Art History Final Exam

MA YUAN, On a Mountain Path in Spring, Southern Song period, early 13th century. Album leaf, ink and colors on silk.

- allows viewer to see in the perspective of the figure depicted in the landscape -Art about seeking nature. -Spiritual metaphor: bamboo is one idea that historically being, what you should be like. Strong and flexible. Nothing can knock you down.

Theodora and attendants, mosaic on the south wall of the apse, San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, ca. 547.

mosaic of Empress: surrounded by ladies of the court with halo holding golden challis that holds wine during mass women placed in another setting, not allowed to approach alter portrait of Emperor/Empress treated like actual person, actually worshipping all three

Vishvanatha Temple (view looking north, left, and plan, right), Khajuraho, India, ca. 1000.

--Placed on a high pedestal -A series of shapes that build to become a large tower; complicated intertwining of similar forms -In the center is the "embryo" room containing the shrine, very small, only space enough for the priest -An ambulatory circles around the inner chamber -Corbelled roofs have a beehive quality -Hindu Temples are home of the Gods on earth and the place they make themselves visible to humans. -Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva. Reference to mountain buildup; represents the perfect mountain design. -Always raised on a plinth to signify sacred ground Series of chambers called mandapas Main chamber called the garbhagriha (womb chamber) and there will be an image of whoever it is dedicated to in here Large symbolic mountain on top of the garbhagriha called a shikhara capped by a symbolic fruit called an amalaka

Virgin and Child (Morgan Madonna), from Auvergne, France, painted wood, 12th

--in a well preserved example in painted wood dating from the second half of the 12th c. mother and child are frontal and regal -mary's thrown like bench symbolized the lion-throne of Solomon -jesus is holding the word of god in his left hand and his right raised in praise -such objects served as cult objects on the altars of many churches

Last Judgment, West tympanum, Saint-Lazare, Autun, France 1120-35

-All tympanums depict scenes from the book of Revelations. Late Romanesque style. Hierarchy of scale and registers appear again. Christ is shown frontally and with his arms out to the left and right. Christ looks 2-D. -On the right he lifts the devout up to heaven. Bottom register shows a procession of pilgrims and crusaders.There are people emerging out of coffins. The second register shows angels lifting people up to heaven. The third registers has the devout waiting for St. Peter to let them into heaven. The 4th and final register shows The Virgin Mary. -The left side shows the people unworthy of heaven. The bottom has people being grabbed and brought into the 2nd register where their souls will be weighed. -The zodiac signs are on the top of the relief. -An inscription reads "May this terror terrify those whom earthly error binds for the horror of the images here in this manner truly depicts what will be"

ANTHEMIUS OF TRALLES and ISIDORUS OF MILETUS, aerial view of Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey, 532-537.

-Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus designed and built the church for Justinian between 532 and 537. It is Byzantium's grandest building and one of the supreme accomplishments of world architecture...The characteristic Byzantine plainness and unpretentiousness of the exterior scarcely prepare visitors for the building's interior which was one richly decorated. -The interior was once richly decorated. -Colored stones from throughout the known world covered the walls and floors. But the feature that distinguishes Hagia Sophia from equally lavishly revetted Roman buildings such as the Pantheon is the special mystical quality of the light flooding the interior. -To achieve this illusion of a floating "dome of Heaven," Anthemius and Isidorus used pendentives to transfer the weight from the great dome to the piers beneath rather than to the walls. With pendentives, not only could the space beneath the dome be unobstructed, but scores of windows could puncture the walls. The pendenties created the impression of a dome suspended above, not help up by, walls. -By placing a hemispherical dome on a square base instead of on a circular base, anthemius and Isidorus succeeded in fusing two previously independent and seemingly mutually exclusive architectural traditions: the vertically oriented

Chartres Cathedral (looking north), Chartres, France, as rebuilt after 1194.

-Cathedral of Notre Dame in Chartres Embodiment of Gothic style in stone and glass, reflects the transition from an experimental 12th-century architecture to a mature 13th-century style, dedicated to the Virgin Mary- the earliest example of High Gothic architecture. It is the first major church planned from the beginning to have flying buttresses. - Rectangular nave bays replaced the square bays with sexpartite vaults and the alternate-support system, -Changes occurred in Catholic churches, replacing the normal two square with one square in which each aisle flanks a single rectangular unit in the nave with a four-part vault. This became the norm for High Gothic church architecture.

