through the realm of fantasy. Preying Mantra centers on female subjectivity, exoticism and the notion of hybridity—both in concept and imagery. - Hybridity is a concept often used in postcolonial studies. It describes how the mixing the cultures of colonized and the colonizer—can produce a third space for newer and often disruptive understanding of cultural identity. - Colonialism in Africa, which began in earnest in the nineteenth century, violently wrested power from Africans for the benefit of European nations through the enforcement of strict military and administrative controls. - As colonialism waned during the mid-twentieth century, other social and political issues emerged. Mutu's work was shaped by this complex history and by issues such as the rights of women that came to the fore at the end of the century. CONTENT - In Mutu's Preying Mantra, a female creature appears to recline on a geometrically patterned blanket that is sprawled between trees or perhaps on a tree branch. The blanket resembles a Kuba cloth (traditional fabric created by the Kuba people). - Legs tightly crossed in front of her, the figure stares suggestively at the viewer with her right hand positioned behind her head, which is surmounted by a cone-like crown. Her relaxed posture is camouflaged by her skin, which appears dappled by sunlight and which mirrors the colors of the tree's leaves. - Like the female body, the tree is emblematic of the creation myths found in many cultures, including Mutu's Kikuyu ancestors in Kenya. In her left hand, the figure holds a green serpent that rests on the blanket which fills much of the scene. - The serpent, linked with the role of Eve in the biblical creation narrative, provides yet another cultural source for Mutu's protagonist. - The tree envelopes the female figure reinforcing links between history and fiction, African and Non-African cultural myths as well as natural versus unnatural phenomena. - The title Preying Mantra, recalls the praying mantis—an insect that resembles the protagonist in Mutu's collage, with her prominently bent legs. - As a carnivorous insect, praying mantises camouflage themselves to match their environment, snaring their prey with their enormous legs. - During mating, the female can become a sexual cannibal—eating her submissive mate. - Such imagery and its association with natural phenomena creates a primal sensibility. - Despite this reference to a real praying mantis, Mutu's "preying mantra" is also vulnerable to our gaze, suggesting that the figure may be a victim that is "preyed" upon by "mantras." - Mutu creates a natural, even primitive, fictional environment that entices and disturbs us even as she invites us to explore stereotypes about the African female body as explicitly sexual, dangerous, and aesthetically deformed in relation to Western standards. Given that elements of the collage are assembled from sociocultural documents found in popular literature from the West, the figure may be preying on the viewer's own fears and desires. CONTEXT NAD FUNCTION - Mutu was born in Nairobi, Kenya and educated in Europe and the United States. Her art is global in nature and she clearly relishes complicating both Western and non-Western cultural norms; questioning how we see gender, sexuality, and even cultural identity. - Wangechi Mutu's artistic practice includes video, installation, sculpture, and mixed-media collage. - ****One of her recurrent themes concerns the violence of colonial domination in Africa (particularly in her native Kenya). Her images incorporate the female body, specifically an imagined "African" body, subjected to sexism and racism on a global scale. - Sources for Mutu's collages include fragments from fashion magazines, pornography, medical literature or even popular magazines such as National Geographic. - Inspiration for her collages can be traced to the early photomontages of the German Dada artist Hannah Hoch and the American artist Romare Bearden. Mutu creates a space for exploring an informed consciousness about being "African" and female that incorporate these artists' techniques yet develops a new visual vocabulary.

