Ancient Egyptian art is the painting, sculpture, architecture and other arts produced by the

civilization of Ancient Egypt in the lower Nile Valley from about 3000 BC to 100 AD. Ancient
Egyptian art reached a high level in painting and sculpture, and 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.
Contents
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Periods[edit]

Prehistoric (before 3000 100 BC)

Early Dynastic (c. 3000 BC-2680 BC)

Old Kingdom (2680 BC2259 BC)

Middle Kingdom (2258 BC1786 BC)

New Kingdom (1786 BC1069 BC), including the Amarna Period (1085 BC1055 BC)

Third Intermediate Period (1069 BC664 BC)

First Persian Period, Late Period and Second Persian Period (664 BC332 BC)

Ptolemaic Kingdom (33230 BC)

Roman Egypt (30 BC to Christianization in the 4th century AD)

Sunk relief of the crocodile god Sobek

Symbolism[edit]
Symbolism also played an important role in establishing a sense of order. Symbolism, ranging
from the pharaoh's regalia (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. Colours were more expressive rather than natural: red skin
implied hard working tanned youth, whereas yellow skin was used for women or middle-aged
men who worked indoors; blue or gold indicated divinity because of its unnatural appearance and
association with precious materials; the use of black for royal figures expressed the fertility of the
Nile from which Egypt was born. Stereotypes were employed to indicate the geographical origins
of foreigners[1]

Hierarchical scale of portraying[edit]

Tomb of Sarenput II.

Main article: Hierarchical proportion

The Size the people are drawn indicates often relative importance in the social order. The king,
or pharaoh, is usually the largest figure depicted to symbolize the rulers superhuman powers.
Figures of high officials or tomb owner are usually smaller, and in smallest scale are shown
servants and entertainers, animals, trees, and architectural details.[2]

Art forms[edit]
Ancient Egyptian art forms are characterized by regularity and detailed depiction of gods, human
beings, heroic battles, and nature, and a high proportion of surviving works were intended to
provide solace and utility to the deceased in the afterlife. Artists endeavored to preserve
everything from the present as clearly and permanently as possible. Ancient Egyptian art was
created using media ranging from papyrus drawings to pictographs (hieroglyphics) and include
funerary sculpture carved in relief and in the round from sandstone, quartz diorite and granite.
Ancient Egyptian art displays an extraordinarily vivid representation of the Ancient Egyptian's
socioeconomic status and belief systems. Egyptian art in all forms obeyed one law: the mode of
representing Pharaohs, gods, man, nature and the environment remained consistent for
thousands of years.

Painting[edit]

Wall painting of Nefertari

Not all Egyptian reliefs were painted, and less prestigious works in tombs, temples and palaces
were just painted on a flat surface. Stone surfaces were prepared by whitewash, or if rough, a
layer of coarse mud plaster, with a smoother gesso layer above; some finer limestones could take
paint directly. Pigments were mostly mineral, chosen to withstand strong sunlight without fading.
The binding medium used in painting remains unclear: egg tempera and various gums and resins
have been suggested. It is clear that true fresco, painted into a thin layer of wet plaster, was not
used. Instead the paint was applied to dried plaster, in what is called "fresco a secco" in Italian.
After painting, a varnish or resin was usually applied as a protective coating, and many paintings
with some exposure to the elements have survived remarkably well, although those on fully
exposed walls rarely have.[3] Small objects including wooden statuettes were often painted using
similar techniques.

Many ancient Egyptian paintings have survived due to Egypt's extremely dry climate. The
paintings were often made with the intent of making a pleasant afterlife for the deceased. The
themes included journey through the afterworld or protective deities introducing the deceased to
the gods of the underworld (such as Osiris). Some tomb paintings show activities that the
deceased were involved in when they were alive and wished to carry on doing for eternity.
In the New Kingdom and later, the Book of the Dead was buried with the entombed person. It was
considered important for an introduction to the afterlife.
Egyptian paintings are painted in such a way to show a profile view and a side view of the animal
or person at the same time. For example, the painting to the right shows the head from a profile
view and the body from a frontal view. Their main colors were red, blue, green, gold, black and
yellow.

Sculpture[edit]

A sculpted head of Amenhotep III

The monumental sculpture of Ancient Egypt is world-famous, but refined and delicate small works
exist in much greater numbers. The Egyptians used the distinctive technique of sunk relief, which
is well suited to very bright sunlight. The main figures in reliefs adhere to the same figure
convention as in painting, with parted legs (where not seated) and head shown from the side, but
the torso from the front, and a standard set of proportions making up the figure, using 18 "fists" to
go from the ground to the hair-line on the forehead.[4] This appears as early as theNarmer
Palette from Dynasty I, but there as elsewhere the convention is not used for minor figures shown
engaged in some activity, such as the captives and corpses. [5] Other conventions make statues of

males darker than females ones. Very conventionalized portrait statues appear from as early as
Dynasty II, before 2,780 BC,[6] and with the exception of the art of the Amarna
period of Ahkenaten,[7] and some other periods such as Dynasty XII, the idealized features of
rulers, like other Egyptian artistic conventions, changed little until after the Greek conquest. [8]
Egyptian pharaohs were always regarded as gods, but other deities are much less common in
large statues, except when they represent the pharaoh as another deity; however the other
deities are frequently shown in paintings and reliefs. The famous row of four colossal statues
outside the main temple at Abu Simbel each showRameses II, a typical scheme, though here
exceptionally large.[9] Most larger sculpture survives from Egyptian temples or tombs; massive
statues were built to represent gods and pharaohs and their queens, usually for open areas in or
outside temples. The very early colossal Great Sphinx of Giza was never repeated, but avenues
lined with very large statues including sphinxes and other animals formed part of many temple
complexes. The most sacred cult image of a god in a temple, usually held in the naos, was in the
form of a relatively small boat or barqueholding an image of the god, and apparently usually in
precious metal none have survived.

Head of Pharaoh & Face from a coffin

By Dynasty IV (26802565 BC) at the latest the idea of the Ka statue was firmly established.
These were put in tombs as a resting place for the ka portion of the soul, and so we have a good
number of less conventionalized statues of well-off administrators and their wives, many in wood
as Egypt is one of the few places in the world where the climate allows wood to survive over
millennia, and many block statues. The so-called reserve heads, plain hairless heads, are
especially naturalistic, though the extent to which there was real portraiture in Ancient Egypt is
still debated.
Early tombs also contained small models of the slaves, animals, buildings and objects such as
boats necessary for the deceased to continue his lifestyle in the afterworld, and
later Ushabti figures.[10] However the great majority of wooden sculpture has been lost to decay, or
probably used as fuel. Small figures of deities, or their animal personifications, are very common,
and found in popular materials such as pottery. There were also large numbers of small carved
objects, from figures of the gods to toys and carved utensils. Alabaster was often used for
expensive versions of these; painted wood was the most common material, and normal for the
small models of animals, slaves and possessions placed in tombs to provide for the afterlife.
Very strict conventions were followed while crafting statues and specific rules governed
appearance of every Egyptian god. For example, the sky god (Horus) was essentially to be
represented with a falcons head, the god of funeral rites (Anubis) was to be always shown with a

jackals head. Artistic works were ranked according to their compliance with these conventions,
and the conventions were followed so strictly that, over three thousand years, the appearance of
statues changed very little. These conventions were intended to convey the timeless and nonaging quality of the figure's ka.[11]

Facsimile of the Narmer Palette, c. 3100 BC, which already shows the canonical Egyptian profile view
and proportions of the figure.

Menkaura (Mycerinus) and queen, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, 2490 2472 BC. The formality of the
pose is reduced by the queen's arm round her husband.

Wooden tomb models, Dynastry XI; a high administrator counts his cattle.

The Golden Death Mask ofTutankhamun, c. late Eighteenth dynasty, Egyptian Museum

The Younger Memnon c. 1250 BC,British Museum

Osiris on a lapis lazuli pillar in the middle, flanked by Horus on the left, and Isis on the right, 22nd
dynasty,Louvre

The ka statue provided a physical place for the ka to manifest. Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Block statue of Pa-Ankh-Ra, ship master, bearing a statue of Ptah. Late Period, ca. 650633 BC,
Cabinet des Mdailles.

Faience, pottery, and glass[edit]

Miniature Egyptian glassware from the New Kingdom period.

Egyptian faience, made from sand and chemicals, produced relatively cheap and very attractive
small objects in a variety of colours, and was used for a variety of types of objects including
jewellery. Ancient Egyptian glass goes back to very early Egyptian history, but was at first very
much a luxury material. In later periods it became common, and highly decorated small jars for
perfume and other liquids are often found as grave goods.
Ancient Egyptians used steatite (some varieties were called soapstone) and carved small pieces
of vases, amulets, images of deities, of animals and several other objects. Ancient Egyptian
artists also discovered the art of covering pottery withenamel. Covering by enamel was also
applied to some stone works. The colour blue, first used in the very expensive imported
stone lapis lazuli, was highly regarded by Ancient Egypt, and the pigment Egyptian blue was
widely used to colour a variety of materials.

New Kingdom pottery c.1400 BC

Different types of pottery items were deposited in tombs of the dead. Some such pottery items
represented interior parts of the body, like the lungs, the liver and smallerintestines, which were
removed before embalming. A large number of smaller objects in enamel pottery were also
deposited with the dead. It was customary to craft on the walls of the tombs cones of pottery,
about six to ten inches tall, on which were engraved or impressed legends relating to the dead
occupants of the tombs. These cones usually contained the names of the deceased, their titles,
offices which they held, and some expressions appropriate to sex purposes.

Papyrus[edit]

The Book of the Deadwritten on papyrus

Papyrus was used by ancient Egyptians (and exported to much of the ancient Mediterranean
world) for writing and painting. Papyrus is relatively fragile, lasting at most a century or two in a
library, and though used all over the classical world has only survived when buried in the very dry
conditions of Egypt, and even then is often in poor condition. Papyrus texts illustrate all
dimensions of ancient Egyptian life and
include literary, religious, historical and administrative documents.

Amarna period[edit]

Two daughters of Akhenaten; Nofernoferuaton and Nofernoferure, c. 13751358 BC

Main article: Amarna art

The Amarna period and the years before the pharaoh Akhenaten moved the capital there in the
late Eighteenth Dynasty form the most drastic interruption to the continuity of style in the Old and
New Kingdoms. Amarna art is characterized by a sense of movement and activity in images, with
figures having raised heads, many figures overlapping and many scenes full and crowded. As the
new religion was a monotheistic worship of the sun, sacrifices and worship were apparently
conducted in open courtyards, and sunk reliefdecoration was widely used in these. The human
body is portrayed differently in the Amarna style than Egyptian art on the whole. For instance,
many depictions of Akhenaten's body give him distinctly feminine qualities, such as large hips,

prominent breasts, and a larger stomach and thighs. This is a divergence from the earlier
Egyptian art which shows men with perfectly chiseled bodies. Faces are still shown exclusively in
profile.
Not many buildings from this period have survived the ravages of later kings, partially as they
were constructed out of standard size blocks, known as Talatat, which were very easy to remove
and reuse. Temples in Amarna, following the trend, did not follow traditional Egyptian customs
and were open, without ceilings, and had no closing doors. In the generation after Akhenaten's
death, artists reverted to their old styles. There were still traces of this period's style in later art.

Architecture[edit]
Main articles: Ancient Egyptian architecture and Egyptian temple
Ancient Egyptian architects used sun-dried and kiln-baked bricks, fine sandstone, limestone and
granite. Architects carefully planned all their work. The stones had to fit precisely together, since
there was no mud or mortar. When creating the pyramids, ramps were used to allow workmen to
move up as the height of the construction grew. When the top of the structure was completed, the
artists decorated from the top down, removing ramp sand as they went down. Exterior walls of
structures like the pyramids contained only a few small openings. Hieroglyphic and pictorial
carvings in brilliant colors were abundantly used to decorate Egyptian structures, including many
motifs, like the scarab, sacred beetle, the solar disk, and the vulture. They described the changes
the Pharaoh would go through to become a god.[12]

Hieroglyphs[edit]

Pot with hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphs are the ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures and symbols stand for
sounds and words. Jean-Francois Champollion first decoded hieroglyphs from the Rosetta Stone,
which was found in 1799. Hieroglyphs have more than 700 symbols.

Art of Mesopotamia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of 18 Statues of Gudea, a ruler around 2090 BC

The art of Mesopotamia has survived in the archaeological record from early huntergatherer societies (10th millennium BC) on to the Bronze Age cultures of
the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires. These empires were later replaced in
the Iron Age by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires. Widely considered to be
the cradle of civilization, Mesopotamia brought significant cultural developments, including the
oldest examples of writing. The art of Mesopotamia rivalled that of Ancient Egypt as the most
grand, sophisticated and elaborate in westernEurasia from the 4th millennium BC until
the Persian Achaemenid Empire conquered the region in the 6th century BC. The main emphasis
was on various, very durable, forms of sculpture in stone and clay; little painting has survived, but
what has suggests that painting was mainly used for geometrical and plant-based decorative
schemes, though most sculptures were also painted.

Statue of Ebih-Il, superintendent ofMari, c. 2400 BC

Many masterpieces have also been found at the Royal Cemetery at Ur (c. 2650 BC), including
the two figures of a Ram in a Thicket, the Copper Bull and a bull's head on one of the Lyres of Ur.
[1]
The so-called Standard of Ur actually a box of uncertain function, is finely inlaid with partly
figurative designs (British Museum).
From the many subsequent periods before the ascendency of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in the
10th century BCE Mesopotamian art survives in a number of forms: cylinder seals, relatively
small figures in the round, and reliefs of various sizes, including cheap plaques of moulded
pottery for the home, some religious and some apparently not.[2] The Burney Relief is an unusual
elaborate and relatively large (20 x 15 inches) terracotta plaque of a naked winged goddess with
the feet of a bird of prey, and attendant owls and lions. It comes from the 18th or 19th centuries
BCE, and may also be moulded.[3] Stone stelae, votive offerings, or ones probably
commemorating victories and showing feasts, are also found from temples, which unlike more
official ones lack inscriptions that would explain them;[4] the fragmentary Stele of the Vultures is an
early example of the inscribed type,[5] and the Assyrian Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III a large
and solid late one.[6]
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Assyrian period[edit]
An Assyrian artistic style distinct from that of Babylonian art, which was the dominant
contemporary art in Mesopotamia, began to emerge c. 1500 BC and lasted until the fall of
Nineveh in 612 BC.

Assyrian relief from Nimrud, from c 728 BCE

The conquest of the whole of Mesopotamia and much surrounding territory by the Assyrians
created a larger and wealthier state than the region had known before, and very grandiose art in
palaces and public places, no doubt partly intended to match the splendour of the art of the
neighbouring Egyptian empire. The Assyrians developed a style of extremely large schemes of
very finely detailed narrative low reliefs in stone or alabster, and originally painted, for palaces.
The precisely delineated reliefs concern royal affairs, chiefly hunting and war making.
Predominance is given to animal forms, particularly horses and lions, which are magnificently
represented in great detail. Human figures are comparatively rigid and static but are also minutely
detailed, as in triumphal scenes of sieges, battles, and individual combat. Among the best known
Assyrian reliefs are the lion-hunt alabaster carvings showing Assurnasirpal II (9th century BC)
and Assurbanipal (7th century BC), both of which are in the British Museum.[7] Reliefs were also
carved into rock faces, as at Shikaft-e Gulgul, a style which the Persians continued.
The Assyrians produced very little sculpture in the round, except for colossal guardian figures,
usually lions and winged beasts with bearded human heads, often the human-headed lamassu,
which are sculpted in high relief on two sides of a rectangular block, with the heads effectively in
the round (and also five legs, so that both views seem complete). These marked fortified royal
gateways, an architectural form common throughout Asia Minor. Even before dominating the
region they had continued the cylinder seal tradition with designs which are often exceptionally
energetic and refined.[8] AtNimrud the carved Nimrud ivories and bronze bowls were found that
are decorated in the Assyrian style but were produced in several parts of the Near East including
many by Phoenician and Aramaean artisans.

The reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin

The Assyrian form of the winged genie influenced Ancient Greek art, which in its "orientalizing
period" added various winged mythological beasts including the Chimera,
the Griffin or Pegasus and, in the case of the "winged man", Talos.[9]

Neo-Babylonian period[edit]
The famous Ishtar Gate, part of which is now reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin,
was the main entrance intoBabylon, built in about 575 BC by Nebuchadnezzar II, the king of

the Neo-Babylonian Empire who exiled the Jews; the empire lasted from 626 BC to 539 BC. The
walls surrounding the entrance way are decorated with rows of large relief animals in glazed
brick, which has therefore retained its colours. Lions, dragons and bulls are represented. The
gate was part of a much larger scheme for a processional way into the city, from which there are
sections in many other museums.[10]Large wooden gates throughout the period were strengthened
with large metal bands, often decorated with reliefs, several of which have survived.
Other traditional types of art continued to be produced, and the Neo-Babylonians were very keen
to stress their ancient heritage. Many sophisticated and finely carved seals survive. After
Mesopotamia fell to the Persian Achaemenid Empire, which had much simpler artistic traditions,
Mesopotamian art was, with Ancient Greek art, the main influence on the cosmopolitan
Achaemenid style that emerged,[11] and many ancient elements were retained in the area even in
the Hellenistic art that succeeded the conquest of the region by Alexander the Great.

Ancient Greek art

The arts of ancient Greece have exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many
countries all over the world, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West,
the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the
Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian
and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan. Following
the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art
inspired generations of European artists. Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived
from Greece dominated the art of the western world.
The art of Ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into four periods: the Geometric, Archaic,
Classical, and Hellenistic. The Geometric age is usually dated from about 1000 BC, although in
reality little is known about art in Greece during the preceding 200 years (traditionally known as
the Greek Dark Ages), the period of the 7th century BC witnessed the slow development of the
Archaic style as exemplified by the black-figure style of vase painting. The onset of the Persian
Wars (480 BC to 448 BC) is usually taken as the dividing line between the Archaic and the
Classical periods, and the reign of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC) is taken as
separating the Classical from the Hellenistic periods.
In reality, there was no sharp transition from one period to another. Forms of art developed at
different speeds in different parts of the Greek world, and as in any age some artists worked in
more innovative styles than others. Strong local traditions, conservative in character, and the
requirements of local cults, enable historians to locate the origins even of displaced works of art.
Contents
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Pottery[edit]
Main article: Pottery of ancient Greece
The Ancient Greeks made pottery for everyday use, not for display; the trophies won at games,
such as the Panathenaic Amphorae (wine decanters), are the exception. Most surviving pottery
consists of drinking vessels such as amphorae, kraters(bowls for mixing wine and
water), hydria (water jars), libation bowls, jugs and cups. Painted funeral urns have also been
found. Miniatures were also produced in large numbers, mainly for use as offerings at temples. In
the Hellenistic period a wider range of pottery was produced, but most of it is of little artistic
importance.

At the end of the Geometric phase, the Orientalizing phase of vase painting saw the abstract
geometric designs replaced by the more rounded, realistic forms of Eastern motifs, such as the
lotus, palmette, lion, and sphinx. Ornaments increased in amount and intricacy.
In earlier periods even quite small Greek cities produced pottery for their own locale. These
varied widely in style and standards. Distinctive pottery that ranks as art was produced on some
of the Aegean islands, in Crete, and in the wealthy Greek colonies of southern Italy and Sicily. By
the later Archaic and early Classical period, however, the two great commercial
powers, Corinth and Athens, came to dominate. Their pottery was exported all over the Greek
world, driving out the local varieties. Pots from Corinth and Athens are found as far afield
as Spain and Ukraine, and are so common in Italy that they were first collected in the 18thcentury as "Etruscan vases". Many of these pots are mass-produced products of low quality. In
fact, by the 5th century BC, pottery had become an industry and pottery painting ceased to be an
important art form.
The history of Ancient Greek pottery is divided stylistically into five periods:

the Protogeometric from about 1050 BC

the Geometric from about 900 BC

the Late Geometric or Archaic from about 750 BC

the Black Figure from the early 7th century BC

and the Red Figure from about 530 BC

The range of colours which could be used on pots was restricted by the technology of firing:
black, white, red, and yellow were the most common. In the three earlier periods, the pots were
left their natural light colour, and were decorated with slip that turned black in the kiln.
The fully mature black-figure technique, with added red and white details and incising for outlines
and details, originated in Corinth during the early 7th century BC and was introduced into Attica
about a generation later; it flourished until the end of the 6th century BC. The red-figure
technique, invented in about 530 BC, reversed this tradition, with the pots being painted black
and the figures painted in red. Red-figure vases slowly replaced the black-figure style.
Sometimes larger vessels were engraved as well as painted.
During the Protogeometric and Geometric periods, Greek pottery was decorated with abstract
designs. In later periods, as the aesthetic shifted and the technical proficiency of potters
improved, decorations took the form of human figures, usually representing the gods or the
heroes of Greek history and mythology. Battle and hunting scenes were also popular, since they
allowed the depiction of the horse, which the Greeks held in high esteem. In later periods erotic
themes, bothheterosexual and male homosexual, became common.
Greek pottery is frequently signed, sometimes by the potter or the master of the pottery, but only
occasionally by the painter. Hundreds of painters are, however, identifiable by their artistic
personalities: where their signatures haven't survived they are named for their subject choices, as
"the Achilles Painter", by the potter they worked for, such as the Late Archaic "Kleophrades
Painter", or even by their modern locations, such as the Late Archaic "Berlin Painter".

