Early Europe & Colonial Americas, Later Europe & Americas

Catacomb of Priscilla, 200 CE, Tufa and fresco, Rome, Early Christian

• Orant fresco: Shows Jesus in prayer. Left: teacher & childre, Right: Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus

• Another fresco shows Christ as the Good Shepherd, surrounded by lambs

• The Catacombs were a place for persecuted Christians in Rome to worship

Santa Sabina, 400 CE, Brick and stone; wooden roof, Rome, Early Christian

• bare exterior but decorative inside (Outside is plain, inside faith is beautiful)

• Basilica plan, nave has an arcade

• Columns were spoils from a Roman temple (spoila)

• Chrisitan church made after Christianity was unbanned in Rome

San Vitale, 500 CE, Brick and stone, mosaic, Italy, Byzantine

• octogonal shape

• plain outside, decorated inside

• Contains mosaics of Justinian (ruler of Byzantine Empire) & Theodora (his wife)

  • Justinian Mosaic: dressed in purple, with a halo, surrounded by soldiers & bishops, holding a shallow bowl for the Eucharist bread, his feet over the others to signify his importance

  • Theodora Mosaic: halo, carries chalice for the wine of the Eucharist, dressed in purple, in hieratic scale over other women

  • Typical Byzantine style of mosaics:

    • Frontal, Floating, Flat, Gold

Vienna Genesis: Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well /Jacob Wrestling an Angel, 500 CE, Illuminated manuscript, Constantinople or Syria, Byzantine

• Illuminated manuscript of the book of Genesis

  • Text from bible that explains the image accompanying it

• Rebecca & Eliezer at the well:

  • Story: Eliezer goes to find a wife for Isaac. God says the wife will help Eliezer on her journey. Rebecca gives Eliezer’s camels water.

  • Classical influences: nude woman, colonnade, contrapposto

• Jacob Wrestling an Angel

  • story: Jacob leads wives & childrens over a bridge, wrestles an angel, who blesses him by touching his hip. Jacob is given the name Israel.

• Both tell a story

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George, 600 CE, Encaustic on wood, Egypt, Byzantine Art

• Mary is the central figure, holding baby Jesus in her lap, with Saints on each side of her. Angels in the background look up to see God’s hand

• Figures have halos

• unproportional bodies

• Byzantine style: lack of depth, gold halos, floating figrures

Hagia Sophia, 500 CE, Brick and stone, Istanbul/Constantinople, Byzantine, Anthemius of Tralles & Isidorus of Miletus

• Patrons: Justinian & Theodora

• Central plan + axial plan = Greek cross

• Interior meant to be highly decorated compared to exterior

• Dome (emphasis) supported by pendentives (triangular shaped walls the dome rests on)

• Christian church —> Mosque (added minarets) —> Museum

• Contains mosaics as well

Looped Fibulae, 500 CE, Silver and semiprecious stones, Medieval (Mergovingian), France

• Depicts animals: eagle at the top (large stone for eye), & fish throughout the piece (ref to jesus)

• Usted to fasten garments at the shoulder, shows high status

Lindisfarne Gospels, 700 CE, Illuminated manuscript, Medieval (Hiberno-Saxon), England, Bishop Eadrith of Lindisfarne

• Incipit Page of St. Luke

  • Written in Latin, but also contains English Version (first)

• St. Matthew’s Cross-Carpet Page—celtic cross

  • Snakes & birds fill up the entire space (horror vacui)

  • stability of cross vs. chaos of filled space

• St. Luke’s Portrait Page — St. Luke writing his part of the Bible

  • above him: Evangalist symbol of cow with halo

  • Luke is wearing purple, his feet appear to be levitating

  • Greek writing next to his figure tell us his name

Great Mosque of Cordoba, 1000 CE, Stone masonry, Spain, Umayyads

• hypostyle hall, dome, arches are spoila from the visigoths

  • Squinching support the dome

• contains fountain to show purity

• Temple for Roman god —> Mosque —> Chrisitan church

• Umayyads wanted to showcase their power & extent of their empire

Pyxis of Al-Mughira, 1000 CE, Ivory, Spain, Umayyads

• uses iconography (non religious Islamic piece)

• Horror Vacui

• Calligraphy: owner, asks for Allah’s blessing, gift for Caliph’s son

  • tells us its function: hold expensive perfumes/aromatics

Church of Sainte-Foy, 1100 CE, Stone, Conques, France, Romanesque

• Site for pilgrimage

  • Cruciform plan, radiating chapels, to accomodate for large # of people

• Barrel vaults support arches, side windows to let in light

• The tympanum of The Last Judgement

  • Stone

  • Christ in the center, as judge. Jesus’s right hand is up, people underneath this hand are saved. To his left, his hand is down, are the damned.

  • Meant to be a warning to Pilgrims: focus or else

• Reliquary Figure of Sainte-Foy

  • Gold & gemstones on wood

  • Foy was a Roman girl who refused to convert from Christianiy to paganism—martyr. Pieces of her skull are inside

  • Used as a figure to heal the sick

  • Head was taken from a Roman statue

Bayeux Tapestry, 1070 CE, Embroidery on linen, England, Romanesque

• Depicts story of the Battle of Hastings in 1066

• William the Conqueror’s conquest of England

  • Calvary Scene

    • the battle, william’s army on horseback is winning, deceased bodies lie on the ground

  • First meal

    • William’s army after the Battle, Bishop Odo is next to William, servant is below the table, serving the soldiers

• Displayed in the Bayeux Cathedral

Dedication Page with Blanche of Castile and King Louis IX/ Scenes from the Apocalypse, from Bibles Moralisees 1230 CE

Illuminated Manuscript (ink, tempera and gold leaf on vellum), France Gothic

• Dedication page: moralized Bible Cover page

  • Top Register: Blanche of Castile with her son, King Louis IX of France

  • Bottom Register: priest telling a scribe what to write, he is doing the roundels of the piece below

• Scenes of the Apocalypse

  • eight medallions that mimic the look of a stain glass window

  • Depicts John’s vision where he is taken on a tour of heaven.

