Pratt Institute School of Architecture, Undergraduate Architecture
Arch 206
History of Architecture I
Course Syllabus
John Lobell
and
Alessandra Ponte
Fall 2004
THE RULES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Attend all lectures and your assigned
sections
Sign in and do not be late
Do not wander in and out of the room
Take notes and turn in copies
Do your weekly reading summary
assignments and turn them in
(This is a summary. See inside for complete list on p 7 and 8.)
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Arch 206
Pratt Institute School of Architecture
Undergraduate Architecture Program
ARCH 206
History of Architecture I
Fall 2004
____________
section number
________________________________________________________________________________
last name
first name
(preferred first name)
_____________________________________
email
______________________________
telephone number
________________________________________________________________________________
address
________________________________________________________________________________
previous art and architecture history courses at Pratt
________________________________________________________________________________
previous college experience if any
________________________________________________________________________________
place of birth
________________________________________________________________________________
is English a second language for you?
what languages besides English do you speak?
________________________________________________________________________________
countries in which you have lived
________________________________________________________________________________
particular interests in architecture
________________________________________________________________________________
particular interests outside of architecture
PLEASE ATTACH
A PHOTO OF
YOURSELF
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Arch 206
Pratt Institute School of Architecture
Undergraduate Architecture Program
Course Syllabus
Arch 206
History of Architecture I
Fall 2004
Credits:
Type of Course:
Prerequisites:
Enrollment Capacity:
3
Required, Lecture with Sections
ARCH 104, From and Culture
25 per section
Instructors:
John Lobell (212-679-1935, Jlobell@pratt.edu
Alessandra Ponte (aponte@earthlink.net)
Time & Location:
Lecture, all sections
Sect. .01
Sect. .02
Sect. .03
Sect. .04
W 9-11 AM, Room 111 HHS
(move to Rm 115 mid Oct)
Lobell
W 11-12 PM, 310 HHS
Ponte
W 11-12 PM, 203 HHN
Lobell
W 12-1 PM, 310 HHS
Ponte
W 12-1 PM, 203 HHN
Course Overview:
This course is the first of a required three-semester sequence that examines the history of
Western and Non-Western architecture from its earliest beginnings to today. This semester deals
with the history and development of art, architecture and the built environment from so-called prehistory through the 13th century. It begins with the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, moves on to
the ancient high civilizations, and ends with the Gothic period. Emphasis throughout is on key
architectural monuments considered in a broad cultural context.
Learning Objectives:
The study of architectural history is an important component of the professional architecture
curriculum at Pratt. Architectural history is a humanistic and critical discipline based on visual
observation, liberal research, and written analysis. As such, it complements the practical and
conceptual projects of the design studio by surveying and analyzing historical precedents for
design, investigating their meaning, and evaluating their usefulness as formal or programmatic
models.
Throughout history, architecture has vividly reflected the cultures in which it evolved and the
social, economic, and geophysical conditions which shaped it. This relationship continues today.
Indeed, many issues with which architects are currently concerned can be considered outgrowths
of previous historical developments. Thus, studying the architecture of the past gives students a
focused historical lens through which to consider contemporary architectural problems.
By familiarizing students with the body of world architecture and by illustrating the broad scope
and uses of architectural history, this course (and the two which follow it in sequence), also
provides an invaluable guide to elective studies.
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Requirements and rules
1. Attend all lectures and sections
 You will lose one letter grade for more than two absences
2. Sign the sign-in sheet, and be on time and be attentive
 Sign-ins after 9:05 count as late, and the sheets come down at 9:20, at which
time you must attend class, but it will count as an absence. Three lates count
as an absence (so you can have 5 lates before it affects your grade)
 Be attentive during lecture, do not talk, do not wander in and out of class (if
you need to go to the rest room, just quietly go)
 Attend the section to which you are assigned
 Attendance will be taken in sections with the same rules as for the lectures.
3. Take notes in lecture and in section
 Submit a xerox copy of your notes from the previous week’s lecture and
section at the beginning of each section. Notes submitted late lose 1/2 credit.
4. Do the assigned reading in Stockstad before class each week
 Write a one-page Reading Summary of the reading and submit it at the
beginning of section each week. Reading summaries submitted late lose 1/2
credit. See Reading Summary Assignments for details.
5. Put this outline, your notes, assignments, and exams in a notebook.
 We will check notebooks at the end of the semester.
6. Read this entire course outline. Do the museum sketch. Take the midterm and final.
Don’t cheat. To summarize, you can’t master the material if you are not in class and
you don’t do the work.
Not filling following these requirements and rules will result in a decrease in your grade.
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Basis for grade
 Final Exam 40%
 Midterm 28%
 Reading Summaries 20%
 Class notes 10%
 Museum sketch 2%
Grades will be lowered for absences, lateness, failure to turn in papers on text and class
notes, and failure to participate in class.
As a rough rule of thumb, you can assume that:
(there is no A+)
A = 96—100
A- = 90—95
B+ = 87—89
B = 84—86
B- = 80—83
C+ = 77—79
C = 74—76
C- = 70—73
D+ = 68—69
D = 65—67
(there is no D-)
F = below 65
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Semester Schedule:
Week
Date
Lecture Subject & Assignments
1
9/1
Paleolithic & Neolithic (JL)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 1 (see Textbook below)
2
9/8
African (JL)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 13 and 25
3
9/15
Egyptian (JL)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 3
Met Egyptian Temple Drawing Due
4
9/22
Mesopotamian & Aegean (AP)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 2 & 4
5
9/29
Greek I (AP)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 5
6
10/6
Greek II (AP)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 5
7
10/13
MID-TERM in lecture. No sections.
8
10/20
Etruscan and Roman I (AP)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 6
9
10/27
Roman II (AP)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 6
10
11/3
Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque (JL)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 7, 14, and 15
11
11/10
Islamic (BP)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 8 and pages 832-33
12
11/17
Gothic (JL)
Reading: Stokstad, Chapter 16
13
11/24
Museum Visit
14
12/1
Review (JL)
Notebooks checked in section
12/8
No Class, Jury Week
12/15
FINAL EXAM in lecture. No sections.
15
10
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Reading Summary Assignments
You have weekly reading assignments from Stockstad, Art History, that roughly parallel the
lectures, and you are to write a brief paper each week on the reading.
In each case:
- briefly outline the reading,
- fully identify (name of the building, name of the architect if known, culture, location, and date)
key buildings referred to in the reading
- briefly answer the questions listed below
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The papers should be brief, about one page.
They count for 20% of your grade.
They are due at the beginning of section each week.
Late papers lose half credit.
At the upper left of each of your papers should be the following;
Your Name
ARCH 206
Section X
Date (due date)
Title (Example: Egyptian, Stockstad, Ch 3
2
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9/8 (due date) Paleolithic & Neolithic
Stockstad, Ch 1
What are the major cultural periods into which “Pre-history” is divided, and what are their
approximate dates?
What are the key characteristics of Paleolithic culture and technology?
What are the key characteristics of Neolithic culture and technology?
What characterizes Paleolithic architecture?
What is the significance of the predominance of animals in Paleolithic art?
What characterizes Neolithic architecture, and what are some key examples?
9/8
African
Stockstad, Ch 13 and Ch 25
How is ancient Africa similar to and different from ancient Europe?
What are the major civilizations of ancient Africa, and in what time periods did they
flourish?
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Describe the key African spiritual beliefs that animate modern African art.
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9/15 Egyptian
Stockstad, Ch 3
What are the key periods in ancient Egyptian history and what are their dates?
What are the key geographical features of Egypt and how did they influence Egyptian culture
and history?
What is the role of the pyramid in Egyptian culture?
What are the key characteristics of the Egyptian temple of the Late Kingdom?
List and fully identify (name of building, architect if known, location, date) three key
buildings from this period.
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9/22 Mesopotamian & Aegean
Stockstad, Chapter 2 & 4
What are the key features of the Minoan and the Mycenaean civilizations?
What are the key features of the palace of Knossos?
What characterizes a Mycenaean megaron?
List and fully identify three key buildings from this period.
9/29
Greek I
Stokstad, Chapter 5
Focus on: 153-157, 161-170, 185-197
What was the political structure of ancient Greece?
What was the Greek notion of Humanism, and how is it manifested in Greek sculpture and
the Greek temple?
10/6
Greek II
Stokstad, (same as last week)
Sketch a plan and portico elevation of a Greek temple and label the key parts
List and fully identify three key buildings from this period.
10/20 Etruscan and Roman I
Stockstad, 224-245
Describe the early history of Rome.
What distinguishes roman construction?
How is the Roman temple (Maison Carreé) different from the Greek temple (Parthenon)?
List and fully identify three key buildings from this period.
10/27 Roman II
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10
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11
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Stockstad, 246-287
What characterizes the architecture of the Roman Empire, and what has its influence been on
19th and 20th Century architecture?
Give a brief description of the Pantheon.
List and fully identify three key buildings from this period.
11/3 Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque
Stockstad, Ch 7, 14
Focus on: 297-307, 310-314, 486-487, 515-529, 537-542, 549-553
Describe the key architectural characteristics of:
o Early Christian architecture
o Byzantine architecture
o Romanesque architecture
List and fully identify three key buildings from this period.
11/10 Islamic
Stockstad, Ch 8
Focus on: 344-360, 824-25, 832-33
What are the key characteristics of Islamic architecture and how do these features relate to
the climate in many Islamic regions, and to Islamic culture and religion?
What is your personal reaction to the Taj Mahal?
List and fully identify three key buildings from this period.
11/17 Gothic
Stockstad, Ch 16
Focus on: 555-579, 584-587
Why did the Gothic cathedrals appear when they did?
What are the key characteristics of a Gothic cathedral?
List and fully identify three key buildings from this period.
Additional Assignment: Temple Drawing
Due September 15
Do a drawing of the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Temple of Dendur, ca. 15 B.C.E.; Roman period
Egyptian; Nubia, Dendur, Sandstone; L. from gate to rear of temple 82 ft. (24 m 60 cm)
Given to the United States by Egypt in 1965, awarded to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in
1967, and installed in The Sackler Wing in 1978.