Shibboleth, Doris Salcedo

-2007 CE -Colombia FORM - Salcedo's installation requires attentive viewing. The rupture measures 548 feet in length but its width and depth vary (changing from a slight opening to one several inches wide and up to two feet in depth). - wire mesh embedded along the sides. FUNCTION - it defies neat description and exists in a limbo between sculpture and installation; and the provocative title complicates the work instead of decoding it - Salcedo has offered few explanations beyond stating how the fissure represents the immigrant experience in Europe. -Though this theme is apparent in the work, it is by no means the only issue raised. As photographs of the installation demonstrate, visitors contorted their bodies in infinite ways as they tried to see below the crack. - Change in perspective is one of Salcedo's goals. "We should all see the world from the perspective of the victim, like Jewish people that were killed with their head down in the Middle Ages. So he wonders, what is the perspective of a person that is agonizing in this position?" -It is helpful to think of Shibboleth as a work of conceptual art since the ideas that frame the physical crack in the floor are of equal, if not greater importance than the material work itself. -Salcedo's installation at the Tate Modern would be completely different if it were simply untitled; indeed, the analysis of the work would then settle exclusively on its formal qualities. But Salcedo has bestowed a curious and specific name: "Shibboleth," a codeword that distinguishes people who belong from those who do not. -Every community, culture, and nation has its shibboleth. Among the U.S. military, "lollapalooza" was used during World War II since its tricky pronunciation could identify native, English-speaking Americans. -But the sinister history of the word "shibboleth" illustrates how friends and enemies are separated by fine, linguistic lines. -Any stranger in a foreign land appreciates the vulnerability this entails, especially the fear of being outed as a foreigner and exposed in a hostile environment. CONTENT - Since 2000, the Tate Modern has commissioned installations (the Unilever series) for the museum's enormous Turbine Hall - In the eighth iteration, the Colombian artist Doris Salcedo produced Shibboleth, a deep meandering crack in the floor. - For Salcedo, the ravine in the Tate Modern's floor represents the immigrant experience in Europe, notably the racial segregation that marks people from the third-world as irrevocably "other," a permanent state apart. Yet, the artist offers some hope. - After seven months, the show ended and the Tate Modern filled the crack, leaving a scarred floor. - This is a remarkable symbol of the possibility of healing through figurative and literal closure; however, the mark is also an obstacle to any attempts to erase the past. - From an institutional perspective, this scar is remarkable for other reasons: it is usually unimaginable for museum officials to permit an artist to permanently alter the exhibition space. CONTEXT AND FUNCTION - Salcedo's experience as a Colombian artist working abroad has made her especially sympathetic to the plight of marginalized people.*** - Salcedo's act remains transgressive: the act of deliberately breaking one's media (in this case a concrete floor) is an act of rebellion.*** - In this way, Shibboleth joins a tradition of artists experimenting with surface. In the late 1940s Lucio Fontana developed "Spazialismo," an approach to art-making that converted the two-dimensional canvas into a three-dimensional space. - Fontana slashed his monochrome canvases, and revealed a new space underneath the gashes. The artist's bold move to disrupt the canvas's nearly sacred surface was revolutionary and influenced later artists.

MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Zaha Hadid

-2009 CE -England FORM - The facade of the building with rows of metallic columns remind us of bernini's Piazza at Saint Peters - The historical precedent of the use of concrete material that the ancient Romans used to shape space - Its almost liike the round arches have tilted and become horizontal - Theres pure geometry - Looking toward islamic art - There are curvilinear ribbons and strict rectilinear geometries - We see it in the stairs, walls, and concrete beams - The stairs bend, and also create sharp angles Protruding window - form follows function. - The building is distinguished by two key architectural elements: concrete and glass. FUNCTION - museum CONTENT - There are stairs that are black but lit underneath with white light - The stairs are metal grids - the complex was designed in such a way that it acts as home to two individual institutions: MAXXI Art and MAXXI Architecture. - it's in addition to the two museums, an auditorium, a library and media library, a bookshop, a cafeteria, temporary exhibition spaces, various open spaces for live events, commercial activities, workshops and spaces of study and recreation. - The exposed concrete walls set the boundaries of the exhibition halls and establish the interweaving volumes, while the transparent glass roof modulate and filters natural light passing in. - the two museums - MAXXI Art and MAXXI Architecture - rotate around a large, double storey atrium, the point of connection with the permanent collection galleries and temporary exhibition spaces, the auditorium, reception area, cafeteria and bookshop. -The organic and flowing forms and the variation of the interweaving different levels in combination with the natural light flowing in create a highly complex spatial and functional experience that offers ever-changing unexpected views from the interior towards the open spaces. CONTEXT - Her first idea was about a delta where the main streams become the galleries and the minor ones become bridges which connect- a delta is a river that flows into the sea - Competition- 270 candidates- she was chosen Zaha Hadid, the winner of the 1999 international design competition for this project

Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds), Ai Weiwei

-2010 CE -China FUNCTION - Ai Weiwei often uses his art to critique political and economic injustice. - Sunflower seeds evokes a warm personal memory for the artist, who recalls that while he was growing up, even the poorest in China would share sunflower seeds as a treat among friends. - The use of sunflower seeds as the basis of his installation was also designed to subvert popular imagery rooted in the artist's childhood. - Communist propaganda optimistically depicted leader Mao Zedong as the sun and the citizens of the People's Republic of China as sunflowers, turning toward their chairman. - Ai Weiwei reasserts the sunflower seed as a symbol of camaraderie during difficult times Mr. Ai's use of porcelain comments on the long history of this prized material while also rejecting the common negative connotations of the modern term "Made in China." - Utilizing skilled artisans known for their exquisite craftsmanship to make objects that can only be differentiated one from another upon close inspection, alludes to the important porcelain tradition in Jingdzhen, as well as to the uniformity and diffusion of modern (cheap and fast) labor that is responsible for China's hard-won place in the world economy. - Sunflower Seeds asks us to examine how our consumption of foreign-made goods affects the lives of others across the globe. CONTENT AND FORM - Installation - consists of more than 100 million tiny, handmade porcelain sunflower seeds, originally weighing in at 150 tons. They filled the enormous Turbine Hall at Tate Modern, an industrial building-turned-contemporary art space. - once arranged together in a neat rectangle, or covering the floor of an entire room, the hyper-realistic seeds create a sense of vastness. In the Tate installation, there was a sense of precision in the arrangement of the seeds, creating visual order and uniformity. The individual seed is lost among the millions, a critique of the conformity and censorship inherent in modern China. CONTEXT - More than 1,600 artisans worked to make the individual porcelain seeds by hand in Jingdzhen, the city known as the "Porcelain Capital," where artists have been producing pottery for nearly 2000 years. - Porcelain, first produced during the Han dynasty in about 200 B.C.E. and later mastered during the Tang dynasty, is made by heating white clay (kaolin) to a temperature over 1200 degrees Celsius. - The fusion of the particles within the clay during firing allowed artists to create vessels with thin but strong walls. - Porcelain— a symbol of imperial culture in China—was also made for export via the Silk Road and became important to the creation of the idea of China in the West. - How we experience an artwork impacts our perception of the work. In the tradition of participatory contemporary art, Sunflower Seeds asks the public to physically interact with the art. - Initially, Tate visitors were invited to walk over and lie on the seeds, though the museum, in consultation with the artist, suspended this opportunity about a week into the exhibition because of safety concerns. - Ai Weiwei was arrested at the Beijing Capital International Airport on April 3, 2011 during his Tate exhibition. He was detained for 81 days. - The artist, along with many in the international community, asserted that his true offense was his political activism for democracy and human rights. Mr. Ai had blogged for four years—investigating cover-ups and corruption in the government's handling of a devastating 2008 earthquake in Sichuan and the country's hosting of the Olympics. Ai Weiwei's blog was shut down in 2009. - Since then, he has turned to Twitter and Instagram. During his detention, the international community, including major US art institutions, rallied for his release. Officials eventually released him, charging Ai Weiwei with tax evasion, but his passport was withheld, preventing him from leaving the country for four years. It was returned in 2015.

Fountain, Marcel Duchamp

-France -1950 CE FORM - Duchamp called this a "readymade" FUNCTION - Most people think of art as something that is created from ordinary materials into something that can make us see things in a new way. Duchamp is doing this here - He makes people question what art is - Is art an idea? The concept? Can the artist have the idea but not make the object CONTENT - He signed it R. Mott and dated it on the side CONTEXT - He originally made it in 1917, but he remade it in 1964 - This was a small series that was made in 1964, after the original work - Duchamp went to a plumbing supply house called mott and purchased the urinal- he did not make it - He submitted it to an art exhibition for a new group that he was a founding member of, the American Society for Independent Artists - Their notion was that the juried exhibition that was prevalent in the US in NY at this time was a problem bc the jury always selected the traditional work that they were associated with. His new group wanted new possibilities - They were supposed to accept every work that was submitted but they rejected this one