Late Geometric pyxis,British Museum

Corinthian orientalising jug, c. 620 BC,Antikensammlungen Munich

7th-century BC plate with sphinx fromRhodes, Louvre

Black-figure olpe (wine vessel) by the Amasis Painter, depictingHerakles and Athena, c. 540 BC,
Louvre

Interior (tondo) of a red figure kylix, depictingHerakles and Athena, by Phoinix (potter)
andDouris (painter), c. 480-470 BC,Antikensammlungen Munich

Detail of a red-figureamphora depicting asatyr assaulting amaenad, by Pamphaios (potter) and Oltos
(painter), c. 520 BC, Louvre

White-ground lekythoswith a scene of mourning by the Reed Painter, c. 420-410 BC, British Museum

Hellenistic relief bowl with the head of amaenad, 2nd century BC (?), British Museum

The Vix crater, a late Archaic monumental bronze vessel

Metal vessels[edit]
Especially during the Geometric and Archaic phases, the production of large metal vessels was
an important expression of Greek creativity, and an important stage in the development of
bronzeworking techniques, such as casting and repousse hammering. Early sanctuaries,
especiallyOlympia, yielded many hundreds of such vessels, deposited as votives. During the
orientalising period, such tripods were frequently decorated with figural protomes, in the shape
of griffins, sphinxes and other fantastic creatures. Although large metal vessels became less
important during the Archaic and Classical periods, their production did not cease entirely.
The Vix crater is a famous example dating to c. 530 BC.

Figurines[edit]
Terracotta figurines[edit]

Bell Idol, 7th century BC, Louvre

Main article: Greek Terracotta Figurines

Clay is a material frequently used for the making of votive statuettes or idols, since well before
Minoan civilization until the Hellenistic era and beyond. During the 8th century BC, in Boeotia,
one finds manufactured "Bell Idols", female statuettes with mobile legs: the head, small compared
to the remainder of the body, is perched at the end of a long neck, while the body is very full, in
the shape of bell. At the beginning of 8th century BC, tombs known as "hero's" receive hundreds,
even thousands of small figurines, with rudimentary figuration, generally representing characters
with the raised arms, i.e. gods in apotheosis.
In later periods the terracotta figurines lose their religious nature, representing from then on
characters from everyday life. With 4th and 3rd centuries BC, a type known as Tanagra
figurines shows a refined art. Tanagra figurines often preserve extensive traces of surface paint.
At the same time, cities like Alexandria, Smyrna or Tarsus produced an abundance of grotesque
figurines, representing individuals with deformed members, eyes bulging and contorting
themselves. Such figurines were also made from bronze.
For painted architectural terracottas, see below, under "painting"...

Metal figurines[edit]

8th-century BC votive horse from Olympia(Louvre)

Figurines made of metal, primarily bronze, are an extremely common find at early Greek
sanctuaries like Olympia, where thousands of such objects, mostly depicting animals, have been
found. They are usually produced in the lost wax technique and can be considered the initials
stage in the development of Greek bronze sculpture. The most common motifs during the
Geometric period were horses and deer, but dogs, cattle and other animals are also depicted.
Human figures occur occasionally. The production of small metal votives continued throughout
Greek antiquity. In the Classical and Hellenistic periods, more elaborate bronze statuettes, closely
connected with monumental sculpture, also became common.

Monumental sculpture[edit]
Those who practiced the visual arts, including sculpture, were held in low regard in ancient
Greece, viewed as mere manual laborers. Plutarch(Life of Pericles, II) said "we admire the work
of art but despise the maker of it"; this was a common view in the ancient world. Ancient Greek
art today is often categorised in three epochs: "Archaic", "Classical" and "Hellenistic".

Materials, forms[edit]
Ancient Greek sculptures were mostly made of two types of material. Stone, especially marble or
other high-quality limestones was used most frequently and carved by hand with metal tools.
Stone sculptures could be free-standing fully carved in the round (statues), or only partially
carved reliefs still attached to a background plaque, for example in architectural friezes or
grave stelai.
Bronze statues were of higher status, but have survived in far smaller numbers, due to the
reusability of metals. They were usually made in the lost wax technique.Chryselephantine, or
gold-and-ivory, statues often adorned temples and were regarded as the highest form of
sculpture, but virtually none have survived.

Late Archaicterracotta statue of Zeus and Ganymede,Archaeological Museum of Olympia

Terracotta was occasionally employed, for large statuary. Few examples of this survived, at least
partially due to the fragility of such statues. The best known exception to this is a statue
of Zeus carrying Ganymede found at Olympia, executed around 470 BC. In this case, the
terracotta is painted.

Archaic[edit]

Kleobis and Biton, kouroi of the Archaic period, c. 580 BC, held at theDelphi Archaeological Museum

Inspired by the monumental stone sculpture of Egypt and Mesopotamia, during the Archaic
period the Greeks began again to carve in stone. Free-standing figures share the solidity and
frontal stance characteristic of Eastern models, but their forms are more dynamic than those of
Egyptian sculpture, as for example the Lady of Auxerre and Torso of Hera (Early Archaic period,
c. 660-580 BC, both in the Louvre, Paris). After about 575 BC, figures, such as these, both male
and female, wore the so-called archaic smile. This expression, which has no specific
appropriateness to the person or situation depicted, may have been a device to give the figures a
distinctive human characteristic.
Three types of figures prevailedthe standing nude youth (kouros), the standing draped girl
(kore), and the seated woman. All emphasize and generalize the essential features of the human
figure and show an increasingly accurate comprehension of human anatomy. The youths were
either sepulchral or votive statues. Examples are Apollo (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York),
an early work; the Strangford Apollo from Anafi (British Museum, London), a much later work; and
the Anavyssos Kouros (National Archaeological Museum of Athens). More of the musculature and
skeletal structure is visible in this statue than in earlier works. The standing, draped girls have a
wide range of expression, as in the sculptures in the Acropolis Museum of Athens. Their drapery
is carved and painted with the delicacy and meticulousness common in the details of sculpture of
this period.
The Greeks thus decided very early on that the human form was the most important subject for
artistic endeavour. Seeing their gods as having human form, there was no distinction between the
sacred and the secular in artthe human body was both secular and sacred. A male nude could
just as easily be Apollo or Heracles as that year's Olympic boxing champion. In the Archaic
Period the most important sculptural form was the kouros (plural kouroi), the standing male nude
(See for example Biton and Kleobis). The kore (plural korai), or standing clothed female figure,
was also common, but since Greek society did not permit the public display of female nudity until
the 4th century BC, the kore is considered to be of less importance in the development of
sculpture.
As with pottery, the Greeks did not produce sculpture merely for artistic display. Statues were
commissioned either by aristocratic individuals or by the state, and used for public memorials, as
offerings to temples, oracles and sanctuaries (as is frequently shown by inscriptions on the

statues), or as markers for graves. Statues in the Archaic period were not all intended to
represent specific individuals. They were depictions of an idealbeauty, piety, honor or sacrifice.
These were always depictions of young men, ranging in age from adolescence to early maturity,
even when placed on the graves of (presumably) elderly citizens. Kouroi were all stylistically
similar. Graduations in the social stature of the person commissioning the statue were indicated
by size rather than artistic innovations.

Dipylon Kouros, c. 600 BC, Athens, KerameikosMuseum

The Moschophoros or calf-bearer, c. 570 BC, Athens, Acropolis Museum

Peplos Kore, c. 530 BC, Athens, Acropolis Museum

Frieze of the Siphnian Treasury, Delphi, depicting aGigantomachy, c. 525 BC, Delphi Archaeological
Museum

Classical[edit]
Further information: Severe style

Bronze Sculpture, thought to be either Poseidon or Zeus, c. 460 BC, National Archaeological
Museum,Athens. This masterpiece of classical sculpture was found by fishermen in their nets off the coast
of Cape Artemisium in 1928. The figure is more than 2 m in height.

In the Classical period there was a revolution in Greek statuary, usually associated with the
introduction of democracy and the end of the aristocratic culture associated with the kouroi. The
Classical period saw changes in the style and function of sculpture. Poses became more
naturalistic (see the Charioteer of Delphi for an example of the transition to more naturalistic
sculpture), and the technical skill of Greek sculptors in depicting the human form in a variety of
poses greatly increased. From about 500 BC statues began to depict real people. The statues
of Harmodius and Aristogeiton set up in Athens to mark the overthrow of the tyranny were said to
be the first public monuments to actual people.
At the same time sculpture and statues were put to wider uses. The great temples of the
Classical era such as the Parthenon in Athens, and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, required relief
sculpture for decorative friezes, and sculpture in the round to fill the triangular fields of
the pediments. The difficult aesthetic and technical challenge stimulated much in the way of
sculptural innovation. Unfortunately these works survive only in fragments, the most famous of
which are the Parthenon Marbles, half of which are in the British Museum.

Family group on a grave marker from Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Funeral statuary evolved during this period from the rigid and impersonal kouros of the Archaic
period to the highly personal family groups of the Classical period. These monuments are
commonly found in the suburbs of Athens, which in ancient times were cemeteries on the
outskirts of the city. Although some of them depict "ideal" typesthe mourning mother, the dutiful
sonthey increasingly depicted real people, typically showing the departed taking his dignified
leave from his family. They are among the most intimate and affecting remains of the Ancient
Greeks.

In the Classical period for the first time we know the names of individual
sculptors. Phidiasoversaw the design and building of the Parthenon. Praxiteles made the female
nude respectable for the first time in the Late Classical period (mid-4th century): his Aphrodite of
Knidos, which survives in copies, was said by Pliny to be the greatest statue in the world.
The greatest works of the Classical period, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Statue of
Athena Parthenos (both chryselephantine and executed by Phidias or under his direction), are
lost, although smaller copies (in other materials) and good descriptions of both still exist. Their
size and magnificence prompted emperors to seize them in the Byzantine period, and both were
removed to Constantinople, where they were later destroyed in fire

Copy of Polyclitus'Diadumenos, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

So-called Venus Braschi by Praxiteles, type of theKnidian Aphrodite, Munich Glyptothek

The Marathon Youth, 4th-century BC bronze statue, possibly byPraxiteles, National Archaeological
Museum, Athens

Hermes, possibly byLysippos, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Hellenistic[edit]
Main article: Hellenistic art
The transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period occurred during the 4th century BC.
Following the conquests of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC), Greek culture spread as far
as India, as revealed by the excavations of Ai-Khanoum in eastern Afghanistan, and the
civilization of the Greco-Bactrians and the Indo-Greeks. Greco-Buddhist art represented a
syncretism between Greek art and the visual expression of Buddhism.

Greco-Buddhist frieze of Gandhara with devotees, holding plantainleaves, in Hellenistic style,

inside Corinthian columns, 1st-2nd century CE, Buner, Swat, Pakistan, Victoria and Albert Museum

Thus Greek art became more diverse and more influenced by the cultures of the peoples drawn
into the Greek orbit. In the view of some art historians, it also declined in quality and originality;
this, however, is a judgement which artists and art-lovers of the time would not have shared.
Indeed, many sculptures previously considered as classical masterpieces have turned out to be
of the Hellenistic age. Also, the technical ability of the Hellenistic sculptors are clearly in evidence
in such major works as the Winged Victory of Samothrace, and the Pergamon Altar. New centres
of Greek culture, particularly in sculpture, developed in Alexandria, Antioch,Pergamum, and other
cities. By the 2nd century the rising power of Rome had also absorbed much of the Greek
traditionand an increasing proportion of its products as well.
During this period sculpture became more and more naturalistic. Common people, women,
children, animals and domestic scenes became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which was
commissioned by wealthy families for the adornment of their homes and gardens. Realistic
portraits of men and women of all ages were produced, and sculptors no longer felt obliged to
depict people as ideals of beauty or physical perfection. At the same time, the new Hellenistic
cities springing up all over Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia required statues depicting the gods and
heroes of Greece for their temples and public places. This made sculpture, like pottery, an
industry, with the consequent standardisation and some lowering of quality. For these reasons
many more Hellenistic statues have survived than is the case with the Classical period.
Some of the best known Hellenistic sculptures are the Winged Victory of Samothrace (2nd or 1st
century BC), the statue of Aphrodite from the island of Melosknown as the Venus de Milo (mid-

2nd century BC), the Dying Gaul (about 230 BC), and the monumental group Laocon and His
Sons (late 1st century BC). All these statues depict Classical themes, but their treatment is far
more sensuous and emotional than the austere taste of the Classical period would have allowed
or its technical skills permitted.
Discoveries made since the end of the 19th century surrounding the (now submerged) ancient
Egyptian city of Heracleum include a 4th-century BC, unusually sensual, detailed and feministic
(as opposed to deified) depiction of Isis, marking a combination of Egyptian and Hellenistic forms
beginning around the time of Egypt's conquest by Alexander the Great.
Hellenistic sculpture was also marked by an increase in scale, which culminated in the Colossus
of Rhodes (late 3rd century), which was the same size as theStatue of Liberty. The combined
effect of earthquakes and looting have destroyed this as well as other very large works of this
period.

Antinous (Roman Hellenistic), DelphiArchaeological Museum

The Winged Victory of Samothrace (Hellenistic),The Louvre, Paris

Laocon and His Sons(Late Hellenistic),Vatican Museum

Late Hellenistic bronze statue of a mounted jockey, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Architecture[edit]
Main article: Architecture of ancient Greece
See also: Greek temple

The restored Stoa of Attalos, Athens

Architecture (building executed to an aesthetically considered design) was extinct in Greece from
the end of theMycenaean period (about 1200 BC) until the 7th century, when urban life and
prosperity recovered to a point where public building could be undertaken. But since most Greek
buildings in the Archaic and Early Classical periods were made of wood or mud-brick, nothing
remains of them except a few ground-plans, and there are almost no written sources on early
architecture or descriptions of buildings. Most of our knowledge of Greek architecture comes from
the few surviving buildings of the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods (since Roman
architecture heavily copied Greek), and from late written sources such as Vitruvius (1st century
AD). This means that there is a strong bias towards temples, the only buildings which survive in
any number.
The standard format of Greek public buildings is well known from surviving examples such as
the Parthenon, and even more so from Roman buildings built partly on the Greek model, such as
the Pantheon in Rome. The building was usually either a cube or a rectangle made
from limestone, of which Greece has an abundance, and which was cut into large blocks and
dressed. Marble was an expensive building material in Greece: high quality marble came only
from Mt Pentelus in Attica and from a few islands such as Paros, and its transportation in large
blocks was difficult. It was used mainly for sculptural decoration, not structurally, except in the
very grandest buildings of the Classical period such as theParthenon.
There were two main styles (or "orders") of Greek architecture, the Doric and the Ionic. These
names were used by the Greeks themselves, and reflected their belief that the styles descended
from the Dorian and Ionian Greeks of the Dark Ages, but this is unlikely to be true. The Doric style
was used in mainland Greece and spread from there to the Greek colonies in Italy. The Ionic style
was used in the cities of Ionia (now the west coast of Turkey) and some of the Aegean islands.
The Doric style was more formal and austere, the Ionic more relaxed and decorative. The more
ornate Corinthian style was a later development of the Ionic. These styles are best known through

the three orders of column capitals, but there are differences in most points of design and
decoration between the orders. See the separate article on Classical orders.
Most of the best known surviving Greek buildings, such as the Parthenon and the Temple of
Hephaestus in Athens, are Doric. The Erechtheum, next to the Parthenon, however, is Ionic. The
Ionic order became dominant in the Hellenistic period, since its more decorative style suited the
aesthetic of the period better than the more restrained Doric. Some of the best surviving
Hellenistic buildings, such as the Library of Celsus, can be seen in Turkey, at cities such
as Ephesus andPergamum. But in the greatest of Hellenistic cities, Alexandria in Egypt, almost
nothing survives.

The Erechtheion on theAcropolis of Athens, late 5th century BC

The Temple of Hephaistos at Athens, late 5th century BC

The theatre of Epidauros, 4th century BC

The walls of Messene: Hellenistic defensive architecture

Coin design[edit]
Main article: Greek coins

Coins were invented in Lydia in the 7th century BC, but they were first extensively used by the
Greeks, and the Greeks set the canon of coin design which has been followed ever since. Coin
design today still recognisably follows patterns descended from Ancient Greece. The Greeks did
not see coin design as a major art form, although some, especially outside Greece itself, among
the Central Asian kingdoms and in Sicilian cities keen to promote themselves, were expensively
designed by leading goldsmiths, but the durability and abundance of coins have made them one
of the most important sources of knowledge about Greek aesthetics. Greek coins are,
incidentally, the only art form from the ancient Greek world which can still be bought and owned
by private collectors of modest means.
Greek designers began the practice of putting a profile portrait on the obverse of coins. This was
initially a symbolic portrait of the patron god or goddess of the city issuing the
coin: Athena for Athens, Apollo at Corinth, Demeter at Thebes and so on. Later, heads of heroes
of Greek mythology were used, such as Heracles on the coins of Alexander the Great. The first
human portraits on coins were those of Persian satraps in Asia Minor. Greek cities in Italy such
as Syracuse began to put the heads of real people on coins in the 4th century BC, as did the
Hellenistic successors of Alexander the Great in Egypt, Syria and elsewhere. On the reverse of
their coins the Greek cities often put a symbol of the city: an owl for Athens, a dolphin for
Syracuse and so on. The placing of inscriptions on coins also began in Greek times. All these
customs were later continued by the Romans.

Athenian tetradrachmwith head of Athena and owl, after 449 BC

Drachm of Aegina with tortoise and stamp, after 404 BC

Macedonian tetradrachmwith image of Heracles, after 330 BC

Painting[edit]
There were several interconnected traditions of painting in ancient Greece. Due to their technical
differences, they underwent somewhat differentiated developments. Not all painting techniques
are equally well represented in the archaeological record.

Panel painting[edit]

[show]
List of known Ancient Greek
painters

One of the Pitsa panels, the only

surviving panel paintings from Archaic
Greece

The most respected form of art, according to authors like Pliny or Pausanias, were individual,
mobile paintings on wooden boards, technically described as panel paintings. The techniques
used were encaustic (wax) painting andtempera. Such paintings normally depicted figural scenes,
including portraits and still-lifes; we have descriptions of many compositions. They were collected
and often displayed in public spaces. Pausanias describes such exhibitions atAthens and Delphi.
We know the names of many famous painters, mainly of the Classical and Hellenistic periods,
from literature (see expandable list to the right).
Unfortunately, due to the perishable nature of the materials used and the major upheavals at the
end of antiquity, not one of the famous works of Greek panel painting has survived, nor even any
of the copies that doubtlessly existed, and which give us most of our knowledge of Greek
sculpture. The most important surviving Greek examples are the fairly low-quality Pitsa
panels from c. 530 BC, and a large group of much later Graeco-Roman archaeological survivals
from the dry conditions of Egypt, the Fayum mummy portraits, together with the similar Severan
Tondo. Byzantine icons are also derived from the encaustic panel painting tradition.

Wall painting[edit]

Symposium scene in the Tomb of the Diver at Paestum, c. 480 BC

The tradition of wall painting in Greece goes back at least to the Minoan and Mycenaean Bronze
Age, with the lavish fresco decoration of sites like Knossos, Tiryns and Mycenae. It is not clear,
whether there is any continuity between these antecedents and later Greek wall paintings.
Wall paintings are frequently described in Pausanias, and many appear to have been produced in
the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Due to the lack of architecture surviving intact, not many are
preserved. The most notable examples are a monumental Archaic 7th-century BC scene
of hoplite combat from inside a temple at Kalapodi (near Thebes), and the elaborate frescoes

from the 4th-century "Grave of Phillipp" and the "Tomb of Persephone" at Vergina in Macedonia,
[1]
or the tomb at Agios Athanasios, Thessaloniki, sometimes suggested to be closely linked to the
high-quality panel paintings mentioned above.
Greek wall painting tradition is also reflected in contemporary grave decorations in the Greek
colonies in Italy, e.g. the famous Tomb of the Diver at Paestum. Some scholars suggest that the
celebrated Roman frescoes at sites like Pompeii are the direct descendants of Greek tradition,
and that some of them copy famous panel paintings.

Reconstructed colour scheme of the entablatureon a Doric temple

Polychromy: painting on statuary and architecture [edit]

Much of the figural or architectural sculpture of ancient Greece was painted colourfully. This
aspect of Greek stonework is described aspolychrome (from Greek , = many
and = colour). Due to intensive weathering, polychromy on sculpture and architecture has
substantially or totally faded in most cases.
Architecture[edit]
Painting was also used to enhance the visual aspects of architecture. Certain parts of the
superstructure of Greek temples were habitually painted since the Archaic period. Such
architectural polychromy could take the form of bright colours directly applied to the stone
(evidenced e.g. on the Parthenon, or of elaborate patterns, frequently architectural members
made of terracotta (Archaic examples at Olympia and Delphi). Sometimes, the terracottas also
depicted figural scenes, as do the 7th-century BC terracotta metopes from Thermon.

