TIME PERIODS Paleolithic Period ca. 40,000 - 7,000BCE Discuss the culture.

The Paleolithic people lived in small nomadic hunter-gatherer groups and crated works as early as 40,000BC. At this time, glaciers of the ice age covered northern parts of Europe, North America and Asia. The earliest forms of Paleolithic art are small figures or figurines of people and animals made from bone, ivory, stone, and clay. Women were depicted more frequently that any other subjects. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Hall of Bulls, Lascaux Caves Paint on Limestone

Discuss the work. Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings. There are estimated to be about 300 caves found in southwestern France and northern Spain. Two other famous caves are Altamira and Chauvet. The artwork was found deep in the cave. There were drawings of horses, bison, handprints and geometric markings that were created using leaf, moss or animal brushes and spray pigments. The pigments were found in the rocks, taken and ground up into a fine powder to create red, yellow, and brown pigments that were mixed with fat, water, or saliva and ground into a paste. The artists also used sticks that they burnt into charcoal and used them to draw as well. Images of animals were drawn using twisted perspective, a way of representing figures so that part of the figure is in profile and another is shown frontally, this shows the figure in a complementary manner. The drawings are done using sympathetic magic, which is the use of symbolic images to ensure success and luck in hunting and the land. It was believed that if full fat animals were drawn, they would come.

Neolithic Period Discuss the culture.

ca. 8,000 - 2,300BCE

Fundamental social and cultural changes mark the beginning of the Neolithic period. This 1

was the beginning of the development of organized agriculture along with the practice of animal husbandry and the foundation of permanent year-round settlements. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England Stone and earth

Discuss the work. Stonehenge is one of the most famous megalithic(very large stone) structures in the world. A henge is a circle of stones or posts surrounded by a ditch with built up embankments. It took many, many years to build and there were 5 building phases to the construction of Stonehenge. 1. A 6ft deep ditch was built 2. A 35-ton sarsen (sandstone block) heelstone was placed 3. 30 25-ton sarsen uprights were positioned in a circle using post and lintel (two posts supporting a horizontal beam) system 4. Special bluestones for healing were placed inside sarsen circle 5. 5 trilithon (post and lintel using 3 stones total) altars were constructed in a horseshoe shape with an altar stone This structure was used as a calendar.

Mesopotamian Period ca. 3,000 500BCE Discuss the culture. Mesopotamia is a great river valley culture between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Agriculture became the basis of wealth and kingship was the dominant form of government. Religion played a central role in government and daily life and the people were polytheistic worshipping many gods and goddesses. Mesopotamia had great wealth but its location and few defenses made it vulnerable to 2

invasions and internal conflicts. Their art and architecture changed and mutated as different people became powerful. Mesopotamians (Sumerians) are credited with firsts such as the wagon wheel and plow, casting objects in copper and bronze and inventing a system of writing called cuneiform. They also were the first in the creation of pyramidal structures. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Nanna Ziggurat, Ur Mud brick

Discuss the work. Ur was the principal center of worship of the Sumerian moon god Nanna and of his Babylonian equivalent Sin. A ziggurat is a stepped pyramidal structure with a temple or shrine on top. Temples were built as the waiting rooms of the gods with offering tables of heaven where votive statues were placed. The Nanna Ziggurat was a shrine built to worship the Moon god Nanna/Sin. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Votive Statues from the Square Temple Eshnunna Carved stone

Discuss the work. Votive figures of carved stone were created as a way to pray to the gods. They are images created as devotional offerings and dedicated to gods. The carvers of these figures used traditional ways of creating these forms known as conventions. The figures were cylindrical with very large eyes. The eyes were supposed to gaze widely and pray for you into eternity.

