The Art of the Ancients the Art of the Ancients

The Art of the Ancients The Art of the Ancients

Prehistoric Art Art of the Ancient Near East Egyptian Art Aegean Art Phases of Prehistoric Art

1. Upper Paleolithic - (Old Stone Age) 2. Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) 3. Neolithic (New Stone Age)

• These 3 periods roughly spanned 14,000 - 200 BCE. • Works of art from the Stone Age include cave paintings, reliefs, and sculpture of stone, ivory and bone. Prehistoric Art

• Why did early humans create art?

• What were the purposes of early art and sculpture? Paleolithic Art

• Paleolithic art is the art of the last Ice Age in North America and Europe. • Cave painting were discover in France dating back 15,000 years. – They used ground charcoal and mineral oxides and early “spray painting” - using a hollowed out bone or reed they blew dried pigment onto the wall. – These cave paintings used naturalism and foreshortening! – They were found in the darkest farthest parts of the cave. – New figures were painted over pervious figures, without thought of composition. • What do you think was the purpose of the cave paintings? Hall of Bulls, Lascaux (Dordogne), France (Upper Paleolithic, c. 15,000–10,000 BCE). Title: Schematic plan of Lascaux Cave system (based on a diagram by the Service Source/ Museum: n/a de l'Architecture, Paris) Medium: n/a Artist: n/a Size: n/a Date: n/a Title: Chinese Horse. Lascaux Cave. Dordogne, France Source/ Museum: n/a Artist: n/a Medium: n/a Date: ca. 15,000-13,000 BCE. Size: n/a Title: Rhinoceros, Wounded Man and Bison. Lascaux Cave. Dordogne, France Source/ Museum: n/a Artist: n/a Medium: n/a Date: ca. 15,000-13,000 BCE. Size: n/a Title: Spotted horses and Human Hands. Pech-Merle Cave. Dordogne, France Source/ Museum: n/a Artist: n/a Medium: limestone Date: Horses ca. 16,000 BCE; Hands ca. 15,000 BCE. Size: approximate length 11'2" (3.4 m) Title: Two Bison. Tuc d'Audoubert Cave, Ariège, France Source/ Museum: n/a Artist: n/a Medium: clay Date: ca. 13,000 BCE Size: length 23 5/8" (60 cm) Venus of Willendorf (Upper Paleolithic) (c. 25,000 BCE). Stone. H: 4 3⁄8”.

Mesolithic Art

• The Middle Stone Age began with the final retreat of the glaciers. • Wall paintings and stone sculptures that were more abstract and highly stylized. • Mesolithic artists concentrated more on the human figure. • The human figure was simplified • Subjects ranged from warriors to ceremonial dancers. Neolithic Art

• Began about 8000 BCE. • Plants and animals were domesticated and life became more stable. • Late Neolithic: writing appeared • Numerous metal implements were fashioned. • About 4000 BCE significant architectural monuments were erected. • The most famous is Stonehenge in Southern England. • Megalith - comes from the Greek word meaning “large stones” Dolmen, Megalithic. Donegal, Ireland Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England (Neolithic, c. 1800 – 1400 BCE). Title: Stonehenge (aerial view), Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, England Source/ Museum: n/a Artist: n/a Medium: n/a Date: ca. 2100 BCE. Size: diameter of circle 97' (29.6 m) Title: Diagram of original arrangement of stones at Stonehenge Source/ Museum: n/a Artist: n/a Medium: n/a Date: n/a Size: n/a ART OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

• Sumer • Akkad • Babylonia • Assyria • Persia

Historic societies are marked by written language, advanced social organization, and developments in government, science, and art and the development of agriculture. Sumer

• Sumer was located in the Euphrates River Valley in Southern Mesopotamia. • They had a system of writing called cuneiform – Cuneiform comes from the Latin word meaning “wedge” because cuneiform writing was wedge shaped. • Sumer may have been among the first to establish a formal religion.

