ART APPRECIATION

Midterm Period
Lesson 7:
 Greek Art
 Roman Art
 Lesson 7

Greek Art Forms

 Lesson 7

Greek Art
Ancient Greek art emphasized the
importance and accomplishments of human
beings.

Even though much of Greek art was meant to honor

the gods, those very gods were created in the
image of humans. Ancient Greek art stands out
among that of other ancient cultures for its
development of naturalistic but idealized depictions
of the beauty of the human body.
 Lesson 7

History of
Greek Art

Significance:
The ideals of Greek art are considered by historians to
be the foundation of Western civilization and to have
touched literally all aspects of modern western
culture.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

The art of ancient Greece is divided stylistically into

four periods:

1. Geometric – abstract and outline art

2. Archaic – stiff and primitive
3. Classical – sophisticated and realistic
4. Hellenistic – flowery and highly decorative
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period, 900-650 BC:

Artistic development in Greece.
Outline, this is the main characteristics of the
Geometric period in art. The Geometric period was
the first specifically Greek style of vase painting. It
was characterized by linear motifs such as spirals,
diamonds, and cross-hatching. Abstract forms were
used to represent human figures, flora and fauna.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period,
900-650 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.
Came from Minoan art influence
Athenian potters introduced the
full Geometric style by abandoning
circular for rectilinear ornament.
Prime industry in this period was
utilitarian pottery art.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period,
900-650 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.
Greek used ceramic vessels in every aspect of their
daily lives: for storage, carrying, mixing, serving, and
drinking, and as cosmetic and perfume containers.
Elaborately formed and decorated, vases were
considered worthy gifts for dedication to the gods
and funerary vessel. Common material was clay.
History of Greek Art
1 Geometric Period,
900-650 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

Minoans and Mycenaeans influence:

The Minoans occupied the Greek islands mainly living
on Crete. The Mycenaeans lived on mainland Greece
and the Peloponnesia. The Minoans were mainly
farmers and traders while the Mycenaeans were a
warlike society.
 Lesson 7

Geometric Period,
900-650 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

The Golden Mask of Agamemnon, 1550-1500 BCE: The

King of Mycenae is an artifact discovered in Mycenae in
1876 by the German archaeologist Heinrich
Schliemann. This mask is made of gold and is a funeral
mask found over the face of a dead body in a burial
place at Mycenae.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period, 900-650 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

Minoan influence: Aside from Mycenaean

ancient Egypt and Near East, Minoan art greatly
affect Greek’s culture to a more functional and
decorative but also political purpose, especially the
wall paintings of palaces where rulers were depicted
in their religious function, which reinforced their role
as the head of the community.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period, 900-650 BC:
Artistic development in Greece, Minoan influence.

Octopus Pattern Jug, Floral Pattern Bee Pendant Pattern

 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period, 900-650 BC:
Artistic development in Greece,
Notable Pottery Art.

The Vasiliki Ware Teapot:

The First Luxury Pottery In
Ancient Greece
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period, 900-650 BC:
Artistic development in Greece,
Notable Pottery Art.

The Minoan Octopus Vase,

1200-1100BCE: Pinnacle Of
Bronze Age Pottery Design
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period, 900-650 BC:

Artistic development in Greece,
Notable Pottery Art.

The Geometric Vase, 10th

Century BCE: A Symbol Of
Athenian Artistic Supremacy
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period,
Artistic development in Greece,
Notable Pottery Art.

The Lion Aryballos,

700BCE: A
Celebration Of The
Rise Of Corinth
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period,
Artistic development in Greece,
Notable Pottery Art.

The Dinos Of Sophilos,

6th Century BCE: First
Known Creator Of
Greek Vase Paintings
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period,
Artistic development in Greece,
Notable Pottery Art.

The Panathenaic Prize

Amphora, 4th Century BCE:
A Celebration Of Athletic Prowess
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

1 Geometric Period, 900-650 BC:
Artistic development in Greece,
Notable Pottery Art.

The Erotic Vase 500-323BCE:

A Snapshot Of Sexuality In
Ancient Greece
History of Greek Art
2 Archaic Period, 650-480 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.
In this period, the artisans took a turn away from
the geometric designs of the past and began to
focus more fully on figures and elements of the
natural world. Artists were into more mystical and
fantastical subjects such as combined beasts like
the Sphinx or Satyr-like creatures. These new
artistic ideas were assimilated into producing
images from their own religion and culture.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

2 Archaic Period, 650-480 BC:

Artistic development in Greece.
The Archaic phase is best known for the beginnings
of realistic depictions of humans and monumental
stone sculptures. It was during the Archaic period
that the limestone kouros (male) and kore (female)
statues were created depicting young, nude, smiling
persons.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

2 Archaic Period, 650-480 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

The ‘Kouros’ and ‘Kore’, Archaic Greek statues depicting

youths or referred to as young man and young woman
and Koral is a plural form. The statue is usually made
of marble or limestone, and tend to be life size. The
Koral was used as a grave monument and offering for
deities.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

2 Archaic Period, 650-480 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.
The Calf Bearer: Moschophoros is a
Greek word which means the ‘calf-
bearer’. An ancient Greek statue from
560 BC. Depicting strength and power,
he stands with his left foot a little
forward and has a thick beard, a
symbol of adulthood.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

2 Archaic Period, 650-480 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.
Amphora is decorated on both sides but in different
painting techniques. One side has a scene depicted in
the red figure style was painted by ‘andokides’. The
other side shows the same scene in the black figure
style painted by ‘lysippides’. This type of decoration
puts the vase into the so-called Bilingual group. The
two figures depicted usually in the scene was Achilles
and Ajax playing board game.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

2 Archaic Period, 650-480 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

Bilingual Amphora Red

on one side and black on
the other side.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

2 Archaic Period, 650-480 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

Geometric-style krater with

funeral scenes from Attica,
Greece, with funeral scenes,
8th century BCE.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

2 Archaic Period, 650-480 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

KRATER
a jar or vase of classical
antiquity having a large
round body and a wide
mouth and used for mixing
wine and water.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

2 Archaic Period, 650-480 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.
Achilles slaying Penthesilea,
the queen of the Amazons,
Attic black-figure amphora (a
tall ancient Greek or Roman
jar with two handles and a
narrow neck) signed by
Exekias, c. 530–525 BCE
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

3 Classical Period, 480-323 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.
In this period, Greek artists achieved a more realistic
likeness in depicting human figure. The statues for
example show the influence of Egyptian art in its
stiffness, gracefulness, idealization, and achieving
naturalism by portraying them in a lifelike forms. Most
statues were commissioned for public display by the
rich, noble and influential people.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