Miracle of the loaves and fishes, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy, ca. 504

-In contrast Christ as Good Shepherd, Jesus here faces directly toward the viewer; -blue sky has given way to the otherworldly splendor of heavenly gold, the standard background color for medieval mosaics Christ extending his arms in a cross like motion -didactic, economy of means

Wooden portal of the stave church at Urnes, Norway, ca. 1050-1070.

-Intertwining animals and plants -Very natural and organic forms

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, from Rome, Italy, ca. 359

-Sarcophagus is in constant reference to the past, through the Rome of Peter and Paul, the narrative of the Incarnation and the past of the Old Testament -There is no change in passion for nostalgic antiquarianism, however there is change in the vision of the paradigmatic past that directs the spirit of classicism displayed -The imagery juxtaposes the testing of man through the Sacrifice of Isaac and Patience of Job, and the fall of man through Adam and Eve (Both New and Old Testament) -Daniel and the Lion's den displays typological foreshadowing of Christ's resurrection -high relief -low/short bodies -asiatic sarcophagus/ borrowing of styles from asia -upper register christ -grecco roman symbolism -crucifixion eluded -prefiguration typology -emblem of faith

Castillo, Maya, Chichén Itzá, Mexico, ca. 800-900 CE.

-The Maya believed that Heaven and earth consisted of 13 layers, with the earth the lowest. Below, the Underworld had nine levels, ruled by gods of the dead who subjected humans to carious tortures. Most Maya resided in the underworld forever after they died. However, when divine Maya rulers died, they would descend to the bottom of the the Underworld then rise to Heaven. -Maya architects found a brilliant but simple way to incorpotate references to Maya cosmology in the design of their pyramid-temples. Many Maya pyramids have nine levels. No one doubts that the nine stepped stories symbolize the nine Underworld layers. The form of the Castillo, however, is also tied to the solar year. Atop the pyramid, which is oriented to the four cardinal points, is a temple dedicated to Kukulcan. The north side of the Castillo has 92 steps and the other 3 sides 91 steps each for a total of 365, the number of days in a solar year. At the winter and summer equinoxes, the sun casts a shadow along the northern staircase of the Castillo. Because of the structure's silhouette and the angle of the sun, the shadow takes the shape of the serpent-god slithering along the pyramid's face as the sun moves across the sky. The Castillo thus refers in its form to the sun in Heaven, the Underworld, and the feathered serpent. -In 1937, excavations within the Castillo revealed an earlier nine-level pyramid inside the later and larger structure. In the earlier pyramid, archawologists found a chamber with a throne in the form of a red jaguar and a stone figure of the chacmool type depicting fallen warrior.

Bernward's Doors, Saint Michael's, Hildesheim, Germany, 1015. Bronze, 16' 6" high

-The doors are considered by many to be the first monumental sculptures created by the lost wax process since antiquity. Each door was cast as one and measures over 16 feet high. They are the first doors since the Early Christian period to be decorated. -(Accusation and Judgement of Adam and Eve Doors of Bishop Bernward Hildesheim Germany) Shows God accusing and judging Adam and Eve after the Temptation and Fall where they completed the original sin. The story is conveyed with splendid directness and expressive force. The inscription underneath has the name Bernward for the Ottonian ruler who commissioned the doors to be made.

Rose window and lancets, north transept, Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France, ca. 1220. Stained glass.

-The immense rose window and tall lancelets of the north transept were the gift of Queen Blanche of Castile around 1220. -Stained glass windows, although not a gothic invention, are almost synonymous with Gothic architecture. They differ from the mural paintings and mosaics that adorned earlier churches in one all-important respect. They do not conceal walls. They replace them. Moreover, they transmit rather than reflect light, filtering and transforming the natural sunlight. -The manufacture of stained-glass windows was costly and labor intensive. -Yellow castles on a red ground and yellow fleurs-de-lis on a blue ground fill the eight narrow windows in the rose's lower spandrels. The iconography is also fitting for a queen. The enthroned Virgin and Child appear in the roundel at the center of the rose, which resembles a gem-studded book cover or cloisonné brooch. Around her are four doves of the Holy Spirit and eight angels. Twelve square panels contain images of Old Testament kings, including David and Solomon. These are are the royal ancestors of Christ. Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would come from the family of the patriarch Jesse, father of David. The genealogical "tree of Jesse" is a familiar motif in medieval art.

