STRUDY GOTHIC ART

Man with Bison

A prehistoric image found in Lascaux, depicting a male figure with a bird face and a bison, symbolizing the connection between man and nature.

Twisted Profile

An artistic technique used in prehistoric art where figures are depicted in a way that shows multiple perspectives simultaneously.

Votive Figurines

Small statues were used in ancient Near Eastern cultures for prayer and devotion, often representing idealized human forms.

used as a focal point for prayer for

• commoners not allowed into the Ziggurat, used as a social marker,

• bigger = the best, people would pay priests to transport their prayer to the Ziggurat into the shrine, afterwards, the prayer would be scraped off and re sold

Venus of Willendorf

A small, voluptuous statue from 25,000-21,000 BCE, covered in red ochre, symbolizing fertility and beauty.

Cuneiform

The first writing system developed in ancient Mesopotamia, consisting of pictographs and phonetic components.

Ziggurats

Terraced, multistoried platforms built in ancient Mesopotamia for religious purposes, often associated with Sumerian culture.

Stele

A stone or wooden slab used to display laws or important information, often inscribed with cuneiform.

Hammurabi Code

A set of laws inscribed on a stele, depicting a god handing down laws to a ruler, illustrating the divine right of kings.

Crenellations

Architectural features on ziggurats that allowed archers to hide and provide defense.

Incised Bison

A prehistoric artwork depicting a bison, showcasing the hunting practices of ancient peoples.

Glossing

The technique of adding extra marks to emphasize important parts of a painting or artwork.

Mesopotamia

The historical region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, often referred to as the "cradle of civilization."

Votive

An object used in religious practices, often as a means to pray through rather than to.

Polychrome

The use of multiple colors in art, often to signify importance or status.

Sound Box Harp

An ancient musical instrument found in the tomb of Queen Puabi, made of wood and inlaid with precious materials.

Bust of Akkadian Man

A life-size statue head from Akkadian culture, possibly representing a ruler, known for its detailed craftsmanship.

Ziggurats

Sumerian culture 3,500 - 3000 BCE

2-7 tiers 25 known, none of them intact

It is terraced , multistoried platform for religious

• shrine brick sundired platform ; made out of 1,000s fo mud dried brick outer layer

• whitewashed averged 4 stories tall

Venus of laussel, France 25,000 - 23, 000 BCE

a votive candle - something you use to direct you prayers

Pray through it NOT TO IT

• Direct prayer and dreams

• Women; for childbirth to get msg up to gods, keep baby to term

• Head to feet Or feet to head have a sense of direction

• Faceless

  Ideal of beauty you see who gives you clam-ness (female) 

  • Men; thinking of the person that makes you into women

  She is seen as a beautiful woman,

  • Bigger 

  • She gave birth type of body 

  • Well taken care of

  • Found outsid of the cave

Venus of willendorf  25,000-21,000

• Venus 

• City of willendorf 

• Found 1908, by archeologist Joseph Szombathy

• Red color of birth , private devotional object 

• Carved from oolithic limestone 

• Buried her in ground - 1, covered in red ocher 

Woven cap , brades 

• No face ; she can look however you want 

• Mouth she can ‘talk to you’

• Earth goddess , pray to

Pictographs

Pictographs turned into letters but also had phonetic components 

500 different wede shaped letters 

• Four separate dialects 

• Tablets read right to left have registers 

• Mostly commercial 

Writing was consider anicent ‘holy’ 

Creinnaltion

• Space , then wall

• Archer could be inside

• Intimidation within the environment

• Arrow slot or opening 

Votive figurines from the temple of abu, the God of vegetation

Cheap to make

• Gypsum limestone and alabaster 

• Height varies

• Buy get a wish to the gods to impress them and go to makert place 

  • The objects that were votive from, tell asmar

  • Albaser one - higher end

    
    
    

Canonical characteristics 

Wide eyes , turned upwards 

• Hair & dress as social marker 

  • Most fabric you can wear 

• Clasped hands - prayer pose

• Geometric & simplified not ‘real ppl in real space’

• Bigger person - more important 

• Polychrome 

• Many were inscribed with cueiform ( prayers & curses) 

Pre -fab goods, sold to gain religious acess (" also “re-sold”) 

• Preist - shaved