Historical Perspectives in Art

Historical Perspectives in Art

Timeline of Art History

  • Prehistoric

  • Ancient

  • Medieval

  • Renaissance

  • Baroque

  • Rococo

  • Neoclassical

  • Romanticism

  • Realism

  • Modern

  • Late Modern

  • Contemporary

Lesson Objectives

  • Discuss how prehistoric people used art to depict everyday life.

  • Differentiate the techniques used during the kingdoms of early Egypt.

  • Explain the link between art and religion in early Egyptian civilizations.

  • Identify the major periods in Ancient and Medieval art history.

Phases of Civilization

  • Prehistoric: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic

  • Ancient: Egyptian, Greek, Roman

  • Medieval: Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic

Prehistoric Period: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic

The Stone Age

  • Early civilizations are often associated with stones.

  • Civilization began during the Stone Age: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods.

  • The Stone Age witnessed a gradual shift from a nomadic lifestyle to permanent settlements.

  • Early humans stopped moving from place to place in search of food and settled in one specific place to grow their own food.

  • Proof of this “civilization” includes permanent shelters and tools used for survival.

Stone Age: Paleolithic Art

  • As settlements became more permanent, early men documented daily activities through art.

  • They created paintings and sculptures depicting humans, animals, and their natural habitat, establishing possible linkages among art, religion, and life.

  • Paleolithic Art was primarily brought about by climate change when men sought shelters in caves for warmth.

  • Caves became protective havens for them, leading the way for their first attempts to create art.

  • One of the earliest pieces of evidence of this attempt are the cave paintings in Lascaux, France.

  • "Hall of Bulls" in Lascaux, France.

  • Paleolithic Art characteristics:

    • Done with a certain level of crispness and life

    • Evoked naturalism

    • Created the illusion of three-dimensional forms (contrasts of light and shadow, foreshortening)

    • Used spray painting

  • Paleolithic art notions and beliefs:

    • Works were not used for decorative purposes but for religious rituals

    • There was a link between what was drawn and what could happen, eventually reflecting some of their early beliefs, especially with life and fertility

  • Venus of Willendorf.

Stone Age: Mesolithic Art

  • Developed when life for early humans became more stable (cultivated lands and domesticated animals).

  • By 4000BC, a significant number of monumental and architectural structures were developed.

  • Stonehenge, England.

Stone Age: Neolithic Art

  • Civilization was more developed.

  • Elements of civilization flourished in different but similar parts of the world.

  • Areas: Nile (Egypt), Indus (India), Tigris (Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey, Syria), Huang Ho (China).

  • Two ANCIENT JARS:

    • Chinese Neolithic jar

    • Egyptian Neolithic jar

Ancient Civilization: Egyptian

Egyptian Civilization

  • The Nile River prompted early Egyptians to believe that it should be worshipped like a god.

  • Significant periods: Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom.

Egyptian Civilization: Old Kingdom

  • Religion was bound to the afterlife as evidenced by tombs.

  • Tombs served to keep the dead bodies of important people and as shelter for the next journey (afterlife).

  • Tombs were decorated with everyday objects what would reflect day-to-day activities.

  • Narmer’s Palette is considered as one of the most significant historical and artistic artifacts of this period.

  • Functions: depicts the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt; served as a ceremonial palette used in the ritual of applying makeup.

Egyptian Civilization: Middle Kingdom

  • Marked by a shift in political hierarchy with the emergence of powerful groups and landlords.

  • Art took a back seat but still referenced the Old Kingdom.

  • Marked the beginning of Bronze Age weapons.

Egyptian Civilization: New Kingdom

  • Art had references to the two previous eras.

  • Tombs became mortuary temples with served as a sanctuary for the dead and a place of worship for the living.

Egyptian civilization: Post-New Kingdom

  • King Akhenaton and Queen Nefertiti aimed to revolutionize both the arts and religion.

  • They ordered the construction of new monuments in honor of the god Aton.

  • Akhenaton changed his name from Amenhotep to honor the god Aton.

  • AKHENATON AND NEFERTITI.