Location: The Metropolitan Museum is located in Manhattan on Fifth Avenue with the
entrance at about 83rd Street. The Temple of Dendur is located in the northern most wing of the
museum. Look at the Egyptian collection while you are there.
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Size: The drawing must be on 8 1/2” x 11” paper. No tracing paper. No ragged edges.
Technique: Use a freehand technique in a medium of your choice (pencil, ink, marker, etc.).
The drawing should be in perspective from the viewpoint you are situated while making the
drawing. (Do NOT copy a post card. Make your drawing at the museum.)
Title block: On the front of your drawing, put the name of the building, your name, the course
number and your section, and the date. Organize your title block to work with the overall
composition of your drawing.
Course Materials
Required Textbook:
Marilyn Stokstad, Art History, Second Edition (Phaidon,) in the Pratt Bookstore.
Diana Hacker, Rules for Writers, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2000 (Fourth Edition)
This is the Pratt-wide handbook for writing style
Lecture Outlines
Included in this syllabus are outlines for each week’s lecture topic. Students are
expected to read the outline before attending each lecture and are advised to use the
outline during the lecture as a guide to note-taking. Lecture outlines include a general
introduction to the period, a list of architectural characteristics, a list of important
buildings and artifacts, specialized terminology relevant to the period, and a brief
bibliography for further reading and research in the period. In some cases, illustrations
are also included with the lecture outline, but only when those buildings or artifacts are
asterisked (*) and not represented in the textbook.
Please note that all items marked with asterisks (*) under Important Buildings &
Artifacts will be emphasized in exams. Students are required to master a complete
identification for each asterisked work.
History Notebook
You are required to keep a history notebook with material from ARCH 206, and later
from ARCH 207 and ARCH 308. Get a three ring notebook and by the end of the
semester place in it the material listed below. You must bring the notebook to the last
section on December 1. Include:
 This course outline
 Your notes from the lectures and sections
 Your Egyptian Temple drawing
 Your Reading Summary assignments (give us a copy each week, keep a copy for
yourself)
 Your midterm (put it in a three hole plastic document folder)
 Your final (when you get it back)
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You will need this material when studying for the licensing exams.
Supplementary References
You may wish to purchase the following reference books (available in paperback) which
will be of use in this course and throughout their architectural education.
 John Fleming, Hugh Honour, Nikolous Pevsner, The Penguin Dictionary of
Architecture, 4th edition (London: Penguin Books Ltd, 1991).
 Cyril M. Harris, ed., Dictionary of Architecture and Construction (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975). [Note: this book was revised and expanded in 1993, but the older,
cheaper edition is still generally available.]
Throughout the semester students may wish to consult the following pictorial references
books, all of which have useful illustrations. All are available in the Pratt library or the
New York Public Library.
 Trewin Copplestone, ed., World Architecture: An Illustrated History (New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1953).
 Banister Fletcher, A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method (1896; many
reprints and expanded editions available).
 Henry A. Millon, Key Monuments of the History of Architecture (Englewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1964).
 John Julius Norwich, ed., The World Atlas of Architecture (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1984).
For further reading: While each lecture outline includes a suggested bibliography for the
given period, the following series are recommended as well. Various titles in these
series cover most periods from pre-history to the present day. Series titles and
publishers are listed below.
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Great Ages of World Architecture (New York: George Braziller).
History of World Architecture (New York: Rizzoli).
Pelican History of Art (New Haven: Yale University Press).
World of Art (London: Thames and Hudson).
Course Format
Weekly meetings of this course consist of 2-hour lectures, attended by all enrolled
students, followed by 1-hour sections in which the class breaks into small groups. The
lectures are formal slide-illustrated surveys of a given period which introduce students to
the general historical and cultural context and to key architectural monuments and art
works of the period. In general, the goal of each lecture is to demonstrate the period’s
breadth and to acquaint students with important concepts and ideas as expressed in the
period’s art and architecture. Lectures are intended to stimulate debate about each
period, but students are asked to hold any questions which arise for discussion in their
individual sections.
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Sections are informal classroom seminars between the instructor and a small group of
students. The goal of each section is to examine the material presented in the lecture in
greater detail, be it a discussion of cultural concepts, an in-depth analysis of a particular
building or artifact, or the relevance of this period and its monuments to contemporary
architectural practice. Sections provide students with the opportunity to ask questions
and to clarify ideas and concepts regarding material presented in lecture or in the
textbook. Sections will also include discussions of course assignments, note-taking and
study methods, reviews for exams, and other related topics.
Course Attendance
Students are required to attend ALL lectures and sections in a timely fashion.
Attendance will affect your final grade and can also affect financial aid (instructors are
required by federal guidelines to submit student attendance to the institution).
Attendance sheets will be posted each week prior to the lecture. Students must sign-in
on these sheets before each lecture in order to be counted as present. Five minutes
after the start of each lecture, attendance sheets will be replaced with LATE sign-in
sheets. 20 minutes after the start of each lecture LATE sheets will be removed and
students will be marked absent for that lecture. Students who forget to sign-in may not
sign-in retroactively. Three or more unexcused absences may cause your final grade to
drop by a full letter (e.g. from “B” to “C”). Two late attendances are the equivalent of
one absence. Absences will be excused only when accompanied by a letter from a
doctor or other authority attesting to the nature of the emergency that prevented
attendance.
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NOTE ON CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM:
Students are reminded that cheating and plagiarism are not permitted, and can lead to
serious consequences.
Pratt Institute holds issues of academic integrity in the highest regard. So do we.
Instances of cheating, plagiarism, and misappropriation of intellectual property will not be
tolerated and will be handled in the following manner:
 We are required to report the incident to the registrar, and it will be recorded in your
file.
 More than one report to the registrar during your entire time at Pratt will result in a
hearing before the Academic Integrity Board, at which time appropriate sanctions
will be decided. These may include dismissal from the Institute.
 We will determine the nature and severity of the infraction and apply appropriate
sanctions that can range from asking you to repeat the assignment, failing you for the
assignment, failing you for the course and/or referring the case to the Academic
Integrity Board.
For more details about these procedures please see the Student Handbook, the Pratt
Bulletins, and the Judicial Procedures at Pratt pamphlet.
CHEATING
If you are using dishonest methods to fulfill course requirements, you are cheating.
Examples of this include, but are not limited to:
 Obtaining or offering copies of exams or information about the content of exams in
advance.
 Bringing notes in any form to a closed book exam.
 Looking at another student’s paper during an exam.
 Receiving or communicating any information from or to another student during an
exam.
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is a bit more complicated, but the rules of documentation and citation are very
specific and are tailored to different academic disciplines. Types of plagiarism include:
 Including any material from any source other than yourself in a paper without proper
attribution. This includes material from the Internet, books, papers from other
students, and from any other source.
 The extensive use of the ideas of others in your paper, even if in your own words,
without proper attribution.
 Turning in work as your own that was done by another person.
Please remember that all written work must be in your own words or cited and
documented appropriately. If you do not understand how to do this properly, it is your
responsibility to ask.
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WEEK 1
Paleolithic and Neolithic
Art & Architecture
The Paleolithic Period (c. 35,000-8,000 BCE)
The beginnings of art, astronomy, and notational iconography in the Cro-Magnon artifacts and
cave paintings of Europe (Laussel, Lascaux). Motifs of the bull and other horned animals,
pregnant animals, the lunar cycle, the venerated female, sexual symbols, and the shaman. The
beginnings of architecture in the earliest shelters built by our hominid ancestors (Olduvai Gorge,
Terra Amata). The architecture of contemporary hunter-gatherers as the minimal adaptation to
the environment and as the origin of archetypal forms.
Contemporary hunter-gatherers include Australian aborigines, Kung San (Bushmen) and
Pygmies in Africa, Eskimos in North America, and rain forest dwellers such as the Indians in
South America’s Amazon Forest. Most of these cultures are fragile islands severely threatened
by the aggressive industrialized cultures surrounding them.
Paleolithic cultures are characterized by nomadic hunting and gathering in cooperative,
egalitarian bands. They avoid material wealth and permanent architecture, preferring to live in
relative “oneness” with nature. They usually enjoy a highly developed spiritual life focusing on
animism, shamanism, and early forms of Goddess-worship.
Four MISCONCEPTIONS about hunter-gatherers:
1. They live(d) on the edge of survival. Actually, researchers estimate that on average huntergatherers spend 4 hours per day getting food. They spend the rest of the time talking, telling
stories, playing with children, eating, making art, dancing, and going into ecstatic trances.
2. They are(were) savages and have no culture. Most hunter-gatherers are gentle, polite,
generous, and non-competitive. They have cultures rich in mythic, artistic, and oral traditions,
and they have detailed knowledge of nature, animals, and healing arts. Many also display certain
kinds of extrasensory perception.
3. The male hunter was the key player in evolution and survival. In temperate and tropical
climates, the staple food supply consisted largely of food gathered by women; the meat won by
men was eaten mainly on ceremonial occasions. The mother/child bond is recognized as having
been at least as important to human social evolution as the male hunting bond, if not more so.
4. “Cavemen” dominated women. Because of their ability to bear children and provide the
bulk of the diet, women were and are highly respected among Paleolithic peoples. The earliest
families were probably matrilineal (tracing descent and inheritance through the mother’s line
instead of the father’s), and there is much evidence that prehistoric religions centered on female
rather than male deities.
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Architectural Characteristics of the Paleolithic Period
 Impermanence; use of readily available natural materials (thatch, ice, hides), which
deteriorate back into the earth, leaving no traces
 Undifferentiated building types: dwelling usually serves also as workshop, shrine, grave, etc.
 Territories and tribal boundaries defined by myths and rituals not laws or property deeds
 Perception of nature and the landscape as a conscious, living being (animism)
 Little use of abstract geometry, axis, symmetry, etc.
 No cities or towns; seasonal camps for several bands may exist
 Depending on geographical location and climate, typical structures include thatch hut,
windbreak, tent, igloo, natural cave, etc.