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George, icon, sixth or early seventh century. Monastery of Saint Catherine, Mount Sinai, Egypt.

-The medium is encaustic on wood, continuing a tradition of panel painting in Egypt that, like so much else in the Byzantine world, dates to the Roman Empire. The icon depicts the enthroned Theotokos (Virgin) and Child with Saints Theodore and George. The two guardian saints intercede with the Virgin on the worshipper's behalf. Behind them, two angels gaze upward at a shaft of light where the hand of God appears. The foreground figures are strictly frontal and have a solemn demeanor. Background details are few. The shallow forward plane of the picture dominates. Traces of Greco-Roman illusionism remain in the Virgin's rather personalized features, in her sideways glance, and in the posing of the angels' heads. But the painter rendered the saints' bodies in the new Byzantine manner.

Reims Cathedral, Reims, France, ca. 1225-1290.

-built in the high Gothic style, features more window space and the tympanum walls are filled with glass. known for its portals that cover them, where the kings of France were crowned.

Schematic plan for a monastery at Saint Gall, Switzerland, ca. 819.

-renounce the material world, live life of spirituality needs to be self-sufficient, no outside help center of community is the church shaped like a cross with transect -Red ink on parchment, 5 pieces sewn together -Depicts a plan for the ideal Benedictine monastery -Benedictine monks place emphasize on structure, order, studying, discipline, and manual labor -Plan combines places of spiritual and physical labor -Laid out on a modular scale with 40 discreet buildings, serving as a self-contained unit -Schematic plan was a gift from Abbot Haito to Abbot Gozebertus and used as a devotional tool -Church of St. Gall is similar to western basilican church; contains 2 apses, rounded in shape -Lots of attention to geometric proportionality

God as architect of the world, folio 1 verso of a moralized Bible, from Paris, France, ca. 1220-1230.

Above the illustration, the scribe wrote (in french rather than latin): "Here God creates heaven and earth, the sun and moon, and all the elements." the painter depicted God in the process of creating the world, shaping the universe with the aid of a compass. Within the perfect circle already created are the spherical sun and moon and the unformed matter that will become the earth once God applies the same geometric principles to it. In contrast to the biblical account of creation, in which god created the sun, moon, and stars after the earth has been formed, and made the world by sheer force of will and a simple "Let there be" command, this Gothic Bible portrays God systematically creating the universe using geometrical principles.

FAN KUAN, Travelers among Mountains and Streams, Northern Song period, early 11th century. Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk.

Nature paintings=Journeys or pathways, peaceful shows that the ruler is doing well, chaotic shows that there is a downfall of the dynasty and bad reforms, unsuccessful ruler Mountains symbolize the emperor, are a gateway to heaven Northern Song=Monumental Mountains, absorbs the viewer Humans are dwarfed by nature, insignificant, just passing through Use of ink wash, thick and thin contour strokes, stippling techniques Dramatic heightening of sense of vastness and space

Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1070-1120.

Cross shaped. Original basilica form with semi-circular apse. Apse has shrines connected to it. Steeple added where transept intersects with nave. The steeple gives it a vertical feeling as if the church is moving to the heavens. Steeple is a Romanesque feature. The Romanesque ceiling is built out of stone. The whole church is made from stone. The exterior mirrors the interior. Both are stripped down. The only real decoration is in the west tympanum. -Increased traffic led to changes in church design. "Pilgrimage churches" have longer and wider naves and aisles, as well as transepts and ambulatories with radiating chapels for viewing relics. -Saint Sernin's plan is extremely regular and geometrically precise. The crossing square, flanked by massive piers and marked off by heavy arches, served as the module for the entire church. Each nave bay, for example, measures exactly one-half of the crossing square, and each aisle bay measures exactly one-quarter.

Meditating Buddha,from Gandhara,Pakistan, second century CE.

Hand positions suggest specific things In a meditative posture, by virtue of how his hands are positioned Iconography of a buddha- Top knot, Ushnisha, elongated earlobes and arms. The bindi, always wearing a monk's robe. Lives a simple life.

