Art History Important Notes

Chapter one: pre-Historic Art

Most important artworks:

Venus of Willendorf o 28,00025,000 BCE o Female o Huge Breasts, belly o The cap on her head, 70 bumps o Carved from limestone o One of the Venus figurines o Anthropomorphism: Fertility o Importance of women in that time o The idea of a cycle and re-birth o A deity, the god of fertility o May have been used as a piece of jewelry Human with Feliene Head o 30,00028,000 BCE o Some of the earliest surviving artworks from the Paleolithic period in Europe are small statuettes of humans. o An ivory Sculpture, the oldest known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in the world. o Anthropomorphism: an animal having the characteristics of humans. o Could be a deity

Vocabulary
Deity: God Speculate: to guess Anthropomorphism: the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god.

Chapter 2: SANBAN
Neolithic Revolution : When humans gave up the roles of hunter and gatherer for the more predictable life of farmer and gatherer. First occurred in Mesopotamia, a Greek word that means the "land between the [Tigris and Euphrates] rivers. The Sumerians occupied the lower valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now southern Iraq. They established urban communities and developed the earliest known writing system. Beginning around 3200 BCE, the Sumerians constructed ziggurats and produced small-scale sculptures and objects carved from alabaster, gypsum, lapis lazuli, limestone, marble, and wood. Details and decorative elements were often inlaid using shell, lapis lazuli, red limestone, black limestone, and gold. Ancient Sumer was not a unified nation but was made up of a dozen or so independent citystates.Each was thought to be under the protection of a different Mesopotamian deity. The Sumerian city plan reflected the central role of the local god in the daily life of the of he city-states occupants. The temple was not only the focus of local religious practice but also an administrative and economic center.

SANBAN kingdoms
Sumer Akkad Neo- Sumer Babylon Assyria Neo-Babylon

Vocabulary
sacerdotal intermediary Aptropaic: a guardian to push away evil spirits. Speculate: to think, meditate or reflect on a subject; to deliberate or cogitate. Votive: somebody beseeching Hierarchical proportions Liminality: the sensation the designer wants you to feel once you enter a building o Latin base: lmen, meaning "a threshold" Register of Friezes: the technique used by early Sumerians to depict a story (dividing lines.) Civilization: Latin base: Citizen of a city Ancient near east

Philosophy
Sacer

o Latin for sacred not only holy o Unreal, unfamiliar

Profanus o Latin for profane not only BAD o Means familiar, what is known, what is safe They wanted to know what to do with known things and unknown things o 3000 Gods, Needs o Sacerdotal intermediately Priest A link to the gods o Sumer Kings aren't as important as priests, they want to be more important, they name themselves GODS.

Sumerians
4000 BCE Why the first civilization? o There are other people doing the same things simultaneously Invented o writing o Wheel o Plow: farming o Writing First to plan a city Location o Modern day Iraq o Mesopotamia, Fertile crescent 2 rivers: Tigers, and Euphrates

Akkadian
Semitic based: they were a near east people who spoke a language related to Hebrew and Arabic. Their language was entirely different from the language of sumer, but they used the same Cuneiform Sumerians did. Founder was Sargon of Akkad, who founded the city of Akkad, the capital.

Assyria
Many of the kings share begging of the name o Assur-something > Assur is a god! AssurNasirpal Makes a new palace, a new capital o Walls of the palace nailed up skins and flesh of enemies o Skulls in a column o A hill of blood o Fearsome, powerful, blood thirsty His image o Horned cap: sacerdotal intermediary o Profile picture! But some changes Bearded Winged o Fighting lion Picture with the tree of life o Devine The palace o A modern-day drawing of the palace Colorful Half lion half man Action shots: horses, winged creatures >> nervous o From outside Skin of enemies nailed up them A tower of skulls A hill full of blood o Inside Colorfull Full of pannels Assyrian walls, Bas-Relief: carving the wall Sargon II Reaching back to Sumer, Sargon II Lamasu: o Huge o New-York, London, Paris o Apotropaic

Assurbanipal Last major king! More manly ? More powerful Lions pictures o Details o Killing them barehanded o Servant boy(castrated man) o He is stable! Dying lioness o 650 BCE o Give birth - not

Neo-Babylon
Parties! Fabulous city of Babylon o Las vegas Most famous gardens o Ancient wonder Ishtar gate! o Germany was not united, when they unite, they need ancient stuff for museums Connect to something o Soldiers, came back to have sex o Ishtar Goddess of war and sex love o Arch >> Lapis lazily o Lions, winged horses. o Arch