Important Buildings & Artifacts of the Paleolithic Period
Olduvai Gorge Windbreak, Tanzania, Africa. c. 2,000,000 BCE (Lect.)
* Terra Amata house with hearth, Nice, France. c. 400,000 BCE (Lect.)
* “Venus” of Laussel, France. 30,000-25,000 BCE (Lect.)
“Venus” of Willendorf, Austria. 22,000-21,000 BCE (1-4)
“Venus” of Lespugue, France. 20,000-18,000 BCE. (Lect.)
* Cave Paintings in Rotunda (Hall of Bulls), Lascaux, France. 15,000-13,000 BCE (1-10)
-Plan of Lascaux Caves (1-9)
-Bird-Headed Man with Bison & Rhinoceros (1-11)
Mbuti Pygmy Village, Ituri Forest, Congo. 20th century. (Lect.)
Australian Aboriginal Art. 20th century. (Lect.)
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The Neolithic Period (c. 10,000-3,500 BCE)
The effect of the agricultural revolution: permanence, new building types (granaries, passage
mounds, homesteads, temples, etc.), the first towns and villages (Jericho, Chatal Huyuk);
enigmatic construction of megalithic structures (Newgrange, Maltese Temples, Stonehenge’s
early phases).
Neolithic cultural characteristics: settled villages and towns with egalitarian social structures
(little evidence of class stratification in housing or burials); widespread trading activity; worship
of the Great Goddess, prevalence of female imagery in art and architecture; veneration of the
cow or bull; development of agriculture, animal domestication, pottery, textiles, stone and mudbrick architecture, astronomy, geomancy. Neolithic cultures flourished for thousands of years
with virtually no warfare.
The Hopi and other Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest are contemporary cultures with
many Neolithic traits, and their Anasazi ancestors are an indigenous American Neolithic culture.
Architectural Characteristics of the Neolithic Period
 Small farming villages with permanent dwellings: pithouses, beehive houses, longhouses,
and pueblo-type structures are common
 Use of mud brick in arid climates and wood in temperate climates (Neolithic cultures are not
found in the Arctic or in tropical rain forest zones that cannot support agriculture)
 Beginning of differentiation of building types: houses, granaries, shrines or temples, graves
or tholoi, marketplaces, etc.
 Megalithic construction using huge rough-hewn stones for specialized non-residential
structures such as passage mounds (collective burial), temples, astronomical observatories
and ritual centers; also, elaborate earthworks were often built; not all Neolithic cultures built
megalithic structures
Important Buildings & Artifacts of the Neolithic Period
Jericho, Israel. Occupied c. 9000-1200 BCE (Lect.)
* Chatal Huyuk, Neolithic town in Anatolia (Turkey). 6500-5500 BCE (2-4)
* Maltese Temples, Malta. c. 3000-2500 BCE (Lect.)
* Newgrange Passage Mound, Boyne Valley, Ireland. 3000-2500 BCE (1-17 & Lect.)
* Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England. 2750-1500 BCE (1-19, 1-20)
Great Serpent Mound, Ohio, USA. 1000 BCE - 400 CE (12-20)
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde, Colorado, USA. 1100-1300 CE (Lect.)
Chaco Canyon (Pueblo Bonito, Casa Rinconada kiva), New Mexico, 900-1250 CE
(12-1, Lect.)
Taos Pueblos, New Mexico, USA. Recent (23-19)
Terminology (Paleolithic & Neolithic Periods)
Archeoastronomy
Megalith
Corbelling
Neolithic
Geomancy
Paleolithic
Dolmen
Passage grave/mound
Post and lintel
construction
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Bibliography
Brennan, Martin. The Stars and the Stones. London: Thames & Hudson, 1983.
Burl, Aubrey. Rings of Stone. London: Tichnor & Fields, 1979.
Chippindale, Christopher. Stonehenge Complete. London: Thames & Hudson, 1994.
Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. New York: Pantheon, 1964.
Evans, J.D. Prehistoric Antiquities of the Maltese Islands. London: University of London, 1971.
Fagan, Brian M. Men of the Earth. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1974.
Fraser, Douglas. Village Planning in the Primitive World. New York: George Braziller, 1968.
Giedion, Sigfried. The Eternal Present. New York: Bollingen/Pantheon, 1964.
Gimbutas, Marija. Goddesses & Gods of Old Europe. Berkeley: University of California, 1982.
Gimbutas, Marija. The Language of the Goddess. New York: Harper & Row, 1989.
Guidoni, Enrico. Primitive Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1987.
Hawkes, Jacquetta. Atlas of Ancient Archeology. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974.
Hawkes, Jacquetta. Atlas of Early Man. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1976.
Jelínek, Jan. The Pictorial Encyclopedia of The Evolution of Man. Hamlyn, [1972].
Krupp, E.C. Echoes of the Ancient Skies. New York: Harper & Row, 1983.
Marshack, Alexander. The Roots of Civilization. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1972.
Mellaart, James. The Neolithic of the Near East. London: Thames & Hudson, 1975.
O’Kelly, Michael. Newgrange: Archeology, Art & Legend. London: Thames & Hudson, 1982.
Piggott, Stuart. The Dawn of Civilization. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961.
Renfrew, Colin. Before Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1973.
Ruspoli, Mario. The Cave of Lascaux: The Final Photographs. New York: Abrams, 1987.
Scully, Vincent. Pueblo: Mountain, Village, Dance. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1989.
Wenke, Robert J. Patterns in Prehistory. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
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WEEK 2
African Art & Architecture
The Dogon
Geographical and historical setting: About 250,000 Dogon people, mostly farmers, live today in
some 700 villages along the arid cliffs of the 125 mile long Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali,
West Africa. The cliff-dwelling predecessors of the Dogon were the Tellem, who lived in the
Bandiagara cliffs from the 11th to 15th centuries. Their architecture resembles that of the Anasazi
in U.S. Southwest and their caves are sacred burial grounds for the Dogon. The Tellem were
probably a Great Round culture overthrown by the Dogon. Today, the Dogon are known worldwide for their art and rituals, but as a people, the Dogon choose to live in this isolated
environment to keep their traditions intact.
Many of these traditions focus on the veneration of ancestors, of which there are three types: the
nommo, the binu, and the vageu. The nommo was the first living being created by Amma, the
supreme creator god, who lived before the first death. Eventually, the nommo became 4 pairs of
primordial male/female twin ancestors. These 8 nommo are water spirits with no joints. Lebe
was one of the original 8 nommo ancestors, and the first who died. Lebe was resurrected as a
living serpent and represents the nyama, the life force, that renews the earth in the agricultural
cycle. The binu (binu jay=gone and come back) are the immortal ancestors, descendents of the
nommo. The binu are a source of power and protection for their descendents and their altars are
housed in binu shrines. The vageu are family members who have died and become venerated
ancestors. Their altars are housed in the ginna (see below). In addition to their respect for
ancestors, the Dogon have a special reverence for twins and left-handed people.
In every Dogon region there are supreme religious and political leaders known as the Hogon.
The hogon are also the priests of Lebe. Every year, at the beginning of planting season, the
hogon are involved in the bulu, a ritual dedicated to the nommo ancestor Lebe. Other rituals
inlude the dama and the sigi. The dama are post-funeral ceremonies occurring every several
years and dealing with the deaths of individuals. Certain Dogon dead are accorded special
rituals: the Yaupilu (white women), the souls of women who died in pregnancy or childbirth, are
considered highly dangerous and are attended by a special priest/healer and enshrined in a cave
sanctuary away from the village. One of the most Dogon important rituals is the sigi, a ceremony
that takes place every 60 years to commemorate the first death (death of Lebe) and re-create the
imina na, the great mask made to contain the nyama released by Lebe’s death.
The imina na is also known as the mother of masks and is fabricated in the shape of a serpent, the
form Lebe took upon resurrection. Each Dogon village makes a new serpent-shaped mask every
60 years to coincide with the sigi. Masks are an important part of Dogon culture and many
rituals have particular masks associated with them. In addition to the imina na used in the sigi,
the kanaga is used in the dama and is made in great secrecy. The kanaga has a vertical axis
mundi and corssbars representing heaven and earth. The whole mask also symbolizes the Amma.
Also testifying to the importance of masks to the Dogon is the ava, a masked society exclusively
for men, with the exception of a single female member known as the Yasigine.
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An important element of Dogon culture, and evident in many traditions and rituals, is the concept
of the nyama or life force. Released upon death, nyama can reside in wood--as in wooden
sculptures--and can be transferred from one residence or support to another--as in blood
sacrifices poured on sculptures and shrines. The Dogon nyama is similar to the Egyptian concept
of the ka which can reside in stone.
Besides those materials used to transfer nyama from one support to another, the Dogon utilize a
variety of other sacrifical materials including animal blood, millet porridge and flour, fruit and
vegetable juices and pulp, baobab seed flour, burned herbs, charcoal, and oils including the sa
tree oil (lannea acida). By pouring these living materials over altars and sacred objects both the
offerer and the offeree are strengthened. Venerated objects become encrusted with these
offerings, making them highly powerful to the Dogon and highly valued to art collectors.
Dogon art is highly prized throughout the world by museums and collectors. Especially valued
are the many varieties of masks, granary doors, and sculptures of ancestors and legendary
figures. Other contemporary African cultures highly-regarded for their cultural artifacts include
the Yoruba culture and the Ashanti culture. In terms of ancient Africa, the royal art work of the
great city-state of Benin (beginning 12th century) is especially prized.
