History of World Art: Test 1
Title: Akhenaten Date: c. 1375 BC Culture: New Kingdom, EgyptHistorical context: Akhenaten (ca. 1379-1336 BCE) was one of the last pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom Egypt, who is known for briefly establishing monotheism in the country, centered around the sun--giver of light, heat and life.. The cult of Aten was often celebrated in open-air temples. There is nothing heroic about these extraordinary royal icons. Individual features, the long lean face with thick lips, heavy-lidded eyes and protruding chin, the narrow chest and weak arms, the slack muscles, pot bell and soft almost feminine hips are all rendered with such realism that a medical diagnosis has been made to account for hist physical peculiarities. Enigmatic mask--introspective and sensual. Smooth youthful skin. Location: Egypt
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Title: Alexander Sarcophagus Date: c. 310 Culture: Hellenistic Notes: Sculpted and colored sarcophagus. Found at Sidon. Amazing handling of marble. The organic unity of structure was fundamental to Greek art and its naturalistic bent. But still, the piece of art is different from anything made in the Hellenistic world. Shows the greeks and Persians fighting. Iconographical elements reflect attitudes to the afterlife. The defeat of Persian king Darius at Issus in 333 BC. Portraiture.
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Title: Temple of Amun-Re (temple complex of Luxor) Date: 1417-1379 BC Culture: New Kingdom, Egypt Historical context: A monumental gateway at the edge of the valley opened into a court with a ramp flanked by painted sphinxes leading up, above a colonnade, to a large terrace planted with myrrh trees, sacred to Amun. This terrace was closed by a colonnade backed with walls, on which events from the life and reign of the queen were illustrated in relief carvings. From the first terrace ramp led up to the second with a long portico, which originally had a statue of the queen in front of each of its columns. Behind this was a court surrounded by a double colonnade and on its far side the granite entrance to a rock-cut sanctuary of Amun. The 200 or so statues of Hatshepsut which stood in various courts and chapels were removed and defaced after her death, probably by Thutmosis III (her stepson, nephew, and son-in-law whom she had kept from the throne). Location: Luxor, 5 miles away from Hatshepsut's temple
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New Kingdom
Date: c. 1500 BC Culture: Period in ancient Egyptian history characterized by strong pharaohs who conquered an empire that stretched from Nubia in the south, to the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia. Expansion. The New Kingdom was the golden age of the civilization of Ancient Egypt. It was a time of wealth, prosperity, and power. They included some of the most famous and powerful of all the Egyptian pharaohs such as Ramses II, Thutmose III, Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun and Akhentaten. Conquest. The pharaohs of the New Kingdom used their wealth to build massive temples to the gods. Pharaohs also built monumental Mortuary Temples to honor themselves as gods. Yet Egyptian art did evolve over the years. During the reign of Hatshepsut, portraits of both men and women became more feminine, with heart-shaped faces, arched eyebrows, and kindly smiles. Art changed again in the reign of Akhenaten. New portraits of the royal family replaced graceful images with shocking new pictures. Kings and queens had skinny chests and shoulders, and massive hips, thighs, and buttocks. A short shock Akenhaten's willingness to ditch tradition altogether was a forerunner of things to come. But like his decision to abandon Thebes and Amen-Re for Amarna and Aten, the changes died with him.
Aegean Civilization
Date: c. 2000-1200 Culture: The earliest cultures of Europe developed along the shores and on the islands of the Aegean Sea. A center for civilizations that flourished. Architecture formed by the Minoans of Crete and the Mycenaeans of southern Greece. used the inverted tapered column, corbelled arches, vaults, domes, and multi-storied structures. Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age civilizations of Greece around the Aegean Sea. There are three distinct but communicating and interacting geographic regions covered by this term: Crete, the Cyclades and the Greek mainland. Crete is associated with the Minoan civilization from the Early Bronze Age. The Cycladic civilization converges with the mainland during the Early Helladic period and with Crete in the Middle Minoan period. From c. 1450 BC (Late Helladic, Late Minoan), the Greek Mycenaean civilization spreads to Crete, probably by military conquest. The earlier Aegean farming populations of Neolithic Greece brought agriculture to Western Europe already before 5,000 years BC. Trade across the Mediterranean. Knossos is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and has been called Europe's oldest city.