3 Classical Period, 480-323 BC:

Artistic development in Greece.
The essential characteristic of classical Greek art is a
heroic realism. Painters and sculptors attempt to
reveal the human body, in movement or repose,
exactly as it appears to the eye. The emphasis will be
on people of unusual beauty, or moments of high and
noble drama.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

3 Classical Period, 510-323 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

This 460 BCE Artemision Bronze

represents either Zeus, the ancient Greek
king of the gods of Mount Olympus, or
possibly Poseidon, the god of the Sea. It is
assumed to represent the mightiest of the
Olympian gods, Zeus.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

3 Classical Period, 480-323 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

Created 360 BCE in honor of the Greek god

Hermes of Praxiteles. Hermes
was also carrying another popular
character in Greek mythology, the infant
Dionysus.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

3 Classical Period, 480-323 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

Aphrodite of Knidos carved by

the sculptor Praxiteles in the 4th century
B.C. from fine marble, it enjoyed great
renown as the first devotional statue of a
female goddess in the nude.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

3 Classical Period, 480-323 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

The Riace bronzes (460-

420BC) These tremendous statues
found in the sea off southern Italy in
1972 one of the few original Greek
bronze statues survive.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

3 Classical Period, 480-323 BC:
Artistic development in Greece.

The Motya charioteer, (350BC). One of the

most startling Greek statues to survive, and highly
revealing about the erotic charge of the Greek nude.
This youth is not technically nude, but wears a tight-
fitting garment that instead of hiding his body,
heightens every contour.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

The word Hellenistic comes from the word

‘Hellazein’, which means ‘to speak Greek’ or ‘identify
with the Greeks’.
The overlapping of Classical and Hellenistic period
paved the way for realism in as much as sculpture is
concerned.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.
Spot the
différence!
Boxer at Rest,
The Farnese Bronze with
Hercules, inlaid copper
Classical, Hellenistic,
216 CE 330-50 BCE
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:

Artistic development in Greece.

The difference between Hellenistic and Classical Art is

in the style and transition of sculpting. The Hellenistic
period saw emotions, movement of figures whereas in
the Classical period there is more focus on the perfect
realistic figures, the sculptures are static.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

In Hellenistic period, sculptors pursued and

perfected naturalism, an interest that Greek artists
had been developing over hundreds of years. In
addition to natural poses, Hellenistic artists sought
to gradually depart from depicting gods and
mythological subjects and started replicating the
bodies of real humans.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

Winged Victory of
The
Samothrace 200 BCE is a marble
sculpture depicting the Greek goddess
Nike. Considered today as the greatest
masterpiece in classical and a prelude to
Hellenistic from classical sculpture.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

The statue Lacoon and his Sons 200 BCE

also known as ‘Lacoon Group’ was originally created
by three great Greek sculptors from Rhodes,
Agesander, Polydorus and Athenodoros. This life-size
statue is made of marble and depicts a Trojan priest
named Lacoon, together with his sons Thymbraeus
and Antiphantes, being throttled by sea serpents.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

Three Goddesses from the east pediment of

the Parthenon 432 BCE. Sitting and reclining in
graceful unison, these goddesses carved in marble for
the Parthenon in Athens are among the most beautiful
and mysterious images of the human form ever
created. Incredibly, the artist makes the draperies
that cover their bodies as real and richly textured
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

The three goddesses carved in marble for the

Parthenon in Athens. From left, Hestia, goddess of the
hearth and home, Dione, and her daughter Aphrodite.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

Pergamon Altar
Athena Battling with Alcyoneus, 175-150 BCE
from the East Frieze, Altar of Zeus, Pergamon
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

Pergamon Altar
Gaul and his wife, group of
Gaul frieze 220 BCE
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

Pergamon Altar
Dying Gaul (Trumpeter),
Gaul frieze group, 220 BCE
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Hellenistic Period, 323 BCE - 31 CE:
Artistic development in Greece.

Pergamon Altar
Altar of Zeus, Marble,
reconstructed and restored
(Staatliche Museun, Berlin)
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Greek architecture is known for tall columns, intricate

detail, symmetry, harmony, and balance.
The Greeks built all sorts of buildings. The main
examples of Greek architecture that survive today are
the large temples that they built to their gods.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Using a combination of creativity and intellect, the

Greeks produced many public buildings of great
architectural treasure. The Hellenistic period provided
some of the best and most distinctive structures in
the form of temples, theaters, and stadia which once
were the main features of ancient towns and cities.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

The simplicity, harmony, and perspective in Greek

architecture was the foundation of Roman
architecture as well. Ancient Greek architects strove
for excellence and precision which indeed are the
hallmarks of Greek art.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Three Orders of Greek Architecture:

Ancient Greek architecture developed three distinct
orders, the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
The latter were modified and adopted by the Romans
in the 1st century BCE and have been used ever since
in Western architecture.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Three Orders of Greek Architecture:

 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Can you identify what order is this?

Corinthian
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.
Also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the
Olympian Zeus, the Temple of Olympian
Zeus was dedicated to Zeus. It’s. A former colossal
temple at the center of the Greek capital Athens. The
building of the Temple began in the 6th Century by
Peisistratos and completed under the reign of the
Roman Emperor Hadrian in 131 AD.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Temple of
Olympian Zeus,
Athens
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

One of the most influential buildings in Greek history

ever built was the Parthenon, stands on top of
the citadel of the Acropolis. It was dedicated to the
goddess of wisdom Athena. The construction began
in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at its
height. The Parthenon is said to be the pinnacle of
the Doric order.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Parthenon,
Acropolis
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Since ancient times, the theater Odeon of

Herodes Atticus has been a significant part of
Greek culture. The stone theater structure is located
at the southwest slope of the Acropolis in Athens. The
Athenian magnate Herodes Atticus built the structure
in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus,

Acropolis. Today, the
theater played host to
huge music concerts and
had a capacity of 5,000.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

One of the oldest temples in Greece, this ancient

Archaic temple was dedicated to Hera the queen of
the Greek goddesses. The Temple of Hera, was
built in 590 BCE following the aesthetics of Doric
architecture having its 16 columns. The symbolic altar
of the Temple was lit by a torch during the first
Olympic games.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Temple of Hera, Olympia.

