Art History Important Notes

8/12/2019 Art History Important Notes

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Art History Important NotesChapter one: pre-Historic Art

Most important artworks:

- Venus of Willendorfo 28,00025,000 BCEo Femaleo Huge Breasts, bellyo The cap on her head, 70 bumpso Carved from limestoneo One of the Venus figurineso Anthropomorphism: Fertilityo Importance of women in that timeo The idea of a cycle and re-birtho A deity, the god of fertilityo May have been used as a piece of jewelry

- Human with Feliene Heado 30,00028,000 BCEo Some of the earliest surviving artworks from the Paleolithic period in Europe are small

statuettes of humans.

o An ivory Sculpture, the oldest known zoomorphic (animal-shaped) sculpture in theworld.

o Anthropomorphism: an animal having the characteristics of humans.o Could be a deity

Vocabulary

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


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Chapter 2: SANBAN

- Neolithic Revolution : When humans gave up the roles of hunter and gatherer for the morepredictable life of farmer and gatherer.

- First occurred in Mesopotamia, a Greek word that means the "land between the [Tigris andEuphrates] rivers.- The Sumerians occupied the lower valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is

now southern Iraq.

- They established urban communities and developed the earliest known writing system.- Beginning around 3200 BCE, the Sumerians constructed ziggurats and -- produced small-scale sculptures and objects carved from alabaster, gypsum, lapis lazuli,

limestone, marble, and wood.

- Details and decorative elements were often inlaid using shell, lapis lazuli, red limestone, blacklimestone, and gold.

- Ancient Sumer was not a unified nation but was made up of a dozen or so independent city-states.Each was thought to be under the protection of a different Mesopotamian deity.

- The Sumerian city plan reflected the central role of the local god in the daily life of the of hecity-states occupants. The temple was not only the focus of local religious practice but also an

administrative and economic center.

SANBAN kingdoms

- Sumer- Akkad- Neo- Sumer- Babylon- Assyria- Neo-Babylon-

Vocabulary

- sacerdotal intermediary- Aptropaic: a guardian to push away evil spirits.- Speculate: to think, meditate or reflect on a subject; to deliberate or cogitate.- Votive: somebody beseeching- Hierarchical proportions- Liminality: the sensation the designer wants you to feel once you enter a building

o Latin base: lmen, meaning "a threshold"- Register of Friezes: the technique used by early Sumerians to depict a story (dividing lines.)- Civilization: Latin base: Citizen of a city- Ancient near east


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Philosophy

- Sacero Latin for sacred not only holyo Unreal, unfamiliar

- Profanuso Latin for profane not only BADo Means familiar, what is known, what is safe

- They wanted to know what to do with known things and unknown thingso 3000 Gods, Needso Sacerdotal intermediately

Priest A link to the gods

oSumer

Kings aren't as important as priests, they want to be more important, they namethemselves GODS.

Sumerians

- 4000 BCE- Why the first civilization?

o There are other people doing the same things simultaneously- Invented

o writingo Wheelo Plow: farmingo Writing

- First to plan a city- Location

o Modern day Iraqo Mesopotamia, Fertile crescent

2 rivers: Tigers, and EuphratesAkkadian

- Semitic based: they were a near east people who spoke a language related to Hebrew andArabic.

- Their language was entirely different from the language of sumer, but they used the sameCuneiform Sumerians did.

- Founder was Sargon of Akkad, who founded the city of Akkad, the capital.


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Assyria

- Many of the kings share begging of the nameo Assur-something > Assur is a god!

- AssurNasirpal- Makes a new palace, a new capital

o Walls of the palace nailed up skins and flesh of enemieso Skulls in a columno A hill of bloodo Fearsome, powerful, blood thirsty

- His imageo Horned cap: sacerdotal intermediaryo Profile picture! But some changes

Bearded Winged

o Fighting lion- Picture with the tree of life

o Devine- The palace

o A modern-day drawing of the palace Colorful Half lion half man Action shots: horses, winged creatures >> nervous

o From outside Skin of enemies nailed up them A tower of skulls A hill full of blood

o Inside Colorfull Full of pannels

Assyrian walls, Bas-Relief: carving the wall- Sargon II- Reaching back to Sumer, Sargon II- Lamasu:

o Hugeo New-York, London, Pariso Apotropaic


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Chapter 3: Egypt

Introduction

Time

Lasted 3000 years United, Circa: 3000 BCE

Scale

Pyramidso 13.5 acerso 2.5 millions blockso Block= 5000 lbso Tallest structures on earth for 4000 years

Then comes in Eiffel 1889.

