Art History
Sketchbook Reviews
Pre-Historic Art
Europe in 30,000 BC – 2,500 BC
Gravettian Culture – Austria
Venus of Willendorf
24,000 – 22,000 BC
Oolitic limestone – yellowish, traces of ochre
 One of three figurines recovered from Paleolithic
archeological sites at Willendorf in Austria
 One of many similarly shaped, female carvings known as "Venus Figurines” - found across Europe
and made during this time period
 Discovered in 1908 by Austrian archeologist Josef
Szombathy
 11 cm high and a max. of 4 cm wide
 Thought to represent fertility, OR a higher social
status – obesity leading to abundance of food, etc.
Pre-Historic Art
Europe in 30,000 BC – 2,500 BC
Southwestern France
Caves of Lascaux
15,000 BC
painted onto walls using
mineral pigments as well as
incised into the stone
 Nearly 2,000 figures, grouped into
three categories - animals, human
figures and abstract signs
 Mostly horses (364 total, 90 are stags);
also cattle, bison, felines, a bird, a bear,
a rhinoceros, and a human
 One of the bulls is 17 feet long
 Crossed hind legs show the ability to
use perspective
 No vegetation or environment is
portrayed around the animals
 Discovered in 1940
 2000 – fungus appeared; 2006 – black
mold; 2008 – cave closed except for 20
minutes once a week to monitor
conditions
Pre-Historic Art
Europe in 30,000 BC – 2,500 BC
England, County Wiltshire
Stonehenge
3,000 – 2.000 BC
Large standing bluestones and
sarsen stones set within
earthworks
 1st phase – a bank & ditch arrangement
called a henge, built 5,000 years ago
 Temple for worship of ancient deities?
 Astronomical observatory?
 Prehistoric calendar?
 Sacred site for burial of high-ranking
citizens?
 100 feet diameter, 24 feet tall
 89 stones weighing up to 4 tons each
 Years later stones weighing 40-45 tons
were moved in
 Blue stones are made of spotted
dolerite (volcanic rock) so rare it’s only
found in one known location which is
20 miles west of Stonehenge
Non-European Art
30,000 BC – 1,600 CE
Benin, Nigeria
The Ivory Mask (African)
16th Century
Ivory, Iron, Copper
 Among most celebrated pieces of African art
 Keep evil away from the Edo peoples
 Portrait of Idia, mother and close advisor to
one of the tribes most powerful leaders
 Hollowed back suggests that it was both a
pendant and a receptacle
 possibly containing medicines to protect
the king during ceremonial occasions
 9 3/8 in. tall
 Top decorated with heads, symbolizing
Portuguese – alliance with and control over
Europeans
Non-European Art
30,000 BC – 1,600 CE
Yucatan state in Mexico
The Temple at Chichen Itza
750 – 900 CE
Stone
 Large Pre-Columbian city
built by the Maya
Civilization
 Famous for it’s “traveling
serpent”
 Step pyramid demonstrates
the accuracy and importance
of Maya astronomy
 365 steps – one for each day
of the year… each of the
temple’s four sides has 91
steps, and the top platform
makes the 365th
 named one of the New
Seven Wonders of the World
 On Spring & Fall
equinox the serpent
descends from the
heavens along the
temple walls
 As sun sets, shadowy
snake descends steps
to join a stone
serpent head at the
base of the staircase
Non-European Art
30,000 BC – 1,600 CE
China
Tomb of Emperor Qin aka
The Terracotta Army
246-209 BC
Terracotta Sculptures
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Discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a water well
Form of funerary art buried with Qin
To protect Qin in afterlife, and to make sure that he had people to rule over
Figures vary in height according to roles, with the tallest being the generals
Three pits containing the Terracotta Army
Over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses,
the majority of which are still buried
Non-European Art
30,000 BC – 1,600 CE
 Manufactured in workshops by
700,000 local craftsmen
 Head, arms, legs and torsos
were created separately and then
assembled
 Eight face molds most likely
used, and then clay was added
to provide individual facial
features
 Vary in height, uniform and
hairstyle in accordance with
rank – all life-size
 Most originally held real
weapons such as spears, swords,
or crossbows
 Were painted vibrant colors
Egyptian
3100 BC – 30 BC
Sculptor: Thutmose
Nefertiti Bust
1345 BC
Limestone, Gypsum, Crystal, Wax, Stucco
 Nefertiti: literally "the beautiful one has
come”
 The bust is 19 in tall, weighs about 44 lbs
 Face is completely symmetrical and almost
intact, but the left eye lacks the inlay present
in the right
 Pupil of the right eye is of inserted quartz
with black paint and is fixed with beeswax
 Exact function of the bust is unknown,
though it is theorized that the bust may be a
sculptor's model
Egyptian
3100 BC – 30 BC
 German archaeological team led by
Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust
in 1912 in Thutmose's workshop in
Amarna, Egypt.