Chapter 3: Egypt
Introduction

Time Lasted 3000 years United, Circa: 3000 BCE Scale Pyramids o 13.5 acers o 2.5 millions blocks o Block= 5000 lbs o Tallest structures on earth for 4000 years Then comes in Eiffel 1889. Mystery All are fascinated by Egypt: Americans, French, Romans. Writing unknown o 15000 years, to know the writing o Napoleon found the Rosetta stone 1799

Vocabulary

Ferocity Portal Circa: approximately Iconography o Graphy: Depiction o Icon: Symbol Funerary: afterlife Composite view Semiotics: how people understand codes Androgynies: not male nor female Ankh: life Djet: Stability Appropriate Ephemeral Commemorate Encaustic

Important artworks
Palette of narmer Story 3000 BCE

Made of slate Narmer unifying Egypt Celebrating the union Total Fear o Narmer is beating someone o Servant holding shoes o 10 decapitate bodies: dont miss with narmer In Egypt Fashion doesnt change/continuity/same art Composite view Hores, the bird, flies into the sun without fear o When narmer dies he becomes Hores o Pharos are god like Symbols of both halves of Egypt o Two hats The bull o One of the gods/strength of Egypt Hanging in public o Propaganda Narm-sin Gudea

Symbols and Ideas

Continuity and transformation

Step Pyramid of King Djoser Story Symbols and Ideas

2650 BCE

Sandstone

A showy tomb 400 Years after Narmer First artist known in history o Imhotep Ka Vs. Ba /sacer Vs. Profanus Tombs were always on the left side. Sacer and profanus Ziggurat influence

Continuity and transformation

Great Pyramid of Gizeh Story Symbols and Ideas

Sandstone

2500 BCE

Khufu, khafre, menkareu Orientation of the compass Tips in gold/Transformation Geometry o Square to triangle/Tetragon o Control geometry Not really a tomb, the pasage into immortality Boarder between life and after life Inside, everything you need for afterlife Passages and doorways>travelling

Continuity and transformation

Ziggurat o Orientation

Great Sphinx
o o o

Sandstone

2500 BCE

Apotropaic Nimes Pythagoras: numbers of spiritual value

Statue of Khafre Story

Diorite
o o

2500 BCE They put the food infornt of him in the afterlife This was not public art, meant for the gods and servants in the tomb Hores the falcon Lions head/power Nimes Two flowers o Popirous and lotus o Lower and upper egypt

Symbols and Ideas

diorite Stable Immortal No subtraction in the rock

Statue of Menkaure and wife Story Symbols and Ideas

o o o o

Diorite

2480 BCE

Hands make a fist Lower and upper egypt Femininity Nimes

Egyptian Glyphs:Ankh: A symbol of life, all over the arts Djet: Stability o Columns o Symbolizing stability in buildings Egyptians art follows same path, with some continuity Ba: Bird that carries thee soul to the afterlife Scarab: A symbol for rebirth o Looks like a coackroach

Name Date/Form Story

Ti watching a hippopotamus Circa 2400 Ti He is not a phraoh, wealthy class He is in charge of all the buildings in his town Found in his a mastaba o Important enough to have a mastaba Depiction of a normal Scene: watching a haunt. \ Hierarchal proprtions composite view Hippo: disturbs crops o Evil, must be destroyed o Becomes a symbol of evilness then becomes a symbol for Seth Cautionary tale: you have to destroy evil.
o o

Symbols and Ideas

Name Date/Form Story

Seated scribe normal stone A writer o Very important, because they write for people to get to the after life Function: making sure they go to the afterlife The less the formality the more normal features are portrayed Think Vs. the pharoh

Symbols and Ideas

Name Date/Form Story

Hatchapsut statue Circa 1450 BCE A woman Pharoh, husband dies, she decides to take over You cant question a pharaoh, nobody talks about her being a woman. o Wear a Nimes: Everything is good Son decides to take over after he became 18 years o He destroys the art works of her The Art is still the same even 1000 years later Funerary temple Hatshepsut 1450 BCE The base of the mountain Akhnaten

Symbols and Ideas Name Date/Form Story Name Date/Form Story

Changes the Canon of proportions One exception, he makes Egypt monotheistic Transformation in Egypt o The god is only the sun god: ATEN On his time the priests were so powerful, he wanted to limit it o Moves the capital, from thieves to Amana o Changes the rule book of are, cthe canon of proportions > o Changes his name from Amonhpoteop IV to Akhenaton (who serves Akhenaton) His mummy was not found Curves

