Lesson 2

History of Art

History of Stone Age Art (2.5 million-3,000 BCE Before Common Era)

Prehistoric art (Links to an external site.) comes from three epochs of prehistory: Paleolithic,
Mesolithic and Neolithic. The earliest recorded art (Links to an external site.) is the Bhimbetka
petroglyphs (Links to an external site.) (a set of 10 cupules and an engraving or groove) found in a
quartzite rock shelter known as Auditorium cave at Bhimbetka in central India, dating from at least
290,000 BCE.

However, it may turn out to be much older (c.700,000 BCE). This primitive rock art was followed, no
later than 250,000 BCE, by simple figurines (eg. Venus of Berekhat Ram [Golan Heights] and Venus of
Tan-Tan [Morocco]), and from 80,000 BCE by the Blombos cave stone engravings, and the cupules (Links
to an external site.) at the Dordogne rock shelter at La Ferrassie. Prehistoric culture and creativity is
closely associated with brain-size and efficiency which impacts directly on "higher" functions such as
language, creative expression and ultimately aesthetics. Thus with the advent of "modern" homo
sapiens painters and sculptors (50,000 BCE onwards) such as Cro-Magnon Man and Grimaldi Man, we
see a huge outburst of magnificent late Paleolthic sculpture and painting in France and the Iberian
peninsular. This comprises a range of miniature obese venus figurines (Links to an external site.)

(eg. the Venuses of Willendorf, Kostenky, Monpazier, Dolni Vestonice, Moravany, Brassempouy,
Gagarino, to name but a few), as well as mammoth ivory carvings found in the caves of Vogelherd and
Hohle Fels in the Swabian Jura. However, the greatest art of prehistory is the cave painting (Links to an
external site.) at Chauvet, Lascaux and Altamira.
History of Bronze Age Art (In Europe: 3000-1200 BCE-Before Common Era)

The most famous examples of Bronze Age art appeared in the 'cradle of civilization' around the
Mediterranean in the Near East, during the rise of Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), Greece, Crete
(Minoan civilization) and Egypt. The emergence of cities, the use of written languages and the
development of more sophisticated tools led the creation of a far wider range of monumental and
portable artworks.

Egyptian Art (from 3100 BCE Before Common Era)

Egypt, arguably the greatest civilization in the history of ancient art (Links to an external site.), was the
first culture to adopt a recognizable style of art. Egyptian painters depicted the head, legs and feet of
their human subjects in profile, while portraying the eye, shoulders, arms and torso from the front.
Other artistic conventions laid down how Gods, Pharaohs and ordinary people should be depicted,
regulating such elements as size, color and figurative position. A series of wonderful Egyptian encaustic
wax paintings, known as the Fayum portraits, offer a fascinating glimpse of Hellenistic culture in Ancient
Egypt. In addition, the unique style of Egyptian architecture (Links to an external site.) featured a range
of massive stone burial chambers, called Pyramids. Egyptian expertise in stone had a huge impact on
later Greek architecture. Famous Egyptian pyramids (Links to an external site.) include: The Step
Pyramid of Djoser (c.2630 BCE), and The Great Pyramid at Giza (c.2550 BCE), also called the Pyramid of
Khufu or 'Pyramid of Cheops'.

Bronze Age Metalwork

Named after the metal which made it prosperous, the Bronze Age period witnessed a host of wonderful
metalwork (Links to an external site.) made from many different materials. This form of metallugy is
exemplified by two extraordinary masterpieces: The "Ram in the Thicket" (c.2500 BCE, British Museum,
London) a small Iraqi sculpture made from gold-leaf, copper, lapis lazuli, and red limestone; and The
"Maikop Gold Bull" (c.2500 BCE, Hermitage, St Petersburg) a miniature gold sculpture of the Maikop
Culpture, North Caucasus, Russia. See also: Assyrian art (Links to an external site.) (c.1500-612 BCE) and
Hittite art (Links to an external site.) (c.1600-1180 BCE). The period also saw the emergence of Chinese
bronzeworks (from c.1750 BCE), in the form of bronze plaques and sculptures often decorated with
Jade, from the Yellow River Basin of Henan Province, Central China.
History of Iron Age Art and Classical Antiquity (c.1500-200 BCE)

Art of Classical Antiquity (Links to an external site.) witnessed a huge growth during this period,
especially in Greece and around the eastern Mediterranean. It coincided with the rise of Hellenic (Greek-
influenced) culture.