Egyptian Periodca. 3,000 30BCE Discuss the culture. Egypt is a great river valley culture on the Nile River. Agriculture became the basis of wealth and kingship was the dominant form of government. Religion played a central role in government and daily life and the people were polytheistic worshipping many gods and goddesses. Egypt had great wealth and was protected by mountains and the desert. With only a few interruptions, Egypt remained a unified state 3,000 years, making possible an unprecedented continuity in artistic and cultural development.Egypt became very insular or inward looking. The Egyptians imagined life after death as a continuation of earthly life and its resources were directed toward the decoration and outfitting of tombs. 3

Artist: Title: Media:

Unknown Palette of Narmer Slate

Discuss the work. The Palette of Narmer depicts the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the reign of King Narmer. The king wears the White crown of Upper Egypt on one side of the palette and the Red crown of Lower Egypt on the other. His likeness is represented using the convention of hieratic scale, a traditional way in Egypt of creating forms in which the use of size indicates importance. Another convention of representation is twisted perspective, where part of the figure is shown in profile and part is shown frontally. This portrays the king in the most complementary manner. 1Redcrown-2Whitecrown3serpopards-4hieroglyphics-5Horus Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Menkaure and His Wife, Queen Khamerernebty from Giza Carved Stone

Discuss the work. The figures of King Menkaure and his Wife Queen Khamerernebty are votive images created as devotional offerings and dedicated to the gods. It was carved in a block-like form out of diurite, which was used to get their Ka into the afterlife. The carvers used Egyptian convention, which is a traditional way of creating forms. This representation portrays them in a symbolic way, shown frontally and rigidly in the typical stance of royalty.

Artist: Title: Media:

Unknown Great Pyramids of Giza Granite and Limestone

Discuss the work. Egyptians believed that after death the ka needed a body to inhabit, either a carved likeness or the actual corpse, preserved by mummification. The need to fulfill the requirements of the ka led to the development of elaborate funerary tombs filled with supplies and furnishings that the ka might require throughout eternity. The necropolis or burial ground known as the city of the dead was at the edge of the desert on the west bank of the Nile River. The most common type of tomb structure was the mastaba, a flattopped one-story structure with slanted walls erected above an underground burial chamber. Later, mastaba-like elements were stacked in decreasing size over underground burial chambers to form stepped pyramids, which were covered with a limestone veneer. The most widely identified structure associated with Egypt is the true pyramid, a building structure with a square base and four sloping triangular sides. The most famous pyramids are the Great Pyramids of Giza built by three kings, father and 4

sons, Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure.

Greek Empire Period ca. 900 30BCE Discuss the culture. People from the Cyclades Islands, the island of Crete and the Greek mainland formed independent city-states. They placed their religious sanctuaries and temples on the tops of hills (acropolis) and placed their commercial, governmental and domestic areas in the valley below. These city-states became powerful and developed merchant fleets that sailed all over the Mediterranean where they traded and formed colonies, which became strong citystates as well. At first aristocratic councils ruled, then self-appointed dictatorial tyrants ruled but a new idea began to form that had not been seen anywhere else in the world. These city-states decided that all citizens should share in the rights and responsibilities of government. This signaled the beginning of a democratic government. The Greek artists developed new ideals of human beauty and architectural excellence. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Kouros (Anavysos) Marble

Discuss the work. This statue is known as the Anavysos Kouros. A kouros is a Greek statue of a young man 5

or boy. It exemplifies the Greek ideal heroic male nude sculptured 7ft tall with carefully rendered anatomy and bulging muscularity portray the figures athletic body and enhance the sense of lifelike power and presence. The eyes are unnaturally large and wide open and the mouth forms a characteristic closed expression known as the archaic smile, used to enliven or animate the features of the face. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Kritios Boy Marble

Discuss the work. This statue is called the Kritios Boy and it shows the shift from the Greeks Archaic rigid kouroi to more relaxed and lifelike figures. It is the ideal heroic male nude in the Early Classical period. Unlike the over life-size kouroi statues, this sculpture is only 4ft tall. The body form is rounded with broad facial features and calm expression. The boy stands in a twisted, comfortable, and relaxed pose known as contrapposto.