Characteristics of Dogon Architecture
 Adobe and thatch construction
 All building types have complex mythic, symbolic and anthropomorphic meanings
 Villages are usually at the base of cliffs and consist of clusters of buildings including the
following traditional types:
 -Grannaries: tall and square with round thatched-roofs casually perched on them
 -Houses: low and flat-roofed and incorporating family courtyards; traditionally, they are
schematically shaped in plan like a person
 -Ginna: clan head’s residence where several kinds of altars are kept, especially in the gridlike
recesses on the facde; the ginna houses the altar to the vageu ancestors
 -Binu Shrines: sanctuaries for the immortal ancestors; facades have round corner turrets,
“horns of concecration: type altar ounds at the center top of the wall; molded central
doorway with square niches above
 -Togu na: men’s meeting house; low structure with thick flat roof made of stacked millet
stalks which keep interior cool; roof is traditionally supported on carved wooden posts often
representing female ancestors
 -Menstrual hut: round house, women’s house, symbolic of the womb, in which menstruating
women are secluded
 -Burial caves: funrals take place in the village and later the bones of the dead are
ceremonially placed in sacred caves in cliffs
 Traditional building types are often arranged in a symbolic village plan, schematically
shaped like a person with the togu na as the head; family houses as the chest; the menstrual
hut as the hands; stone for oil crushing as the female genitalia; village altar as the male sex
organ; secondary altars as the feet
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Important Buildings & Artifacts
* Plan of Dogon Village, Mali, West Africa, 15th-20th centuries (Lect.)
* Traditional Dogon Building Types: granary, house, ginna, binu, togu na, menstrual hut,
burial caves, Mali, West Africa, 15th-20th centuries (Lect.)
Dogon Kanaga Mask, Mali, West Africa, early 20th century (25-15)
Great Friday Mosque, Ancient City of Djenné, Mali, 13th century original (13-10)
Conical Tower, Great Zimbabwe, before 1450 (13-11)
Bibliography
Attenborough, David. The Tribal Eye. New York: Norton, 1976.
Bourgeois, Jean-Louis and Carollee Pelos. Spectacular Vernacular: The Adobe Tradition. New
York: Aperture Books, 1989.
Ezra, Kate. The Art of the Dogon. New York: Metropolitain Museum of Art, 1988.
Fraser, Douglas, ed. African Art as Philosophy. New York: Interbook, 1974.
Frazer, Douglas. Village Planning in the Primitive World. New York: George Braziller, 1968.
Garlake, Peter S. Great Zimbabwe. New York: Stein and Day, 1973.
Griaule, Marcel. Conversations with Ogotemmêli: An Introduction to Dogon Religious Ideas.
London: Oxford University Press, 1970.
Laude, Jean. African Art of the Dogon: Myths of the Cliff Dwellers. New York: Viking and
Brooklyn Museum of Art, 1973.
van Eyck, Aldo. “A Miracle of Moderation,” Via 1 (1968), pp. 96-125. [special issue on
Ecology in Design]
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WEEK 3
Egyptian Art & Architecture
Introduction
O Atum-Kheprer, thou wast on high on the (primeval) hill; thou didst arise as the ben-bird of the
ben-stone in the Ben-House in Heliopolis…O Atum, put thou thy arms about King Nefer-ka-Re,
about this construction work, about this pyramid, as the arms of a Ka. For the Ka of King Neferka-Re is in it, enduring for the course of eternity.
-Egyptian Pyramid Inscription, 2300 BCE
The geographic setting: Nile Valley in the northeast region of the African continent, south of the
Mediterranean Sea and west of the Red Sea. The area has natural symmetry, regular annual
flooding, and a desert climate. The history, culture, and art of ancient Egypt are defined by the
Nile River, the world’s longest, which flows south to north in a relatively straight course.
Historically, Lower Egypt was to the north, defined by the delta; Upper Egypt was to the south.
The cultural setting: Egyptian history is characterized by a 3000-year continuity in its culture and
world view. There are five major divisions in Egyptian chronology, separated by intermediate
periods of warfare and dissolution after which Egypt always managed to restore and renew itself:
PRE-DYNASTIC AND EARLY DYNASTIC PERIODS (c. 3150-2700 BCE): Foundations of
Egyptian culture; unification of Upper & Lower Egypt; rise of pharaonic, theocratic state
(Narmer palette); mud-brick mastaba tombs.
OLD KINGDOM (c. 2700-2l90 BCE, Dynasties III-VI): Consolidation of the state, building of
the great pyramids (Sakkara, Giza), first known individual architect (Imhotep); symbolism of
the “primeval hill” and the ben-stone, rise of the logos principle.
MIDDLE KINGDOM (c. 2040-1674 BCE): Funerary complexes, rock-cut tombs.
NEW KINGDOM (c. 1552-1069 BCE): Imperialistic era; reigns of Queen Hatshepsut (Funerary
Temple), Akhenaton & Nefertiti (capital at Amarna), Tutankhamen (spectacular tomb finds),
Ramesses II (Abu-Simbel); ascendance of worship of the Sun God Amon (Amon-Re or
Amon-Ra), many pharaohs add to the massive stone pylon-temples of Amon at Karnak &
Luxor; evolution of pyramid into obelisk as a “ray of sun.”
PTOLEMAIC PERIOD (c. 300-30 BCE): Egypt under Greek control after Alexander the Great.
Construction of smaller stone temples in the New Kingdom style (Edfu, Dendura, Philae).
No new forms introduced, but concludes nearly 3,000 years of continuity in ancient Egyptian
culture and architecture.
There are a variety of concepts and symbols which persisted throughout the long period of
Egyptian civilization:
 The Way: Nile, temple axis, processional routes, immortality, celestial barges
 The Union of Opposites: uniting of the Two Lands (Upper and Lower Egypt)
 Divine Kingship: kingship bestowed by deities, king as uniter of opposites
 The Primeval Hill: mythic motif of “The Mountain Arising out of the Sea of Chaos,” benben
stone, hill of Atum, original “pyramid”
 Ka: vital force, channeled through the pharaoh (as God-King), the pyramid apex, stone
 Horns of Consecration: Ka symbol, Horns of Goddess Hathor, hills flanking Nile, pylons,
scarab’s pincers
 The Logos Principle: sacred names, numbers, geometry, standards of measurement
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
The Sun: deity, scarab’s ball of dung, obelisk, temple, idea.
Architectural Characteristics of Egyptian Architecture
 Highly differentiated architecture; building types include tombs, temples, dwellings, palaces,
workers’ quarters, etc. (This is true also of all succeeding cultures covered in this course)
 Stone used for sacred structures (repository of the Ka)
 Linearity (expression of “the Way”)
 Lotus capitals on columns; columns are inside buildings.
 Highly stylized relief sculpture and papyri with scenes from daily life, illustrations of
religious rites and deities, hieroglyphic writing, etc.
 Pylon form (in temples of the New Kingdom & after)
 Egyptian architecture is especially famous for its massive stone pyramids of the Old
Kingdom and temples of the New Kingdom
Important Buildings & Artifacts
Amratian Goddess. Predynastic, c. 3500 BCE (Lect.)
Palette of King Narmer, Hierakonpolis, Egypt, Early Dynastic, c. 3150-3125 BCE (3-4)
* Funerary Complex of King Zoser (Zoser’s Stepped Pyramid), Imhoptep (architect), Saqqara,
Egypt; Old Kingdom, 3rd. Dynasty, c. 3150-3125 BCE (3-7, 3-8, 3-9)
* Giza Pyramids (of Cheops, Chefren, & Mykerinos), Giza, Egypt. Old Kingdom, 4th. Dynasty,
c. 2601-2515 BCE (3-10, 3-11)
* Funerary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Senmut (architect), Deir el-Bahri, Egypt. New
Kingdom 18th Dynasty, c. 2009-1997 BCE (3-31, 3-32)
Temple of Amon, Mut, and Khonsu, Luxor, Egypt. New Kingdom, c. 1400 BCE (Lect.)
* Temple of Amon, Karnak, New Kingdom, c. 1294-1212 BCE (3-26-29)
Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel, Nubia, New Kingdom, c. 1279-1212 BCE (3-33-35)
Nefertiti. New Kingdom, c. 1348-1336 BCE (3-38)
Mask of King Tutankhamen, Valley of the Kings, Egypt, New Kingdom, c. 1350 BCE (Lect.)
* Judgment Before Osiris, Books of the Dead, Thebes, Egypt. New Kingdom, 1285 BCE (3-43)
Temple of Horus, Edfu, Egypt. Ptolemaic, 3rd-1st c. BCE (Lect.)
Temple of Hathor, Dendura, Egypt. Ptolemaic, 2nd c. BCE-1st c. A.D. (Lect.)
Terminology
Cavetto
Causeway
Clerestory
Hieratic
Hypostyle
Mastaba
Peristyle
Pylon
Bibliography
Budge, E. Wallis, Translator. The Egyptian Book of the Dead. Dover.
Clark, R.T. Rundle. Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
Frankfort, Henri. Kingship and the Gods. University of Chicago.
Giedion, S. The Eternal Present: The Beginnings of Architecture. Princeton/Bollingen.
Lloyd, S. et al. Ancient Architecture: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, Greece. Abrams.
Pritchard, James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts. Princeton.
—
The Ancient Near East in Pictures. Princeton.
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WEEK 4
Mesopotamian Architecture
(Also see Aegean notes. Aegean is also covered in this lecture)
In a Late Sumerian cuneiform text of c. 2000 BCE inscribed on a tablet now in the Louvre the
name of the goddess-mother of the universe, Nammu, is denoted by an ideogram signifying “sea”
and she is given praise as ‘the mother who gave birth to Heaven-and-Earth [ama tu an-ki]’.
Moreover, a second tablet of about the same date preserved in the University Museum,
Philadelphia, tells us that when this ‘Heaven-and-Earth’ emerged from the primal sea, its form
was of a mountain whose summit, Heaven (An) was male, and lower portion (Ki), female;
further, that from this dual being the air-god Enlil was born, by whom the two were separated.
Joseph Campbell, The Mythic Image (1974)
Introduction
The setting: swampy, humid valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia (Greek:
meso + potamia=”between the rivers”), located in modern-day Iraq. These valleys lacked the
predictable regularity and symmetry of Egypt’s Nile valley, nonetheless, this area, often called
“the cradle of civilization,” saw the rise of Sumerian city states (Ur, Uruk, Lagash). Eventually,
the local temple form evolved into the ziggurat (Babylonian: zagaru= “to be tall, to be lofty”)—
the ultimate expression of Sumerian social structure, religion, and culture. In addition to the city
states of Sumer there were other distinct Mesopotamian cultures: Akkadian, Babylonian,
Assyrian.