Symbols and Ideas

Amarna phase of Egyptian art

Continuity and transformation

Combining pre historic power: woman with Egyptian power: a man

Name Date/Form Story

The tomb of TUT Circa 1323 Pharaoh for 10 years, his tomb wasn't robbed When the found it 1920 o 5000 OBJECTS Cobra: apotropaic

Symbols and Ideas

Chapter 4 and 5: pre-Greek and Greek Art

Vocabulary

Repousse Panethon Arete Polyprogmosyne Homeric Ideal Ephebe o young men my age! o Round education o Hoemric ideal Krater: a pot in a magbara Gigantomachy: battle between human and darkness Ponder Ethos: serenity Symposia Symmetria: make order out of non order. Classic o Best example, modle Allegory o Digging into something deeper o Allegorical debate. Contrapasto o Balance of the legs Nike: victory Psycha-gagia: the power of art to sway your emotions. o Semiotics Narcissism Acropolis: Highest point at a city. Doric: Comes from a place in Greece where the men are really manly. (doric capital)

Ionic: comes from a place in Greece where the men are seen as womanly. (ionic capital) Empathos Quotidian: everyday life

Minoans
Themes

o Harmony with nature o Taking stuff form china Daoism

Centered at Crete o Knossos, peaceful No forts no walls

 Philosophy o Frescoes in the palace Nature Composite view Imitating Egypt o Thrown room Pretty stuff! o All over the palace, bulls Coming of age! Celebrating sex! o Snake goddess Dozens of them A cat on her head: a popular pet at Egypt A symbol of sensuality Snake A symbol for time Changing skin: rebirth Need to be conscious about time

Greek basics

Pantheon o All gods o Pan: all o Theo: god o Gods are envisioned They are anthropomorphic In the form of human: Human attributes. Greeks like them selves, they could be a god. The greatness of humans. God's aren't perfect > just like humans. They are portrayed as humans in Art o Gods lives on mount Olympus. Oracle at Delphi o Apollo: sun, light, music Delphi is surrounded by a python, he slays the big snake. Becomes a symbol of human intelligence fighting dark forces. Gigantomachia o To the Greeks delphi is the center of human intelligence o The navel of the word o Everything is measured by distance from delphi. o Oracle: Sacerdotal intermediary Trojan war o 1200 BCE, may or may not have been a war. o 1977: Heinrich schliemann Found the ruins of the city, and the mask >> Agamemnon WE DONT KNOW IF CORRECT Germany was brand new, they wanted stuff from the ancient world.

Connect to old things. Full of sex and violence After the war there is a dark age! Skip 300 years Homer o Circa 800, rote 2 books. o The illiad and Odyssey o Explains where Greeks won. o Journey o o o o

Arete Polyprogmosyne Homeric Ideal

Striving for excellence Energy it takes to be successful Your life should be spent striving to be good

Olympics o 776, first olympics o Athens, mount olympus o Not just sports it everything! o Laurel Wreath Come from the tree Apollo sits under. o Meet every 4 years

Geometric Age

Dipylon Cemetery Krater Story

740 BCE

Found In a symmetry o Funerary art Made of CLAY! Greeks are fascinated by death not Obsessed! Death is interesting its Sacar. They focus on the human emotions of the death The pour oil in to the vase, connecting to the dead. At the top, is something called a meander o Symbol in Greek art o Greek key o Means eternity, the Spirit will last forever Compare to Egypt

Symbols and Ideas

Continuity and transformation

o o

Nothing like Egypt in after life Sacer vs. Profanus

Herakels and nessos Story Symbols and Ideas

Bronze

740 BCE Herakels is fighting the half man half animal, Centuar. The human body is not yet in shape. Nudity Gigantomachy: battle between humans and centuars. Assyria o Assurbanipal o Lamassu

Continuity and transformation

Lady of auxerre Story Symbols and Ideas

Limestone

Circa 650

Frontality o Not like Egyptians in the composite Unnatural Bare feet o Priestess or goddess Provenance: Egypt

Continuity and transformation

The archaic age

Kourus Story

Marble

600 BCE

Symbols and Ideas

Ephebe is alive this is dead. o The word means ideal young man Semiotics: inspired by what a young person can do. Compare to Menkaure o Negative space o Both funerary