  • Visuals with written descriptions next to them.

• Shows wealth of patron

Chartres Cathedral, 1145 CE, Limestone and stained glass, Chartres, France, Gothic

• dedicated to the virgin mary (Cult of the Virgin Mary)

• Had the relics of Anne’s (Mary’s mom) head and the tunic Mary wore during Jesus birth

  • Only the tunic survived the 1194 fire

• The Great Portal: contain carvings of Biblical Kings & Queens. Tympanums tell stories of Christ’s life (Left: before incarnation, Middle: Second Coming, Right: Virgin Mary)

• Two towers: Left tower, Gothic. Right, Romanesque, not destroyed in fire.

  • Rose window between them is Gothic

• Notre Dame de la Belle Verriere —Stained glass

  • Mary (in blue) holding baby Jesus

  • Dove representing the Holy Spirit

• Other gothic characterictics: skeletal structure, highly decorative, Lux Nova (sacred light from stained glass; church is divine)

• Pilgrimage site

Golden Haggadah, 1320 CE, Illuminated manuscript (pigment of vellum), Northern Spain, Jewish Gothic

• Depicts story of Jews leaving Egypt under Moses (left to right)

  • Plagues of Egypt

    • Boils infect Egyptians, frogs take over city, wild canines run through Egypt, domestic animals die

  • Scenes of Liberation

    • Pharaohs order Israelites out, funeral for first born child of queen, Egyptians drown in the Red Sea, Egyptian knights pursue Israelites

  • Preparation of Passover

    • Children give bread, Moses’s sister praised, sheep slaughtered for passover, house prepared for passover

• Manuscript is meant to be read at a Passover seder

Rottgen Pieta, 1300-1320 CE, Painted wood, Germany, Gothic

• Rottgen—city in Germany

• Pieta—scene of christ lying dead in Mary’s lap

• Mary hold jesus with a distraught expression

  • Jesus is severely injured: holes in his side, bloody, wearing a crown of throns

• Meant to make the viewer feel bad for Mary, part of the Cult of Mary—makes Mary seem more huma/relatable; Used for private devotion

Alhambra, 1400 CE, Adobe stucco & wood, Spain, Nasrid

• Secular building

• Fountains represent gradens of paradise

• Hall of Lions

  • Residential area for women

  • Lions protect central fountain

• Hall of the Sisters

  • muqarnas, squinching, and calligraphy lining the walls, horror vacui

  • possible music room for receptions

Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece), 1400 CE, Tempera and Oil on Panel, Netherlands, Northern Renaissance, Robert Campin

• triptych—three panels

• Left Panel: Patron looking into the scene. Wife behind the patron added later

• Middle Panel: Annunciation: Angel Gabriel tells Mary about the coming of Christ

  • Blown out candle displays presence of God.

  • Lily flower & kettle show Mary’s purity.

  • Mary (in red) holds a Bible with fabric in between & has a Bible open on the table —shows she is pious

• Right Panel: Joseph is working as a carpenter

  • Mousetrap in window relates to Bible verse: Jesus’ sacrifice is a mousetrap for Satan

• For aiding in prayer in the home; Connect the patrons to Jesus

Pazzi Chapel, 1450 CE, Masonry, Florence, Early Italian Renaissance, Brunelleschi

• central plan, dome, clerstory in dome, corinthian pilasters (flatenned columns)

• Rondals on pendentive depict the four evangelists

• Meeting place for monks

Arnolfini Portrait, 1400 CE, Tempera and Oil on Wood, Belgium, Northern Renaissance, Jan van Eyck

• Patron: Mr. Arnolfini

• A portrait of Mr. Arnolfini and his wife

  • wife is not pregnant

• Highly detailed with a lot of symbolism

  • Dog = loyalty

  • Mirror in bg = 10 scenes from passion of christ, can see reflection of subjects + 3rd person (the painter)

    • artist’s signature above mirror

  • Oranges on counter & nice clothes = wealth

  • shoes off = shows how this is a sacred event

• Possible depicting a marriage ceremony pr showing that Mr. Arnolfini was granting his wife legal responsibilities. Could also be a memorial piece for wife.

David, 1450 CE, Bronze, Florence, Early Italian Renaissance, Donatello

• Depicts David after defeating Goliath: Standing on Goliath’s head, holds Goliath’s sword & a rock

• David is confident: relaxed pose, calm face

• Or humble: face looking down

• David symbolizes the city of Florence; he defeated Goliath (a bigger opponent) like how Florence (known for cloth) defeated Milan (known for weapons)

• Made for medici courtyar

Palazzo Rucellai, 1450 CE, Masonry, Italy, Early Italian Renaissance, Leon Battista Alberti

• Patron: Giovanni Rucellai, a wealthy merchant

• Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian capitals on pilasters

• Friezes have rucellai family emblem

• shows power of the Rucellai family

Madonna and Child with Two Angels, 1450 CE, Tempera on Wood, Florence, Italy, Early Italian Renaissance, Lippi

• Patrons: Medici family

• Mary is seen praying. Baby jesus is held by an angel, with a second angel behind him in shadow. Detailed background looks like a window.