Artist: Title: Media:

Unknown Spear Bearer (Doryphoros) Marble (originally bronze)

Discuss the work. This is the statue of Doryphoros the Spear Bearer, it is the ideal heroic male nude in the Greek Late Classical period. An artist named Polykleitos developed a set of rules for constructing the ideal human figure, which was called the Canon. The Canon included ratios of measurement and symmetry of body parts to one another. He created a larger than life bronze statue that shows a male athlete standing in a contrapposto (twisted and relaxed) pose, which evolved out of the pose of the Kritios boy of the earlier generation. Artist: Title: Media: Priam Painter Women at the Fountain House Black Figure Decoration on a Hydria

Discuss the work. Black figure painting was the principal mode of painting ceramics. This is an image of an everyday scene, women gathering water from a well, painted on this hydria, which is a jar with three handles used for storing water. The painter used slip, which is a mixture of clay and water, to silhouette the shapes of figures against an unpainted clay background. Details are etched into the slip. In the firing process of the ceramic, the slip is used as a final decorative coat, adding seal and sheen to the piece. The final process is the slip showing as black on a red clay background.

Artist: Title: Media:

Foundry Painter A Bronze Foundry Red Figure Decoration on a Kylix

Discuss the work. Red figure painting was a method done by first painting a ceramic piece with slip but leaving the shapes of the figures unpainted revealing the clay underneath. These images show daily life and are of men working in a foundry. On this kylix, a Greek drinking vessel, painters drew on the reserved areas with a fine brush dipped in liquid slip, which is a mixture of clay and water, to make the figures details. In the firing of the ceramic piece, the result is a dark background with red figures with black painted details. This process was faster and easier and painters adopted this style as the preferred method of painting on ceramics. Roman Empire Period 509BCE 313CE Discuss the culture. Latin speaking people settled on seven hills in Italy near the Tiber River and formed the city of Rome. At the height of their power Romans ruled all the lands around the Mediterranean Sea, east to the Mesopotamia River, south to Egypt and northwest to Scotland. The Roman government undertook building programs of unprecedented scale and complexity, creating a system of roads and constructing entire new towns and in these towns, forums, basilicas, race tracks, theatres, public baths, aqueducts and apartment buildings were created. For their art, culture and religions, the Romans borrowed heavily from the Greek world using Greek orders, importing Greek art, employing Greek artists and using Greek gods. Artist: Title: Media: Heraklitos The Unswept Floor Mosaic

Discuss the work. Mosaics became popular as decoration for Roman floors and fountains, where durability and waterproofing were needed. Mosaic designs were created using tesserae small pieces of stone or glass that is pieced together with many others. In The Unswept Floor, Heraklitos adapted the trompe loiel (fool the eye) representation of a floor littered with debris from a table. It is a representation of a painting done three centuries earlier. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Pont du Gard Marble, stone, and masonry

Discuss the work. The Pont du Gard spans 900ft and is an aqueduct; a structure for conveying a canal over 7

a river. It was designed to carry water across the Gard River to the fountains, baths and homes of the citizens of Nimes. It consists of three arcades; a series of regularly spaced arched openings. An arch is a basic unit of Roman architecture. It is designed to displace most of the weight above it to its curving sides.

Artist: Title: Media:

Unknown Coliseum, Rome Marble, concrete, and masonry

Discuss the work.

Artist: Title: Media:

Unknown Pantheon Marble, concrete, and masonry

Discuss the work.

Islamic Art Period 600 1600CE Discuss the culture. Islam: Muslims believe that Mohammed was Allahs greatest and last prophet through which Islam was revealed. Muslims use ornamental forms and abstract styles but prefer words to images to convey meaning. Abstraction frees the mind from thoughts of material forms. It opens your mind to the enormity of divine presence. Muslims are monotheistic meaning that their followers believe that only one God created and rules the universe. Islam is considered a Religion of the Book because The Muslim Koran the word of God (Allah) revealed through the angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammed are written records of Gods will and words. Islam builds on the beliefs and traditions of the earlier religion. Artistically this religion combines and uses the influences of Greek, Roman, and Near Eastern themes and forms into their art. Five Pillars of Islam: 1. Believers must submit to God and acknowledge Mohammed as his prophet or messenger 2. Ritual worship 5x a day for a direct and personal relationship with God 3. Charity to the poor 4. Fasting during the holy month of Ramadan 5. Pilgrimage to Mecca Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Dome of the Rock Architecture

Discuss the work. The Dome of the Rock is a shrine in Jerusalem, located in the center of the city. It is a permanent sacred space that sits high on a rock outcropping on a plynth. It is sacred because of the religious importance it has to Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The Dome of the Rock is the oldest surviving Islamic building. Arabic inscriptions written all around the inside of Dome of the Rock are thought to be the earliest written text of the Koran.It is built on an octagonal plan topped by a semi-circular dome and supported by a circular drum.
Source: [http://www.discoverislamicart.org/database_item.php? id=monument;ISL;pa;Mon01;4;en&cp]

