Ancient Art Prehistoric Art Ancient Near East Egyptian Ancient World n The ancient world was made of multi-cultural, multi-lingual, polytheistic societies. Each has its own uniqueness to it. n Cave dwellings, the earliest human figures, the invention of writing, the creation of towns, laws, "an eye for an eye,” mummies, pyramids, sphinx, Cleopatra – this is the ancient world at a quick glance. n Prehistoric - Early humans were nomadic hunter-gatherers who had to follow their food source. They developed tools to help them survive and make the most of their environment and resources. Around 8000 BC they settle into communities, domesticate animals and grow crops. A sedentary lifestyle also allowed humans to specialize in specific jobs. Ancient World n Ancient Near East - The earliest civilization developed in Sumer, and cities throughout the region, like Babylon and Ur, became prosperous centers of trade and religion. A social hierarchy developed in Sumer with the king and priests were at the top; slaves were at the bottom. The Sumerians developed writing. The Mesopotamians were also the first empire builders - Sargon the Great unified the Mesopotamian city-states into his empire and Hammurabi unified the city-states through a legal code. n Egyptian – the Nile was a natural resource and defense for the Egyptians; life developed along the river. Ancient Egyptian history is divided into three eras: the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. Each era was ruled by a series of pharaohs who got their power through dynastic succession (father to son). Women had as many rights as men, something that was nonexistent in other ancient societies. They developed their own form of writing, hieroglyphs, their own sets of gods and goddesses and maintained a positive view of the afterlife. Prehistoric Art Prehistoric Art n Phases of art: n Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) – 35,000 – 7,000 BC n Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) – 7,000 BC – 4,000 BC n Neolithic (New Stone Age) – 4,000 BC – 2,000 BC n Works of art include cave paintings, reliefs, sculptures of stone, ivory and/or bone. n Dates range from 28,000 BC – 2000 BC and vary according to region. n Precision in dating is impossible in this era and usually a range of several thousand years is assigned to each artifact n Prehistoric Art refers to art of mankind before writing. All understanding of Prehistoric Art is based on comparative analysis. Writing may or may not have existed, but nothing has been found to date. A lack of written record is what makes this era Prehistoric (before history). n Historical analysis requires writing, individuals from their own era recording their own history. Prehistoric is the only era in which we lack written records. Writing will develop in the Ancient Near East – the next lesson on Neolithic Art. Prehistoric Europe Prehistoric Art n Paleolithic Art introduces the capability of humankind. n Representational (not literal) images appear in Asia, Africa & Europe. n Cave dwellers created a fixed environment which identified their time and space. n Cave dwellers possibly invented symbols to ritualize their domain and give birth to the beginnings of understanding the world around them. n They created the “hunt” on cave walls & began the art of representation. n Often referred to as “primitive” or “barbaric.” People were intelligent, reflective and like us, they also had needs beyond food and shelter. n Humans are nomadic and move according to their needs and the seasons. n Tools were made of stone and bone, pottery and textiles are made. n Images are made and put on cave walls. Sculpture n Over 10,000 years before cave painting, Paleolithic artists were making sculptures out of stones and animal bones they found in the ground. n They were trying to represent the world around them. Mostly small and only a few inches in height, their sculpture was portable because they were nomadic. n Most figurines depict nude women dubbed “Venuses” after the Greco-Roman goddess of love and beauty but there is no association between them. It is a similarity in name only, not function. n The anatomical exaggeration suggests that most statuettes served as fertility images. n Artists were not aiming for naturalism in shape or proportion. n Notice the figures lack facial features. This is because the figurine does not represent one specific goddess but a larger idea – namely her function, which is fertility. Female Figurines Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria, ca. 28,000–25,000 BC. Limestone, 4 1/4” high. What is known about this Venus? - thought to represent a fertility figures because of her enlarged breasts and abdomen. Function? - religious. She held powers associated with fertility and childbirth Features? - notice she lacks a face. This is because she does not represent one specific goddess, she represents the larger idea of fertility. Why is it called “Venus”? Is that a contemporary term or one used by its creators? - The individuals who found her dubbed her Venus because she is nude, all most nude females in history allude to Venus. She has NOTHING to do with the Greek goddess. So this makes her name a contemporary one, we don’t know her original name. Venus of Willendorf, ca. 28,000- 23,000 BC Woman holding a bison horn, Limestone. 