Hellenistic
Date: c. 300-31 BC Culture: The Hellenistic period was characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization which established Greek cities and kingdoms in Asia and Africa. Hellenistic culture thus represents a fusion of the ancient Greek world with that of Western Asian, Northeastern African, and Southwestern Asian. The Hellenistic states were ruled absolutely by kings. (By contrast, the classical Greek city-states, or polei, had been governed democratically by their citizens.) These kings had a cosmopolitan view of the world, and were particularly interested in amassing as many of its riches as they could. As a result, they worked hard to cultivate commercial relationships throughout the Hellenistic world. They imported ivory, gold, ebony, pearls, cotton, spices and sugar (for medicine) from India; furs and iron from the Far East; wine from Syria and Chios; papyrus, linen and glass from Alexandria; olive oil from Athens; dates and prunes from Babylon and Damaskos; silver from Spain; copper from Cyprus; and tin from as far north as Cornwall and Brittany. Sculptures and paintings represented actual people rather than idealized "types."
Classical period
Date: c. 500-400 BC Culture: The Greeks made important contributions to philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. Literature and theatre was an important aspect of Greek culture and influenced modern drama. The Greeks were known for their sophisticated sculpture and architecture. Greek culture influenced the Roman Empire and many other civilizations, and it continues to influence modern cultures today. Greek art, particularly sculpture and architecture, was also incredibly influential on other societies. Greek sculpture from 800 to 300 BCE took inspiration from Egyptian and Near Eastern monumental art and, over centuries, evolved into a uniquely Greek vision of the art form. Greek artists reached a peak of excellence which captured the human form in a way never before seen and much copied. Greek sculptors were particularly concerned with proportion, poise, and the idealized perfection of the human body; their figures in stone and bronze have become some of the most recognizable pieces of art ever produced by any civilization. In addition, the Greek concern with simplicity, proportion, perspective, and harmony in their buildings would go on to greatly influence architects in the Roman world and provide the foundation for the classical architectural orders which would dominate the western world from the Renaissance to the present day.
Geometric Period
Date: c. 800 BC Culture: the formative period of Greek art. The roots of Classical Greece lie in the Geometric period of about ca. 900 to 700 B.C., a time of dramatic transformation that led to the establishment of primary Greek institutions. The Greek city-state (polis) was formed, the Greek alphabet was developed, and new opportunities for trade and colonization were realized in cities founded along the coast of Asia Minor, in southern Italy, and in Sicily. With the development of the Greek city-states came the construction of large temples and sanctuaries dedicated to patron deities, which signaled the rise of state religion. Each polis identified with its own legendary hero. By the end of the eighth century B.C., the Greeks had founded a number of major Panhellenic sanctuaries dedicated to the Olympian gods. Surviving material shows a mastery of the major media—turning, decorating, and firing terracotta vases; casting and cold-working bronze; engraving gems; and working gold. The only significant medium that had not yet evolved was that of monumental stone sculpture—large-scale cult images most likely were constructed of a perishable material such as wood. Instead, powerful bronze figurines and monumental clay vases manifest the clarity and order that are, perhaps, the most salient characteristics of Greek art.
Title: Apollo from Veii Date: c. 500 BC Culture: Etruscan Notes: Demonstrations deviation from Greek ideal. Very similar to kouros and decorative Greek elements. However, this male is clothed. Does not have the elegance of Greek sculpture: heavy gait and heavy limbs. Terracotta instead of marble. Would have been part of a group of figures on a roof ridge of a temple.
