AP Art History: Complete Review, Historical Context

Apollo 11 Cave Stones

The stones were discovered the same year as the Apollo 11 moon landings (1969), so they were named after the historical event.

Great Hall of the Bulls

Because the cave is nearly 250 meters long and difficult to access, we can assume that it was meant to be entered by a specific group of people, most likely those who were well-respected. This supports the theory of the Great Hall of Bulls being a site for shaman's religious rituals.

Camelid Sacrum in the Shape of a Canine

The sacrum was seen as sacred by Mesoamerican cultures that came after this unit, such as the Aztecs and Mayans

Running Horned Woman

The work is in an elevated, secluded area ⛰️, which makes art historians believe that it may be located in what was a religious sanctuary. Hunter-gatherers did not dress like the woman depicted in the work. This means that her clothing and accessories may be symbolic of something.

Bushel with Ibex Motifs

This work was found in Susa, Iran, which is near a fertile river valley. Because of this location, we can assume that Susa was a Neolithic settlement.

Anthropomorphic Stele

This work was found along what used to be a trade route and is easily portable, suggesting that people would carry these while traveling. They may have possibly been used as good luck during travel, but art historians aren't completely sure

Jade Cong

This work was found in the Yangzi delta of China, where Neolithic inhabitants had already began the transition to agriculture by planting rice 🍚. This explains why they had so much time to create art

Stonehenge

was built over a period of 500 years, starting in 3100 BCE. Because so much time was dedicated to its construction, we can assume that it had an important purpose in Bronze Age England

The Ambum Stone

prehistoric people of Papua New Guinea had settled communities going into the Neolithic period, which allowed them to spend more time on art

Tlatilco Female Figurines

The woman has exaggerated thighs and hips (hips don't lie!), which may represent fertility. Existed anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 years before the Aztecs (you may want to remember this for Unit 5!)

Terra-Cotta Fragment

prehistoric Lapita people who created this work are well-known for their pottery.

Sumer (3500-2340 BCE) Architecture

Mostly temples and ziggurats (tall towers that were used in religious ceremonies because their height made them close to the heavens where their gods reside; believed to connect the Earth 🌍 to the heavens ☁️)

Sumer (3500-2340 BCE) Sculpture

Hands folded in gesture of prayer

Humans have large, exaggerated eyes 👀, possibly signifying that they are staring at a deity (a polytheistic god or goddess) above.

Men are depicted shirtless while women are dressed modestly, since nudity was associated with low-status and poverty.

Babylonia (1792-1750 BCE) Sculpture

Picture both historical (Hammurabi) and mythological figures (Shamash, the Mesopotamian Sun god ☀️); shows relationship between humans and the divine

Most are bas-relief sculptures (a sculpture that is carved from its medium, AKA a relief sculpture, and barely protrudes from the background).

Figures are in the composite view (shoulders are frontal, yet the rest of the body is in profile).

Assyria (883-612 BCE) Sculpture

Human figures have a stoic appearance 😐, yet animals are depicted with emotion (we'll learn more about Stoicism and stoic art when we get to Greece).

Artists like to combine both human and animal figures, as seen in the lamassu (human-headed bull or lion in Assyrian mythology) below.

Were used for apotropaic purposes (to ward off harm and bad luck)

Persia (559-331 BCE) Architecture

Meant to impress Persia's residents and visitors and show off the wealth of its rulers to others 👑

Persepolitan columns (columns with two carved bulls for capitals) are commonly seen in Persian architectural works.

Egypt (3000-30 BCE) Architecture

Pyramids are built as a part of a greater complex called a necropolis (an area used for burials) ⚰️

Egyptian architecture has become grander and more elaborate over time; architects opted for pyramids over mastabas (unassuming tombs found in the ground), and engaged columns (columns that are attached to a wall, rather than freestanding) become popular.

New architectural elements: the hypostyle hall (hall with a roof supported by columns) and clerestory (a roof that is higher than other roofs in a building 🏛️).

Columns made during the time of the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BCE) have lotus, palm 🌴, or papyrus-shaped capitals (upper part of a column).

