Study Notes: Prehistoric to Gothic Art (Transcript-based)

Comprehensive study notes based on the provided transcript of Art 102: Paleolithic to Medieval (Fall 2025) by Dr. McAllister. Notes are organized by historical periods with monuments, terms, and key concepts. All dates and numerical references are presented in LaTeX within double dollar signs as requested.

Prehistoric Art

Hall of the Bulls — Lascaux Cave, France; period: Prehistoric / Paleolithic; date: ca. 16{,}000-14{,}000 \text{BCE}
- Type: Rock painting depicting animals; part of a broader Paleolithic elaboration of cave art.
- Significance: Early examples of humans depicting the surrounding world and possible ritual or symbolic meanings in cave spaces.
Human with feline (lion?) head — Germany; ca. 40{,}000-35{,}000 \text{BCE}
- Type: Sculpture; Paleolithic.
- Significance: Early figurative sculpture; possible to read as totemic or symbolic representation.
Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf) — Austria; ca. 28{,}000-25{,}000 \text{BCE}
- Type: Small portable figurine; Paleolithic.
- Significance: Likely connected to fertility, female figure as a symbolic prototype.
Rhinoceros, Wounded Man, and disemboweled bison — Lascaux Cave, France; ca. 16{,}000-14{,}000 \text{BCE}
- Type: Paleolithic cave imagery; narrative scene showing hunting/encounter motifs.
Stonehenge (aerial view) — Salisbury Plain, England; ca. 2550-1600 \text{BCE}
- Type: Megalithic monument; post-and-lintel construction; large stone settings.
- Significance: Megalithic architecture linked to ritual/ceremonial practices and astronomical alignments.
Key terms (Prehistoric):
- \textbf{Paleolithic} - Old Stone Age
- \textbf{Neolithic} - New Stone Age
- \textbf{BCE} \text{–} \textbf{CE} (Before Common Era – Common Era)
- \textbf{Abstract Naturalism}
- \textbf{Low-relief}
- \textbf{Modeling}
- \textbf{Composite image / composite view} \text{(twisted perspective)}
- \textbf{Megalith}
- \textbf{Post-and-lintel construction / system}

Ancient Near Eastern Art

Statuettes of worshipers, Square Temple at Eshnunna (Iraq); ca. 2700 \text{BCE}
- Culture: Ancient Near Eastern / Sumerian
- Function: Religious votive figures; temple worship
Victory stele of Naram-Sin — Iran; 2254-2218 \text{BCE}
- Culture: Akkadian
- Significance: Propaganda sculpture; depicts ruler’s victory and divine favor; hierarchical scale to indicate rank
Ziggurat at Ur — Iraq; ca. 2100 \text{BCE}
- Neo-Sumerian temple architecture; monumental temple complex
Stele inscribed with the laws of Hammurabi — Babylonia; ca. 1780 \text{BCE}
- Earliest comprehensive code law stele; codifies legal principles; important for understanding early legal systems
Lamassu (man-headed winged bull) from the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad) — Iraq; ca. 721-705 \text{BCE}
- Sculptural guardians; combines human head, bull body, wings; protective and diplomatic symbolism
Ishtar Gate (restored) — Babylon, Iraq; ca. 575 \text{BCE}
- Glazed brick monumental gate; represents grand city defense and religious symbolism
Key terms (Ancient Near Eastern):
- \textbf{cuneiform}
- \textbf{ziggurat}
- \textbf{votive (votive offering)}
- \textbf{stele}
- \textbf{hierarchy of scale / hieratic scale}
- \textbf{buttress}

