Art of Emerging

Europe

DANIEL A. TIANIO
 The Major Periods in Western
Art History

• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Rome
• Middle ages
• Renaissance art
• Mannerism
• Baroque and Rococo
• Neoclassicism
ANCIENT GREECE
• Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient culture
for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the
human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the
focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic development between
about 750 and 300 BC was remarkable by ancient standards, and
in surviving works is best seen in sculpture.
• The art of ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into four
periods: the Geometric, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic.

Geometric art  is a phase of Greek art, characterized largely by

geometric motifs in vase painting. (900 BC – 700 BC)

The Hirschfeld Krater, mid-8th century The Dipylon Amphora, mid-8th century

BC. BC, with human figures for scale.
 Archaic art is characterised by a shift towards representational and
naturalistic styles. It was the period in which monumental sculpture was
introduced to Greece, and in which Greek pottery styles went through
great changes, from the repeating patterns of the late geometric period to
the earliest red figure vases.

The kore known as the The Archaic period saw a shift in styles of
Dedication of Nikandre. pottery decoration from the repeating patterns
of the geometric period.
 Classical art saw changes in the style and function of sculpture. Poses
became more naturalistic and the technical skill of Greek sculptors in
depicting the human form in a variety of poses greatly increased. From
about 500 BC statues began to depict real people.

The Artemision Bronze,
either Poseidon or Zeus, c. 460 BC. Hermes, possibly by Lysippos.
Hellenistic art is the art of the Hellenistic period generally taken to
begin with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and end with
the conquest of the Greek world by the Romans. A number of the best-
known works of Greek sculpture belong to this period.

the Venus de Milo, discovered at the Winged Victory of Samothrace,

the Greek island of Milos, 130–100 from the island of Samothrace, 200–
BC, Louvre.  190 BC, Louvre.
ANCIENT ROME (500 BC – 500 AD)

• Roman art was influenced by Greece and can in part be taken as a

descendant of ancient Greek painting and sculpture, but was also
strongly influenced by the more local Etruscan art of Italy. Roman
sculpture, is primarily portraiture derived from the upper classes of
society as well as depictions of the gods. However, Roman painting does
have important unique characteristics. Among surviving Roman
paintings are wall paintings.

• Almost all of the surviving painted portraits from the Ancient world are
a large number of coffin-portraits of bust form.
 Mummy portrait of a Bust of "Mondragone" Antinous,
young girl, 2nd century c. 130 AD.
AD, Louvre.
MIDDLE AGES (6th century to 15th century)
• Most surviving art from the Medieval period was religious in focus, often
funded by the Church, powerful ecclesiastical individuals such as bishops,
communal groups such as abbeys, or wealthy secular patrons. Many had
specific liturgical functions—processional crosses and altarpieces.

Byzantine
monumental
Church mosaics
are one of the
great
achievements of
Saint Matthew from medieval art.
the Lindisfarne Gospels.
• Byzantine art overlaps with or merges with what we call Early
Christian art until the iconoclasm period of 730-843 when the vast
majority of artwork with figures was destroyed; so little remains that
today any discovery sheds new understanding. After 843 until 1453
there is a clear Byzantine art tradition.

• It is often the finest art of the Middle Ages in terms of quality of

material and workmanship, with production centered on
Constantinople. Byzantine art's crowning achievement were the
monumental frescos and mosaics inside domed churches, most of
which have not survived due to natural disasters and the appropriation
of churches to mosques.

The "Handy Tables" of Ptolemy.

• Early Medieval art/Migration
period art is a general term for the art
of the "barbarian" peoples who moved
into formerly Roman territories. Celtic
art in the 7th and 8th centuries saw a
fusion with Germanic traditions through
contact with the Anglo-Saxons creating
what is called the Hiberno-Saxon style
or Insular art, which was to be highly
influential on the rest of the Middle
Ages. 

•  Illuminated manuscripts contain nearly

all the surviving painting of the period,
but architecture, metalwork and small
carved work in wood or ivory were also
important media.
Book of Kells, Folio 292r, Incipit
to John. In principio erat
verbum.
 • Romanesque art refers to
the period from about 1000
to the rise of Gothic art in
the 12th century. This was a
period of increasing
prosperity, and the first to
see a coherent style used
across Europe, from
Scandinavia to Switzerland.

• Romanesque art is vigorous

and direct, was originally
brightly coloured, and is
 Detail of God addressing often very sophisticated.
Jeremiah.
• Gothic art is a variable term
depending on the craft, place and
time. The term originated with
Gothic architecture in 1140, but
Gothic painting did not appear until
around 1200 (this date has many
qualifications), when it diverged from
Romanesque style.

• International Gothic describes

Gothic art from about 1360 to 1430,
after which Gothic art merges into
Renaissance art at different times in
different places. During this period
forms such as painting, in fresco and
on panel, become newly important,  Pentecost the Musée Condé,
and the end of the period includes Chantilly.
new media such as prints.
 RENAISSANCE ART
• The Renaissance is characterized by a focus on the arts of Ancient
Greece and Rome, which led to many changes in both the technical aspects
of painting and sculpture, as well as to their subject matter. It began
in Italy, a country rich in Roman heritage as well as material prosperity to
fund artists. During the Renaissance, painters began to enhance the realism
of their work by using new techniques in perspective, thus representing
three dimensions more authentically.
MANNERISM
• Mannerism, a reaction against the idealist perfection of Classicism,
employed distortion of light and spatial frameworks in order to
emphasize the emotional content of a painting and the emotions of
the painter. 

The Nobleman with his Hand on

Madonna with the Long Neck his Chest
Painting by: Parmigianino
Painting by El Greco
BAROQUE AND ROCOCO
• Baroque art took the representationalism of the Renaissance to new
heights, emphasizing detail, movement, lighting, and drama in their
search for beauty.

• Baroque art was characterized by strongly religious and political

themes; common characteristics included rich colors with a strong
light and dark contrast. Paintings were elaborate, emotional and
dramatic in nature.
• Rococo art was characterized by lighter, often jocular themes; common
characteristics included pale, creamy colors, florid decorations and a
penchant for bucolic landscapes. Paintings were more ornate than their
Baroque counterpart, and usually graceful, playful and light-hearted in
nature.
NEOCLASSICISM
• Neoclassicism was the artistic component of the intellectual
movement known as the Enlightenment; the Enlightenment was
idealistic, and put its emphasis on objectivity, reason and empirical
truth.

• Neoclassical art, inspired by different classical themes, was

characterized by an emphasis on simplicity, order and idealism.
The End
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