Egypt (3000-30 BCE) Painting

Hieroglyphics (ancient Egyptian writing system ✏️ that uses symbols to represent characters) adorn many works and provide more context about their purpose, who is pictured, and what they accomplished during their lives

Created to ensure that the deceased 💀 would make it to the afterlife

Painted on papyrus (a paper-like writing surface made from the papyrus plant)

Canon of proportions: shoulders are frontal, the rest of the body is in profile (shown from one side), men are depicted tallest while women and children are shorter

Lack of shading gives figures a flat, unrealistic appearance

Figures are usually pictured along a ground line (main line where the figures are standing), but some are pictured on registers (other horizontal lines) near the top of the work to mimic the appearance of distance (as seen below ⬇️)

Egypt (3000-30 BCE) Sculpture

Usually carved from rock, rather than cut free from it

During the Amarna Period (1346-1336 BCE), artists began to break the canon of proportions and depicted humans with protruding stomachs, softer limbs, and more realistic-looking bodies (as seen below ⬇️)

Greek Archaic Sculpture (600-480 BCE)

Kouros and kore figures (sculptures of young men and women, respectively) are popular and are usually made from marble and paint 🎨

Humans are shown standing upright with straight, squarish shoulders and knotted hairdos.

Sculptures of humans usually have an Archaic smile (slight smile where the sides of the lips are barely upturned 🙂), which is meant to add liveliness to the rather stiff looking work.

Greek Classical Architecture (480-323 BCE)

Three orders of columns, from least to most complex: Doric, Ionian (columns with spiral volutes on their capitals), and Corinthian (columns with leaves 🍃on their capitals)

Buildings were used in everyday life (like the Athenian Agora), commemorated historical events (like the Temple of Athena Nike ⚔️), and/or were dedicated to mythological figures (like the Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon).

Amphiprostyle temples (only having columns at the front and back) are commonly seen

Architects used geometry 📐 when constructing their buildings.

Greek Classical Sculpture (480-323 BCE)

Less stiff-looking than Archaic sculptures, since artists used contrapposto (arrangement of the human body where most of the weight is put on one leg AKA the engaged leg, while the other is slightly bent at the knee)

Polykleitos' canon of proportions: idealized bodies with large muscles 💪 and wide torsos, mix of stressed and relaxed muscles, head is 1/7 the size of the body

Rules become more relaxed as time goes on.

Greek Classical Pottery (480-323 BCE)

Greek potters believed that form follows function, which means that something's appearance should match how it's going to be used (we'll be revisiting this term when we get to unit 4 ).

Black figure (black figures on red clay background) and red figure vases (red clay figures on black background) become popular in the Archaic period.

Greek Hellenistic (323-30 BCE) Sculpture

Artists begin to focus on human emotion by showing figures in less stiff positions, depicting movement, and carving different facial expressions 😧onto their sculptures.

Most sculptures (with the exception of reliefs) were meant to be seen from all sides, rather than just from the front.

Greek Hellenistic (323-30 BCE) Painting

Depict historical or mythological battle scenes in a glorious way

Etruria (900-270 BCE) Architecture

Buildings are made from wood and mud brick, which is why many of them have not been preserved over the centuries 🏚️

Etruscan architects built stairs that led to an entrance, unlike Greek architects who surrounded a building with stairs

Inspired by Greek architecture (columns, capitals, built on an elevated platform 🏛️, etc)

Etruria (900-270 BCE) Painting

Men are painted in darker colors than women, which Etruscan paintings have in common with ones made in ancient Egypt.

Most frescoes (method of painting where the artist applies paint 🖌️ on top of fresh plaster) are found in tombs, which shows that they had a funerary purpose in Etruria.

Etruria (900-270 BCE) Sculpture

Sculptures are commonly made from terracotta (ceramic made from clay) or stucco (a type of plaster usually made from sand, lime, and water).

Figures are always clothed for modesty, unlike most Greek sculptures.

Were once brightly painted 🎨, but it has worn away with time and only the terracotta bases remain

Roman Architecture

Edict of Milan and the "Peace of the Church" 🕊️

In 313 AD, the emperors of the Roman Empire signed the Edict of Milan, which promised that its Christian citizens would no longer be persecuted by the government and that all of its citizens had the right to religious freedom. The period after this is now referred to as the "Peace of the Church," and led to the spread of Christianity across Europe.

When creating buildings that needed arch ceilings, Roman architects used barrel vaults (arch shaped tunnel), which could be connected to create groin vaults (intersecting arch-shaped tunnels) for support 💪

New advancements in architecture like the impluvium, which was used to collect rainwater 🌧️

Some buildings use ashlar masonry, a type of masonry where rocks of similar sizes are stacked and fit together using mortar (we'll see this a technique a lot more in other units ).