Egyptian Art

Predynastic and Early Dynastic, the Old Kingdom Monuments
- Palette of King Narmer — Hierakonopolis, Egypt; ca. 3000-2920 \text{BCE}
- Imhotep, Stepped Pyramid of Djoser — Saqqara; ca. 2630-2611 \text{BCE}
- Aerial view of the Fourth Dynasty pyramids — Gizeh; ca. 2551-2472 \text{BCE}
- Great Sphinx — Gizeh; ca. 2520-2494 \text{BCE}
- Menkaure and Khamerernebty — Gizeh; ca. 2490-2472 \text{BCE}
- Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt — ca. 2450-2350 \text{BCE}
Terms (Ancient Egypt – Predynastic/Old Kingdom):
- \textbf{hieroglyphs}
- \textbf{ka}
- \textbf{mastaba}
- \textbf{step pyramid}
- \textbf{necropolis}
- \textbf{sarcophagus}
- \textbf{canon of proportions}
Egyptian Art (Middle and New Kingdom Monuments)
- Interior hall of the rock-cut tomb of Amenemhet — Beni Hasan; ca. 1900-1880 \text{BCE}
- Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut — Deir el-Bahri; ca. 1473-1458 \text{BCE}
- Columns and Clerestory of the Hypostyle Hall, Temple of Amun-Re — Karnak; ca. 1290-1224 \text{BCE}
- Tiye — Ghurab; ca. 1353-1335 \text{BCE}
- Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and three daughters — Amarna; ca. 1353-1335 \text{BCE}
- Death mask of Tutankhamen — Thebes; ca. 1323 \text{BCE}
Terms (Egyptian Middle/New Kingdom):
- \textbf{pylon}
- \textbf{hypostyle hall}
- \textbf{clerestory}
- \textbf{column, base, shaft, capital}
- \textbf{sunken relief}
- \textbf{colonnade}
Topic: Egyptian 1/2 connections: temple architecture evolves from mastaba to pyramid complexes; canonical canons of proportion influence statue design and the display of royal power; symbolic meanings of Ka and religious ritual in tombs and temples.

Greek Art

Emergence of Greek Art, Orientalizing Style (Geometric to early Archaic)
- Geometric amphora, from the Dipylon cemetery — Athens; ca. 750 \text{BCE}
- Hero and centaur (Herakles and Nessos?) — Olympia; ca. 750-730 \text{BCE}
- Kouros (youth statue) — Attica; ca. 600 \text{BCE}
- Kroisos (Anavysos) — Attica; ca. 530 \text{BCE}
Terms (Geometric / Archaic):
- \textbf{Geometric style}
- \textbf{Amphora}
- \textbf{Kouros / Kore}
Archaic Art Monuments
- Elevations of the Doric and Ionic orders — general architectural styles
- Temple of Hera I (Basilica) — Paestum, Italy; ca. 550 \text{BCE}
- West pediment, Temple of Artemis — Corfu; ca. 600-580 \text{BCE}
- Exekias, Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game (detail on a black-figure amphora) — ca. 540-530 \text{BCE}
Classical Art Monuments
- Kritios Boy — Acropolis, Athens; ca. 480 \text{BCE}
- Zeus (or Poseidon?) — ca. 460-450 \text{BCE}
- Myron, Diskobolis (Discus Thrower) — Roman copy of ca. 450 \text{BCE}
- Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) — Roman copy of ca. 450-440 \text{BCE}
- Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens — ca. 447-432 \text{BCE}
Terms (Classical):
- \textbf{canon of proportions}
- \textbf{contrapposto}
- \textbf{Acropolis}
Late Classical / Hellenistic Monuments
- Centauromachy, metope from the south side of the Parthenon — ca. 447-438 \text{BCE}
- Three Goddesses (Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite?), from the east pediment of the Parthenon — ca. 438-432 \text{BCE}
- Nike adjusting her sandal, Temple of Athena Nike — ca. 410 \text{BCE}
- Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos — ca. 350-340 \text{BCE}
- Lysippos, Apoxyomenos (Scraper) — ca. 330 \text{BCE}
- Philoxenos of Eretria, The Battle of Issus (Alexander Mosaic) — ca. 310 \text{BCE}
- Epigonos, Dying Gaul — ca. 230-220 \text{BCE}
- Nike of Samothrace — ca. 190 \text{BCE}
Terms (Geometric to Hellenistic):
- \textbf{Doric}
- \textbf{Ionic}
- \textbf{Corinthian}

Roman Art

The Republic, Early Empire Monuments
- Man with portrait busts of his ancestors — Rome; late 1st century BCE; Roman portraiture
- Portrait of Augustus as general, from Primaporta — Italy; early 1st century copy of ca. 20 \text{BCE}
- Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace) — Rome; ca. 13-9 \text{BCE}
- Arch of Titus — Rome; ca. 81 \text{CE}
- Column of Trajan, Forum of Trajan — Rome; Dedicated 112 CE
Terms (Roman):
- \textbf{syncretism}
- \textbf{barrel vault}
- \textbf{verism}
- \textbf{triumphal arch}
Late Empire Monuments
- Detail of the façade of the Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater) — Rome; ca. 70-80 \text{CE}
- Interior of the Pantheon — Rome; ca. 118-125 \text{CE}
- Dionisiac mystery frieze, Second Style wall paintings in the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii — ca. 60-50 \text{BCE}
Terms (Roman architecture):
- \textbf{oculus}
- \textbf{drum}
- \textbf{peristyle}

