AcDec Art Section 1

What is the goal of art history?

To understand art's meaning in its historical context by analyzing formal qualities, original function, artist/patron goals, and audience perspectives.

How has the definition of "art" changed in art history?

Past: Limited to "fine art" (paintings, sculpture). Today: Includes crafts (pottery, textiles), mass-produced objects (ads, furniture), and non-Western art.

Why can an artwork's meaning change over time?

Viewer perspectives differ based on social status, education, religion, or historical period (e.g., Sistine Chapel's meaning to the Pope vs. a modern atheist).

What is formal analysis?

Studying visual elements (color, line, composition) to derive meaning intrinsic to the artwork.

What does contextual analysis examine?

Cultural, social, religious, and economic contexts (e.g., patronage, original location, cost).

Why do art historians use comparative study?

To highlight stylistic changes (e.g., Gothic vs. Renaissance) and relate them to historical shifts.

What sources do art historians prioritize?

Direct examination of artworks, sketches, preparatory models, and contemporaneous works.

Name 3 types of written sources art historians use.

Letters between artist/patron, commission documents, period art criticism.

When might an art historian use participant observation?

For cultures relying on oral tradition (e.g., documenting West African masquerades by participating).

What did Pliny contribute to art history?

Early art analysis in Natural History (1st century CE).

What is Vasari's Lives of the Artists known for?

Biographies of Italian Renaissance artists, promoting the idea of "artistic genius."

How did Winckelmann change art history?

Shifted focus from biographies to stylistic development and historical context (18th century).

How has art history expanded recently?

Now includes Marxist, feminist, and psychoanalytic approaches; studies "visual culture" (ads, film, TV).

Why does art history focus on Western civilizations?

Non-Western art often used perishable materials (e.g., West African textiles) or remains undiscovered.

What challenges exist for studying Central/South American art?

Looting and destruction of artifacts for antiquities markets.

Describe Chauvet Cave paintings.

c. 30,000 BCE; red ochre/charcoal; animals (lions, mammoths); possibly ritualistic.

How do Lascaux/Altamira paintings differ from Chauvet?

Added yellow pigment; more human hand outlines.

What are the key features of the Venus of Willendorf?

4.125-inch stone figurine (c. 28,000-25,000 BCE); exaggerated fertility traits; no facial details.

How did Mesolithic art differ from Paleolithic?

Depicted humans dominating animals (e.g., Spanish rock shelters, c. 7000-4000 BCE).

Why do we have more Paleolithic than Mesolithic art?

Caves protected paintings; rock shelters exposed art to erosion.

Describe Stonehenge's structure and purpose

c. 2100 BCE; concentric sarsen/bluestone rings; aligned with summer solstice sunrise.

What defines megalithic culture?

Use of massive stones (e.g., post-and-lintel construction at Stonehenge).

Why do tombs preserve art better?

Sealed environments (e.g., Egyptian tombs) protect artifacts from decay/looting.

What was the function of a ziggurat?

Temple + administrative center; stepped pyramid (e.g., Great Ziggurat of Ur, c. 2100 BCE).

Describe the Hammurabi stele.

c. 1792 BCE; shows king receiving laws from sun-god Shamash; oldest complete legal code.

What subjects did Assyrian reliefs depict?

Battles, hunts, sieges (e.g., 9th-7th century BCE).

What is the Ishtar Gate?

Neo-Babylonian gateway (c. 612-538 BCE); glazed bricks with animal figures.

Why is less Mesopotamian art preserved vs. Egyptian?

Used perishable mud bricks; lacked natural barriers against invaders.

What is Persepolis?

Persian palace (c. 538-330 BCE); influenced by Egyptian styles.