Doric style.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Built in 580 BC, the Temple of Artemis

measured 49m by 23.46m and was the biggest
temple of its time dedicated to goddess Artemis. From
the ruins itself, the metope of the temple was
decorated with carvings of Achilles and Memnon. Its
magnificence and authenticity have made it a
landmark in ancient Greek architecture.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Temple of Artemis. The

temple is considered one of
the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

In terms of acoustics and aesthetics, The Great

Theater of Epidaurus believed to be the
perfect theater of all time, containing an auditorium, a
stage building, and an orchestral area. The theater
was large enough to provide seating for 13,000 to
14,000 people. The theater was dedicated to the
worship of the god of medicine, Asclepius.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Theater of Epidaurus.
Constructed at the end of the
4th century BCE by the
architect Polykleitos. It was
the first ancient medical
center ever built in the world.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

This Erechtheion Temple in Acropolis was

built between 421 and 406 BC by the great architect
Mnesikles. The temple got its name from a shrine
dedicated to the Greek hero Erichthonius, who was
mentioned in Homer’s Iliad as a great king and ruler
of Athens.
 Lesson 7

History of Greek Art

4 Ancient Greek Architecture:
Notable Ruins and Surviving Greek Structure.

Erechtheion Temple. The

marble made temple has
ornamented with carved
doorways and beautifully
decorated columns.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art Forms

 Lesson 7

History of Roman Art

The Romans originated in central Italy, influenced by

other local Italian cultures, notably those of Etruria,
but from the 5th century they came into contact with
the Greeks and from then onwards, the Roman
republic absorbed many aspects of first Classical and
then Hellenistic art.
 Lesson 7

History of Roman Art

Many types of Imperial art practiced by the Romans

had already been fully mastered by Ancient Greek
artists. It’s normal to assume that Roman art were
inspired by the Greek culture more so on architecture.
• Sculpture – bronze/marble statuary and sarcophagi.
• Fine art painting –murals, portraiture, vase-painting.
• Decorative art – carving metalwork, mosaics, jewelry,
ivory carving)
 Lesson 7

History of Roman Art

Later Imperial art moved away from earlier Classical

influences, and Severan art signals the shift to art of
Late Antiquity. The characteristics of Late Antique art
include frontality, stiffness of pose and drapery,
deeply drilled lines, less naturalism and squat
proportions.
 Lesson 7

History of Roman Art

Mosaic Art

Roman mosaics were a common feature of private

homes and public buildings across the empire from
Africa to Antioch. Mosaics, known as opus tessellatum,
were made with small black, white, and colored
squares of marble, tile, glass, pottery, stone, or shells.
Typically, individual piece measured between 0.5 and
1.5 cm but fine details. Rendering fine images are
using even smaller pieces as little as 1mm in size.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Mosaic Art

Origin and Influence:

Flooring set with small pebbles was used in the
Bronze Age in both the Minoan civilization
based on Crete and the Mycenaean civilization
on mainland Greece. The same idea but reproducing
patterns was used in the Near East in the 8th
century BCE.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Mosaic Art

Origin and Influence:

In Greece the first pebble flooring which attempted
designs dates to the 5th century BCE with examples at
Corinth and Olynthus. These were usually in two
shades with light geometric designs and simple figures
on a dark background.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art:

Mosaic Art
‘Gypsy Girl,’ fragment
of an ancient mosaic,
Roman, 20BC
 Lesson 7

Roman Art:

Mosaic Art
Roman monochrome floor
mosaic, 3rd century CE;
in the Portico delle
Corporazioni, Ostia, Italy.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art:

Mosaic Art
Mosaic floor fragment,
stone tesserae from Syria,
6th century CE
 Lesson 7

Roman Art:

Mosaic Art
A 3rd century CE Roman
floor mosaic depicting
Bacchus, god of wine.
Flaminia, Rome.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art:
‘Battle of Alexander and
Darius at Issus,’ detail of
the Roman mosaic done
in the opus vermiculatum
technique (laying dark or
light outline, mosaic work
employing small stones
arranged in patterns of Mosaic Art
curving lines or in pictorial
designs), Pompeii, late
2nd century BC.
 Lesson 7

Roman Glass Art

Introduced by Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Romans

maximized Glass Art decorative qualities not
only as vessels but also its application on mosaics as
decorative panels in both walls and furniture DURING
509 – 27 BCE. The material was also used for
windows, to create jewelry, mirrors, game pieces,
magnifying glasses, sculpture and, in the form of
powder, even as a medicine and toothpaste.
 Lesson 7

Roman Glass Art

Techniques:
• Primarily, Roman glass wares were just imitation
of their usual metal wares.
• Colors could also be achieved by adding small
amounts of metals to the mix; adding copper
produced blue, green, and red, manganese
produced pink and red, cobalt a deep blue, calcium
white, and lead brought a yellow tint.
 Lesson 7

Roman Glass Art

Techniques:
• Glass was naturally opaque due to the presence of
tiny air bubbles within the glass as a result of the
firing process and usually resulting to pale green
or yellow hue due to the presence of impurities.
• The color or tint of the glass could naturally be
manipulated by increasing or decreasing the level
of oxygen in the furnace.
 Lesson 7

Roman Glass Art

With the invention of glassblowing in the 1st

century BCE, a better quality of glass was produced,
and the production process became faster and
cheaper with the consequence that vessels more
common to every households everyday objects.
• Vitriairii – Roman glass maker and designer.
• Diatretarii – Roman glass cutter.
 Lesson 7

Roman Glass Art

Also, the glass-blowing revolutionized the art of glass-

making which allowed the production of small
medicine, incense, and perfume containers in new
forms. Glass unguentarium, or perfume
small bottles production were prevalent throughout
the ancient Roman Empire, and from Egypt to
Cologne, Germany.
 Lesson 7

Roman Glass Art

Roman Glass:
It was in the late 1st
century CE that colorless
glass first appeared in the
glassmaker's repertoire and
it became highly sought after
by Roman households.
 Lesson 7

Roman Glass Art

The most famous example of

Roman glass ware is the
‘Thetis Portland Vase'
which was made sometime during
the reign of Augustus, 27 BCE -
14 CE and which depicts the
marriage of Peleus and Thetis
from Greek mythology.
 Lesson 7

Roman Glass Art

Highly carved ‘diatreta’ or cage-

cups and perhaps the most
famous Roman glass vessel of
all was the Lycurgus Cup,
4th century CE.
 Lesson 7

Roman Glass Art

Roman Glass rings Roman Glass perfume

and bracelets containers
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Sculpture

Most of the surviving examples of

Roman sculpture are in marble. The
Sleeping Hermaphrodite,
an ancient marble sculpture
depicting life size Hermaphroditus.
In 1620, Italian artist Gian Lorenzo
Bernini sculpted the mattress upon
which the statue now lies.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Sculpture

Head of a Roman Patrician. 1st century

BCE. The wrinkled and aged face of this unknown
upper-class Roman citizen changed the ideals of the
Romans to present himself as a prized and
experienced public servant instead of merely copying
Greek marble statues of their great and mighty
leaders and gods.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Sculpture