Mycenean Art (c.1500-1100 BCE)

Although Mycenae was an independent Greek city in the Greek Peloponnese, the term "Mycenean"
culture is sometimes used to describe early Greek art during the late Bronze Age. Initially very much
under the influence of Minoan culture, Mycenean art (Links to an external site.) gradually achieved its
own balance between the lively naturalism of Crete and the more formal artistic idiom of the mainland,
as exemplified in its numerous tempera frescoes, sculpture, pottery, carved gemstones, jewellery, glass,
ornaments and precious metalwork. Also, in contrast to the Minoan "maritime trading" culture,
Myceneans were warriors, so their art was designed primarily to glorify their secular rulers. It included
several tholos tombs filled with gold work, ornamental weapons and precious jewellery.

Ancient Greek Art (c.1100-100 BCE)

Ancient Greek art (Links to an external site.) is traditionally divided into the following periods: (1) the
Dark Ages (c.1100-900 BCE). (2) The Geometric Period (c.900-700 BCE). (3) The Oriental-Style Period
(c.700-625 BCE). (4) The Archaic Period (c.625-500 BCE). (5) The Classical Period (c.500-323 BCE). (6) The
Hellenistic Period (c.323-100 BCE). Unfortunately, nearly all Greek painting (Links to an external site.)
and a huge proportion of Greek sculpture (Links to an external site.) has been lost, leaving us with a
collection of ruins or Roman copies. Greek architecture (Links to an external site.), too, is largely known
to us through its ruins. Despite this tiny legacy, Greek artists remain highly revered, which demonstrates
how truly advanced they were.

Like all craftsmen of the Mediterranean area, the ancient Greeks borrowed a number of important
artistic techniques from their neighbours and trading partners. Even so, by the death of the Macedonian
Emperor Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Greek art was regarded in general as the finest ever made.
Even the Romans - despite their awesome engineering and military skills - never quite overcame their
sense of inferiority in the face of Greek craftsmanship, and (fortunately for us) copied Greek artworks
assiduously. Seventeen centuries later, Greek architecture, sculptural reliefs, statues, and pottery would
be rediscovered during the Italian Renaissance, and made the cornerstone of Western art for over 400
years.

Dark Ages

After the fall of the Mycenean civilization (12th century BCE) Greece entered a period of decline, known
as the Dark Ages - because we know so little about it. Sculpture, painting and monumental architecture
almost ceased.

Geometric Period

Then, from around 900 BCE, these arts (created mainly for aristocratic families who had achieved power
during the Dark Ages) reappeared during the Geometric period, named after the decorative designs of
its pottery.

Oriental Period

The succeeding Orientalizing period was characterized by the influence of Near Eastern designwork,
notably curvilinear, zoomorphic and floral patterns.

Archaic Period

The Archaic period was a time of gradual experimentation; the most prized sculptural form was the
kouros (pl.kouroi), or standing male nude. This was followed by the Classical period, which represents
the apogee of Greek art.

Classical Period

Greek architecture blossomed, based on a system of 'Classical Orders' (Doric, Ionic and Corinthian) or
rules for building design, based on proportions of and between the individual parts. The Parthenon on
the Acropolis (Links to an external site.) complex in Athens is the supreme example of classical Greek
architecture: other famous examples include: the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Hephaistos,
the Temple of Athena Nike, the Theatre at Delphi, and the Tholos Temple of Athena Pronaia. In the
plastic arts, great classical Greek sculptors like Polykleitos, Myron, and Phidias demonstrated a mastery
of realism which would remain unsurpassed until the Italian Renaissance. But painting remained the
most-respected art form - notably panel-paintings executed in tempera or encaustic paint - with
renowned Greek painters like Zeuxis, Apelles, and Parrhasius added new techniques of highlighting,
shading and colouring.

History of Medieval Art

Constantinople, Christianity, and Byzantine Art

With the death in 395 CE, of the Emperor Theodosius, the Roman empire was divided into two halves: a
Western half based initially in Rome, until it was sacked in the 5th century CE, then Ravenna; and an
eastern half located in the more secure city of Constantinople. At the same time, Christianity was made
the exclusive official religion of the empire. These two political developments had a huge impact on the
history of Western art. First, relocation to Constantinople helped to prolong Greco-Roman civilization
and culture; second, the growth of Christianity led to an entirely new category of Christian art (Links to
an external site.) which provided architects, painters, sculptors and other craftsmen with what became
the dominant theme in the visual arts for the next 1,200 years. As well as prototype forms of early
Christian art (Links to an external site.), much of which came from the catacombs, it also led directly to
the emergence of Byzantine art.