Traces of paint depicting embroidered patterns on the apeplos of an Archaic kore,Acropolis Museum

Reconstructed colour scheme on a Trojan archer from theTemple of Aphaia, Aegina

Sculpture[edit]
Most Greek sculptures were painted in strong and bright colors. The paint was frequently limited
to parts depicting clothing, hair, and so on, with the skin left in the natural color of the stone, but it
could also cover sculptures in their totality. The painting of Greek sculpture should not merely be
seen as an enhancement of their sculpted form, but has the characteristics of a distinct style of
art. For example, the pedimental sculptures from the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina have recently
been demonstrated to have been painted with bold and elaborate patterns, depicting, amongst
other details, patterned clothing. The polychromy of stone statues was paralleled by the use of
different materials to distinguish skin, clothing and other details in chryselephantine sculptures,
and by the use of different metals to depict lips, fingernails, etc. on high-quality bronzes like
the Riace bronzes.

Vase painting[edit]
The most copious evidence of ancient Greek painting survives in the form of vase paintings.
These are described in the "pottery" section above. They give at least some sense of
the aesthetics of Greek painting. The techniques involved, however, were very different from
those used in large-format painting. The same probably applies to the subject matter depicted. It
should be noted that strictly speaking, vase painting was a separate skill or art from potting. It
should also be kept in mind that vase painting, albeit by far the most conspicuous surviving
source on ancient Greek painting, was not held in the highest regard in antiquity, and is never
mentioned in Classical literature.

Etruscan art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fresco of an Etruscan musician with a barbiton, Tomb of the Triclinium,Tarquinia

Etruscan art was the form of figurative art produced by the Etruscan civilization in central
Italy between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC. Particularly strong in this tradition were figurative
sculpture in terracotta (particularly life-size on sarcophagi or temples) and cast bronze, wallpainting and metalworking (especially engraved bronze mirrors and situlae).
Contents
[show]

History[edit]
Cista Depicting a Dionysian Revel and Perseus with Medusa's Head[1]The Walters Art Museum.

The origins of the Etruscans, and consequently of their artistic style, dates back to the people
who inhabited or were expelled from Asia Minor during the Bronze Ageand Iron Age (See
the Villanovan culture). Due to the proximity and/or commercial contact to Etruria, other ancient
cultures influenced Etruscan art, such as Greece,Phoenicia, Egypt, Assyria and the Middle East.
The apparent simple character in theHellenistic era conceals an innovative,and unique style
whose pinnacle coincided with the Greek archaic period. The Romans would later come to
absorb the Etruscan culture into theirs but would also be greatly influenced by them and their art.

800-650 BC - "Oriental" or "Orientalising" period. Due to cultural exchanges amongst

Mediterranean civilizations at this time, especially with Ancient Greece, a figurative tradition
appeared in Etruscan art that was based on Greek models.

650-500 BC - Archaic period - Ionic and Corinthian influences. Due to more and more
exchanges and due to the structure of Etruscan society, new artistic techniques emerged.
Painting became highly developed in this period, as did painted sculpture in terracotta and
vase-painting.

500-300 BC - Classical period - Peak; still marked by Greek influence; less and less art
produced due to internal and external political and military crises, with the exception of the
bronzes from Vulci.

300-100 BC - late phase; absorbed into Roman culture.

Art and religion[edit]

An ancient Etruscan necklace (University of Pennsylvania Museum)

Etruscan art was often religious in character and, hence, strongly connected to the requirements
of Etruscan religion. The Etruscan afterlife was negative, in contrast to the positive view in ancient
Egypt where it was but a continuation of earthly life, or the confident relations with the gods as
in ancient Greece.[citation needed] The Etruscan gods were hostile and tended to bring misfortune, and
so Etruscan religion was centered on interpreting their will and accepting or satisfying it. [citation
needed]
On the other hand, most remains of Etruscan funerary art have been found in excavations of
cemeteries (as at Cerveteri,Tarquinia, Populonia, Orvieto, Vetulonia, Norchia), meaning that what
we see of Etruscan art is primarily dominated by depictions of religion and in particular
the funerary cult, whether or not that is a true reflection of Etruscan art as a whole.

Etruscan sculpture[edit]

Etruscan - Lion (bronze)

(Walters Art Museum)

The Etruscans were very accomplished sculptors. Though the renowned "Capitoline Wolf" (now
at the Capitoline Museum of Rome) is now suggested to have been manufactured in the 13th
century AD [1] surviving examples in terracotta and bronze are testimony to this. Some of the
more famous examples include:

the "Arringatore" (Aule Metele), found in Umbria (now at the National Archaeological
Museum of Florence)

the "Apollo of Veii", from the temple at Portanaccio (Veii), attributed to Vulca (now at the
National Etruscan Museum)

the "Chimera of Arezzo" (now at the National Archaeological Museum of Florence)

"Sarcophagus of the Spouses", from Cerveteri (now at the National Etruscan Museum)

The Apollo of Veii is a good example of the mastery with which Etruscan artist produced these
large art pieces. He was made, along with others, to adorn the temple at Portanaccios roof line.
Although his style is reminiscent of the Greek Kroisos Kouros, the notion of having statues on the
top of the roof is entirely an Etruscan derivation.[2]

Etruscan funerary art[edit]

Painted terracotta sarcophagus of Seainti Hanunia Tlesnasa, about 150-130 BCE

The Etruscans excelled in portraying humans. Throughout their history they used two sets of
burial practices: cremation andinhumation.[3] Cinerary urns (for cremation) and sarcophagi (for
inhumation) have been found together in the same tomb showing that throughout generations,
both forms were used at the same time.[4] In the 7th century they started depicting human heads
on canopic urns and when they started burying their dead in the late 6th century they did so in
terracotta sarcophagi.[5] These sarcophagi were decorated with an image of the deceased
reclining on the lid alone or sometimes with a spouse. The Etruscans invented the custom of
placing figures on the lid which later influenced the Romans to do the same. [6]
The Hellenistic period funerary urns were generally made in two pieces. The top lid usually
depicted a banqueting man or woman (but not always) and the container part was either
decorated in relief in the front only or, on more elaborate stone pieces, carved on its sides.
[7]
During this period, the terracotta urns were being mass-produced using moulds in Northern
Etruria (specifically in and around Chiusi).[8] Often the scenes decorated in relief on the front of the
urn were depicting generic Greek influenced scenes.[9] The production of these urns did not
require skilled artists and so what we are left with is often mediocre, unprofessional art, made en
mass.[10]

Etruscan Cinerary Urn, mid-2nd century BC, terracotta - Worcester Art Museum

MMA Etruscan Funerary Urn

Etruscan Canopic Urn from Chiusi

Funerary Urn

Louvre, Sarcophagus of Cerveteri Couple 520BCE

Etruscan painting[edit]
The best preserved Etruscan paintings that have survived to modern times are mostly
wall frescoes from graves, and mainly from Tarquinia. These are the most important example of
pre-Roman figurative art in Italy known to scholars.[citation needed]

The frescoes are created by applying paint on top of fresh plaster, so that when the plaster dries
the painting becomes part of the plaster, and consequently an integral part of the wall. Colours
were created from ground up stones and minerals of different colours and were then mixed to the
paint. Fine brushes were made of animal hair (even the best brushes can be produced with ox
hair).[citation needed]
From the mid 4th century BC chiaroscuro began to be used to portray depth and volume.[citation
needed]
Sometimes scenes of everyday life are portrayed, but more often traditional mythological
scenes. The concept of proportion does not appear in any surviving frescoes and we frequently
find portrayals of animals or men out of proportion. One of the best-known Etruscan frescoes is
that of Tomb of the Lioness at Tarquinia.

Roman art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fresco from the Villa of the Mysteries. Pompeii, 80 BC

Veristic portrait bust of an old man, head covered (capite velato), either a priest orpaterfamilias (marble,
mid-1st century BC)

Roman art refers to the visual arts made in Ancient Rome and in the territories of the Roman
Empire. Roman art includesarchitecture, painting, sculpture and mosaic work. Luxury objects
in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass, are sometimes considered in modern
terms to be minor forms of Roman art,[1] although this would not necessarily have been the case

for contemporaries. Sculpture was perhaps considered as the highest form of art by Romans, but
figure painting was also very highly regarded. The two forms have had very contrasting rates of
survival, with a very large body of sculpture surviving from about the 1st century BC onwards,
though very little from before, but very little painting at all remains, and probably nothing that a
contemporary would have considered to be of the highest quality. Ancient Roman pottery was not
a luxury product, but a vast production of "fine wares" in terra sigillata were decorated with reliefs
that reflected the latest taste, and provided a large group in society with stylish objects at what
was evidently an affordable price.Roman coins were an important means of propaganda, and
have survived in enormous numbers. Other perishable forms of art have not survived at all.
Contents
[show]

While the traditional view of the ancient Roman artists is that they often borrowed from, and
copied Greek precedents (much of the Greek sculpture known today is in the form of Roman
marble copies), more recent analysis has indicated that Roman art is a highly creative pastiche
relying heavily on Greek models but also encompassing Etruscan, native Italic, and
even Egyptian visual culture. Stylistic eclecticism and practical application are the hallmarks of
much Roman art.
Pliny, Ancient Romes most important historian concerning the arts, recorded that nearly all the
forms of art sculpture, landscape, portrait painting, even genre painting were advanced in
Greek times, and in some cases, more advanced than in Rome. Though very little remains of
Greek wall art and portraiture, certainly Greek sculpture and vase painting bears this out. These
forms were not likely surpassed by Roman artists in fineness of design or execution. As another
example of the lost "Golden Age", he singled outPeiraikos, "whose artistry is surpassed by only a
very few ... He painted barbershops and shoemakers stalls, donkeys, vegetables, and such, and
for that reason came to be called the 'painter of vulgar subjects'; yet these works are altogether
delightful, and they were sold at higher prices than the greatest [paintings] of many other
artists.[2] The adjective "vulgar" is used here in its original meaning, which means "common".
The Greek antecedents of Roman art were legendary. In the mid-5th century BC, the most
famous Greek artists were Polygnotos, noted for his wall murals, and Apollodoros, the originator
of chiaroscuro. The development of realistic technique is credited to Zeuxis and Parrhasius, who
according to ancient Greek legend, are said to have once competed in a bravura display of their
talents, historys earliest descriptions of trompe loeil painting.[3] In sculpture,
Skopas, Praxiteles, Phidias, and Lysippos were the foremost sculptors. It appears that Roman
artists had much Ancient Greek art to copy from, as trade in art was brisk throughout the empire,
and much of the Greek artistic heritage found its way into Roman art through books and teaching.
Ancient Greek treatises on the arts are known to have existed in Roman times though are now
lost.[4] Many Roman artists came from Greek colonies and provinces...[5]

Preparation of an animal sacrifice; marble, fragment of an architecturalrelief, first quarter of the 2nd century
AD; from Rome, Italy

The high number of Roman copies of Greek art also speaks of the esteem Roman artists had for
Greek art, and perhaps of its rarer and higher quality.[5]Many of the art forms and methods used
by the Romans such as high and low relief, free-standing sculpture, bronze casting, vase
art, mosaic, cameo, coin art, fine jewelry and metalwork, funerary sculpture, perspective
drawing,caricature, genre and portrait painting, landscape painting, architectural sculpture,
and trompe loeil painting all were developed or refined by Ancient Greek artists. [6] One
exception is the Roman bust, which did not include the shoulders. The traditional head-andshoulders bust may have been an Etruscan or early Roman form. [7] Virtually every artistic
technique and method used by Renaissance artists 1,900 year later, had been demonstrated by
Ancient Greek artists, with the notable exceptions of oil colors and mathematically accurate
perspective.[8] Where Greek artists were highly revered in their society, most Roman artists were
anonymous and considered tradesmen. There is no recording, as in Ancient Greece, of the great
masters of Roman art, and practically no signed works. Where Greeks worshipped the aesthetic
qualities of great art and wrote extensively on artistic theory, Roman art was more decorative and
indicative of status and wealth, and apparently not the subject of scholars or philosophers. [9]
Owing in part to the fact that the Roman cities were far larger than the Greek city-states in power
and population, and generally less provincial, art in Ancient Rome took on a wider, and
sometimes more utilitarian, purpose. Roman culture assimilated many cultures and was for the
most part tolerant of the ways of conquered peoples.[5] Roman art was commissioned, displayed,
and owned in far greater quantities, and adapted to more uses than in Greek times. Wealthy
Romans were more materialistic; they decorated their walls with art, their home with decorative
objects, and themselves with fine jewelry.
In the Christian era of the late Empire, from 350 to 500 CE, wall painting, mosaic ceiling and floor
work, and funerary sculpture thrived, while full-sized sculpture in the round and panel painting
died out, most likely for religious reasons.[10] When Constantine moved the capital of the empire to
Byzantium (renamed Constantinople), Roman art incorporated Eastern influences to produce the
Byzantine style of the late empire. When Rome was sacked in the 5th century, artisans moved to
and found work in the Eastern capital. The Church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople employed
nearly 10,000 workmen and artisans, in a final burst of Roman art under Emperor Justinian (527
565 AD), who also ordered the creation of the famous mosaics of Ravenna.[11]

Painting[edit]

Pompeian painter with painted statue and framed painting Pompeii

Of the vast body of Roman painting we now have only a very few pockets of survivals, with many
documented types not surviving at all, or doing so only from the very end of the period. The best
known and most important pocket is the wall paintings from Pompeii, Herculaneum and other
sites nearby, which show how residents of a wealthy seaside resort decorated their walls in the
century or so before the fatal eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. A succession of dated
styleshave been defined and analysed by modern art historians beginning with August Mau,
showing increasing elaboration and sophistication.
Starting in the 3rd century AD and finishing by about 400 we have a large body of paintings from
the Catacombs of Rome, by no means all Christian, showing the later continuation of the
domestic decorative tradition in a version adapted - probably not greatly adapted - for use in
burial chambers, in what was probably a rather humbler social milieu than the largest houses in
Pompeii. Much of Nero's palace in Rome, the Domus Aurea, survived as grottos and gives us
examples which we can be sure represent the very finest quality of wall-painting in its style, and
which may well have represented significant innovation in style. There are a number of other
parts of painted rooms surviving from Rome and elsewhere, which somewhat help to fill in the
gaps of our knowledge of wall-painting. From Roman Egypt there are a large number of what are
known as Fayum mummy portraits, bust portraits on wood added to the outside of mummies by a
Romanized middle-class; despite their very distinct local character they are probably broadly
representative of Roman style in painted portraits, which are otherwise entirely lost.
Nothing remains of the Greek paintings imported to Rome during the 4th and 5th centuries, or of
the painting on wood done in Italy during that period. [4] In sum, the range of samples is confined to
only about 200 years out of the about 900 years of Roman history,[12] and of provincial and
decorative painting. Most of this wall painting was done using the secco (dry) method, but
some fresco paintings also existed in Roman times. There is evidence from mosaics and a few
inscriptions that some Roman paintings were adaptations or copies of earlier Greek works.
[12]
However, adding to the confusion is the fact that inscriptions may be recording the names of
immigrant Greek artists from Roman times, not from Ancient Greek originals that were copied.
[8]
The Romans entirely lacked a tradition of figurative vase-painting comparable to that of the
Ancient Greeks, which the Etruscans had emulated.

Variety of subjects[edit]

The Wedding of Zephyrus and Chloris(5468 AD, Pompeian Fourth Style) within painted architectural
panels from the Casa del Naviglio

Roman painting provides a wide variety of themes: animals, still life, scenes from everyday life,
portraits, and some mythological subjects. During the Hellenistic period, it evoked the pleasures
of the countryside and represented scenes of shepherds, herds, rustic temples, rural
mountainous landscapes and country houses.[8] Erotic scenes are also relatively common. In the
late empire, after 200AD, early Christian themes mixed with pagan imagery survive on catacomb
walls.[13]

Landscape and vistas[edit]

Boscotrecase, Pompeii. Third style

The main innovation of Roman painting compared to Greek art was the development of
landscapes, in particular incorporating techniques of perspective, though true mathematical
perspective developed 1,515 years later. Surface textures, shading, and coloration are well
applied but scale and spatial depth was still not rendered accurately. Some landscapes were pure
scenes of nature, particularly gardens with flowers and trees, while others were architectural
vistas depicting urban buildings. Other landscapes show episodes from mythology, the most
famous demonstrating scenes from the Odyssey.[14]
The art of the ancient East would have known the landscape only in terms of civil or military
scenes.[15] This theory, defended by Franz Wickhoff, is debatable. It is possible to see evidence of
Greek knowledge of landscape portrayal in Plato's Critias (107b108b):
... and if we look at the portraiture of divine and of human bodies as executed by painters, in
respect of the ease or difficulty with which they succeed in imitating their subjects in the opinion of
onlookers, we shall notice in the first place that as regards the earth and mountains and rivers
and woods and the whole of heaven, with the things that exist and move therein, we are content if
a man is able to represent them with even a small degree of likeness ...[16]

Still life[edit]
Roman still life subjects are often placed in illusionistic niches or shelves and depict a variety of
everyday objects including fruit, live and dead animals, seafood, and shells. Examples of the
theme of the glass jar filled with water were skillfully painted and later served as models for the
same subject often painted during theRenaissance and Baroque periods.[17]

Portraits[edit]

The Severan Tondo, a panel painting of the imperial family, c. 200 AD;Antikensammlung, Berlin

Mummy portrait of a woman with a ringlet hairstyle.Royal Museum of Scotland.

Pliny complained of the declining state of Roman portrait art, "The painting of portraits which used
to transmit through the ages the accurate likenesses of people, has entirely gone out ... Indolence
has destroyed the arts."[18]
In Greece and Rome, wall painting was not considered as high art. The most prestigious form of
art besides sculpture was panel painting, i.e. tempera or encaustic painting on wooden panels.
Unfortunately, since wood is a perishable material, only a very few examples of such paintings
have survived, namely the Severan Tondo from c. 200 AD, a very routine official portrait from
some provincial government office, and the well-known Fayum mummy portraits, all from Roman
Egypt, and almost certainly not of the highest contemporary quality. The portraits were attached
to burial mummies at the face, from which almost all have now been detached. They usually
depict a single person, showing the head, or head and upper chest, viewed frontally. The
background is always monochrome, sometimes with decorative elements. [19] In terms of artistic
tradition, the images clearly derive more from Greco-Roman traditions than Egyptian ones. They
are remarkably realistic, though variable in artistic quality, and may indicate the similar art which
was widespread elsewhere but did not survive. A few portraits painted on glass and medals from
the later empire have survived, as have coin portraits, some of which are considered very realistic
as well.[20]

Gold glass[edit]

Detail of the gold glass medallion inBrescia (Museo di Santa Giulia), Alexandrian, ? late 3rd century

Main article: Gold glass

Gold glass, or gold sandwich glass, was a technique for fixing a layer of gold leaf with a design
between two fused layers of glass, developed in Hellenistic glass and revived in the 3rd century.
There are a very fewer larger designs, including a very fine group of portraits from the 3rd century
with added paint, but the great majority of the around 500 survivals are roundels that are the cutoff bottoms of wine cups or glasses used to mark and decorate graves in the Catacombs of
Rome by pressing them into the mortar. The great majority are 4th century, extending into the 5th
century. Most are Christian, but many pagan and a few Jewish, and had probably originally been
given as gifts on marriage, or festive occasions such as New Year. Their iconography has been
much studied, although artistically they are relatively unsophisticated. [21] Their subjects are similar
to the catacomb paintings, but with a difference balance including more portraiture of the
deceased (usually, it is presumed). The progression to an increased number of images of saints
can be seen in them.[22] The same technique began to be used for gold tesserae for mosaics in
the mid-1st century in Rome, and by the 5th century these had become the standard background
for religious mosaics.
The earlier group are "among the most vivid portraits to survive from Early Christian times. They
stare out at us with an extraordinary stern and melancholy intensity", [23] and represent the best
surviving indications of what high quality Roman portraiture could achieve in paint. The
Gennadios medallion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is a fine example of an
Alexandrian portrait on blue glass, using a rather more complex technique and naturalistic style
than most Late Roman examples, including painting onto the gold to create shading, and with the
Greek inscription showing local dialect features. He had perhaps been given or commissioned the
piece to celebrate victory in a musical competition. [24] One of the most famous Alexandrian-style
portrait medallions, with an inscription in Egyptian Greek, was later mounted in an Early
Medieval crux gemmata in Brescia, in the mistaken belief that it showed the pious empress
and Gothic queen Galla Placida and her children;[25] in fact the knot in the central figure's dress
may mark a devotee of Isis.[26] This is one of a group of 14 pieces dating to the 3rd century AD, all
individualized secular portraits of high quality.[27] It is thought that the tiny detail of pieces such as
these can only have been achieved using lenses.[28] The later glasses from the catacombs have a
level of portraiture that is rudimentary, with features, hairstyles and clothes all following
stereotypical styles.[29]

Genre scenes[edit]
Roman genre scenes generally depict Romans at leisure and include gambling, music and sexual
encounters.[citation needed] Some scenes depict gods and goddesses at leisure.[8][12]

Triumphal paintings[edit]

Roman fresco from Boscoreale, 4330 BC, Metropolitan Museum of Art

From the 3rd century BC, a specific genre known as Triumphal Paintings appeared, as indicated
by Pliny (XXXV, 22).[30]These were paintings which showed triumphal entries after military
victories, represented episodes from the war, and conquered regions and cities. Summary maps
were drawn to highlight key points of the campaign. Josephus describes the painting executed on
the occasion of Vespasian and Titus's sack of Jerusalem:
There was also wrought gold and ivory fastened about them all; and many resemblances of the
war, and those in several ways, and variety of contrivances, affording a most lively portraiture of
itself. For there was to be seen a happy country laid waste, and entire squadrons of enemies
slain; while some of them ran away, and some were carried into captivity; with walls of great
altitude and magnitude overthrown and ruined by machines; with the strongest fortifications
taken, and the walls of most populous cities upon the tops of hills seized on, and an army pouring
itself within the walls; as also every place full of slaughter, and supplications of the enemies,
when they were no longer able to lift up their hands in way of opposition. Fire also sent upon
temples was here represented, and houses overthrown, and falling upon their owners: rivers also,
after they came out of a large and melancholy desert, ran down, not into a land cultivated, nor as
drink for men, or for cattle, but through a land still on fire upon every side; for the Jews related
that such a thing they had undergone during this war. Now the workmanship of these
representations was so magnificent and lively in the construction of the things, that it exhibited
what had been done to such as did not see it, as if they had been there really present. On the top
of every one of these pageants was placed the commander of the city that was taken, and the
manner wherein he was taken.[31]
These paintings have disappeared, but they likely influenced the composition of the historical
reliefs carved on military sarcophagi, the Arch of Titus, and Trajan's Column. This evidence
underscores the significance of landscape painting, which sometimes tended towards being
perspective plans.
Ranuccio also describes the oldest painting to be found in Rome, in a tomb on the Esquiline Hill:
It describes a historical scene, on a clear background, painted in four superimposed sections.
Several people are identified, such Marcus Fannius and Marcus Fabius. These are larger than
the other figures ... In the second zone, to the left, is a city encircled with crenellated walls, in
front of which is a large warrior equipped with an oval buckler and a feathered helmet; near him is

a man in a short tunic, armed with a spear...Around these two are smaller soldiers in short tunics,
armed with spears...In the lower zone a battle is taking place, where a warrior with oval buckler
and a feathered helmet is shown larger than the others, whose weapons allow to assume that
these are probably Samnites.
This episode is difficult to pinpoint. One of Ranuccio's hypotheses is that it refers to a victory of
the consul Fabius Maximus Rullianus during the second war againstSamnites in 326 BC. The
presentation of the figures with sizes proportional to their importance is typically Roman, and
finds itself in plebeian reliefs. This painting is in the infancy of triumphal painting, and would have
been accomplished by the beginning of the 3rd century BC to decorate the tomb.

