Introduction to History of European Art: Europe & the Mediterranean

September 3
rd


- First major civilization: Minoan (Crete) (1650-1400BC)
- Took Slavic script from Cretans
- Palace of Knossos -> Frescoes
- Related to the famous myth of the Minotaur in the Labyrinth of Knossos
- Women would be sent to be eaten by it
- Frescoes were result of other engagements; tradition from the south
- Toreador fresco, Knossos (Late Minoan)
- Closely related to frescoes down in Egypt. Ergo makes them something thats been
developed
- Toreador fresco -> Avaris (Nile, Delta, Egypt) Minoan-style painting (18
th

dynasty)
- Mask of Agamemnon Mycenae, 1300 BC
- Iconic image of the early Greeks
- Most probably result the Greeks reflecting of whats happening in art in
Egypt
- Gold mask to cover the face of the dead
- Romanization Romans gave other people their language, their law, their art.
Base expansion of Roman empire.
- Mediterranean: Result of dialogue & interaction
- Giotto: nature is his primary concern, not tradition (1300 AD)
- Continuity & discontinuity -> evolution
- TRADITION.
- Ex: Death of Meleager (Roman sarcophagus 2
nd
c. AD) & Giotto Padova
(1300 AD)
- Ex: Death of Achilles (Greece 6
th
BC) & Donatello Padova (Italy 15
th
c.)
- Look at nature through the eyes of history