  • Characteristics of Sculptures:

    • Full-bodied with curving lines

    • Emphasis on life-like features of the face (elongated jaws, thick-lidded eyes)

    • Naturalistic, highlighting the features of its subjects, mostly humans

Egyptian Civilization

  • After the death of Akhenaton, art returned to the rigid and conventional styles used during the earlier Kingdoms.

  • The Tomb of Tutankhamen (other spelling Tutankhamun) was discovered to have come from this period.

Egyptian Civilization: King Tutankhamen

  • Became king at the age of 9 until his death at age 19.

  • The full artistry surrounding his final resting place is another evidence of how the Egyptians of this period combined religion and art.

Egyptian Civilization: King Tut’s Final Resting Place

  • After his death, was mummified per Egyptian religious tradition.

  • Had organs removed, was wrapped him in resin-soaked bandages, with a 24-pound solid gold portrait mask placed over his head and shoulders, was laid in a series of nested containers—three golden coffins, a granite sarcophagus and four gilded wooden shrines, the largest of which barely fit into the tomb’s burial chamber.

Ancient Civilization: Greek

European Civilization

  • Art has always been an integral part in European history from the Greeks to the Romans to the present times.

  • Art is used to communicate ideologies and belief systems.

  • The Greek and Roman civilizations are also known as the “Classical World” because both cultures aimed to embody the highest possible standard of quality in all aspects of their societies.

Classical World

  • In art and architecture, both civilizations tended to promote the possibility of having an objective and widely acceptable standards for beauty.

  • For this reason, the world always looks up to the Classical World—essentially the Greeks and the Romans—when it comes to art and architecture.

Greek Civilization

  • Politics has always been the Greeks’ expertise so political ideals became the framework for the democratic form of government.

  • Further, the ancient Greeks valued poetry, drama, and philosophy.

  • Due to their standards, those who practiced painting, sculpture, and architecture were required to have certain skill sets and body of knowledge.

  • DISTINCT STYLES OF ANCIENT GREEK POTTERY:

    • BLACK IMAGES AGAINST GOLD BACKGROUND

    • GOLD IMAGES AGAINST BLACK BACKGROUND

Greek Art: Four Periods

  • Geometric – began when Greece was starting to get back from what seemed to be their Dark Ages

  • Classical - placed a huge importance on human figures as a result of Greece’s trading activities with other civilizations.

  • Archaic - considered to have occurred at the peak of Greek architecture and sculpture

  • Hellenistic - focused on including emotions and movement into their work

Geometric Period

  • During this period, their artwork, mostly evident in their pottery, featured geometric patterns: lines and shapes.

Archaic Period

  • The facial features of the sculptures during this period were not very distinct, though, as the emphasis was more on the human form rather than on their facial features.

Classical Period

  • Greeks rebuilt their temples and focused on creating artworks

  • They had also managed to give the face and body more detail, an improvement of the earlier works of the Classical period.

Hellenistic Period

  • The Hellenistic period is in reference to the expansion of Greek influence and the dissemination of its ideas following the death of Alexander the Great.

  • It is also notable that during this period, sculptors turned to ordinary people doing ordinary activities as their subjects, as opposed to focusing on gods and goddesses.

  • HELLENISTIC PERIOD.

  • "Laocoön and His Sons".

  • A closer look at Laocoön's face.

Greek Theater and Drama

  • Started by the followers of Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility.

  • People devoted to him would dance during ceremonies while giving him their offerings.

  • Eventually, Dionysians devised a more structured form of drama involving dances and choral songs depicting Greek mythologies. They also organized theatrical contests held before large audiences.

Greek Architecture

  • Amphitheaters consisted of a sloping seating area, an orchestra (the flat area where the chorus stood, sang, and danced), and the skene which serves as the backdrop of the stage.

Ancient Civilization: Roman

Roman Civilization

  • Historically, the Roman Republic was established around 500 BC. This civilization eventually transformed into one of Western Europe’s mightiest empires.

  • The Roman Empire interacted particularly with the Greeks. It is also important to note that the Roman civilization came of age during the Hellenistic period.

Greek Influences

  • The Romans became fond of the Greeks and their achievements in the arts and this influence became apparent in the fusion of Greek and Roman cultures seen in most Roman artworks.