• Ziggurat - large pyramidal platforms created to hold a temple at the top. – The ziggurat known to the Hebrews as the Tower of Babel was 270 feet tall. White temple at Uruk and Ziggurat (Sumer, c. 3200 - 3000 BCE). Sun dried brick. Statues from Abu Temple, Tel Asmar (Sumerian, Early Dynasty period, c. 2900–2600 BCE). Marble with shell and black limestone inlay. Height of tallest figures: 30”. Akkad

• Was located north of Sumer in the valley of the Tigris river. • Their art commemorated its rulers (such as Sargon) and warriors instead of offering homage to the gods. • Their art also used naturalism. • The ruler and warriors were stylized by the enemies were natural looking in position and depiction. Victory Stele of Narim Sin (c. 2300 – 2200 BCE). Stone H 6’6”. Babylonia

• Babylonia rose to power in Mesopotamia in the 18th century BCE (around Iraq). • Hammurabi codified the laws of Mesopotamia, inscribed on a basalt stele in relief. • Used a more natural style of art. Stele (upper portion) inscribed with the Law Code of Hammurabi, at Susa (Babylonian, c. 1760 BCE). Diorite. H: 7’4” (225 cm). Assyria

• The Assyrian empire developed along the upper Tigris river. • They were influenced by the Babylonian art, culture, and religion. • Carved stone reliefs were the most common art form in Assyria. • Most of the scenes were of war and hunting. The Dying Lioness, from Nineveh (Assyrian, 660 BCE). Limestone. H: 13 3⁄4”. Persia

• The Persian empire developed east of Mesopotamia (around modern-day Iran) • Use more deeply carved relief. They are fleshier, and more well rounded with more detail. • Some of the figures twist and turn in space. EGYPTIAN ART

• Pre-dynastic • Old Kingdom • Middle Kingdom • New Kingdom • Ptolemaic (after Alexander the Great) Egyptian Art

• Much of Egyptian art was very religious

• The Nile river was revered as a god.

Three aspects of Egyptian art and life are unique: ➢ Their link to religion ➢ Their link to death ➢ And, their ongoing use of strict conventionalism in the arts. (There are very few variations in their art throughout the periods.) Old Kingdom

• Before unification of Upper and Lower Egypt (c. 5500 BCE) • Art consisted mainly of funerary offerings, such as small figures, carved ivory, pottery, and slate cosmetic palettes. • At the period’s end, large limestone figures were created. Sculpture

• Religion was bound to the afterlife, so permanence in their art was essential. • Tombs and pyramids carried scenes of every-day objects and common earthly activities. • Wall decorations were carved in very low relief using a great deal of incised detail. • Sculptures of the deceased were placed in the tombs with life- like sculptures of family and friends. • Composite figures with head, pelvis, and legs are in profile and the upper torso and eye are shown from a frontal view. • Canon of Proportions - relating the scale of anatomical parts to one another. • Horus - god of the sun. Sculpture

• See Narmer Palette Old Kingdom (c. 3200 BCE) • See Statue of Khafre Old Kingdom (c. 2500 BCE) Architecture

• The most spectacular and most famous of the Egyptian Old Kingdom are the Great Pyramids at Gizeh.

• Served to protect tombs located underneath. Great Pyramids at Giza (Egyptian, Old Kingdom, c. 2570–2500 BCE). Middle Kingdom

• At first, art stunted by political strife; then, Egypt was eventually reorganized and art flourished. • Very little experimentation under the rigid stylistic conventions. • Rock-cut tombs with carved out of living rock. • The entrance ways were marked by columned porticoes of post-and lintel construction. • Halls lined with relief sculptures, such as those of the Tomb of Ti. New Kingdom • The Hyskos conquered Egypt and introduced Bronze Age weapons. • The Hyskos was overthrown and the result was a stable period of creativity. • This period was one of the most vital periods in Egyptian history. • The New Kingdom artwork combines the artistic conventions of the earlier two kingdoms. • The Egyptian society embraced a death cult and during the New Kingdom period a new type of architecture was created -the Mortuary Temple. • The Mortuary Temple was not a tomb, but was instead a place where they could worship during life and be worshiped after death. Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Thebes (Egyptian, New Kingdom, c. 1480 BCE). The Amarna Revolution: The Reign of Akhenaton and Nefertiti