  • Faint halo around Mary’s head

  • Angels look at us & invite us into the painting

• Use of Chiaroscuro: an art technique using strong, dramatic contrasts between light and shadow to create the illusion of volume, depth, and three-dimensional modeling on a flat surface

• Seems to take place in a wealthy home: Mary’s veil & seat

• Lippi became an artist for the Medicis after failing to be a monk by running away with a nun

Birth of Venus, 1500 CE, Tempera on Canvas, Florence, Italy, Early Italian Renaissance, Botticelli

• Patron: medici family

• Venus emerges from seafoam, brought to shore by two zephyrs (wind)

• Golden ratio is used in the making of the piece

• Elongated bodies, floating figures, golden hair, all meant to be aesthethically pleasing

• Inspired by Neoplatonism—beautiful things connects you to gods

• Sets standard for female nudes

Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel, 1300 CE, Brick and fresco, Italy, Proto-Renaissance, Giotto

• Patron: Enrico Scrovegni

• Built chapel in effort to go to heaven

• Altar shows timeline of Christ

  • begins with Mary, ends with ascension of Christ

• Last Judgement above altar

  • Christ surrounded by 12 apostles

  • Cross divides saved from damned, scrovegni is shown on the side of the saved

• Lamentation: shows Mary holding deceased Jesus in agony

  • 10 angels in the air

  • Tree in background symbplizes death & rebirth

  • Use of triangle composition for figures

The Last Supper, 1500 CE, Tempera and Oil, Milan

High Italian Renaissance, Da Vinci

• Comissoned for the dining area of monks

• depicts moment where Christ tells apostles that one of them will betray him

• Christ is the central figure

  • One point perspective—he is the vanishing point

  • Background lighter behind him

  • Only one not grouped with others

• Triangle composition in figures, grouped into trees

• Chiaroscuro

• In bad condition due to Da Vinci experimenting with medium

Adam and Eve, 1500 CE, Ink on Paper (Engraving), Germany, Northern Renaissance, Albrecht Durer

• Durer tried bringing Italian Classical ideas to the North

• Sign below parrot is his signature

• Idealized depiction of Adam & Eve, contrapposto

• Animal symbolism

  • Snake=Satan

  • Cat/rabbit/ox/elk=the four humors of the body that need to be balanced

• Made for sale on the art market

Sistine Chapel Frescoes, 1500 CE, Fresco, Vatican City, High Italian Renaissance, Michaelangelo

• Patron: Julius II

• Decorate the place where a new pope is elected

• The narrative begins at the altar and is divided into three sections. In the first three paintings, Michelangelo tells the story of The Creation of the Heavens and Earth; this is followed by The Creation of Adam and Eve and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden; finally is the story of Noah and the Great Flood.

• The Flood: Shows Noah’s ark during the flood

  • People in the foreground, middleground, and background try to escape. Twisting bodies, very crowded

• Delphic Sibyl

  • Woman prophet predicted coming of Jesus

  • Idealized with muscles, diagonal pose, serious expression

• Last Judgement—Mannerism

  • Christ is elongated & disproportional, excessive musculature

  • Saved on left, damned on right

  • Michaelangelo is in the piece (face skin being help by St. Bartholomew)

  • Reflect political instability in the time period—papal schism

School of Athens, 1500 CE, Fresco

Vatican City, High Italian Renaissance, Raphael

• Patron: Pope Julius II, in papal library

• Depicts various philophers in the School of Athens. Painting is divided in hald based on abstract (left) and concrete (right) thinkers

• Plato & Aristotle are the two central figures

• Michelango & Raphael both pictured—shows they should be respected as much as the intellectuals

• Apollo (God of Dun & Music) statue on left, Athena statue on right (Goddess of war & wisdom)

Isenheim Altarpiece, 1500 CE, Oil on Wood, Germany, Northern Renaissance, Grunewald

• (top)CLOSED: Left: St. Sebastian (patron saint of plague); Center: shows crucifixion; Right: St. Anthony (patron saint of Ergotism); Predella (support area below main altar) has Lamentation

• (bottom)OPEN: Shows scenes of joy. Left: Annunciation; Center: Shows heaven & Earth as one, Nativity scene; Right: Resurrection; Predella: Same as closed

• Use of color: Closed position shows night-colors associated with death: black, red, white and green-brown tinged bodies. In the open position, vibrant reds, yellows, pinks, and oranges create a hopeful mood. 

• Was comissioned for a hospital chapel—Comforsts patients suffering from ergotism

Entombment of Christ, 1500 CE, Oil on Panel, Florence, Italy, Mannerism, Pontormo

• Unclear wheter it’s actually the entombment (no symbols or landmarks to know settings or time)

• twisted bodies, unnatural body positions

• Jarring bright colors

Allegory of Law and Grace, 1500 CE, Ink on paper (woodcutting), Germany, Northern Renaissance, Cranach

• Patron: Martin Luther

• Protestant piece

• Catholicism on the left/Last Judgement/Law

  • Adam & Eve commit the original sin

  • Moses holds the 10 commandments

  • Skeletons chase people

  • Catholicism = not enough to get into heaven

• Protestanism on the right/Salvation/Grace

  • Having Faith in christ will save you

  • Christ tramples on death & the devil

Venus of Urbino, 1500 CE, Oil on Canvas, Venice, Venetian Renaissance, Titian

• patron: duke of urbino

• Venus is laying down on the bed gazing at us.