Art of Byzantium (Constantinople) (330-1450 CE)

Byzantine art (Links to an external site.) was almost entirely religious art (Links to an external site.), and
centred around its Christian architecture. Masterpieces include the awesome Hagia Sophia (532-37) in
Istanbul; the Church of St Sophia in Sofia, Bulgaria (527-65); and the Church of Hagia Sophia in
Thessaloniki. Byzantine art also influenced the Ravenna mosaics (Links to an external site.) in the
Basilicas of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, San Vitale, and Sant' Apollinare in Classe. Secular examples include:
the Great Palace of Constantinople, and Basilica Cistern. As well as new architectural techniques such as
the use of pendentives to spread the weight of the ceiling dome, thus permitting larger interiors, new
decorative methods were introduced like mosaics made from glass, rather than stone. But the Eastern
Orthodox brand of Christianity (unlike its counterpart in Rome), did not allow 3-D artworks like statues
or high reliefs, believing they glorified the human aspect of the flesh rather than the divine nature of the
spirit. Thus, Byzantine art (eg. painting, mosaic works) developed a style of meaningful imagery
(iconography) designed to present complex theology in an amazingly simple way. For example, colours
were used to express different ideas: gold represented Heaven; blue, the colour of human life, and so
on.
After 600 CE, Byzantine architecture progressed through several periods - such as, the Middle Period
(c.600-1100) and the Comnenian and Paleologan periods (c.1100-1450) - gradually becoming more and
more influenced by eastern traditions of construction and decoration. In Western Europe, Byzantine
architecture was superceded by Romanesque and Gothic styles, while in the Near East it continued to
have a significant influence on early Islamic architecture, as illustrated by the Umayyad Great Mosque of
Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Byzantine Painting

In the absence of sculpture, Byzantine artists specialized in 2-D painting, becoming masters of panel-
painting, including miniatures - notably icons - and manuscript illumination. Their works had a huge
influence on artists throughout western and central Europe, as well as the Islamic countries of the
Middle East.

History of Renaissance Art (c.1300-1620)

Strongly influenced by International Gothic (Links to an external site.), the European revival of fine art
between roughly 1300 and 1600, popularly known as "the Renaissance", was a unique and (in many
respects) inexplicable phenomenon, not least because of (1) the Black Death plague (1346), which wiped
out one third of the European population; (2) the 100 Years War between England and France (1339-
1439) and (3) the Reformation (c.1520) - none of which was conducive to the development of the visual
arts. Fortunately, certain factors in the Renaissance heartland of Florence and Rome - notably the
energy and huge wealth of the Florentine Medici family (Links to an external site.), and the Papal
ambitions of Pope Sixtus IV (1471-84), Pope Julius II (1503-13), Pope Leo X (1513-21) and Pope Paul III
(1534-45) - succeeded in overcoming all natural obstacles, even if the Church was almost bankrupted in
the process.

Renaissance art (Links to an external site.) was founded on classicism (Links to an external site.) - an
appreciation of the arts of Classical Antiquity, a belief in the nobility of Man, as well as artistic advances
in both linear perspective and realism. It evolved in three main Italian cities: first Florence (Links to an
external site.), then Rome (Links to an external site.), and lastly Venice (Links to an external site.).
Renaissance chronology is usually listed as follows:
Proto-Renaissance (Links to an external site.)(c.1300-1400)

This introductory period was largely instigated by the revolutionary painting style of Giotto (1270-1337),
whose fresco cycle in the Capella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel) in Padua introduced a new realism into
painting which challenged many of the iconographic conventions then in use.

EarlyRenaissance (Links to an external site.)(c.1400-1490)

Triggered in part by the unearthing of a copy of De Architectura ("Ten Books Conerning Architecture")
by the 1st century Roman architect Vitruvius (c.78-10 BCE), and Filippo Brunelleschi's magnificent 1418
design for the dome of Florence's Gothic cathedral (1420-36), this period of activity was centred on
Florence. Major early Renaissance artists included the architect Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), the
sculptor Donatello (1386-1466), and the painter Tommaso Masaccio (c.1401-28). Later important
contributors included Piero della Francesca (1420-92), Antonio del Pollaiuolo (1432-98) and Botticelli
(1445-1510), plus the Northerner Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506)

History of Post-Renaissance Art

Baroque Art (c.1600-1700)

It was during this period that the Catholic Counter-Reformation got going in an attempt to attract the
masses away from Protestantism. Renewed patronage of the visual arts and architecture was a key
feature of this propaganda campaign, and led to a grander, more theatrical style in both areas. This new
style, known as Baroque art (Links to an external site.) was effectively the highpoint of dramatic
Mannerism.