Augustus from Prima

Porta, 1st century CE. It
highlights Augustus’s military
might and refers to the
Republic’s past golden age.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Sculpture

Fonseca Bust, 2nd century

CE. The Fonseca Bust, was a
portrait of elite Roman woman
from the Flavian dynasty, 69-96
CE. Portraits of women from this
era heavily favored more
realistic portrayals.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Sculpture

Equestrian Statue of
Marcus Aurelius, 176 CE.
Equestrian statues were common in
ancient Rome to honor military and
civic achievements. The statue was
a bronze likeness of Marcus
Aurelius astride his horse.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Architecture

Roman architecture took over right where

the builders from ancient Greece left off after the
decline of Greek civilization. But unlike their
predecessors, the Romans placed far more emphasis
on the practicality of their architectural designs. This
was a major departure from contemporary practices
which had always placed the focus on a structure’s
exterior design, function and aesthetic appeal.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Architecture

While they may have borrowed some of their earliest

ideas from the Ancient Greeks, Etruscans, Egyptians
and Persians, ancient Roman Architecture
changed the landscape and giving mankind buildings
that it had never seen before, alongside public
structures, roads and infrastructure that could be
used.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Architecture

Roman architecture is famous for its domes,

arches, amphitheaters, temples, thermaes or bath
houses, atriums, aqueducts, apartments, houses, and
for many other factors that made it unique. Art was
often carved into the walls of stone buildings depicting
battles, and famous Romans.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Architecture

The Aqua Augusta, or Serino

Aqueduct, 19-14 BCE, Pompeii
was one of the largest, most
complex and costliest aqueduct
systems in the Roman world. It
supplied water to at least eight
ancient cities in the Bay of Naples
including Pompeii and Herculaneum.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Architecture

The famous amphitheater, the

Colosseum, was built an area
of 189 by 159 meters, making it
the largest of its time. The said
monument, began during the
reign of Emperor Vespasian in 72
AD. By the time it was finished by
his son Titus in 80 AD
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Architecture

The Pantheon is the most well-preserved architectural

marvel from the ancient Roman era. Roman Temples
were usually dedicated to particular Roman deities and
the Pantheon was a temple for all the Roman
gods. The construction was completed in 125 AD during
the rule of Hadrian.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Architecture

Named after the famous former governor of the city of

Ephesus, the Library of Celsus, 10 BCE was
actually a monumental tomb dedicated to Gaius Julius
Celsus Polemaeanus. This amazing piece of Roman
architecture was constructed on the orders of Celsus’
son Galius Julius Aquila. According to record, the library
housed over 12,000 different scrolls.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Architecture

Maison Carrée is the only temple constructed in

the time of ancient Rome that is completely preserved
to this day. This marvel of Roman engineering was built
around 16 BC in the city of Nimes. Maison Carrée is an
architectural gem that stands 15 meters tall and a
length of 26 meters. It was built by Roman General
Marcus Vipanius Agrippa in memory of his two sons
who died young.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Wall Painting

The history of Roman painting is essentially a history of

wall paintings on plaster. Some other Roman
paintings were applied directly on wood, ivory, and
other wall materials. Fresco on the other hand was
used to adorn the interiors of private homes in Roman
cities and in the countryside.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Wall Painting

Ancient Roman wall painters or perhaps their clients

preferred natural earth colors such as darker shades of
reds, yellows and browns. Blue and black pigments
were also popular for plainer designs though evidence
from a Pompeii paint shop illustrates that a wide range
of color shades was available.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Wall Painting

This gorgeous Fresco of

Theseus, 18 century was
th

discovered from within a Basilica

located in Herculaneum, Pompei. The
painting looks spectacular and shows a
few children holding Theseus’s hand
and congratulating him for killing the
mythological beast-Minotaur.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Wall Painting

This painting Fresco of

Wader Bird roaming freely
in one of the gardens along
Sarno river and looks astonishing
with lush green surroundings,
painted in serene colors of green,
white and shades of yellow.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Wall Painting

Most houses in ancient Romans

featured red painted walls depicting
women, animals or erotic art. This
original painting of two faces,
1st Century CE shows defined features
of lips painted with reddish orange color
making the eyes look expressive.
 Lesson 7

Roman Art: Wall Painting

This wall painting shows Eros and

Psyche, 1 st
century CE. Ancient
Roman artists loved to portray eternal
love between people and mythological
characters, and one of the most
popular subjects was Eros and
Psyche’s love story.
“The principles of true Art is
not to portray, but to evoke.”
- Jerzy Kosinski -
ART APPRECIATION
Midterm Period
Lesson 10:
⮚ Western Art
⮚ Asian Art
 Lesson 10

The Western Art

 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

Unlike the ancient Egyptian art which based on

paganism beliefs and rituals, the earliest known
forms of art in Western countries circulated within
religious artifacts, social and historical events in the
12th century up to 18th century. Arts depended on
not only architecture, but also visual arts. The main
aim of the artists was to use images to convey
spiritual messages.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

Importance:
Western art, tells a story about a people, time, and
culture. As humans, we tend to use metaphors and
symbols to represent important messages, items,
and events. Western art is no different, as there are
many unique and rich stories hidden beneath the
art form's history.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

Influence:
Art influences society by changing opinions,
instilling values and translating experiences across
space and time. Art in this sense is communication,
it allows people from different cultures and different
times to communicate with each other via images,
sounds and stories. Art is often a vehicle for social
change.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

Focal Theme:
Western painting is in general distinguished by its
concentration on the representation of the human
figure, whether in the heroic context of antiquity or the
religious context of the early Christian and medieval
world. The Renaissance for example extended this
tradition through a close examination of the natural
world and an investigation of balance, harmony, and
perspective in the visible world, linking painting to the
developing sciences of anatomy and optics.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

Movements Approximately 4 AD to Present:
1. Medieval 8. Postimpressionism
2. Renaissance 9. Expressionism
3. Baroque 10. Cubism
4. Rococo 11. Futurism
5. Neoclassicism 12. Art Deco
6. Romanticism 13. Abstract Expressionism
7. Impressionism 14. Contemporary Art
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

1 Medieval: 300 CE - 1400 CE
From around 4 CE to 1300, this era is a broad category
that includes many artistic styles and periods, from
early Christian and Byzantine, Anglo-Saxon and Viking,
Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque, and Gothic.
During the medieval period, the various secular arts
were unified by the Christian church and the sacred
arts associated with it.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

1 Medieval: 300 CE - 1400 CE
Characteristics
• Iconography, Christian / religious
subject matter
• Elaborate patterns and decoration,
bright colors, the use of precious
metals, gems, and other luxurious
materials,
• Stylized figures,
• Social status.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

1 Medieval: 300 CE - 1400 CE

‘The Annunciation with St.