  • Diagonals draw eyes down her body

  • black line in bg aligns with her genitalia, which she is covering with her hand

• Use of complementary colors: green curtain behind Venus & the red bed she lays on

• chiaroscuro

• sets standard for female reclining nudes

• dog = loyalty

Hunters in the Snow, 1500 CE, Oil on wood, Netherlands, Northern Renaissance, Bruegel

• Not real landscape, inspired by travels

• Genre scene of peasants

• Hunters return with only one small animal from hunt

• Diagonals lead us into the painting

• Secular painting

Frontispiece of the Codex Mendoza, 1550 CE, Ink on paper, Spanish Colonial, Mexico

• Patron: Viceroy of Mexico Antonio de Mendoza, intended to be given to the Spanish King Charles V

• Tells histrory & culture of the aztecs

  • Shows eagle on top of cactus with snake in claws (sign the Aztec saw from the god on where to place Tenochtitlan)

• Blue/4 crosses represent Aztec capital Tenochtitlan (on a lake)

Il Gesu including Triumph in the Name of Jesus ceiling fresco, 1600 CE, Fresco, Marble, Stone masonry, Stucco, Rome, Baroque

• Part of the catholic counter reformation

• Home of the Jesuits \

• Ceiling is the Last Judgement, the light is symbolic of Jesus Christ

Mosque of Selim II, 1600 CE, Brick and stone, Turkey, Ottoman, Sinan (Architect)

• Patron: Selim II

• Response to St. Peter’s Basilica & Hagia Sophia

• Taller minarets than the Hagia Sophia

• Abudant windows, dome supported by squinches, dome supported by piers, horror vacui (very decorated)

Calling of Saint Matthew, 1600 CE, Oil on Canvas, Rome, Baroque, Caravaggio

• Patron: Contorelli family—Catholic cardinals

• Jesus is pointing at St. Matthew. Depicts moment in time as tax collector (Matthew) questions Jesus’ selection of him

• Baroque style: tenebrism & dramatic lighting

• Reflect Catholic counter reformation belief—miracles can happen to anyone at any time

Henry IV Receives the Portrait of Marie De’ Medici, 1600, Oil on Canvas, Flanders, Baroque, Rubens

• Patron: Marie de Medici

• Henry IV stares in love at portrait of Marie de Medici

  • Puts armor on ground: choose love over war

  • Personalized france whispers in Henry’s ears—France supports the marriage

  • Cupid & Hymen (god of marriage) hold painting

  • Zeus & Hera overlook

Self-Portrait with Saskia, 1600 CE, Ink and paper , Netherlands, Baroque, Rembrandt

• Self portrait of Rembrandt drawing with his wife Saskia next to him.

  • Showcases his skill as an artist

• High contrast lighting emphasizes eyes

• Made for the art market

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, 1600 CE, Stone and stucco, Rome, Baroque, Borromini

• Dedicated to St. Charles

• undulating wave like patterns

• alternating concave & convex (architectural baroque)

• bright interior

• Built for Trinitarians, followers of the Holy Trinity

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, 1650 CE, Marble, Stucco, Gilt bronze, Rome, Baroque, Bernini

• Based on St. Theresas’ diary—vision of angel stabbing her through the heart with an arrow of God’s love. Sculpture shows this event

• Dramatic facial expressions, bronze rays of light, hidden window lets in light, strong diagonals

Angel with Arquebus, 1700 CE, Oil on canvas, Peru, Spanish Colonial, Calamarca

• Patron: Viceroy of Peru

• Arquebus—type of rifle

• Angel holds the Arquebus to show loyalty to Christ grants protection

• Used to convert indigeonous people

Las Meninas, 1650, Oil on canvas, Spain, Baroque, Velazquez

• Painted to elevate the role of the artist—an important part of the household

• Princess Margarita is in center surrounded by maids

• King Philip IV & Queen are in the mirror in the background

• drama, tenebrism in background

Woman Holding a Balance, 1700 CE, Oil on canvas, Netherlands, Baroque, Vermeer

• well dressed upper class woman seems to be balancing her jewlery against weights

• Meant to represent the importance of the spiritual world over the material world

• Use of light from window on the left

• Painting in the back is the last judgement —indicates religious meaning

The Palace at Versaille, 1600 CE, Masonry, Gardens, Gold, Iron, etc., Versailles, France, Baroque

• Patron: King Louis XIV

• Built to show his wealth

• Hall of Mirrors—used for parties

  • mirrors were very expensive

  • Pathway to the kings’ personal chapel

  • Overlooked the gardens

• Gardens are formal and have a maintained apperance closer to the palace

Scene with the Siege of Belgrade and Hunting Scenes, 1700 CE, Tempera on wood with inlaid mother of pearl, Mexico, Spanish Colonial

• One side is the Siege of Belgrade: Spanish Habsburh vs. Ottomans—shows loyalty to spain

  • Viceroy’s visitors would see this side

• Other side is a hunting scene

  • reserved for view with wife/friends

• Japanese influence—Biombo folding screen, mother of pearl shells

Virgin of Guadalupe, 1700 CE, Original on cactus cloth, this one is oil on canvas, mother of pearl, Mexico, Spanish Colonial, Gonzalez

• Virgin in the center enshroud by light

• The four medallions in each corner are supported by angels and tell the story of Juan Diegos’s vision of seeing the Virgin of Guadalupe

• Her cloak is made up of fragments of shell—enconchado

• Considered to be an acheiropoieta—a divine work not made by human hands

• Worship—connects indigenous people to christianity

Fruit and Insects, 1700 CE, Oil on wood, Netherlands, Baroque, Rachel Ruysch

• female painter!