Sculpture[edit]
Main articles: Roman sculpture and Roman portraiture

Section of Trajan's Column, CE 113, with scenes from the Dacian Wars

Early Roman art was influenced by the art of Greece and that of the neighbouring Etruscans,
themselves greatly influenced by their Greek trading partners. An Etruscan speciality was near
life size tomb effigies in terracotta, usually lying on top of asarcophagus lid propped up on one
elbow in the pose of a diner in that period. As the expanding Roman Republic began to conquer
Greek territory, at first in Southern Italy and then the entire Hellenistic world except for
the Parthian far east, official and patrician sculpture became largely an extension of the
Hellenistic style, from which specifically Roman elements are hard to disentangle, especially as
so much Greek sculpture survives only in copies of the Roman period.[32] By the 2nd century BCE,
"most of the sculptors working at Rome" were Greek,[33] often enslaved in conquests such as that
of Corinth(146 BCE), and sculptors continued to be mostly Greeks, often slaves, whose names
are very rarely recorded. Vast numbers of Greek statues were imported to Rome, whether as
booty or the result of extortion or commerce, and temples were often decorated with re-used
Greek works.[34]
A native Italian style can be seen in the tomb monuments of prosperous middle-class Romans,
which very often featured portrait busts, and portraiture is arguably the main strength of Roman
sculpture. There are no survivals from the tradition of masks of ancestors that were worn in
processions at the funerals of the great families and otherwise displayed in the home, but many
of the busts that survive must represent ancestral figures, perhaps from the large family tombs
like the Tomb of the Scipios or the later mausolea outside the city. The famous bronze head
supposedly of Lucius Junius Brutus is very variously dated, but taken as a very rare survival of
Italic style under the Republic, in the preferred medium of bronze. [35] Similarly stern and forceful
heads are seen in the coins of the consuls, and in the Imperial period coins as well as busts sent
around the Empire to be placed in the basilicas of provincial cities were the main visual form of
imperial propaganda; even Londinium had a near-colossal statue of Nero, though far smaller than
the 30 metre high Colossus of Nero in Rome, now lost.[36] The Tomb of Eurysaces the Baker, a
successful freedman (c. 50-20 BC) has a frieze that is an unusually large example of the
"plebeian" style.[37] Imperial portraiture was initially Hellenized and highly idealized, as in
the Blacas Cameo and other portraits of Augustus.

Arch of Constantine, 315: Hadrianlion-hunting (left) and sacrificing (right), above a section of the
Constantinian frieze, showing the contrast of styles.

The Romans did not generally attempt to compete with free-standing Greek works of heroic
exploits from history or mythology, but from early on produced historical works in relief,
culminating in the great Roman triumphal columns with continuous narrative reliefs winding
around them, of which those commemorating Trajan (113 CE) and Marcus Aurelius (by 193)
survive in Rome, where the Ara Pacis ("Altar of Peace", 13 BCE) represents the official GrecoRoman style at its most classical and refined. Among other major examples are the earlier reused reliefs on the Arch of Constantine and the base of the Column of Antoninus Pius (161),
[38]
Campana reliefs were cheaper pottery versions of marble reliefs and the taste for relief was
from the imperial period expanded to the sarcophagus.
All forms of luxury small sculpture continued to be patronized, and quality could be extremely
high, as in the silver Warren Cup, glass Lycurgus Cup, and large cameos like the Gemma
Augustea, Gonzaga Cameo and the "Great Cameo of France".[39] For a much wider section of the
population, moulded relief decoration of pottery vessels and small figurines were produced in
great quantity and often considerable quality.[40]
After moving through a late 2nd century "baroque" phase, [41] in the 3rd century, Roman art largely
abandoned, or simply became unable to produce, sculpture in the classical tradition, a change
whose causes remain much discussed. Even the most important imperial monuments now
showed stumpy, large-eyed figures in a harsh frontal style, in simple compositions emphasizing
power at the expense of grace. The contrast is famously illustrated in the Arch of Constantine of
315 in Rome, which combines sections in the new style with roundels in the earlier full GrecoRoman style taken from elsewhere, and the Four Tetrarchs (c. 305) from the new capital
of Constantinople, now in Venice. Ernst Kitzinger found in both monuments the same "stubby
proportions, angular movements, an ordering of parts through symmetry and repetition and a
rendering of features and drapery folds through incisions rather than modelling... The hallmark of
the style wherever it appears consists of an emphatic hardness, heaviness and angularity in
short, an almost complete rejection of the classical tradition". [42]
This revolution in style shortly preceded the period in which Christianity was adopted by the
Roman state and the great majority of the people, leading to the end of large religious sculpture,
with large statues now only used for emperors, as in the famous fragments of a
colossal acrolithic statue of Constantine, and the 4th or 5th century Colossus of Barletta.
However rich Christians continued to commission reliefs for sarcophagi, as in the Sarcophagus of
Junius Bassus, and very small sculpture, especially in ivory, was continued by Christians, building
on the style of the consular diptych.[43]

Etruscan sarcophagus, 3rd century BCE

The "Capitoline Brutus", dated to the 3rd or 1st century BCE

Augustus of Prima Porta, statue of the emperor Augustus, 1st century CE.Vatican Museums

Tomb relief of the Decii, 98117 CE

Bust of Emperor Claudius, c. 50 CE, (reworked from a bust of emperorCaligula), Vatican Museums

Commodus dressed as Hercules, c. 191 CE, in the late imperial "baroque" style; Capitoline Museum,
Rome.

The Four Tetrarchs, c. 305, showing the new anti-classical style, inporphyry, now San Marco, Venice

The cameo gem known as the "Great Cameo of France", c. 23 CE, with anallegory of Augustus and
his family

Bust of Antinous, c. 130 AD

Traditional Roman sculpture is divided into five categories: portraiture, historical relief, funerary
reliefs, sarcophagi, and copies of ancient Greek works.[44] Contrary to the belief of early
archaeologists, many of these sculptures were large polychrome terra-cottaimages, such as the
Apollo of Veii (Villa Givlia, Rome), but the painted surface of many of them has worn away with
time.

Narrative reliefs[edit]
While Greek sculptors traditionally illustrated military exploits through the use of mythological
allegory, the Romans used a more documentary style. Roman reliefs of battle scenes, like those
on the Column of Trajan, were created for the glorification of Roman might, but also provide firsthand representation of military costumes and military equipment. Trajan's column records the
variousDacian wars conducted by Trajan in what is modern day Romania. It is the foremost
example of Roman historical relief and one of the great artistic treasures of the ancient world.
This unprecedented achievement, over 650 foot of spiraling length, presents not just realistically
rendered individuals (over 2,500 of them), but landscapes, animals, ships, and other elements in
a continuous visual history in effect an ancient precursor of a documentary movie. It survived
destruction when it was adapted as a base for Christian sculpture. [45] During the Christian era after
300 AD, the decoration of door panels and sarcophagi continued but full-sized sculpture died out
and did not appear to be an important element in early churches.[10]

Minor arts[edit]

The Blacas Cameo of Augustus, from his last years or soon after

The Romans inherited a tradition of art in a wide range of the so-called "minor arts" or decorative
art. Most of these flourished most impressively at the luxury level, but large numbers
of terracotta figurines, both religious and secular, continued to be produced cheaply, as well as
some larger Campana reliefs in terracotta.[46] Roman art did not use vase-painting in the way of
the ancient Greeks, but vessels in Ancient Roman pottery were often stylishly decorated in
moulded relief.[47] Producers of the millions of small oil lamps sold seem to have relied on
attractive decoration to beat competitors and every subject of Roman art except landscape and
portraiture is found on them in miniature.[48]
Luxury arts included fancy Roman glass in a great range of techniques, many smaller types of
which were probably affordable to a good proportion of the Roman public. This was certainly not
the case for the most extravagant types of glass, such as the cage cups or diatreta, of which
the Lycurgus Cup in the British Museum is a near-unique figurative example in glass that
changes colour when seen with light passing through it. The Augustan Portland Vase is the
masterpiece of Romancameo glass,[49] and imitated the style of the large engraved gems (Blacas
Cameo, Gemma Augustea, Great Cameo of France) and other hardstone carvings that were also
most popular around this time.[50]
Mosaic was a minor art, though often on a very large scale, until the very end of the period, when
late-4th-century Christians began to use it for large religious images on walls in their new large
churches; in earlier Roman art mosaic was mainly used for floors, curved ceilings, and inside and
outside walls that were going to get wet. The famous copy of a Hellenistic painting in
the Alexander Mosaic in Naples was originally placed in a floor in Pompeii; this is much higher
quality work than most Roman mosaic, though very fine panels, often of still life subjects in small
or micromosaic tesserae have also survived. The Romans distinguished between normalopus
tessellatum with tesserae mostly over 4mm across, which was laid down on site, and finer opus
vermiculatum for small panels, which is thought to have been produced offsite in a workshop, and
brought to the site as a finished panel. The latter was a Hellenistic genre which is found in Italy
between about 100 BC and 100 AD. Most signed mosaics have Greek names, suggesting the
artists remained mostly Greek, though probably often slaves trained up in workshops. The late
2nd century BC Nile mosaic of Palestrina is a very large example of the popular genre of Nilotic
landscape, while the 4th century Gladiator Mosaic in Rome shows several large figures in
combat.[51]
Metalwork was highly developed, and clearly an essential part of the homes of the rich, who
dined off silver, while often drinking from glass, and had elaborate cast fittings on their furniture,

jewellery, and small figurines. A number of important hoards found in the last 200 years, mostly
from the more violent edges of the late empire, have given us a much clearer idea of Roman
silver plate. The Mildenhall Treasure and Hoxne Hoard are both from East Anglia in England.[52]

Coins and medals[edit]

Hadrian, with "RESTITVTORI ACHAIAE" on the reverse, celebrating his spending in Achaia (Greece), and
showing the quality of ordinary bronze coins that were used by the mass population, hence the wear on
higher areas.

Few Roman coins reach the artistic peaks of the best Greek coins, but they survive in vast
numbers and their iconography and inscriptions form a crucial source for the study of Roman
history, and the development of imperial iconography, as well as containing many fine examples
of portraiture. They penetrated to the rural population of the whole Empire and beyond, with
barbarians on the fringes of the Empiire making their own copies. In the Empire medallions in
precious metals began to be produced in small editions as imperial gifts, which are similar to
coins, though larger and usually finer in execution. Images in coins initially followed Greek styles,
with gods and symbols, but in the death throes of the Republic first Pompeyand then Julius
Caesar appeared on coins, and portraits of the emperor or members of his family became
standard on imperial coinage. The inscriptions were used for propaganda, and in the later Empire
the army joined the emperor as the beneficiary.

Architecture[edit]
Main article: Roman architecture

Aqueduct of Segovia.

Roman theatre in Mrida

It was in the area of architecture that Roman art produced its greatest innovations. Because the
Roman Empire extended over so great of an area and included so many urbanized areas,

Roman engineers developed methods for city building on a grand scale, including the use
of concrete. Massive buildings like the Pantheon and the Colosseum could never have been
constructed with previous materials and methods. Though concrete had been invented a
thousand years earlier in the Near East, the Romans extended its use from fortifications to their
most impressive buildings and monuments, capitalizing on the materials strength and low cost.
[53]
The concrete core was covered with a plaster, brick, stone, or marble veneer, and decorative
polychrome and gold-gilded sculpture was often added to produce a dazzling effect of power and
wealth.[53]
Because of these methods, Roman architecture is legendary for the durability of its construction;
with many buildings still standing, and some still in use, mostly buildings converted to churches
during the Christian era. Many ruins, however, have been stripped of their marble veneer and are
left with their concrete core exposed, thus appearing somewhat reduced in size and grandeur
from their original appearance, such as with the Basilica of Constantine. [54]
During the Republican era, Roman architecture combined Greek and Etruscan elements, and
produced innovations such as the round temple and the curved arch. [55] As Roman power grew in
the early empire, the first emperors inaugurated wholesale leveling of slums to build grand
palaces on the Palatine Hill and nearby areas, which required advances in engineering methods
and large scale design. Roman buildings were then built in the commercial, political, and social
grouping known as a forum, that of Julius Caesar being the first and several added later, with the
Forum Romanum being the most famous. The greatest arena in the Roman world,
the Colosseum, was completed around 80 AD. at the far end of that forum. It held over 50,000
spectators, had retractable fabric coverings for shade, and could stage massive spectacles
including huge gladiatorial contests and mock naval battles. This masterpiece of Roman
architecture epitomizes Roman engineering efficiency and incorporates all three architectural
orders Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.[56] Less celebrated but just as important if not more so for
most Roman citizens, was the five-story insula or city block, the Roman equivalent of an
apartment building, which housed tens of thousands of Romans.[57]
It was during the reign of Trajan (98117 AD.) and Hadrian (117138 AD.) that the Roman Empire
reached its greatest extent and that Rome itself was at the peak of its artistic glory achieved
through massive building programs of monuments, meeting houses, gardens, aqueducts, baths,
palaces, pavilions, sarcophagi, and temples.[45] The Roman use of the arch, the use
of concrete building methods, the use of the dome all permitted construction of vaulted ceilings
and enabled the building of these public spaces and complexes, including the palaces, public
baths and basilicas of the "Golden Age" of the empire. Outstanding examples of dome
construction include the Pantheon, the Baths of Diocletian, and the Baths of Caracalla. The
Pantheon (dedicated to all the planetary gods) is the best preserved temple of ancient times with
an intact ceiling featuring an open "eye" in the center. The height of the ceiling exactly equals the
interior diameter of the building, creating an enclosure that could contain giant sphere. [54] These
grand buildings later served as inspirational models for architects of the Italian Renaissance,
such as Brunelleschi. By the age of Constantine (306-337 AD), the last great building programs in
Rome took place, including the erection of the Arch of Constantine built near the Colosseum,
which recycled some stone work from the forum nearby, to produce an eclectic mix of styles. [13]
Roman aqueducts, also based on the arch, were commonplace in the empire and essential
transporters of water to large urban areas. Their standing masonry remains are especially
impressive, such as the Pont du Gard (featuring three tiers of arches) and the aqueduct of
Segovia, serving as mute testimony to their quality of their design and construction. [56]

Byzantine art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The most famous of the surviving Byzantine mosaics of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople the image
of Christ Pantocrator on the walls of the upper southern gallery. Christ is flanked by the Virgin Mary and
John the Baptist. The mosaics were made in the 12th century.

Byzantine art is the name for the artistic products of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, as
well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself
emerged from Rome's decline and lasted until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453,[1] many Eastern
Orthodox states in Eastern Europe, as well as to some degree the Muslim states of the
eastern Mediterranean, preserved many aspects of the empire's culture and art for centuries
afterward.
A number of states contemporary with the Byzantine Empire were culturally influenced by it,
without actually being part of it (the "Byzantine commonwealth"). These included Bulgaria, Serbia,
and the Rus, as well as some non-Orthodox states like the Republic of Venice and the Kingdom
of Sicily, which had close ties to the Byzantine Empire despite being in other respects part of
western European culture. Art produced by Eastern Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman
Empire is often called "post-Byzantine." Certain artistic traditions that originated in the Byzantine
Empire, particularly in regard to icon painting and church architecture, are maintained
inGreece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries to the
present day.
Contents
[show]

Introduction[edit]

Miniatures of the 6th-century Rabula Gospel display the more abstract and symbolic nature of Byzantine
art.

Just as the Byzantine Empire represented the political continuation of the Roman Empire,
Byzantine art developed out of the art of the Roman Empire, which was itself profoundly
influenced by ancient Greek art. Byzantine art never lost sight of this classical heritage. The
Byzantine capital, Constantinople, was adorned with a large number of classical sculptures,
[2]
although they eventually became an object of some puzzlement for its inhabitants. [3] And
indeed, the art produced during the Byzantine Empire, although marked by periodic revivals of a
classical aesthetic, was above all marked by the development of a new aesthetic.
The most salient feature of this new aesthetic was its abstract, or anti-naturalistic character. If
classical art was marked by the attempt to create representations that mimicked reality as closely
as possible, Byzantine art seems to have abandoned this attempt in favor of a more symbolic
approach.
The nature and causes of this transformation, which largely took place during late antiquity, have
been a subject of scholarly debate for centuries.[4] Giorgio Vasari attributed it to a decline in artistic
skills and standards, which had in turn been revived by his contemporaries in the Italian
Renaissance. Although this point of view has been occasionally revived, most notably by Bernard
Berenson,[5] modern scholars tend to take a more positive view of the Byzantine aesthetic. Alois
Riegl and Josef Strzygowski, writing in the early 20th century, were above all responsible for the
revaluation of late antique art.[6] Riegl saw it as a natural development of pre-existing tendencies
in Roman art, whereas Strzygowski viewed it as a product of oriental influences. Notable recent
contributions to the debate include those ofErnst Kitzinger,[7] who traced a dialectic between
abstract" and "Hellenistic tendencies in late antiquity, and John Onians,[8] who saw an increase
in visual response in late antiquity, through which a viewer could look at something which was in
twentieth-century terms purely abstract and find it representational.
In any case, the debate is purely modern: it is clear that most Byzantine viewers did not consider
their art to be abstract or unnaturalistic. As Cyril Mango has observed, our own appreciation of
Byzantine art stems largely from the fact that this art is not naturalistic; yet the Byzantines
themselves, judging by their extant statements, regarded it as being highly naturalistic and as
being directly in the tradition of Phidias, Apelles, and Zeuxis.[9]

Frescoes in Nerezi near Skopje (1164), with their unique blend of high tragedy, gentle humanity, and
homespun realism, anticipate the approach of Giottoand other proto-Renaissance Italian artists.[citation needed]

The subject matter of monumental Byzantine art was primarily religious and imperial: the two
themes are often combined, as in the portraits of later Byzantine emperors that decorated the
interior of the sixth-century church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. These preoccupations are
partly a result of the pious and autocratic nature of Byzantine society, and partly a result of its
economic structure: the wealth of the empire was concentrated in the hands of the church and
the imperial office, which therefore had the greatest opportunity to undertake monumental artistic
commissions.
Religious art was not, however, limited to the monumental decoration of church interiors. One of
the most important genres of Byzantine art was the icon, an image of Christ, the Virgin, or a saint,
used as an object of veneration in Orthodox churches and private homes alike. Icons were more
religious than aesthetic in nature: especially after the end of iconoclasm, they were understood to
manifest the unique presence of the figure depicted by means of a likeness to that figure
maintained through carefully maintained canons of representation. [10]
The illumination of manuscripts was another major genre of Byzantine art. The most commonly
illustrated texts were religious, both scripture itself (particularly the Psalms) and devotional or
theological texts (such as theLadder of Divine Ascent of John Climacus or the homilies
of Gregory of Nazianzus). Secular texts were also illuminated: important examples include
the Alexander Romance and the history of John Skylitzes.
The Byzantines inherited the Early Christian distrust of monumental sculpture in religious art, and
produced only reliefs, of which very few survivals are anything like life-size, in sharp contrast to
the medieval art of the West, where monumental sculpture revived from Carolingian art onwards.
Small ivories were also mostly in relief.
The so-called minor arts were very important in Byzantine art and luxury items, including ivories
carved in relief as formal presentation Consular diptychs or caskets such as the Veroli
casket, hardstone carvings, enamels, jewelry, metalwork, and figured silks were produced in large
quantities throughout the Byzantine era. Many of these were religious in nature, although a large
number of objects with secular or non-representational decoration were produced: for example,
ivories representing themes from classical mythology. Byzantine ceramics were relatively crude,
as pottery was never used at the tables of the rich, who ate off silver.