Also characterized by organized warfare; stamp and cylinder seals (concept of private property);
cuneiform writing, king-lists (evidence of written history); architectural plans and maps (Gudea
statue, Nippur map); codified laws (Hammurabi’s Code); concept of “as above, so below;”
astronomy/astrology; sacred marriage rite. Continuity and change in the Assyrian and NeoBabylonian empires.
A comparable civilization grew up in the Indus Valley, located in modern-day Pakistan; this was
the earliest civilization of South Asia. Its principal cities were Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa, c.
2500-1800 BCE. The Indust Valley civilization was characterized by cultural coherence across
cities, highly advanced technical and engineering skills, communal food distribution, ritual baths,
sophisticated plumbing and drainage; images of goddesses, priest, bull. Writing is so far
undeciphered.
Architectural Characteristics of Mesopotamia
 Use of mud-brick and reeds (stone and wood not readily available), glazed tiles used for
ornament.
 Stepped ziggurat (Mesopotamia’s “pyramid”), a temple-mountain, not a tomb
 Walled, multi-story courtyard houses; walled city-states centered on temple complexes.
 Increasing differentiation of sacred architecture as it evolves from a simple, easily accessible
shrine on ground level (Eridu shrine) to large formal temples on platforms elevated above the
common people (White Temple) to monumental complexes with temples raised on high
ziggurats accessible only to priests and royalty (Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu).
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Important Buildings & Artifacts
Eridu Temple XVII, Eridu, Iraq (Predynastic Mesopotamia). c. 5000 BCE ( Lect.)
White Temple & Anu Ziggurat, Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq, Sumerian, c. 3100 BCE (2-5)
Sculptured Vase, Uruk, Sumerian. c. 3500-3000 BCE (2-8)
Female Head, Uruk, Sumerian, c. 3500-3000 BCE (2-7)
Vulture Stele (Stele of King Eannatum), Lagash, Iraq, Sumerian, c. 2560 BCE (Lect.)
* Stele of Naram-Sin, Susa, Iran, Akkadian. c. 2254-2218 BCE (2-15)
* City of Ur, Mesopotamia, Sumerian. c. 2000 BCE (occupied 4500-400 BCE). (Lect)
* Ziggurat of Ur-Nammu, Ur, Iraq, Sumerian. c. 2100-2050 BCE (2-6)
Stele of Ur-Nammu, Ur, Sumerian, c. 2100 BCE (Lect.)
Statue of Gudea with architectural plan, Lagash, Iraq, Sumerian, c. 2150. (Lect.)
Stele with the Code of Hammurabi, Susa, Iran, Babylonian, c. 1792-1750 BCE. (2-17)
* Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan, Indus Valley Civilization. c. 2500-1800. (Lect.)
Sculpture Relief of Assurnasirpal II Killing Lions, Palaces at Nimrud and Nineveh, Iraq,
Assyrian, 850 BCE (2-19)
Citadel and Palace Complex of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorasabad), Iraq, Assyrian,
c. 721-706 BCE (2-20)
Ishtar Gate, Babylon, Neo-Babylonian, 575 BCE (2-23-24)
Palaces at Persepolis, Iran, Persian, 539-331 BCE (2-28-29)
Terminology
cella
citadel
cuneiform
stela
ziggurat
Bibliography
Campbell, Joseph. The Mythic Image. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974.
Ry van Beest Holle, Carel J. du. Art of the Ancient Near and Middle East. New York: Abrams,
1970.
Frankfort, Henri. Kingship and the Gods. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1978.
Lloyd, Seton, et al. Ancient Architecture: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Crete, Greece. New York:
Abrams, 1973.
Pritchard, James B. Ancient Near Eastern Texts. 1969; rpt. Princeton: Princeton University
Press, 1978.
Pritchard, James B. The Ancient Near East in Pictures. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1954.
Wolstein, Diane and Samuel Noah Kramer. Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth. New York:
Harper & Row, 1983.
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WEEK 4
Aegean
(continued)
Minoans & Myceneans
Geographic setting: present-day Aegean Islands, Crete, Greece, and Albania and Bulgaria.
Located between three continents, the Aegean archipelago cradled the first European civilization
that developed towns, palaces, art, and a system of writing. The islands were first settled in the
7th millennium BCE by people from Anatolia who brought with them the goddess culture as we
know it from Chatal Huyuk. During the late Neolithic period, referred to as the Cycladic culture
in this area, the islands were inhabited by a scattered population.
Rooted in a goddess culture, the Minoan civilization developed after 2000 BCE with the use of
metals. The Minoans became urban and mercantile and their towns became the maritime center
of the Mediterranean. The most important palace center was Knossos, then Phaistos, and then
Mallia. The mythological tale of Europa, the bull, and King Minos (rewritten by the Greeks)
reveals the practices and beliefs of Minoan culture not only in their rituals but also in their art
and architecture. It was during the most flourishing period that the Minoan civilization came to
an end in the mid 15th century BCE. Their demise was possibly due to the catastrophic eruption
of the volcano on the island of Thera that left a thick deposit of volcanic ash over Crete ruining
its agriculture and the subsequent take over by the conquering Mycenaeans.
The Mycenaeans, in contrast to the Minoans, were war-like and worshipped many different gods
and goddesses (these became the Homeric pantheon). The two important Mycenaeans citadels
were Mycenae and Tiryns (13th c. BCE). The Trojan war caused the downfall of the Mycenaean
civilization. After more than a hundred years of turmoil and unrest the Dorians from northern
Greece completely destroyed the Mycenaeans in 1100 BCE, leaving Crete in a state of decay.
From 1100 BCE to the 4th century BCE this area fell into a period called the ancient Dark Ages.
Architectural Characteristics of Minoan Palace Complex
 Symbolic location aligned to sacred sites
 Not fortified
 Rubble and mud brick construction faced with dressed stone
 Labyrinth-like plan
 Plan areas are subdivided by function
 Plan turns inward and is arranged in relation to the courtyard
 Central courtyard
Characteristics of Minoan Art
 The use of both stylized geometric and figurative forms
 Continuous flowing lines
 Painted figures recall Egyptian reliefs but are more fluid in form
 Joyful and playful depictions of animals and people primarily
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Architectural Characteristics of Mycenaean Citadel
 Fortified - located on hilltops
 Cyclopean stone walls
 Corbelled vault stone construction
 Wood frame structures infilled with rubble and coated with plaster (resistant to earthquakes)
 Central location of the megaron
 Shaft graves
Characteristics of Mycenaenan Art
 Forms influenced by Minoan art but are more restrained
 Preference for war themes
Important Buildings and Artifacts
Votive Figures of Women, Cycladic Islands, c. 2500-2200 BCE (4-3)
* Palace of Knossos, Knossos, Crete, c. 1700-1300 BCE (4-5-8)
Goddess with Snake, Palace of Knosso, Crete, c. 1700-1550 BCE (4-9)
* Bull Jumping wall painting, Palace of Knossos, Crete, c. 1550-1450 BCE (4-15)
Citadel of Mycenae, Mycenae, Greece, c. 1600-1200 BCE (4-17)
* Lioness Gate, Mycenae, Greece, c. 1300-1200 BCE (4-18)
* Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece, c. 1300-1200 BCE (4-20-21)
Funerary mask from the royal tombs at Mycenae, Greece, c. 1550-1500 BCE (4-19)
* Citadel of Tiryns, Tiryns, Greece, c. 1300-1200 BCE (4-22-23)
Megaron in the palace of Pylos, Pylos, Greece, c. 1300-1200 BCE (4-24)
Terminology
ashlar
beehive tombs
capstone
citadel
corbelled vault
cyclopean construction
faience
labyrinth
megaron
passage graves
relieving arch
shaft graves
stylized designs
Bibliography
Graham, J. Walter. The Palaces of Crete. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987.
Scully, Vincent. The Earth, the Temple and the Gods: Greek Sacred Architecture. New York:
Frederick A. Praeger, 1969 [especially chapters 1-3, pp. 1-39].
Taylour, Lord William. The Mycenaeans. London: Thames and Hudson, 1983.
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Weeks 5 & 6
Greek Art & Architecture
Introduction
The geographic setting: present-day Greece, western Turkey, Sicily, southern Italy, and certain
coastal areas of the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.
Greek culture developed from 900 BCE to 30 BCE through various periods, three of which stand
out distinctly: the Archaic period, the Classical period, and the Hellenistic period.
The Archaic period from about 600-480 BCE was a time of uninterrupted energetic development
in the arts as well as in architecture which saw the rise of strong city-states, namely Athens. The
temple form as a monumental structure dedicated to the gods and goddesses flourished during
this time. The Classical period from about 480-320 BCE, also known as the Age of Pericles,
marked the culmination of Athenian military and political power signified by the construction of
the temples on the Acropolis. The Athenians emerged as the leaders of the Mediterranean in the
wake of the Persian Wars. The Hellenistic period from about 320-30 BCE marked the time after
Alexander the Great died leaving the Greek empire he had helped expand in a weakened position
without a central administrative structure. Gradually, during the second half of the first century
BCE the Roman empire conquered the Greek city-states.
Philosophically, the Classical Greeks believed that the main strive of human beings was for
“truth” which embodied the eternal. They believed that people existed in two realms: the spiritual
realm which was the unknown, held eternal truths, and was perfect; and the material realm which
could be known only through the senses, was comprised of human opinions, and was imperfect.
The spiritual realm was of the higher order. In the arts they strove for perfection by their constant
search for ideal form as seen in the anatomical perfection of figurative sculpture and in the
refinement of the classical orders in architecture. The temples designed to house the gods and
goddesses were considered the most important building type.