Margaret and St. Ansanus’,
Gothic, Simone Martini and
Lippo Memmi, 1333
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

2 Renaissance: 1300 CE - 1600 CE

Painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature

produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries in
Europe under the combined influences of an increased
awareness of nature, a revival of classical learning,
and a more individualistic view of man. Scholars no
longer believe that the Renaissance marked an abrupt
break with medieval values, as is suggested by the
French word renaissance, literally means “rebirth.”
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

2 Renaissance: 1300 CE - 1600 CE
Characteristics
• A reverent revival of Classical Greek/Roman art forms
and styles.
• A faith in the nobility of Man (Humanism).
• The mastery of illusionistic painting techniques.
• Maximizing 'depth' in a picture, including: linear
perspective, foreshortening and, later, quadrature
and
• The naturalistic realism of its faces
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

2 Renaissance: 1300 CE - 1600 CE

‘Venus and Adonis’ is a

painting by the Italian
Mannerist artist Paolo
Veronese, 1582,
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

3 Baroque: 1600 CE - 1730 CE
Baroque art is a style with exaggerated motion and
clear detail used to produce drama, exuberance, and
grandeur in sculpture, painting, architecture,
literature, dance, and music. Baroque iconography
was direct, obvious, and dramatic, intending to appeal
above all to the senses and the emotions. Baroque
started as a response of the Catholic Church to the
many criticisms that arose during the Protestant
Reform in the 16th-century.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

3 Baroque: 1600 CE - 1730 CE

Characteristics:
• Baroque painting is the painting associated with the
Baroque cultural movement, which began in Italy in
the 17th century.
• Baroque painting is characterized by grandeur,
sensuous richness, great drama, rich, deep color, and
intense light and dark shadows.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

3 Baroque: 1600 CE - 1730 CE

‘The Rape of Proserpina’ is a
large Baroque marble group
sculpture by Italian artist
Gian Lorenzo Bernini,
executed between 1621 and
1622. Bernini was only 23
years old at its completion.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

4 Rococo: 1720 CE - 1780 CE
The Rococo movement was an artistic period that
emerged in France and spread throughout the world.
The word is a derivative of the French term ‘rocaille’
which means ‘rock and shell garden ornamentation’.
Rococo was primarily influenced by the Venetian
School's use of color, erotic subjects, and Arcadian
landscapes. The father of Rococo painting was Jean
Antoine Watteau invented a new genre called ‘fêtes
galantes’, which were scenes of courtship parties.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

4 Rococo: 1720 CE - 1780 CE

Characteristics:
Rococo painting, is characterized by soft colors and
curvy lines, and depicts scenes of love, nature,
amorous encounters, light-hearted entertainment,
and youth.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

4 Rococo: 1720 CE - 1780 CE

‘Apollo and Daphne’ a painting by
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. 1744
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

5 Neoclassicism: 1750 CE - 1830 CE
Neoclassicism was a Western cultural movement in
the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre,
music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the
art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism is
a revival of the many styles inspired directly from the
classical period, which coincided and reflected the
developments in philosophy and other areas of the
Age of Enlightenment, and was initially a reaction
against the excesses of the preceding Rococo style.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

5 Neoclassicism: 1750 CE - 1830 CE

Characteristics:
Neoclassical art include a concentration on Greek and
Roman mythology and history for subjects, like
heroic male nude, somewhat dramatic lighting, and a
rather clean style, with hard edges and bright
primary colors in painting and smooth, highly
polished marble in sculpture.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

5 Neoclassicism: 1750 CE - 1830 CE
‘Pauline Bonaparte as
Venus Victrix’ is a semi-
nude life-size reclining
neo-Classical portrait
sculpture by the Italian
sculptor Antonio Canova.
1808
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

6 Romanticism: 1780 CE - 1880 CE

Romanticism was an artistic, literary, musical, visual

and intellectual movement that originated in Europe
towards the end of the 18th century, and in most
areas was at its peak in the approximate period from
1800 to 1850. Romanticism as an "umbrella term"
under which many stylistic themes and values meet
and interact for example the gothic, the sublime, the
sentimental, love of nature, the romance narrative.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

6 Romanticism: 1780 CE - 1880 CE

Characteristics:
Romanticism was characterized by its emphasis on
emotion and individualism as well as glorification of
all the past and nature, preferring the medieval
rather than the classical. It also promoted the
individual imagination as a critical authority allowed
of freedom from classical notions of form in art.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

6 Romanticism: 1780 CE - 1880 CE
‘The Barque of Dante’, also
Dante and Virgil in Hell by
Eugène Delacroix, 1822.
This work embarked the
shift in the character of
narrative painting, from
Neo-Classicism towards
Romanticism.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

7 Impressionism: 1860 CE - 1890 CE
The Impressionist painters used layers of colors,
leaving gaps in the top layers to reveal the colors
underneath. The technique is achieved through
hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, dry brushing, and
‘sgraffito’ which means scratching into the paint.
Impressionism was a radical art movement the artists
rebelled against classical subject matter and
embraced modernity, desiring to create works that
reflected the world in which they lived.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

7 Impressionism: 1860 CE - 1890 CE

Characteristics:
Impressionists strongly emphasized the effects of
light in their paintings. They used short, thick strokes
of paint to capture the essence of the object rather
than the subject's details. Quickly applied brush
strokes give the painterly illusion of movement and
spontaneity.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

7 Impressionism: 1860 CE - 1890 CE

‘A Bar at the Folies-Bergère’

is a painting by Édouard
Manet, considered to be his
last major work, painted in
1882. It depicts a scene in
the Folies Bergère nightclub
in Paris.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

Whose painting is this and what
is the title?
Vincent van Gogh
‘Starry Night’ 1889
View from the window
before sunrise.