Virgin with the Dead Christ (Röttgen Pietà), from the Rhineland, Germany, ca. 1300-1325

It's Germanic piece which humanizes Christ by bringing to you the pain and suffering he and his mother faced. The viewer is meant to be left in shock that this person who is so universally looked up to is suffering in such a way. It is a combination of two different events: a scene which comes from the Byzantine, of the mother feeling the pain of the son, and the Deposition of Christ. Early Christianity places a large focus on Mary. Heads larger than bodies convey grief

Head of an Ife king, Nigeria, 12th to 13th century

Naturalistic & Sophisticated The face is the focal point with emphasis on the protruding, oval shaped eyes Vertical lines (Scarification) & rings around the neck (emblem of status) Perforated Holes - for wigs or crowns Soft Contours •disproportionate to bodies

Great Stupa (looking north), Sanchi, India, third century BCE to first century CE

The Great Stupa at Sanchi was commissioned by the son of Emperor Ashoka in the Maurya dynasty in the 3rd century BCE and reconstructed in later periods until 1st century CE The stupa was a burial mound. Part of the remains of the historical Buddha was buried in it. A stupa also acts as a symbol to commemorate sacred places such as sites where important events took place in Buddha's mortal life. The stupa played a crucial role in Buddhist beliefs for it is the very symbol of nirvana, or final redemption, the goal of every Buddhist. The stupa was constructed with rubble and brick faced with stone, covered with white stucco partly gilded and surmounted by a three (or more) part umbrella symbolizing the three most basic aspects of Buddhism -- the Buddha himself, Buddha's Law and the Monastic Order. The rail around the umbrella shaft is thought to reflect the ancient concept of marking off a precinct around a sacred tree, symbolic of vitality and fertility. The paths are for pilgrims to circumambulate clockwise symbolic of walking the Path of Life around the World Mountain. The path is enclosed within a tall stone railing which isolates this sanctuary from the outside world. The four monumental gateways are set at the cardinal directions. The uprights and crossbars are lavishly carved with stories from the life of Buddha, or Jataka tales. No images of Buddha are shown, but there are symbols of the presence of Buddha such as footprints, stupa, Boh tree, etc. This aniconic-iconic tradition reflects the Theravada school of Buddhism which regarded Buddha as a historical figure.

Cross-inscribed carpet page, folio 26 verso of the Lindisfarne Gospels, from Northumbria, England, ca. 698-721.

The artist poured into the geometric frame animal interlace that is incredibly dense. In order to accomplish this, each design had to be carefully planned out. No mark is allowed to interfere with either the rigid balance of individual features or the overall design.

Waist pendant of a Queen Mother, from Benin, Nigeria, ca.1520

This ivory head probably portrays Idia, mother of Oba Esigie, who wore it on his waist. Above Idia's head are Portuguese heads and mudfish, symbols of trade and of the sea god Olokun.Benin king wore on his waist •naturalism •alternating bearded Portuguese heads and mudfish represent Benin's trade and diplomatic relationships with the Portuguese and to Olokun, god of the sea, wealth, and creativity •mudfish also represents dual human/divine aspect of ruler *helped her son in warfare, & in return received the title of iy'oba (queen mother) & was built a separate palace & court *sensitive naturalism *on crown are Portuguese heads & mudfish, symbolizing Ben's trade & relationship w/ Portuguese

MASTER OF THE SYMBOLIC EXECUTION, saltcellar, Sapi-Portuguese, from Sierra Leone, 15th to 16th century. Ivory.

When the Sapi engaged in intense trade with the Portuguese Salt was used to preserve and season food The bottom figures shows fusion of African and European art; European style pants and hats; Facial features of African art

Shiva as Nataraja, ca. 1000. Bronze.

cast bronze, dated to the 11th or 12th century, in the Chola dynasty, from south India. The big ring represents flame and fire, symbolizing Shiva's great power of destruction and creation. Shiva is also the Lord of Dance. His lifted foot represents the refuge of the soul, and a universal dance, the destruction and creation of the universe. His vehicle is the bull called Nandi. He has a third eye on the forehead and four or more arms carrying a trident, a drum, a small deer. Dressed in the skin of animals, he is wearing a snake scarf, and trampling a dwarf (the evil of ignorance). The drum held in one of his hands is a hunter's drum because he is a hunter God, the Lord of Animals. On the whole, this image of Shiva is dynamic, engaging, and supernatural. It demonstrates the close relationship between a Hindu practitioner and a God. The Gods are personal Gods, and are approachable by individuals through private devotions.