Characteristics of Greek Architecture
Archaic Temples
 Transition from impermanent (wood) to permanent (stone) materials
 Dominance of post and lintel construction
 Integration of sculpture and architecture
 Over structured and heavy proportions
Classical Temples
 Located on ancient sacred sites - ie. the Acropolis
 Temples are not for congregation, worshipping took place outside the temple
 Refined proportions and visual corrections - striving for perfection
 Designed as sculpture in the round
 Asymmetrical placement of temples with oblique views
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Hellenistic Temples
 Experimentation and the use of novel combinations of elements
 Many different styles occurring at the same time
 Theatrical effect
 Opulent decoration
 Complex plans
 More sculptural both on the inside and outside
Characteristics of Greek Art
Archaic Sculpture
 Egyptian influence - square block-like frame - stylized features
 For votive and commemorative purposes
 They are neither god nor human but something in-between
 Serene facial expressions
Classical Sculpture
 Idealized bodies that seek perfection of form - same approach as the temple design
 Refined human proportions
 Balanced composition yet in motion
 Calm, mask-like facial expressions
Hellenistic Sculpture
 General themes of suffering and struggle
 Realistic depiction of the human body
 Dramatic and theatrical effect
 Real facial expressions of human pathos
caryatids
cella
Colonnade
high relief
Important Buildings and Artifacts
Temple of Hera I, Paestum, Italy, c. 550 BCE (5-9-10)
* The Greek Orders -- Doric, Ionic, Corinthian (p. 164)
* Kouros, Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, marble, c. 600 BCE (5-17)
Peplos Kore, from the Acropolis, Athens, marble, c. 530 BCE (5-20)
Agora, Athens, Greece, c. 400 BCE (5-37)
* Acropolis, Athens, Greece, c. 400 BCE (5-38)
* Parthenon, Kallikrates and Iktinos, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 447-438 BCE (5-39-44)
Propylaia, Mnesikles, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 437-432 BCE
Erechtheion, Mnesikles, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 430-405 BCE (5-48-49)
Discus Thrower, Roman marble copy of original bronze, c. 450 BCE (5-1)
Alexander the Great Confronts Darius III at the Battle of Issos, Roman mosaic copy of
Greek painting, c. 310 BCE (5-67)
Theater at Epidauros, Greece, c. 350 BCE (5-71-72)
Laocoön and His Sons, Musei Vaticani, Rome, Italy, marble, 2nd or 1st century BCE (5-
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79)
Terminology
kore
kouros
orchestra
orthogonal plan
peplos
peripteral temple
propylon
proscenium
stoa
temenos
tholos
treasuries
Column Orders
architrave
capital
cornice
drum
entablature
pediment
shaft
stereobate
stylobate
Doric Order
Ionic Order
abacus
echinus
triglyph
metope
acroterion
base
flute
volute
frieze
Bibliography
Boardman, John. Greek Art. New York, London: Thames and Hudson, 1985.
Harrington, Spencer, “Shoring up the Temple of Athena,” Archaeology (Jan.-Feb. 1992):
32-43.
Lawrence, A.W. Greek Architecture. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1983.
Martin, Roland. Greek Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1980.
Robertson, D.S. Greek and Roman Architecture. Cambridge: Cambridge University
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Press, 1943.
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Weeks 8
Etruscan and Roman
(week 7 is the midterm)
Introduction
The geographic setting: Etruria was located in modern Tuscany and the Early Roman civilization
was located throughout the Italian peninsula, Sardinia, and Corsica primarily. Eventually, it
expanded its dominion along the countries of the Mediterranean coast.
The Etruscans settled in central Italy around the 7th century BCE, reaching the height of their
power in the 6th century BCE. They were taken over by the Romans in the 3rd century BCE.
They lived an independent existence and were influenced by the Greeks and the Near East in the
development of a distinct language, set of laws, engineering, art, architecture, and urban
planning. The Romans adopted the Etruscan culture which served as their foundation, especially
in architecture and urban planning.
The Romans gained their identity in the 6th century BCE as a group of Latin-speaking people
who settled in and around the city of Rome. The mythological legend of Romulus and Remus
tells the story of the founding of the city of Rome. The Romans established a sophisticated
system of rule and law which they termed the Republic (c. 500 to 27 BCE). This period ended
with a civil war and the murder of Julius Cesar in 44 BCE. After a period of turmoil, Augustus
was ordained the first emperor of Rome in 27 BCE and he reigned during a conservative and
stable period lasting until until 14 AD.
Through out this time the Romans began a process of alliance and conquest. As they absorbed
the different cultures they conquered, such as the very influential Greeks, their art and
architecture consequently evolved and transformed. During this time we can see the development
of urban planning in the example of Pompeii that included a great variety of buildings ranging
from temples and palaces designed for the affluent rich social strata to ordinary housing and
market places for the lower classes. The Romans showed a strong practical streak that reflected
in everything they created. In architecture they advanced the technology of building materials
and construction as well as the development of building types to accommodate a growing
imperial public life--basilicas, forums, public baths, theaters, stadiums, circuses, etc.
Characteristics of Etruscan Architecture
 Arched corbelled vault gates
 Cut rock tombs
 Temple design:
o Usually located on the central square of town facing south
o Mud brick with wooden frame and roof clad in brightly painted terracotta tiles
o Raised on a podium
o Frontal approach
o Tuscan order
o Typically a porch and cella disposition
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Characteristics of Etruscan Art
 Influenced by Archaic Greece
 Large scale brightly painted terracotta sculpture
Characteristics of Roman Architecture
(Also see Characteristics of Roman Architecture from Lecture 9)






Use of concrete allows for plastic forms and massive structures
Engineering feats - ie. aqueducts, roads
Urban planning influenced by the Etruscans
Development of multi-unit urban residential blocks
New building types
Temple design:
o Influenced by the Etruscans and the Greeks
o Located in the countryside and in the cities ie. the streets and the forum
o High podium
o Frontal approach
o Typically a porch and cella disposition
o Greek-like superstructure and roof
o Marble
o Engaged columns around the perimeter of the cella
Roman Characteristics of Art
 Realism
 Sacred ritual themes as well as secular every-day themes
 Political propaganda
Important Buildings and Artifacts
* Reconstruction of Etruscan Temple based on the descriptions of Vitruvius, Etruria, Italy,
c. 700
BCE (6-3, 6-4)
Burial chamber at Cerveteri, Italy, 3rd century BCE (6-7)
Sarcophagus from Cerveteri, Italy, c. 520 BCE (6-8)
She-Wolf, Museo Capitolino, Rome, Italy, bronze, c. 500-480 BCE (6-11)
Sanctuary of Fortuna, Palestrina, Italy begun c. 100 BCE (6-13)
Plan of the city of Pompeii, Italy, 79 (6-47)
* Reconstruction of the House of the Silver Wedding, Pompeii, Italy, 2nd century BCE
(6-53)
Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, Italy, c. 50 BCE (Lect.)
Pont du Gard, Nîmes, France, late 1st century BCE (6-22)
* Maison Carrée, Nîmes, France, c. 20 BCE (6-15-16)
Ara Pacis, Rome, Italy, marble, 13-9 BCE (6-27, 6-28, 6-29)
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Terminology
acanthus capitals
arcades
atrium
barrel vault
basilica
cardo and decumanus
centering
Composite order
concrete
courses
engaged columns
forum
intuitive perspective
jambs
keystone
low relief
pedestal
pilasters
podium
prostyle temple
pseudo-peripteral temple
tablinum
Tuscan order
voussoirs
Bibliography
Ariès, Philippe, and Duby, George, eds. A History of Private Life: From Pagan Rome to
Byzantium, vol. 1, trans. Arthur Goldhammer. Cambridge: Belknap, 1987.
Boethius, Axel, and Ward-Perkins, J.B. Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture.
Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1978.
Grant, Michael. Cities of Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum. Harmondsworth:
Penguin Books, 1976.
Rediscovering Pompeii. Rome: L’Erma di Bretschneider, 1990.
Sprenger, Maja, and Bartolini, Gilda, The Etruscans: Their History, Art, and Architecture.
New York: Abrams, 1983.
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Weeks 9
Roman Architecture
Introduction
The geographic setting: Rome, Italy, and the regions in Europe, the Mediterranean, Asia, and
Africa included within the Roman Empire.
Roman civilization developed out of the Etruscan, first as a republic and later as an empire that
dominated the entire Mediterranean and the areas mentioned above. The empire had highly
sophisticated and far-reaching systems of rule, law, trade, roads, etc. Roman art has had a
continuing influence on artifacts in Western civilization, although Rome had limited creative
originality, primarily borrowing from the cultures it conquered, especially the Greek. The highly
civic and public life in Rome was a result of the comfort and leisure brought by the great wealth
flowing into the city from the empire. The proliferation of building types was produced by the
institutions growing out of this public life — the temple, stadium, basilica, forum, circus, and
bath — the forms of which persisted in Western architecture well into the 20th century. Other
important structures were the palace complex and atrium house, and civil engineering projects
such as roads and aqueducts.
After the reign of Augustus there followed a series emperors during the period 14 to 337. Trajan
and Hadian ruled during the height of the Roman empire. Trajan’s reign (98-117) was a period
of military expansion which established the greatest geographical extent of the empire. Hadrian’s
reign (117-138) was a time of peace and stability as Rome’s authority was unquestioned
throughout the provinces. The empire fell apart in 337 under the divided administration which
marked the start of the reign of Constantine I, who advocated Christianity as the official religion
of the empire. Each Roman emperor had a
direct influence on the art and architecture produced during their reigns.
Roman Architectural Characteristics
 Loose use of the Greek orders, not as structure but as applied decoration. Introduction of the
Composite order.
 Use of unreinforced rubble concrete. The basic structural fabric, in Rome and its vicinity
from Nero’s time onward, was composed of brick-faced walls, of arch-forms, and of vaults—
all of concrete.
 Extensive use of the arch and the vault. (Arches and vaults were used before the Romans, but
not prominently.)
 Massive public works. Monuments and public structures for the masses as imperial
propaganda. Development of the multi-unit urban residential block.
 Highly decorated marble/stone for monuments; simple exposed brick for utilitarian
structures.
