Easy Art History Timeline

Global Prehistory

30,000 BCE – 500 BCE

 Animal and Hunting Imagery

 Fertility Figures
 Geometric Decoration

Three Examples

 Venus of Willendorf
 Apollo 11 stones
 Bushel with Ibex Motifs examples

Ancient Near East

3500 – 330 BCE

 Cradle of civilization, also known as the Fertile Crescent

 Religious Imagery, especially individual worship
 Ziggurats are the main form of monumental architecture

Three Examples

 White Ziggurat
 Standard of Ur
 Stele of Hammurabi
 Pyramid of Giza
 Tutankhamun’s Mask
 Hunefer, Book of the Dead
 Venus di Milo
 Acropolis
 Winged Nike of Samothrace

Ancient Rome

753 BCE – 476 BCE

 Inspired by Ancient Greece

 Focus on the legacy of the individual and the state
 Political buildings at the center of life

Three examples

 Colosseum
 Pantheon
 Augustus of Primaporta

Early Christian
C. 100 CE – 400 CE

 Use of symbolism because Christianity was illegal

 Focus on death and researcher
 Connections between Old and New Testaments

Three Examples

 Catacomb of Priscila – Christ as Good Shepherd

 Sarcophagus of Junius Bassius
 Santa Sabina

Byzantine

330 CE – 1453 CE

 Main medium = Mosaics

 Churches with Rounded Domes
 Strong, religious imagery

Three Examples

 San Vitale Justinian

 Hagia Sophia
 Christ as good Shepherd of Galla Placidia

Islamic

C. 640 CE – 1475 CE

 Calligraphy and plant imagery, very few human figures

 Vibrant colors
 Pointed architectural elements

Three Examples

 Dome of the Rock

 Great Mosque Cordoba Spain
 Tiles in the courtyard of the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul

Medieval

C. 500CE – 1450 CE

 Illuminated manuscripts and cathedrals

 Rich and expensive materials
 Two dimensional

Three Examples

 Lindisfarne Gospels
 Bayeux Tapestry
  St. Foy

Renaissance

C. 1400 – 1600

 Individualism and Scholarship

 Realism
 Rise of three dimensionality

Three Examples

 Mona lisa
 School of Athens
 Creation of Adam

Mannerism

1527 – 1580

 Elongated Human forms, almost unnatural

 Stark, contrasting colors
 Stylized composition

Three Examples

 Madonna of the Long Neck

 Burial of Count Orgaz
 Entombment

Baroque

1600 – 1750

 Dramatic subjects
 Stark contrast of light and dark
 Complex composition

Three Examples

 Calling of St. Matthew

 Abduction of Persaphone
 The Fall of Man

Racoco

1700 – 1780

 Soft, pastel colors

 Romantic subjects
 Emphasis on natural environments
Three Examples

 Pilgrimage to Cythera
 The Swing
 The Triumph of Venus

Neoclassic

1750 – 1850

 Stylized and structured composition, almost formulaic

 Inspiration from classical antiquity
 Showcase stories from history

Three Examples

 Oath of the Horatii

 The Coronation of Napoleon
 The Death of Marat

Romanticism

1780 – 1850

 Passion over intellect

 Emphasis on the individual
 Elongated lines and composition

Three Examples

 Liberty Leading the People

 The Raft of the Medusa
 Third of May

Realism

1850 – 1900

 Accurate portrayal of Daily Life

 Ordinary people, not goods, biblical, or history stories
 Attention to the smallest details

Three Examples

 Stonebreakers
 The Gleaners
 October

Impressionism

1865 – 1885
  Short, quick brush strokes
 Exploration of light and shadow
 Inspired by daily, modern life

Three Examples

 Water Lilies – Setting Sun

 Luncheon of Boating Party
 The Ballest Class

Post Impressionism

1885 – 1910

 Subjective, what is art?

 Individual, artistic styles.
 Vibrant Colors

Three Examples

 Starry Night
 At the Moulin Rouge
 Basket of Apples

Expressionism

1905 – 1920

 Charged Emotion
 Inspiration outside of Western tradition
 Distortion forms

Three Examples

 The Scream
 Lady in a Green Jacket
 Nollendorfplat

Surrealism

1910 – 1950

 Limited only by the Artist’s Imagination

 Argument against rationality
 Bizarre subject matter

Three Examples

 Persistence of Memory
 The Elephant Celebes
  The Treachery of Images

Contemporary

1950 – Present

 Variety of smaller movements and the individual style of an artist

 New mediums and methods of expression
 Anything can be art

Three Examples

 Marilyn Diptych
 A Book of the Sky
 Dancing at the Louvre