Notes on Western and Classical Art Tradition

Prehistoric Era

  • Definition: Prehistoric art = human existence before writing; key clue for archaeologists and anthropologists about early life and culture.

  • Cave of Lascaux (dates): 15000−10000 B.C.15000-10000\ \mathrm{B.C.}

    • Dominant features: large regional animals; ~2000 figures (animals, human figures, abstract designs).

    • Inner sections identified: Great Hall of the Bulls, Lateral Passage, Shaft of the Dead Man, Chamber of Engravings, Painted Gallery, Chamber of Felines.

Paintings from the Ancient Egypt

  • Purpose: to make the afterlife pleasant; journey to the underworld; protection by deities.

  • Style: highly stylized and symbolic; profile view for animals/figures; preserved knowledge of past.

  • Colors: red, black, blue, gold, green from mineral pigments; durable under sunlight.

  • Tutankhamen (XVIII Dynasty): tomb paintings depict life on earth and expected underworld scenes.

Paintings from Classical Greek Era

  • Forms and subjects: vases, panels, tombs; natural figures; dynamic compositions; battles, mythological beings, everyday life.

  • Techniques: understanding of linear perspective; naturalist representation.

Most common methods of Greek painting

  • Fresco: water-based pigments on freshly applied plaster; pigments ground in water; set with plaster; durable; matte.

  • Encaustic: wax-based paint used on ships to fill hull cracks; pigments added for painting.

Judgment of Paris (Greek vase painting)

  • Date: 370−330 B.C.370-330\ \mathrm{B.C.}

  • Notable example of vase painting illustrating mythological scene.

Kerch Style (Kerch Vases)

  • Red-figured pottery named after Kerch; common shapes: pelike, lekanis, lebes gamikos, krater.

  • Motifs: life scenes, mythological beings; popular use of polychromy.

Women and motifs in Kerch/Greek vases

  • Common motifs: scenes from life, mythological beings; often idyllic or symbolic.

  • Technique: polychromy (multi-color painting) to enhance visual effect.

Panel Painting

  • The earliest known panel painting: Pitsa Panel

  • Date: c. 540−530 B.C.E.c.\ 540-530\ \mathrm{B.C.E.}

Tomb / Wall Painting

  • Popular in classical period; techniques include fresco, tempera, encaustic.

  • Style: sharp, flat outlines; limited surviving examples due to water-based materials.

Tomb of the Diver (Paestum)

  • Date: 480 BCE480\ \mathrm{BCE}

  • Medium: true fresco on limestone mortar; depicts a symposium scene.

Paintings from the Romantic Era

  • Influence: many Romand era paintings imitate classical Greek styles.

  • Techniques: fresco on bright backgrounds; division of wall into rectangular panels; multipoint perspective; trompe-l'œil effects.

  • Subjects: animals, everyday life, still life, mythological subjects, portraits, landscapes.

  • Innovation: development of landscape painting as a key feature.

Mosaic

  • Definition: image created from small pieces of colored glass, stones, or other material.

  • Uses: decorative art and interior decoration.

Head of Alexander mosaic

  • Full image: Roman floor mosaic in the House of the Faun, Pompeii, dated ~100 B.C.100\ \mathrm{B.C.}

  • Scene: battle between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia.

Fresco examples in Roman context

  • Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii (Pompeii fresco): dated ~80 B.C.E.80\ \mathrm{B.C.E.}; depicts ceremonial rites, possibly marriage or initiation in a mystery cult.

Paintings from the Medieval Era

  • Byzantine Painting: continuation of Greek/Roman style adapted for Christian subjects; by the 11th century, Greek and Oriental styles blend in monumental church imagery.

  • Theodora, mosaic: 6th century CE, San Vitale, Ravenna (court of Empress Theodora).

Theodora (iconography)

  • Description: Asian queen with dark eyes and hair; stern expression; part of the San Vitale mosaics.

