Intro to Art - Final Test Study Guide 2023

University of Manitoba

The Indus Civilization

Declined during the mid 2nd millennium BCE as the Aryans formulated a new way of life. Contributions of Sanskrit language & the sacred Vedas shaped civilization. The Maurya dynasty unified the subcontinent in 322 BCE. Kushans created an empire from Afghanistan to India in the 1st century. Gupta monarchs patronized both Buddhist & Hindu art. Numerous regional dynasties prevailed after the 10th century.

Buddhism & Jainism developed…

In the wake of upanishadic thought, which was shaped by the Vedas.

What is Buddhism?

A widespread Asian religion or philosophy, founded by Siddartha Gautama in __northeastern__ India in the 5th century BC.

What is Jainism?

Teaches that the path to enlightenment is through nonviolence and reducing harm to living things (including plants and animals) as much as possible.

As patronage declined…

Indian Buddhist monks sought support from communities in Southeast Asia. Remaining Buddhist enclaves in South Asia were concentrated in the northeast. Simultaneously, Hinduism rose to new prominence & Jainism continued to prosper.

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

Enlightened beings who are destined to become buddhas but postpone that final state in order to help humanity.

Jainists seek…

Purification & moral action, living a life of austerity & avoiding killing any living creature.

Dilwara Temples…

Feature modest exterior walls & a relatively small size, yet the interior is carved with intricate & abundant detail.

Chattri

Elevated, dome-shaped pavilions used as an element in Indo-Islamic architecture and Indian architecture. Originating as a canopy above tombs, they serve as decorative elements.

Vijayanagara

This capital city flourished between the 14th and 16th centuries. The Virupaksha Temple pre-dated the city, but expanded under architects Bukka and Harihara with an eastward facing gopura (entrance gateway).

Elephants were symbols of…

Ceremony & Military.

Temple at Madurai

Emphasis on monumental Hindu temples sparked the building of vast temple complexes. This specific temple stands at the centre of the city of Vijayanagara with additions around the complex. Dramatic features include thousand pillar halls, ritual bathing pools, & entrance gateways (gopuras). These gateways became then taller over time as more extravagant ones were donated.

Mughal

These ____ of Central Asia unified northern India by 1658, & the ——- Empire lasted until 1858. These architects inherited a 300 year old tradition of Islamic building & synthesized it with Indian, Persian, & Central Asian elements for forts, palaces, mosques & tombs. Akbar supported an imperial atelier.

Fatehpur Sikri

Two main components of this capital complex are a religious section that includes the Jami mosque, & an administration & residential section. The private audience hall, or Diwan-i-khas, features a central pillar that could be reached by four walkways. Paintings were commissioned to record the building of this complex.

Jahangir, successor to Akbar, established…

His own workshop for painting. Portraiture became prolific. A painting of him & Shah Abbas was created during a moment of tension between Shah Abbas & the Mughal Throne.

Technique; Indian Painting on Paper

Painters usually began their training as apprentices, who ground pigments & made brushes. After doing a sketch and sealing, the outlines are filled with brilliant colour. Burnishing it on a marble surface polishes the pigments. Important details are left until last. Subtle details become reminder of Mughal power that simultaneously warn against further expansion. Women were rarely depicted with the exception of Empress Nur Jahan.

The Taj Mahal

Shah Jahan built this mausoleum in honour of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was the first major architectural undertaking during his reign. The enclosure is divided into quadrants, which would have had fruit trees & cypresses in Shah Jahan’s time. The garden would have continued on the far bank of the Jamuna River. The tomb was flanked by a mosque & a hall on either side. A chattri crowns each minaret. Although it is basically square, chamfered corners create a subtle octagon. Surfaces are embellished with subtle relief and a blind arcade motif.

Rajput Painting

These princes supported abstract - style painters at their courts.

Rajput Architecture

The City Palace in Udaipur marked an example of a series of linked palaces at a strategic hilltop location, noting the aspect of fortification endemic to this style.

Southeast Asian Ceramics

Both the Burmese and Thai Kingdoms produced ceramics, but the potters of Vietnam were most successful in making porcelains. So many ceramics were exported from Vietnam that only leftovers remained. The excavation of a sunken ship off the coast of Hoi An brought over 250,000 Vietnamese ceramics to light.

The Colonial Period & The Modern Era

Britain began to push into India via the British East India Company followed by direct control. Political concerns of Britain extended into the Indian Arts. Cities such as Calcutta, Madras & Bombay took on a European aspect.

