• Prehistoric

    The time period after 30,000 BCE saw an explosion of creativity. Humans went from simply recognizing human and animal forms to their representation. Records of this acheivement include cave paintings and fertility sculptures. Art in this period is spread across Europe.

    hall of the bulls at lascaux | artist unknown | mural

    -uses illusionistic devices: overlapping
    -might be a teaching mechanism
    -sympathetic magic: run-through of hunting
    -uses twisted perspective

    30000BCE - 9000BCE

    paleolithic

    This period began after the last glacial melt. With this change came domesticated plants and animals and the formation of settled communities. Mesolithic cultures were known for their wide variety of hunting, fishing, and gathering techniques, thus their art is based off of these topics, along wiht fertility. Art during this time period is spread across Europe.

    human figure from ain ghazal | artist unknown | plaster

    -found two caves full of 3 dozen of these, some had beads, some had two heads
    -gender of sculpture was rarely indicated
    -mark the beginning of monumental sculpture

    9000BCE - 4000BCE

    mesolithic

    Humans are now widely dependent on domesticated plants and animals, and have now begun to utilize the use of tools. The emergence of crafts is seen, such as weaving and pottery. The end of the neolithic period is when writing and metal tools are used. Systematic agriculture was formed, along with weaving, metal-working, poettery, and counting and recording with tokens.

    stonehenge | artist unknown | sandstone

    -arranged in a cromlich or henge(circle)
    -may have been an observatory or a solar sundial
    -beginning of monumental architecture
    -post and lintel

    4000BCE - 2640BCE

    neolithic

  • ANE, Egyptian, Aegean

    This period features one of the first cultures to practice extensive year-round agriculture, the first writing system, centralized governments, law codes, empires, hierarchy of classes, slavery, warfare, and laid the foundation for astronomy and mathematics. It is often called "the cradle of civilization". Most art in this period is form what is currently the Middle East.

    lamassu | artist unknown | limestone

    -high relief
    -meant to ward off enemies: guardian figure
    -ominous face, 5 legs to create illusion of motion
    -eyes: window to soul
    -Assyrian art

    9000BCE - 330BCE

    ancient near eastern

    The painting during this time was highly symbolic and stylized. A majority of the art comes from, and are, tombs and monuments, emphasizing this culture's stress on the afterlife. There was strict adherance to sets of rules, idealism, and hieratic scale. Most art is locatedin Egypt and spread throughout parts of Africa.

    ti and the hippo hunt | unknown artist | relief

    -hieratic scale
    -canon proportions
    -narrative

    8000BCE - 330BCE

    egyptian

    Aegean is divided into 3 areas in Greece. Cycladic art is from the Cycladic islands, where marble was abundant, thus most of their fertility figures were marble. Minoan art, named after King Minos, is from the island of Crete, where the first great Western civilization occured. Mycenaean art is from the great citadel of Mycenae, the Greek mainland. They are the forerunners of classical Greeks.

    spring fresco | unknown artist | wet fresco

    -first recorded interior painting of landscape
    -symbolism of grouth with curves
    -brings outside inside, purely "subject" because of the lack of subject
    -Minoan

    3000BCE - 1200BCE

    aegean

  • Greek

    The stoic and stylized archaic art gave way to fluid and realistic sculpture that gave an illusion of movement through space. "Kouros" statues took their first step forward (literally) and then sculpture moved to having very dynamic poses with precise anatomy of the human form. It was the first time the human body was studied for its aesthetic values.Location is in Greece.

    erechthion, porch of the maidens | unknown artist | marble

    -caryatids (sculptural columns) into ionic columns
    -resemble actual statues of goddesses
    -uses controppasto

    480BCE - 323BCE

    classical

    The Hellenistic period begins with the dath of Alexander the Great and lasted 3 centuries. This period expanded the horizons with even more dramatic poses, sweeping lines, and high contrasts of lights and shadows, creating a higher sense of emotion in their art. Idealism of the Classical period made way for Naturalistic art. Still located in Greece.

    nike of samothrace | unknown artist | marble

    -sculpture in the round
    -drapint, transparancy of drape
    -himotions: thick folds
    -subtractive sculpture
    -rejection of Polykleito's proportions

