Slide 1 Good day, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to the fourth module! This module will be the longest module in the subject and will be divided into four different presentations. Although the module will be long, we promise that we will try to make it as fun as possible for everyone, as we journey through time and see the different artistic eras that have happened in the face of the earth. We will see in this module how people from different generations saw art and how art has developed into something so grand that we experience today. The first part of the discussion will focus on the arts of prehistory and the medieval period as we transition through the ages. What you re hearing right now is a reenactment or how people today imagined how the ancient people played their music using a bone flute. Without further ado, let s start with our discussion! Slide 2 Michael Crichton once said, if you don t know history, then you don t know anything,” The thing with history is that it teaches us how tobe better. The importance of history cannot be understated and learning about it will enable us to become the best of what it means to be human. Itleads'us'to'see and\understand the truth about our own existence’and the existence of everything that is there. The pursuit of knowledge is something that we humans do for us to evolve and be greater than we are today, and history s truths are truths that are of high degree. Through history, we are able to view the wonders and the vastness of the world in ways that we may not have realized before. Slide 3 Art history then, is the description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of art from past fo present. Art has been with us and has helped us thrive throughout the different millenia. In fact, art has already been there even before we have discovered the existence of ancient written records. Different artworks that were painted or drawn in caves are the oldest known forms of human records. Slide 4 The prehistoric artworks often involved stone through painting or carving. We have also discovered numerous different prehistoric artworks in the form of pottery and weaving. If you would notice something, there are recurring themes in the artworks of the ancient people and they are food, fertility, basic human figures, and animals. It must be pointed‘out too that when talking about art history, prehistoric would always mean that the period occurred prior to the existence of written records. And prehistory is divided into three main periods, which stretched from around 30,000 to 2,000 years BCE, the paleolithic period also known as the old stone age, the mesolithic period, which was the transition period between the old stone age and the new stone age which is the neolithic Period. Slide 5 Majority of the discovered prehistoric cave arts can be found in France and in the South American continent. The French Lascaux caves are home to some of the most prominent prehistoric cave arts ever found. Some have even labeled it as the prehistoric sistine chapel. Some evidence of prehistoric cave arts were also found in India, the middle east, and australia. Aside from recurring themes, another thing that one may ‘observe when looking at cave paintings is the color. They are usually in the hues of red, brown,-yellow, and black. The reason for this is that the people back then used natural ‘sources such as ground up earth minerals that were mixed with various textures and liquids such as animal fat, vegetable juices, and egg whites. Some even used charcoal that they may have gotten from bumed firewood. ‘A question that may arise though is how these various prehistoric cave paintings lasted until today? Imagining the fact that they were carbon dated to have existed arot 30,000 years before the common era. The answer is simple: they are not exposed to the earthly elements because they are inside caves. There is no exposure to rain and ‘sunlight, The caves and the natural conditions of the limestones served as natural preservatives to these artworks, Slide 6 There exists a list of what is said to be the seven wonders of the world: they are both the man made wonders and the natural wonders. One lesser famous list that we can add to this is the seven wonders of the ancient world, of which, only one is still existing until today, and they are the Great Pyramids of Giza. Along with the great pyramids, we also have the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Zeus statue at Olympia, Colossus of Rhodes, the Mausoleum at Halicamassus, the Temple of Artemis, and the most controversial one being the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Historians stil debate as to the legitimacy of itsiexistence. Some say that it was too good to be true and therevare'also various theories as to how it was wiped off from the face of the Earth without any evidence of it remaining. The most famed theory is that the hanging gardens of Babylon bumed down. Three of the seven ancient wonders, Colossus of Rhodes, the Mausoleum atHalicamnassus, and The Lighthouse of Alexandria were destroyed during various. earthquakes that have happened through time. Both Zeus’ Statue at Olympia and the Temple of Artemis bumed down. Although a bizarre thing happened with how the ‘Temple of Artemis bumed down. There was once an arsonist named Herostratus, also known as the man who shall not be named, who intentionally burned down the Temple because he said he wanted to be remembered as the one who burned down the temple. Funnily enough, a law was passed in Ancient Greece forbidding anyone to mention his name, either verbally or in writing, with the punishment of death to whoever disobeys it; The irony though is that Herostratus name lived on even in literature and is being used to refer to someone who does a crime to achieve fame or notoriety. Slide 7 Moving forward, one of the things that you may notice about ancient Greek Architecture are the huge and prominent columns and beams. The Golumns and beams are both ‘functional and decorative. It s one of the main reasons why ancient Greek structures are very'sturdy