Bharat Mata

A national icon, using Hindu symbols made with the format & techniques of Mughal & Rajput paintings.

The Modern Period

These times have been marked by both peaceful resistance & bloody warfare. Many states emerged as leaders in international commerce, technology & finance despite setbacks. They capitalize on the region’s tradition of bringing together cultures & adapting new ideas. China discovered in the mid & late 19th century that their country was not located in the middle of the earth, truly recognizing Western & Japanese threats as real. The first decades of the 20th century brought Chinese artists to Japan & Europe to study art. Individual artists freedom was curtailed in 1949 due to communism.

Modern South Asia

The attainment of self rule was 5 years in the making for India, Pakistan & Bangladesh. After independence in 1947, young nations welcomed a modern, international approach to art & architecture.

Maqbool Fida Husain

This prolific artist drew subjects from diverse sources such as Hindu literature, historical events, nature, & his Muslim upbringing.

Foundations of Chinese Culture

Historically, it traditionally begins with 3 dynasties; The Xia, Shang (c. 1700 - 1100 BCE), & Zhou (1100 - 221 BCE). In 221 BCE, rulers Qin triumphed in Uniting China as an empire for the first time. During the Han dynasty, Confucianism was made the official state ideology.

What developed under the Han Dynasty?

Daoism.

The Sui & Tang Dynasty…

Both united China & connected it to the outside world.

The Song Dynasty…

Reacted to the martial Ulgor & foreign influence of the Tang with inward focus.

Mongol Invasions…

At the beginning of the 13th century had traumatic, long - lasting effects on China. The period during the Song dynasty called for rejecting foreign ideas in favour of “true” Chinese qualities. China’s inward gaze intensified in spiritual resistance to the threat of foreign occupation. They established their capital in what is now Beijing.

Literati Painting

Grouped with calligraphy & poetry to create a style separate from Court taste. It dominated artistic trends in the South & was associated with the educated men who served the court as government officials. Kyoto’s distance from Edo allowed for emergence of new Schools of art & philosophy. Ideas from Chinese Daoism promoted each persons uniqueness. Successful artists took Chinese _____ painting models as starting points for original interpretations.

Technique; Formats of Chinese Painting

Most were created from ink & water-based colours on silk or paper. An album comprises a set of paintings mounted in a book; such paintings may also be mounted as a hand scroll, or hanging as a wall scroll. Creations of scrolls was time consuming & required a professional mounter.

The Ming Dynasty

The founder rose from a family of peasants. Though he enlisted the help of scholars to achieve leadership, he grew to distrust intellectuals & ruled as a despot. Scholars were alienated from the government they were trained to serve.

Technique; The Secret of Porcelain

It is said that Marco Polo named the ceramic he found in China after the cowry shell, porcellana in Italian. True Porcelain was perfected during the Song Dynasty. Blue pigment (of cobalt oxide was painted directly on the unfired vessel in a technique known as underglaze, then a layer of clear glaze was applied.

Architecture & City Planning

Many early Chinese monuments have been destroyed over time. The most important remaining example is the Forbidden City imperial palace compound, located in Beijing. It was primarily constructed during the Ming Dynasty.

The Forbidden City

Mongols laid out the capital city on a rectangular grid with evenly north - south & east - west streets. The third Ming emperor, Yongle, rebuilt the city as we see it today. An impressive walled enclosure contains the monumental Meridian Gate as well as important ceremonial spaces.

Dong Qichang, Literati Theorist

His views divided Chinese schools of art into northern & southern categories, unrelated to actual geographic location. The southern school was unorthodox, radical, innovative; the northern school emphasized technical skill & decoration. Proper training included a careful study of the great masters.

From the Qin Dynasty to the Modern Era

Armies of the Manchu people reached Beijing by 1644. While Chinese citizens acted as though it were the end of their civilization, Manchus had already adopted many Chinese customs & institutions & would show a great respect for Chinese tradition.

Orthodox & Individualist Painting

Scholars followed Dong Qichangs recommendations & studied antique styles. Qing emperors were painters who collected others’ paintings as well. Their taste was shaped by artists such as Wang Hui. They also valued a style of bird-&-flower painting by Yun Shouping.

Individualist Painting

Many Ming loyalists sought refuge from the early Qing Dynasty in monasteries or worse, through community suicide. Painting as an expression of the artists personal feelings was an idea that let to this style. Artists expressed their own anger, defiance, frustration, & melancholy in their work.