Impressionism
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

8 Post-impressionism: 1886 CE - 1905 CE

Post-Impressionism is characterized by a subjective
approach to painting, as artists opted to evoke
emotion rather than realism in their work. The Post-
impressionists rejected Impressionism's concern with
the spontaneous and naturalistic rendering of light
and color. Instead they favored an emphasis on more
symbolic content, formal order and structure and
artificiality in strokes.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

8 Post-impressionism: 1886 CE - 1905 CE

Characteristics:
Post-Impressionists both extended Impressionism
while rejecting its limitations: the artists continued
using vivid colors, a thick application of paint and
real-life subject matter, but were more inclined to
emphasize geometric forms, distort forms for an
expressive effect and use unnatural and seemingly
random colors.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

8 Post-impressionism: 1886 CE - 1905 CE

‘Vision after the Sermon’ is

an oil painting by French
artist Paul Gauguin, 1888. It
depicts a scene from the
Bible in which Jacob
wrestles an angel.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

9 Expressionism: 1905 CE - 1930 CE

Expressionism emerged as a reaction to the
European spiritual and social crises of the early 20th
century. Instead of the real world, Expressionists
conveyed their personal emotions in their works.
They created masterpieces composed of distorted
figures, shocking colors, and powerful lines.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

9 Expressionism: 1905 CE - 1930 CE

Characteristics:
Expressionist art tried to convey emotion and
meaning rather than reality. Each artist had their
own unique way of expressing’ emotions in their art.
In order to do that, the subjects are often distorted
or exaggerated.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

9 Expressionism: 1905 CE - 1930 CE

‘Dance Around the

Golden Calf’ by
Emil Nolde, 1910
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

10 Cubism: 1907 CE - 1914 CE

Cubism is an artistic movement, created by Pablo
Picasso and Georges Braque, which employs
geometric shapes in depictions of human and other
forms. Over time, the geometric touches grew so
intense that they sometimes overtook the
represented forms, creating a more pure level of
seemingly visual abstraction.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

10 Cubism: 1907 CE - 1914 CE

Characteristics:
In Cubism, artists began to look at subjects in new
ways in an effort to depict three-dimensions on a flat
canvas. They would break up the subject into many
different shapes and then repaint it from different
angles. Cubism paved the way for many different
modern movements of art in the 20th century.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

10 Cubism: 1907 CE - 1914 CE

‘Violin and Candlestick’,

1910 by Georges Braque.
This work embodies the
dynamic and energetic
qualities of Analytic Cubism,
a revolutionary artistic style
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

11 Futurism: 1910 CE - 1930 CE

Artistic movement centered in Italy that emphasized
the dynamism, speed, energy, and power of the
machine and the vitality, change, and restlessness of
modern life. Futurism was launched by the Italian
poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in 1909. On 20
February he published his Manifesto of Futurism on
the front page of the Paris newspaper Le Figaro.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

11 Futurism: 1910 CE - 1930 CE

Characteristics:
Futurist painting used elements and inspirations from
neo-impressionism and cubism to create compositions
that expressed the idea of the dynamism, the energy
and movement, of modern life. Futurism is the
defiance of the art of the past and celebrating change,
originality, and innovation in culture and society.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

11 Futurism: 1910 CE - 1930 CE

‘Primavera Umbria' was

created in 1923 by Gerardo
Dottori in Futurism style.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

12 Art Deco: 1909 CE - 1939 CE

Art Deco focused on the motion and thrill of the

modern, mechanized world not only applied to
visual arts but also to mass-produced fashion
and individually crafted luxury items. Art Deco
was also influential across fashion, advertising
and architecture.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

12 Art Deco: 1909 CE - 1939 CE

Characteristics:
Playful, luxurious and exotic, Art Deco overturned
traditional elegance in preference for a highly stylized
and geometric style that symbolized wealth and
sophistication.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

12 Art Deco: 1909 CE - 1939 CE

Self-portrait, ‘Tamara in a
Green Bugatti’ (1929).
Painted by Tamara de
Lempicka, Art Deco
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

13 Abstract Expressionism: 1940s

Originating in 1940s America, Abstract Expressionism

took its inspiration from European painters working in
abstraction. It tended to reject all recognizably
realistic forms and used color and texture as the
primary tool for expression.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

13 Abstract Expressionism: 1940s

Characteristics:
Artists used free-flowing, gestural painted
brush marks, producing paintings that were
heavily reliant on spontaneity and intuition.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

13 Abstract Expressionism: 1940s

‘Multiform’, 1948
by Mark Rothko
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

14 Contemporary Art: 1946 to present

Contemporary art is really a catch-all term for all art

that has come after the Second World War. As such, it
encompasses many themes and styles, and takes us
up to the present day. Diversity and challenging
nature, contemporary Art offers works with a dynamic
combination of materials, methods, concepts and
subjects that challenge the traditional and defy easy
definition.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

14 Contemporary Art: 1946 to present

Characteristics:
Contemporary Art is a style of decorating defined by
simplicity, subtle sophistication, deliberate use of
texture, and clean lines. It tend to focus on color,
space, and shape, contemporary interiors as well as
frames are sleek and fresh.
 Lesson 10

History of Western Art

14 Contemporary Art: 1946 to present

‘Untitled #153’ is a color

photograph made by American
visual artist Cindy Sherman in
1985. In 2010, a print was
auctioned for $2.7 million, making
it one of the most expensive
photographs ever sold at that time.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

The history of Asian art or Eastern art, includes a
vast range of influences from various cultures and
religions. Developments in Asian art historically
parallel those in Western art, in general a few
centuries earlier. Chinese art, Indian art, Korean art,
Japanese art, each had significant influence on
Western art, and, vice versa. Near Eastern art also had
a significant influence on Western art. Excluding
prehistoric art, the art of Mesopotamia represents the
oldest forms of Asian art.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Functions: Asian art primarily serves religious

function. Building and decorating temples with the
best vessels made of bronze and gold including their
statues of gods and goddesses. Without arbitrary
divisions separating the arts, East Asia has developed
exceptionally complex artistic forms possessing
extraordinary richness and subtlety in practical and
aesthetic applications.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Influence: The history of Eastern painting is as

old as the civilization of China. It is historically
comparable to Western painting. Eastern countries
continued to influence each other's production of arts
over the centuries. The ideologies of Confucianism,
Daoism, and Buddhism played important roles in
East Asian art.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Buddhist Art:
Originated in the Indian subcontinent in the centuries
following the life of the historical Gautama Buddha in
the 6th to 5th century BCE, before evolving through
its contact with other cultures and its diffusion
through the rest of Asia and the world.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Buddhist Art: Gautama Buddha

Popularly known as the Buddha, was a Śramaṇa who
lived in ancient India. He is regarded as the founder
of the world religion of Buddhism. A couple of
centuries after his death he came to be known by the
title Buddha, which means ‘Awakened One’ or
‘Enlightened One’.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Buddhist Art:
This is one of the images of the pensive
bodhisattva prevalent in East Asia
between the 5th and 8th centuries. In
Korea, the type emerged as an important
Buddhist icon during the 6th and 7th
centuries, particularly in the kingdoms of
Baekje and Silla. This seated figure is
among the best-preserved examples.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Buddhist Art:
The Great Stupa at Sanchi, India has been
the focal point of the Buddhist faith in the region since
it was built by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Bhutanese Art:
Bhutanese arts and crafts are known for their bold
use of colors, exquisite attention to detail and
symmetry. Portraying deities, plants and animals and
more, art is used to decorate the homes, temples and
everyday objects of the Bhutanese people. From the
Buddhists monks making intricate sand mandalas to
the woodworker carving a garish mask, art is seen as
a religious experience, leading to enlightenment.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Bhutanese Art: Thangka Painting