and many of themistilliexistuntil'today. There are three majordesighs to the ancient Greek columns and they are the Doric, which is the simplest, the lonic which is a more decorativewersion of the'column, and the most elaborately designed Corinthian columns. Slide 8 Aside from numerous architectural structures that stand stil until today, the Greeks are also credited for the art of the theatfe. There was once a priest in the lant of Disnysus called Thespis. On his own, he was able to create a proper structure of what is to be known as the theatre. He was, in effect, the first director and the first ever"actor. He acted by engaging with the audience and his responses would depend on how the people would engage with him. There were no scripts yet, it s just Thespis improvising everything. A lot of people saw how there could be a potential art form to what he was doing and followed suit. His followers called themselves Thespians” and that name is still being used until today to refer to people of the theatre. Aside from actors and directors, more and more people saw the potential of the art form and started writing scripted scenes for the entertainment of the masses. Aeschylus is credited with adding another character into the story so that it is not just one person on stagelinteracting with the audience; instead he made it in such a way that the actors are now engaging with each other in their own fictional world,Slide 9 Sophocles acided another character, thus making the stories more and more complex. The addition of another character into the story ‘adds more dimension fo it and increases) the storytelling potential. Sophocles is very well known in Literature for he is the one who is credited to have written Oedipus the King. Oedipus the King in a nutshell is a story about a man who is sexually attracted to his mother. Sigmund’ Freud, one of the most prominent Psychoanalysis in the field of psychology, even named one of his theories Oedipus Complex, to refer to that stage in a boys psychosexuial development, where he is unconsciously being attached to his mother. Another playwright to have emerged during that time was Euripedes, who is famous for introducing the Greek gods and goddesses in a more unconventional view, seeing it as though they are human like us and will have emotions and human frailties. This is also actually being referenced in modern popular culture, the way that gods are seen as. peoplé'too. One of the most famous in this theme is the novel Percy Jackson. Slide 10 ‘Aristophanes is also one of the ancient Greek playwrights. He is the one who is credited to have introduced the idea of comedy in the theatre and is also regarded as the Father ‘of Comedy for his contributions. His idea was that the theatre can also be used to tell. stories that are not just purely tragic or have sad endings. Aside from various prominent playwrights, the Greeks are also credited for the raked seating system. A raked seating system is basically a seating system that is on an upwards slope because this way gives an opportunity for those that are in the backseats to also see what is happening on stage, compared to if the seats were all at the same level. Aside from that, this way of seating also provides for better acoustics because the sound waves are:traveling straight, without any reverberations. The Ancient Greek ‘Theatre of Epidaurus which was built around 340 BCE is a perfect example of the raked seating system. This was also built on a mountain to provide for the upward sloping seating arrangement and great acoustics. Slide 11 ‘The Romans were a more practical group of people compared to their Greek counterparts. They were more interested in the social and hard sciences as comparedto the humanities. They had their priorities set in the study of law, politics and government, and engineering. The Romans are actually even credited to be the ones to have first used conerete in construction. The Roman architectural style is very famous for its arches, which were used in many different structures such as the Collosuem in Romie. Arches were also used as some sort of a red carpet because those that are victors in battles and wars are given the privilege to pass through them to be celebrated. Furthermore, the arches were also functional in the sense that they used them to build ‘aqueduct systems allowing them to funnel fresh water into their cities. Slide 12 ‘The world famous Colosseum in Rome, Italy is arguably the city s most impressive monument. This structure was able to seat over 50,000 spectators. For scale, the big ‘dome or the Araneta Coliseum here in the Philippines can only seat up to 16,500 people in full capacity. Only The Philippine Arena, which has a full capacity seating of 55,000 is bigger than the Roman Colosseum. This makes the Colosseum all the more impressive for it was built around 70-80 years common era, compared to the huge arenas and coliseums of today. Although a question that may arise is why the facade of the building ‘seems broken/or chipped. The reason for this is that the royal families in the 16th and 17th centuries used stones from the Colosseum to build their palaces. This Roman structure remains very famous for the locals and tourists alike until today. Slide 13, Another contrast that may be seen between the Romans and the Greeks is how realistically the Romans portrayed their sculptures and statues. The most famous sculptures from the classical period already displayed sheer attention to detail Slide 14 Furthermore, the Romans are also credited for the introduction of Mosaics. A mosaicis ‘a piece of art or image made from the assembling of small pieces of colored glass, stone; or other materials known as tesserae. During the classical period, mosaics were ‘often seen in structures such as those of the famous people. Mosaics were used as a ‘Status symbol and indicated that the structure is something important or that the homeowner is wealthy. Slide 15 (with slight medieval background music)Corruption in the government, complacency and reliance on too much slave labor, ‘overspending in the military leading