Unit 3 (test)

CAVE PAINTINGS OF PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD Introduction Cave or rock paintings are paintings on cave or rock walls and ceilings, usually dating to prehistoric times. The earliest known rock paintings are dated to the Upper Paleolithic, 40,000 years ago, while the earliest European cave paintings date to 32,000 years ago. The purpose of the cave paintings is not known, and may never be. Some theories hold that they may have been a way of transmitting information, while other theories ascribe them a religious or ceremonial purpose. Nearly 350 caves have now been discovered in France and Spain that contain art from prehistoric times.The oldest cave is that of Chauvet, and is 32,000 years old. Rock painting was also performed on cliff faces, but fewer of those have survived because of erosion. One well-known example is the rock paintings of Astuvansalmi in the Saimaa area of Finland. Theories about the Cave Paintings Humans had not learned to write during the prehistoric time period. They communicated through cave paintings. Most of the paintings were of animals. However, there are a few paintings that have human figures either in etchings or in a painting, like the scene in Lascaux of the Dead Man. The face of the dead man is represented by a bird’s face, but it is the body of a human. Perhaps they did not want to portray a human face, thinking that it might take the soul. THEORIES:

1. Communicated through the cave paintings. 2. The cave man wanted to decorate the cave and chose animals because they were important to their existence. 3. The cave men thought by painting animals, they could bring the beasts under their control. 4. Rituals and dances were carried in front of the paintings – “HUNTER LUCK”. 5. Artist believed, if they could capture the image of the animal, they could capture the animal in a hunt. 6. Prehistoric man could have used the painting of animals on the walls of caves to document their hunting expeditions. 7. Served as a teaching tool to instruct the future hunters-character of species and techniques of hunting the species. 8. Created animal images to assure the survival of herds as they depended on food and clothing on these animals.

Themes and patterns The most common themes in cave paintings are large wild animals, such as bison, horses, aurochs, and deer. Drawings of humans are rare and are usually schematic rather than the more naturalistic animal subjects. Human hands shown as abstract patterns called finger flutings. Cave art may have begun in the Aurignacian period (Germany), but reached its apogee in the late Magdalenian (Lascaux, France). Methods of Painting Colors, Materials and Tools used: The paintings were drawn with red and yellow ochre, hematite, manganese oxide and charcoal. The paint or color that they probably used was from berries, clay, soot, or charcoal. Grounded into powder and mixed with some medium usually animal fat and then used. Sometimes the silhouette of the animal was incised in the rock first. Prehistoric people would have used natural objects to paint the walls of the caves. To etch into the rock; they could have used sharp tools or a spear. The tools used to apply the paint could have been made by attaching straw, leaves, moss, or hair to sticks. They might have used hollow bones or reeds to spray the color on, similar to an airbrush technique. Well • • • • •

known cave paintings include those of: Lascaux, France La Marche, near Lussac-les-Chateaux, France Chauvet Cave, near Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France Altamira, near Santillana del Mar, Cantabria, Spain Cosquer Cave, with an entrance below sea level near Marseille, France • Font de Gaume, in the Dordogne Valley in France • Creswell Crags, Nottinghamshire, England. (Cave etchings and bas-reliefs discovered in 2003)

Lascaux, France Lascaux is a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its cave paintings. The original caves are located near the village of Montignac, in the Dordogne département. They contain some of the most well-known (Upper Paleolithic) art, dating back to somewhere between 15,000 and 13,000 BC. They consist mostly of realistic images of large animals, including aurochs, most of which are known from fossil evidence to have lived in the area at the time

Cave painting at Lascaux The cave contains nearly 2,000 figures. Of the animals, horses predominate, with 364 images. A smattering of other images includes seven felines, a bird, a bear, cattle, bison a rhinoceros, and a human. Approaches to painting: 1. Black figure (Silhouette). 2. Red figure (outline). 3. Twisted perspective-Representation of horns.(common in prehistoric art). 4. Heads in profile and two horns in the front to show that particular animal is a bull. 1. First chamber – Hall of Bulls (Lascaux , France) Most magnificent, not all animals depicted are bulls.Among the most famous images are four huge, black bulls in the Hall of the Bulls. The four black bulls are the dominant figures among the 36 animals represented in the Hall of the Bulls. One of the bulls is 17 feet long -the largest animal discovered so far in cave art. The bulls appear to be in motion. There are also many geometric figures. REFER SLIDE 2. Well shaft- lascaux, France For the first time, man makes appearance in cave art. Position of man not clear( wounded, dead, unharmed). REFER SLIDE