Artist: Title: Media:

Unknown Bahrum Gur with the Indian Princess in her Black Pavilion Color and gilt on paper 9

Discuss the work. This piece is one of 9 miniatures illustrating the poem Haft Paikar in a famous Persian manuscript of the Khamsa. Also known as Bahram Gur and the Seven Princesses. The Khamsa tells the legendary history of the King Bahrum Gur, who is idealized as a great lover and hunter. The poem relates how Bahram Gur, married the princesses of seven lands. He built a fortress with a pavilion for each princess, one for each day of the week. He visited the pavilions in turn and each princess told him a magical story of love. On Saturday, Bahrum Gur visited the Indian princess in the Black Pavilion. Wearing corresponding colored clothing, Bahram Gur would lie on the cushions, with the princess at his feet, telling her tale. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Taj Mahal Architecture

Discuss the work. The Taj Mahal, also known as the Crown Palace is one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture. It is a white marble mausoleum that is located in Agra, India that was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third and favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Her name means jewel of the palace. A marble dome tops the tomb and because of its shape it is often called an onion dome. The dome is emphasized by four smaller domed chattris placed at its corners, which duplicate the onion shape of the main dome. The minarets were designed as working minarets, a traditional element of mosques, used to call the Islamic faithful to prayer and they display the artists fondness for symmetry. The dome and chattris are topped by a gilded finial. This design mixes Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. Islamic art focuses on writing beautifully. They prefer words to images to convey meaning. Abstraction frees the mind and opens it to divine presence.

Byzantine Art Period 500 1450CE Discuss the culture. In the final years of the Roman Empire, the church was split one faction staying in Rome and another formed in Constantinople. The Eastern Church began to grow in power and that period is called Byzantine. The Byzantine Empire power reached its peak in the 6th period and extended to Greece, the Balkans, Turkey, Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Sicily, 10

Spain, and areas in Africa. Artist: Title: Media: Anthemius and Isadorus Hagia Sophia Architecture

Discuss the work. The Hagia Sophia means Holy Wisdom. It is an excellent example of a central plan church design. The church is a rectangular shape and covered with a central dome that is supported on four pendentives. Pendentives form the transition between a square space and the circular base of a dome. The lighting inside the Hagia Sophia is spectacular. The dome rests on a row or ring of 40 clerestory windows that give one the impression of floating on light. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Empress Theodora and Her Attendants Mosaic

Discuss the work. The mosaic of Empress Theodora and Her Attendants is done in the Byzantine style where the work is very flat and two-dimensional. The figures cast no shadows, they all seem to float in pools of light. All imagery is spiritual and uses reverse perspective, where the further the objects are the larger they are drawn showing no realism. This piece is part of a double mosaic on each side of the apse in San Vitale in Ravenna. In Theodoras mosaic, which is located on the south side of the apse, the scene represents the Eucharist as she is holding a chalice with red wine representing the blood of Christ. She and her attendants represent the Maji and they are also shown on the hem of her robe. The mosaic on the right side of the apse depicts her husband, Justianian holding a platter and his court.

Early Medieval Period Discuss the culture.

500 1000CE

In 476 the Roman Empire crumbled and the middle Ages began. This period lasted until the Renaissance. This time was called the Middle Ages or Medieval. It is the middle period between the Roman Empire and the Romanesque period. Stylistically early Medieval melds the fusion of local Germanic and late Roman traditions as well as influences from pre-Christian art from Northern Europe and the Islamic art of Spain. Artist: Title: Unknown Chi Rho Iota page, Book of Matthew, Book of Kells 11

Media:

Tempera on Vellum

Discuss the work.