• Still life of fruit and insects

  • Fruits from all different seasons & places

    • corn & squash come from new world

• Tenebrism, dramatic light

• Idea of memento mori: flies on fruit, chesnut shell open, butterfly & lizard, eggs—reminds us the transient nature of life, everything dies

Spanish and Indian Produce a Mestizo, 1700 CE, Oil on canvas, Mexico, Spanish Colonial, Juarez

• part of casta paintings—shows social hierarchy of spain based on race

• Both parents are wealthy—indigenous mother & spanish/white father, mestizo child.

• There is a servant

• Modeled off Virgin Mary, Joseph, and Christ

The Tete a Tete, from Marriage a la Mode, 1740 CE, Oil on Canvas, England, Naturalism, Hogarth

• Series made fun of the aristocracy & marriages made for political gains

• Wife: unrefined pose, playing cards, lost a lot of money

• Steward: exaspherated at how much money woman has lost playing cards, holds unpaid bills

• Husband: has spent the night with another woman, as indicated by the dog sniffing the bonnet he is holding. There is a black mark on his neck—syphilis

• Illustrates the immoral behavior and personal ruin that can come from arranged marriages

Portrait of Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, 1750 CE, Oil on canvas, Mexico, Spanish Colonial, Cabrera

• Depicts feminist Sor Juana

• She is shown as a religious intellectual

  • holding rosary

  • infront of many books

• Created after death by admirers

A Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the Orrery, 1760 CE, Oil on canvas, England, Naturalism, Wright of Derby

• Philosopher in red gives a lesson on an orrey

  • A representation of the solar system

  • One man records notes, young woman leans over edge, young man shields eyes from the light, young boys look into the orrey

• Spread of Enlightenment ideals. Science and reason>

• Demonstrates moral lesson that the pursuit of knowledge is significant

The Swing, 1170, Oil on Canvas, France, Rococo, Fragonard

• Depicts a woman swinging on a swing

  • man looks up her skirt

  • Another man pushes woman on the swing, oblivious to the other man. White collar signifies he is part of the church

  • Woman seductively kicks off shoe

  • Dog represents loyalty or lack thereof

• Typical Rococo style

  • Pastel colors

  • Depicted in nature that is idealized 

  • Main character shown in silk-like clothing

  • Rich people in nature

Monticello, 1800 CE, Brick, glass, stone, and wood, Virginia, Neoclassical, Thomas Jefferson

• Meant to represent democratic ideals

  • Humble & inexpensive

  • uses brick made from clay around the property

• Influenced by classical buildings

  • Oculus & dome from Pantheon

  • Portico, doric columns, pediment

The Oath of the Horatii, 1784 CE, Oil on canvas, France, Neoclassical, Jacques Louis David

• Depicts the Horatii brothers vowing to defend Rome with their life. Their sisters & wives sit to the side looking distraught.

  • men—upright, tall, & calm, represent patriotism & civic duty

  • women—sittting diwn, curved lines, crying, represent emotion

• Influenced by Greece and Roman art (hence the term ‘neoclassical’)

  • Elaborate drapery on women, musculature of the men, arches, doric columns

  • Neoclassical art is known to teach a moral lesson

  • Jacques Louis David considered the father of neoclassical art

• Promotes civic duty over emotion

George Washington, 1790 CE, Marble, Virginia, Neoclassical, Jean-Antoine Houdon

• George Washington depicted in a plain outfit, not idealized, looks old

• Posed in front to plow to show him as a humble farmer

• Has a badge of the Roman leader Cincinnatus on his belt

  • Cincinnatus, like Washington, returned to farming after retirement

Self Portrait, 1790, Oil on Canvas, England, Neoclassical, Vigee Le Brun

• Le Brun depicted painting Marie Antoinette (she was her personal portrait painter), in a fancy outfit

• One of the few women part of the French Academy

• Realistic portrait, looking at audience

• displays her skills as an artist

Y no hai remedio (And There’s Nothing to be Done), 1810 CE, Etching, drypoint, burin, and burnishing, Spain, Romanticism, Goya

• Depicts a blindfolded man, a spanish civilian strapped to a pole. 3 guns are aimed at his head from French soldiers. A deceased man lays at his feet. A firing squad appears in a line behind him. aimed at others strapped to a pole

• Part of a seires called the Disasters of War

  • critiqued the french occupation of Spain

La Grande Odalisque,1815 CE, Oil on canvas, France, Neoclassical, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres

• Depicts a nude woman in a brothel

• Influenced by Persian cultures (France was obsessed with Persian styles)—orientalism

  • Hookah pipe, peacock feather fan, turban

  • elongated, non anatomically correct body

• Neoclassical characteristics: balanced composition with her body & curtain, nudity, clean brushwork

Liberty Leading the People, 1830 CE, oil on canvas, France, Romanticism, Eugene Delacroix

• Depicts the July Revolution of 1830. Event that overthrew King Charles X for King Louis-Philippe