EGYPTIAN ART FORMS AND SHAPES Introduction Ancient Egyptian art refers to the style of painting, sculpture, crafts and architecture developed by the civilization in the lower Nile Valley from 35000 BC. Ancient Egyptian art as expressed in painting and sculpture was both highly stylized and symbolic. Much

of the surviving art comes from tombs and monuments and thus there is an emphasis on life after death and the preservation of knowledge of the past. Ancient It is to be noted that most elements of Egyptian art remained remarkably stable over the 3000 year period without strong outside influence. The oldest Egyptian art is a wall painting found in Tomb of Hierakonpolis. Imhotep is the first recorded name of Egyptian artist. Character and style • • • • • • • • •

Closely associated to religion – many of the great works of ancient Egypt depict gods, goddesses, and Pharaohs, who were also considered divine. Keen observation and exact representation of actual life and nature, Order, simple line, simple shapes, flat areas of colors creating a sense of order and balance in art. Strict conformity to a set of rules regarding representation of three dimensional forms. Completeness and exactness were preferred to prettiness and cosmetic representation. Ancient Egyptian artists used vertical and horizontal reference lines in order to maintain the correct proportions in their work. Ancient Egyptian artists often show a sophisticated knowledge of anatomy and a close attention to detail, especially in their renderings of animals. In order to clearly define the social hierarchy of a situation, descriptive perspective was used and figures were drawn to sizes based not on their distance from the painter's point of view but on relative importance. For instance, the Pharaoh would be drawn as the largest figure in a painting no matter where he was situated, and a greater God would be drawn larger than a lesser god.

Symbolism Symbolism also played an important role in establishing a sense of order. Symbolism, ranging from the Pharaoh's (symbolizing his power to maintain order) to the individual symbols of Egyptian gods and goddesses, is omnipresent in Egyptian art. Animals were usually also highly symbolic figures in Egyptian art. Color, as well, had extended meaning— Blue and green represented the Nile and life; yellow stood for the sun god; and red represented power and vitality. The colors in Egyptian artifacts have survived extremely well over the centuries because of Egypt's dry climate. Despite the stilted form caused by a lack of perspective, ancient Egyptian art is often highly realistic. Periods • • • • •

Predynastic Old Kingdom (2680 BC2258 BC) Middle Kingdom (2134 BC1786 BC) New Kingdom (1570 BC1085 BC) Amarna Period (1350 BC1320 BC)

Different art forms in Egypt: • • • •

Pottery Sculpture Hieroglyphics Painting

1. Predynastic Period Example – Oldest Egyptian art- Tomb of Hierakonpolis. 2. Predynastic Period and Early dynastic period Example – Unification of upper and lower Egypt- Palette of King Narmer. 3. Old Kingdom (2680 BC-2258 BC) Example 1. – Seated statue of Khafre. Example 2. – Menkaure and Khamerernebty. 4.Middle Kingdom (2134BC-1786BC) Example 1. – Rock cut Tomb at BENI HASAN 5.New Kingdom (1570BC-1085BC) Example 1. – Senmut with princess Neferra,thebes, Egypt. Example 2. – Hatsheput with offering Example 3. – Fowling scene, tomb of Nebamun, Thebes. 6.Amarna Period (1350BC-1320BC) Example 1. – Akhenaton Example 2. – Limestone bust of Nefertiti. Example 3. – Queen Tiye Potrait in miniature. Example 4,5 – Tree of life and Dancers and musicians. Note: Refer slides for all examples.

ART FORMS AND SHAPES IN MESOPOTAMIA (9000 - 500 B.C) Introduction Mesopotamia is considered as the "cradle of civilization." This is the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which roughly comprises modern Iraq and part of Syria. Many civilizations flourished there, leaving behind a rich legacy of ancient art. Mesopotamian art and architecture were produced by the diverse peoples who occupied the land between the Tigris and Euphrates River.