 Interested in spatial effects created by light
 Monumental, formal, axial planning
 Solids were of secondary importance to the spaces they bounded and defined; significant
hollows, not visible masses, were the essence of this architecture.
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
Interior spaces and effects were emphasized.
o The boundaries of these spaces were non-prismatic, for surfaces of single or
double curvature, or both, were always present.
o These spaces were unobstructed by interior support.
o Centralized axes were often readily apparent.
o When trabeation was used, its importance to the concept of design was almost
always subordinated to that of the spaces and impression derived from vaulting.

Two approaches to design, e.g.:
1. Baths of Caracalla
-Symmetrical
-Axial with multiple focal points
-Rhythmic patterns
-Variety of different geometric shapes
2. Hadrian’s Villa
-Series of structures loosely related at oblique angles
-Many localized axes
Characteristics of Roman Art
 Many different styles
 Realism
 Monumental scale
Important Buildings and Artifacts
* Colosseum, Rome, Italy, 72-80 (6-31-33)
Imperial Forum, Rome, Italy, c. 46 BCE-117 (6-26)
Column of Trajan, Rome, Italy, 106-113 (6-28,39)
Markets of Trajan, Rome, Italy, 110-112 (6-29)
* Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 125-128 (6-34-36)
Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, Italy, c. 135 (6-55-56)
* Baths of Caracalla, Rome, Italy, c. 211-17 (6-69, 6-71)
* Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, Rome, Italy, 306-313 (6-81)
* Arch of Constantine, Rome, Italy, 312-315 (6-79)
Terminology
apse
broken pediment
buttresses
caldarium, tepidarium, and
frigidarium
cartouches
clerestory
coffers
corbels
groin vault
hypostyle hall
nave
oculus
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rosettes
triumphal arch
Bibliography
MacDonald, William L. The Architecture of the Roman Empire: An Introductory Study. New
Haven: Yale University Press, 1982.
_____ , The Pantheon: Design, Meaning, and Progeny. Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1976.
Quennell, Peter. The Colosseum. New York: Newsweek, 1971.
Sear, Frank. Roman Architecture. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1982.
Strong, Donald. Roman Art. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1988.
Ward-Perkins, J.B. Roman Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1988.
Wheeler, Sir Robert Eric Mortimer. Roman Art and Architecture. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1964.
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Week 10
Early Christian, Byzantine,
Carolingian & Romanesque
Introduction: Historical, Geographic & Cultural Setting
Early Christian: the late Roman Empire of the 4th century and early 5th centuries, principally in
present-day Italy and parts of Turkey, Syria, Israel. This era sees the legitimization and
expansion of Christianity following the religion’s first two centuries as a Jewish sect.
Christianity is adopted by a number of powerful rulers, beginning with the Roman Emperor
Constantine who, establishes official tolerance for Christianity in 313. Christianity soon
becomes the de facto religion of the realm and the state and church become closely entwined,
especially with respect to building projects. Constantine oversees the design and construction of
Old St. Peter’s which establishes the pattern for subsequent churches throughout the empire. In
331, Constantine moves the imperial capitol east, from Rome to Byzantium (present-day
Istanbul) which is renamed Constantinople. This move, combined with the sack of Rome by the
Goths in 410 ensures that subsequent cultural developments related to the nearly-collapsed
Roman empire will emanate from the east.
Byzantine: the eastern or Byzantine empire from the 5th to 11th centuries, stretching from eastern
Italy, across the Mediterranean world (Greece, Turkey) to present-day Syria and eventually
Russia. Byzantine power, from the capital at Constantinople, is consolidated by Justinian I,
whose reign (527-65) ushers in the first so-called Golden Age of Byzantium which lasts into the
8th century. Justinian imposes order in the eastern empire with the Code of Civil Law that
establishes a uniform legal system; he establishes fortifications of the western and eastern
extremes of the empire, notably at Ravenna in Italy which flourishes as a frontier center/
Recognizing the political significance of architecture as a manifestation of power and desiring to
make Byzantium rival the glories of ancient Rome, Justinian embarked on major building
campaigns that produced many churches, including Hagia Sophia. After Justinian, the Byzantine
empire remained a mighty commercial and military power and a center of arts and learning. Cut
off from the Christian west, Byzantine Christianity developed into a distinct religion with its own
liturgical customs.
Carolingian: present-day Western Europe from the 8th-10th centuries as it emerges from the socalled Dark Ages. The Holy Roman Empire, stretching from Aachen in western Germany to
Rome in Italy, is consolidated by Charlemagne, a Frankish king who converts to Christianity in
772. His conversion follows that of other barbarian rulers who fell sway to the religion that had
established itself throughout Britain, France, the Iberian peninsula, and Germany by 600 mainly
through missionaries and the establishment of monasteries. Prior to Charlemagne’s rule,
monasteries had sheltered the surviving concepts of Roman order and preserved vestiges of
Roman and Early Christian learning. Charlemagne reinvigorates monasteries throughout the
continent and gradually they become flourishing, if still isolated, cultural centers. Meanwhile,
beyond the cloister wall or abbey gatehouse, the built world was still ruled by necessity and
function, but barbarian cultures nonetheless flourished, as exemplified by the everyday arts
(jewelry, ships, oral traditions) of the Celtic, Frankish, and Anglo-Saxon, and Viking tribes.
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Romanesque: Italy and western Europe, 11-12th centuries which exists as a series of loose
confederations and independent states including present-day Great Britain, France, Germany,
Italy and Spain (which was divided between Christian north and Islamic South). After 1000,
commercial activity increases; ancient Roman trade routes are re-established and Christian
pilgrimage routes linking monasteries and holy sites stimulate the growth of towns (and the reemergence of urban life) and the expansion of church building. As travel increases, cultural
exchange begins anew between disparate parts of the west and, through the crusades (beginning
1095), with the east as well. The prosperity of the Romanesque period leads to the thriving
urban culture of the Gothic period.
Early Christian Architectural Characteristics
 evolution of new building types for Christian worship out of former house-churches, new
types adopted from existing Roman models; basilica is most important adaptation, becomes
pattern for Christian churches across the empire, beginning with Old St. Peter’s; Roman
tholos type influences centrally-planned church
 the basilica, originally a Roman civic building type, is adapted with changes: side-entrance is
changed to end-entrance to emphasize long processional nave; masonry vaults are replaced
with simple wood truss roofs; addition of narthex, campanile, etc.
 loss of sophisticated Roman engineering and craftsmanship; shift to simplified building
techniques and artisan practices
 re-use of elements from Roman buildings; churches often feature colonnades and arcades
with mismatched “borrowed” elements
 purposeful contrast between exterior and interior of sacred buildings; outside, often rough
with brick or other small masonry units and no decoration; inside, frescoes and mosaics
Byzantine Architectural Characteristics
 represents fusion of west and east; remnants of Roman Empire combined with influences of
Syria, Egypt, Persia, etc. (evident in design, engineering and ornament)
 Byzantine church type combines basilica and tholos types with new interest in creating
soaring interior spaces; church type adapted to meet needs of Byzantine liturgy
 pendentive and squinch dome spans huge interior spaces
 growing complexity of interior spatial arrangements
 elaborate tile mosaics, gold leaf, and marble revetment cover interior walls and domes to
create otherworldly (heavenly) atmosphere
 numerical symbolism becomes important in sacred architecture
 elements from Roman buildings still re-used, but also new, highly skilled stonework from
across empire (wide variety of materials)
 construction with Byzantine bricks (18” x 18” x 2”)
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Carolingian Architectural Characteristics
 general refinement of Early Christian types in the west and development of features that will
become commonplace in Romanesque churches, esp. westwork (elaborate multistoried
towered narthex)
 growing awareness and envy of classical architecture of the past, sometimes leads to naïve
use of classical details applied to structures with heavy and massive features (blind arcades)
 indigenous (non-classical) northern building elements (steep roofs, towers, and geometric
decoration) from decorative arts of so-called barbarian tribes join architectural mainstream
 construction still of small masonry units, solid walls with limited openings
 monasteries develop as total idealized communities with fixed planning elements (church,
cloister, refectory, dormitory, etc.)
Romanesque Architectural Characteristics
 buildings “in the Roman manner” featuring rounded arches, masonry vaults (characteristic of
Roman imperial building), and vestigial classical forms
 growth in church scale and size due to prosperity of abbeys and monasteries
 many regional stylistic variations
 continued use of small unit masonry construction with thick solid walls
 continuing search for successful fireproofing, desire to move away from wooden truss work
 semicircular arch almost totally dominates all architectural undertaking, especially
pronounced in banded barrel vaults of nave and arcades of side aisles
 development of the ribbed vault and buttress-thickened wall, allowing increase in nave height
 relatively austere exteriors and dark interiors, enlivened by sculpture at entrance portals and
historiated capitals on columns of interior aisles
Important Buildings & Artifacts
House–Church & House-Synagogue, Dura-Europos, Syria, Jewish/Early Christian, c. 240-45
(7-5-6)
* Old St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, Early Christian, c.320-27 (7-9)
Basilica of Mushabbak, near Aleppo, Syria, Early Christian, c. 450 (Lect.)
Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy, Byzantine, 526-547. (7-26-27)
* Hagia Sophia, Anthemios and Isidorus, Istanbul, Turkey, Byzantine, 532-537 (7-22-24)
Basilica of San Marco, Venice, Italy, Byzantine, begun 1063 (7-39)
Abbey Gatehouse, Lorsch, Germany, Carolingian, c. 817
Palace Chapel of Charlemagne, Aachen, Germany, Carolingian, 792-805 (14-12)
* Monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland, Carolingian, c. 817 (14-13-14)
* Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy, Conques, France, mid-11th-12th century, Romanesque
(15-4)
Abbey of Notre-Dame, Fontenay, France, Romanesque, 1139-47. (15-6, 15-7)
* Last Judgement Portal, Gislebertus, Cathedral of Saint-Lazare, Autun, France, Romanesque,
1120-35. (15-12, 15-13)
Abbey Church St.-Pierre, Cluny, France, Romanesque, c. 1088-1130. (15-5)
Abbey Church of St. Etienne, Caen, France, Romanesque, begun c. 1067-87 (15-26-28)
Cathedral of Durham, Durham, England. 1093-1133 CE. (15-24-25)
* Pisa Cathedral complex, Pisa, Italy. Romanesque, begun 1063 (15-40)
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Terminology
aisle
ambulatory
apse
atrium
banded barrel vault
basilica-plan church
buttress
central-plan church
cloister
martyrium
monastery
narthex
nave
pendentives
podium
reliquary
revetment
rib vault
squinch
tholos
trasept
typanum
westwork
Bibliography
Kennedy, Hugh. Crusader Castles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Krautheimer, Richard. Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture. New York: Viking/Penguin,
1986.