Narcissus garden, Yayoi Kusama

-Japan -1966 CE FORM - The tightly arranged 1,500 shimmering balls constructed an infinite reflective field in which the images of the artist, the visitors, the architecture, and the landscape were repeated, distorted, and projected by the convex mirror surfaces that produced virtual images appearing closer and smaller than reality. - The size of each sphere was similar to that of a fortune-teller's crystal ball. When gazing into it, the viewer only saw his/her own reflection staring back, forcing a confrontation with one's own vanity and ego. FUNCTION - It is within this context that we examine Kusama and her infamous Narcissus Garden (narcissism is, in part, the egotistic admiration of one's self). CONTENT - according to her autobiography, she received the moral and financial support from Lucio Fontana and permission from the chairman of the Biennale Committee to stage 1,500 mass-produced plastic silver globes on the lawn outside the Italian Pavilion. CONTEEXT - Born in japan, self taught artist, now chooses to live in a private Tokyo mental health facility, while prolifically producing art in various media in her studio nearby. - Art historian Jody Cutler places Kusama's oeuvre "in dialogue with the psychological state known as narcissism," as "narcissism is both the subject and the cause of Kusama's art, or in other words, a conscious artistic element related to content." - During the opening week, Kusama placed two signs at the installation: "NARCISSUS GARDEN, KUSAMA" and "YOUR NARCISSIUM [sic] FOR SALE" on the lawn. - Acting like a street peddler, she was selling the mirror balls to passers-by for two dollars each, while distributing flyers with Herbert Read's complimentary remarks about her work on them. - She consciously drew attention to the "otherness" of her exotic heritage by wearing a gold kimono with a silver sash. - The monetary exchange between Kusama and her customers underscored the economic system embedded in art production, exhibition and circulation. - The Biennale officials eventually stepped in and put an end to her "peddling." But the installation remained. - Her interactive performance and eye-catching installation garnered international press coverage. This original installation of Narcissus Garden from 1966 has been frequently interpreted by many as both Kusama's self-promotion and her protest of the commercialization of art. - Since then, Kusama's oeuvre has become integrated into the canon of art history, and popular with art institutions around the world. In 1993, Kusama was officially invited to represent Japan at the 45th Venice Biennale. - Her Narcissus Garden continues to live on. It has been commissioned and re-installed at various settings, including the Brazilian business tycoon Bernardo de Mello Paz's Instituto Inhotim, Central Park in New York City, as well as retail booths at art fairs. - The re-creation of Narcissus Garden has erased the notion of political cynicism and social critique; instead, those shiny balls, now made of stainless steel and carrying hefty price tags, have become a trophy of prestige and self-importance. - Originally intended as the media for an interactive performance between the artist and the viewer, the objects are now regarded as valuable commodities for display. - The profound narcissistic undertone however has been ironically amplified not only by the artist's pervasive ostentation, but also by the viewership in the age of Internet. S - educed by his/her own reflective images on the convex surfaces, viewers snap photographs with a smart phone and instantly upload them to social media for the rest of the world to see. - The urge to capture and disseminate the moment one's own image coalesces onto a privileged object in a privileged institution seems to motivate the obsession with the self. To further accentuate the effect of gazing at one's multiple selves, many installations now take place on the water where the original Narcissus from the Greek mythology fell in love with his own reflection and eventually drowned.

The Migration of the Negro, Panel no. 49, Jacob Lawrence

-US -1940 CE FORM - Brilliant use of color and very stark composition using tempera on hard board - There are geometric shapes, flat areas of color - Expression of the modern condition of this modern migration of industrialization - Modern by the flatness of the forms - Linear perspective FUNCTION -This entire series is about movement and change CONTENT - Captures the complexity of what happened to people's lives when they move - The titles are like a poem that weave its way thru the images\ 60 panels - The very first and last panel have to do with train stations and the movement of people - Panel 49- shows racism and discrimination. There's a gold barrier, a rope that separates the people in linear perspective and bird's eye view. The gray is entirely flattened. The figures are silhouetted in the dark colors. - The whites on the left are very separate. The one on the top is facing away and looks vain - The man below him looks lost in his own thoughts. His hands are big, and he seems to be clutching the newspaper, refusing to acknowledge anyone else around him - There's so much expressiveness - The figure on the upper right looks small and isolated and distanced - We can tell the figure on he bottom right is an older female from an economy of form- her head is lower than her shoulders so she seems stooped over. He hair looks like a bell. - Only the whites have their facial features depicted. The African Americans are given form and personality by the contours of their bodies - The viewer feels more sympathy for the figures on the right bc the figures on the left seem aloof and menacing (threatening) CONTENT - Moma has the even numbers, The Phillips Collection has the odd numbers - Lawrence was a very young artist - The paintings were about migration of African Americans from the agricultual South into the industrial North at the end of the 19th and especially in the first half of the 20th century - What led to this was the racism and Jim Crow Laws in the South and also a lack of labor in the North*** - Northern industrial companies had jobs to fill - Sic million people are estimated to have moved during these waves of migration and Lawrence's family is one of them - Lawrence's family moved to NY, but people also moved to chicago, st. louis, and other industrial centers T- here was struggle and hope for a better life in the north He was careful when e produced this- he did lots of research at the Schomburg Center in Harlem

