DISCOVERING

PRE-HISTORIC
AND CLASSICAL
ART
GROUP 2

Bassit, Leanmar
Benis, Kazan
Galang, Yzabelle
Lungao, Dhwayne
Tiyad, Tyrone
Tumalding, Rina
 PREHISTORIC
ARTS
Prehistoric art is divided into TWO periods
1.Paleolithic (old stone age) - from
30,000to 10,000B.C
2.Neolithic (new stone age) - from
8,000to 5,000B.C

Prehistoric artifacts have been found

widely spread throughout Europe, Russia,
Africa,
and China.

The Three main forms were cave

painting, rock engraving and miniature
figurative carvings.
Paleothic
Sculpture
Woman of Willendorf
(Venus of Willendorf),
c. 28,000-21,000
BCE,
limestone

Reproductive organs emphasized

Lack of emphasis on arms and
legs No feet - was not meant to
stand Approx. 4" tall
No facial features / hair in clumps around
head Traces of paint on head
Paleothic Lion-Human
Sculpture Hohlenstein-Stadel, Germany,
Woman from
c. 30,000-26,000 BCE,
Ostrava mammoth ivory
Petrkovice Czech
Republic, c.
23,000 BCE,
hematite,
1 3/4"
 Cave Paintings of
Lascaux
c. 15,000-13,000 BCE,
Dordogne, France

Charcoal, iron ore and plants mixed with animal fat

to make paints

Animal figures painted deep inside caves

Cows, bulls, horses, deer are common in 650

drawings

Animals were naturalistic, while humans were

mostly stick figures
 Magura
Cave
Magura Cave is located in the northwest of Bulgaria and contains a
collection of cave paintings, painted with bat excrement that date
from
8000-4000 years ago. An excess of 700 paintings has been
discovered in the large cave, depicting people dancing and hunting as
well as a wide
range of animals.
 Stonehen
ge
c. 2,100 BCE,
Wiltshire, England

Post-and-lintel construction
Large megaliths in the center form a horseshoe around a flat
stone Some stones are from 200 miles away
May have taken 1,000 years to build
Neolithic Domestic
Architecture
House Interior,
Skara Brae,
Orkney Islands,
Scotland. c.
3,100-2,600 BCE
WHAT CAUSED THE END OF
PREHISTORY?
It ended when metal tools became
widespread (in copper age or bronze age; or
in some geographical regions in the iron
age).
 CLASSICAL
ARTS
Varies from genre to genre, classical art is
renowned for its harmony, balance and
sense of proportion. In its painting and
sculpture, it employs idealized figures and
shapes, and treats its subjects in a non-
anecdotal and emotionally neutral manner.
 PERIODS IN
ANCIENT
GREEK ART
1600-1100 BCE: Early Mycenaean
Influences

900-700 BCE: Geometric period

776-480 BCE: Greek Archaic

Period 480-323 BCE: Classical

Greece

323-31 BCE: The Age of

Hellenistic Greece
 1600-1100 BCE:
Early
Mycenaean
The Mycenaean civilizationInfluences
is considered the first Greeks, and their style of
art, sculpture, and architecture were fundamental building blocks for later
Greek Classicism.
The drivers of Mycenaean geographical and political expansion were trade
and agriculture.
The Mycenaean engineering genius enhanced both of these drivers with
drainage systems, dams, harbors, bridges, aqueducts, and a road network.
Mycenaean societies were the first to create the acropolis hill-top fortress that
came to characterize later Greek towns.
 776-480 BCE: Greek
Archaic Period
A gradual change from Geometric style to the archaic
style.
The most significant artistic innovation of this period in
Greek history was figurative sculpture (There was a
growing emphasis on the human figure).
 Vase
Eastern patterns and forms Painting
gradually disappeared
Larger human forms became the
preferred subject for art
Figures were more natural with an attempt
to show more natural gestures being
made.
Black-figure painting - combination of black
figures with incised detail on the red background
common to pottery of this period.

Slip - liquid sifted clay with mineral oxides

added for color used to paint figures on
pottery that has a black color after firing
Kleitias, Francois Vase. Attic volute
krater (Greek, c. 570 BCE)
Krater - a wide bowl used for mixing wine
Ceramic H:26"
with water.
 Greek Archaic
Architecture
During the Archaic period an architectural format was
developed. The architectural forms from the Archaic period
are derived from the Mycenaean megaron.