Use of composite columns (combination of Ionic and Corinthian columns) and Tuscan columns (simple, unadorned columns)

Many buildings are civic gathering places, like the Colosseum

Roman Sculpture

Edict of Milan and the "Peace of the Church" 🕊️

In 313 AD, the emperors of the Roman Empire signed the Edict of Milan, which promised that its Christian citizens would no longer be persecuted by the government and that all of its citizens had the right to religious freedom. The period after this is now referred to as the "Peace of the Church," and led to the spread of Christianity across Europe.

Built to commemorate historical events and/or important figures like the Augustus of Prima Porta, which pictures Augustus Caesar and his role in the Pax Romana 🕊️

Narrative sculptures (ones that tell a story) become a way to document a story for generations to come

Some humans are depicted realistically or unflatteringly realistic, as you can see in the Head of a Roman Patrician

Late Antique Architecture

Basilicas have an apse (semicircular projection near the end of the church), transept (aisle in front of the apse), nave (main isle), narthex (area near the entrance), and atrium (open space in a building).

Use of spolia (reused architectural elements) from older works 🏛️

Churches either centrally-planned (circular with altar in the center) or axially-planned (long nave like an axis) ⛪

Buildings have little exterior decoration because it was associated with paganism.

Coffered (sunken panel) ceilings are popular.

Byzantine Architecture

Formation of the Byzantine Empire

One of the greatest empires of all time, the Byzantine Empire, was founded in 330 CE by Emperor Constantine I. After the Great Schism (splitting of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches), the people of the empire began to practice Eastern Orthodoxy, and this religious influence can be seen in Byzantine art.

Use of pendentives (curved triangular pieces of masonry) or squinches (curved polygonal pieces of masonry) to attach a dome to flat walls

Mosaics (decorations made with tessarae like stones and colored glass) on the walls

Architects creates lots of windows to allow light to come in ☀️

Circular plan or a combination of a central and axial plan

Martyrium (shrine built over the tomb of a martyr that stores their relics) in a church

Byzantine Painting

Formation of the Byzantine Empire

One of the greatest empires of all time, the Byzantine Empire, was founded in 330 CE by Emperor Constantine I. After the Great Schism (splitting of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches), the people of the empire began to practice Eastern Orthodoxy, and this religious influence can be seen in Byzantine art.

Use of religious icons

Bodies are frontal and symmetrical for the most part.

Islamic Architecture

Spread of Islam into al-Andalus ☪️

As Islam spread, it reached Spain in Europe, where the religion began to influence the art made there. The art made in Islamic Spain, especially architecture, began to fuse the artistic traditions of the Muslim world with ones that existed in Spain before being a part of the Umayyad Caliphate.

Kufic (an extremely decorative and elaborate type of script) calligraphy is written on walls of religious buildings.

Open, airy interior ☁️, which emphasizes the feeling of weightlessness in the overall buildings

Use of voussoirs (wedge-shaped stones) to create arches

Islamic Sculpture

Spread of Islam into al-Andalus ☪️

As Islam spread, it reached Spain in Europe, where the religion began to influence the art made there. The art made in Islamic Spain, especially architecture, began to fuse the artistic traditions of the Muslim world with ones that existed in Spain before being a part of the Umayyad Caliphate.

Calligraphy (ornamental handwriting) used as a decoration on walls, just like in Islamic architecture 🖊️

Use of horror vacui (literally the "fear of empty space," filling blank spaces on a work with elaborate designs)

Early Medieval Painting

Formation of the Byzantine Empire

One of the greatest empires of all time, the Byzantine Empire, was founded in 330 CE by Emperor Constantine I. After the Great Schism (splitting of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches), the people of the empire began to practice Eastern Orthodoxy, and this religious influence can be seen in Byzantine art.

Iconoclastic Controversy 👼

The Iconoclastic Controversy of the 8th and 9th centuries led to the destruction of and hostility toward artworks with icons (depictions of religious figures) on them. This led to political and social conflict between iconophiles (people who supported their use) and iconoclasts (people who were against their use).

Use of two scripts: half-uncial (a type of script used for writing in Latin) and Anglo-Saxon minuscule (a medieval writing system native to Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England)