The history of Art is of course, as old as man. As long as there was man, there was somebody
who wanted to draw and paint. You are
part of a 27,000 year old tradition of expressing your ideas. It is important to study Art History, even
briefly, so that you can get better ideas for your own work.
Like all histories, Art History is written by the victors… where
all the money is… so for Art it is rather European centric. It does not mean that there was not Art being
done in other countries; because there was.
We refer to those arts as Folk Art, Regional Art and Native Art. However, in order to know and understand SOVA
this is the Art History that you should understand.
Stone Age (30,000 - 2500 BC) This includes Cave Painting, fertility
goddess sculptures and the creation of megalithic structures such as Stonehenge. This is a fascinating time as it was the
beginning of our known civilization yet we know so little about it.
Google: Lascaux Cave Paintings, Woman of Willendorf, Stonehenge
Mesopotamian (3500 – 539 BC) This revolves around the Sumerians
civilization (pre-Egyptian) that roamed over most of Europe and the Middle
East. They were obsessed with war and knowledge. Sumerian’s invented the basis of writing (3400 BC)and Hammurabi write
a law code (1780 BC) that is the base of our civilization.
Google: Standard of Ur, Gate of Ishtar, Stele of Hammurabi’s
Code.
Egyptian (3100 – 30 BC) The Egyptians were super cool,
and not just because they covered everything in Gold. They had a very distinct art style. They were obsessed with the afterlife, lived
in a beautiful oasis along the Nile and (supposedly) created the massive
Pyramids.
Google: Imhotep, Great Pyramids, Bust of Nefertiti, Tutankhamen,
Cleopatra and Luxor to know more about their coolness.
Greek ( 850 BC – 31 BC) The Greek civilization is talked about during
this time as it was a strong change from the Egyptian style. It still continues
to this day, but at that time Greeks revolutionized art with their style was concerned
with ideal balance. They created sculptures
of the ideal bodies. They had different
Gods and Goddesses than the Egyptians starting with Zeus almighty. They also created great architectural
buildings and were the inventors of the Olympics. Interesting, everyone always thinks that
Greek statues as well as their buildings were white – as they are now after being
bleached in the bright Mediterranean sun for centuries. They were actually
painted in bright colours.
Google: Parthenon, Zeus, Aphrodite, Alexander the Great, Olympics
for more.
Roman (500 BC- 476 AD) Romans were basically the most influential
society (the victors) and what the civilization we know today is based on. And the funny thing is… they copied most
everything from those that came before.
They copied their laws from the Sumerians and their art from the
Greeks. They even took the Greek gods;
just changed their names, so Zeus became Jupiter. And guess what we did the Roman names? Jupiter, Mars, Venus…. The one thing that they changed and that they
are famous for is that they made their art realistic.
Google: roman portraits, collosseum, pantheon, Julius Caesar, Augustus,
Asian Of course during that time Indian, Chinese
and Japanese artists were working just as hard and making art, but NOW (653 BC –
1900 AD) it enters into our history. WHY
NOW? Because the Silk Road opens and it
becomes an influence. Huh.
For some fantastic art examples google: Gu Zaizhi, Li Cheng, Guo Xi, Hokusai,
Hiroshige, Art of Buddha
Byzantine and Islamic (476
AD – 1453 AD) This is one of my
favourite art times, because the work is so cool! At this time, just after the fall of Rome,
the world was so well travelled. The centre
of the world was thought to be in Constantinople (Istanbul) and so Art was
influenced by the East(China), the South(Islam) and the West(Roman). This is
also a time of great wealth.. so lots of gold!!
Most art that we know today from this period is from the temples and
mosques and is made by mosaics.
Google: Hagia Sophia, Mosque of Cordoba, the Alhambra
Middle Ages (500 – 1400) And then Europe withdraws back
into itself to establish Christianity.
Art work becomes done only for Christian Churches. This is usually referred to as the Dark Ages
but it is an extraordinary time for Art with the idea of Heaven and Hell. In the movies, it’s that old time of Monks
and Knights. Think the Crusades, Robin Hood and King Arthur. It is also the time of the original GOTH’s with
the Gothic Gargoyles.
Google: Celtic Art, Giotto, Romanesque, Gothic, Notre Dame,
Chartes Cathedral.
Renaissance (1400 – 1550) And then Art and Culture was reborn.
Christopher Columbus discovers America. Leonardo
DaVinci paints Realism. This was truly
an exciting time. Miss A’s favourite
artist is from this time. Who is it?
Google: Leonardo Da Vinci, Donatello, Botticelli, Brunelischi, Michelangelo,
Raphael.
You may also want to google Gavin Menzies an English Researcher
who thinks that all these new ideas were actually not new. But came from a Chinese group of ships that
docked in Venice during that time lead by Admiral Zhene. Huh.
You may also want to follow the path this awesome information
followed as it made its way up North influencing some truly awesome artists of
the Northern Renaissance
Google Jan Van Eyck, Durer, Titian, Bruegel.
Mannerism (1527 -1580)
This is the first time that feelings were explored in Art. The Renaissance artists created artwork that was
realistic, so the Mannerists took the work further, making the people look
strange, unreal. They exaggerated and distorted features to create feelings of uncertainty,
darkness and sadness, playing on the fear of God’s wrath.
Google: Tintoretto, El Greco, Pontoromo, Bronzino
Google: Ruben, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Palace of Versailles,
Roccoco
NeoClassical (1750-1850)
Revisiting Classical (Greek and Roman Art), Artist felt they needed to
get away from the fluffy religious based works of Baroque, and back to reality.
This was also the time during the French Revolution. And the American
Revolution. It was all about independent
thought and freedom. This was a giant step in Art because it began
to be used to express Political ideas, thoughts, feelings not just Religious
ideas. Nature and Humanity became the popular subjects.
Google: David, Ingres, Caspar Friedrich, Turner, Delacroix,
Benjamin West, Napoleon
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