Art History Intro

The Last Supper — Notes

The Singh Twins

• British-Sikh family

• Artwork: The Last Supper

• Combines Western and South Asian artistic traditions

• Challenges traditional ideas about art history

Art History References

• Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519)

• The Last Supper → fresco painting, c. 1495–98

• Taj Mahal → miniature replica appears on the right side

• References can represent family souvenirs AND make connections between cultures

• The Last Supper combines linear perspective with multiple perspectives.

• The Singh Twins cross cultural boundaries by combining Western European and South Asian influences.

• Their work challenges the idea that art history should focus on a single artist, culture, or tradition.

• The book promotes studying art from all six inhabited continents and many different cultures.

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Talking Skull — Study Notes

• Artist: Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller (1877–1968)

• Artwork: Talking Skull

• Material: Bronze sculpture

What it shows

• Young male figure, possibly an adolescent

• Kneeling on rough, uneven ground

• Leaning toward a human skull

• Head tilted as if listening

• Lips parted and eyes open

• Appears to be having a silent conversation with the skull

Main ideas/themes

• Mortality and death

• Human desire for connection

• Inner life and human experience

• Desire to communicate with the past

Possible folktale inspiration

• Based on a West/Central African folktale

• A young hunter encounters a talking skull in the forest

• Skull warns him about talking too much

• Hunter tells the village chief

• Chief demands to see the skull

• Skull becomes silent

• Hunter is accused of lying and is beheaded

Symbolism

• The young man's hands are close to the skull and resemble the ground

• This may connect to the folktale's ending

• Could also represent African Americans' desire to connect with their ancestral history

• Scraping the ground near the skull may show the urgency of this desire

Historical significance

• Fuller was a Black woman artist working during a time of strong racial and gender discrimination

• Her art drew attention to African American experiences

• Talking Skull reflects suffering while maintaining human dignity

• Shows her skill with clay and bronze

• Demonstrates her perseverance as an artist despite bias

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TERMS

• Fresco painting — painting done on a wall/plaster surface

• Linear perspective — technique that creates the illusion of 3D space/depth using lines that lead toward a vanishing point

• Multiple perspectives — showing a subject/place from different viewpoints rather than one fixed viewpoint

• South Asian approaches to representation — artistic traditions that can emphasize detailed, decorative spaces and varied viewpoints

• Art-historical conventions — traditional ideas/rules about how art and artists are studied or represented

• Global approach to art history — studying art from different cultures and regions rather than focusing mainly on one tradition

• Cross-cultural artistic comparison — comparing artworks and artistic traditions from different cultures

• Visual exploration — using different viewpoints/details to explore and represent a space

Section 1 — Art Matters

• Artworks from around the world = part of our shared human heritage

• Art provides a material record of:

  • Human creativity

  • Resourcefulness

  • Yearning

  • Experiences

• Studying art helps us understand ourselves and the world

• Art history studies both:

  • The materials that make up art

  • The ways art affects human lives

• Studying art can feel like time travel → lets us look into the past and imagine the future

• Art can:

  • Convey power

  • Shape memory

  • Spread ideas

  • Make aspects of society visible

  • Contribute to the global economy

  • Create connections between people

  • Help form a shared identity

• Art can make us see things in new ways and inspire action

Section 2 — Bangudae Petroglyphs

• Petroglyphs = images carved/etched into rock

• Example: Bangudae petroglyphs

• Important because they provide evidence about societies that did not leave written records

• Shows many animals:

  • Whales

  • Turtles

  • Seals

  • Fish

  • Deer

  • Pigs

  • Wolves

  • Tigers

• Humans are:

  • Few

  • Small

  • Not the central focus of the composition

• Humans are shown as ingenious/resourceful

• Schematic boats show human technology and hunting

• Harpoons demonstrate human power over animals

Key term

• Schematic = simplified or basic representation of something rather than a highly detailed depiction

Section 3 — Petra / The Treasury

• Petra = ancient Mediterranean city in modern-day Jordan

• The Treasury is an enormous tomb for a ruler of the ancient Nabataean kingdom

• Carved directly into a sandstone cliff

• Early example of rock-cut architecture

Important terms

• Rock-cut architecture = architecture carved directly out of natural rock

• Facade = the front/exterior face of a building

• Columns = vertical architectural supports

• Pediments = triangular architectural elements usually found above columns/entrances

• Patron = person who funds or supports an artwork/building

Main idea

• Some architectural features were not structurally necessary

• They were included to show the prestige and power of the royal patron

Section 4 — Broken Pediment & Cultural Exchange

• A broken pediment has two sides of the triangle that do not meet

• Petra's Treasury also has a circular room above the central doorway

• These features originated in Alexandria, Egypt

• Using these features connected Petra's rulers/builders with the sophisticated city of Alexandria

• Shows their cosmopolitan attitude → connection to different cultures

• Visual motifs can travel from one location to another

• When motifs travel, they can develop new meanings

• Creates a shared visual culture

Key terms

• Broken pediment = pediment whose triangular form is interrupted/open at the top

• Visual motif = recurring visual element, design, or image

• Cosmopolitan = connected to and influenced by many different cultures

Section 5 — Indian Chintz & Cultural Exchange

• 18th-century jacket was made in northern Europe

• Its cotton chintz originally came from the Indian subcontinent

• South Asian cotton was valued from 1500–1800 CE

• People valued it for:

  • Fine weave

  • Colorful patterns

• A Dutch designer transformed the Indian fabric into a European jacket

• Fabric was carefully cut and pieced so the floral design fit the jacket

• The large flower at the back emphasized the slenderness of the wearer's waist

Key term

• Chintz = colorful cotton fabric originally associated with the Indian subcontinent, often featuring floral patterns

Main idea

Artistic designs and materials can travel between cultures and gain new meanings.

Section 6 — Heydar Aliyev Center

• Designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid (1950–2016)

• Located in Baku, Azerbaijan

• Built in the early 21st century

• Contains:

  • Conference hall

  • Auditorium

  • Museum

• Intended to:

  • Bring people together

  • Showcase Baku's redevelopment

  • Highlight the city's cultural achievements

Design

• Rejects:

  • Straight lines

  • Sharp corners

• Uses:

  • Curves

  • Organic forms

  • Futuristic forms

  • Interlocking shapes

  • Fluid spaces

• Building blends into its environment

• Looks different from every angle

• Became a symbol of Baku

Main idea

Art and architecture don't just reflect society—they can shape society and a city's identity.Section 7 — Calvin Hunt / Jeffrey Gibson? — Indigenous & Recycled Materials

From the visible section:

• Artist Calvin?/the passage describes Luger, a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold

• Heritage includes:

  • Mandan

  • Hidatsa

  • Arikara

  • Lakota

• Work/video: Shadow Holding Shape to Experience the Energy of the Sun

• Imagines a postcolonial, postconsumer future

• Uses regalia (royal/ceremonial clothing or symbols)

• Work called “Muscle, Bone, and Sinew regalia”

• Reuses materials such as:

  • Old leather jackets

  • Felt blankets

  • Nylon netting

  • Fleece

  • Ice-hockey gear

• Large horns honor the bison's important role in Native American art

• Artwork pays tribute to Indigenous cultures that survived colonization

• Recycled materials suggest the age of endless consumption is ending

• Combines discarded consumer materials with Indigenous practices to create new meanings

Main idea

Artists can reuse materials and cultural traditions to comment on history, colonization, consumerism, and Indigenous survival.

⭐ Most Important Terms to Know

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QUESTIONS

1. B

2. C

3. A

4. A