Mystery All are fascinated by Egypt: Americans, French, Romans. Writing unknown

o 15000 years, to know the writingo Napoleon found the Rosetta stone

1799

Vocabulary

Ferocity Portal Circa: approximately Iconography

o Graphy: Depictiono Icon: Symbol

Funerary: afterlife Composite view Semiotics: how people understand codes Androgynies: not male nor female Ankh: life Djet: Stability Appropriate Ephemeral Commemorate Encaustic


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Important artworks

Palette of narmer 3000 BCE Made of slate

Story Narmer unifying EgyptCelebrating the unionTotal Fearo Narmer is beating someoneo Servant holding shoeso 10 decapitate bodies: dont miss with narmer

Symbols and Ideas In Egypt Fashion doesnt change/continuity/same art

Composite view

Hores, the bird, flies into the sun without fearo When narmer dies he becomes Horeso Pharos are god like

Symbols of both halves of Egypto Two hats

The bullo One of the gods/strength of Egypt

Hanging in publico Propaganda

Continuity and transformation Narm-sinGudea

Step Pyramid of King Djoser 2650 BCE Sandstone

Story A showy tomb400 Years after Narmer

Symbols and Ideas First artist known in historyo Imhotep

Ka Vs. Ba /sacer Vs. ProfanusTombs were always on the left

side.

Continuity and transformation Sacer and profanusZiggurat influence


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Great Pyramid of Gizeh Sandstone 2500 BCE

Story Khufu, khafre, menkareu

Symbols and Ideas Orientation of the compass Tips in

gold/Transformation Geometry

o Square totriangle/Tetragon

o Control geometry Not really a tomb, the

pasage into immortality Boarder between life and

after life

Inside, everything youneed for afterlife

Passages anddoorways>travelling

Continuity and transformation Ziggurato Orientation

Great Sphinx Sandstone 2500 BCEo Apotropaico Nimeso Pythagoras: numbers of spiritual value

Statue of Khafre Diorite 2500 BCE

Story o They put the food infornt of him in the afterlifeo This was not public art, meant for the gods and servants in the

tombSymbols and Ideas Hores the falcon

Lions head/powerNimesTwo flowerso Popirous and lotuso Lower and upper egypt


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diorite Stable Immortal No subtraction in the rock

Statue of Menkaure and wife Diorite 2480 BCE

Story o Hands make a fistSymbols and Ideas o Lower and upper egypt

o Femininityo Nimes

Egyptian Glyphs:- Ankh: A symbol of life, all over the arts Djet: Stability

o Columnso Symbolizing stability in buildings

Egyptians art follows same path, with some continuity Ba: Bird that carries thee soul to the afterlife Scarab: A symbol for rebirth

o Looks like a coackroach

Name Ti watching a hippopotamus

Date/Form Circa 2400

Story Tio He is not a phraoh, wealthy classo He is in charge of all the buildings in his town

Found in his a mastabao Important enough to have a mastaba

Depiction of a normal Scene: watching a haunt. \

Symbols and Ideas Hierarchal proprtionscomposite view

Hippo: disturbs cropso Evil, must be destroyedo Becomes a symbol of evilness then becomes a symbol for Seth

Cautionary tale: you have to destroy evil.


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Name Seated scribe

Date/Form normal stone

Story A writero Very important, because they write for people to get to the after

lifeFunction: making sure they go to the afterlife

Symbols and Ideas The less the formality the more normal features are portrayedThink Vs. the pharoh

Name Hatchapsut statue

Date/Form Circa 1450 BCE

Story A woman Pharoh, husband dies, she decides to take overYou cant question a pharaoh, nobody talks about her being a woman.

o Wear a Nimes: Everything is goodSon decides to take over after he became 18 yearso He destroys the art works of her

Symbols and Ideas The Art is still the same even 1000 years later

Name Funerary temple Hatshepsut

Date/Form 1450 BCE

Story The base of the mountain

Name Akhnaten

Date/Form

Story Changes the Canon of proportionsOne exception, he makes Egypt monotheisticTransformation in Egypto The god is only the sun god: ATEN

