Art History Midterm

ARTHC 201 - from Prehistoric to A

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

Prehistoric: Paleolithic

“The Sorcerer,” Cave of the Three Brothers (13,000 BC) Sketch by Henri Breuil

Next to “The Sorcerer,” contemporary photo

Prehistoric: Paleolithic

• According to Henri Brielle this drawing indicated a deeper understanding of creatures and humans in a spiritual or religious realm

• Henri drew a “copy” of this cave painting, yet the original turned out to be much different

• Controversial, maybe he saw things that have eroded with time, mistook the three-dimensional space as part of the experience and drawing

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

Prehistoric: Paleolithic

• Found in France, people risked their lives to make these painting

• Not simply depictions of animals

-> rare hunting scene, fight or battle, potential indication of bird masks or clothing

-> human and animal narrative is very rare

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

Prehistoric: Paleolithic

• Named later, no indication that they actually depicted goddesses 

• anatomical exaggeration, embellishments of female characteristics

• limestone figurine

• Potentially fertility charms, women as the bringers of life

“Decorated Ochre”, Blombos Cave, South Africa, 75000 BC
Prehistoric: Paleolithic

• Found Ochre (crayon) in a prehistoric cave that had been caved in 77 000 years ago

• Oldest work of art (known)

Ancient Mesopotamia (the land between the rivers) Ca. 3500-539 BC

Visual Elements:

• setting, recognizable people involved in a scene

• Hierarchy of scale = most important thing is the biggest

• relief carving, depth of carving can vary from low to deep

• sculptures have big eyes and clasped hands

Ancient Mesopotamia (the land between the rivers) Ca. 3500-539 BC

Civilization:

Complex social organization which exhibits most or all of these characteristics:

- agriculture

- permanent architecture

- social stratification

- specialization of labor

- written language

Merge together:

• Move from hunter and gatherers to farmers = increase in population

• Not everyone has to hunt for food, different types of labor exist now with people in charge, structure and social stratifications

Ancient Mesopotamia (the land between the rivers) Ca. 3500-539 BC

Writing:

• Wedge shapes pressed into clay tablets

• Cuneiform = NOT a language, just a writing form

• Learn about religion, inventory, rulers

Sumerian Art, ca. 3500-2332 BC

• Beginning on writing, accounting system to keep inventory and track of goods

• Semi-independent city states

• Share language, religion and culture

• Ziggurat

The White Temple Ziggurat, Uruk, 3200-3000 BCE (Sumerian)

• Building of white temples made of mud bricks, eroded by water over time

• Ziggurat as the platform, the temple as a separate structure on top

• Walk around the temple platform, similar to circling around mekkah in islam 

• Interior had a sacred fire, libation = pouring something into the fire for ritual purpose

• Potentially had no ceiling structure due to found worshipper statues

Statuettes of Worshippers from Square Temple at Eshnunna (2700 BCE) (Sumerian)

• Range of different size statues, big eyes, looking up

• Cup or vessel in their hands, similar robe or dress, same 

            posture

-> Belief in literal sky gods, ceiling would obstruct

- statues could be bought in place of oneself attending temple service, name would be written on them, size depended on what one could afford

Female Head (Inanna?), Uruk (3200-3000BC) (Sumerian)

• Assumed goddess on Inanna

• Attached to something, potentially a life-sized sculpture in a temple

• the rest of the body might have disintegrated since it was built out of mud rock, the most important part (head) made out of rock

• Carved out of life sized rock, expensive

• Potentially inlaid gold hair and eyebrows

• Interactive piece originally, glowing from fire, not just white

Standard of Ur (War), from the Royal Cemetery (2600 BCE) (Sumerian)

• One side shows a peaceful, the other a war-centered image

• Box that wouldn’t open

• No idea what it is 

• Presumed depiction of kind or general, hierarchy of scale, wagons 

• Left to right, top row meets in the centre

• Found in a (royal maybe) cemetery, causing it to be well preserved

Head of Akkadian Ruler, Nineveh, (2250-2200 BC) (Akkadian)

• inlaid eyes

• Beard as important, symbolic as masculine power

• Symbolic attack against a political leader, potentially attacked and conquered by an enemy leader = gauged out eyes and damage on the sculpted figure to symbolize a change of allegiance 

• Bronze = Lost Wax Casting

- lighter and cheaper

- this process is still similar to how we make bronze statues today

Akkadian Art, ca. 2332-2150 BC

• Empire, dominating and imperial power

• Ruled by Sargon of Akkad (r. 2332–2279 BCE)

• introduced a new concept of royal power based on unswerving loyalty to the ruler

• United instead of multiple independent city-states

-> not genetically related to Sumerians, but use cuneiform (Sumerian used as religious language, Akkadian is preserved as political language) 

-> not the same group of people as Sumerians, but belief in similar gods and deities