  • Central figure=liberty

  • revolution is for everyone=lower class & aristocrats are pictures

  • shows deceased people and young boy

• Patron: Louis Philippe

• Like most Romanticism art, violated the rules of the Academy

  • Sloppy brushstrokes

  • Dramatic event

    • Scene depicted is dynamic

  • Intense color

The Oxbow (Voew from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm), 1836 CE, Oil on canvas, New York, Romanticism, Thomas Cole

• Image depicts an oxbow (where the river bends back on itself) of the Connecticut River

  • Left side of the scene depicts sublime wilderness

    • Broken tree with thunderstorm

      • Tree has fungus on it

  • Right side represents pastoral expansion of the US

    • Farmlands, ferry services, beginning of roads

• Express support for Manifest Destiny

Still Life in Studio, 1837, Daguerreotype, France, Photography, Daguerre

• Attempt to elevate the status of photography

• Variety of objects in a genre scene (a picture of art pieces)

  • Statue of angel heads, bouquet, relief carving of woman, canteen, painting, animal skull

Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On), 1840 CE, Oil on canvas, Great Britain, Romanticism, J.M.W. Turner

• Depicts the contemporary event of The Zong slave ship in 1781

  • Ship was gaining water as a typhoon was approaching

  • Captain threw overboard the dead and dying slaves 

• Use of loose brushstrokes and bright colors

• Turner wanted to convey anti-slavery messaging

Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), 1850 CE, Limestone masonry and glass, London, Romanticism (Neo Gothic), Charles Barry & A.W.N Pugin

• Use of Gothic style b/c Pugin appreciated how the Gothic era focused on churches rather than factories and other industrial buildings

• represents tradition & moral values, which help govern

The Valley of Mexico from the Hillside of Santa Isabel, 1882 CE, Oil on canvas, Mexico, Romanticism, Jose Maria Velasco

• Mexico City (former Tenochtitlan) is vaguely visible in the back

  • The lake around the city is receding

• A rainstorm seems to approach the city on the right 

• A young woman, two children, and a dog run away from the city

  • Rural Mexicans, in rural attire, who likely live in the mountains

•  A road leads through the lake to Mexico City

  • Smoke comes up from the road

    • Represents industrialization in Mexico

• Supposed to promote Mexican nationalism and detail the history of Mexico

The Stone Breakers, 1853 CE, Oil on canvas, France, Realism, Courbet

• Depicts two poor laborers breaking stones for a road

  • In ripped and tattered clothing

  • Not shown happy, landscape is not in full view

    • The Academy and the people hated the piece

• Piece large to emphasize we should be paying attention

• Courbet wanted to criticize the treatment of the poor under capitalism

Olympia, 1863 CE, Oil on canvas, France, Realism, Edouard Manet

• Depicts a prostitute

  •  pale body, hand draws attention to genitalia, no sense of depth

  • Olympia is slang for prostitute

• Wanted the viwer to think about sexiuality

• Likely is extremely wealthy

  • Lies on a silk kimono, had a bangle on her wrist, flower in her ear, has a servant

    • The maid is black and presents a bouquet of flowers from an admirer

      • Europeans thought black people could not control their sexual appetite

        • Increased sexuality of the piece

Nadar Raising Photography to the Height of Art, 1863 CE, Lithograph, France, Photography

• Mocked Nadar’s attempt to make photography equal to art

• He flies over Paris, taking pictures from a hot air balloon . It looks like Nadar is about to fall out of the balloon. Each building says ‘photographie’

  • Photography is taking over Paris

• Placed in newspapers to make fun of photography being equal to art

The Horse in Motion, 1878 CE, Albumen print, California, Photography, Muybridge

• Patron: Leland Stanford

• Stanford bet a friend that a horse has at least 1 foot on the ground. Found that Stanford lost the bet (see top row middle pics)

• Shows photography can capture what the human eyes cannot

Saint-Lazare Station, 1877 CE, Oil on canvas, Paris, France, Impressionism, Claude Monet

• Emphasized light in his pieces

  • Open roof above the station

    • Makes the train smoke look blue

• Pro Industrialization

The Burghers of Calais, 1884 CE, Bronze, Calais, France, Realism, Auguste Rodin

• City of Calais commissioned him to commemorate the 100 Years War

  • Took place in the 1300’s

  • Burghers sacrificed themselves to the English king to save Calais

    • Ended up being saved, thanks to the English Queen

• Have highly emotional faces

  • Refuse to accept that they are marching toward their death

  • Rejected by Calais city council because they wanted the burghers to be seen as martyrs

The Starry Night, 1889 CE, Oil on canvas, France, Post-Impressionism, Vincent Van Gogh

• Wanted art to express emotions

  • Was depressed

    • To him, blue was a happy color

• Large cypress tree extends into the sky

  • Cypress trees were planted in cemeteries

• Town has a cathedral towering above the rest of the city

  • May show importance of christianity, or represent an average town with a church

• Shows nature is more powerful than humans

The Coiffure, 1890 CE, Drypoint and aquatint on paper, France, Impressionism, Mary Cassatt

• Influenced by ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock print)

  • Flat (no depth), black outlining, parts of image cropped

  • Shows women in intimate moments

• Known for painting woman and children 

• Shows a middle class woman adjusting her hair

  • Semi-nude, but does not evoke sexual endeavors

  • Does not look at us directly or via the mirror

The Scream, 1893 CE, Tempera on cardboard, Norway, Symbolism, Edvard Munch

• Was not happy about industrialization

  • Feared it hurt the environment too much

  • Wanted to show intense human emotion on the issue

• Figure has a stylized body

  • Skull-shaped head, enlarged hands, wide-open eyes

• Two people on the bridge walk past the figure

  • Seem to not care about the environmental damage

Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going? 1898 CE, Oil on sackcloth, Tahiti, Post-Impressionism, Paul Gauguin

• French artist who moved to Tahiti to escape the city life in France

• Represents his answers to the questions named in the title

  • Far right  (Where do we come from?)