to a very volatile economy and numerous invasions led to the Fallof Rome in-476 CE as we know it. The political and economic instability that was happening in the empire was exploited by the Eastern empire and the Hun, Barbarian) Visigoth, and Germanic tribes. Eastern emperors made sure that Constantinople was stable and well guarded and the Romans tried but were futile in their attempt to work hand! in hand with the Eastemers. This made the Roman legions ‘weaker and more vulnerable than they already are to the point that no Roman has ever ruled again in the land. Various raiders pillaged through the Roman city, burning and killing everything on their way until such time that it was too much to bear. The empire that has so long reigned in the European lands has come to fall. Basically, the Roman. land, a land that has so long served symbolic values was overwhelmed and fell into the ashes. Events that have unfolded resulted into the transition to the Medieval Age, also known as the Dark’Ages for it was an age of cultural, intellectual, artistic, and economic deterioration. Furthermore, due to the pillaging of Rome and the extreme conservatism, not many records have survived from the time. Though the Roman culture basically died with their own people, one thing was still able to survive and thrive through the Medieval ‘Ages: the religion of Christianity. Slide 16 Christian themes lived on even in the Arts of the Medieval ages. In fact, it was the only theme that was prominent in the time. Although one thing that is noticeable with the Arts of this time is that they are not that aesthetically pleasing due to them being flat, disproportionate, and showing little to no perspective. The death of culture and the Arts, during that time may have led to people not showing due diligence in their crafts. For them, it was more symbolic than realistic anyway. The Medieval Ages can be subdivided into three main periods: the Byzantine, the Romanesque, and the Gothic, with each one of these periods having distinct contributions to Art history. Slide 17 ‘The Byzantine Arts are the records that have survived for the most part. The arts during this time flourished in Constantinople, which is now known as Istanbul), Turkey to Ravenna in italy. As consistent with the times, the Byzantine arts focused and revolved solely on the idea of Christianity. It was very conservative and surviving records only showed that. Slide 18Emperor Justinian bumed lots of theaters, records, and numerous other buildings. He saw theater as something diabolic because iit did not speak much of God. And for Emperor Justinian, everything that did inot praise\God, belonged to:the devil. Due to this, the Byzantine Empire experienced the first artistic and literary flowering of its own independent culture. Slide 19 Arguably the most impressive structure that was built under the guidance of Justinian was the Hagia Sophia (pronounced as AYA SOFIYA). Hagia Sophia literally translated to Holy Wisdom. Built between the years 532-537, the building is massive and tall because one of the things that they believed in during this time was that the closer your structure is to the sky, the closer you are to God. Slide 20 ‘The Romanesque period on the other hand, has given the world the castles as we know today. These castles were fortified with thick, high, and strong walls and towers. Another thing noticeable in these structures are the small windows. The reason for this, is because the castles were built: mainly to protect the royalties. There is a smaller chance of arrows and spears going through if the windows are also very small. Slide 21 Romanesque Churches were also a thing, wherein churches were also built in the image of castles, These churches were often referred to as the Fortress of God," Same with castles, these Romanesque churches were also built massively and with solid heavy walls, while also borrowing the Roman arches from the Roman culture. Slide 22 Finally, we also have the Gothic period which lasted roughly from 1150 to 1500 CE. This period is also one of the most famous periods during the Medieval times and is referenced to quite a lot in modem popular culture. This period contributed two important architectural features, the pointed arches and the flying buttresses. Slide 23,The Flying Buttresses are usually churches with a brace or support placed on the side of the building. In Gothic cathedrals, the buttresses helped support the weight of the roofing system which is entirely made out of stone. Sadly, this is one of the contributions that did not have lasting effects on the architecture of cathedrals and churches due to its sheer impracticalily. Today, there are still quite a few flying buttresses surviving, with the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France being arguably the most famous. The pointed arch on the other hand, is still something that is prominent until today. This was a gothic'style that was used as a'solution to support tall buildings while also being ‘able to let in natural light from the sun. Slide 24 Another Gothic contribution to design is the stained glass windows. Stained glasses are artistic arrangements of colored glass pieces, held in place with lead strips. When hit by sunlight, it displays the imagery vividly and also serves as dim and softly tinted lighting for the inside of the'structure. Slide 25, Frescoes are always attributed to the Renaissance people but actually have its roots in the late Medieval period. Although it can be said that the Renaissance frescoes are top Notch and those from the Medieval ages cannot even compare. As consistent as it is with most of the Medieval Arts, Medieval frescoes are also flat, disproportionate, and seem to show no perspective. A fresco is a painting created when pigment is applied to a section of the wall, spread with fresh plaster. Slide 26 That is it for the first part of Art History, we hope that you have enjoyed this artistic travel through time. Next up, we will talk about one of the grandest periods in Art History and in history in general: the Renaissance. Stay safe, everyone!