4 inches. France. ca. 23,000 – 20,000 BC limestone, 18 inches Compare & Contrast these figures. They both represent fertility. Bison Bison Two bison, from the cave at Le Tuc d’Audoubert, France, ca. 15,000–10,000 BC. Clay, each 2’ long. Twisted Perspective Bison with turned head, from La Madeleine, France, ca. 12,000 BC. Reindeer horn, 4” long. Prehistoric, 12,000 BC Twisted Perspective Images were shown with various viewpoints combined. Used by various ancient societies. Greek, Red figure vase, 440 BC Egyptian, Palette of Narmer, 3000 BC Cave Paintings in France Two main caves (sites): Lascaux and Pech-Merle Layout, Lascaux Hall of Bulls, in Lascaux Scenes like this, with various different animals and artistic capabilities, were done by numerous peoples over hundreds or thousands of year. As each new group of individuals settled in the cave, they (Above): detail left representations of their (Below): entire environment for future scene peoples. Cave Painting in Spain Bison, detail of a painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain, ca. 12,000–11,000 BC. Bison Altamira Cave Deer The picture can't be displayed. Man in Prehistoric Art n Man makes one of his earliest appearances in prehistoric painting in Lascaux. n To the left is rhino, beneath its tail is two rows of dots; to the right is a bison with its bowels shown in a coil; middle is a bird-faced (mask?) man with arms outstretched and only 4 fingers. n Far less care and detail is spent on the man than the animals. Why? (hint: think of the purpose of each image) Bird-headed man with rhinoceros and disemboweled bison, painting on the well, Lascaux Neolithic Art n Neolithic people aimed for the concrete, actual control of their environment. n They settled in fixed homes and domesticated plants and animals. n Go from hunters & gathers to farmers to townspeople. n Wandering hunter settled down to organized communities living in villages surrounded by cultivated fields. Bronze Bull, England n Late Neolithic: Writing 1st c BC appears! Jericho, a modern-day Palestinian Permanent Structures city, began in the Neolithic era Great stone tower built into the settlement wall, Jericho, ca. 8000–7000 BC Giant walls were built around newly settled cities and watch towers were strategically placed. These both are early forms of defensive architecture. This will become the norm from here forward. Towns need to protect their livelihood and wealth – in this case it is material goods, crops, animals, etc. that are now living the towns that have a defensive wall all around them. Note: in this view you are looking down at a watch tower and remnants of a wall. This happens because as each new wave of people settle here, they level the old town and build the new town on top, leaving the oldest parts of the town buried underground. Human figures are more common in Neolithic Art. Human skull with restored features, from Jericho, ca. 7200– 6700 BC. Features modeled in plaster, painted, and inlaid with seashells. Life size. Excavation finds in Jericho included a group of human skulls on which Human figure, features have been “reconstructed” in from Ain plaster. They were given a life-like Ghazal, Jordan, appearance, which included seashells ca. 6750–6250 for eyes, painted hair & sometimes a BC. Plaster, moustache! painted and inlaid with bitumen, 3’ 5 3/8” high. Catal Huyk is the oldest and best excavated Neolithic town. It is in modern day Turkey. 7500 BC to 5700 B.C Catal Huyuk, Turkey Restored view of a section of Level VI, Çatal Huyük, Turkey, ca. 6000–5900 BC (John Swogger). Landscapes Landscape with volcanic eruption (?), watercolor copy of a wall painting from Level VII, Çatal Huyük, Turkey, ca. 6150 BC. The inhabitants of this town are showing a map of the town with a volcano erupting in the background – recording history without words. Monumental Architecture Neolithic Art in Western Europe Hagar Qim is thought to date ca. 3600 to 3200 BC. Unlike most other Maltese temples, it is a single temple rather than a complex of two or three. Aerial view of the ruins of Hagar Qim, Malta Scotland House 1, Skara Brae, Scotland, ca. 3100–2500 BC. Skara Brae, Scotland • A winding network of low and narrow stone passages linked the houses of Skara Brae.