On his time the priests were so powerful, he wantedto limit it

o Moves the capital, from thieves to Amanao Changes the rule book of are, cthe canon of proportions >o Changes his name from Amonhpoteop IV to Akhenaton

(who serves Akhenaton)His mummy was not found

Symbols and Ideas Curves


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o Amarna phase of Egyptian artContinuity and

transformation

Combining pre historic power: woman with Egyptian power: a

man

Name The tomb of TUT

Date/Form Circa 1323

Story Pharaoh for 10 years, his tomb wasn't robbedWhen the found it 1920o 5000 OBJECTS

Symbols and Ideas Cobra: apotropaic


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Chapter 4 and 5: pre-Greek and Greek Art

Vocabulary

Repousse Panethon Arete Polyprogmosyne Homeric Ideal Ephebe

o young men my age!o Round educationo Hoemric ideal

Krater: a pot in a magbara Gigantomachy: battle between human and darkness Ponder

Ethos: serenity Symposia Symmetria: make order out of non order. Classic

o Best example, modle Allegory

o Digging into something deepero Allegorical debate.

Contrapastoo Balance of the legs

Nike: victory Psycha-gagia: the power of art to sway your emotions.

o Semiotics Narcissism Acropolis: Highest point at a city.

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

Minoans- Themes

o Harmony with natureo Taking stuff form china

Daoism- Centered at Crete

o Knossos, peaceful No forts no walls


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Philosophyo Frescoes in the palace

Nature Composite view Imitating Egypt

o Thrown room Pretty stuff!

o All over the palace, bulls Coming of age! Celebrating sex!

o Snake goddess Dozens of them A cat on her head: a popular pet at Egypt

A symbol of sensuality Snake

A symbol for time Changing skin: rebirth

Need to be conscious about timeGreek basics

Pantheono All godso Pan: allo Theo: godo Gods are envisioned

They are anthropomorphic In the form of human: Human attributes. Greeks like them selves, they could be a god.

The greatness of humans. God's aren't perfect > just like humans. They are portrayed as humans in Art

o Gods lives on mount Olympus. Oracle at Delphi

o Apollo: sun, light, music Delphi is surrounded by a python, he slays the big snake. Becomes a symbol of human intelligence fighting dark forces. Gigantomachia

o To the Greeks delphi is the center of human intelligenceo The navel of the wordo Everything is measured by distance from delphi.o Oracle: Sacerdotal intermediary

Trojan waro 1200 BCE, may or may not have been a war.o 1977: Heinrich schliemann

Found the ruins of the city, and the mask >> Agamemnon WE DONT KNOW IF CORRECT Germany was brand new, they wanted stuff from the ancient world.


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Connect to old things.o Full of sex and violenceo After the war there is a dark age!o Skip 300 years

Homero Circa 800, rote 2 books.o The illiad and Odysseyo Explains where Greeks won.o Journeyo

Arete Striving for excellence

Polyprogmosyne Energy it takes to be successful

Homeric Ideal Your life should be spent striving to be good

Olympicso 776, first olympicso Athens, mount olympuso Not just sports it everything!o Laurel Wreath

Come from the tree Apollo sits under.o Meet every 4 years

Geometric Age

Dipylon Cemetery Krater 740 BCE

Story Found In a symmetryo Funerary art

Made of CLAY!

Symbols and Ideas Greeks are fascinated by death not Obsessed!Death is interesting its Sacar.They focus on the human emotions of the death

The pour oil in to the vase, connecting to the dead.At the top, is something called a meandero Symbol in Greek arto Greek keyo Means eternity, the Spirit will last forever

Continuity and transformation Compare to Egypt


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o Nothing like Egypt in after lifeo Sacer vs. Profanus

Herakels and nessos Bronze 740 BCE

Story Herakels is fighting the half man half animal, Centuar.

Symbols and Ideas The human body is not yet in shape.NudityGigantomachy: battle between humans and centuars.

Continuity and transformation Assyriao Assurbanipalo Lamassu

Lady of auxerre Limestone Circa 650

Story

Symbols and Ideas Frontalityo Not like Egyptians in the composite

UnnaturalBare feeto Priestess or goddess

Provenance:

Continuity and transformation Egypt

The archaic age

Kourus Marble 600 BCE

Story

Symbols and Ideas Ephebe is alive this is dead.o The word means ideal young man

Semiotics: inspired by what a young person can do.