Shitao

A descendant of the first Ming emperor, he developed near abstraction in his paintings.

Joseon Dynasty

Established in 1392, it was espoused Neo - Confucianism as the state of Philosophy. It was a period of cultural refinement & scientific achievement.

Joseon Ceramics

Potters excelled in the manufacture of ceramics. While they took cues from contemporaneous Chinese wares, they often did not copy them directly.

Buncheong Ceramics

Stonewares made with white slip are embellished with calligraphic brown slip brushwork. Japanese armies destroyed many Kilns between 1592 - 1597, but Japan adopted aspects from this culture into tea ceremonies.

Painted Porcelain

The Korean Court dispatched artists from the royal painting academy to porcelain kilns to train porcelain painters. Underglaze in iron - brown was unique to Korean works.

Joseon Painting

Early examples reflect Chinese influence with subject matter including landscapes, figures & animals.

The Silhak Movement

This was seen as “practical learning” and emphasized the study of both Korean & Chinese classics. Views of the Diamond Mountains became a popular landscape subject.

Modernist Painting

Japans annexation of Korea in 1910 closed the Joseon dynasty, but prolonged Korea’s seclusion from the outside world. Korea’s artistic & cultural development was further impeded during the first half of the 20th century by WWII & The Korean War.

Foundations of Japanese Culture

Hunter gatherer culture developed during the Jomon Period (11,000 - 400 BCE) with an agricultural society following during the Yayoi period (400 BCE - 300 CE). The Asuka era (552 - 645) brought Chinese culture into Japan, the most salient aspect of which being Buddhism. The Nara Period (645 - 794) was the time during which the founding works of Japanese literature were compiled. The Heian Period (794 - 1185) brought a refined court culture & taste for art. Its end, marked by civil warfare, brought Samurai clans into factional conflicts.

How were Scrolls made?

An ancient art form and one unique to Asia. They were made of silk or paper and attached to wooden rollers, which were meant to be unfurled and enjoyed on special occasions.

Muromachi Period

This period is marked by the popularity of Zen Buddhism among disciplined Samurai. Japanese aesthetics revolved around asymmetry, abstraction, boldness & humour.

Zen Ink Painting

Many Japanese artists adopted monochrome landscape paintings during this period. No undisputed work survives of the monk - artist Shubun, but two of his pupil Bunsei remain. Mimicking Chinese models from the Ming Period, as well as landscape works to convey serenity.

Sesshu

Preferred to produce art over partaking in religious rituals. This allowed him to paint unencumbered by monastic duties.

The Zen Dry Garden

Present beautiful stones in asymmetrical arrangements across a flat rectangle of gravel. They were inspired by Chinese landscape paintings by the 16th century, & became highly intellectualized by the mid 17th century.

Shoin Rooms

Interior spaces were divided by paper covered sliding doors (fusuma) that became canvases for large - scale murals. The design included verandas, walls divided by wooden posts, floors of tatami mats, & Shoji Sereens. They served as a formal room for receiving important guests. To this day, room size is still expressed in the number of tatami mats it covers.

The Tea Ceremony

Contrasted the opulence of other arts of this period. Chanoyu is the term encompassing ritual (drinking of tea; it is without counterpart in Western culture). The advent of Zen brought a different way of preparing tea, including monks using tea as a mild stimulant for meditation.

Sen No Rikyu

The most famous tea master in Japanese history, he established the aesthetic of refinement, modesty & rusticity in tearooms. The Tainan is a tearoom that preserves his design. Guests must crawl to enter the room & no elements of distraction exist within.

Edo Period

This era was brought about by the reign of Tokugawa Leyasu. He ordered feudal lords to spend time in ____, where their families were required to live. Society was divided into Samurai, farmers, artisans & merchants. Reading, writing & appreciation for the arts became widespread.

Rinpa School Painting

In Kyoto, Painter Tawalaya sotatsu was an honoured member here, where artists reinterpreted courtly styles.

Technique; Inside a Writing Box

These hold an ink stick, ink stone, brushes & paper. Fresh ink is made for each writing session by grinding the ink stick in water against the ink stone. Brushes made from animal hair taper to a fine point that responds to any shift in pressure.