 Kept in several locations in Germany
 Was CT scanned in 1992 and 2006
 Wrinkles found on neck and bags
under her eyes, suggesting the
sculptor had tried to depict signs of
aging
 Inner face has creases around her
mouth and cheeks and a swelling on
the nose
 Become "one of the most admired,
and most copied, images from
ancient Egypt”
Egyptian
3100 BC – 30 BC
West Bank of the Nile in Giza
Great Sphinx of Giza, with the
Pyramid of Khufu
2558 - 2532 BC
Carved Limestone Bedrock
 Oldest known monumental sculpture
 Statue of a reclining sphinx (a
mythical creature with a lion's body
and a human head)
 66 feet high and 240 feet long from
front paws to tail-end
 Built by ancient Egyptians during
the reign of the Pharaoh Khafra
 Possibly covered with plaster like
bust of Nefertiti
 Pharaoh Khafre is believed to be the
man responsible for building the
Sphinx
 Theory is that the erosion was
caused by wind sandblasting the
figure, however it was concluded that
the erosion was caused by rainfall
Egyptian
3100 BC – 30 BC
THEORIES:
 Sphinx was originally a statue of
the Jackal-Dog Anubis, the God of
the Dead
 Face was recarved in the likeness of
a Middle Kingdom pharaoh,
Amenemhet II
 Traces of paint seen around one of
the Sphinx's ears - believe that it was
once colorfully painted
Egyptian
3100 BC – 30 BC
 It is not a book – modern name of
an ancient Egyptian funerary text
 Consists of magic spells intended to
assist a dead person's journey
through the underworld into the
afterlife
 most commonly written in
hieroglyphic or hieratic script on a
papyrus scroll
 190 – 200 spells are known
 Once prepared, the collection of
The Book of the Dead
spells was packed carefully away
Used from 1550 – 50 BC
with their other grave goods, to be
written on papyrus and tomb walls
placed in their tomb
Egyptian
3100 BC – 30 BC
 They imagined the afterlife as a kind of journey you had to make to get to
paradise – but it was quite a hazardous journey so you’d need magical
help along the way
 Papyrus of Ani is one of the finest and most complete examples of this
type of Egyptian funerary text to survive. The Papyrus of Ani now
resides in The British Museum, London.
Greek
850 BC – 31 BC
Greek Pottery
1050 – 600 BC
Clay, Slip
 Most of what we know about Greek art comes
from the pictures they painted on pottery – about
daily life, and they were used in daily life
 Pots came in all sorts of shapes and sizes
depending on their purpose
 Painted scene reflected what the pot was used for
 Greek painted pottery changed over time
 Tells us about how life was in Athens and other
ancient Greek cities
 Greeks believed that goddess Athena invented
earthenware pots, and was the patroness of
Greek potters
 Pots are the most valuable tools archeologists use
for the study of ancient Greek history
 Thought of the pots as if they were people - used
human terms to describe parts of the pots…
mouth, lip, neck, shoulder, and body.