The making of a thangka is a long and painstaking
process. It starts with the preparation of the canvas,
which must be well stretched and smoothened. The
outline of the deity and composition are made,
according to set guidelines, first in pencil and then
with a fine brush; colors are later painted in.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Bhutanese Art:
Thangka Painting

‘Thangka of Milarepa’
1052-1135, Thimphu.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Cambodian Art:
The traditional visual arts of Cambodia revealed the
conservatism of the ‘Khmer Empire’. Ancient themes
were preferred, and rarely was there an effort to
improve or adapt. The principal crafts were weaving,
silver, goldsmith and jewelry making. Visual arts
includes wood and stone sculpture, painting and
architecture.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Cambodian Art: Angkor Wat

It was originally built in the first half of the 12th
century as a Hindu temple. Spread across more than
400 acres, Angkor Wat is said to be the largest
religious monument in the world. Originally dedicated
to the Hindu god Vishnu, Angkor Wat became a
Buddhist temple by the end of the 12th century.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Cambodian Art: Stone Carving

Khmer people were considered as the finest stone
carvers in the world. Cambodia's best-known stone
carving adorns the temples of Angkor, which are
renowned for the scale, richness and detail of their
sculpture and relief.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Chinese Art:
Varied throughout its ancient history, Chinese art
was divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of
China and changing technology. Different forms of
art have been influenced by great philosophers,
teachers, religious figures and even political leaders.
Chinese art encompasses fine arts, folk arts and
performance arts.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Chinese Art: Painting
The Vinegar Tasters is a
traditional subject in Chinese
religious and philosophical painting.
The concept of the painting depicts
the three founders of China’s three
major religious and philosophical
traditions such as Confucianism,
Buddhism, and Taoism.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Chinese Art: 3 Notable Painters
• Wu Daozi, 680-759 CE – a famous painter in the Tang Dynasty
(618 - 907AD), was honored as a painting saint. Wu lost his
father at an early age and lived in poverty.
• Zhu Da, 1626-1705 CE – was a painter in the late Ming
Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. He was the descendant of Zhu
Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty.
• Zhao Menfu 1254-1322 CE – was the descendant of Zhao
Kuangyin, the founder of Song Dynasty (960 - 1279AD). He
was a versatile scholar specializing in calligraphy and painting.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Indian Art:
Indian art can be classified into specific periods,
each reflecting certain religious, political and cultural
developments. The earliest examples are the
petroglyphs such as those found in Bhimbetka, some
of them dating to before 5500 BCE. The production
of such works continued for several millenniums.
Later examples include the carved pillars of Ellora,
Maharashtra state. Other examples are the frescoes
of Ajanta and Ellora Caves.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Indian Art: Ellora Caves

‘Ellora Caves in Maharashtra’
was built by the Rashtrkuta king,
Krishna I. Situated in the south
of the precinct, these caves
adorned with carves and statues
are estimated to have been built
during 600 to 730 CE.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Indian Art: Ellora Caves

Ellora, also known as ‘Elura’ and, in ancient times, as
‘Elapura’ is a sacred site in Maharastra, central India.
The Ellora Caves are listed by UNESCO as a World
Heritage Site and is celebrated for its Hindu, Buddhist,
and Jain temples and monuments which were carved
from the local cliff rock.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Indonesian Art:
Indonesian art are characterized by their delicacy
and serenity of expression. Indonesian art enjoyed
another golden age under the Majapahit Empire
1293–1500, during which a large number of Hindu–
Buddhist brick temples were built, characterized by
tall, slender-roofed red brick gates and a strong
geometrical quality.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Indonesian Art: Demak Great Mosque

‘Demak Great Mosque’, 1479 is one of the

oldest mosques in Indonesia, located in the center
town of Demak, Central Java, Indonesia. The mosque
is believed to be built by the Wali Songo with the
most prominent figure Sunan Kalijaga, during the
first Demak Sultanate ruler, Raden Patah.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Japanese Art:
Japanese art and architecture is works of art produced
in Japan from the beginnings of human habitation
there, sometime in the 10th millennium BC, to the
present. Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles
and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in
wood and bronze, ink painting on silk and paper, and a
myriad of other types of works of art; from ancient
times until the contemporary 21st century.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Japanese Art: Pottery
Prehistoric art of Japan begins with the Jōmon period
10,000 BCE – 350 BCE. The Jōmon people were the
first settlers of Japan. Nomadic hunter-gatherers who
later practiced organized farming and built cities.
Historians named the pots Jōmon which means
“cord-markings”, where in impressions made by
pressing rope into the clay before it was heated to
approximately 600-900 degrees Celsius.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Japanese Art: Pottery

All Jōmon pots were made by hand, without the aid of
a wheel, the potter building up the vessel from the
bottom with coil upon coil of soft clay. As in all other
Neolithic cultures, women produced these early
potteries. Jōmon is said to be the world’s oldest
pottery to be discovered, 3,000-2000 BCE.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Japanese Art: Ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e as often translated ‘pictures of the floating
world’, is a genre of Japanese art flourished from the
17th - 19th centuries in the early Edo period. It
started as one-piece black-ink only using woodblock
prints. The drawings were circulated in towns as
printed books or in canvas cloth and spread among
the common people for their enjoyment. Color print
began in the mid-Edo period.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Japanese Art: Ukiyo-e

The Hikone screen may be the oldest surviving ukiyo-e

work, dating to c. 1624–44.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Laotian Art:
Lao art involves the myriad of forms creative, cultural
expression originating from Laos. This includes both
ancient artefacts and recent productions. Laotian Art
often features themes of religiosity in Buddhism and
includes such material forms as textiles, wood-carving
and basket-weaving, sculpture and architecture.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Laotian Art: Sculpture
The most famous Buddhist sculpture in Laos, is
perhaps the Phra Bang also written as ‘Phrabang’,
and which literally means “Delicate Buddha" is the
mystical national emblem of Laos culture. The statue
is 83 cm high standing Buddha with palms facing
forward, cast in bronze and covered in gold leaf.
According to local lore, it was cast in Ceylon now Sri
Lanka sometime between the 1st and 9th century.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Nepalese Art:
Nepali art is diverse and complex. Traditional art here
includes intricate floral patterns, mythical beings, and
the complex fusion of Hindu, Buddhist, and indigenous
elements using various materials like wood, stone,
metal, and cloth.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Nepalese Art: Sculpture
‘Bodhisattva
The messianic
Padmapani Lokeshvara’
characterized as the Buddha of the
future, stands in a graciously
exaggerated posture, the body
beautifully counterbalanced.
11th – 12th Century
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Thai Art:
Thai art and visual art was traditionally and primarily
Buddhist and Royal Art. Sculpture was almost
exclusively of Buddha images, while painting was
confined to illustration of books and decoration of
buildings, primarily palaces and temples. Thai Buddha
images from different periods have a number of
distinctive styles. Contemporary Thai art often
combines traditional Thai elements with modern
techniques.
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Asian Visual Art