Early Christian Art

Monuments
- Portraits of the four tetrarchs — Constantinople (now Venice); ca. 300 \text{CE}; Roman
- Colossal Head of Constantine — Basilica Nova, Rome; ca. 315-330 \text{CE}
- Arch of Constantine — Rome; ca. 312-315 \text{CE}
Early Christian building/plan
- Restored cutaway view of the Christian community house — Dura-Europos, Syria; ca. 240-256 \text{CE}
Terms: \textbf{spolia}, \textbf{rostrum}, \textbf{house church}, \textbf{typology}
Monuments 8-1 Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus — Rome; ca. 359 \text{CE}
Plan of Old St. Peter’s — Rome; begun ca. 319 \text{CE}
Plan of Santa Costanza — Rome; ca. 337-351 \text{CE}
Terms: \textbf{basilica}, \textbf{nave}

Byzantine Art

Monuments 8-23 Christ as Good Shepherd, mosaic — Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna; ca. 425 \text{CE}
Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus, Hagia Sophia — Constantinople; 532-537 \text{CE}
Aerial view, San Vitale, Ravenna; 526-547 \text{CE}
Justinian, Bishop Maximianus, apse mosaics, San Vitale — Ravenna; ca. 547 \text{CE}
Terms: \textbf{mosaic}, \textbf{pendentives}
Monuments 9-19A Christ blessing [Sinai Pantokrator] Mount Sinai; 6th century CE
Manuscript: David Composing the Psalms, Paris Psalter; ca. 950-970 \text{CE}
Church of the Dormition (Daphni), Greece; ca. 1090-1100 \text{CE}
Pantokrator, Theotokos and Child, apse mosaic, Monreale Cathedral; ca. 1180-90 \text{CE}
Terms: \textbf{icon}, \textbf{Pantokrator}, \textbf{Theotokos}, \textbf{iconoclasm}, \textbf{illuminated manuscript}

Islamic Art

Monuments 10-2 Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem; 687-692 CE
10-3 Interior of the Dome of the Rock; 687-692 CE
Great Mosque, Damascus; 706-715 CE
Koran page with beginning of surah 18; late 9th or early 10th century CE
Terms: \textbf{kufic}, \textbf{mosque}, \textbf{qibla}, \textbf{mihrab}
Monuments 10-11 Prayer hall of the Mezquita (Great Mosque), Córdoba, Spain; 8th-10th centuries CE
10-18 Pyxis of al-Mughira — Medina al-Zahra near Córdoba; 968 CE
10-22 Muqarnas dome, Hall of the Abencerrajes, Palace of the Lions, Alhambra, Granada; 1354-1391 CE
10-23 Court of the Lions (east view), Palace of the Lions, Alhambra; 1354-1391 CE
Terms: \textbf{geometric}, \textbf{arabesque}, \textbf{muqarnas}

Early Medieval Art

Monuments 11-7 Cross-inscribed carpet page, Lindisfarne Gospels; ca. 698-721 \text{CE}
11-8 St. Matthew, Lindisfarne Gospels; ca. 698-721 \text{CE}
11-14 Saint Matthew, Coronation Gospels; ca. 800-810 \text{CE}
11-18 Interior of Palace Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen; ca. 792-805 \text{CE}
Terms: \textbf{Charlemagne}, \textbf{Ottonians}
Monuments 11-21 Westwork of Corvey; 873-875 CE
11-23 Saint Michael’s, Hildesheim; 1001-1031 CE
11-25 Doors with relief panels (Genesis, left door; life of Christ, right door) — Bernward for Saint Michael’s, Hildersheim; 1015 CE
11-29 Crucifix by Gero for Cologne Cathedral; ca. 970 \text{CE}
Terms: \textbf{westwork}, \textbf{Ottonians}

Romanesque Art

Monuments 12-4A View of nave, Sant Vincenç, Cardona; ca. 1029-40 \text{CE}
12-7 Interior of Saint Sernin, Toulouse; ca. 1070-1120 \text{CE}
12-8 Bernardus Gelduinus, Christ in Majesty (Maiestas Domini) — ambulatory of Saint Sernin; ca. 1096 \text{CE}
12-8A Lintel, Christ in Majesty; Saint-Genis-des-Fontaines; 1019-1020 CE
Terms: \textbf{Romanesque bays}, \textbf{compound piers}, \textbf{apsidoles}
Monuments 12-33 West façade of Saint Étienne, Caen; begun 1067 CE
12-34 Interior of Saint Étienne; vault ca. 1115-1120
12-40 The Bayeux Tapestry; ca. 1070-1080
Terms: \textbf{Normans}, \textbf{William the Conqueror}, \textbf{ribbed vault}