Periods[edit]

Leaf from an ivory diptych of Areobindus Dagalaiphus Areobindus, consul in Constantinople, 506.
Areobindus is shown above, presiding over the games in the Hippodrome, depicted beneath.

Byzantine art and architecture is divided into four periods by convention: the Early period,
commencing with the Edict of Milan (when Christian worship was legitimized) and the transfer of
the imperial seat to Constantinople, extends to 842 AD, with the conclusion ofIconoclasm; the
Middle, or high period, begins with the restoration of the icons in 843 and culminates in the Fall of
Constantinople to the Crusaders in 1204; the Late period includes the eclectic osmosis between
Western European and traditional Byzantine elements in art and architecture, and ends with the
Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The term post-Byzantine is then used for
later years, whereas Neo-Byzantine is used for art and architecture from the 19th century
onwards, when the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire prompted a renewed appreciation of
Byzantium by artists and historians alike.

Early Byzantine art[edit]

Two events were of fundamental importance to the development of a unique, Byzantine art. First,
the Edict of Milan, issued by the emperors Constantine I and Licinius in 313, allowed for public
Christian worship, and led to the development of a monumental, Christian art. Second, the
dedication of Constantinople in 330 created a great new artistic centre for the eastern half of the
Empire, and a specifically Christian one. Other artistic traditions flourished in rival cities such
as Alexandria, Antioch, and Rome, but it was not until all of these cities had fallen - the first two to
the Arabs and Rome to the Goths - that Constantinople established its supremacy.
Constantine devoted great effort to the decoration of Constantinople, adorning its public spaces
with ancient statuary,[11] and building a forum dominated by a porphyry column that carried a
statue of himself.[12] Major Constantinopolitan churches built under Constantine and his
son, Constantius II, included the original foundations of Hagia Sophia and the Church of the Holy
Apostles.[13]

The next major building campaign in Constantinople was sponsored by Theodosius I. The most
important surviving monument of this period is the obelisk and base erected by Theodosius in
the Hippodrome.[14] which, with the large silver dish called the Missorium of Theodosius I,
represent the classic examples of what is sometimes called the "Theodosian Renaissance". The
earliest surviving church in Constantinople is the Basilica of St. John at the Stoudios Monastery,
built in the fifth century.[15]
Due to subsequent rebuilding and destruction, relatively few Constantinopolitan monuments of
this early period survive. However, the development of monumental early Byzantine art can still
be traced through surviving structures in other cities. For example, important early churches are
found in Rome (including Santa Sabina and Santa Maria Maggiore),[16] and
in Thessaloniki (the Rotunda and theAcheiropoietos Basilica).[17]
A number of important illuminated manuscripts, both sacred and secular, survive from this early
period. Classical authors, includingVirgil (represented by the Vergilius Vaticanus[18] and
the Vergilius Romanus)[19] and Homer (represented by the Ambrosian Iliad), were illustrated with
narrative paintings. Illuminated biblical manuscripts of this period survive only in fragments: for
example, the Quedlinburg Itala fragment is a small portion of what must have been a lavishly
illustrated copy of 1 Kings.[20]
Early Byzantine art was also marked by the cultivation of ivory carving.[21] Ivory diptychs, often
elaborately decorated, were issued as gifts by newly appointedconsuls.[22] Silver plates were
another important form of luxury art:[23] among the most lavish from this period is the Missorium of
Theodosius I.[24] Sarcophagicontinued to be produced in great numbers.

Age of Justinian I[edit]

Mosaic from San Vitale in Ravenna, showing the Emperor Justinian and Bishop Maximian of Ravenna
surrounded by clerics and soldiers

Archangel ivory from Constantinople (early 6th century)

Significant changes in Byzantine art coincided with the reign of Justinian I (527565). Justinian
devoted much of his reign to reconquering Italy, North Africa and Spain. He also laid the
foundations of the imperial absolutism of the Byzantine state, codifying its laws and imposing his
religious views on all his subjects by law.[25]
A significant component of Justinian's project of imperial renovation was a massive building
program, which was described in a book, the Buildings, written by Justinian's court
historian, Procopius.[26] Justinian renovated, rebuilt, or founded anew countless churches within
Constantinople, including Hagia Sophia,[27] which had been destroyed during the Nika riots,
the Church of the Holy Apostles,[28] and the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus.[29] Justinian
also built a number of churches and fortifications outside of the imperial capital, includingSaint
Catherine's Monastery on Mount Sinai in Egypt,[30] and the Basilica of St. John in Ephesus.[31]
Several major churches of this period were built in the provinces by local bishops in imitation of
the new Constantinopolitan foundations. The Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, was built by
Bishop Maximianus. The decoration of San Vitale includes important mosaics of Justinian and his
empress, Theodora, although neither ever visited the church.[32] Also of note is theEuphrasian
Basilica in Pore.[33]
Archeological discoveries in the 19th and 20th centuries unearthed a large group of Early
Byzantine mosaics in the Middle East. The eastern provinces of theEastern Roman and later
the Byzantine Empires inherited a strong artistic tradition from the Late Antiquity. Christian mosaic
art flourished in this area from the 4th century onwards. The tradition of making mosaics was
carried on in the Umayyad era until the end of the 8th century. The most important surviving
examples are the Madaba Map, the mosaics of Mount Nebo, Saint Catherine's Monastery and
the Church of St Stephen in ancient Kastron Mefaa (now Umm ar-Rasas).
The first fully preserved illuminated biblical manuscripts date to the first half of the sixth century,
most notably the Vienna Genesis,[34] the Rossano Gospels,[35] and the Sinope Gospels.
[36]
The Vienna Dioscurides is a lavishly illustrated botanical treatise, presented as a gift to the
Byzantine aristocrat Julia Anicia.[37]
Important ivory sculptures of this period include the Barberini ivory, which probably depicts
Justinian himself,[38] and the Archangel ivory in the British Museum.[39]Silver plate continued to be

decorated with scenes drawn from classical mythology; for example, a plate preserved in the
Cabinet des Mdailles, Paris, depictsHercules wrestling the Nemean lion.

Seventh-century crisis[edit]

Mosaic from the church of Hagios Demetrios in Thessaloniki, late 7th or early 8th century, showing St.
Demetrios with donors

The Age of Justinian was followed by a political decline, since most of Justinian's conquests were
lost and the Empire faced acute crisis with the invasions of
the Avars, Slavs, Persians and Arabs in the 7th century. Constantinople was also wracked by
religious and political conflict.[40]
The most significant surviving monumental projects of this period were undertaken outside of the
imperial capital. The church of Hagios Demetrios in Thessaloniki was rebuilt after a fire in the
mid-seventh century. The new sections include mosaics executed in a remarkably abstract style.
[41]
The church of the Koimesis in Nicaea (present-day Iznik), destroyed in the early 20th century
but documented through photographs, demonstrates the simultaneous survival of a more
classical style of church decoration.[42] The churches of Rome, still a Byzantine territory in this
period, also include important surviving decorative programs, especially Santa Maria
Antiqua, Sant'Agnese fuori le mura, and the Chapel of San Venanzio in San Giovanni in
Laterano.[43] Byzantine mosaicists probably also contributed to the decoration of the
early Umayyad monuments, including the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Great Mosque
of Damascus.[44]
Important works of luxury art from this period include the silver David Plates[dead link], produced
during the reign ofHeraclius, and depicting scenes from the life of the Hebrew king David.[45] The
most notable surviving manuscripts areSyriac gospel books, such as the so-called Syriac Bible of
Paris.[46] However, the London Canon Tables bear witness to the continuing production of lavish
gospel books in Greek.[47]
The period between Justinian and iconoclasm saw major changes in the social and religious roles
of images within Byzantium. The veneration of acheiropoieta, or holy images "not made by
human hands," became a significant phenomenon, and in some instances these images were
credited with saving cities from military assault. By the end of the seventh century, certain images

of saints had come to be viewed as "windows" through which one could communicate with the
figure depicted. Proskynesis before images is also attested in texts from the late seventh century.
These developments mark the beginnings of a theology of icons.[48]
At the same time, the debate over the proper role of art in the decoration of churches
intensified. Three canons of the Quinisext Council of 692 addressed controversies in this area:
prohibition of the representation of the cross on church pavements (Canon 73), prohibition of the
representation of Christ as a lamb (Canon 82), and a general injunction against "pictures,
whether they are in paintings or in what way so ever, which attract the eye and corrupt the mind,
and incite it to the enkindling of base pleasures" (Canon 100).

Iconoclasm[edit]

Helios in his chariot, surrounded by symbols of the months and of the zodiac. From Vat. Gr. 1291, the
"Handy Tables" of Ptolemy, produced during the reign of Constantine V.

Intense debate over the role of art in worship led eventually to the period of "Byzantine
iconoclasm."[49] Sporadic outbreaks of iconoclasm on the part of local bishops are attested in Asia
Minor during the 720s. In 726, an underwater earthquake between the islands of Thera and
Therasia was interpreted by Emperor Leo III as a sign of God's anger, and may have led Leo to
remove a famous icon of Christ from the Chalke Gate outside the imperial palace.[50]However,
iconoclasm probably did not become imperial policy until the reign of Leo's son, Constantine V.
The Council of Hieria, convened under Constantine in 754, proscribed the manufacture of icons
of Christ. This inaugurated theIconoclastic period, which lasted, with interruptions, until 843.
While iconoclasm severely restricted the role of religious art, and led to the removal of some
earlier apse mosaics and (possibly) the sporadic destruction of portable icons, it never constituted
a total ban on the production of figural art. Ample literary sources indicate that secular art (i.e.
hunting scenes and depictions of the games in the hippodrome) continued to be produced, [51] and
the few monuments that can be securely dated to the period (most notably the manuscript of
Ptolemy's "Handy Tables" today held by the Vatican[52]) demonstrate that metropolitan artists
maintained a high quality of production.[53]
Major churches dating to this period include Hagia Eirene in Constantinople, which was rebuilt in
the 760s following its destruction by an earthquake in 740. The interior of Hagia Eirene, which is
dominated by a large mosaic cross in the apse, is one of the best-preserved examples of
iconoclastic church decoration.[54] The church of Hagia Sophia in Thessaloniki was also rebuilt in
the late 8th century.[55]

Certain churches built outside of the empire during this period, but decorated in a figural,
"Byzantine," style, may also bear witness to the continuing activities of Byzantine artists.
Particularly important in this regard are the original mosaics of the Palatine Chapel in
Aachen (since either destroyed or heavily restored) and the frescoes in the Church of Maria foris
portas in Castelseprio.

Macedonian art[edit]
Main articles: Macedonian art (Byzantine) and Macedonian Renaissance

An example of Macedonian ivorywork: the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, now in the Bode Museum,Berlin

The rulings of the Council of Hieria were reversed by a new church council in 843, celebrated to
this day in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the "Triumph of Orthodoxy." In 867, the installation of
a new apse mosaic in Hagia Sophia depicting the Virgin and Child was celebrated by the
Patriarch Photios in a famous homily as a victory over the evils of iconoclasm. Later in the same
year, the Emperor Basil I, called "the Macedonian," acceded to the throne; as a result the
following period of Byzantine art has sometimes been called the "Macedonian Renaissance",
although the term is doubly problematic (it was neither "Macedonian", nor, strictly speaking, a
"Renaissance").
In the 9th and 10th centuries the Empire's military situation improved, and patronage of art and
architecture increased. New churches were commissioned, and the standard architectural form
(the "cross-in-square") and decorative scheme of the Middle Byzantine church were
standardised. Major surviving examples include Hosios Loukas in Boeotia, the Daphni
Monastery nearAthens and Nea Moni on Chios.
There was a revival of interest in the depiction of subjects from classical mythology (as on the
Veroli Casket) and in the use of a "classical" style to depict religious, and particularly Old
Testament, subjects (of which the Paris Psalter and the Joshua Roll are important examples)
The Macedonian period also saw a revival of the late antique technique of ivory carving. Many
ornate ivory triptychs anddiptychs survive, such as the Harbaville Triptych and a triptych at Luton
Hoo, dating from the reign of Nicephorus Phocas).

Comnenian age[edit]

Mosaic from Daphni Monastery (ca. 1100)

The Macedonian emperors were followed by the Komnenian dynasty, beginning with the reign
of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081. Byzantium had recently suffered a period of severe dislocation
following the battle of Manzikert in 1071 and the subsequent loss of Asia Minor to the Turks.
However, the Komnenoi brought stability to the empire, (10811185), and during the course of the
twelfth century their energetic campaigning did much to restore the fortunes of the empire. The
Komnenoi were great patrons of the arts, and with their support Byzantine artists continued to
move in the direction of greater humanism and emotion, of which the Theotokos of Vladimir, the
cycle of mosaics at Daphni, and the murals at Nerezi yield important examples. Ivory sculpture
and other expensive mediums of art gradually gave way to frescoes and icons, which for the first
time gained widespread popularity across the Empire. Apart from painted icons, there were other
varieties - notably the mosaic and ceramic ones.
Some of the finest Byzantine work of this period may be found outside the Empire: in the mosaics
of Gelati, Kiev, Torcello,Venice, Monreale, Cefal and Palermo. For instance, Venice's Basilica of
St Mark, begun in 1063, was based on the greatChurch of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople,
now destroyed, and is thus an echo of the age of Justinian. The acquisitive habits of the
Venetians mean that the basilica is also a great museum of Byzantine artworks of all kinds
(e.g., Pala d'Oro).

Caskets (Gallery)[edit]

Between 900 and 1100,Muse national du Moyen ge

With images of Cupids (10th century), Walters Art Museum

10th-11th century, Petit Palais

11th-12th century, Museo Nazionale d'Arte Medievale e Moderna (Arezzo)

Palaeologan age[edit]

The Annunciation from Ohrid, one of the most admired icons of the PaleologanMannerism, bears
comparison with the finest contemporary works by Italian artists

Twenty-two hundred years of continuous Roman tradition and sixteen hundred years
of Hellenistic civilization were brought to an abrupt end in 1204 with the sacking of Constantinople
by the Venetian and French knights of the Fourth Crusade, a disaster from which the Empire
never recovered. Steven Runciman, greatest of 20th century crusade historians, would write in
1954: "There was never a greater crime against humanity than the Fourth Crusade." [56] The
destruction by sack or subsequent neglect of the city's secular architecture in particular has left
us with an imperfect understanding of Byzantine art.
Although the Byzantines regained the city in 1261, the Empire was thereafter a small and weak
state confined to the Greek peninsula and the islands of the Aegean. During their half-century of
exile, however, the last great flowing of Anatolian Hellenism began. As Nicaea emerged as the
center of opposition under the Laskaris emperors, it spawned a renaissance, attracting scholars,
poets, and artists from across the Byzantine world. A glittering court emerged as the
dispossessed intelligentsia found in the Hellenic side of their traditions a pride and identity
unsullied by association with the hated "latin" enemy.[57] With the recapture of the capital under the
new Palaeologan Dynasty, Byzantine artists developed a new interest in landscapes and pastoral
scenes, and the traditional mosaic-work (of which the Chora Church in Constantinople is the

finest extant example) gradually gave way to detailed cycles of narrative frescoes (as evidenced
in a large group of Mystras churches). The icons, which became a favoured medium for artistic
expression, were characterized by a less austere attitude, new appreciation for purely decorative
qualities of painting and meticulous attention to details, earning the popular name of the
Paleologan Mannerism for the period in general.
Venice came to control Byzantine Crete by 1212, and Byzantine artistic traditions continued long
after the Ottoman conquest of the last Byzantine successor state in 1461. The Cretan school, as
it is today known, gradually introduced Western elements into its style, and exported large
numbers of icons to the West. The tradition's most famous artist wasEl Greco.

Legacy[edit]

St Mark's Basilica in Venice, where imported Byzantine mosaicists were succeeded by Italians they had
trained

Modern Orthodox mural from Israelusing a depiction of the Nativity of Christ little changed in over a
millennium

The splendour of Byzantine art was always in the mind of early medieval Western artists and
patrons, and many of the most important movements in the period were conscious attempts to
produce art fit to stand next to both classical Roman and contemporary Byzantine art. This was
especially the case for the imperial Carolingian art and Ottonian art. Luxury products from the
Empire were highly valued, and reached for example the royal Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo
burial in Suffolk of the 620s, which contains several pieces of silver. Byzantine silks were
especially valued and large quantities were distributed as diplomatic gifts from Constantinople.
There are records of Byzantine artists working in the West, especially during the period of
iconoclasm, and some works, like the frescos at Castelseprio and miniatures in the Vienna
Coronation Gospels, seem to have been produced by such figures.
In particular, teams of mosaic artists were despatched as diplomatic gestures by emperors to
Italy, where they often trained locals to continue their work in a style heavily influenced by

Byzantium. Venice and Norman Sicily were particular centres of Byzantine influence. The earliest
surviving panel paintings in the West were in a style heavily influenced by contemporary
Byzantine icons, until a distinctive Western style began to develop in Italy in the Trecento; the
traditional and still influential narrative of Vasari and others has the story of Western painting
begin as a breakaway by Cimabue and then Giotto from the shackles of the Byzantine tradition.
In general Byzantine artistic influence on Europe was in steep decline by the 14th century if not
earlier, despite the continued importance of migrated Byzantine scholars in the Renaissance in
other areas.
Islamic art began with artists and craftsmen mostly trained in Byzantine styles, and though
figurative content was greatly reduced, Byzantine decorative styles remained a great influence on
Islamic art, and Byzantine artists continued to be imported for important works for some time,
especially for mosaics.
The Byzantine era properly defined came to an end with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman
Turks in 1453, but by this time the Byzantine cultural heritage had been widely diffused, carried
by the spread of Orthodox Christianity, to Bulgaria,Serbia, Romania and, most importantly,
to Russia, which became the centre of the Orthodox world following the Ottoman conquest of the
Balkans. Even under Ottoman rule, Byzantine traditions in icon-painting and other small-scale
arts survived, especially in the Venetian-ruled Crete and Rhodes, where a "post-Byzantine" style
under increasing Western influence survived for a further two centuries, producing artists
including El Greco whose training was in the Cretan School which was the most vigorous postByzantine school, exporting great numbers of icons to Europe. The willingness of the Cretan
School to accept Western influence was atypical; in most of the post-Byzantine world "as an
instrument of ethnic cohesiveness, art became assertively conservative during the turcocratia"
(period of Ottoman rule).[58]
Russian icon painting began by entirely adopting and imitating Byzantine art, as did the art of
other Orthodox nations, and has remained extremely conservative in iconography, although its
painting style has developed distinct characteristics, including influences from post-Renaissance
Western art. All the Eastern Orthodox churches have retained highly protective of their traditions
in terms of the form and content of images and, for example, modern Orthodox depictions of the
Nativity of Christ vary little in content from those developed in the 6th century.

History of Eastern art

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Li Cheng, Buddhist Temple in the Mountains, 11th century, China, ink on silk, Nelson-Atkins Museum of
Art,Kansas City, Missouri

History of art

Prehistoric
Ancient
European
Eastern
Islamic
Painting (Western)
Art history

The history of Eastern art includes a vast range of influences from various cultures and
religions. Developments in Eastern art historically parallel those in Western art, in general a few
centuries earlier.[1] African art, Islamic art, Jewish art, Indian art,[2] Korean art, Chinese art,
and Japanese art[3] each had significant influence on Western art, and, vice-versa. [4]
Contents
[show]

Balinese art[edit]

Main article: Balinese art

is art of Hindu-Javanese origin that grew from the work of artisans of the Majapahit Kingdom, with
their expansion to Bali in the late 13th century. From the 16th until the 20th centuries, the village
of Kamasan, Klungkung (East Bali), was the centre of classical Balinese art. During the first part
of the 20th century, new varieties of Balinese art developed. Since the late twentieth
century, Ubud and its neighboring villages established a reputation as the center of Balinese art.
Ubud and Batuanare known for their paintings, Mas for their woodcarvings, Celuk for gold and
silver smiths, and Batubulan for their stone carvings. Covarrubias [5] describes Balinese art as, "...
a highly developed, although informal Baroque folk art that combines the peasant liveliness with
the refinement of classicism of Hinduistic Java, but free of the conservative prejudice and with a
new vitality fired by the exuberance of the demonic spirit of the tropical primitive". Eiseman
correctly pointed out that Balinese art is actually carved, painted, woven, and prepared into
objects intended for everyday use rather than as object d 'art.[6]
In the 1920s, with the arrival of many western artists, Bali became an artist enclave (as Tahiti was
for Paul Gauguin) for avant-garde artists such as Walter Spies (German), Rudolf
Bonnet (Dutch), Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur (Belgian), Arie Smit(Dutch) and Donald
Friend (Australian) in more recent years. Most of these western artists had very little influence on
the Balinese until the post-World War Two period, although some accounts over-emphasise the
western presence at the expense of recognising Balinese creativity.
This groundbreaking period of creativity reached a peak in the late 1930s. A stream of famous
visitors, includingCharlie Chaplin and the anthropologists Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead,
encouraged the talented locals to create highly original works. During their stay in Bali in the mid1930s, Bateson and Mead collected over 2000 paintings, predominantly from the village of
Batuan, but also from the coastal village of Sanur.[7] Among western artists, Spies and Bonnet are
often credited for the modernization of traditional Balinese paintings. From the 1950s onwards
Baliese artists incorporated aspects of perspective and anatomy from these artists. [8] More
importantly, they acted as agents of change by encouraging experimentation, and promoted
departures from tradition. The result was an explosion of individual expression that increased the
rate of change in Balinese art.