    323BCE - 31BCE

    hellenistic

    The Roman civilization lives on in our world in government, language, and calendar. The Roman use of art, such as portraits, and relief sculptures, were used as propaganda. The Romans masted concrete and its constructive uses. Through politics, art, and religion, the Roman civilization is seen as the bridge between ancient and modern Western worlds. Located in Italy.

    column of trojan | unknown artist | concrete

    -narrative sculpture: propaganda of Roman conquest
    -Trojan's ashes put in the base
    -use of hieratic scale
    -no suffering is shown
    -3ft at bottom, 4ft at top

    753BCE - 337CE

    roman

  • jewish/ec/byzan, romanesque, gothic

    The Roman emporor, Constantine, made Christianity an imperially sponsered religion. Old Testament themes were popular, but iconography of the entire life of Jesus was established. This led to the iconoclasm, leading to a break into the already split Christianity(East and West) and Islam, where calligraphy was prominent in art. Located across Europe, but Islam was most prominently in Spain and the Middle East.

    mihrab from the madrasa imami | unknown artist | glazed mosaic tilework

    -uses kufic script on mihrab
    -mihrab: niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of Mecca
    -Muhaqqaq script is used in the outer rectangular frames

    29 - 1453

    jewish/early christian/byzantine

    After the last Roman Emperor died, groups of non-Romans (Franks, Celts, Anglo-Saxons, etc.) were constantly on the move, except the Byzantine stronghold at Ravenna. They left behind small monuments of costly materials. Charlemagne was crowned emperor of Rome, imperial rule was reestablished, along with a revival of classical styles in architecture. Located across Europe, specifically England, France, Italy, and Germany.

    interior of durham cathedral | unknown artist | stone (ashlar)

    -earliest known 3-story nave
    -ribbed vault combo with slightly pointed arches. combo of Romanesque/Gothic
    -ornamented with abstract design. complements design in ceiling
    -still uses round arches: romanesque

    1050 - 1200

    romanesque

    North of the Alps, the creative center was the Ile-de-France. French pioneered a new building style incorporating rib vaults with pointed arches, filing buttresses, and stained-glass windows. Italian Gothic churches carried on the tradition of Early Christian and Romanesque, but were pioneers in painting, increasingly basing their art on observation, creating more naturalism in their art.

    notre-dame (paris) | unknown artist

    -flying buttresses were first used on a grand scale
    -the sculptures and stained glass windows show the heavy influence of naturalism
    -Gothic: "height and light"

    1140 - 1400

    gothic

  • renaissance

    The most notable changes in art are the use of oil paints in Flanders, greater illusionism in French manuscript illuminations, and the invention of movable-type printing in Germany. Italy saw a rise in influence of dominant families like the Medicis. Thus art was affected in quanity, scale, subjects, selected artists, and visibility. There was an expanding interest in humanism and a revival of classical design.

    saint mark (san michele) | donatello | marble

    -commsion for a guild (linen guild). St. Mark is Saint of linens
    -head/torso slightly large so viewer can look up
    -looks classical realist
    -reuse of contrappasto

    1400 - 1500

    early renaissance

    Artist developed further ideas that earlier artists were occupied with, such as classical cultures and humanist viewpoints. There was an interest in promoting Counter Reformation ideals. Most art was in Italy, France, and the Netherlands, seeing as most other places were becoming Protestant, which banned decorative religious items and churches.

    school of athens | raphael | fresco

    -great scientists of antiquity (Plato Aristotle) in center
    -all communicate moods that reflect what they believed
    -Apollo/Athena in background: wisdom
    -People grouped together based on their beliefs

    1500 - 1600

    high renaissance

    Northern Renaissance artists kept a more religious tone in their artworks, dealing with marriage, biblical scenes, etc. However in England and the Netherlands, the Reformation brought biblical paintings almost completely to an end. They were concerned with humanism, just as eary and high renaissance were. Northern Renaissance artists were located in France, Germany, England, Poland, and the Netherlands.