Thai Art: Architecture
Also known as Temple of Dawn,
‘Wat Arun Ratchawararam’ has
been named after the Hindu
God, Aruna or the God of Dawn.
The recent construction, for
most parts, was restored and
rebuilt by King Rama II and King
Rama IV of the Chakri dynasty
of Thailand. 1656
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Tibetan Art:
Tibetan art is first and foremost a form of sacred art,
reflecting the over-riding influence of Tibetan
Buddhism on these cultures. Tibetan art, uniquely, is
an art that uses figuration and representational
images to express abstraction. Moreover, especially
through its use of ‘mandalas’, art is an integral part of
a spiritual practice and process.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Tibetan Art: Painting
‘Guge frescos’ mainly refer to the frescos in the
Red and White palaces of the ruins of Guge Kingdom,
900-1630 CE which were a grand ancient city with
unique Tibetan architectures. The Guge frescos
covering various aspects of religious disciples and
laymen, such as plough, sowing, harvest, hunting and
milking have remained vividly colored following the
passage of more than 300 years.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Tibetan Art: Painting
The aesthetic effect of ‘Guge
Frescos’ characterized with
sublimity mixed with elegance,
symmetry with harmony,
femininity with masculinity,
melancholy with heroism, and
sublimity with romanticism.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Vietnamese Art:
Vietnamese artists began to use traditional mediums
such as silk, lacquer, and oil to create European-style
artworks. The result was a dazzling fusion of East and
West, with talented artists creating breathtaking silk
and oil paintings usually depicting pagodas, the
countryside, and Vietnamese historical events.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Vietnamese Art: Woodblock Prints
Vietnamese woodblock prints or ‘Dong Ho’
painting (Vietnamese: Tranh Đông Hồ) is a folk art
originating in Dong Ho Village, Bac Ninh Province,
Hanoi that has been practiced for three centuries.
Dong Ho painting is considered one of Vietnam's
cultural symbols. Subjects depicted in these
paintings are usually scenes of ordinary life,
Vietnamese landscapes, seasons of the year, and
prosperity symbols.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Vietnamese Art: Woodblock Prints
The background paper in making a dong
ho is originally white, made of bark of a
tree called ‘Dzo’. The usual pigments
were orange, pink, yellow, purple refined
from the leaves of local trees; red
pigment is taken from earth of hills and
mountains; the black is made from
burned bamboo leaves; a shiny white
paint is made using ground sea shells.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

The Art of Mesopotamia: has survived in the
archaeological record from early hunter-gatherer
societies, 10th millennium BCE on to the Bronze Age
cultures of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and
Assyrian empires. These empires were later replaced
in the Iron Age by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-
Babylonian empires. Widely considered to be the
cradle of civilization, Mesopotamia brought significant
cultural developments, including the oldest examples
of writing.
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Asian Visual Art

Art of Mesopotamia: Pottery

The Warka Vase, also called the ‘Uruk Vase’, a
carved alabaster stone vessel, is one of the earliest
surviving works of narrative relief sculpture. It was
found in the temple complex of the Sumerian goddess
Inanna in the ruins of the ancient city of Uruk in
southern Iraq. The vase was discovered as a collection
of fragments by German Assyriologists in their sixth
excavation season at Uruk in 1933-1934.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Art of Mesopotamia: Pottery

The Warka Vase,

One of the Earliest
Surviving Works of
Narrative Relief Sculpture,
Looted in the Iraq War
Circa 3200 to 3000 BCE
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Islamic Art:
Generally, Islamic Art directly reflects its cultural
values but also shows the unique Muslim view of life
and all spiritual things. For Muslims, God is the
center, Allah. Therefore Islamic art developed a
unique character of geometric, arabesque, floral,
and calligraphic patterns which reflect on their
aspects of balance.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Islamic Art: Wall Art

Islamic art was influenced by Greek, Roman, early
Christian, and Byzantine art styles, as well as the
Sassanian art of pre-Islamic Persia. Central Asian styles
were brought in with various nomadic incursions; and
Chinese influences had a formative effect on Islamic
painting, wall art, pottery, and textiles.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Islamic Art: Wall Art

A calligraphic panel by Mustafa Râkim (late 18th–early
19th century): In tradition, Islamic art has focused on
the depiction of patterns and Arabic calligraphy, rather
than on human figures, because it is feared by many
Muslims that the depiction of the human form is
idolatry. The panel reads: “God, there is no god but He,
the Lord of His prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) and the Lord of all that has been created.”
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Iranian Art:
Persian art, also referred to as Iranian art, is an art
form made up of many mediums that include painting,
pottery, sculpture, reliefs, metalworking, calligraphy,
weaving, and architecture. As Persian art developed,
the art movement received multiple influences from
neighboring countries, dictated the style seen in the
artworks. With the earliest influence dating back to
approximately 550 BCE, Persian art exists as one of
the richest art heritages in the world.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Iranian Art: Stone Bas-relief

‘Archers frieze’ from Darius

Palace at Susa, ca. 510 BC
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Nabataean Art:
Nabataean is a member of an ancient Arabian people
who from 312 BC formed an independent kingdom
with its capital at Petra in Jordan. The art of the
Nabataeans of North Arabia were known for potted
painted ceramics, and dispersed among Greco-Roman
world, as well as sculpture and architecture.
Nabataean Art is most well known significantly for the
archaeological sites in Petra, specifically monuments
such as Al Khazneh and Ad Deir.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Nabataean Art: Architecture

One of the most prominent rock-cut facades within the
Petra Archaeological Park is the Palace Tomb
synthetized with the advanced set of skills and
techniques that the Nabataeans deployed to shape the
unique monuments. Built between the 1st and the 2nd
century AD is the most monumental of the ‘Royal
Tombs’ Group, as referred to by its name.
 Lesson 10

Asian Visual Art

Nabataean Art: Architecture
“The aim of Art is to represent not the
outward appearance of things but their
inward significance.”
- Aristotle -