Kubach, Hans Erich. Romanseque Architecture. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1975.
Mainstone, R.J. Hagia Sophia: Architecture, Structure and Liturgy of Justinian’s Great Church.
London: Thames & Hudson, 1988.
Mango, Cyril A. Byzantine Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1985.
Petzold, Andreas. Romanesque Art. New York: Abrams Perspectives, 1995.
Radding, Charles M. and William W. Clark. Medieval Architecture, Medieval Learning:
Builders and Masters in the Age of Romanesque and Gothic. New Haven: Yale
University
Press, 1992.
Salvador, Mario. “Hagia Sophia” in Why Buildings Stand Up. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980
[chapter 14, pp. 246-259].
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Week 11
Islamic Architecture
Introduction
The geographic setting: arid climatic zones of the Middle East, North Africa, Southern Spain,
Turkey, and Northern India, necessitating an architecture of mud-brick courtyard buildings.
Cultural context: Desert context fosters reverence for the sky and view of the earth as hot, dry,
barren, and hostile. Extreme logos-orientation focusing on the mystique of numbers, geometry,
and the word (calligraphy, poetry, the Koran, etc.). Traditionally nomadic, sheep-herding
cultures until very recently.
Islamic culture arose out of the teachings of the prophet Mohammed (570-632) in the 7th century
which succeeded in uniting the fiercely independent desert peoples of Arabia. The sacred text of
Islam, the Koran, was received and written down by Mohammed. In 622 CE, Mohammed fled
from Mecca to Medina to escape persection; this hegira marks year one of the Muslim (lunar)
calendar.
As taught by Mohammed and his followers, there are Five Pillars of Islam: submission to Allah,
praying five times daily facing Mecca, giving alms to the poor, observing the annual fast of
Ramadan, and at least one pilgrimage toe Mecca in one’s lifetime (the Hajj). In Mecca (in
modern Saudi Arabia), pilgrims visit the central sanctuary of the Kaaba which contains a
meteorite said to have been part of Abraham’s temple.
After Mohammed’s death Islam spread in the following centuries throughout the Mediterranean
and Middle East, leading to such structures as the Alhambra palace in Spain and the Taj Mahal
tomb in distant India. The Masjid-i-Jami (Friday Mosque) and Masjid-i-Shah (Mosque of the
Shah) in Isfahan, Iran, exemplify many precepts of Islamic architecture. The art and architecture
of Islam are designated by many regional names, disparate spellings, including Mohammedan,
Saracen, Moslem, Mongol, Mogl, Mughal, Muslim.
Islamic Architectural Characteristics
 Mud brick construction with pointed arches, domes, and barrel vaults with colorful ceramic
tile ornamentation or varied stone inlays and mosaics and elaborate plaster work (sometimes
called stalactite); elaborate use of muquarnas (corbeled squinches) which are often loadbearing, supporting domes with intricately faceted surfaces
 Elaborate architectural ornamentation and proportioning is often based on rigorously
calculated geometries
 Walled, courtyard houses and public buildings in irregular towns with meandering streets
 Emphasis on 2 axes:
l) vertical axis to Allah expressed in vertically attenuated domes on squinches, minarets,
pointed arches, etc.
2) horizontal axis to Mecca expressed in orientation of mosques and tombs and the
location of domes and qiblas (or mihrabs) in mosques
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


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Garden with pools and fountains as an image of paradise
Use of iwans (large rectangular, barrel-vaulted halls with monumental arched openings)
prominent in eastern Islamic world
representational art forbidden for theological reasons (Persian miniatures notwithstanding);
ornament takes the form of calligraphic names of Allah and passages from the Koran,
intricate geometric designs, and plant life
building types include mosques, tombs, courtyard houses, caravanserai (inns), bazaars,
walled gardens, Turkish baths, forts
Important Buildings & Artifacts
Palace of Shapur I, Ctesiphon, Iraq. A.D. 3rd-6th cent. (Lect.)
* Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, Israel, 687-91 (8-2, 8-3)
Spiral Minaret, Great Mosque of al-Mutawakkil, Samarra, Iraq. 847-52
Great Mosque, Cordoba, Spain. 785-86 CE. (8-6, p 345)
* The Alhambra, Granada, Spain, completed 1380 (8-11, 8-12)
* Masjid-i-Jami (Friday Mosque), Isfahan, Iran. 11-18th cent. (8-12)
* Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-48 (20-1, 20-7)
Terminology
iwan
masjid
minaret
mihrab
muqarnas
ogival arch
qibla
squinch
Bibliography
Ardalan, Nader and Laleh Bakhtiar. The Sense of Unity: The Sufi Tradition in Persian
Architecture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973.
Ettinghausen, Richard. Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-1250. New York: Viking Penguin,
1987.
Hoag, John P. Islamic Architecture. New York: Abrams, 1977.
Michell, George. Architecture of the Islamic World. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1978.
Seherr-Thoss, Sonia P. and Hans C. Design and Color in Islamic Architecture. Washington:
Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968.
Vogt-Gö knil, Ulya. Living Architecture: Ottoman. New YorkL Grosset & Dunlap, 1966.
Volwahsen, Andre. Living Architecture: Islamic Indian. New York: Grosset & Dunlap [?].
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WEEK 12
Gothic Architecture
Introduction
Geographic setting: the Ile de France and later the ring of cathedral towns around Paris,
spreading across Europe to norther and central France and England, norther Spain, Germany, and
Italy and occasionally “exported” to the East in the wake of the Crusades.
Cultural Setting in Europe, 12-14th centuries: consolidation of European proto-states and
kingdoms results in a new sense of security. Evenutally, populations move out of the old
monastic centers into medieval towns, many of which enjoyed economic prosperity. The
kingdom of France emerges as the cultural, and especially the architectural, leader of the western
world. Growth of artisan guilds and a merchant class brings new artistic expression and wealth.
Crystallization of a confident new vision of the relation of God and humanity is expressed in the
stone, glass, light, geometry, and sculpture of the cathedrals. Initial enthusiasm for the Crusades
is followed by disillusionment and renewed conentration of energies at home--the great Gothic
building effort has been called the “Cathedral Crusade.” This period also sees the rise of the
“Cult of the Virgin,” a growing adoration of the Virgin Mary, the “Nôtre Dame” to whom most
of the Gothic cathedrals were dedicated.
The Gothic style developed in France in the 12th century under Abbot Suger at St. Denis near
Paris and resulted from his innovation and symbolic aspirations as well as a cross-fertilization of
established and evolving architectural ideas—especially as brought back from Islam by the
crusaders. The new architecture was born of light and air and an ever more sophisticated
manipulation of the pointed arch. The Gothic was rapidly diffused across Europe through
craftsman, pilgrims, monastic networks, and trade; it became known as an “international style.”
At no other time in history has architecture been so dominant a force in the world of art and the
larger culture. In the emergence of Gothic architecture, the west obtained a second principal
strain of architecture that has survived through periodic revived expression in nearly equal
contest with the classical style of Greece and Rome.
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Gothic Architectural Characteristics
 Architectural activity centers on the urban cathedrals which are the era’s monumental
building projects, often taking more than a century to complete
 Stylistic coherence (derived from French Gothic), exists, but regional variations are evident,
especially in England (vertical emphasis) and Italy (Easter influence)
 Structural innovations include pointed arch, ribbed vault (fireproof), and flying buttress
(allowed walls to be infilled with stained glass); constant experimentation with structural
systems and materials, often pushing buildings to brink of collapse
 Desire for light (size of windows) and height (of vaults) imbued with sacred significance
 Frankly expressed stone building skeleton; stonework is precisely cut
 Symbolic formal cross-shaped plan with geometric proportioning of building elements;
numerical symbolism also present in designing building elements; certain proportional
schemes derived from Islamic architecture, brought to the west by returning crusaders
 Exterior features sculpture across façade, especially at main and side portals, serving didactic
purpose: illustrating Biblical figures, stories, themes, and symbols for an illiterate public
Important Buildings and Artifacts
* Abbey Church of St. Denis, Paris, France. 1140-44 CE. (16-3-5)
Nôtre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France. 1163-1250 CE. (16-22)
* Nôtre Dame de Chartres, Chartres, France. 1194-1260 CE. (16-2-15, p.568)
Villard de Honnecourt, Sketchbooks, 1220-35 (16-31)
Nôtre Dame de Reims, Reims, France. 1225-1299 CE. (16-23-27)
Nôtre Dame de Amiens, Amiens, France. Begun 1220-88 CE. (16-21)
Ste.-Chapelle interior, Paris, France. 1243-48 CE. (16-28)
* Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury, England. 1220-1270 CE. (16-36-38)
Terminology
ambulatory
apse
arcade
chevet
choir
clerestory
colonettes
compound pier
flying buttress
groin vault
narthex
nave
pointed arch
rib vault
stringcourse
tracery
transept
trefoil, quatrefoil,
multifoil
triforium
Bibliography
Andrews, Francis. The Mediaeval Builder and His Methods. New York: Barnes & Noble,
1993.
Branner, Robert. Gothic Architecture. New York: George Braziller, 1965.
Grodecki, Louis. Gothic Architecture. New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1985.
Mark, Robert. Light, Wind, Structure: The Mystery of the Master Builders. Cambridge: MIT
Press, 1994.
Wilson, Christopher. The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 11301530. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1990.