Romanesque Period 1000 1100CE Discuss the culture. In the Romanesque period, villages grew into towns and feudalism evolved as the nations we know today began to form. The church became an international force and a series of medieval crusades were started to free the Holy land from Islamic rule. People also made pilgrimages to holy places. The architecture produced in this time was called Romanesque (in the Roman manner). The traits of the Romanesque are strong solid masonry walls, rounded arches, and masonry vaults. Artist: Title: Media: Gislebertus West portal Cathedral of Saint-Lazare, Burgundy, France Carved stone

Discuss the work. The typanum at the West portal Cathedral of Saint-Lazare is done by Gislebertus is a 12

sculpture scene that depicts the Last Judgement.

Gothic Art Period 1140 1310 Discuss the culture. In the Gothic period, villages grew into towns and feudalism evolved as the nations we know today began to form. The church became an international force and a series of medieval crusades were started to free the Holy land from Islamic rule. People also made pilgrimages to holy places. The architecture produced in this time was called Gothic and the traits are structures built on the Latin Cross plan with pointed arches, ribbed groin vaulting, and thinner walls. The structures have beautiful huge stained glass windows bringing light into the church and are supported by exterior and/or flying buttresses. Artist: Title: Media: Unknown Chartres Cathedral Masonry, marble, and stained glass

Discuss the work. Artist: Title: Media: Cimabue & Giotto Virgin and Child Enthroned Tempera and gold on wood 13

Discuss the work. The two pieces were commissioned for churches. They have the same theme of the Virgin and Child. The Cimabue is done in flat Byzantine style without shadow and has two viewpoints, one that looks down at the Virgin Mary and the second that looks straight in. The Giotto is done more in a Renaissance style where the perspective is more realistic and there is shadow and depth. The architecture produced in this time was called Gothic and the traits are structures built on the Latin Cross plan with pointed arches, ribbed groin vaulting, and thinner walls. The structures have beautiful huge stained glass windows bringing light into the church and are supported by exterior and/or flying buttresses.

Early Renaissance Period 1400s Discuss the culture. Renaissance means rebirth. Interest in the natural and secular world after 1000 years of dictated Christian Church doctrine. There were three goals of the Renaissance, one was to represent the material world, another was to portray the human body accurately and one more to reproduce the appearance of the natural world in scientific ways using linear perspective and atmospheric perspective. Artist: Title: Media: Robert Campin Merode Altarpiece Oil on wood

Discuss the work. The Annunciation triptych titled The Merode Altarpiece also known as the Mousetrap is a an artwork done on three panels showing the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she will give birth to Jesus. It is executed in oil paint. Oil painting is a medium of painting where the pigments are bound in oil. It has a slow drying time and it allows for changes to the artwork. The artist is Robert Campin, a Renaissance painter from the Netherlands in the Low Countries, which also include Belgium and Luxembourg. He used a steep or tilted linear perspective in the piece as illustrated by the way the table and objects are shown. Linear perspective creates the illusion of three-dimensional space on a twodimensional surface. There are many hidden symbols in the piece and five of them are: 1.Lily flower of the Virgin Mary 2. Bench represents the throne of Solomon 3. pot in the niche the womb of the Virgin 4. Star in Marys dress represents the star of Bethlehem 5. towel purity and the Eucharist Artist: Massacio 14

Title: Media:

The Tribute Money Fresco

Discuss the work. In the Tribute Money piece, human figures are integrated into architecture by the medium used, which was Fresco, a painting technique in which water based pigments are applied to a surface of wet plaster. The piece is done directly into the architecture and not on any canvas. It was done in 32 giorante, meaning it was done in 32 sections of fresco. The piece contains a story in three scenes. The story of the Apostle Peter and the Tribute Money says that all passing among the Jews should pay to the temple priests an offering or tribute shown in the center. Jesus tells Peter to go to the river and catch a fish, and inside the fish he will find coin for the tribute, shown in the second scene on the left side of the piece. Peter then pays the priest and that is the third scene shown on the right side of the piece. Jesus is the focal point of the piece and the best example for linear perspective, the method of creating the illusion of three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. He also uses atmospheric perspective in which the foreground is very sharp and objects in the background are not as in focus depicting objects off in the distance. Artist: Title: Media: Donatello David Fresco

Discuss the work. Donatellos bronze statue of David depicts the defeat of Goliath by David. It is the first life-sized bronze created since the Romans. David, the classic ideal heroic male nude in this period stands in an exaggerated contapposto pose with his foot on the head of Goliath.

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