Buddhist art[edit]
Main article: Buddhist art
See also: Thangka
Buddhist art originated in the Indian subcontinent in the centuries following the life of the
historical Gautama Buddha in the 6th to 5th century BCE, before evolving through its contact with
other cultures and its diffusion through the rest of Asia and the world. Buddhist art traveled with
believers as the dharma spread, adapted, and evolved in each new host country. It developed to
the north through Central Asia and into Eastern Asia to form the Northern branch of Buddhist art,
and to the east as far as Southeast Asia to form the Southern branch of Buddhist art. In India,
Buddhist art flourished and even influenced the development of Hindu art, until Buddhism nearly
disappeared in India around the 10th century CE due in part to the vigorous expansion of Islam
alongside Hinduism.
In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of aspirants and
adepts, a spiritual teaching tool, for establishing a sacred spaceand as an aid
to meditation and trance induction. Its symbolic nature can help one "to access progressively
deeper levels of the unconscious, ultimately assisting the meditator to experience a mystical
sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which the cosmos in all its manifold forms
arises."[9] The psychoanalyst Carl Jungsaw the mandala as "a representation of the center of the
unconscious self,"[10] and believed his paintings of mandalas enabled him to identify emotional
disorders and work towards wholeness in personality.[11]

Bhutanese art[edit]
Main article: Bhutanese art

Bhutanese thanka of Mt. Meru and the Buddhist Universe, 19th century,Trongsa Dzong, Trongsa, Bhutan
Painted BhutaneseMedicine Buddha mandalawith the goddess Prajnaparamita in center, 19th
century, Rubin Museum of ArtBhutanese art is similar to the art of Tibet. Both are based upon Vajrayana
Buddhism, with its pantheon of divine beings.

Bhutanese art is similar to the art of Tibet. Both are based upon Vajrayana Buddhism, with its
pantheon of divine beings.
The major orders of Buddhism in Bhutan are Drukpa Kagyu and Nyingma. The former is a branch
of the Kagyu School and is known for paintings documenting the lineage of Buddhist masters and
the 70 Je Khenpo (leaders of the Bhutanese monastic establishment). The Nyingma order is
known for images of Padmasambhava, who is credited with introducing Buddhism into Bhutan in
the 7th century. According to legend, Padmasambhava hid sacred treasures for future Buddhist
masters, especially Pema Lingpa, to find. The treasure finders (tertn) are also frequent subjects
of Nyingmaart.
Each divine being is assigned special shapes, colors, and/or identifying objects, such as lotus,
conch-shell, thunderbolt, and begging bowl. All sacred images are made to exact specifications
that have remained remarkably unchanged for centuries.
Bhutanese art is particularly rich in bronzes of different kinds that are collectively known by the
nameKham-so (made in Kham) even though they are made in Bhutan, because the technique of
making them was originally imported from the eastern province of Tibet called Kham. Wall
paintings and sculptures, in these regions, are formulated on the principal ageless ideals of
Buddhist art forms. Even though their emphasis on detail is derived from Tibetan models, their
origins can be discerned easily, despite the profusely embroidered garments and glittering
ornaments with which these figures are lavishly covered. In the grotesque world of demons, the
artists apparently had a greater freedom of action than when modeling images of divine beings.
The arts and crafts of Bhutan that represents the exclusive spirit and identity of the Himalayan
kingdom is defined as the art of Zorig Chosum, which means the thirteen arts and crafts of
Bhutan; the thirteen crafts are carpentry, painting, paper making, blacksmithery, weaving,
sculpting and many other crafts. The Institute of Zorig Chosum in Thimphu is the premier
institution of traditional arts and crafts set up by the Government of Bhutan with the sole objective
of preserving the rich culture and tradition of Bhutan and training students in all traditional art
forms; there is another similar institution in eastern Bhutan known as Trashi Yangtse. Bhutanese

rural life is also displayed in the Folk Heritage Museum in Thimphu. There is also a Voluntary
Artists Studio in Thimphu to encourage and promote the art forms among the youth of Thimphu.
The thirteen arts and crafts of Bhutan and the institutions established in Thimphu to promote
these art forms are:[12][13]

Cambodian art[edit]
Main articles: Culture of Cambodia, Cambodian art and Khmer sculpture
Cambodian art and the culture of Cambodia has had a rich and varied history dating back many
centuries and has been heavily influenced by India. In turn, Cambodia greatly
influenced Thailand, Laos and vice versa. Throughout Cambodia's long history, a major source of
inspiration was from religion. Throughout nearly two millennium, a Cambodians developed a
unique Khmer belief from the syncreticism of indigenous animistic beliefs and the Indian religions
of Buddhism andHinduism. Indian culture and civilization, including its language and arts reached
mainland Southeast Asia around the 1st century CE. It is generally believed that seafaring
merchants brought Indian customs and culture to ports along the gulf of Thailand and the Pacific
while trading with China. The first state to benefit from this was Funan. At various times,
Cambodia culture also absorbed elements from Javanese, Chinese, Lao, and Thai cultures.

Stone carving at Banteay Srei(Angkor)

Visual arts of Cambodia[edit]

Stone bas-relief at Bayon temple depicting the Khmer army at war with the Cham, carved c. 1200 CE

The history of Visual arts of Cambodia stretches back centuries to ancient crafts; Khmer art
reached its peak during the Angkor period. Traditional Cambodian arts and crafts include textiles,
non-textile weaving, silversmithing, stone carving,lacquerware, ceramics, wat murals, and kitemaking. Beginning in the mid-20th century, a tradition of modern art began in Cambodia, though
in the later 20th century both traditional and modern arts declined for several reasons, including
the killing of artists by the Khmer Rouge. The country has experienced a recent artistic revival
due to increased support from governments, NGOs, and foreign tourists.

Khmer sculpture refers to the stone sculpture of the Khmer Empire, which ruled a territory based
on modern Cambodia, but rather larger, from the 9th to the 13th century. The most celebrated
examples are found in Angkor, which served as the seat of the empire.
By the 7th century, Khmer sculpture begins to drift away from its Hindu influences pre-Gupta for
the Buddhist figures, Pallava for the Hindu figures and through constant stylistic evolution, it
comes to develop its own originality, which by the 10th century can be considered complete and
absolute. Khmer sculpture soon goes beyond religious representation, which becomes almost a
pretext in order to portray court figures in the guise of gods and goddesses. But furthermore, it
also comes to constitute a means and end in itself for the execution of stylistic refinement, like a
kind of testing ground. We have already seen how the social context of the Khmer kingdom
provides a second key to understanding this art. But we can also imagine that on a more
exclusive level, small groups of intellectuals and artists were at work, competing among
themselves in mastery and refinement as they pursued a hypothetical perfection of style.

Relief from Angkor

The gods we find in Khmer sculpture are those of the two great religions of
India, Buddhism and Hinduism. And they are always represented with great iconographic
precision, clearly indicating that learned priests supervised the execution of the works.
Nonetheless, unlike those Hindu images which repeat an idealized stereotype, these images are
treated with great realism and originality because they depict living models: the king and his
court. The true social function of Khmer art was, in fact, the glorification of the aristocracy through
these images of the gods embodied in the princes. In fact, the cult of the deva-raja required the
development of an eminently aristocratic art in which the people were supposed to see the
tangible proof of the sovereigns divinity, while the aristocracy took pleasure in seeing itself if,
its true, in idealized form immortalized in the splendour of intricate adornments, elegant
dresses and extravagant jewelry.
The sculptures are admirable images of a gods, royal and imposing presences, though not
without feminine sensuality, makes us think of important persons at the courts, persons of
considerable power. The artists who sculpted the stones doubtless satisfied the primary
objectives and requisites demanded by the persons who commissioned them. The sculptures
represent the chosen divinity in the orthodox manner and succeeds in portraying, with great skill
and expertise, high figures of the courts in all of their splendour, in the attire, adornments and
jewelry of a sophisticated beauty.

Chinese art[edit]
Main articles: Chinese art, Chinese painting, Chinese ceramics, Chinese jade and Chinese
calligraphy
Chinese art (Chinese: /) has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into
periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology. Different forms of art have
been influenced by great philosophers, teachers, religious figures and even political leaders.

Chinese art encompasses fine arts, folk artsand performance arts. Chinese art is art, whether
modern or ancient, that originated in or is practiced in China or by Chinese artists or performers.

Panorama of Along the River During the Qingming Festival, an 18th-century reproduction of the 12th
century original by Chinese artist Zhang Zeduan; Note: scroll starts from the right

In the Song Dynasty, poetry was marked by a lyric poetry known as Ci () which expressed
feelings of desire, often in an adopted persona. Also in the Song dynasty, paintings of more subtle
expression of landscapes appeared, with blurred outlines and mountain contours which conveyed
distance through an impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. It was during this period
that in painting, emphasis was placed on spiritual rather than emotional elements, as in the
previous period. Kunqu, the oldest extant form of Chinese opera developed during the Song
Dynasty in Kunshan, near present-day Shanghai. In the Yuan dynasty, painting by the Chinese
painter Zhao Mengfu () greatly influenced later Chinese landscape painting, and the Yuan
dynasty opera became a variant of Chinese opera which continues today as Cantonese opera.

Indian art[edit]

Balustrade-holding Yaksa, Madhya Pradesh, India, Sunga period (2nd1st century BCE). Musee Guimet.

Fresco from Ajanta caves, c. 450500

Main articles: Indian art, Indian painting and Rangoli

Indian art can be classified into specific periods, each reflecting certain religious, political and
cultural developments. The earliest examples are the petroglyphs such as those found
in Bhimbetka, some of them dating to before 5500 BC. The production of such works continued
for several millenniums. Later examples include the carved pillars of Ellora, Maharashtra state.
Other examples are the frescoes of Ajanta and Ellora Caves.
Specific periods:

Hinduism and Buddhism of the ancient period (3500 BCE-present)

Islamic ascendancy (7121757 CE)

The colonial period (17571947)

Independence and the postcolonial period (Post-1947)

Modern and Postmodern art in India

One of the most popular art forms in India is called Rangoli. It is a form of sandpaintingdecoration
that uses finely ground white powder and colours, and is used commonly outside homes in India.
The visual arts (sculpture, painting and architecture) are tightly interrelated with the non-visual
arts. According to Kapila Vatsyayan, "Classical Indian architecture, sculpture, painting, literature
(kaavya), music and dancing evolved their own rules conditioned by their respective media, but
they shared with one another not only the underlying spiritual beliefs of the Indian religiophilosophic mind, but also the procedures by which the relationships of the symbol and the
spiritual states were worked out in detail."
Insight into the unique qualities of Indian art is best achieved through an understanding of the
philosophical thought, the broad cultural history, social, religious and political background of the
artworks.

Indonesian art[edit]
Main articles: Indonesian culture and List of Indonesian painters
Indonesian art and culture has been shaped by long interaction between original indigenous
customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is central along ancient trading
routes between the Far East and the Middle East, resulting in many cultural practices being
strongly influenced by a multitude of religions, includingHinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism and
Islam, all strong in the major trading cities. The result is a complex cultural mixture very different
from the original indigenous cultures. Indonesia is not generally known for paintings, aside from
the intricate and expressive Balinese paintings, which often express natural scenes and themes
from the traditional dances.
Other exceptions include indigenous Kenyah paint designs based on, as commonly found
among Austronesian cultures, endemic natural motifs such as ferns, trees, dogs, hornbills and
human figures. These are still to be found decorating the walls of Kenyah
Dayak longhouses in East Kalimantan's Apo Kayan region.

Kenyah mural painting in Long Nawang, East Kalimantan.

Calligraphy, mostly based on the Qur'an, is often used as decoration as Islam forbids naturalistic
depictions. Some foreign painters have also settled in Indonesia. Modern Indonesian painters use
a wide variety of styles and themes.

Relief sculpture from Borobodurtemple, c. 760830 AD.

Indonesia has a long-he Bronze and Iron Ages, but the art-form particularly flourished from the
8th century to the 10th century, both as stand-alone works of art, and also incorporated into
temples.
Most notable are the hundreds of meters of relief sculpture at the temple ofBorobodur in
central Java. Approximately two miles of exquisite relief sculpture tell the story of the life
of Buddha and illustrate his teachings. The temple was originally home to 504 statues of the
seated Buddha. This site, as with others in central Java, show a clear Indian influence.

Japanese art[edit]

Four from a set of sixteen sliding room partitions made for a 16th-century Japanese abbot. Typically for later
Japanese landscapes, the main focus is on a feature in the foreground.

Hiroshige, Snow falling on a town,c.1833, Ukiyo-e print

Main articles: Japanese art,Japanese painting, Ukiyo-e,Japanese sculpture, Ryukyuan

lacquerware, Japanese calligraphy, Nihonga, List of National Treasures of Japan
(paintings) and List of National Treasures of Japan (sculptures)
Japanese art and architecture is works of art produced in Japan from the beginnings of human
habitation there, sometime in the 10th millennium BC, to the present. Japanese art covers a wide
range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture in wood and bronze, ink
painting on silk and paper, and a myriad of other types of works of art; from ancient times until the
contemporary 21st century.
Ukiyo, meaning "floating world", refers to the impetuous young culture that bloomed in the urban
centers of Edo (modern-day Tokyo), Osaka, and Kyoto that were a world unto themselves. It is an
ironic allusion to the homophone term "Sorrowful World" (), the earthly plane of death and
rebirth from which Buddhists sought release. The art form rose to great popularity in the
metropolitan culture of Edo (Tokyo) during the second half of the 17th century, originating with the
single-color works of Hishikawa Moronobu in the 1670s. At first, only India ink was used, then
some prints were manually colored with a brush, but in the 18th century Suzuki
Harunobu developed the technique of polychrome printing to produce nishiki-e.
Japanese painting ( Kaiga ) is one of the oldest and most highly refined of the Japanese
arts, encompassing a wide variety of genre and styles. As with the history of Japanese arts in
general, the history Japanese painting is a long history of synthesis and competition between
native Japanese aesthetics and adaptation of imported ideas.
?

The origins of painting in Japan date well back into Japan's prehistoric period. Simple stick
figures and geometric designs can be found on Jmon period pottery and Yayoi period (300 BC

300 AD) dotaku bronze bells. Mural paintings with both geometric and figurative designs have
been found in numerous tumulus from the Kofun period (300700 AD).
Ancient Japanese sculpture was mostly derived from the idol worship in Buddhism or animistic
rites of Shinto deity. In particular, sculpture among all the arts came to be most firmly centered
around Buddhism. Materials traditionally used were metalespecially bronzeand, more
commonly, wood, often lacquered, gilded, or brightly painted. By the end of the Tokugawa period,
such traditional sculpture except for miniaturized works had largely disappeared because of
the loss of patronage by Buddhist temples and the nobility.

Korean art[edit]

Jeong Seon, General View of Mt. Geumgang (, ), Korea, c.1734

Main articles: Korean art, Korean painting and Korean calligraphy

Korean art is noted for its traditions in pottery, music, calligraphy, painting, sculpture, and other
genres, often marked by the use of bold color, natural forms, precise shape and scale, and
surface decoration.
While there are clear and distinguishing differences between three independent cultures, there
are significant and historical similarities and interactions between the arts of Korea, China and
Japan.
The study and appreciation of Korean art is still at a formative stage in the West. Because
of Koreas position between China and Japan, Korea was seen as a mere conduit of Chinese
culture to Japan. However, recent scholars have begun to acknowledge Koreas own unique art,
culture and important role in not only transmitting Chinese culture but assimilating it and creating
a unique culture of its own. An art given birth to and developed by a nation is its own art.
Generally the history of Korean painting is dated to approximately 108 C.E., when it first
appears as an independent form. Between that time and the paintings and frescoes that appear
on the Goryeo dynasty tombs, there has been little research. Suffice to say that til
the Joseon dynasty the primary influence was Chinese painting though done with Korean
landscapes, facial features, Buddhist topics, and an emphasis on celestial observation in keeping
with the rapid development of Korean astronomy.

Throughout the history of Korean painting, there has been a constant separation of
monochromatic works of black brushwork on very often mulberry paper or silk; and the colourful
folk art or min-hwa, ritual arts, tomb paintings, and festival arts which had extensive use of colour.
This distinction was often class-based: scholars, particularly in Confucian art felt that one could
see colour in monochromatic paintings within the gradations and felt that the actual use of colour
coarsened the paintings, and restricted the imagination. Korean folk art, and painting of
architectural frames was seen as brightening certain outside wood frames, and again within the
tradition of Chinese architecture, and the early Buddhist influences of profuse rich thalo and
primary colours inspired by Art of India.

Laotian art[edit]
Main article: Lao art

Standing Buddhas overlooking the Mekong inPak Ou

Buddha statues inside the lower cave of the Pak Ou caves

Laotian art includes ceramics, Lao Buddhist sculpture, and Lao music.
Lao Buddhist sculptures were created in a large variety of material including gold, silver and
most often bronze. Brick-and-mortar also was a medium used for colossal images, a famous of
these is the image of Phya Vat (16th century) in Vientiane, although a renovation completely
altered the appearance of the sculpture, and it no longer resembles a Lao Buddha. Wood is
popular for small, votive Buddhist images that are often left in caves. Wood is also very common
for large, life-size standing images of the Buddha. The most famous two sculptures carved in
semi-precious stone are the Phra Keo (The Emerald Buddha) and the Phra Phuttha Butsavarat.
The Phra Keo, which is probably of Xieng Sen (Chiang Saen) origin, is carved from a solid block
of jade. It rested in Vientiane for two hundred years before the Siamese carried it away as booty
in the late 18th century. Today it serves as the palladium of the Kingdom of Thailand, and resides
at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The Phra Phuttha Butsavarat, like the Phra Keo, is also
enshrined in its own chapel at the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Before the Siamese seized it in the
early 19th century, this crystal image was the palladium of the Lao kingdom of Champassack.
Many mostly wooden Buddhist sculptures have been assembled inside the Pak Ou caves.

Many beautiful Lao Buddhist sculptures are carved right into the Pak Ou caves. Near Pak
Ou (mouth of the Ou river) the Tham Ting (lower cave) and the Tham Theung (upper cave) are
near Luang Prabang, Laos. They are a magnificent group of caves that are only accessible by
boat, about two hours upstream from the center of Luang Prabang, and have recently become
more well known and frequented by tourists.The caves are noted for their
impressive Buddhist and Lao style sculptures carved into the cave walls, and hundreds of
discarded Buddhist figures laid out over the floors and wall shelves. They were put there as their
owners did not wish to destroy them, so a difficult journey is made to the caves to place their
unwanted statue there.

Nepalese art[edit]
See also: Culture of Kathmandu and Culture of Nepal

Stone carvings, called Chaityas, seen even in street corners and courtyards ofKathmandu

The ancient and refined traditional culture of Kathmandu, for that matter in the whole
of Nepal, is an uninterrupted and exceptional meeting of the Hindu and Buddhist ethos practiced
by its highly religious people. It has also embraced in its fold the cultural diversity provided by the
other religions such as Jainism, Islam and Christianity.

Thai art[edit]
Main article: Thai art

The bow of Royal BargeSuphannahong of Thailand.

Thai art and visual art was traditionally and primarily Buddhist and Royal Art. Sculpture was
almost exclusively of Buddha images, while painting was confined to illustration of books and
decoration of buildings, primarily palaces and temples. Thai Buddha images from different
periods have a number of distinctive styles. Contemporary Thai art often combines traditional
Thai elements with modern techniques.
Traditional Thai paintings showed subjects in two dimensions without perspective. The size of
each element in the picture reflected its degree of importance. The primary technique
ofcomposition is that of apportioning areas: the main elements are isolated from each other by
space transformers. This eliminated the intermediate ground, which would otherwise imply
perspective. Perspective was introduced only as a result of Western influence in the mid-19th
century.
The most frequent narrative subjects for paintings were or are: the Jataka stories, episodes from
the life of the Buddha, the Buddhist heavens and hells, and scenes of daily life.
The Sukhothai period began in the 14th century in the Sukhothai kingdom. Buddha images of the
Sukhothai period are elegant, with sinuous bodies and slender, oval faces. This style emphasized
the spiritual aspect of the Buddha, by omitting many small anatomical details. The effect was
enhanced by the common practice of casting images in metal rather than carving them. This
period saw the introduction of the "walking Buddha" pose.
Sukhothai artists tried to follow the canonical defining marks of a Buddha, as they are set out in
ancient Pali texts: Skin so smooth that dust cannot stick to it; Legslike a deer; Thighs like
a banyan tree; Shoulders as massive as an elephant's head; Arms round like an elephant's trunk,
and long enough to touch the knees; Hands like lotuses about to bloom; Fingertips turned back
like petals; head like an egg; Hair like scorpion stingers; Chin like a mango stone; Nose like a
parrot's beak; Earlobes lengthened by the earrings of royalty; Eyelashes like a
cow's; Eyebrows like drawn bows.
Sukhothai also produced a large quantity of glazed ceramics in the Sawankhalok style, which
were traded throughout south-east Asia.