Continuity and transformation

Grave stele of a youth and a little girl Story

Marble

530 BCE

Story
o o o

A young man and his sister. Something in his arm A pot of oil! The beauty of the physical body

Symbols and Ideas

13 ft stele o Link to the heavens A fruit in his hand o Pomegranate A symbol of death and rebirth o Your spirit will survive Sphinx o It was put up their to Cultivate a debate o Not apotrapaic
o

Ethos: calm serenity Ejected at the face

o

Power and brutality Ejected in the legs

Paradox Vs. Balance

Continuity and transformation

Jesus hands 1500 years later pomegrant

Achilles and penthesilea Story

Terracotta Amphora

Exekias

450 BCE

Trojan war Achillies a great warrior, and a pantheslia. o Amazon women warrior groups. o Amazon choose the Trojan to side with in the trojan war Things that surprise u in life, he was just about to kill her, but now he fell in love with her o Very Theatrical Symopsia Smaller bottom than a top Its not painted, wet clay with pastery bag. Meander

Symbols and Ideas

Ajax and Achillies playing Dice Story Symbols and Ideas

Teracotta amphora

Exekias

540 BCE

During the war they are playing a game! Ethos Paradox Vs. Balance Symmetria: Balance out of Chaos More realistic

Continuity and transformation

Athena Charioteering Herakles to Olympus

Teracotta Amphora

Exekias

540 BCE

Death of sarpedon Story

Terracotta Amphora

Euphronius

515 BCE

Metropoltain museum for a million dollars o Thomas hoving The hot pot is commercialized! o You'll understand the world better if u see it o 1970: vietnam .. Understand the frustration One of Zeus' sons dies, zeus just weeps, he cant do anything about it. Sleep and death on left and right

Symbols and Ideas

Panatheniac Prize Story Symbols and Ideas

Terracotta amphora

Euphranious

530 BCE

No story We all should be like Apollo.

Continuity and transformation

Hetaerae Symposium Symbols and Ideas

Terracotta amphora

Euphranious

515 BCE

Dinosis o God of a lot of things: music harmony, epiphanies, wine o He can die and come back to life

Architecture

Four buildings, all from 600 - 490

They are not scary, not like ziggurat, Its pride in achievement Whats inside: o Statue of the goddess or god o the tresury An apotropic figure to protect the money from thieves They worship geometry and math. Count the columns when you go into the temple

Temple of Hera Story Symbols and Ideas

Paestum, italy

550-540 BCE

Colonists from Greece, expanding out. Everything inside was robbed Read architectural designs o Count the columns on the east and westren sides. Sun rise sun down o 9 columns Culmination of life's journey Thinking about human knowledge o Rectangular in shape: Eternity Peripetral style: columns in one row. o "Greeks devised a pertipal style of the columns." Taking out Egypt's Djet, its not just stability its reaching up for heavens and reaching out to nature.

Continuity and transformation

Temple of Artemis
o o o o o

Island of Corfu

600 - 580

Goddess Angle Corfu Also built from rich people olive oil Pediment: a triangle roof, on it a story Apotropaic figure: medusa Practicing! Not as complicated

Treasury of Siphians
o o o o o

Sanctuary of Apollo

Delphi

530 - 525 BCE

A group of a temple complex to apollo But this temple was named after this group they are rhcih Gold trade Caryatid: The columns are women! Acknowledgment of women. They are only for support Take advantage of another guy of pidement, bas reliefe a freeze.

Trojan war Like

Temple of Aphiba o Goddess o Rhich ppl // shipping wine o Count the columns Feminine o The capital on top f the column: rectangular Doric capital Symbol of muscularity and power o 6 columns + Doric capital = balance Women and men o Pediment: improved!

The Greek miracle

5th century BCE, "the Greek miracle"

Development of democracy o Demos: people o Cracy: rule or government. o Greece isn't unified, city states (polis) o Athens, they dont like the king, they get rid of it. What do we do? All rich business men get in charge Still dis-statisfaction of the people To grumble o Cleisthenes Committee Invest each citizen into the running of Athens Vote on thingsm each Citezens Citizen = pure Greeks Not citzs = women, slaves. 10% only could vote!! The Persian wars o Most important war in history o Greeks have connections using trades. Athens encouraging stop of monarchy and empires So all other empires go after it. o 490 BCE: battle of the marathon!! The TINY GREEKS WON! Keber ras-hom We won because of the system! o 480 BCE: Persians coming back to retaliate Every polis wants to take the battle to be remembered. Defeat of the Greeks, losing democracy! They become motivated

