All - Visual Literacy Art History Midterm

Ancient

3200 BC - 500 AD

Medieval

500 - 1500

Renaissance

1400 - 1600

Early Modern

1600 - 1800

Modern

1800 - 1960

Post-Modern

1960 - Present

Woman of Willendorf, 24,000 BC - Paleolithic

Palette of Narmer, c. 2950 BC - Egyptian

The Step Pyramid of Djoser, Imhotep, c. 2630 BC, Saqqara, Egypt - Egyptian

The Parthenon, Kallikrates & Iktinos, 447-432 BC, Athens, Greece, Greek

Aphrodite of Knidos, Praxiteles, c. 350 BC - Greek

Augustus of Prima Porta, c. 14 AD - Roman

Pantheon, c. 118 - 128 AD, Rome, Italy - Roman

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, c. 176 AD - Roman

Arch of Constantine, c. 312-315 AD, Rome, Italy - Roman

Hagia Sophia, Anthemius of Tralles & Isidorus of Miletus, 532-537 AD, Istanbul Turkey - Byzantine

Dome of the Rock, 691-692 AD, Jerusalem, Israel - Islamic

Abassid Koran, 9th c. AD, Syria - Islamic

Shiva Nataraja, 12th century AD, Chola Dynasty - Hindu

Angkor Wat, 12th century AD, Khmer Dynasty, Angkor, Cambodia - Hindu

Last Judgement, Autun Cathedral, c. 1120 AD - Romanesque

Chartres Cathedral, c. 1134-1269 AD, Chartres, France - Gothic

Saint Maurice, c. 1240 AD, Magdeburg Cathedral - Gothic

The Tribute Money, Masaccio, c. 1424-1427 - Renaissance

Jean-Baptiste Belley, Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson, 1797 - Neoclassical

Third of May 1808, Francisco Goya, 1814-1815 - Romanticism

Thomas Carlyle, Julia Margaret Cameron, 1867 - Pictorialism

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon), Pablo Picasso, 1907 - Cubism

Robie House, Frank Loyd Wright, 1909, Chicago, IL - Prairie Style

Fountain, Marcel Duchamp, 1917 - Dada

Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), Jackson Pollock, 1950 - Abstract Expressionism

The Dinner Party, Judy Chicago, 1974-1979 - Feminism

Untitled, Kiki Smith, 1990 - Post Modern

Many Mansions, Kerry James Marshall, 1994 - Post Modern

Rebellious Silence, Shirin Neshat, 1994 - Post-Modern

The Crossing (Fire & Water), Bill Viola, 1996 - Post-Modern

Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Zaha Hadid, 2009-11, Seoul, South Korea - Post-Modern

Fons Americanus, Kara Walker, 2019 - Post-Modern

When does “history” start

Period after writing (start of written record of history)

Prehistory

Period of time before writing

Taxonomies

Referring to the organizational strategies to separate historical periods. These are never “set in stone”

Johann Winckelmann

Created the academic concept of art history with his written works “Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture” and “The History of Ancient Art”

Four Steps of Art Historical Analysis

1. Assessment of Physical Properties (Medium, size, etc.)

2. Analysis of Visual and Formal Structure (Stylistic analysis and how its constructed)

3. Identification of Subject Matter and Symbolism (Iconographic Analysis, historical precedents, etc.)

4. Integration with Cultural Context (Iconology, time period, culture, artist history, etc.)

Iconology

the study of visual imagery and its symbolism and interpretation, especially in social or political terms.

Iconography

The visual images and symbols used in a work of art or “Writing with Images”

Sculpture in the Round

a type of art that is fully three-dimensional, designed to be viewed from all angles, and is freestanding, meaning it is not attached to a background

Pop Art

art based on modern popular culture and the mass media

Realism

The depiction of a subject in a realistic manner. The subject is depicted truthfully as they appear in every day real life.

Relief Sculpture

Sculptures carbed or molded in a raised form off a flat background, combining 2d composition with 3d form.

Abstraction

freedom from realistic representational qualities in art

Zoomorphic

Human represented in animal form

Attributes

an object or animal associated with a particular personage; to attribute a work of art is to suggest it may be by a particular artist

Hieratic Scale

Size and centrality of objects in an image conveying importance

Polytheism

Religion with multiple deities

Hathor

a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god Ra, both of whom were connected with kingship, and thus she was the symbolic mother of their earthly representatives, the pharaohs.

Horus/Pharoah/King

Horus is the Egyptian sky god associated with kingship and protection, known for his falcon form and the symbolic Eye of Horus. The Pharaoh is sometimes represented as Horus in Egyptian art.