Tibetan art[edit]

In Tibet, many Buddhists carve mantras into rocks as a form of devotion.

Tibetan Buddhist Sand mandaladisplaying its materials

Main articles: Tibetan art and Sand mandala

Tibetan art refers to the art of Tibet and other present and former Himalayankingdoms
(Bhutan, Ladakh, Nepal, and Sikkim). Tibetan art is first and foremost a form of sacred art,
reflecting the over-riding influence of Tibetan Buddhism on these cultures. The Sand Mandala
(Tib: kilkhor) is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition which symbolises the transitory nature of things. As
part of Buddhist canon, all things material are seen as transitory. A sand mandala is an example
of this, being that once it has been built and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are
finished, it is systematically destroyed.
As Mahayana Buddhism emerged as a separate school in the 4th century BC it emphasized the
role of bodhisattvas, compassionate beings who forgo their personal escape to Nirvana in order
to assist others. From an early time various bodhisattvas were also subjects of statuary art.
Tibetan Buddhism, as an offspring of Mahayana Buddhism, inherited this tradition. But the
additional dominating presence of the Vajrayana (or Buddhist tantra) may have had an overriding
importance in the artistic culture. A common bodhisattva depicted in Tibetan art is the
deity Chenrezig (Avalokitesvara), often portrayed as a thousand-armed saint with an eye in the
middle of each hand, representing the all-seeing compassionate one who hears our requests.
This deity can also be understood as a Yidam, or 'meditation Buddha' for Vajrayana practice.
Tibetan Buddhism contains Tantric Buddhism, also known as Vajrayana Buddhism for its common
symbolism of the vajra, the diamond thunderbolt (known inTibetan as the dorje). Most of the
typical Tibetan Buddhist art can be seen as part of the practice of tantra. Vajrayana techniques
incorporate many visualizations/imaginations during meditation, and most of the elaborate tantric
art can be seen as aids to these visualizations; from representations of meditational deities
(yidams) to mandalas and all kinds of ritual implements.
A visual aspect of Tantric Buddhism is the common representation of wrathful deities, often
depicted with angry faces, circles of flame, or with the skulls of the dead. These images represent
the Protectors (Skt. dharmapala) and their fearsome bearing belies their true compassionate
nature. Actually their wrath represents their dedication to the protection of the dharma teaching as
well as to the protection of the specific tantric practices to prevent corruption or disruption of the
practice. They are most importantly used as wrathful psychological aspects that can be used to
conquer the negative attitudes of the practitioner.
Historians note that Chinese painting had a profound influence on Tibetan painting in general.
Starting from the 14th and 15th century, Tibetan painting had incorporated many elements from
the Chinese, and during the 18th century, Chinese painting had a deep and far-stretched impact
on Tibetan visual art.[14]According to Giuseppe Tucci, by the time of the Qing Dynasty, "a new
Tibetan art was then developed, which in a certain sense was a provincial echo of the Chinese
18th century's smooth ornate preciosity."[14]

Vietnamese art[edit]

Ngoc Lu bronze drum's surface, 2nd to 3rd century BCE

Main article: Vietnamese art

Vietnamese art is from one of the oldest of such cultures in the Southeast Asia region. A rich
artistic heritage that dates to prehistoric times and includes: silk painting, sculpture, pottery,
ceramics, woodblock prints, architecture, music, dance and theatre.
Traditional Vietnamese art is art practiced in Vietnam or by Vietnamese artists, from ancient times
(including the elaborate ng Sn drums) to post-Chinese domination art which was strongly
influenced by Chinese Buddhist art, among other philosophies such asTaoism and Confucianism.
The art of Champa and French art also played a smaller role later on.

Dragon head palace decoration from the L dynasty

The Chinese influence on Vietnamese art extends into Vietnamese pottery and ceramics,
calligraphy, and traditional architecture. Currently, Vietnamese lacquer paintings have proven to
be quite popular.
The Nguyn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam (c. 18021945), saw a renewed interest
in ceramics and porcelain art. Imperial courts across Asia imported Vietnamese ceramics.
Despite how highly developed the performing arts (such as imperial court music and dance)
became during the Nguyn dynasty, some view other fields of arts as beginning to decline during
the latter part of the Nguyn dynasty.
Beginning in the 19th century, modern art and French artistic influences spread into Vietnam. In
the early 20th century, the cole Suprieure des Beaux Arts de lIndochine (Indochina College of
Arts) was founded to teach European methods and exercised influence mostly in the larger cities,
such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.[15]

T Ngc Vn, Thiu n bn hoa hu (Young Woman with Lily), 1943, oil

Travel restrictions imposed on the Vietnamese during France's 80-year rule of Vietnam and the
long period of war for national independence meant that very few Vietnamese artists were able to
train or work outside of Vietnam.[16] A small number of artists from well-to-do backgrounds had the
opportunity to go to France and make their careers there for the most part. [16] Examples include Le
Thi Luu, Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, Le Van De, Le Ba Dang and Pham Tang.[16]
Modern Vietnamese artists began to utilize French techniques with many traditional mediums
such as silk, lacquer, etc., thus creating a unique blend of eastern and western elements.

Vietnamese calligraphy[edit]
Calligraphy has had a long history in Vietnam, previously using Chinese characters along
with ch nm. However, most modern Vietnamese calligraphy instead uses the Roman-character
based Quc Ng, which has proven to be very popular.
In the past, with literacy in the old character-based writing systems of Vietnam being restricted to
scholars and elites, calligraphy nevertheless still played an important part in Vietnamese life. On
special occasions such as the Lunar New Year, people would go to the village teacher or scholar
to make them a calligraphy hanging (often poetry, folk sayings or even single words). People who
could not read or write also often commissioned scholars to write prayers which they would burn
at temple shrines.

African art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"African arts" redirects here. For the journal African Arts, see African Arts (journal).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (January 2009)

Mask from Gabon

Mambila figure, Nigeria

Yombe-sculpture, 19th century

African art is a term typically used for the art of Sub-Saharan Africa. Often, casual observers
tend to generalize "traditional" African art, but the continent is full of people, societies and
civilizations, each with a unique visual culture. The definition may also include the art of
the African Diasporas, such as the art of African Americans. Despite this diversity, there are some
unifying artistic themes when considering the totality of the visual culture from the continent of
Africa.[1]
The term African art does not usually include the art of the North African areas along
the Mediterranean coast, as such areas had long been part of different traditions. For more than a
millennium, the art of such areas had formed part of Islamic art, although with many particular
characteristics. The Art of Ethiopia, with a long Christian tradition, is also different from that of
most of Africa, where Traditional African religion (with Islam in the north) was dominant until
relatively recently. [2]
Most African sculpture was historically in wood and other natural materials that have not survived
from earlier than, at most, a few centuries ago; older pottery figures can be found from a number
of areas. Masks are important elements in the art of many peoples, along with human figures,
often highly stylized. There is a vast variety of styles, often varying within the same context of
origin depending on the use of the object, but wide regional trends are apparent; sculpture is
most common among "groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the Niger and Congo
rivers" in West Africa.[3] Direct images of deities are relatively infrequent, but masks in particular
are or were often made for religious ceremonies; today many are made for tourists as "airport
art".[4] African masks were an influence on European Modernist art,[5] which was inspired by their
lack of concern for naturalistic depiction. Since the late 19th century there has been an increasing
amount of African art in Western collections, the finest pieces of which are now prominently
displayed.
Later West African cultures developed bronze casting for reliefs, like the famous Benin Bronzes,
to decorate palaces and for highly naturalistic royal heads from around the Yoruba town of Ife, in
terracotta as well as metal, from the 12th14th centuries. Akan goldweights are a form of small
metal sculptures produced over the period 14001900; some apparently represent proverbs,
contributing a narrative element rare in African sculpture; and royal regalia included impressive
gold sculptured elements.[6] Many West African figures are used in religious rituals and are often
coated with materials placed on them for ceremonial offerings. The Mande-speaking peoples of
the same region make pieces from wood with broad, flat surfaces and arms and legs shaped like

cylinders. In Central Africa, however, the main distinguishing characteristics include heart-shaped
faces that are curved inward and display patterns of circles and dots.
Eastern Africans, in many areas shorter of large timber to carve, are known for Tinga Tinga
paintings and Makonde sculptures. There is also tradition of producing textile art, .[3] The culture
from Great Zimbabwe left more impressive buildings than sculpture, but the
eight soapstone Zimbabwe Birds appear to have had a special significance and were presumably
mounted on monoliths. Modern Zimbabwean sculptors in soapstone have achieved considerable
international success. Southern Africas oldest known clay figures date from 400 to 600 AD and
have cylindrical heads with a mixture of human and animal features.
Contents
[show]

Thematic elements[edit]

Yoruba bronze head sculpture, Ife, Nigeria c. 12th century A.D.

Artistic creativity or Expressive individualism: In Western African art in particular, there is

a widespread emphasis on expressive individualism while simultaneously being influenced by
the work of predecessors. An example would be Dan artistry as well as its presence in the
Western African diaspora.[7][8]

Emphasis on the human figure: The human figure has always been the primary subject
matter for most African art, and this emphasis even influenced certain European traditions.
[5]
For example, in the fifteenth century Portugal traded with the Sapi culture near Cte
d'Ivoire in West Africa, who created elaborate ivory saltcellars that were hybrids of African
and European designs, most notably in the addition of the human figure (the human figure
typically did not appear in Portuguese saltcellars). The human figure may symbolize the living
or the dead, may reference chiefs, dancers, or various trades such as drummers or hunters,
or even may be an anthropomorphic representation of a god or have other votive function.
Another common theme is the inter-morphosis of human and animal.

Visual abstraction: African artworks tend to favor visual abstraction over naturalistic
representation. This is because many African artworks generalize stylistic norms. [9] Ancient
Egyptian art, also usually thought of as naturalistically depictive, makes use of highly
abstracted and regimented visual canons, especially in painting, as well as the use of
different colors to represent the qualities and characteristics of an individual being depicted. [10]

Emphasis on sculpture: African artists tend to favor three-dimensional artworks over twodimensional works. Even many African paintings or cloth works were meant to be
experienced three-dimensionally. House paintings are often seen as a continuous design
wrapped around a house, forcing the viewer to walk around the work to experience it fully;
while decorated cloths are worn as decorative or ceremonial garments, transforming the
wearer into a living sculpture. Distinct from the static form of traditional Western sculpture
African art displays animation, a readiness to move.[11]

Makonde carving c.1974

Emphasis on performance art: An extension of the utilitarianism and three-dimensionality

of traditional African art is the fact that much of it is crafted for use in performance contexts,
rather than in static ones. For example, traditional African masks and costumes very often are
used in communal, ceremonial contexts, where they are "danced." Most societies in Africa
have names for their masks, but this single name incorporates not only the sculpture, but also
the meanings of the mask, the dance associated with it, and the spirits that reside within. In
African thought, the three cannot be differentiated.

Nonlinear scaling: Often a small part of an African design will look similar to a larger part,
such as the diamonds at different scales in the Kasai pattern at right. Louis Senghor,
Senegals first president, referred to this as "dynamic symmetry." William Fagg, the British art
historian, compared it to the logarithmic mapping of natural growth by biologist DArcy
Thompson. More recently it has been described in terms of fractal geometry.[12]

Scope[edit]

Ethiopia: Cross of Emperor Tewodros, early 19th Century

Until recently, the designation "African" was usually only bestowed on the arts of "Black Africa",
the peoples living in Sub-Saharan Africa. The non-black peoples of North Africa, the people of
the Horn of Africa, as well as the art of ancient Egypt, generally were not included under the
rubric of African art. Recently, however, there has been a movement among African art historians
and other scholars to include the visual culture of these areas, since all the cultures that
produced them, in fact, are located within the geographic boundaries of the African continent. The
notion is that by including all African cultures and their visual culture in African art, laypersons will
gain a greater understanding of the continent's cultural diversity. Since there was often a
confluence of traditional African, Islamic and Mediterranean cultures, scholars have found that
drawing distinct divisions between Muslim areas, ancient Egypt, the Mediterranean and
indigenous black African societies makes little sense. Finally, the arts of the people of the African
diaspora, in Brazil, the Caribbean and the southeastern United States, have also begun to be
included in the study of African art.

Materials[edit]

Nok terracotta, 6th century BC6th century CE

Igbo 9th century bronze ornamental staff head,Igbo-Ukwu, Nigeria

African art takes many forms and is made from many different materials. Jewellry is a popular art
form and is used to indicate rank, affiliation with a group, or purely for aesthetics. [13] African jewelry
is made from such diverse materials as Tiger's eye stone, haematite, sisal, coconut shell, beads
and ebony wood. Sculptures can be wooden, ceramic or carved out of stone like the famous

Shona sculptures,[14] and decorated or sculpted pottery comes from many regions. Various forms
of textiles are made including chitenge, mud cloth and kente cloth. Mosaics made of butterfly
wings or colored sand are popular in west Africa.

History[edit]
The origins of African art lie long before recorded history. African rock art in
the Sahara in Niger preserves 6000-year-old carvings.[15] Along with sub-Saharan Africa, the
western cultural arts, ancient Egyptian paintings and artifacts, and indigenous southern crafts
also contributed greatly to African art. Often depicting the abundance of surrounding nature, the
art was often abstract interpretations of animals, plant life, or natural designs and shapes.
The Nubian Kingdom of Kush in modern Sudan was in close and often hostile contact with Egypt,
and produced monumental sculpture mostly derivative of styles that did not lead to the north. In
West Africa, the earliest known sculptures are from the Nok culture which thrived between
500 BC and 500 AD in modern Nigeria, with clay figures typically with elongated bodies and
angular shapes.
More complex methods of producing art were developed in sub-Saharan Africa around the 10th
century, some of the most notable advancements include the bronzework of Igbo Ukwu and the
terracottas and metalworks of Ile Ife Bronze and brasscastings, often ornamented
with ivory and precious stones, became highly prestigious in much of West Africa, sometimes
being limited to the work of court artisans and identified with royalty, as with the Benin Bronzes.

Influence on Western art[edit]

Westerners had long misunderstood African art as "primitive." The term carries with it negative
connotations of underdevelopment and poverty. Colonization and the slave trade in Africa during
the nineteenth century set up a Western understanding hinged on the belief that African art
lacked technical ability due to its low socioeconomic status.
At the start of the twentieth century, artists like Picasso, Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, Paul
Gauguin and Modiglianibecame aware of, and inspired by, African art.[5] In a situation where the
established avant garde was straining against the constraints imposed by serving the world of
appearances, African art demonstrated the power of supremely well organised forms; produced
not only by responding to the faculty of sight, but also and often primarily, the faculty of
imagination, emotion and mystical and religious experience. These artists saw in African Art a
formal perfection and sophistication unified with phenomenal expressive power. The study of and
response to African Art, by artists at the beginning of the twentieth century facilitated an explosion
of interest in the abstraction, organisation and reorganisation of forms, and the exploration of
emotional and psychological areas hitherto unseen in Western art. By these means, the status of
visual art was changed. Art ceased to be merely and primarily aesthetic, but became also a true
medium for philosophic and intellectual discourse, and hence more truly and profoundly aesthetic
than ever before.[citation needed]

Influence on Western architecture[edit]

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European architecture was strongly influenced by African art. Pioneers like Antonio Sant'Elia, Le
Corbusier, Pier Luigi Nervi, Theo van Doesburg and Erich Mendelsohn were also sculptures and
painters; Futurist, Rationalist andExpressionist architecture discovered in Africa a new repertoire
of proto-symbols; in a formal level, the space is now composed by single forms that do not only

refer to human proportions and scale, but to its psychology; surfaces are modelled by geometric
patterns. During the 50's, European architects transformed buildings into big-scale sculptures,
replacing unnecessary decoration (so criticized by Adolf Loos), by integrating textured murals and
large bas-reliefs in walls. During the 60's, African Art influenced Brutalism, both in language and
symbolism, particularly in the late Le Corbusier, Oscar Niemeyer and Paul Rudolph. The powerful
work of John Lautnerreminds of artifacts from the Yoruba; the sensual projects of Patricio
Pouchulu honour the bare wooden sculptures of the Dogon and Baoul. Unlike Europe, African
art never established boundaries between body art, painting, sculpture and architecture; thanks
to this, Western architects can now extend towards different art expressions.

Traditional art[edit]
Traditional art describes the most popular and studied forms of African art which are typically
found in museum collections.
Wooden masks, which might either be of human, animal or mythical creatures, are one of the
most commonly found forms of art in western Africa. In their original contexts, ceremonial masks
are used for celebrations, initiations, crop harvesting, and war preparation. The masks are worn
by a chosen or initiated dancer. During the mask ceremony the dancer goes into deep trance,
and during this state of mind he "communicates" with his ancestors. The masks can be worn in
three different ways: vertically covering the face: as helmets, encasing the entire head, and as
crest, resting upon the head, which was commonly covered by material as part of the disguise.
African masks often represent a spirit and it is strongly believed that the spirit of the ancestors
possesses the wearer. Most African masks are made with wood, and can be decorated
with: Ivory, animal hair, plant fibers (such as raffia), pigments (like kaolin), stones, and semiprecious gems also are included in the masks.
Statues, usually of wood or ivory, are often inlaid with cowrie shells, metal studs and nails.
Decorative clothing is also commonplace and comprises another large part of African art. Among
the most complex of African textiles is the colorful, strip-woven Kente cloth of Ghana. Boldly
patterned mudcloth is another well known technique.

Contemporary African art[edit]

Main article: Contemporary African art
Africa is home to a thriving contemporary art fine art culture. This has been sadly understudied
until recently, due to scholars' and art collectors' emphasis on traditional art. Notable modern
artists include El Anatsui, Marlene Dumas, William Kentridge, Karel Nel, Kendell Geers, Yinka
Shonibare, Zerihun Yetmgeta, Odhiambo Siangla, Elias Jengo, Olu Oguibe, Lubaina Himid,
and Bili Bidjocka, Henry Tayali. Art bienniales are held in Dakar, Senegal,
and Johannesburg, South Africa. Many contemporary African artists are represented in museum
collections, and their art may sell for high prices at art auctions. Despite this, many contemporary
African artists tend to have difficult times finding a market for their work. Many contemporary
African arts borrow heavily from traditional predecessors. Ironically, this emphasis on abstraction
is seen by Westerners as an imitation of European and American cubist and totemic artists, such
as Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani and Henri Matisse, who, in the early twentieth century,
were heavily influenced by traditional African art. This period was critical to the evolution of
Western modernism in visual arts, symbolized by Picasso's breakthrough painting "Les
Demoiselles d'Avignon."[16]
Contemporary African art was pioneered in the 1950s and 1960s in South Africa by artists
like Irma Stern, Cyril Fradan, Walter Battiss and through galleries like the Goodman Gallery in
Johannesburg. More recently European galleries like the October Gallery in London and
collectors such as Jean Pigozzi,[17] Artur Walther[18]and Gianni Baiocchi in Rome have helped

expand the interest in the subject. Numerous exhibitions at the Museum for African Art in New
York and the African Pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennale, which showcased the Sindika Dokolo
African Collection of Contemporary Art, have gone a long way to countering many of the myths
and prejudices that haunt Contemporary African Art. The appointment of Nigerian Okwui
Enwezor as artistic director of Documenta 11 and his African centred vision of art propelled the
careers of countless African artists onto the international stage.
A wide range of more-or-less traditional forms of art, or adaptations of traditional style to
contemporary taste are made for sale to tourists and others, including so-called "airport art". A
number of vigorous popular traditions assimilate Western influences into African styles such as
the elaborate fantasy coffins in shapes such as airplanes, cars or animals of West African cities,
and the banners of clubs.