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Title: Ara Pacis Date: 13-9 BC Culture: Roman Notes: Altar of Augustan Peace. The figures are stern, grave, and realistic. A complex allegory. The altar reflects the Augustan vision of Roman civil religion. The lower register of its frieze depicts agricultural work meant to communicate the abundance and prosperity of the Roman Peace (Latin: Pax Romana). The monument as a whole serves a dual civic ritual and propaganda function for Augustus and his regime, easing notions of autocracy and dynastic succession that might otherwise be unpalatable to traditional Roman culture. The sculpture of the Ara Pacis is primarily symbolic rather than decorative, and its iconography has several levels of significance. Studies of the Ara Pacis and similar public Roman monuments traditionally address the potent political symbolism of their decorative programs, and their emphasis and promulgation of dynastic and other imperial policies; they are usually studied as a form of imperial propaganda. The Ara Pacis is seen to embody without conscious effort the deep-rooted ideological connections among cosmic sovereignty, military force, and fertility.
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Title: Augustus of Primaporta Date: early 1st century Culture: Roman Notes: Augustus was the first emperor but denied and insisted the SPQR are still ruling but he was emperor. Changed the values of Romans into the Empire. Took on a lot of policies of Julius Caesar but insisted he wasn't king following the assassination of Caesar. The Romans were dependent on Greece in regard to art and architecture. Lots of direct copies. Was a body bought individually and had a head stuck on. The ideal body. Roman propaganda. Overall, this statue is not simply a portrait of the emperor, 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. How it is related to greek and republican sculpture: Hellenistic in sculptural style (proportions) -- carved by a Greek sculptor, a copy of a lost bronze, but demonstrative of Roman ideals. His hair is the same as Alexander's.
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Title: Colosseum Date: c. 70-82 AD Culture: Flavian Notes: Also known as the Flavian amphitheater - entirely composed of arches framed by engaged columns. Vertical and horizontal repetition of the design. The sequence of types of columns used: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian (bottom to top). Doric was visually the heaviest and strongest, Corinthian the lightest. It was the first permanent arena built for gladiatorial combats and other games - were previously held in temporary structures or the forum. Values of competition and combat. A slave culture. Class-based seating system, different entrances for rich and poor. Various materials used: concrete foundations, travertine (lightweight limestone and easier to cut, less strong than marble, hardened with exposure to air) for the framework, brick-faced concrete for radial walls, marble interior (no longer remains). While an outstanding piece of architecture and Roman engineering it was actually conservative - concrete used simply for foundations and walls, similar to many other earlier buildings. The spatial conception of architecture, dependent on where the concrete dried. Concrete and arches are key elements of greek architecture. Shows the unity of the empire like the Parthenon
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Title: Dipylon Vase Date: 8th Century BC Culture: Archaic greeceNotes: Phoenician alphabet following a lapse into illiteracy, the dark age. This vase is proto-geometric and precedes the more elaborately painted geometric vessels found in Athens and elsewhere. Demonstrates ceramic craftsmanship because it was built in horizontal sections, symmetrical, and smooth surface. Clear dark lines. The figurative scene on the frieze express the purpose of the vase, which was one of several used to mark graves in Dipylon cemetery at Athens. Poses are of grief and sorrow. Ritual of burials, pouring libations. Fewer items were buried with the dead but burial was still significant. The greeks focused more about the present and how to confront death rather than ponder the afterlife. Location: Dipylon Gate, in Kerameikos
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Title: Doryphoros Date: Culture: Roman Notes: Roman copy of a Greek copy. Don't hold up. Needed a tree trunk, marble vs bronze. The ideal male body. Took aspects from different models and combine them into perfection. Lots of canons of proportions. The golden section: the ratio within the torso.Location: Athens, Greece
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Title: Hatshepsut's Temple Deir el Bahri Date: c. 1480 BC Culture: New Kingdom, Egypt Historical context: Queen Hatshepsut's temple was sited almost adjoining an earlier Middle Kingdom mortuary complex of Mentuhotep I and was similarly built on terraces. But its sculptured decorations were richer and still more dramatic use was made of the spectacular site beneath the cliffs behind which lies the Valley of the Kings. Indeed, the relationship between manmade and natural architecture (echoing the other) is sticking. Whether this was consciously intended cannot be known but it is surely no coincidence the temple is exactly on the axis with that at Luxor, 5 miles away across the Nile. Location: West Bank of Luxor
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Title: Kore Date: c. 510 BC Culture: ArchaicNotes: Archaic korai are more delicate and more human than any earlier statues. Egyptian influence in regards to structure but more delicate. Common style with the jewelry. Elegant and luxurious and happy/pleasant. Optimistic, potentially a young bride. Marble is softer than granite (greek vs Egyptian). Originally painted. Location: Greece
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Title: Kritios Boy Date: c. 480 BC Culture: post-archaic Notes: Following the Persian war. Cult of the youthful male nude. Emphasis on the muscles. A little less stiff, the weight is shifted. Controlled sensuality -- smooth skin, muscle tone. Contrapposto pose. He could step forward very easily-- potential movement. Greek's interest in life vs afterlife. Votive sculpture -- offering to the gods. Would have had inlaid eyes. One of the very few marble greek sculptures that have made it thus far.