Portraits of Power

Throughout history portraits were reserved for the powerful and wealthy

Pax Romana

Period: 27 BC - 180 AD

• Created under Augustus

• Means “Roman Peace”

• Purpose was to protect those in the empire from barbarians or anyone not with the Roman Empire

• Brutality towards conquered people that didn’t want to join the Roman Empire

  • The reality of violence in the time period is juxtaposed from the peace and prosperity ideologies of Pax Romana

Pictorialism

an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the later 19th and early 20th centuries. In general it refers to a style in which the photographer has somehow manipulated what would otherwise be a straightforward photograph as a means of creating an image rather than simply recording it. Typically, aimed to elevate photography to a fine art comparable to painting by creating romantic, idealized, and painterly images.

Expressionism

a style of painting, music, or drama in which the artist or writer seeks to express emotional experience rather than impressions of the external world.

Corporation Portraits

Portraits of those wealthy due to business success

Impasto

Loaded brush technique that lead to expressive brush strokes and highly textured works

Surface Texture

Physical texture from application of paint

Implied Texture

Implication of textured surface/object in painting. In reality the work would be smooth to the touch.

Salons

Exhibits for the purpose of competition to see at the time who was the best.

Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture f. 1648

A French academy and premier art institution in France

Academic Hierarchy of Painting Typology

1. History (religious, classical, mythological, literary, allegorical)

2. Portraits (depiction of wealthy and powerful)

3. Genre (scenes of everyday life)

4. Landscapes

5. Still Life

Carnal Art

Use of physical body for art

Hand Images

Hand shaped icons found on cave walls from the Paleolithic period

Vulvate Images

Triangular shapes representing the female vulva

Phallic Objects

Depiction of penis in Paleolithic objects

Closed Form Sculpture

Sculpture with no open negative space

Five Stylistic Periods of Greek Art

Geometric: 900-700 BC

Orientalizing: 700-600 BC

Archaic: 600-480 BC

Classical: 480-323 BC

Hellenistic: 323-30 BC 

Kouros

Ancient greek term meaning figure of young man

Archaic Smile

A smile that characteristically appears on the faces of Greek statues from the Archaic period. It can often be described as a shallow, inscrutable smile.

Contrapposto Stance

A pose describing a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot, so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs in the axial plane

The Canon of Proportions

A set of rules used to create perfection of beauty of the human body created by Polykelitos (originating from Ancient Greece)

Kore

Ancient Greek term meaning figure of young woman

Caryatid

a stone carving of a draped female figure, used as a pillar to support the entablature of a Greek or Greek-style building.

How was humanism reflected in ancient greek art and beliefs?

The Greeks had  positive attitude towards human beings. They believed in the power of humans in nature and their actions can make a huge difference in the world. As a means of depicting human power, Greeks strived to depict the body in a hyper realistic way (Greeks interested in realism style) 

Ionic Frieze

A decorative horizontal band that typically features relief sculptures and is often found in classical Greek architecture

Doric Frieze

a continuous decorative band that alternates between two distinct elements: triglyphs, which are rectangular blocks with three vertical grooves, and metopes

Triglyph

A tablet in a doric frieze with three vertical grooves. Tripglyphs alternate with metopes.

Metope

A rectangular architectural element that fills space between triglyphs in a doric friez.

Pathos

Refers to an immediate reaction to stimuli - emotional response/appeal

Ethos

Reflection in the mind before action

Hellenistic Realism

Hyper realism found in Hellenistic sculpture. Sculptures/figures of this style are often characterized as dramatic and dynamic, and use of strong diagonals are present

Verism

Roman Realism

Triumphal Arch 

Monument created in honor of an important figure. Ex. Arch of Constantine which was dedicated to Constantine and his victories. The piece conveys to its viewers the power of the Roman empire throughout its history and many emperors. It solidifies Constantine as the rightful emperor of Rome by connecting him to the success of the emperors before him

Spolia

The reuse of architectural or artistic elements from older structures or objects in a new building or artwork

Roundels

Small circular decorative plate

Frieze

A broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration. In ancient greek works it is often a horizontal architectural element of relief sculptures.

Genre Scenes

Scenes of depicting everyday life

Lignum Vitae 

Meaning “Wood of Life” (reference to the cross which Jesus was crucified on)

Christian Transubstantiation Ritual

The body and blood of Christ/everlasting life

Blood of Life

Representation of blood as a source of life. Often found in Christian works referring to the spilt blood of Jesus leading to everlasting life

Appropriation

Taking aspects of past work and bringing it into another work

Red-figure Ware

a style of ancient Greek pottery in which the background of the pottery is painted black while the figures and details are left in the natural red or orange color of the clay

Kylix

Greek wine cup

Apotropaic 

Supposedly having the power to avert evil influences or bad luck. In ancient Roman art this referred to objects representing the “power of the penis to ward off evil”