    giovanni arnolfini and his bride | jan van eyck | oil paint on wood

    -lots of symbolism incorporated: candle and mirror - eyes of god, dog -fidelity, women looks pregnant, etc.
    -very small painting; used magnifying glass to paint details
    -marriage portraits became popular

    1400 - 1600

    northern renaissance

  • baroque, rococo, neoclassicism

    Italian baroque art was full of complexity and drama. Dutch baroque contained genre scenes, still lifes, and portraits for merchan patrons. There were concerns for direct observation, emotional intensity, and manipulation of light and color.

    ecstacy of st. theresa | bernini | marble

    -correlated with ideas of Loyola, who believed that recreation of spiritual experience would increase devotion and piety
    -theatricality and sensory impact were useful in acheiving counter-reformation goals
    -inventiveness, technical skill, sensitivity to patron's needs, and energy part of Baroque style

    1600 - 1750

    baroque

    Originated in France, Rococo is a style that incorporates the dominance of the aristocracy. It is a soft, dainty style.It includes both interior design and painting. Styles of painting were fete galante, or outdoor paintings, and intrigue paintings, or flirty paintings.

    the swing | fragonard | oil on canvas

    -"intrigue" picture: flirty
    -lanscape sets scene for comic opera
    -colors and soft light convey sensuality of theme

    1725 - 1775

    rococo

    The Neoclassical style came with the Enlightenment, widespread throughout Europe and America. It is associated with heorism, idealism, and rationality. It emphasizes reason and logic. Most art was still traditional painting and some etching.

    monticello | thomas jefferson | wood and brick

    -worked scholarly, economic, educational, patriotic, and classical architecture ideas into building
    -based on Italian architect book "Four Books of Architecture"
    -Reminiscent of Villa Rotunda

    1775 - 1850

    neoclassicism

  • romanticism, realism, impressionism

    Romanticism, in response to Neoclassicism, and the Enlightenment, focused on the primacy of imagination and feeling. Art was beginning to take more realist and more abstract tones. Towards the end, it began to emphasize nature more, in repsonse to the Industrial Revolution. Art is much more widespread, mostly through Europe and North America.

    the slave ship | jmw turner | oil on canvas

    -based on Abolition of Slave trade. captain got more $ if slaves were lost, thus thrown overboard
    -used color and energetic brush strokes to create a real feeling
    -painting itself became subject matter -stepping towards abstract

    1775 - 1850

    romanticism

    Artist became more critical and modern in response to the more conservative approach of the art academies, where artists recieved traditional training. This will eventually lead to more avant-garde painting. This period is still widespread in Europe and North America. Realism shows the world as it is: what you see is what you got.

    the stone breakers | gustave courbet | oil on canvas

    -realistic: "show me an angel and I'll paint you one."
    -wanted to show that workers/peasants did not have a pleasant job
    -focused on actual/real, what you see is what you get
    -rock breakers: lowest class of society
    -genre paintings: people scenes

    1850 - 1900

    realism

    The term "impressionism" describes teh art that is focused on the fleeting image one gets of a subject, not in any way realistic, nor completely abstract. Scientific studies of light and the invention of chemically synthesized pigments increased artists' sensitivity to the multiplicity of colors in nature and gave them new colors to work with.

    rouen cathedral: the portal (in sun) | claude monet | oil on canvas

    -one of the 40 view of Rouen Cathedral, showing Monet's intensive study of light and color
    -short choppy brush strokes, accurately catching light
    -canvas looks unintelligible at close range, forms and objects only appear at a distance

    1850 - 1900

    impressionism

  • post-impressionism, cubism, dada

    Most critics and the public now accept the Impressionists as artists, however now a new group of younger artists felt that Impressionists neglected too many traditional elements. These artists, the post-impressionists, worked more with the expressive qualities of line, pattern, form, and color. These artists pushed expressionism even further.

    starry night | van gogh | oil on canvas

    -the thickness, shape, and direction of his brush strokes created a tactile counterpart to his intense color schemes
    -dark deep blue shows determination to use color to express himself
    -sky keeps viewer's eyes moving about the painting