Victory Stele of Naram-Sin (c. 2254-2215 BCE) (Akkadian) 6’7”

• Stele = carved stone, political context

• Depicting military victory, fought by Naram Sin

• Hierarchy of scale, sight lines point to him

-  in the composition, he is higher than everybody, different clothes, individuality, horn helmet as symbol of power

• Victory over another tribe explained in cunei type on the back 

• Relief carving

• Stars as symbol of gods, interest in the universe and the night sky 

= the closer he gets to the sky, the more godlike he is

• Later writing added, saying that “We conquered Naram Sin”

Cylinder Seal of Hunting Scene with Modern Impression (c. 2250-2150 BCE) (Akkadian)

• Testifies to the person who sealed an object

• Not used by regular people, but kings and priests to prove their legitimacy

• Made of stone, to preserve longevity of seal

Neo-Sumerian and Babylonian Art, ca. 2150-1600 BC

• Akkadians are conquered by the Sumerians

• Sumerians want to redefine what it means to be Sumerian in light of being conquered before

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

• Often found in temples

• Gudea, a Sumerian ruler, remakes temples and places his statues inside

• Depicted as wise, grounded, stability, kind

• Big eyes to show his devotion to gods, humility 

• drastically different display of a leader than the ones before

• Gudea can be considered a peaceful leader, enacted trade deals, however depiction through statues should not be seen as documentation of a leader

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

• carved stone, relief at the top

• Depicts Hammurabi receiving the law from the gods 

- helmet, seated on throne, larger than Hammurabi

• God holds a coil of rope and a stick

- symbolic power = build something new and powerful 

-  tools for building stuff = build a nation through laws

-  way to measure (stick) = law, standards by which to live

• Hammurabi = oldest known law code and consequences written down 

• Specific way of ordering society

• Covered in writing

The Ishtar Gate (569 BCE) (Babylonian) 15 meters high

• ishtar is a goddess in Babylon

• Ritual passage, religious entrance

• Interior wall made of wood, exterior is glazed pottery to mimic jewelry

• Blue to mimic jade

• Depiction of some real-life animals as well as fictional creatures

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

• Decorative, schematic and linear depiction of the lion

• Hunting animals was not just for food or population control = religious

• King expressing dominance over the natural world, ritual display of the king's power

• Soldiers and servants would catch a lion, a king would ride out into the courtyard of the citadel and kill the lion for ritual purpose

Relief with Benevolent Spirit (Winged Geni), Palace of Ashurnasirpall II (c. 883-859 BCE) (Assyrian)

• Protective creature, guardian, placed by entrances

• Body of an ox, fast as an eagle, head of a human

• Four legs can be seen from the front or the side, 5 legs in a ¾ view

• Really high relief carving

Ancient Egypt (3100-332 BC)

Visual Elements

• Hierarchy of scale = Pharaoh is seen as a God

• Static = powerful, more dynamic = lower class

• Storytelling, guide for the afterlife

• Statues as physical tethers to earth

Ancient Egypt

Themes

• Permanent monumental architecture 

• religious/ funerary art

• unified kingdoms (cycle of perpetual flourishing and then downfall)

• Written language, organization (Egyptian hieroglyphics) 

• agriculturally based society

• The Nile as a source of life

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

• Book of the dead contains rituals, spells and religious writing, helps the deceased on their way in the after life

• Left in tombs or carved into tombs throughout Ancient Egypt

• Book evolves, abridgements of texts from hundreds of years ago, incredibly complicated 

• Hunifer, the dead, led through the underworld by Anubis

• His heart is weighted against a feather, if lighter he is able to progress and live with the gods, if not he gets eaten

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

• Hierarchy of scale shows King Narmer

• His bashing someone's head in with a club = Narmer is physically strong and could kill you

• Wealthy wore black makeup, kept infections and bugs away

• Ritual object or palette for mixing eye makeup, maybe for statues

• Wears the crown of both upper and lower Egypt, shows himself as the ruler of a unified land

• Unknown if he is an actual person, whether he went by various names

Mastaba (Egyptian)

• Trapezoid platform containing chapel, offering table, statues, leads down into a shaft, grave

• Earliest version of tombs and pyramids in ancient Egypt

• Ka = life force, ancient version of a spirit, continues to live after death

- still needs a physical tie in this realm to exist, if not the ka is cut loose and floats around in the universe

- mummies become a physical form that the ka can be tied to

- if king, statues can be built as “insurance” for a mummy, that could be stolen or destroyed

Seated Statue of Khafre, from Giza (2520-2494 BCE) (Egyptian)

• Funerary, physical tethers for the ka

• Never just a document of a person or their likeness, present the ideas associated with a pharaoh 

• Kahfre, here is not the point - the embodied power of the pharaoh, with this ensure their life