Gothic Art

Monuments 13-2 Ambulatory and radiating chapels, abbey church, Saint-Denis; ca. 1140-1144 \text{CE}
13-5 Royal Portal, west façade, Chartres Cathedral; ca. 1145-1155 \text{CE}
13-6 Old Testament kings and queen, jamb statues, right side of the central doorway, Chartres Cathedral; ca. 1145-1155 \text{CE}
13-7 Interior of Laon Cathedral; begun ca. 1190 \text{CE}
Terms: \textbf{Gothic}, \textbf{Abbot Suger}, \textbf{choir}, \textbf{flying buttress}
Monuments 13-1 West façade of Reims Cathedral; ca. 1225-1290 \text{CE}
13-14 Interior of Chartres Cathedral; begun 1194 CE
13-18 Rose window and lancets, north transept, Chartres Cathedral; ca. 1220 \text{CE}
13-19 Saint Theodore jamb statue, Chartres Cathedral; ca. 1230 \text{CE}
13-24 Annunciation and Visitation jamb statues, Reims Cathedral; ca. 1230-1255 \text{CE}
Terms: \textbf{scholasticism}, \textbf{rose window}, \textbf{lancets}
Monuments 13-25 Interior of the upper chapel, Sainte-Chapelle, Paris; ca. 1243-1248 \text{CE}
13-33 Abraham and the Three Angels, Psalter of Saint Louis, Paris; ca. 1253-1270 \text{CE}
13-35A Jean Pucelle. The Betrayal of Christ and Annunciation, Hours of Jeanne d’Evreux; ca. 1325-1328 \text{CE}
13-38 Castle of Love, lid of a jewelry box, Paris; ca. 1330-1350 \text{CE}
Terms: \textbf{Rayonnant Gothic style}, \textbf{Psalter}, \textbf{Book of hours}, \textbf{grisaille}

Cross-period/Connecting Concepts

Chronology and stylistic shifts:
- From Paleolithic caves to monumental temple and burial architecture; from figurative to canonized proportions and idealized forms (e.g., Greek canon; Roman verism vs idealism; Byzantine mosaics).
- Architectural orders and elements:
- Doric, Ionic, Corinthian orders appear in Greek and later influence Roman architecture and medieval reinterpretations.
- The role of sculpture and relief in expressing power, religion, and ritual:
- Naram-Sin, Hammurabi stele, Parthenon metopes, Bayeux Tapestry, and Chartres/Réims/Johannes medieval programs.
Recurrent themes:
- The use of hierarchical scale to denote status (e.g., Naram-Sin, Hammurabi stele, emperors, saints).
- The relationship between form and function: votive figures, temple facades, triumphal arches, apses, and naves.
Methods of display and audience:
- Public monumental sculpture and architecture for political legitimacy and religious devotion.
- Illuminated manuscripts and mosaics as didactic and devotional tools in Christian contexts.

Notable cross-period terms and concepts to know

Architectural terms and styles:
- \textbf{pediment}, \textbf{entablature}, \textbf{column}, \textbf{capital}, \textbf{shaft}, \textbf{stylobate}, \textbf{entasis}
- \textbf{doric}, \textbf{ionic}, \textbf{corinthian}
- \textbf{hypostyle hall}, \textbf{clerestory}, \textbf{pylon}, \textbf{sunken relief}
- \textbf{triumphal arch}, \textbf{verism}, \textbf{syncretism}
- \textbf{mosaic}, \textbf{pendentives}, \textbf{icon}, \textbf{Pantokrator}, \textbf{Theotokos}
Artistic media and formats:
- \textbf{megalith}, \textbf{relief}, \textbf{bas-relief}, \textbf{carved}; \textbf{fresco} or \textbf{mosaic} as noted (e.g., Hagia Sophia, Ravenna mosaics)
Chronology cues:
- BCE vs CE dating conventions; circa (ca.) dating; major transitions: Paleolithic -> Neolithic, Predynastic/Old Kingdom -> Middle/New Kingdom in Egypt; Geometric -> Archaic -> Classical -> Late Classical/Hellenistic in Greek; Roman Republic -> Empire; Early Christian, Byzantine, Islamic, Medieval (Gothic) phases.