Cella - the center room which housed the statue

of a god or goddess of the temple and was often
surrounded by a single or double row of columns

A megaron is an architectural feature characteristic to the Myceneans. It is

the central hall of both temple structures and private dwellings. According
to
some, the form is likely an adaptation from Neolithic architecture.
 Greek Column
1.Doric Orders
Originated on the
Greece mainland
Earliest /
Simplest Most
common

2. Ionic
Introduced by
architects from Asia
Minor
Used for smaller
temples

3. Corinthian
Not widely used in
 Greek Archaic
Sculpture
In the Archaic Period, sculpture emerged as a principal art form.

Sculptural artworks appeared on buildings.

Life-size figural sculpture emerged, inspired by the Egyptians.

Nonstructural parts of a building were often adorned with

sculpture. Most sculpture was painted with subtle color.

Architectural sculpture was embellished with red, blue, yellow,

green, black, and sometimes gold
 Kouros & Kore
Figures
Kouros and Kore (masculine and feminine)
Earliest figures of the Greek Archaic Period

The Cyclades islands were the birthplace of the first life-sized sculptures of
young women (kore) and men (kouros).

Function is unknown, but because they may have been found among the ruins
of temples they are thought to be devotional or funerary statues.

The men were depicted in the nude.

They were stylized, and followed artistic conventions.

-for example, they have a might have had a slight smile which is now referred to as the
"Archaic Smile"
 Peplos Kouros
Greek,Kore
Archaic, c. 530 Greek, Archaic, c. 530
Tyrannicides
B CE Marble, H:48" B CE
Marble, H:6'4" c. 510 B CE by
Antenor,
Marble
Symbolized the transition towards
democracy. The significance of this
sculpture lies in the fact that it was
the first recorded piece of publicly
funded art.
 Classical
Greece
Emphasized the importance and
accomplishments of human
beings.
CLASSICAL VASE
PAINTING
Vase painting in this period sees an interest in anatomy with movement and shift in
weight. The introduction of red-figure vase painting.
Decorative bands are now eliminated.
The creation of three-dimensional space in the arts.
Classical Greek mural painting that has not
survived.
Red-figure painting - the decorative motifs remained the color of the clay; the background, filled
in with a slip, turned black.

Argonaut Krater Herakles wrestling with

Attic red-figure krater Antaeus
Niobid Painter, c. 460 Attic red-figure krater
B CE Ceramic Euphronios, c. 460
 CLASSICAL
SCULPTURE
Implied movement was the greatest advancement in the arts of the Early
Classical period.
Also, artists were more keenly aware of nature.
The most copied subject was of The Discus Thrower
-The original does not exist, the Romans copied it
Myron was one of the favored sculptors of the period.

Discus Thrower
by Myron
(Discobolus)
c. 450 BCE.
Roman marble
copy after
bronze original.
 CLASSICAL
ARCHITECTURE
After the Persians destroyed the Acropolis, the Greeks mounted a massive
building campaign under Pericles to rebuild it.
The first major work that was rebuilt was a temple, The Parthenon, to the
goddess Athena - protector of Athens.

The
Parthenon
c. 5th century
BC.
 CLASSICAL
SCULPTURE
Pericles commissioned the sculptor, Phidias to oversee all of the sculptures in
the Parthenon.
His style, the Phidian style, is characterized by lightness of touch, attention
to realistic detail, contrast of textures, and fluidity and spontaneity of line
and movement.
The artistic subjects were of battles and gods.
The detailing of the folds of cloth on sculptures such as the
The Three Goddesses had not been seen in art up until this point.
 The Three
Goddesses
from east pediment of the Parthenon
Lapith and Centaur
by Phedias c. 438-431 BCE, from Parthenon by Phedias
Marble c.
438-431 BCE, Marble
CLASSICAL
SCULPTURE
The greatest freestanding sculpture of the
Classical period was created by a rival of
Phidias, Polykleitos.

Polykleitos:

Worked in bronze
Liked to sculpt athletes
Sculptures were based on reason and
intellect. Developed a canon of proportions.
Developed the weight-shift principle

Doryphoros
(Spear Bearer) by
Polykleitos
c. 438-431 BCE, An
example of original
 LATE CLASSICAL :
More humanistic and SCULPTURE
naturalistic An emphasis on
emotion
Bodies became more sensual and graceful with
a pronounced shift in weight
Praxiteles was a major proponent
His works were more lively and fluid than in
previous periods with variations in texture.
S Curve - a posing of figurative sculpture that
creates a sway similar to the letter "S".

Hermes and
the infant
Dionysus
by Polykleitos c. 330-
320 BCE, Marble