Baroque architecture took full advantage of the theatrical potential of the urban landscape, exemplified
by Saint Peter's Square (1656-67) in Rome, in front of the domed St Peter's Basilica. Its architect,
Gianlorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) employed a widening series of colonnades in the approach to the
cathedral, conveying the impression to visitors that they are being embraced by the arms of the Catholic
Church. The entire approach is constructed on a gigantic scale, to induce feelings of awe.

In painting, the greatest exponent of Catholic Counter-Reformation art (Links to an external site.) was
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) - "the Prince of painters and the painter of Princes". Other leading
Catholic artists included Diego Velazquez (1599-1660), Francisco Zurbaran (1598-1664) and Nicolas
Poussin (1594-1665).
In Protestant Northern Europe, the Baroque era was marked by the flowering of Dutch Realist genre
painting (Links to an external site.), a style uniquely suited to the new bourgeois patrons of small-scale
interiors, genre-paintings, portraits, landscapes and still lifes. Several schools of 17th century Dutch
painting (Links to an external site.) sprang up including those of Haarlem, Delft, Utrecht, and Leiden.
Leading members included the two immortals Rembrandt (1606-1669) and Jan Vermeer (1632-1675), as
well as Frans Snyders (1579-1657), Frans Hals (1581-1666), Adriaen Brouwer (1605-38), Jan Davidsz de
Heem (1606-84), Adriaen van Ostade (1610-85), David Teniers the Younger (1610-90), Gerard Terborch
(1617-81), Jan Steen (1626-79), Pieter de Hooch (1629-83), and the landscape painters Aelbert Cuyp
(1620-91), Jacob van Ruisdael (1628-82) and Meyndert Hobbema (1638-1709), among others.

Rococo Art (c.1700-1789)

This new style of decorative art, known as Rococo (Links to an external site.), impacted most on interior-
design, although architecture, painting and sculpture were also affected. Essentially a reaction against
the seriousness of the Baroque, Rococo was a light-hearted, almost whimsical style which grew up in the
French court at the Palace of Versailles (Links to an external site.) before spreading across Europe.
Rococo designers employed the full gamut of plasterwork, murals, tapestries, furniture, mirrors,
porcelain, silks and other embellishments to give the householder a complete aesthetic experience. In
painting, the Rococo style was championed by the French artists Watteau (1684-1721), Fragonard (1732-
1806), and Boucher (1703-70). But the greatest works were produced by the Venetian Giambattista
Tiepolo (1696-1770) whose fantastic wall and ceiling fresco paintings took Rococo to new heights. See in
particular the renaissance of French Decorative Art (Links to an external site.) (1640-1792), created by
French Designers especially in the form of French Furniture (Links to an external site.), at Versailles and
other Royal Chateaux, in the style of Louis Quatorze (XIV), Louis Quinze (XV) and Louis Seize (XVI). As it
was, Rococo symbolized the decadent indolence and degeneracy of the French aristocracy. Because of
this, it was swept away by the French Revolution which ushered in the new sterner Neoclassicism, more
in keeping with the Age of Enlightenment and Reason.

Neoclassical Art (Flourished c.1790-1830)

In architecture, Neoclassicism derived from the more restrained "classical" forms of Baroque practised
in England by Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), who designed St Paul's Cathedral. Yet another return to
the Classical Orders of Greco-Roman Antiquity, the style was characterized by monumental structures,
supported by columns of pillars, and topped with classical Renaissance domes. Employing innovations
like layered cupolas, it lent added grandeur to palaces, churches, and other public structures. Famous
Neoclassical buildings include: the Pantheon (Paris) designed by Jacques Germain Soufflot (1756-97), the
Arc de Triomphe (Paris) designed by Jean Chalgrin, the Brandenburg Gate (Berlin) designed by Carl
Gotthard Langhans (1732-1808), and the United States Capitol Building, designed by English-born
Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820), and later by Stephen Hallet and Charles Bulfinch.

Neoclassicist painters also looked to Classical Antiquity for inspiration, and emphasized the virtues of
heroicism, duty and gravitas. Leading exponents included the French political artist Jacques-Louis David
(1748-1825), the German portrait and history painter Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-79), and the French
master of the Academic art (Links to an external site.) style, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780-
1867). Neoclassical sculptors included: Antonio Canova (1757-1822),

Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), and Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828).