Technique; Japanese Woodblock Prints

Artists, carvers, & printers coordinated to produce prints. The artist designed & supplied a master drawing. The carver pasted the drawing to the block & cut the key block. The printer inked the block & aligned the paper with the blocks registration marks.

Cloth & Ceramics

Japan had a distinguished history of what the western tradition considers craft production. Artists in Japanese artistic studios followed a hereditary, hierarchical structure, regardless of medium. Teamwork under masterful supervision was the approach to artistic production.

Japan After WWII

Japanese people immediately began rebuilding their ruined cities, unified by a sense of national purpose. By 1964, Tokyo established an extensive commuter rail system. Japan quickly became the world leader in high speed rail transit with the Shinkansen. “Crafts” traditions were a source of national pride & identity.

Tange Kenzo

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum & Park expressed prayers for world peace. The artist became a master modernist architect.

The Aztec Empire

The Mexica people migrated from a northwestern region to the Basin of Mexico, settling on an island in lake Texcoco. This term, ____ derives from the world Aztlan, & refers to all those living in central Mexico who came from Aztlan. Religion was based on a complex pantheon.

The Inca Empire

The Capital of Cusco was in the centre of 2,600 miles of territory by 1500 CE. Religion, bureaucracy, & labour taxation united the empire’s peoples. More than 23,000 miles of roads connected the farthest reaches of the empire to the capital.

Cusco

The urban plan of this city was rumoured to have been constructed in the shape of a puma. It served as both the symbolic & political centre of the Inca Empire. Architecture conveyed powerful aesthetic impact & featured fine masonry that can be seen to this day.

Inca Masonry

Stonework was created with heavy stone hammers & without mortar. Faces of each stone might be beveled for a “pillowed” shape or they might be smoothed into a continuous wall of stones. So refined was the stonework that it has survived earthquakes that destroyed later structures.

Textiles

Cloths of cotton & camelid were a primary form of wealth. Patterns & colours on garments carried symbolic messages.

Metalwork

The Inca valued objects of gold & silver because they symbolized the “sweat” of the sun & the “tears” of the moon. Spanish exploration led to the destruction of nearly all works, leaving only small burial offerings such as the Llama.

The Aftermath of The Spanish Conquest

Native American populations declined as much as 90% following contact with Europe. This was due to the exploitation of the conquerors as well as the spread of smallpox. European missionaries worked to spread Christianity.

The Eastern Woodlands

Most tribes lived in stable villages & combined hunting gathering & agriculture for their livelihood. The Iroquois, Huron, & Illinois formed powerful nations by the 16th century. Trade with 17th century settlers gave woodlands people access to new and useful tools.

Wampum

Belts & strings of purple & white shell beads. These were exchanged to keep records & conclude treaties.

Quillwork

Woodlands art focused on personal adornment & ______. This adornment symbolizes protection of well being.

The Great Plains

Both agricultural & nomadic lifestyles developed. European settlers put increasing pressure on Native Americans & forced them to move westward. Artists from these lands, and Woodland artists when they interacted, led to a new hybrid style.

Portable Architecture

Nomadic plains women designed Tipi dwellings made of buffalo hides covering a framework that could be easily transported. Women & men both decorated buffalo hides, although they were primarily the responsibility & property of women.

The Northwest Coast

The First Nations here included the Tlingit, Haida, & Kwakwaka’wakw people. This region featured unusually abundant resources, especially centred around fish.

Textiles of the Chilkat Tlingit

Prestigious, men drew patterns on boards, & women wove them into blankets. The popular design is the diving whale; precise identifications & meanings have not been established. Ovoid & formline shapes are characteristic of Northwest painting.

Masks

Many Native American cultures staged ritual dance ceremonies to call upon guardian spirits. Some of the most elaborate belonged to the Hamatsa society. However, isolated as “art” in museums, they lose some of the vivacity they would have had in performance. The Kwakwaka’wakw people dance ritual to initiate new members into the prestigious Hamatsa society. Among the finest wooden masks are those by Willie Seaweed, a Chief.

The Southwest

Ancestral puebloans built apartment like villages & cliff dwellings throughout the Four Corner region of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona & Utah. The Navajo developed a Sedentary way of life based on agriculture & Shepherding. Both groups have maintained their ancestral homelands for modern day.

The Navajo

Some arts developed only after contact with Europeans, including weaving, blanket making & turquoise jewelry. Sand painting is reserved exclusively for men & is completed during a series of chants by Shaman - singers.

