Humanities Fall Semester - Art

Art

Paleolithic Art

Venus of Willendorf: Represents fertility, given to pregnant woman (nomadic) women for good luck

Roman Art

Colosseum: Made for the plebs to have less revolts, entertained by gladiator and aquatic fights

Arch: Perfected by the Romans, it consists of a keystone, voussoirs, and a springer/springing. The Romans made these with special concrete.

Keystone: Top, middle piece on an arch

Dome: hemisphere thing on top and have oculus and coffers

Oculus: a round or circular hole or window; ex: the hole in the middle of the Pantheon

Pantheon: “All the Gods”, has similarities to Greek Art (column, frieze, and pediment) ****

Took Fresco from Greeks

Mosaic: little bits(tesserae) to make art, modeled after mythology or Roman life

Islamic Art

Minaret: Tall tower found near Mosques to indicate there is a Mosque nearby

Mosque: Islamic place of prayer

Dome of the Rock: in Jerusalem, sacred to Muslims (Muhammed’s journey to heaven), Jews (Abraham prepared his son’s sacrifice), and Christians (Last Supper), Byzantine mosaics

Arabesque: intertwined flowing lines

Calligraphy: embodiment of the sacred word of god; way of writing. Around the mihrab

Tessellation: repeating geometric shapes without gaps

aniconism: No Humans or Idols because it is believed that only god can perceive living things

Ancient Civilzations Art

Ziggurat: In Modern Iraq, built for the Moon Goddess, Nanna

Monolith: one block of stone carved into something

Greek Art

Archaic: Rigid, awkward smile

Classical: Idealitic over realistic, more natural

Hellenistic: motion and emotion, not idealized, less beauty

Kritios Boy: Earilest example of contrapposto (one leg bent causing a dip); shows change from Archiac to Classical

Frescoes: painting done rapidly on wet plaster on the wall

Pediment: The Triangle shape you see on classical buildings such as temples

Parthenon: Temple for Goddess Athena, also a treasury; has frieze(sculptures high up and on all 4 sides), metope, pediment, and convex pillars (entasis)

Corinthian: Fancy Pillar

Ionic: “I”-shaped pillar

Doric: Dork Pillar

Chinese Art

Terracotta Soldiers of Shi Huangdi: Terracotta is brown-red first to make sculptures, realistic statues of an army, hidden, accidentally found, also weapons and horses

Great Wall of China:

Bodhisattva: person who has attained enlightenment but delays Nirvana in order to help others reach Nirvana, too

Medieval Art

Roman vs Gothic Cathedral:

  • Gothic used Basilica sructure which was less like a cross while Roman used cruciform- cross
  • Gothic is more ornameted and “scary looking” and have gargoyles for the water flow
  • Gothic also has stained glass and the buttresses

Flying buttress: inclined structure which provides support to the wall with the help of the normal buttress

Motte and Bailey: On hill, not supposed to last because supposed to build quickly, Grass area is the Bailey, keep is highest, hill is the motte

Illuminated manuscript: Monks and nuns copied books accentuated by hand-drawn illustrations and borders, done on calfskin

Buddhist Art

Epicene: looks like male and female (in Buddhism and Indian art)

Stupa: “heap” in Sanskrit, early place of Buddha worship, dome is symbol of karma (wheel of law), people walk around it

Characteristic of Buddha Sculpture:

  • Nimbus: Halo surrounding the Buddha
  • Bodhisattva: person who has attained enlightenment but delays Nirvana in order to help others reach Nirvana, too
  • Ushnisha: Hairbun looking thing on the Buddha, symbol of enlightenment
  • Third Eye: Buddha has better vision
  • Elongated Ears: From the earrings because former prince
  • Mudra: symbolic hand gesture which shows meditation
  • Lotus Position: purity and sitting position
  • Wheel: On the heel, shows no lack because circle “lacks nothing”
  • Predella: Buddha sits on top of this and has 5 monks on it

Art of the Americas

Quetzalcoatl: Their Main god, a lot of the art related to Quetzal a lot

Renaissance Art

Pieta by Michelangelo: Means pity, made at 23, pppl were haters, some dude even tried to break it with a hammer while saying “ I am Jesus Christ”

The Last Supper by da Vinci: Can see the pyramid configuration (linear perspective pointing to Jesus), triangle shaped stuff like Jesus

Sub- Saharan Africa Art

General Characteristics: Portable, wood, no name, unknown artist, blends religions, idealized

Minaret: Tall tower found near Mosques to indicate there is a Mosque nearby