Greek
850 BC – 31 BC
 Periods of Greek Pottery:
 Protogeometric
 Geometric
 Orientalizing
 Black figure
 Red figure
 White ground technique
 Hellenistic Period
 Forms of Greek Pottery
 Amphora – olive oil as prize for
winning athlete
 Krater – for mixing wine with water
 Kantharos – drinking cup
 Alabastron – perfumes & oils
 Hydria – collecting water
Greek
850 BC – 31 BC
Alexandros of Antioch
Venus de Milo
130 – 100 BC
Marble
 Currently at the Louvre Museum in Paris
 One of most famous works of ancient Greek
Sculpture
 Believed to depict Aphrodite, the Greek goddess
of love and beauty
 She is 6 feet 8 inches high
 Discovered on April 8, 1820 by a peasant named
Yorgos Kentrotas, inside a buried niche within
the ancient city ruins of Milos
 Comprised of several parts which were sculpted
separately (bust, legs, left arm and foot) then fixed
with vertical pegs, a technique which was fairly
common in the Greek world
Greek
850 BC – 31 BC
 She may have held an apple, a
crown, a shield, or a mirror in
which she admired her reflection.
 Right side is worked more carefully
and finished in greater detail than
the left side or back, indicating that
the statue was intended to be
viewed in profile from its right.
 Would have been painted, as was
the Greek custom for statuary
 Originally wore metal jewelry –
bracelet, earrings, and headband –
only the fixation holes remain
Greek
850 BC – 31 BC
Iktinos, Kallikrates, Karpion
The Parthenon
447 – 432 BC
Limestone, Pentelic Marble
 Dedicated to the goddess Athena
Pallas or Parthenos
 Main function was to shelter the
monumental statue of Athena
that was made by Pheidias out of
gold and ivory
 Temple of the Doric order: 8
columns at the façade and 17
columns at the flanks, conforming
to the established ratio of 9:4.
*Ratio governed the vertical and
horizontal proportions of the
temple as well as many other
relationships of the building like
the spacing between the columns
and their height
Greek
850 BC – 31 BC
 All Greek temples designed to be seen
only from outside - viewers never
entered a temple and could only
glimpse the interior statues through the
open doors
 Epitomizes all the ideals of Greek
thought during the Classical era
through artistic means.
 Concepts in Athens that set them apart
from barbarians: idealism of Greek
way of living, attention to detail,
understanding of a mathematically
explained harmony in the natural world
 Represented in perfect proportions of
building, intricate architectural
elements, and anthropomorphic statues
that adorned it
Roman
500 BC – 476 AC
The Colosseum
70–80 AD
Built by Emperor Vespasian,
finished by Emperor Titus
Concrete and stone
Roman Art
 Original name: Flavian Amphiteater
 Seats between 50,000 and 80,000 people
(that’s about as many as Giants Stadium
in New Jersey)
 4 levels: 3 lower for seating and top level
for standing room only
 80 entrances, 76 are numbered with
corresponding tunnels to assigned
seating areas
 Retractable roof: 160 ft. high (14 stories)
 7,500 tons of Travertine stone – was
hauled 20 miles from nearby mine
 1349 there was an earthquake that
damaged the outer wall and builders
and thieves stole the broken stone and
iron
Roman
500 BC – 476 AC
 Opening of the structure: 100 day
celebration in which over 5,000
animals killed and an unknown
number of men were killed
 Hosted gladiatorial battles and hunts
with staged elaborate sets and
movable trees and buildings
 Ancient writers recorded that the
building was used for simulated sea
battles
 Hundreds of underground tunnels,
elevators, and cells were below the
amphitheater floor
Roman
500 BC – 476 AC
Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii
79 AD
Pompeii, Italy
Fresco Paintings inside done
by unknown artist(s)
 May have been a formal dining room,
and is decorated with very fine frescoes
 Actual subject of the frescoes is hotly
debated, most common interpretation is
scenes of the initiation of a woman into
a special cult of Dionysus – cult that
required specific rites and rituals to
become a member
 Other theories: part of a ritual
ceremony aimed at preparing privileged,
protected girls for the psychological
transition to life as married women
 Each panel depicted a different scene
from the ritual, from reading the rites of
passage, to the music being played, the
gods being present, to the sharing of
wine
Roman
500 BC – 476 AC
 Covered in ash and volcanic
material from eruption of Vesuvius
in 79 AD – frescoes survived largely
undamaged.
 Fresco: technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid plaster
 Water is used as the vehicle for the pigment and, with the setting of the
plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the wall.