Seagram Building, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson

-US -1954 CE FORM AND CONTENT - Classical - Has a patina- not just a uniform dark brown black. There is some subtlety to the color - Each year it's rubbed with oil so it doesn't oxidize Greek architecture characteristics- it's symmetrical, there are various pillars in the front that look like fluted columns- it's like the parthenon - There's vertical velocity- an ascent -There are vertical mullions (a vertical bar between the panes of glass in a window) between the window bays. We basically rise front the base of the tower to the top without any interruption -The mullions look like i beams- they have girders. They serve no other purpose than decoration- they give the surface texture and light and shadow -The mosaics are marble and granite? -There are reflecting pools in front of the building -There are four elevator banks- they move past the glass membrane that encloses the lobby -The building is deeply set back on park Avenue. It has a couple of smaller editions in the back because mies wanted to pay respect to teh Racquet and Tennis Club directly across the street FUNCTION - Commissioned - Liquor company. Perhaps the largest liquor company at the time CONTEXT - Mies has been designed buildings like this since the 1920s but he never had a chance to build an office building until this one - He went through the war, the end of the depression - He moves to the US and designs the amus of the Armor Institute - Liquor was prohibited and this liquor company was based in canada. So the liquor would be smuggled down to chicago, across the Great Lakes - They were impressed by the notoriety that the Lever House had- first curtain wall building in manhattan - Mies loved greek architecture

Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks, Claes Oldenburg

-US -1969 CE FORM - The sculpture was not intended to be permanent. They made the base of plywood, and the red vinyl tip of the lipstick could be comically inflated and deflated—although the balloon mechanism didn't always work. The original remained in Beinecke Plaza for ten months before Oldenburg removed it in order to remake the form in metal. The resulting sculpture was placed in a less-prominent spot on Yale's campus, where it remains to this day. 24 feet tall FUNCTIOn - While the sculpture may have seemed like a playful, if elaborate artistic joke, it was also deeply critical. - By bringing both domestic and military objects into a public space, Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks blurred the lines between public and private, and between the war in Vietnam and the culture of the United States. CONTENT - A tube of lipstick sprouting from a military vehicle CONTEXT - It appeared, uninvited, on the campus of Yale University amidst the 1969 student protests against the Vietnam War. Oldenburg made the 24-foot-high sculpture in collaboration with architecture students at his alma mater and then surreptitiously delivered it to Yale's Beinecke Plaza. - In Beinecke Plaza, the sculpture overlooked both the office of Yale's president and a prominent World War I memorial. Lipstick (Ascending) on Caterpillar Tracks claimed a visible space for the anti-war movement while also poking fun at the solemnity of the plaza. - The sculpture served as a stage and backdrop for several subsequent student protests. - Oldenburg had experimented with lipstick forms earlier in the 1960s, pasting catalog images of lipstick onto postcards of London's Picadilly Circus. - The resulting collages showed lipstick tubes looming like massive pillars over Picadilly's plaza. In the Yale sculpture, the artist combined the highly "feminine" product with the "masculine" machinery of war. In doing so, he playfully critiqued both the hawkish, hyper-masculine rhetoric of the military and the blatant consumerism of the United States.*** - In addition to its feminine associations, the large lipstick tube is phallic and bullet-like, making the benign beauty product seem masculine or even violent. - The juxtaposition implied that the U.S. obsession with beauty and consumption both fueled and distracted from the ongoing violence in Vietnam. - Oldenburg had been designing large-scale, vinyl versions of household (domestic) objects since his Green Gallery exhibition in 1962. but Lipstick was his first large-scale public artwork.

Olmec-style mask (Templo Mayor)

FORM - This mask is not much bigger than the palm of a hand. - Polished green stone FUNCTION - this was found buried as a kind of offering in the temple precinct - the Aztecs collected these objects, and then ritually burying them at certain points, and this object would've been one of many buried in a specific offering - It's a traditional Olmec mask CONTENT - It's a great example of Olmec features, like upturned lips, this almost-baby face, almond eyes, the cleft in the head. CONTEXT - This mask actually belonged to the Olmec culture, which started thriving somewhere between 1500 and 1200 B.C.E. So, more than 1500 years before the Aztecs, the Olmecs were thriving along the Gulf Coast of Mexico, not even Central Mexico, where the Aztecs are later building. - It shows us that the Aztecs had a reverence for the ancient cultures that came before them - They were looking to the Olmec, the kind of "mother culture" of Mesoameric and the city of Teotihuacán and its inhabitants, that was flourishing hundreds and hundreds of years before the Aztec. That's the city famous because of its enormous pyramids And it was where the Aztecs thought the Fifth Era, or the Sun, was born, and they called it "The City of the Gods." That's what "Teotihuacán" means. - So the Aztecs were collecting objects from both Central Mexico, but also from quite a distance. They were importing materials from what is now the southwest of the United States. They were bringing objects up from the Yucatán.