Lapita People of Melanesia

Farmers & fisherfolk, known for their distinctive ceramics included geometric as well as figurative designs. Polynesian culture emerged in the eastern Lapita regions.

Australia

Life as an Indigenous person to this island is connected to the concept of the Dreamtime, or Dreaming, referring to a period before humans existed. Ancestral Beings brought about the existence of humans & created the Aboriginal Laws.

Melanesia & Micronesia

Social position in _____ relied on wealth & demonstration of leadership. Rituals facilitate relationships with the deceased & supernatural forces. Men’s roles involve sculptural & mask traditions, while women’s roles involve making bark cloth, woven baskets & ceramics.

Bilum

Contemporary Net Bags of Highland New Guinea. They are rich metaphorical symbols, even synonyms for womb & bride among women of the waghi tribe. They can carry items from vegetables to babies to bones of the deceased. Contemporary fibres have made their way into the complicated patterns.

Micronesia

Known for their fine canoes, textiles, & abstract human figures. Tattooing & performative arts are also central to life.

Wapepe Navigation Chart

Until the 1950’s, stick ______ were schematic diagrams of prevailing ocean currents & wave patterns created by islands. Although they were primarily functional, their clear, simple & abstract combination has an aesthetic impact.

Polynesia

Genealogy determined a persons place in society. 1st born children of hereditary elite inherited more mana at birth & were more sacred. Creation of any art was a sacred act. Religions included many levels of gods who were influential in daily life.

Marquesas Islands

Tattoos were the primary art form here. Spirals were prominently featured in Māori facial tattoos, & rows of triangles indicated Hawaiian designs. Each design had a name & meaning. Special houses were constructed for the tattooing of high ranking people due to the painful & expensive nature of the art. It was forbidden in the 19th century by French colonists. A resurgence in the 1970’s brought about the full tattooing of Marquesan Teue Tupuhia, who based his designs on drawings made by George Langsdorff dated 1804.

Recent Art in Oceania

A cultural resurgence swept the pacific in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Independence, the civil rights movement in the U.S. & dramatic increases in tourism brought a new awareness to the importance of indigenous cultures.

Festival of Pacific Arts

Began in 1972 in Fiji, & has been held every 4 years. Musicians with traditional drums wore elaborate headdresses & necklaces made from Kina Shells. Many Pacific cultures now have their own _________ as a result. They incite young people to learn about their heritage.

Central Desert Painting

Sand drawing is an ancient ritual art from arranging ochers, seeds & feathers in symbolic patterns. Pintubi men trained in sacred knowledge were encouraged to transform their ephemeral art into a painted mural. “Dot Paintings” became a worldwide phenomenon & economic mainstay.

Participation

Seldom were artworks made simply to look at or contemplate from a distance.

Contemporaneity

Art not made for a museum display was often intended to be temporary and useful.

Abstraction

In contrast to the idealized, naturalistic forms in Europe, African artists conveyed non-visual ideas.

Cultural Fluency

Unique combinations of abstraction and naturalism appealed to both African rulers and European collectors.

The Asante Empire

Used gold from El Mina ("the Mine") for objects and jewelry as a symbol of power. Textile weavers used light, horizontal looms that appeared as rectangles on the finished *kente* cloth. Royal men wore a single piece while women wore a skirt and a shawl. The cloth is reserved for formal, special occasions. The governing system includes a spokesman, or *okyeame*. A staff called an *okyeama* *poma* symbolized their ability to speak on behalf of the *Asantehene*.

Bamum Kingdom

Sultan Njoya was an avid supporter of the arts who elevated Bamum sculptures and beadworks. The photograph on the next slide documents Njoya wearing a German officer's outfit, which was given to him by the Kaiser of Germany in exchange for the ancestral throne of Bamum.

Kuba Kingdom

The *nyim* is the top ruler of the ____ people of the Democratic Republic of Congo; at the installation of a new monarch, a new capital city is built. Geometric decoration appears on the walls of royal buildings and carved into objects.

Yoruba

The Yoruba people have been known throughout history as prolific carvers. Olowe of Ise (c.1873–1938) was one of the most important Yoruba artists of the early twentieth century. He was a royal court carver, one of most well-known pieces is the figural column sequence of the king’s palace at Ikere. He carved the door for the palace at Ise in an asymmetrical composition. The relief is so high that the figures' upper bodies are carved in the round. It commemorates the *arinjale*'s reception of the first British traveling commissioner.