Chapt 14 Ancient Mediterrranean Worlds
The Great Sphinx. Giza, Egypt. Limestone, 66' H. c. 2500 B.C.E..
A man's head, lion's body. Symbol of stability, order, endurance. Stylized. Thought to be a Pharoah (Egyptian Rulers who were Absolute & semi- divine.
Human-Headed Winged Lion. Assyrian, from Nimrud. 883-859 B.C.E. Limestone, @ 10'H
A pair of these guarded the Nimrod palace gates. (Had 5 legs - appeared to be standing still from the front view, walking from the side view.) Horned cap means divine status.
Krater:
Aburial Wine vessel
Hellenistic Period: (323 B.C.E. - )
last phase of Greek culture - it spread eastward. Art continued in the Classical style, showing balance & restraint.
Ziggurat:
temple or shrine raised on a monumental, stepped base. Built out of mud bricks; stone & wood were not available
The art cultures we will study are not necessarily the ones where the most or best art was done, but are the ones:
that produced durable art (out of stone, metal, fired clay) where climate conditions were ripe for preservation of art (such as hot, dry Egypt). where communities were stable, highly organized, specialized classes (some people farmed, some made art, etc.), with wealthy rulers where artworks were hidden away for safekeeping, often in caves or tombs.
Oldest known "Western" art is pre-historical cave paintings or drawings:
"Lion Panel," Chauvet cave, Ardeche Valley, France. "Horse and Geometric Symbol," Cave painting, Lascaux, France,
Neolithic Period
(New Stone Age): from @ 5,500 to @2,500 B.C.E.New types of stone tools were developed; People knew how to grow crops instead of just hunting & gathering; Animals were domesticated; Dugout boats, the bow & arrow were invented; Pottery was invented: clay pieces hardened by heat (terra cotta); Communities developed; Stone & wood architecture emerged
Paleolithic Period
(Old Stone Age): from about 2 million years ago to 10,000 B.C. E.
Babylonians
Amorites in north came to power about 1830 B.C.E., with a capital in Babylon. Established a legal code called Hammurabi's Code. When Babylonians seized power again, late in the 7th c. B.C.E., they were called Neo-Babylonians - they were led by Nebuchadnezzar, who built a dazzling capital city. They were great architects; perfected the arch before the Romans. Stone was scarce, they used colorful glazed ceramic bricks.
Kouros:
Anonymous young man or "youth."
Aphrodite of Melos (also called Venus de Milo). c 150 B.C.E., Marble, 6'10" H
Aphrodite (Venus) is the goddess of love & beauty - the idealized classical female form. Female nudes were acceptable as representations of goddesses or mythological figures. Note the posture: Contraopposto pose. Naturalistic.
Kouros. Marble, 6'4"H. c. 580 B.C.E.
Archaic Period: stylized, somewhat abstract. shows Egyptian influence. But, the youth is nude, and totally liberated from the stone: a stand-alone statue
Colosseum
Built for gladiator games: it covered 6 acres, held 50,000, like most major league stadiums. 80 arches allowed quick entry & exit.
The Next Phase:
By 100 C.E., the Roman Empire covered a vast area - not all the conquered people became Romans, but all the cultures mingled, thanks to the Roman built roads. Rome conquered Egypt during Cleopatra's reign: cultural influences flowed all ways: between Greece & Rome & Egypt. Who could have foreseen that the future of the Western world would be majorly affected by a completely new religion, Christianity?
Civilization of MESOPOTAMIA (present day Iraq):
Developed along rivers (Tigris & Euphrates), which provided transportation & water for drinking & irrigation. Was frequently invaded by different people: having no natural boundaries made it easy to invade, hard to defend, but each new ruler built on the culture & art of the previous, so it was preserved. First cities arose in the south: Sumerian city-states, @ 3400 B.C.E.: first culture to leave behind WORDS (cuneiform - "wedge-shaped") as well as art & artifacts.
"Warrior A." Discovered in the sea near Riace, Italy. Bronze,etc.@7'H.c. 450 B.C.E.
Greek male athletes competed in the nude, women were not athletes; they were shown clothed. This is from the Classical Period: best of the best.
Queen Nefertiti. Painted limestone, 20"H. c. 1345 B.C.E.
King Akhenaten was a revolutionary ruler - he created a more relaxed style of art than the stiff, stylized figures of earlier periods.
Burial Mask of Tutankhaman. Gold, inlaid with blue glass & semiprecious stones. @ 21"H. c. 1325 B.C.E
King Tutankhamun, restored traditional artistic styles. Gold meant not only wealth, but the sun, eternity
Laocoon Group. Roman copy of a Greek bronze (?). c. 150 B. C.E. Marble, @ 8'H
Laocoon was a priest of the sun-god, Apollo. He urged the Trojans to keep the gates locked against the Greek warriors with the Trojan Horse. This angered Poseidon, the sea-god, so he sent serpents to destroy Laocoon & his sons.
Krater, from the Dipylon Cemetery, Athens, Greece. Terra cotta, @42"H. 8th century B.C.E.
The Greeks had no emphasis on an afterlife like the Egyptians - all the Greeks got when they were buried was a drink of wine
Ancient Mediterranean Worlds:
The place where the oldest known "Western" art has been found.
Horse and Geometric Symbol. Cave painting. Lascaux, France, c. 13,000 B.C.E.
They are the oldest known art in the world. Found in 1994
Rhinos, Lion Panel. Cave painting. Chauvet cave, France, c. 30,000 B.C.E.
They are the oldest known art in the world. Found in 1994
Wall painting, from Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii. Fresco. c. 50 B.C.E.
This fresco painting only survived because it was buried by volcanic lava & ash for almost 20 centuries. Was only discovered hundreds of years later, in 1748.
Double Portrait of Gratidia M.L. Chrite and M. Gratidius Libanus, Late 1st century B.C.E. White marble with traces of color. @23"H
This portrait statue was inspired by the Greeks: it is realistic, shows the strength, faith & harmony of an old married couple
Three Goddesses, from east pediment of Parthenon, c. 438-432 B.C.E. Marble, larger than lifesize.
This sculpture fit into angle of the triangle of the pediment: very lifelike, showed natural ripples of the drapery.
Lion Hunt. From a palace complex,Iraq. Alabaster, 39" H.c. 850 B.C.E
Walls of the Nimrud palace were lined with alabaster reliefs. Overlapping figures show an understanding of 3-dimensions.
Women &Cattle. Rock painting,Tassili n'Ajjer,Algeria.After 5000 BCE
What has changed? We do know that animals had been domesticated by this time, because instead of just animals, we see people pictured with them.
British archaeologist Howard Carter
hailed as a hero when he found King Tut's tomb in 1922 and dug up all the artifacts & gave them to the Cairo Museum. Is this better than the actions of common grave-robbers? Done for preservation, not greed & profit, but still, it is dis-respecting the dead.