Continuity and transformation Compare to Menkaureo Negative spaceo Both funerary


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Grave stele of a youth and a little girl Marble 530 BCE

Story Storyo A young man and his sister.o Something in his arm

A pot of oil!o The beauty of the physical body

Symbols and Ideas 13 ft steleo Link to the heavens

A fruit in his hando Pomegranate

A symbol of death and rebirtho

Your spirit will surviveSphinxo It was put up their to Cultivate a debateo Not apotrapaico

Ethos: calm serenity Power and brutality

Ejected at the face Ejected in the legs

o Paradox Vs. Balance

Continuity and

transformation

Jesus hands 1500 years later pomegrant

Achilles and penthesilea Terracotta Amphora Exekias 450 BCE

Story Trojan warAchillies a great warrior, and a pantheslia.o Amazon women warrior groups.o Amazon choose the Trojan to side with in the trojan war

Things that surprise u in life, he was just about to kill her, but now he

fell in love with hero Very Theatrical

Symbols and Ideas SymopsiaSmaller bottom than a topIts not painted, wet clay with pastery bag.Meander


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Ajax and Achillies playing Dice Teracotta amphora Exekias 540 BCE

Story During the war they are playing a game!

Symbols and Ideas EthosParadox Vs. Balance

Symmetria: Balance out of Chaos

Continuity and transformation More realistic

Athena Charioteering Herakles to Olympus Teracotta Amphora Exekias 540 BCE

Death of sarpedon Terracotta Amphora Euphronius 515 BCE

Story Metropoltain museum for a million dollarso Thomas hoving

The hot pot is commercialized!o You'll understand the world better if u see ito 1970: vietnam .. Understand the frustration

One of Zeus' sons dies, zeus just weeps, he cant do anything

about it.

Symbols and Ideas Sleep and death on left and right

Panatheniac Prize Terracotta amphora Euphranious 530 BCE

Story No story

Symbols and Ideas We all should be like Apollo.

Continuity and transformation

Hetaerae Symposium Terracotta amphora Euphranious 515 BCE

Symbols and Ideas Dinosiso God of a lot of things: music harmony, epiphanies, wineo He can die and come back to life

Architecture

Four buildings, all from 600 - 490


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They are not scary, not like ziggurat, Its pride in achievement Whats inside:

o Statue of the goddess or godo the tresury

An apotropic figure to protect the money from thieves They worship geometry and math. Count the columns when you go into the temple

Temple of Hera Paestum, italy 550-540 BCE

Story Colonists from Greece, expanding out.Everything inside was robbed

Symbols and Ideas Read architectural designso Count the columns on the east and westren sides.

Sun rise sun down

o 9 columns Culmination of life's journey Thinking about human knowledge

o Rectangular in shape: EternityPeripetral style: columns in one row.o "Greeks devised a pertipal style of the columns."

Continuity and

transformation

Taking out Egypt's Djet, its not just stability its reaching up for

heavens and reaching out to nature.

Temple of Artemis Island of Corfu 600 - 580

o Goddesso Angle Corfuo Also built from rich people olive oilo Pediment: a triangle roof, on it a storyo Apotropaic figure: medusa

Practicing! Not as complicated

Treasury of Siphians Sanctuary of Apollo Delphi 530 - 525 BCE

o A group of a temple complex to apolloo But this temple was named after this group they are rhcih Gold tradeo Caryatid: The columns are women!o Acknowledgment of women.

They are only for supporto Take advantage of another guy of pidement, bas reliefe a freeze.


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Trojan war Like

Temple of Aphibao Goddesso Rhich ppl // shipping wineo Count the columns

Feminineo The capital on top f the column: rectangular

Doric capital Symbol of muscularity and power

o 6 columns + Doric capital = balance Women and men

o Pediment: improved!The Greek miracle

5th century BCE, "the Greek miracle"

Development of democracyo Demos: peopleo Cracy: rule or government.o Greece isn't unified, city states (polis)o Athens, they dont like the king, they get rid of it.

What do we do? All rich business men get in charge

Still dis-statisfaction of the people To grumble

o Cleisthenes Committee Invest each citizen into the running of Athens Vote on thingsm each Citezens

Citizen = pure Greeks Not citzs = women, slaves.

10% only could vote!! The Persian wars

o Most important war in historyo Greeks have connections using trades.