• The reign of Akhenaton in 14th century BCE marked a revolution in religion and the arts for the Egyptians. • He changed the capital to Tel el-Amarna • He also said that there was only one god, the sun god, Aton. • During his reign the art became more naturalistic with curving lines and full-bodied forms. Pillar statue of Akhenaton (Egyptian, New Kingdom,c. 1356 BCE). Sandstone, painted. Bust of Queen Nefertiti (Egyptian, New Kingdom, c. 1344 BCE). Limestone. H: approx. 20”. “A Closer Look”

• King Tut: The Face that Launched a Thousand High-Res Images

• The brief life of Pharaoh Akhenaton’s son • Carter’s discovery of his tomb • U.S. tours in 1976 and 2006 Coffin of Tutankhamen (c. 1323 BCE). Gold. Concluding Discussion:

After the unusual rule of Pharaoh Akhenaton and the brief rule of Tutankhamen, Egypt returned to its regular religious worship and its highly stylized artistic traditions for another 1,000 years. AEGEAN ART

• The Cyclades • Crete (Minoan) • Mycenae

• The Bronze Age civilizations of Pre- Hellenic Greece comprised these cultures and that of the Cyclades Islands. Aegean Art

• The arts of the trading maritime powers of the Aegean region, including Egypt and Asia Minor • The discoveries of the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and excavations of Sir Arthur Evans (Crete) • Pre-Hellenistic Greece The Cyclades

• A group of six islands in the archipelago of the Aegean Sea. • This is where they found Venus de Milo (see Fig. 13-16) • The art that survives is mostly from tombs and is pottery and small figures. • The female figures tend to be geometric and abstract. • And the male figures are seated and play instruments. Cycladic idol, from Amorgos (c. 2500–1100 BCE). Marble. H: 30”. Crete

• The Minoan civilization is where the myths about the Minotaur of King Minos, and the labyrinth come from. • Their art was not about death, instead they build lavish palaces for their royalty. There were 3 periods: • The Early Minoan Period (or the pre-Palace Period) • The Middle Minoan Period(or the period of the old palaces) – began around 2000 BCE may have been destroyed by an earthquake. – The great palaces were constructed – A form of writing based on pictographs and call Linear A was developed. • The Late Minoan Period the places were reconstructed. – A form of writing linear B was developed. – The most spectacular palace was Knossos. – The palaces included 3 stories high with many rooms and magazine or storage areas for wine and grain. Queen’s bedroom in Palace at Knossos (Late Minoan, c. 1500 BCE). Mycenae

• The Mycenaeans were a Greek-speaking people who were expert in forging weapons. • Their art was influenced by the Minoans. • They took over and occupied the Minoan Crete after the Minoan palaces were destroyed. • The art and architecture of the Mycenaean’s is about defense. Architecture

Figure 13.21, p.292: Lion Gate at Mycenae (c. 1300 BCE). Height of sculpture above lintel: 9’6 1⁄2”. Architecture

Terms: • Lintel • Beveled • Tholos or bee hive tombs • Shaft graves • Stele or headstones The Treasury of Atreus (Mycenaean, c. 1300–1250 BCE). Gold Work

• They made masks hammered from thin sheets of gold. • The masks were placed over the faces of the deceased. • Although parts of the masks were stylized, like the eyes, ears and eyebrows, they did try to give them individual unique features. • The period following the Dorian invasion of the Mycenaeans did not produce any significant art, architecture, or writing. Funerary mask, from Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece (c. 1600–1500 BCE). Beaten gold. H: 12”. Art Tour – Jerusalem

• Home of three of the world’s great religions. • Has a very tumultuous history Famous Places include: • The Dome of the Rock (Muslim) • The Garden of Gethsemane • The Western Wall, Temple Mount (Jewish) • Interior of the Holy Church of the Sepulchre (Christian) Discussion Questions:

• What are the differences between the arts of prehistoric people and the arts of the historic people? • Which cultures tended to be more naturalistic in their art and which were more stylistic? • What themes were generally depicted by each group discussed in this chapter on the Ancients?