Overview of Western Art and Non Western Art

Introduction to Art History• Art History: an academic discipline dedicated to the reconstruction of the social, cultural,

and economic contexts in which an artwork is created wants to arrive at an understanding of art and its meaning in historical context related to anthropology, sociology, and history

• aesthetics: the philosophical inquiry into the nature/expression of beauty• art criticism: the explanation of current art events to the general public via press• Methods and Inquires of AH

Before, art limited to fine art only. (paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, architecture)

now much more broad – includes “craft” (textiles, pottery, body art) even things like mass-produced posters; telephones; forks meaning of a piece of art changes over time and by the person viewing it

• The Nature of AH Inquiry formal analysis: focuses on visual qualities of the work (needs observation and

description) contextual analysis: examining the context the artwork was created in as well as later

contexts it was in and used in (cultural, social, religious, economic context)• Sources, Documents, and the Work of Historians

start by closely analyzing the work of art itself then use written sources to figure out its context may also use interviews with the artists and consumers

Stone AgesART OF THE OLD STONE AGE (2.5 million years ago – 12,000 BCE)•Chauvet Cave

paintings & engravings created using red ochre & black charcoaldepict animals such as horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalos, & mammoths

•Venus of Willendorfsmall stone female figuresexaggerated bellies, breasts, & pubic areasmight have been used as fertility figures

ART OF THE MIDDLE STONE AGE (12,000 – 8,000 BCE)•began using rock shelters instead of caves•created around 7000 BCE – 4000 BCE•began portraying human figures

ART OF THE NEW STONE AGE•megaliths (“great stones”)•Stonehenge (Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England)

built in many phases around 2100 BCEconcentric rings made with sarsen stones & bluestonespost and lintel construction

Mesopotamian and Egyptian Art

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN ART• Between Tigris and Euphrates Rivers• Religion was central aspect of Sumerian life• Built massive temples at the centers of their

cities• Ziggurats: stepped pyramids• Hanging gardens of Babylon

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART (3500 BCE – 332 BCE)• the Sphinx, great pyramids at Giza, statues of the Pharaohs,

portrait head of Nefertiti• Hierarchical scale: uses the status of figures or objects to

determine their relative sizes within an artwork• Excellent conditions for preservation• Most famous Egyptian tombs: King Tutankhamen

made of gold decorated with blue glass & semi-precious stones

CYCLADIC, MINOAN, AND MYCENAEAN ART• Cycladic

Simplified, geometric nude female figures Decorated pieces of pottery as

well as marble bowls and jars• Minoan

Centered around city of Knossos on Crete, site of the legend of the Minotaur Art depicts sea life & includes statues of a female snake goddess naturalistic pictorial style frescoes painted on palace walls and pottery designs

• Mycenaean Built elaborate tombs Astonishing levels of mastery in goldsmith & relief sculpture

Ancient Greek Art• Archaic Period

emulated frontal poses of Egyptian statues Archaic smiles vase painting: red and black figure painting

• Early & Middle Classical Period (Early and High) Contrapposto: natural shift of weight upon one foot Polykeitos’s cannon of proportions for perfect statue– Mathematical formulas to temple design

Ancient Greek Art• Late Classical Period

humanized deities, athletes, and heroes Corinthian capital more popular Period closes with Alexander the Great

• Hellenistic Period Artwork becomes much more violent and emotionally intense Classical rules broken more often Portrayals of subjects that weren’t portrayed before

Greek Columns

Etruscan Art• Admired Greek art & architecture but did not copy• Temples made of wood and mud brick instead of stone, columns and

stairs only at the front• Underground tomb chambers• Tomb walls covered with frescoes, usually depicting funerary banquets

attended by both men and women• Sarcophagi were also made to bury the dead

Roman Art• Many of Roman artworks were variations of Greek arts• Pioneered the use of concrete as a building material (Pantheon); • Concrete allowed Roman builders to fill the spaces between their

walls with rocks and rubble

Roman Art•Built bridges & aqueducts •Colossal triumphal arches portrayed Roman emperors or Roman military victories•Statues often used to highlight Roman ideals; political propaganda; role-playing•Later had a notable impact on art of Renaissance

Byzantine Art

• Justinian built/restored more than 30 churches• Hagia Sophia: masterpiece; fusion of central and

longitudinal plans, dome rests on pendentives• Famous for mosaic murals• Artwork more abstract, flattened• Iconoclasm

Medieval Art• Art of this era preserved largely by the Church• Illuminated manuscripts: helped exchange of artistic ideas

between northern and southern Europe• Nomadic Germanic peoples: metalwork was abstract,

decorative, geometric; often small-scale, portable jewelry or ornaments

• Vikings: artistic designs and sculptures on wooden ships

Gothic Art• Gothic style

developed first half of 12th century, popular into 16th century Pointed arches, ribbed vaults (a framework of thin stone ribs or arches

built under the intersection of the vaulted sections of the ceiling), flying buttresses (additional bracing material and arches placed on the exterior of the building)

beautiful stained glass, higher ceilings

Medieval ArtLater Medieval Art

• Architecture of churches became a dominant art form• Roman arch (Romanesque) design• Barrel vaults used; window and door openings quite rather small

Reims Cathedral Rose Window and lancets