Coyolxauhqui Stone (Templo Mayor)

FORM - This was once painted with bright colors CONTENT - Coyolxauhqui monolith is found at the base of the stairs of huiztilopohctli temple. Originally painted and carved in low relief, it is approximately eleven feet in diameter and displays the female deity Coyolxauhqui, or Bells-on-her-face, or Bells-Her-Cheeks. The figure features prominently in Aztec mythology. - the bells on her cheeks are telling us who she is - Golden bells decorate her cheeks, feathers and balls of down adorn her hair, and she wears elaborate earrings, fanciful sandals and bracelets, and a serpent belt with a skull attached at the back. Monster faces are found at her joints, connecting her to other female deities—some of whom are associated with trouble and chaos. - She is shown naked, with sagging breasts and a stretched belly to indicate that she was a mother. For the Mexica, nakedness was considered a form of humiliation and also defeat. She is also decapitated and dismembered. Her head and limbs are separated from her torso and are organized in a pinwheel shape. Pieces of bone stick out from her limbs. - this pinwheel composition, this chaotic movement but it would've been much easier to pick out the various motifs with color. The background would've been red, to give the impression of a pool of blood and her body would've been painted in like a yellow color. - a skull that would've been at her back, a snake belt around her waist. CONTEXT AND FUNCTION - The monolith relates to an important myth: the birth of the Mexica patron deity, Huitzilopochtli. Huitzilopochtli's mother, Coatlicue (Snakes-her-skirt), was squeaking on top of Snake Mountain and a ball of feathers fell into her apron skirt and became pregnant. Her daughter, Coyolxauhqui, became angry when she heard that her mother was pregnant, and together with her 400 brothers (called the Centzonhuitznahua) attacked their mother. At the moment of attack, Huitzilopochtli emerged, fully clothed and armed, to defend his mother on the mountain called Coatepec (Snake Mountain). Eventually, Huitzilopochtli defeated his sister, then beheaded her and threw her body down the mountain, at which point her body broke apart. - As the aztecs enlarged the temple they buried previous versions of the same subject and redid it on top in the same location. So both the subject and the location went together. - The Aztecs had a very active ritual calendar and there's one monthly festival. The festival called Panquetzalitztli or the Raising of the Banners that was devoted to the reenactment of this myth of the events of Snake Mountain. And so during this particular festival war captives would be killed at the top of the Huitzilopochtli side of the temple and they would be rolled down the temple to reenact the killing of Bells Her Cheeks or Coyolxauhqui.

(hagia sophia) theotokos mosaic/ Deësis mosaic

Theotokos mosaic, apse FORM -Style that we call the middle Byzantine -She's 16ft high -The gold represents the divine light of heaven,something we often see in byzantine art -She seems like she is floating, above the sky FUNCTION -It originally had inscription that said "the images which the impostors had cast down, here pious emperors have set up again" -Sort of condemning those who destroyed the images and reasserting the importance of images CONTENT - Virgin Mary seated on a clench with two cushions and she holds her lap the Christ child. -This is close to an icon that is in the church of st. Catherine in Sinai in Egypt -Theotokos means "one who gives birth to Christ" -st. theodore to left and st george to right CONTEXT -There was always tension in church about creating images of Christ, Mary, God. because God is the creator and then the artist is also creating -People were concerned that people were worshipping images instead of passing thru to the prototype to the divine figure -In the 8th century, the emperor forbade the use of images in the church. This begins a period of iconoclasm ("breaking images") almost every image was destroyed. This lasted 700s-800s Deësis mosaic FORM -Small pieces of glass, some with gold in them, some colored (tesserae) -Theyre set in the wall at different angles to catch the light in diff ways -High off the ground- they are distant from us in a heavenly space, not an earthly space -Christ is looking at us, while the other figures are bowed -Elongated fingers face and features -emotional FUNCTION -Show intercession (prayer) CONTENT -Shows Christ in the center with his right hand blessing, his left hand holding the Gospels -He's flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist -Deësis means that intercession -Both of these figures are coming to Christ on behalf of mankind CONTEXT -Late Byzantine -It was covered then recovered -This church was the heart of Eastern Orthodox tradition, and it had been controlled briefly by the Latins aka the Roman Catholics, the Western Church -Expression of Renaissance