• Headdress, fake beard, pleaded skirt = iconography of a pharaoh 

• Throne as symbol of his rule

• Stiff posture

- Symbolic = eternal stillness, permanent nature

- Made of heavy stone for preservation, pose is confined to the material

- represents class, active bodies seen as lower class, servants are movable

Seated Scribe from Saqqara (2500 BCE) (Egyptian)

• Scribe for the pharaoh in the afterlife

• Pharaohs can be mortal and immortal at the same time, versions of the afterworld differ 

- afterlife a better version of this one, servants and animals in tombs to help him in the afterlife

- mummies, statues or warriors in the tombs

• Depiction of a person's likeness, movement and human body = attributed to lower class people

Middle Kingdom (Ancient Egypt)

Old Kingdom (flourishing of the Ancient World) 

2686-2181 BC

1st Intermediate Period (almost falls apart) 

2686-2055 BC

Middle Kingdom (unification under one ruler, flourishing of Egypt once again but different) 

2055-1650 BC

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

• A WOMAN, one of few to rule Ancient Egypt

• Daughter of a pharaoh, marries her brother, a pharaoh and becomes the regent, a queen in two different ways, in place for the heir

• Goes out to battle, treaties, good ruler = makes herself a pharaoh 

- no one can second guess her power,

= Depictions are not of a woman but of a pharaoh, usually a male position 

• Wears the fake beard in court, but doesn’t pretend to be a man or not be woman but a pharaoh

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

• 65 feet tall statues, seated and static

• This temple was moved in the 20th century by the United Nations

• Initially completely covered in sand

• When the sun rises on summer solstice, the sun covers all the statues, except for one which is a god of the underworld 

• Egyptians often play with light and the time of day to change and represent the gods

The Amarna Period

Religious Revolution

• Akhenaten's father dies, becomes pharaoh and gradually makes changes

• Declares that multiple gods don’t exist: only one does = Atin, the god of the sun disc (male and female, androgenous)

• He is the son of Aton, moves the capital of Egypt

• Cuts off the power of priests, aristocracy = only authority belongs to him and his family
  
  

The Amarna Style

• Elongated faces, pearshaped bodies, 

• Not just him that was stylized, everyone, even babies

• Strategic choice, not his actual depiction = shows Akhenaten's immense change and separation from the kings of the past

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)

Bronze Age Aegean Art and Architecture

• Mycenaean = mainland Greece, classical Greece and Rome

• Cycladic = The Cyclades (multiple islands) 

• Minoan = Crete

Cycladic Society

• Islands are rich in metal and marble, figure out to use material

• Travel allows them to export and trade metal with others

• No written language left behind, no major towns or settlements

• cemeteries and graves give insight into their lives:

- society with economic diversity

- different amount and quality of things buried in graves

Female Figure, Cycladic, 4500-4000 BCE, 8,5” high

Figures wrapped around abdomen 

- meaning unknown but common presentation

Cycladic Figurine, (Cycladic)

• Found in graves but also in nonburial context

- used before being buried

• Craved out of marble

• Varying sizes

• Human figures = most are women 

• Variety of styles, different emphasis

- facial features, wedge shaped head

Minoan Civilization 

• Arthur Evans (1851-1941) association with the excavation on the island of Crete

• Not a systematic science yet, blow things up, guess what something was and altered objects, restored them

Themes:

• ocean, water

• women are shown on murals, with makeup and topless, situations of power

Left behind two types of writing:

- Linear A, ancient Minoan

- Jasper Seal, with Minoan Hieroglyphics

= not able to read these languages, not related to Greek

Frying Pan, (Cycladic)

• Rare, only a few dozens found

• Not used, very good condition 

• Oceanic decorations, fish, boats, water and waves

• Potentially mirrors

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

• Bull murals

• Skin color does not relate to race but gender: women are pale, men have dark skin

• Depicts bull vaulting, dangerous

• Fresco: plaster and pigment mixed, can last a long time

• (often depiction of women on these murals)

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

• Interior room painted as mountains, sparrows

• Primary colors

• One of the oldest pure landscape depictions not mixed with other subject matter

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

• Found at a burial site

• Relief on top of pottery

• Depictions of workers, singing, facial features

• Work songs, man inhales deeply

• No sense of a god, regular people doing regular work (genre art, ahead of its time)

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

• Interaction with dangerous animals as sign of power

• breasts are open

Mycenaean Civilization 

• 1750-1050 BCE

• Mainland Greece

• Most powerful

Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890)

• Not archaeologists like Evans

• Claims the Ilyad and The Odyssey, the war at Troy is true

• Discovers the city of Troy, evidence of warfare

• Inspires Evans to go to Crete

Gold Death Mask (Mask of Agamemnon), 16th century BCE

• Schliemann claims it to be Agamemnon, but unknown

• less skilled than in Ancient Egypt. broad shapes instead of definition