  • Since some argued that the Romans merely copied Greek art, they produced artworks, sculptures to be exact, that are often looking more stern, harsher, and stronger than their Greek counterparts.

Roman Civilization

  • The Romans invoked the principles of realism in most of their works, highlighting the features of human beings.

  • To distinguish their works from those of the Greeks, the faces of the Romans as depicted in their sculptures featured even the imperfections of the person the work was modelled after: receding hairline, pockmarks, fats, and all.

  • JULIUS CAESAR AND ALEXANDER THE GREAT.

The Romans as Master Builders

  • The Romans were also known to be master builders, earning their reputation of grand monuments and architectural infrastructures, significantly, the Colosseum.

The Colosseum

  • The Colosseum, which still stands until this very day, was planned and constructed during the reign of Emperor Vespasian.

  • Mainly used for entertainment (public events and gladiator games), the structure is a concrete manifestation of Roman builders’ craftsmanship which focused on logical organization of the entire edifice.

Middle Ages

  • Significant in the study of the Roman Civilization was the Middle Ages, a period between the decline of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. This era was characterized by ignorance and darkness.

  • The Church was the central figure and authority of the time.

The Middle Ages

  • All other products, both artistic and religious, would have to be copies of the Christian scriptures which were done by hand and with illustrations and decorations that highlight the religious focus of the period. It is therefore not surprising that great cathedrals were built during this time.

Medieval Period: Byzantine

Byzantine Period

  • of or pertaining to the ancient city of Byzantium, or Constantinople (modern- day Istanbul)

  • a move away from the naturalism of the Classical tradition towards the more abstract

  • Still had traditions from Greek and Roman but had more Christian subjects, universal rather than realistic

  • BYZANTINE PERIOD:

    • Themes: religious and Imperial, or a combination of both

  • BYZANTINE PERIOD: ART TYPES

    • Illuminated manuscripts

    • Mosaic

    • Relief sculpture

    • Architecture

    • Paintings

  • Illuminated Manuscript.

  • Mosaic.

  • Relief sculpture.

Byzantine Architecture

  • Drew upon the earlier elements of Roman architecture

  • Featured a combination of the basilica and religious structure

  • Byzantine Greek-cross plan church: square central mass and four arms of equal length

  • Most distinctive feature is the domed roof

  • Architecture: Hagia Sofia

  • Paintings.

Medieval Period: Romanesque

Romanesque

  • This period (1050-1200 AD) was inspired by the glory of the old Roman Empire.

  • Structures of this style is mainly characterized by semi-circular arches.

Romanesque Architecture

  • Semi-circular arches

  • Massive quality

  • Thick walls

  • Sturdy piers

  • Groin vaults

  • Large towers

  • Symmetrical plans

  • Romanesque: Pisa Cathedral.

  • Revival Romanesque: The Manila Cathedral.

Medieval Period: Gothic

Gothic

  • Structures of this time (1200-1500 AD) had a more Northern flavor from the Goths, mostly identified to be vulgar and barbaric, because it was very different from the classy look of the Romanesque style.

  • Gothic architecture has five key elements: large stained glass windows, pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, and ornate decoration.

Gothic Architecture: Key Elements

  • Large stained glass windows

  • Pointed arches

  • Ribbed vaults

  • Flying buttresses

  • Ornate decoration

  • VAULTS: GROIN AND RIBBED

    • Groin Vault

    • Ribbed Vault

  • Gothic: Milan Cathedral.

  • Revival Gothic: San Sebastian Church.

From the Past to the Present

  • No matter the style, modern Romans (or Italians, collectively) have made it a point to try to conserve and preserve any of these ancient structures as they continue to remind them of the great glory they once had with the Roman Empire.

Summary

At this point, you should have understood:

  • How art was used by prehistoric people to depict everyday life;

  • The different techniques used during the kingdoms of early Egypt;

  • How art is linked with religion in early Egyptian civilizations, and;

  • The major periods in Ancient and Medieval art history.

Looking Forward

In our next lesson, we will learn about the high points in Western art history starting from the Renaissance Period until the Romanticism Period which is said to be the beginning of the high forms of European art.