    • Couple sits next to a child

    • Another couple contemplates in the background

  • Middleground (What are we?)

    • Figure in unnatural skin tone takes the ‘forbidden fruit’

      • Shows humans as sinful or are curious 

    • Child eats a piece of fruit on the ground

  • Far left (Where are we going?)

    • Old woman in a grey skin tint sulks

      • Symbolizes that we all die

The Steerage, 1907 CE, Photogravure, Atlantic Ocean, Photography, Stieglitz

• Was on a boat going from New York to Europe

  • Went to the area where the poor people were

    • Called the steerage of the ship

• Excited by the diagonals of the piece; they proved photos were art

Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building, 1899-1903 CE, Glass, steel, iron, and terracotta, Chicago, Modernism, Louis Sullivan

• Believed a skyscraper had three parts

  • Base level for shops

  • Middle level for offices/work

  • Top level attic 

• Windows allowed for natural light and display areas for products

• Elevators allowed for people to access more floors in a building

• Corner details were meant to draw customers in

• Form follows function

Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1902 CE, Oil on canvas, France, Post-Impressionism, Paul Cezanne

• Rugged brushstrokes

• Distance away from the foreground is dictated by color

  • Foreground is blues and browns

  • Middleground is reds and greens

  • Background is blues

• Influential to cubism—reducing forms to basic shapes

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, 1907 CE, Oil on canvas, Spain, Cubism, Picasso

• Created Cubism: breaking down form to basic shapes

• Was ‘scared’ of women and their sexuality

• Depicts five women in a brothel waiting for men

  • Three women on the left are influenced by Iberian sculpture

    • Big eyes and simplified bodies

  • The two women on the right were influenced by African masks

    • Both have scarification on their faces

    • Big eyes and flexed noses

    • Picasso was fascinated with African art

• Human anatomy is broken down into basic geometric shapes

The Kiss, 1908 CE, Oil on canvas, Vienna, Austria, Symbolism, Klimt

• Wanted it to look like a religious icon (similar to Byzantine art)

  • Gold makes it look like a halo

• Interested in colors and form

  • Man = square, woman = circle

• Female is full frontal but horizontal

  • Eyes closed, calm face

    • Seems to be accepting the man’s embrace 

The Kiss, 1907 CE, Stone, France, Cubism, Brancusi

• Wanted to revert back to basic shapes to convey an image

  • Typical of Cubist art

  • Stone was considered a primitive material to work with

• Depicts a couple in a loving embrace

  • Eyes and lips combine to be one

  • Female has longer hair and slight breast

The Portuguese, 1911 CE, Oil on canvas, France, Cubism, Georges Braque

• Worked with Picasso in the Cubist style to focus on form

  • Chose to work with neutral earth tones

• A man playing guitar is subject matter

• Only clarity is in the stenciled numbers in the background

• Forced the audience to look hard at the piece

  • Many different interpretations to where his body parts are

The Goldfish, 1912 CE, Oil on canvas, France, Fauvism, Henri Matisse

• Inspired by his visits to Morocco

  • Moroccan people love goldfish; Stare at them during meditation

• Exhibits many characteristics of the Fauvism style

  • Non-idealized figures with sloppy brushstrokes

  • Bright and contrasting color palettes

  • A sense of movement

  • Flat (no depth) and cropped; influenced by Japanese woodblock prints

• Impossible viewpoints of the scene

  • Top and bottom of the table can be seen

  • Goldfish in frontal and aerial view

• Show inspiration by moroccan culture, invite viewer to meditate

Improvisation 28 (Second Version), 1912 CE, Oil on canvas, Russia, German Expressionism, Vasily Kandinsky

• Believed you could hear color and see sounds (synesthesia)

• Title derived from a music

  • Improvisation is a genre of musical pieces

• Strong black diagonals, bright colors and shading, hazy background (represent chaotic sound)

• Great flood in bottom left corner, upper right is a mountain with city on top, meant to rep heavenly city

Self Portrait as a Soldier, 1915 CE, Oil on Canvas, Germany, German Expressionism, Kirchner

• Volunteered to be a driver in WWI for Germany

• Depicts Kirchner in a military uniform, aged, with his right hand cut off

  • represents fear of losing identity as artist

• Placed in a Degenerate Art Exhibition by Nazis

Memorial Sheet for Karl Liebknecht, 1919-1920 CE, Woodcut, Germany, German Expressionism, Kathe Kollwitz

• Top register is filled with faces

  • Made to look like there is a crowd behind them

• Middle register is four men looking down at Liebknecht dead body

• Bottom row is Karl’s deceased body

• Liebknecht was one of the founders of the German Communist Party

Villa Savoye, 1929 CE, Steel and reinforced concrete, France, International Style, Le Corbusier

• Had five rules for architecture

  • Had to have pilots (thin columns supporting the building off the ground)