Romаne squeek: Romanesque Painting

  • Characteristics: mosaics on church walls; frontal poses; varied traditions including Byzantine influence and Mozarabic (Arab-influenced) touches.

  • Notable work: Christ in Majesty and other large church mosaics.

  • Example: Christ in Majesty (mosaic) in Church of Saint Clemente, Tahull, Spain (c. 11231123 CE) — now in Barcelona.

Paintings from the Gothic Era

  • Painting context: illuminated manuscripts and frescoes in churches; cosmopolitan, elegant, sophisticated style.

  • Subjects: legends, love stories; decorative patterns (millefleur); Crusades influence.

  • Rose window: North transept, about 12301230.

  • Stained glass: to transform interior spaces with color and to educate faithful.

  • The Shepherd David: 13th century Gothic manuscript illustration; realistic details and naïve naturalism.

Paintings from the Gothic Era (continued)

  • The Unicorn tapestry: Lady and the Unicorn, 1506-1513 (tapestry painting, medieval subject matter).

Sculptures from the Pre-Historic era

  • Prehistoric sculptures vary by region; often attributed to natural erosion rather than deliberate artistry by humans; may have mythological or religious significance.

Venus of Willendorf

  • Dates: 28,000−25,000 BCE28{,}000-25{,}000\ \mathrm{BCE}

  • Material: limestone; exaggerated breasts and abdomen believed to symbolize fertility.

Venus of Brassempouy

  • Date: 25,000 years25{,}000\ \mathrm{years} old

  • Location: Musée d'Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye

  • Material: ivory; realistic representation of face and hairstyle.

Sculptures from the Egyptian Era

  • Symbolic elements: hieroglyphs, relative size, placement, materials, color, gesture; tomb sculpture most extensive.

  • Common materials: wood, ivory, stone.

Queen Nefertiti (Egyptian sculpture)

  • Material: painted limestone; 18th Dynasty, 1375−1357 B.C.E.1375-1357\ \mathrm{B.C.E.}

  • Features: realistic face, heavy lids, slender neck, strong chin; iconic royal portrait.

The Pharaoh Menkaure and his Queen

  • Date: c. 2548−2530 B.C.E.c.\ 2548-2530\ \mathrm{B.C.E.}

  • Style: rigid postures; monumental yet simple, powerful with little private emotion.

Sculptures from the Classical Period (Greek)

  • Early Greek sculpture: stiff, robes conceal the body; after centuries, advancement toward anatomical accuracy.

  • Hellenistic style: elaborated patterns, dynamic movement, dramatic composition.

  • Discobolus by Myron: dated around 450 BCE450\ \mathrm{BCE}; tension-filled, energy-ready to explode into action.

Roman Sculptures

  • Material: marble and other stone; many reliefs on triumphal columns; continuous narrative.

  • Portonaccio Sarcophagus: c. 180−190 BCEc.\ 180-190\ \mathrm{BCE}; Roman general burial; carved marble with battle scenes.

  • Sarcophagus from Cerveteri: c. 520 BCEc.\ 520\ \mathrm{BCE}; terracotta; husband and wife reclining.

Byzantine Sculptures

  • Themes: religious, everyday life, nature motifs; animals as symbols; acrostic signs with theological significance.

  • Barberini Diptych: early Byzantine ivory work.

Romanesque Sculptures

  • Features: reliquaries, altar frontals, crucifixes, devotional images; small, costly works for patrons; used in processions.

  • Last Judgement tympanum, Autun (c. 1120−11351120-1135) by Gislebertus.

Gothic Sculptures

  • Characteristics: greater freedom of style; figures project outward; more dynamic, lifelike, individual attitudes.

Resurrection of the Virgin (Gothic painting)

  • Date: end of the 12th century; Amiens Cathedral.

Summary notes

  • Key trends across eras: move from naturalistic to symbolic and stylized forms; shift from wall-based and sculptural works to integrated architectural decoration; evolving techniques (fresco, tempera, encaustic, mosaic, polychromy).