Art History Midterm 1

Prehistory art details

90% are animals, rest male-animal hybrids or females with exaggerated characteristics

rare to find scenes, small pieces left, deep in caves, ritualistic, mainly cave paintings, practiced art, many artistic over time, no horizon line, always side profile

Ancient Mesopotamia Art details

No use of rock contours but more relief carvings

scenes, hierarchy of scale

feared death- epic of Gilgamesh

language- cuneiform

• Sumerian art (3500-2332 BC)

• Akkadian art (2332-2150 BC)

• Neo-Sumerian and Babylonian art (2150-1600 BC)

• Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian art (900-539 BC)

Sumer details

3500-2332 BC

independent city states with different politics but same culture

ziggurat, libation, votive offerings, sky gods

peaceful, start of civilization

language was for religious purposes

ziggurat

bottom steps up to the temple

circumambulation- walk around the whole building in order to enter

libation

pouring for ritual purposes

votive offerings

statues that were used in temples to stand in place of a worshipper (proxy)

Standard of Ur Royal Cemetery 2600 BCE Sumerian

Statues of worshipers (watchers) Square Temple at Eshnunna (2700 BCE) sumerian

The White Temple Ziggurat Uruk 3200-3000 BCE Sumerian

Akkadians details

1st empire-kingship (2332-2150 BC)

different language but same religious beliefs as Sumerians

lost wax method

war

language was for legal purposes

Civilization

agriculture, permanent architecture, social stratification, specialization of labor, written language

Head of Akkadian Ruler Nineveh (2250-2200 BC) lost wax method Akkadia

Cylinder Seal of Hunting Scene with Modern Impression 2250-2150 BCE Akkadian

Decorated Ochre, Blombos Cave, South Africa (75,000 BC)

Bradshaw Rock Paintings, Australia, (ca 20,000 BC)

Lion-headed Figurine, Hoblenstein Stadel Cave, Germany (40,000-35,000 BC)

Venus of Willendorf, Austria (28,000-25,000 BC) (4.4”)

Wall of Bison, Altamira Caves, Spain (13,000-11,000 BC)

The Hunting Scene, Lascaux Cave (17,000-13,000 BC)

Predynastic Egypt

love multiplicity of meaning

rigid

mastabas

wealthy used eye makeup

hierarchy of scale

leaders showed themselves powerful and idealistically

ka-afterlife positive

consistent

Old Kingdom

height of civilization

pyramids

Middle Kingdom

trying to go back to the old kingdom

New Kingdom

trying to go back to old, lil Amarna period

Amarna Period

different art style and religious revolution (Akhenaten)- more androgenous and nonideality

once he died they reverted back to the old ways and completely erased him

Venus

female statue with a exaggerated parts

Neo Sumerian detail

same religious beliefs as Sumerian

peace- works show stability and wisdom

Seated Statue of Gudea (c. 2100 BCE) (Neo-Sumerian) 17”

Ziggurat at UR (c. 2100BCE) (Neo-Sumerian)

Babylonia

one of biggest civ of ancient times over 2,000 peeps

worldly power corruption, pride, materialism (opposite of zion)

after fall the civilization was completely erased

Stele of Hammurabi (c. 1780 BCE) (Babylonian) 7’4”

The Ishtar Gate (569 BCE) (Babylonian)

Assyrian Details

walled- Merciless to opposition but forgiving to those who submitted

Fortified citadels

Lots of reliefs depicting stories

hunting had religious purposes

Reconstruction of Citadel of Sargon II (c. 722-705 BCE) (Assyrian)

Ashurnasirpal II Hunting Lions (c. 883-559 BCE) (Assyrian)

Lamassu from Citadel of Sargon II, Dur-Sharrukin (720-700 BCE) (Assyrian)

Palette of King Narmer (c. 3000-2900 BCE) ( predynastic Egyptian)

Mastaba (predynastic)

Imhotep, Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara (2630-2575 BCE) (predynastic Egyptian)

Great Pyramids at Giza (2520-2494 BCE) (Old Egyptian)

The Great Sphinx (Khafre?) (2520-2494 BCE) (Old Egyptian)

Menkaure with Two Goddesses (2490-2472 BCE) (Old Egyptian)

Wooden Statue of the Scribe Kaaper, Saqqqara, (2500 BCE) (Old Egyptian)