Over the course of 4000 years, the art of Mesopotamia reveals a tradition that appears, homogeneous in style and iconography. Early Mesopotamian art was usually small in scale, because the south was poor in natural resources, and materials like stone and metals had to be imported. Later, Assyrian palaces were decorated with large stone-relief sculptures and immense gate guardian figures of animal or monstrous form. Characteristics of Mesopotamian Art • • • • • • •

Mesopotamian art had two major preoccupations—Man's relationship to the Gods and conflict on either a real or mythological plane. Art became decorative, stylized and conventionalized at different times and places. Gods took on human forms and humans were combined with animals to make fantastic creatures. Although art was primarily created for temple or king, a number of small objects were also produced, such as cylinder seals and clay plaques with mythological scenes. The oldest and most enduring form of art was the cylinder seal, a small stone cylinder covered with a design cut into its surface. Such seals when rolled over a wet clay tablet served a practical purpose: to identify their owners and to seal a variety of business transactions. These objects were probably owned to a great extent by the population at large. Variety of metals, as well as shells and precious stones, were used for the finest sculpture/inlays.

The history of Mesopotamian art and architecture is conventionally divided into a number of periods: • • • • • • •

Prehistoric Period Early Dynastic Period - Old Sumerian Akkadian Period Neo-Sumerian Period Old Babylonian Period Neo-assyrian period Neo-babylonian period

1. Prehistoric Period Example – Female head URUK,Iraq. 2. Early Dynastic Period - Old Sumerian Example 1. – Seated statue of Urnaushe. Example 2. – The standard of UR. 3. Akkadian Period

Example 1. – Head of Akkadian ruler. Example 2. – victory stele of narman-Sin(Iran). 4. Neo-Sumerian Period Example 1. – Seated statue of gudea. Example 2. – Seal with law code, hammurabi. 5. Assyrian period Example 1. – Assyrian archers pursuing enemies, Ashurnasirpal palace 6. Neo-Assyrian period Example 1. – Lamassu ( winged human headed bull) Note: Refer slides for all examples.

GREEK ART FORMS AND SHAPES Introduction Ancient Greek art has survived most successfully in the forms of sculpture and architecture, as well as in such minor arts as coin design, pottery and gem engraving. Greek painters worked mainly on wooden panels, and these perished rapidly after the 4th century AD. Today not much survives of Greek painting, except some examples of painted terra cotta and a few paintings on the walls of tombs, mostly in Macedonia and Italy. Painting on pottery mainly in black and gold, of which a great deal survives, gives some knowledge of Greek painting. The art of Ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into three periods: the Archaic, the Classical and the Hellenistic. The history of Ancient Greek pottery is divided stylistically into periods: the Protogeometric, the Geometric, the Late Geometric or Archaic, the Black Figure and the Red Figure. Characteristics of Greek art • • • •

Greek artists first established mimesis (imitation of nature) as a main principle for art. The nude human figure in Greek art reflects a belief that "Man is the measure of all things". Ancient Greek art includes pottery, sculpture as well as architecture. Greek sculpture is known for the contrapposto- standing of the figures.

• • • •

The earliest Greek art is characterized by its geometry and schematic design. The Greek sculpture icons, Kouros and Kore, represent the beginnings of large sculpture, and are the first free-standing sculptures. Later Greek sculpture displayed the figures with movement. The later periods of Greek sculpture show extreme technical skills, resulting in images of wet draped goddesses and exaggerated energy.

Examples include: Kritious, Parthenon, Laocoön. One of the first artists - Phidias. Greek Art Periods: • •

• • • •

Geometric Period: 900-700 BC Orientalizing Phase: 700-600 BC o Asian and Persian influences o Dragon motifs o Other interesting creatures emerge Archaic Period: 600-480 BC Classical Period: 480 - 400 BC Late Classical: 400 - 323 BC Hellenistic Period: 323 - 30 BC

2. Geometric Period (900-700 BC) Example1. – Krater – Funerary object. Example2. – Hero’s cetaur. 2. Orientalizing Art Period (700-600 BC) Example 1. – Mantiklo’s Apollo (Phoibos) 3. Archaic Period (600-480 BC) Example 1. – Lady of Auxerre- Statue of Goddess / Kore. Example 2. – Kouros. Example 3. – Peplos kore- Athens. Example 4. – Red figure, Amphora. 4. Classical Period ( 480-400 BC) Example 1. – Diskobolous (Discus Thrower) Example 2. – Caryatid. 5. Hellensitic period ( 323-30 BC)

Example 1. – Lacoon Group Example 2. – seated Boxer Example 3. – Head of Odysseus Example 4 – Nike of samothrace Note: Refer slides for all examples.