Art History Lecture 1 : Art before history

abstraction

A style of art that reduces shapes and appearances to basic (simplified, reduced, or schematic) yet recognizable forms that are not intended to mirror nature (in contrast to naturalism)

naturalism

A style of art that attempts to depict things as they actually appear in nature, lifelike in appearance, as opposed to abstraction.

composite pose or perspective

Also known as "composite profile" or "twisted perspective." Representation of a figure in which each part of the body is portrayed from its most distinct and characteristic aspect. The term describes the conventional manner of depicting animals in prehistoric cave paintings, in which some parts of a figure are shown as though seen from the front (frontally), while others are shown as though seen from the side (in profile). An animal's head may be depicted in profile, for example, with both horns visible, even though in true profile one would be hidden behind the other. The term also describes the enduring ancient Egyptian convention of figurative art in which the head is shown in profile, but with an eye as seen from the front; and a frontal torso, with legs seen from the side.

convention (artistic)

The standard, often stylized way that a culture deals with a specific image in art.

figurative

Representational: forms that are recognizably derived from life.

narrative art

Art that provides a visual representation of some kind of story

Paleolithic

"Old Stone Age": the prehistoric era of human history marked by the use of stone tools, beginning about 2.6 million years ago and extending to about 10,000 BCE.

perspective

The representation on a two-dimensional surface of three-dimensional objects in space. When all parallel lines and edges of surfaces recede at the same angle so that they converge on a single vanishing point (as in Masaccio's Trinity), the method is called linear or one-point perspective. An older pictorial device for depicting recession in space is atmospheric perspective, used by ancient Roman fresco painters, in which objects in the far distance (often shown in bluish-gray hues) are represented with blurrier outlines and fewer details than nearer objects, a technique that mimics actual optical effects. See also illusionistic perspective.

sculpture in the round

Sculpture that is self-contained and three-dimensional (in contrast to relief sculpture).

PREHISTORY

the millions of years of human history

before the invention of writing

(ca. 3200 BCE, or some 5000 years ago)

ARCHAEOLOGY

the study of human activity in the past,

primarily through the recovery and

analysis of the material culture left

behind.

MODELING

In painting, the use of

shading to create the

effect of roundness and

volume

SHAMAN

Person having access to and influence in the spirit world