    1850 - 1900

    post-impressionism

    Originating in Spain, cubism was an expressionist departure from any adherance to illusionism in art. Art is extremely simplified by fracturing shapes and interweaving them with equally jogged planes. Art is outright stated as two-dimensional.

    the ladies of avignon | picasso | oil on canvas

    -marks the beginning of cubism
    -room is extremely simplified, it is a space intertwined with bodies
    -the left is more calm and based on Iberian sculpture, the right is more wild and based on african sculpture
    -analytic cubism

    1900 - 1945

    cubism

    Dada spread throughout much of western Europe in response to the economic, social, and political chaos in Berlin. There is a disgust with German nationalism in the struggling post-World War I German Republic. The art was extremely chaotic itself.

    cut with the kitchen knife...germany | hannah hoch | photomontage

    -advanced the absurd logic of Dada by presenting viewer with chaotic contradictory, and satiric compositions
    -photomontages: posted parts from many pictures together in one image provided scathing and insightful commentary on redefinition of women's social roles and explosive growth of mass print media

    1900 - 1945

    dada

  • bauhaus, surrealism, abstract expressionism

    The Bauhaus was the name of a school in Germany founded by Walter Gropius. Its principles were: a positive attitude to the living environment of vehicles and machines, the organic shaping of things in accordance with their own laws, restriction of basic forms and colors to what is universally intelligible, and simplicity in complexity, economy, materials, time, and money.

    bauhaus | walter gropius

    -has a skeleton of concrete, but it's sheathed in glass, creating a streamlined and light effect
    -design's simplicity portrays Gropius's ideal of avoidng all "romatic embellishment and whimsy"
    -spatial organizaiton within buildings of school, encouraging interaction and the sharing of ideas

    1900 - 1945

    bauhaus

    Surrealists believed that improvisation was important for putting elements of fantasy and activating the unconscious that lies within every human being. They were influenced by the psychoanalytic and dream findings of Freud and Jung. Surrealists wanted to bring together reality and surreality. It began in France.

    the persistance of memory | dali | oil on canvas

    -time has ended, never-setting sun
    -tried to make it seem like it could actually happen, still realistic
    -face resembles Dali
    -representation of unconscious

    1900 - 1945

    surrealism

    The center of Western art now became New York. Much of abstract expressionism is based off of Greenbergian Formalism: an emphasis on an artwork's visual elements rather than its subject. There was a promotion of purity in art, what makes it art rather than the art itself.

    lavender mist | jackson pollock | oil, enamel, and aluminum paint on canvas

    -emphasis on the creative process
    -composed of rhythmic spatters, drips, and dribbles of paint
    -he used sticks or brushes to fling, pour, and drip paint on to a section of unsized canvas

    1900 - 1945

    abstract expressionism

  • pop art, minimalism, contemporary

    Pop art was the reintroduction of the artistic devices traditionally used to convey meaning in art. It was grounded in consumer culture, mass media, and popular culture. It began in Britain.

    marilyn diptych | andy warhol | oil, acrylic, and silk screen enamel on canvas

    -repetition of Monroe's face reinforced her status as a consumer product
    -her glamorous, haunting visage confronts the viewer endlessly, as it did the American public in the aftermath of her death
    -the right half suggests a film still, which is what brought Monroe to fame

    1945 -

    pop art

    Minimalism is a predominantly sculptural movement. It lacks identifiable subjects, colors, surfaces, textures and narrative elements. It rejcts illusionism and reduces sculpture to basic geometric forms. Minimalists emphasised "objecthood". AT this point, most art is spread across North American and Europe, if not further.

    untitled | donald judd | brass and colored fluorescent plexiglass on steel brackets

    -rejects illusionism and symbolism
    -reduces sculpture to basic geometric forms
    -emphasizes work's "objecthood" and tangibility

    1945 -

    minimalism

    Contemporary art refers to art produced in this time period, or art after World War Two. At this point, art is whatever the answer to the question "what is art?" happens to be for the artist.

    guggenheim bilbao museum | frank gehry

    -Gehry is the leading practitioner of deconstructivist architecture
    -Deconstructivist: a critical examination of traditional theories
    -appears as a random mass of asymmetrical and imbalanced forms

    1945 -

    contemporary