479 BCE: Athens is burnt as the Persian go back.

A play called: the Oresteia o Sex, violence and revenge o The end of the play Athena appears, and orders to stop the stupid revenge "order and harmony must win" Not about killing each other, it is about we must be civil. o Who rote it was a soldier in the Persian war The golden age of Athens o 5th century BCE o Arete, polyprogmosyne: Rebuild Athens o Golden age Peace Prosperity Explosion of culture o 479 - 429 BCE, GOLDEN AGE only 50 years. Pericles o Guides the olden age o In charge of Athens for 30 years o He isn't a king he Is democratically elected each year. Doesnt seize power . o Also a general! o Public money on art Create a city that teaches the entire world how to be civilized "Athens is school hellas" Athens is a perfect Socity which all the world must learn from. The art is supposed to teach you, support Athens

Delian leauage o An alliance of all the polis o Protectiveness o Each polis gives money! o 454 BCE: the treasury was moved from the town Delaus to Athens o He gets the other states mad. o Most of the golden age art around 450 BCE

Protaeras o Statement that describes all the art works o "man is the measure of all things" o The gods are not the standard, each Ephebe is the Standard.

Pan-athenaic procession o Every year they go on the parade

5 stops Cemetery: Dipylon cemetery Potential Edges of the cemetery, the Cyprus tree, it means hope Schools Ephebes Agora Business are, rich Good at business because well educated Areopagus Mountain of Ares Where they meet to discuss wars Acropolis Highest point in the city, thrilled and amazed by the city You are invested in the project

Classical Age

Diskobolos Story

Myron

Marble Statue (Roman Copy)

Myorn

Circa 450

Doing sports naked Olympics Ethos: not stressed. Were not to be emotional were to celebrate the human body Dynamic Roman copy o The tree behind, the Romans aren't as confident in balance. Compare to Kouros

Symbols and Ideas

Continuity and transformation

Temple of zeus

Circa 450

Story

"Apollo Decreeing order" o He I saying "STOP, we must have order" "Athena, Herakles, and Atlas" Temple o Meander, Ionic Style, Columns

Symbols and Ideas

Apollo's figure o One arm out, one armo down: Symmetria Herkales o He is holding up the world, he has the ability to do that. o Athena is behind him maybe supporting him o "The Triumph of marathon gave Athenians confidence" o Ethos

Charioteer the sanctuary of Apollo

o o o

Bronze Statue

470

Messing a lot of stuff! This is not a woman Ethos

Zeus or Poseidon
o o o

Bronze Statue

450

Bronze Balance of the legs Humanism

The Parthenon

Athena sculpture there o Every year they change their skirts Acropolis complex o 448 - 432 o Periclies want to build o Circa 450 o Athena's Parthenon Iktinos & kalikrates Perfect equation to build the temple Not architects ? x=2y+1 The most imitated building in world history 8 columns Rebirth and music Starting over. Illusion Everything is bent so we can have the illusion of perfection. The Athena statue Pediment

The birth of Athena Fight of posiedon vs. Athena Metope Bas relief sculptures under the pediment Centaurs Vs. Lapiths Walking up the temple Pediment with gods then metopes with allegories then friezes with humans. Allegory: Depicts the story of the Persian war Natural with man made, harmony between gods and mortals The rocks are exposed on the building. Liminality Some of what the Persians did is kept there. Persians are the python now. Greeks need to Learn from history Celebrate them selves Journey Walk on natural rock Walk through the gate on ur right the athena nike temple.

Hellenistic Greece
Nike adjusting her sandals Story Symbols and Ideas

Athena Adjusting her sandals "the gods are less Olympian" o Doing human like things Contrapostta Balance o Her wings Amphiprostyle temple 2 porches with columns Capital: Ionic Eroticism going out Chiten The silk dress.

Apollo with the lizard o Its not philosophical

Porch of caryatids o Contrapostta o Poseidon vs. Athena o Semiotics Reminded of a recent historical even where Athens is trying to expand The way they treat the people they capture is changed, murder the men, and in-slave women They value slavery? Were the only ones that matter. Pericles ends 429, the golden age ends 429 Grave stele o 410 - 400 o Looks like a Greek temple o Power and Prosperity o This is more about the money that they have o A women on a grave Stele o Maid and her owner o Feminism Interest in woman's right o Social classes