Romanticism Movement (Flourished c.1790-1830)

In contrast to the universal values espoused by Neo-Classicism, Romantic artists expressed a more
personal response to life, relying more on their senses and emotions rather than reason and intellect.
This idealism, like Neoclassism, was encouraged by the French Revolution, thus some artists were
affected by both styles. Nature was an important subject for Romantics, and the style is exemplified, by
the English School of Landscape Painting (Links to an external site.), the plein air painting of John
Constable (1776-1837), Corot (1796-1875) along with members of the French Barbizon School (Links to
an external site.) and the American Hudson River School of landscape painting (Links to an external
site.), as well as the more expressionistic JMW Turner (1775-1851). Arguably, however, the greatest
Romantic landscape painter is arguably Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). Narrative or history painting
was another important genre in Romanticism: leading exponents include: Francisco Goya (1746-1828)
Henry Fuseli (1741-1825), James Barry (1741-1806), Theodore Gericault (1791-1824) and Eugene
Delacroix (1798-63), as well as later exponents of Orientalist painting (Links to an external site.), and
moody Pre-Raphaelites (Links to an external site.) and Symbolists.

Realism (c.1845 onwards)

As the 19th century progessed, growing awareness of the rights of man plus the social impact of the
Industrial Revolution caused some artists to move away from idealistic or romantic subjects in favour of
more mundane subjects, depicted in a more true-life, style of naturalism (Links to an external site.). This
new focus (to some extent anticipated by William Hogarth in the 18th century, see English Figurative
Painting (Links to an external site.)) was exemplified by the Realism (Links to an external site.) style
which emerged in France during the 1840s, before spreading across Europe. This new style attracted
painters from all the genres - notably Gustave Courbet (1819-77) (genre-painting), Jean Francois Millet
(1814-75) (landscape, rural life), Honore Daumier (1808-79) (urban life) and Ilya Repin (1844-1930)
(landscape and portraits)

History of Modern Art (Links to an external site.)

Impressionism (c.1870-80)

French Impressionism (Links to an external site.), championed above all by Claude Monet (1840-1926),
was a spontaneous colour-sensitive style of pleinairism whose origins derived from Jean-Baptiste
Camille Corot and the techniques of the Barbizon school - whose quest was to depict the momentary
effects of natural light. It encompassed rural landscapes [Alfred Sisley (1839-1899)], cityscapes [Camille
Pissarro (1830-1903)], genre scenes [Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Paul
Cezanne (1839-1906), and Berthe Morisot (1841-95)] and both figurative paintings and portraits
[Edouard Manet (1832-83), John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)]. Other artists associated with
Impressionism include, James McNeil Whistler (1834-1903) and Walter Sickert (1860-1942).

Impressionists sought to faithfully reproduce fleeting moments outdoors. Thus if an object appeared
dark purple - due perhaps to failing or reflected light - then the artist painted it purple. Naturalist
"Academic-Style" colour schemes, being devised in theory or at least in the studio, did not allow for this.
As a result Impressionism offered a whole new pictorial language - one that paved the way for more
revolutionary art movements like Cubism - and is often regarded by historians and critics as the first
modern school of painting.

In any event, the style had a massive impact on Parisian and world art, and was the gateway to a series
of colour-related movements, including Post-Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, Pointillism,
Divisionism, Fauvism, Intimism, the American Luminism (Links to an external site.) or Tonalism, as well
as American Impressionism (Links to an external site.), the Newlyn School and Camden Town Group
(Links to an external site.), the French Les

History of Contemporary Art (Links to an external site.)

The word "Postmodernist" is often used to describe contemporary art since about 1970. In simple
terms, postmodernist art (Links to an external site.) emphasizes style over substance (eg. not 'what' but
'how'; not 'art for art's sake', but 'style for stye's sake'), and stresses the importance of how the artist
comunicates with his/her audience. This is exemplified by movements such as Conceptual art (Links to
an external site.), where the idea being communicated is seen as more important than the artwork
itself, which merely acts as the vehicle for the message. In addition, in order to increase the "impact" of
visual art on spectators, postmodernists have turned to new art forms such as Assemblage, Installation,
Video, Performance, Happenings and Graffiti - all of which are associated in some way or other with
Conceptualism- and this idea of impact continues to inspire..

Postmodernist Painting

Painters since the 1970s have experimented with numerous styles across the spectrum from pure
abstraction to figuration. These include: Minimalism (Links to an external site.), a purist form of
abstraction which did little to promote painting as an attractive medium; Neo-Expressionism (Links to an
external site.), which encompassed groups like the "Ugly Realists", the "Neue Wilden", "Figuration
Libre", "Transavanguardia", the "New Image Painters" and the so-called "Bad Painters", signalled a
return to depicting recognizable objects, like the human body (albeit often in a quasi-abstract style),
using rough brushwork, vivid colours and colour harmonies; and the wholly figurative styles adopted by
groups such as "New Subjectivity" and the "London School". At the other extreme from Minimalism is
the ultra-representational art form of photorealism (Links to an external site.) (superrealism,
hyperrealism).