  • Roof terrace garden to replace the nature lost during construction

  • Open space in a free plan 

  • A facade with no decoration

  • A long ribbon window

• Building embraced the typical International style

  • Plain building (also painted white)

  • Smooth walls

Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow, 1930 CE, Oil on canvas, France, De Stijl, Piet Mondrian

• Founded the De Stijl art movement

  • Created works that convey spiritual harmony

    • Piece is asymmetrical but balanced

      • Due to golden ratio

• Abstraction using primary and neutral colors

  • Reduced art to the basics

Illustration from the Results of the First Five Year Plan, 1932 CE, Photomontage, Russia, Constructivism, Varvara Stepanova

• Her art focused on industrialization of the USSR

• Put together photos and newspapers to make piece

• Used as political propaganda (pro USSR)

• 5 year plan was a failure, Crowd shown to be supporting the plan’s success, hence the work’s use as propaganda

Object (Le déjeuner en fourrure), 1936 CE, Fur covered cup, spoon, and saucer, Switzerland, Surrealism, Oppenheim

• Contrast between the porcelain and fur

  • Porcelain is a hard material that Oppenheim associated with men

  • Fur is a soft material that Oppenheim associated with women

    • Meant to make fun of masculine objects

• Has sexual overtones, which Oppenheim made sure to state when describing her piece

  • The spoon represents the male phallus

  • The cup represents the female genitalia

    • The spoon goes into the cup

      • Supposed to showcase the male desire for sexual endeavors

Fallingwater, 1936-1939 CE, Reinforced concrete, sandstone, steel, and glass, Bear Run. Pennsylvania, Organic Architecture, Lloyd Wright

• Built over a stream and a waterfall, concrete cantilevers extend over stream

  • No walls, only windows, face the waterfall

  • Supposed to exemplify the power of nature

  • promote connection with nature

The open plan of the building represents American democratic values

The Two Fridas, 1939 CE, Oil on canvas, Mexico, Surrealism, Frida Kahlo

• Was a Mestizo (parents were Mexican and European)

  • Rivera rejected Kahlo’s European descent

    • Embraced the mexican Revolution instead

• Kahlo is depicted wearing two outfits

  • On the right, she wears traditional Mexican attire

    • Holds an amulet of her ex-husband Rivera

    • Represents the person Rivera loved

  • On the left, she wears traditional European attire 

    • Holds a pair of surgical scissors to cut the cord connecting the two hearts

    • Represents the woman Rivera divorced

The Migration of the Negro, Panel no. 49, 1940-1941 CE, Casein tempera on hardboard, Harlem, New York, Harlem Renaissance, Jacob Lawrence

• African-American artist who moved to the North

• Piece depicts a segregated restaurant after the Great Migration

  • Yellow line separates the two races

  • Whites are more detailed to show that the North was still segregated

    • Silverware on left in gold, no color on right side

• Point out racial inequality

The Jungle, 1943 CE, Gouache on paper mounted on canvas, Cuba, Surrealism, Wifredo Lam

• Some faces resemble African masks

• Shows slave workers picking sugarcane in Cuban fields

• Show realities of Afro cubans at a time where Americans saw Cuba as a vacation spot

Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park, 1947-1948 CE, Fresco, Mexico City, Mexican Muralism, Diego Rivera

• Piece depicts three segments in Mexican history

  • Left side shows the colonization of Mexico and important figures

  • Sor juana, General Santa Anna, President Benito Juarez

• Middle displays the Mexican fight for independence

  • Has Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz next to a hot air balloon

  • La Catrina (wealthy European woman) in the middle of the piece

  • Frida Kahlo, Rivera’s husband appears behind RIvera and La Catrina

    • Holds a yin/yang symbol and has a disgusted face

      • Represents her complicated relationship with Rivera

• Right side showcases the Revolution of 1910

  • Brought democracy to Mexico

• Piece shows both the positives and negatives of Mexican history

Fountain (second version), 1917 CE, redone 1950 CE, Readymade glazed sanitary china with black paint, New York, Dada, Duchamp

• Literally bought a urinal, carved a word and date on it, and called it art

  • Part of the anti-art, anti-cultural Dada movement

  • R. mutt is the name of the plumbing shop he got the urinal from

• Wanted the viewer to ponder what art was

Woman I, 1950-1952 CE, Oil on canvas, New York, Abstract Expressionism, De Kooning

• Depicts a pin-up girl

  • Large breasts, plump lips, makeup

  • Painted over it until he got the effect he desired

  • Sloppy brushstrokes

    • He slabbed on paint quickly (action painting)

  • Takes the male view of women and transforms it into abstract art

    • Contemporary representation of the female figure

Seagram Building, 1954-1958 CE, Steel frame with glass curtain wall and bronze, New York, International Style, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Philip Johnson

• Believed that ‘less is more’ in architectural design

• Large height supposed to make it look and seem powerful and important

  • Elevators were used for support

  • The I-beams (mullions) on the outside were not for structural support

  • Symmetrical compositon

Marilyn Diptych, 1962 CE, Oil, enamel, and silkscreen enamel on canvas, Los Angeles, Pop Art, Andy Warhol

• A two-sided piece with pictures of Marilyn Monroe on both sides 

  • Left in color to represent her life

  • Right in black and white to represent her death

• Monroe was a pop-culture and sexual icon

  • Depicts her as a one-dimensional sex symbol

    • Brilliant blonde hair, heavy lipstick, seductive expression

• criticizes hollywood