ARTS 1301 CH. 14

Rationalism

canon of proportions in sculpture

Neolithic (Comparison)

Food: farming, domesticated animals Dwellings: permanent villages, stone houses Technology: stone tools, polished ax heads, arrowheads, weaving, cloth, calendar, wheel Religion & Art: jewelry, buried dead in earthened tombs

Kore

Greek female maiden

Kouros

Greek youth or boy

Rationalism

a philosophy in which knowledge is assumed to come from reason alone, without input from the senses.

Egypt/Egyptian Art

principal message of Egyptian art is continuity. stability, order, and endurance are all ideas expressed through their works of art. action is not important in Egyptian art. the pyramid is the most famous architectural creation in ancient Egypt.

The Amarna Revolution: The Reign of Akhenton and Nefertiti

14th Century BCE marked a revolution in religion and the arts for the Egyptians. Together, also said that there was only one god, the sun god, Aton. // During their reign the art became more naturalistic with curving lines and full-bodied forms.

Concluding Egypt Discussion

After the unusual rule of Pharaoh Akhenaton and the brief rule of Tutankhamen, Egypt returned to its regular religious worship and its highly stylized artistic traditions for another 1,000 years. // endurance and continuity.

Chauvet // Lascux Caves

Almost all the paintings are of animals; theories suggest that these animals may have had symbolic meaning.

Neolithic

meaning New Stone Age; named for new type of stone tools developed; farming practices begin. // Later phase of the Stone Age, lasting about 2.5 million years, when ground/polished stone implements were used. daggers

Paleolithic

meaning Old Stone Age; nomadic lifestyle and hunter gatherer cultures dominated. // Early phases of the Stone Age, lasting about 2.5 million years, when primitive stone implements were used.

Sunken Relief

outline is deeply carved into the surface and the figures are molded from the surface down.

Classical

refers to two cultures: Greece & Rome It aesthetically indicates artwork of the highest quality and standards.

Mesopotamian Art

reflects a fertile land with no natural boundaries where successive waves of people conquered the region in ancient times.

Gold

represented wealth, the life-giving rays of the sun, and eternity itself. the flesh of the gods was considered to be gold. // King Tutankhamen's gold coffin and face mask were meant to confer immortality.

Ziggurat

temple or shrine raised on a monumental, stepped base.

Classical Art

the artistic legacy of Greece and Rome which has influences within almost all of Western Art

Humanism

the concept that human beings are the center of the universe and the "measure of all things"

Hierarchical Scale

the most important figure is the largest // when depicting important persons, the artist stove to show each body part to its best advantage. // Men are depicted darker (reddish) and women are depicted lighter (yellowish)

Idealism

the representation of forms according to an accepted standard of beauty

Naturalism

truth to reality in art based on an observation of nature

Pallette of Narmer

used to apply Pharaoh's eyeliner.

Techne

"things requiring a special body of knowledge and skill to make"

Cuneiform

(Latin for wedge-shaped) first known written words created as marks pressed into damp clay. // adobe/load-bearing architecture.

Fides and Concordia

highly estimated Roman virtues; means faith, fidelity, and harmony.

Pompeii & Herculaneum

Eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE buried these cities. We know of Roman fresco paintings because they were preserved and then excavated in 1748 from these sites. // Pompeii - sin city

Paleolithic (Comparison)

Food: hunting and gathering Dwellings: caves, nomadic people Technology: digging sticks, spears, axes, and spoken language Religion & Art: cave paintings, religious statues, belief in afterlife

Fertility Figure

image of a woman with exaggerated reproductive features.

Greece

Greek philosophers were the first to speculate on the nature and purpose of art. Sculpture, painting, and architecture were discussed as techne.

Amenhotep (Akhenaton)

Pharaoh; was revolutionary and tried to establish monotheism (belief in one god). during his reign, Egyptian art was less rigid and more natural in appearance.

Realism

Roman artists created many portrait bursts of ordinary citizens

Colosseum

Romans were best known for their architecture and engineering. // Colosseum- covers over 6 acres 3-tiered with 80 arched entryways/exits accommodated over 50,000 people could evacuate in 5 minutes Symbol of Rome

Polykleitos

The greatest freestanding sculpture of the Classical period was created by a rival of Phidias. Worked in bronze Liked to sculpt athletes Sculptures were based on reason and intellect Developed a canon of proportions Developed the weight-shift principle

Egyptian Art

Three aspects of Egyptian art and life are unique: 1. Their link to religion 2. Their link to death 3. Their ongoing use of strict conventionalism of arts. There are a few variations in their art throughout the periods.

Hellenism

a style of work prevalent in the Roman Empire

Krater

a vessel for wine.

Archaic Period

consists of the 6th century BCE; it's the beginning of characteristic Greek forms. // stylized and static (straight)

Classical Period

dates from 480 to 323 BCE; considered to be the height of Greek art. Athens was the cultural and artistic center at this time. // Greeks invented the contraposto stance Bronze was the favored material for sculpture. // Height of Greek art

Assyrians

demonstrated another major goal of Mesopotamian architecture which was to build citadels for the protection and safety of temples and palaces. // a warring culture. // lion hunt was a popular scene depicted in art. slaying lions was an expression of kingly power.

Rome

era begins in 510 BCE; overlaps the Greek era. Romans admired Greek art and copied many of their works. Roman art tends towards realism

Simerians

first people to leave behind both artifacts and words. lacking stone, their cities were built of sun-dried bricks.

Babylonians

great architects of the ancient world. one of their greatest leaders, Nebuchadnezzar (Patron of Arts), was an enthusiastic patron of the arts and he built the capitol city of Babylon.