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Title: Maison Carré Date: 1st Century BC Culture: Roman Notes: Purely decorative columns, not needed for support - relates to the Roman idea of illusionism. New Roman invention. Greek post and lintel construction was combined with Roman wall architecture. Blend of Etruscan and later Greek elements. Much less conspicuous than in Greece or any of the Hellenistic Kingdoms, temples were certainly not the largest in a Roman city. Roman love of magnitude did not extend to the temples - none of them were larger than the Greeks'. Steps in the front indicate the Etruscan architecture. The columns show greek influence. Where ever Roman's went they built cities. Located in Nîmes, France.
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Title: Parthenon Date: 447-438 BC Culture: Greek City StateNotes: Costly to build, marble. Canon of proportion. The Parthenon is bold and outlined but also delicate and detailed. Post and lintel doric temple. Instructive style of building. Optical refinements of the building to compensate for visual effects. Corners are reinforced. Everything looks even but they aren't. Inner ionic frieze. The pediment sculptures: made of Pentelic marble. Located on east and west facades. Made by several artists. Eastern pediment shows the birth of Athena. The west is the contest between Athena and Poseidon. A promotion of Athena-- their patron goddess. Thin fabric showing bodily movement. Nazis claimed it as their own as a symbol of white supremacy. The metopes of the Parthenon are the surviving set of what were originally 92 square carved plaques of Pentelic marble originally located above the columns of the Parthenon peristyle on the Acropolis of Athens. If they were made by several artists, the master builder was certainly Phidias. These metopes show battles--the Persian wars. The forces of chaos are associated with Persia. Showing that the greeks aren't totally invincible. Frieze: Only section survives. Could be the Panathenaic procession. Or a sacrifice of a daughter of the king to save the city. Parthenon means virgin - to athena.Location: Athens
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Title: Persepolis Date: c. 500 BC Culture: AchaemenidHistorical context: Inspired by Babylon. The palace had Babylonian lions, bulls, and griffins. The layout of Perselope recalls Pasargadae. Persepolis was the imperial symbol while Susa was the administrative capital. Various details of the sculptural decorations suggest that it was the ritual center of the Achaemenid world, notably the repeated and prominently placed image of the lion slaying the bull. Animal ceremonies. Figures follow artistic conventions established nearly 3,000 years earlier in Sumer and Egypt. Whether they are shown in pure profile or with their torsos twisted to the front, their feet are always placed in a single plane and cemented to the inflexible ground line of ancient west Asian art. Location: Persepolis, Iran
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Title: Warrior A Date: 5th century Culture:Notes: Naturalism vs idealism. Inlayed copy lips, ivory teeth, and eyes.
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Title: Lamassu Date: c. 720 BC Culture: AssyrianHistorical context: Lamassu was a genii believed to ward off evil spirits. Guarded the entrance to palaces. Overpowering yet with meticulous attention to detail. Example of architectural sculpture. Earlier, Hittites had incorporated lions and sphinxes into gateways in very much this way and had also carved orthostats. The Assyrian practice probably derives from them, although the archeological record is as yet so far from being complete that cross-currents of influence in West Asia at this period cannot be traced with any certainty. Peculiarity: front legs indicate standing head-on but hind legs indicate movement. Almost like Egyptian figures. Location: Khorsabad
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