Black Pyramid of Amenenhat III, (1850 BCE) ( Middle Egyptian)

Gold Mask of Tutankhamun, Valley of the Kings, Thebes, (1323 BCE) (New Egyptian)

Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut, (1473-1458 BCE) (New Egyptian)

Judgment of Hunefer, from an illustrated Book of the Dead  (c. 1290-1275 BCE) (New Kingdom Egyptian)

Colossal Statues of Ramses, Temple of Ramses, Abu Simbel, (1290-1224 BCE) (Egyptian)

Thutmose, Bust of Nefertiti, (1353-1335 BCE) (Egyptian-Amarna Style)

Akhenaten with Nefertiti and their children Amarna Style (1353-1335 BCE) (Egyptian-Amarna Style)

Akhenaton from temple of Aton, Amarna Style, (1353-1335 BCE) (Egyptian-Amarna Style)

Cycladic Details

Traders, island, metal tools, ships, lots of marble, economically diverse, no written document or cities, all works of art/info found in graves

love figures with arms crossed, females but if male playing instruments, no distinct faces, geometric

Frying Pan,  (Cycladic)

Male Harp Player, (2600-2300 BCE) (Cycladic)

Female Figure, (4500-400 BCE) (Cycladic)

Minoan Details

Palace of Knossos- labyrinth, bulls

Two types of writting- linear A and linear B (we can read B) so we can’t read their records

lots of fish motifs, light is female and dark is male

fresco- bright colors bonds to wall

Bull Leaping Fresco at Knossos, Crete (1400 BCE) (Minoan)

Palace of Knossos, Crete (1400-1100 BCE) (Minoan) (abandoned)

Kamares-Ware Jar with Fish, Crete (1800-1700 BCE) (Minoan)

Snake Goddesses or Priestesses, Crete (1500 BCE) (Minoan)

Landscape with Swallows (Spring Fresco), Thera (1650 BCE) (Minoan)

The Harvester’s Vase, (1500-1400 BCE) (Minoan)

Mycenean Details

built for war, maybe troy, cyclopean

Lion Gate of Mycenae, (13th C BCE) (Mycenaean)

Dendra Panoply, (1450 BCE) (Mycenaean)

Gold Death Mask (Mask of Agamemnon), (16th C BCE) (Mycenaean)

Geometric Greece

abstract triangular, experimenting with how to depict mythology, start of civ after dark age/systemic collapse, Orientalizing so some of their stuff looks Egyptian

Corinthian Black-figure amphora with animal friezes, Rhodes, 625-600 BC (Geometric/Orientalising)

Hero and Centaur form Olympia (750-730 BCE) (Geometric)

Archaic Greece

no emotion in the facial, women are fully clothed, men naked, prehumanism, arachic smile

Calf Bearer from Acropolis, Athens, 560 BCE (Archaic)

Kore from the Acropolis, Athens, 530 BC (Archaic)

Temple of Hera I, Paestum, 550 BCE

Classical Details

stoic- not a ton of emotion but more motion, temple is not straight, perfectly mathematical order, wealthy, start of wet fabric for women, black and red vase

Dying Warrior from East Pediment, Temple of Aphaia, 480 BCE

Hera II Temple, Paestum 470-456 BCE (Classical Greece)

Exekias, Ajax and Achilles Playing Dice, 540-530 BCE (Classical)

Euthymides, Three Revelers, (Red figure amphora), 510 BCE (Classical)

Hellenistic Details

other cultures are actually represented, what it means to be human, emotion and movement, women are naked, alexander the great

Warrior from Riace, 460-450 BCE (Classical)

Iktinos and Kalikrates, Parthenon (Temple of Athena Parthenos), 447-443 BC (Classical)

Epigonos, Dying Gaul, 240-200 BC (Hellenistic)

Winged Nike of Samothrace, 190 BCE (Hellenistic)

Seated Boxer, (Lysippos? Apollonius?) 100-50 BC (Hellenistic)

Etruscans

different language and society, men and women are more equal, lil fresco men are dark and women are lighter, better view of the afterlife, where Rome became, grave were carved out like houses

Tombs of the Leopards, Tarquinia, 480-470 BC (Etruscan)

Sarcophagus with Reclining Couple, Cerveteri, 520 BC (Etruscan)

Tomb of Shields and chairs, Cerveteri, 6^th c. BC (Etruscan)