CHAPTER 3: ART HISTORY

A. ANCIENT ART
● 30,000 B.C.E. to 400 A.D.
● Art played an important role in societies by providing a means to enforce religious and political order.
● Example: One of the most famous artworks from Ancient Mesopotamia, often called the “cradle of
civilization,” is the Code of Hammurabi, a set of laws carved in stone and adorned by an image of King
Hammurabi and the Mesopotamian god Shabash.
● Although prehistoric humans made art a far back as 40,000 years ago, ancient art is considered by
some to be the foundation of all art history, with its techniques, forms, and subject matter continuing to
inform the art today.
● Ancient civilizations created their own unique art. Therefore, no uniformity, art movement, and no
worldwide approach, appeal, or affect can be ascribed to ancient art.
● Ancient artworks: tell stories, decorate utilitarian objects (pitchers, plates, and weapons), and used to
manifest the status of the owner.
● Emphasis: History and is influenced by the distinct cultures of its origin, religion, and political climate.
● Characterized as stiff (not flexible), explicit, and direct representation of life.
● Egypt, India, Rome, Japan, and China are some of the places with the earliest distinct artwork
discovered in their ancient civilizations.

B. MEDIEVAL ART
● Also called Middle Ages or Dark Ages
● Childbirth, famine, and bad weather threatened the survival of ordinary people.
● Art subjects were initially restricted to the production of Pietistic painting (religious art or Christian art)
● Two of the most famous types of medieval art:
o Illuminated Manuscripts – religious texts embellished with rich colors which often featured the
use of gold and silver
o Stained Glass – applied mostly exclusively to the windows of churches, cathedral, and castles.
Small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures.

C. RENAISSANCE ART
● Period that immediately followed Middle Ages
● Called rebirth or reawakening because of the renewed interest in the classical learning and values of
Ancient Greece and Rome
● Changes brought by the renaissance art:
1. Development of new technologies like the printing press
2. New system of astronomy
3. Discovery and exploration of new continents
4. Blossoming of philosophy literature, and art
● Renaissance Masters:
1. Leonardo Da Vinci
▪ Called the ultimate “Renaissance Man”
▪ Best known for works like Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, The Virgin of the Rocks
2. Michelangelo Buonarroti
▪ Sourced inspiration form the human body
▪ Famous works: Pieta, David, ceiling painting in the Sistine Chapel
3. Raphael Sanzio
▪ Youngest among the three
▪ He learned from both da Vinci and Michelangelo
▪ Famous work: The School of Athens

D. MODERN ART
● Started because of the Industrial Revolution – characterized by rapid changes in transportation,
production, and technology which immensely affected the social, political, and cultural conditions of
life.
● Along the revolutionary changes were the re-imagination and redefinition of works of art called the
modern art.
 ● Many modern artists started to make art about people, places or ideas that interested them, and of
which they had direct experience.
● “The Interpretation of Dreams” by Sigmund Freud (a psychologist) inspired artists to explore dreams
and symbolism.
● Invented the photography in the 1830s which introduced a new method for depicting and
reinterpreting the world (mostly more realistically).

E. CONTEMPORARY ART
● The art of today
● Have a diverse spectrum of interests, global influence, cultural diversity, and increasingly technological
advancing world
● Lack of uniform, organizing principle, or ideology
● Forms: Pop Art, Photorealism, Conceptualism, Minimalism, Performance Art, Installation Art, Earth Art,
and Street Art

F. ASIAN ART
● Religions greatly influenced Asian art
● Three great religions developed in Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism
● Common nature among Asian arts and artists includes the use of the following iconography
1. Lotus - symbol of excellence and spiritual perfection
2. Wheel - represents doctrine preached in Buddha’s first sermon
3. Halo - signifies transcendent radiance
4. Adornment - lavish jewelry and elaborate hairstyle
5. Multiple features - multiple arms or multiple heads that mean multiple power
6. Expressions - usually ugly and horrific as they are directed to the evil and ignorance
● Functions of Asian Art:
1. Worship
2. Glorification of the Royals
3. Education

G. PHILIPPINE ART
G.1. Pre-Colonial Art
● significant changes in the way Filipino ancestors adorned themselves during the iron age
● aside from armlets, bracelets, rings, and headbands, tattoos became fashionable especially to royal
families and to those who held key social functions in the community
● weaving also became a preoccupation for women
● today: Apo Whang Od is the oldest known survivor of the traditional tattoo artists
o mambabatok – uses batok method where ink is carefully nailed on the skin of the individual
o male – protected the village from intruders
o female – aesthetic purposes
Influences:
● Negrito – zigzag designs on ancient lime tubes and ornamental carvings on combs
● Indonesia – apparel of the people of Kalinga, Maranao, Manobo, and Bagobos
● Malay – wood carvings in utensils, boats, and wooden shields of the people of Sulu and Mountain
Province

Earliest art forms in the Philippines that have not yet been somewhat penetrated by Western influences
are music and dance. The war dance interwoven in Igorot rituals, the Ifugao funeral dance, and the
Benguet victory dance are examples in pure indigenous form (Biana, 2017).

G.2. Colonial Art

 ● Although pre-colonial art survived, American and European influences became significantly dominant
● Spanish missionaries used colorful pageantry of Roman Catholic Church

G.2.1. Significant Change in Philippine Art

a. Sculpture
● anitos became santos
● Santos commissioned by the church were usually large, carved from hardwood like molave and
placed on altars. Small ones were kept in miniature altar pieces
● Example: Santo Nino de Cebu – oldest known relic handed from the period of Spanish colonization
(Gift of Magellan to Hara Humamay (Juana), wife of Rajah Humabon.)
b. Print
● First book printed in PH: Doctrina Christiana en Lengua Espanol y Tagala (Christian doctrines in
Spanish and Tagalog Languages) by Juan de Plasencia
● All presses were owned by the religious orders
c. Furniture
● Resembled those in conventos or churches
● Classified into three: storage pieces (baul, aparador), rest pieces (rocking chairs), and lay-on pieces
(beds, papag)
d. Metal Casting
● Practiced in foundries (earliest found in Intramuros and Cavite)
● Cannons, galleon fittings, bells
● Oldest bell: Camalaniugan, Cagayan (1595)
e. Textile Art
● Nipis – woven from stalks of the abaca plant
● Jusi – raw silk (most famous: pineapple)
● Nipis fabrics were colorfully dyed, striped, embroidered and made into camisa, panuelos, panyo,
altar cloths
● Most expensive today: pina