Athens encouraging stop of monarchy and empires So all other empires go after it.

o 490 BCE: battle of the marathon!! The TINY GREEKS WON! Keber ras-hom We won because of the system!

o 480 BCE: Persians coming back to retaliate Every polis wants to take the battle to be remembered. Defeat of the Greeks, losing democracy!

They become motivated


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o 479 BCE: Athens is burnt as the Persian go back. A play called: the Oresteia

o Sex, violence and revengeo The end of the play Athena appears, and orders to stop the stupid revenge

"order and harmony must win" Not about killing each other, it is about we must be civil.

o Who rote it was a soldier in the Persian war The golden age of Athens

o 5th century BCEo Arete, polyprogmosyne: Rebuild Athenso Golden age

Peace Prosperity Explosion of culture

o 479 - 429 BCE, GOLDEN AGE only 50 years. Pericles

o Guides the olden ageo In charge of Athens for 30 yearso He isn't a king he Is democratically elected each year.

Doesnt seize power .o Also a general!o Public money on art

Create a city that teaches the entire world how to be civilized "Athens is school hellas"

Athens is a perfect Socity which all the world must learn from.

The art is supposed to teach you, support Athens

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

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

Pan-athenaic processiono Every year they go on the parade


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o 5 stops Cemetery: Dipylon cemetery

Potential Edges of the cemetery, the Cyprus tree, it means hope

Schools Ephebes

Agora Business are, rich Good at business because well educated

Areopagus Mountain of Ares Where they meet to discuss wars

Acropolis Highest point in the city, thrilled and amazed by the city You are invested in the project

Classical Age

Diskobolos Myron Marble Statue (Roman Copy) Myorn Circa 450

Story Doing sports nakedOlympics

Symbols and Ideas Ethos: not stressed.Were not to be emotional were to

celebrate the human bodyDynamicRoman copyo The tree behind, the Romans

aren't as confident in balance.

Continuity and transformation Compare to Kouros

Temple of zeus Circa 450

Story "Apollo Decreeing order"

o He I saying "STOP, we musthave order"

"Athena, Herakles, and Atlas"

Symbols and Ideas Templeo Meander, Ionic Style, Columns


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Apollo's figureo One arm out, one armo down:

SymmetriaHerkaleso He is holding up the world, he

has the ability to do that.o Athena is behind him maybe

supporting himo "The Triumph of marathon gave

Athenians confidence"o Ethos

Charioteer the sanctuary of Apollo Bronze Statue 470

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

o Ethos

Zeus or Poseidon Bronze Statue 450

o Bronzeo Balance of the legso Humanism

The Parthenon Athena sculpture thereo Every year they change their skirts

Acropolis complexo 448 - 432o Periclies want to buildo Circa 450o Athena's Parthenon

Iktinos & kalikrates Perfect equation to build the temple Not architects ? x=2y+1

The most imitated building in world history 8 columns

Rebirth and music Starting over.

Illusion Everything is bent so we can have the illusion of

perfection. The Athena statue Pediment


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The birth of Athena Fight of posiedon vs. Athena Metope

Bas relief sculptures under the pediment Centaurs Vs. Lapiths

Walking up the temple Pediment with gods then metopes with allegories

then friezes with humans. Allegory: Depicts the story of the

Persian waro Natural with man made, harmony between gods and mortals

The rocks are exposed on the building. Liminality

o Some of what the Persians did is kept there. Persians are the python now. Greeks need to Learn from history Celebrate them selves

o Journey Walk on natural rock Walk through the gate on ur right the athena nike

temple.

Hellenistic Greece

Nike adjusting her sandalsStory Athena Adjusting her sandals

Symbols and Ideas "the gods are less Olympian"o Doing human like things

ContraposttaBalanceo Her wings

Amphiprostyle temple 2 porches with columns Capital: Ionic

Eroticism going outChiten The silk dress.

Apollo with the lizardo Its not philosophical


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Porch of caryatidso Contraposttao Poseidon vs. Athenao Semiotics

Reminded of a recent historical even where Athens is trying to expand The way they treat the people they capture is changed, murder the men, and in-slave

women They value slavery? Were the only ones that matter. Pericles ends 429, the golden age ends 429

Grave steleo 410 - 400o Looks like a Greek templeo Power and Prosperityo This is more about the money that they haveo A women on a grave Steleo Maid and her ownero Feminism

Interest in woman's righto Social classes

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Art History Important Notes