Art History Mid Term Facts + Artists

Stonehenge

Neolithic, made of Bluestone and Gray Sand Stone. Both a henge enclosure and concentric stone circle using post and lintel built & rebuilt over more than a thousand years

Hall of Bulls, Lascaux Cave

the accumulation of paintings over millennia & the organization of space suggest rituals. depicts aurochs, horses, stags. some monumental sizing. artists working with the geological texture profile but horns viewed from front torch flickering animated the animals. outline & silhouette used manganese + yellow/ red ocher pigment

Lion-human figurine

Sattuette from Hohkenstein-Stadel. Found with beads, jewelry, and worked-bone tool. Carved from the tusk of a mammoth using stone tools. Lines & features incised on ivory

Woman of Willendorf

Oolitic limestone. Substantial belly & deeply pronounced navel. The thighs are solid, the hips are wide, and the vulva is clearly defined

Narmer Palette

Sacred enclosure of Horus, Hierakonpolis. Graywacke. Named for the king who united Upper and Lower Egypt. Snakes intertwining circle used for khol. Likely as a temple offering given size. Low relief & early hieroglyphic. Name Narmer & hierarchical scale with Narmer at the center. Falcon to represent Horus, defeat & violence & power. Harmonious bodies.

King Menkaure and Queen Khamerernebty

Made of greywacke with traces of red and black pigment. Ideal youth & calmness/ strength. Queen in sheath to emphasis femininity, King muscular. Pigment traces imply that the statue was painted.

Colossal Statue of Akhenaten

Sculptor Bak/Bek. Proportions are androgynous like creator Aten.

Bust of Nefertiti

found in the workshop of Thutmosem "Chief of Works, the Sculptor". Painted limestone with gypsum plaster.

Stele of Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and their children

Limestone with painted sunken relief. radical changes in the visual culture of state religion. shows humanity. elongated proportions. Aten as sun disk. niche in private home- royal images only in tombs and temples.

Stele of Naram-Sin

OG displayed in public space in Sippar. Depicted military victory of Akkadian ruler Naram Sin over the Lullubi & eliminates horizontal registers.Sin's double horned crown do imply divine status. Carved in low relief in the shape of a mountain landscape.

8 Seated statue of Gudea

Ruler or ensi of Lagash, dedicated to the god of vegetation and the underworld. commissioned by Gudea himself. dramatic sense of permanence expressive body, attentive eyes, clean shave face and cap imply religious dedication.

Law stele of Hammurabi

Made of black basalt. Babylonian BUT excavated at Susa. Is of the encounter between Hammurabi and sun god Shamush, god of justice (on the right ). in horizontal bands of cuneiform.

Flame Vessels from Sasyama

Jomon culture was named for the cord marked terracotta vessels such as these. bounded visual energy towards mouth tactile consideration cockscomb/ flamelike embellishments example elaborate designs imply luxury status, ceremonial use and ritual feasting

Fang ding with taotie design

from the tomb of Fu Hao, Anyang, Henan, China. Oxidized bronze. flat zoomorphic legs. composite animal mask on all four sides is typical shang. symmetrical. of a taotie stylized creature. geometric-esque. used for food and drink communion with ancestors.

Terra-cotta Army

commissioned during Qin's rule individual but standardization and division of labor that the First Emperor imposed on his empire. names marked on sculptures for accountability. no writing, rejection of Confucianism.

Figure of a woman

from a grave on Syros, Greece. system of proprtin like egyptian art. knees bent. toes downward. burials but also settlements or rituals. intended to be displayed lying down or carried. slashes might indicate someone was in mourning/inflicting self harm. belly indicating pregnancy. has breasts.

Snake goddess, from the palace at Knossos

among many other offerings in repositories near throne room. either goddesses or priestesses offerings

Gold death mask ("Mask of Agamemnon")

After homors legendary leader of the greeks against the trojans. but created 300 years before the life of agamemnon. rounded face, bald head, prominent ears. artist hammared a single thin sheet of gold over a mold. added fine detailing with a sharp tool. distinct features suggest the preservation of ones identity.

Lion Gate

Limestone relief and cyclopean masonry. The approach to the gate includes a bastion on the right side that strategically narrowed the entryway. The gate itself consists of two upright monoliths topped by a massive lintel. The walls on either side of the monoliths are corbeled, leaving space for a relieving triangle. carved in high relief in limestone. rare example of monumental sculpture from Minoan-style column that tapers at the bottom.

Geometric krater

burial marker just outside Athens. decorated with both Geometric forms & figurative representations, using gemetric forms. no naturalism or illusion of depth. used to mix wine with water- drinking is for men, so probably a man's mourning family. register below depicts chariots and horses, so prbably a warrior

Peplos Kore

Marbe with traces of original paint found among a deposit of buried votive and cult statues buried on the Akropolis after Persian conquest probably an image of Artemis, goddess of the hunt may have held an arrow and a bow in the right

Girl runner

from the Sanctuary of Zeus, Dodona, Greece. discovered at the Sanctuary of Zeus at Dodona probably represents a participant at the Heraia. Offerings. Rite of passage. Unmarried athletes partook in 500 feet race.

Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace

Sculpted bu Pythokritos of Rhodes. Dedicated in the sactuary if the great gods in north aegean. Parian marble statue on rhodian marble base. Date of work has been questioned. Draper whips behind her to emphasize the dramatic stuggle against gale forced winds.

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal

From Temple of Athena Nike, Athens. Made of marble. Finely carved figure is eroticized. Nike is removing her sandal because she is approaching sacred ground.

Polykleitos of Argos

Doryphoros (spear bearer). Roman copy of a greek bronze. Depicts a male warrior. Maybe Achilles. idealized youthfulness - greek ideals of beauty and perfection - common for the classical age. OG held a spear in the hand that is bent.

Exekais, amphora with Ajaz and Achilles playing a board game

Black figure ceramic at Troy. Achilles higher than Ajax to show elevated status as the greatest of the Greek heroes. ominous foreshadowing because of the two mortals violent deaths.

The Parthenon

Architects Iktinos and Kallikrates. Is an earlier version of the pillar. Once had an internal structure but it exploded/collapsed. Barely any straight lines - no right angles. columns incline slightly inward. gives viewers a sense of rising upwards, more dynamic than a static or sagging impression.

Orthostat, throne room of Ashurnasirpal II

Made out of Gypsum. Sacred tree in middle. Mace symbolizes authority. Visual narratives of the king's military success. symmetrical. no hierarchical scale.

Apollonius, Seated Boxer, from the Baths of Constantine

From the Baths of Constantine, Rome. once had inlaid eyes probably with glass paste or stone (lost). casted using a lost wax technique. individual but perfection of hair and beard feel staged. depicts a specific moment in time - between fights.