 The word fresco is derived from the Italian adjective fresco meaning "fresh”
Roman
500 BC – 476 AC
Commissioned by Tiberius
Augustus of Prima Porta
15 A.D.
White marble
 Based on the Doryphorus, which portrays
ideal human proportions of Athenian
athlete
 Portrays him as a victorious General
making a speech, posed in the traditional
controposto manner
 Personal features of Augustus: a broad
cranium, deep-set eyes, sharp ridges in his
brow, a well-formed mouth and a small
chin
 Face depicted in the manner of Apollo was
meant to associate Augustus’ abilities with
those of the powerful god
 Augustus wanted to portray himself as a
perfect leader with flawless features,
showing the power and authority of the
man who had the capacity to stabilize an
Roman
500 BC – 476 AC
 Believed that this marble statue may be a copy
of a bronze statue that Tiberius’ mother may
have had
 Tiberius made a significant addition to his
marble copy on the chest plate he added
scenes depicting the Roman victory over the
Parthians
 These scenes were used by Tiberius as a form
of propaganda so that the viewer would recall
the important role his father played in securing
the Roman empire
 Barefoot Augustus as well as Cupid on the
dolphin hint at the ancestry to the goddess
Venus
Medieval
500 – 1400
Illuminated Letter & Manuscripts
Italy
400 – 600
Papyrus, Vellum, Parchment, Gold,
Silver, Ink & Quill
Decorated with gold or silver – costly process reserved for special texts
Written and decorated by hand
Most common item to survive the Middle Ages; generally religious in nature
Early versions were Gospel Books, but later versions included complete Bibles
and personal devotion books
 Monasteries produced manuscripts for their own libraries, wealthy individuals
commissioned works as a sign of status within the community
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Medieval
500 – 1400
 Parchment is high quality writing support
made from the specially prepared skins of
calves, sheep, or goats
 Pigments used in illumination were ground
up or soaked out vegetable, mineral, and
animal extracts
 Production was divided among four distinct
craftsmen: the parchment maker, the scribe,
the illuminator, and the bookbinder
 Parchment maker prepared the animal skins
used to make the leaves of a manuscript
 Scribe wrote the manuscript's text by hand
 Illuminator provided the manuscript's painted
decoration
 Bookbinder provided a binding to protect the
manuscript, which held the leaves together
and kept them from curling
Medieval
500 – 1400
Stained Glass
10th – 16th Centuries
Glass, sand, ash, paint
 Pictorial art form using colored and painted glass
 Used mostly in churches, but also wealthy settings and public buildings
 Purpose was to enhance the beauty of the setting and to inform viewers via
symbolism and narratives
 French clergyman Abbot Suger wanted to build a cathedral that would uplift
the spirit by bathing worshippers in brilliant colored light. The stained glass
windows were like luminous paintings, depict stories from the Bible and
drawing the gaze upward toward heaven.
Medieval
500 – 1400
Medieval
500 – 1400
 Traditional Christian subject matter – Virgin
Mary with Christ Child on her lap, they are
surrounded by saints and angels
 Originally painted for the Ognissanti
Franciscan church in Florence
 Giotto took influence from many art forms,
styles and artists of his time, but he was the
first to depict 3-Dimensional figures in Western
European art
 Fabric folds are realistic – instead of lines he
used light, shadow, and color to create the
appearance of fabric; contours of the body
Giotto di Bondone
underneath the fabric folds are also visible
Ognissanti Madonna,  Uses chiaroscuro (the use of contrasts of light)
aka Madonna Enthroned
to achieve a sense of volume in figures, giving
them the slight smokiness that is usually
1310
characteristic of later Renaissance artists
Tempera on Panel
Medieval
500 – 1400
Renaissance
1400 – 1500
Baroque
1600 – 1750
Impressionism
1865 – 1885
Post-Impressionism
1885 – 1910
Expressionism
1900 – 1935
Cubism
1905 – 1920
Surrealism
1917 – 1950
Abstract Expressionism
1940s – 1950s
Pop Art
1960s
Assemblage
1970 +
Recycled
1970 +