By country or people[edit]
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Mali[edit]
The primary ethnic groups in Mali are the Bambara (also known as Bamana) and the Dogon.
Smaller ethnic groups consist of the Marka, and the Bozo fisherman of the Niger River. Ancient
civilizations flourished in areas like Djene and Timbuktu, where a great variety of ancient bronze
and terra-cotta figures have been unearthed.
Bambara[edit]

Two Bambara Chiwara c. late 19th early 20th centuries, Art Institute of Chicago. Female (left) and male
Vertical styles

The Bambara people (Bambara: Bamanankaw) adapted many artistic traditions and began to
create display pieces. Before money was the main drive of creation of their artworks they used
their abilities solely as a sacred craft for display of spiritual pride, religious beliefs and display of
customs. Example artworks include the Bamana ntomo mask. Other statues were created for
people such as hunters and farmers so others could leave offerings after long farming seasons or
group hunts. The stylistic variations in Bambara art are extreme sculptures, masks and
headdresses display either stylized or realistic features, and either weathered or encrusted
patinas. Until quite recently, the function of Bambara pieces was shrouded in mystery, but in the

last twenty years field studies have revealed that certain types of figures and headdresses were
associated with a number of the societies that structure Bambara life. During the 1970s a group
of approximately twenty figures, masks and TjiWara headdresses belonging to the so-called
'Segou style' were identified. The style is distinct and recognizable by its typical flat faces, arrowshaped noses, all-over body triangular scarifications and, on the figures, splayed hands.
Masks
There are three major and one minor type of Bambara mask. The first type, used by the N'tomo
society, has a typical comb-like structure above the face, is worn during dances and may be
covered with cowrie shells. The second type of mask, associated with the Komo society, has a
spherical head with two antelope horns on the top and an enlarged, flattened mouth. They are
used during dances, but some have a thick encrusted patina acquired during other ceremonies in
which libations are poured over them.
The third type has connections with the Nama society and is carved in the form of an articulated
bird's head, while the fourth, minor type, represents a stylized animal head and is used by the
Kore society. Other Bambara masks are known to exist, but unlike those described above, they
cannot be linked to specific societies or ceremonies. Bambara carvers have established a
reputation for the zoomorphic headdresses worn by Tji-Wara society members]. Although they
are all different, they all display a highly abstract body, often incorporating a zig-zag motif, which
represents the sun's course from east to west, and a head with two large horns. Bambara
members of the Tji-Wara society wear the headdress while dancing in their fields at sowing time,
hoping to increase the crop yield.
Statuettes
Bambara statuettes are primarily used during the annual ceremonies of the Guan society. During
these ceremonies, a group of up to seven figures, measuring from 80 to 130 cm in height, are
removed from their sanctuaries by the elder members of the society. The sculptures are washed,
re-oiled and sacrifices are offered to them at their shrines. These figures - some of which date
from between the 14th and 16th centuries - usually display a typical crested coiffure, often
adorned with a talisman.
Two of these figures were ascribed great significance: a seated or standing maternity figure
called Guandousou - known in the West as 'Bambara Queen' - and a male figure called
Guantigui, who usually appears holding a knife. The two figures were surrounded by Guannyeni
attendant figures standing or seated in various positions, holding a vessel, or a musical
instrument, or their breasts. During the 1970s, numerous fakes from Bamako which were based
on these sculptures entered the market. They were produced in Bamako.
Other Bambara figures, called Dyonyeni, are thought to be associated with either the southern
Dyo society or the Kwore society. These female or hermaphrodite figures usually appear with
geometric features such as large conical breasts and measure between 40 and 85 cm in height.
The blacksmith members of the Dyo society used them during dances to celebrate the end of
their initiation ceremonies. They were handled, held by dancers and placed in the middle of the
ceremonial circle.
Among the corpus of Bambara figures, Boh sculptures are perhaps the best known. These
statues represent a highly stylized animal or human figure, and are made of wood which is
repeatedly covered in thick layers of earth impregnated with sacrificial materials such as millet,
chicken or goat blood, kola nuts and alcoholic drinks. They were employed by the Kono and the
Komo societies and served as receptacles for spiritual forces, and could in turn be used for
apotropaic purposes.
Each special creative trait a person obtained was seen as a different way to please higher spirits.

Dogon[edit]

12th Century Yoruba (Ife) bronze casting of Oduduwa

Dogon art is primarily sculpture. Dogon art revolves around religious values, ideals, and freedoms
(Laude, 19). Dogon sculptures are not made to be seen publicly, and are commonly hidden from
the public eye within the houses of families, sanctuaries, or kept with the Hogon (Laude, 20). The
importance of secrecy is due to the symbolic meaning behind the pieces and the process by
which they are made.
Themes found throughout Dogon sculpture consist of figures with raised arms, superimposed
bearded figures, horsemen, stools with caryatids, women with children, figures covering their
faces, women grinding pearl millet, women bearing vessels on their heads, donkeys bearing
cups, musicians, dogs, quadruped-shaped troughs or benches, figures bending from the waist,
mirror-images, aproned figures, and standing figures (Laude, 46-52). Signs of other contacts and
origins are evident in Dogon art. The Dogon people were not the first inhabitants of the cliffs of
Bandiagara. Influence from Tellem art is evident in Dogon art because of its rectilinear designs
(Laude, 24).
Dogon art is extremely versatile, although common stylistic characteristics such as a tendency
towards stylization are apparent on the statues. Their art deals with the myths whose complex
ensemble regulates the life of the individual. The sculptures are preserved in innumerable sites of
worship, personal or family altars, altars for rain, altars to protect hunters, in market. As a general
characterization of Dogon statues, one could say that they render the human body in a simplified
way, reducing it to its essentials. Some are extremely elongated with emphasis on geometric
forms. The subjective impression is one of immobility with a mysterious sense of a solemn gravity
and serene majesty, although conveying at the same time a latent movement. Dogon sculpture
recreates the hermaphroditic silhouettes of the Tellem, featuring raised arms and a thick patina
made of blood and millet beer. The four Nommo couples, the mythical ancestors born of the god
Amma, ornament stools, pillars or mens meeting houses, door locks, and granary doors. The
primordial couple is represented sitting on a stool, the base of which depicts the earth while the

upper surface represents the sky; the two are interconnected by the Nommo. The seated female
figures, their hands on their abdomen, are linked to the fertility cult, incarnating the first ancestor
who died in childbirth, and are the object of offerings of food and sacrifices by women who are
expecting a child. Kneeling statues of protective spirits are placed at the head of the dead to
absorb their spiritual strength and to be their intermediaries with the world of the dead, into which
they accompany the deceased before once again being placed on the shrines of the ancestors.
Horsemen are remainders of the fact that, according to myth, the horse was the first animal
present on earth. The Dogon style has evolved into a kind of cubism: ovoid head, squared
shoulders, tapered extremities, pointed breasts, forearms, and thighs on a parallel plane, hairdos
stylized by three or four incised lines. Dogon sculptures serve as a physical medium in initiations
and as an explanation of the world. They serve to transmit an understanding to the initiated, who
will decipher the statue according to the level of their knowledge. Carved animal figures, such as
dogs and ostriches, are placed on village foundation altars to commemorate sacrificed animals,
while granary doors, stools and house posts are also adorned with figures and symbols.
There are nearly eighty styles of masks, but their basic characteristic is great boldness in the use
of geometric shapes, independent of the various animals they are supposed to represent. The
structure of a large number of masks is based on the interplay of vertical and horizontal lines and
shapes. Another large group has triangular, conic shapes. All masks have large geometric eyes
and stylized features. The masks are often polychrome, but on many the color is lost; after the
ceremonies they were left on the ground and quickly deteriorated because of termites and other
conditions. The Dogon continue an ancient masquerading tradition, which commemorates the
origin of death. According to their myths, death came into the world as a result of primeval mans
transgressions against the divine order. Dama memorial ceremonies are held to accompany the
dead into the ancestral realm and restore order to the universe. The performance of
masqueraders sometimes as many as 400 at these ceremonies is considered absolutely
necessary. In the case of the dama, the timing, types of masks involved, and other ritual elements
are often specific to one or two villages and may not resemble those seen in locations only
several miles distant. The masks also appear during baga-bundo rites performed by small
numbers of masqueraders before the burial of a male Dogon. Dogon masks evoke the form of
animals associated with their mythology, yet their significance is only understood by the highest
ranking cult members whose role is to explain the meaning of each mask to a captivated
audience.

Kenya[edit]

A modern fantasy coffin in the shape of a red rooster (cock), Ghana

Kenyan art has changed much in the post colonial years. Painters emerged in the 1950s after
training in Makerere University College; they include such artists as Elimo Njau Elizabeth Karuga.
The 1970s saw the self-taught African painters mostly inspired by the demand for original African
paintings. These include the Ancient Soi, Macua Ngethe, and Moses Gichuiri.Kenyatta
University also produced artists but more so taught in western art styles of painting. Among these
include John Dianga and Moses Gichuiri. Others include the late Dr. Sylvester Maina, Stephen
Mayienga and others. The 80s was the produced many contemporary artists. From Teachers
Training colleges came Stephen Mbatia, Rix Butama, Shake Makelele, and Meube to name but a
few. From the University of Nairobi School of Fine Art and Design came the following artists:

Bulinya Martins and Sarah Shiundu. The two by virtue of having learned many basic techniques
in design are highly innovative both in style, use of color and execution. Unlike most
contemporary Kenyan artist they paint using oils, acrylics and watercolors and/or combination.
Pure abstract art is rare in Kenya. Most artists paint semi-abstract with distorted human figures.
The initial paintings by Bulinya Martins were a combination of cubism and original African
abstractions. The late Maingas abstractions were 2D and highly embellished on leather. As for
material, the use of Acrylics and oil is more frequent than watercolors. Oil paint is by far the
preferred medium today and it lasts much longer. The art items in Kenya include sisal baskets,
elephant hair bracelets, Maasai bead jewelry, musical instruments, silver and gold jewelry,
soapstone sculptures, wooden carvings, tribal masks, Maasai figurines, paintings, prints and
sculptures. These art items are available in the arts and craft markets and shops throughout the
main tourist centers of Kenya.
Cloth in Kenya also represents interesting art, with batik cloth, kangas (women's wraparound
skirts) with patterns and even Kenyan proverbs printed on them and kikois (type of sarong for
men) that come in many different colors and textiles. Kenya offers African jewelry containing
cowry shells, and soapstone carvings from Western Kenya, carved by
the Gusii and Abagusii ethnic groups in Kisii stone.

Gabon[edit]
The Fang people make masks and basketry, carvings, and sculptures. Fang art is characterized
by organized clarity and distinct lines and shapes. Bieri, boxes to hold the remains of ancestors,
are carved with protective figures. Masks are worn in ceremonies and for hunting. The faces are
painted white with black features. Myene art centers around Myene rituals for death. Female
ancestors are represented by white painted masks worn by the male relatives. The Bekota use
brass and copper to cover their carvings. They use baskets to hold ancestral remains. Tourism is
rare in Gabon, and unlike in other African countries, art is not spurred on by commerce.

Botswana[edit]
In the northern part of Botswana, women in the villages of Etsha and Gumare are noted for their
skill at crafting baskets from Mokola Palm and local dyes. The baskets are generally woven into
three types: large, lidded baskets used for storage large, open baskets for carrying objects on the
head or for winnowing threshed grain, and smaller plates for winnowing pounded grain. The
artistry of these baskets is being steadily enhanced through color use and improved designs as
they are increasingly produced for commercial use.
The oldest evidence ancient paintings from both Botswana and South Africa. Depictions of
hunting, both animal and human figures were made by the San peopledating before civilization
over 20,000 years old within the Kalahari desert.

Burkina Faso[edit]
Main article: Art of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a small, landlocked country north of Ghana and south of Mali and Niger.
Economically, it is one of the four or five poorest countries in the world. Culturally, it is extremely
rich. In part this is because so few people from Burkina have become Muslim or Christian. [19] Many
of the ancient artistic traditions for which Africa is so well known have been preserved in Burkina
Faso because so many people continue to honor the ancestral spirits, and the spirits of nature. In
great part they honor the spirits through the use of masks and carved figures. Many of the
countries to the north of Burkina Faso had become predominantly Muslim, while many of the
countries to the south of Burkina Faso are heavily Christian. In contrast many of the people of
Burkina Faso continue to offer prayers and sacrifices to the spirits of nature and to the spirits of

their ancestors. The result is that they continue to use the sorts of art that we see in museums in
Europe and America.[20]
One of the principal obstacles to understanding the art of Burkina Faso, including that of the Bwa,
has been a confusion between the styles of the Bwa, "gurunsi", and Mossi, and a confusion of
the Bwa people with their neighbors to the west the Bobo people. this confusion was the result
of the use by French colonial officers of Jula interpreters at the turn of the century. these
interpreters considered the two peoples to be the same and so referred to the Bobo as "BoboFing" and to the Bwa as "Bobo-Oule." In fact these two peoples are not related at all. Their
languages are quite different, their social systems are quite different, and certainly their art is
quite different. In terms of artistic styles the confusion stems from the fact that the Bwa, "gurunsi'"
and Mossi make masks that are covered with red white and black geometric graphic patterns.
This is simply the style of the Voltaic or Gur peoples, and also includes the Dogon and other
peoples who speak Voltaic languages.[21]

Cte d'Ivoire[edit]

"Childsoldier in the Ivory Coast",Gilbert G. Groud, 2007, mixed materials: tusche and wax crayon

The Baoul, the Senoufo and the Dan peoples are skilled at carving wood and each culture
produces wooden masks in wide variety. The Ivorian people use masks to represent animals
in caricature to depict deities, or to represent the souls of the departed.
As the masks are held to be of great spiritual power, it is considered a taboo for anyone other
than specially trained persons or chosen ones to wear or possess certain masks. These
ceremonial masks are each thought to have a soul, or life force, and wearing these masks is
thought to transform the wearer into the entity the mask represents.
Cte d'Ivoire also has modern painters and illustrators. Gilbert G. Groud criticizes the ancient
beliefs in black magic, as held with the spiritual masks mentioned above, in his illustrated
book Magie Noire.

Tanzania[edit]

Modern Makonde carving in ebony

Tinga Tinga art has roots in decorating hut walls in central and south Tanzania. It was first in 1968
when Edward Said Tingatinga started to paint on wooden sheets with enamel colours when Tinga
Tinga art became known. The art of theMakonde must be subdivided into different areas. The
Makonde are known as master carvers throughout East Africa, and their statuary that can be
found being sold in tourist markets and in museums alike. They traditionally carve household
objects, figures and masks. Since the 1950s years the socalled Modern Makonde Art has been
developed. An essential step was the turning to abstract figures, mostly spirits (Shetani) that play
a special role. Makonde are also part of the important contemporary artists of Africa today. An
outstanding position is taken by George Lilanga.

Egypt[edit]
Main article: Art of Ancient Egypt
Persisting for 3,000 years and thirty dynasties, the "official" art of Ancient Egypt was centred on
the state religion of the time. The art ranged from stone carvings of both massive statues and
small statuettes, to wall art that depicted both history and mythology. In 2600 BC the maturity of
Egyptian carving reached a peak it did not reach again for another 1,500 years during the reign
of Rameses II.
A lot of the art possesses a certain stiffness, with figures poised upright and rigid in a most regal
fashion. Bodily proportions also appear to be mathematically derived, giving rise to a sense of
fantastic perfection in the figures depicted. This most likely was used to reinforce the godliness of
the ruling caste.

Pre-Columbian art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged
and removed. (May 2009)

Mayan relief sculpture fromPalenque, Mexico

Totonac andesite hacha,Veracruz

Pre-Columbian art is the visual arts of indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, North, Central,
and South Americas until the late 15th and early 16th centuries, and the time period marked
by Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas.
Pre-Columbian art thrived throughout the Americas from at least, 13,000 BCE to 1500 CE.
Many Pre-Columbian cultures did not have writing systems, so visual art
expressed cosmologies, world views, religion, and philosophy of these cultures, as well as
serving as mnenomic devices.
During the period before and after European exploration and settlement of the Americas;
including North America, Central America,South America and the islands of the Caribbean,
the Bahamas, the West Indies, the Antilles, the Lesser Antilles and other island groups,
indigenous native cultures produced a wide variety of visual arts, including painting on textiles,
hides, rock and cave surfaces, bodies especially faces, ceramics, architectural features including
interior murals, wood panels, and other available surfaces. Unfortunately, many of the perishable
surfaces, such as woven textiles, typically have not been preserved, but Precolumbian painting
on ceramics, walls, and rocks have survived more frequently.
Contents
[show]

Mesoamerica and Central America[edit]

The Mesoamerican cultures are generally divided into three periods (see Mesoamerican
chronology):

Pre-classic (up to 200 CE)

Classic (ca. 200900 CE)

Post-classic (ca. 900 to 1580 CE).

The Pre-classic period was dominated by the highly developed Olmec civilization, which
flourished around 1200400 BCE. The Olmecs produced jade figurines, and created heavyfeatured, colossal heads, up to 2 meters (8 ft) high, that still stand mysteriously in the landscape.

The Mesoamerican tradition of building large ceremonial centres appears to have begun under
the Olmecs.
During the Classic period the dominant Civilization was the Maya. Like the Mississippian peoples
of North America such as the Choctaw and Natchez, the Maya organized themselves into large,
agricultural communities. They practised their own forms ofhieroglyphic writing and even
advanced astronomy. Mayan art consequently focuses on rain, agriculture, and fertility,
expressing these images mainly in relief and surface decoration, as well as some
sculpture. Glyphs and stylized figures were used to decorate architecture such as the pyramid
temple of Chichn Itz. Murals dating from about 750 CE were discovered when the city of
Bonampak was excavated in 1946.
The Post-classic period (10th12th centuries) was dominated by the Toltecs who made colossal,
block-like sculptures such as those employed as free-standing columns at Tula, Mexico.
The Mixtecs developed a style of painting known as Mixtec-Puebla, as seen in their murals and
codices (manuscripts), in which all available space is covered by flat figures in geometric designs.
The Aztec culture in Mexico produced some dramatically expressive examples of Aztec art, such
as the decorated skulls of captives and stone sculpture, of which Tlazolteotl (Woods Bliss
Collection, Washington), a goddess in childbirth, is a good example.

South America[edit]
In the Andean region of South America (modern-day Peru), the Chavn civilization flourished from
around 1000 BCE to 300 BCE. The Chavn produced small-scale pottery, often human in shape
but with animal features such as bird feet, reptilian eyes, or feline fangs. Representations of
jaguar are a common theme in Chavn art. The Chavin culture is also noted for the spectacular
murals and carvings found its main religious site of Chavin de Huantar; these works include
the Raimondi Stela, the Lanzn, and the Tello Obelisk.
Contemporary with the Chavin was the Paracas culture of the southern coast of Peru, most
noted today for their elaborate textiles. These amazing productions, some of which could
measure ninety feet long, were primarily used for as burial wraps for Paracas mummy bundles.
Paracas art was greatly influenced by the Chavn cult, and the two styles share many common
motifs.
On the south coast, the Paracas were immediately succeeded by a flowering of artistic production
around the Nazca river valley. The Nazca period is divided into eight ceramic phases, each one
depicting increasingly abstract animal and human motifs. These period range from Phase 1,
beginning around 200 CE, to Phase 8, which declined in the middle of the eighth century. The
Nasca people are most famous for the Nazca lines, though they are usually regarded as making
some of the most beautiful polychrome ceramics in the Andes.
On the north coast, the Moche succeeded the Chavin. The Moche flourished about 100800 CE,
and were among the best artisans of the Pre-Columbian world, producing delightful portrait vases
(Moche ware), which, while realistic, are steeped in religious references, the significance of which
is now lost. For the Moche, ceramics functioned as a primary way of disseminating information
and cultural ideas. The Moche made ceramic vessels that depicted and re-created a plethora of
objects: fruits, plants, animals, human portrais, gods, demons, as well as graphic depictions of
sexual acts. The Moche are also noted for their metallurgy (such as that found in the tomb of
the Lord of Span), as well as their architectural prowess, such as the Huaca de la Luna and
the Huaca del Sol in the Moche River valley.
Following the decline of the Moche, two large co-existing empires emerged in the Andes region.
In the north, the Wari (or Huari) Empire, based in their capital city of the same name. The Wari
are noted for their stone architecture and sculpture accomplishments, but their greatest
proficiency was ceramic. The Wari produced magnificent large ceramics, many of which depicted

images of the Staff God, an important deity in the Andes which during the Wari period had
become specifically associated with the Lake Titicaca region on the modern Peru-Bolivia border.
Similarly, the Wari's contemporaries of the Tiwanaku empire, also centered around a capital city
of the same name, held the Staff God in similar esteem. Tiwanaku's empire began to expand out
of Titicaca around 400 BCE, but its "Classic Period" of artistic production and poltiical power
occurred between 375 and 700 CE. Tiwanaku is currently known for its magnificent imperial city
on the southern side of Lake Titicaca, now in modern-day Bolivia. Especially famous is the Gate
of the Sun, which depicts a large image of the Staff God flanked by other religious symbols which
may have functioned as a calendar.
Following the decline of the Wari Empire in the late first millennium, the Chim people, centered
out of their capital city of Chimor began to build their empire on the north and central coasts of
Peru. The Chim were preceded by a simple ceramic style known as Sicn (700-900 CE) which
became increasingly decorative until it became recognizable as Chim in the early second
millennium. The Chim produced excellent portrait and decorative works in metal, notably gold
but especially silver. The Chim also are noted for their featherwork, having produced many
standards and headdresses made of a variety of tropical feathers which were fashioned into bired
and fish designs, both of which were held in high esteem by the Chim. The Chim are best
known for their magnificent palatial complex ofChan Chan just south of modern-day Trujillo, Peru;
now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Chim went into decline very quickly due to outside
pressures and conquest from the expanding Inca Empire in the mid-15th century.

An Incan polychrome jar from 1471-1493.

Art seen on an Aztec calendar

At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu in Quechua, the "Land of the
Four Quarters") was the largest and wealthiest empire in the world, and this was depicted in their
art. Most Inca sculpture was melted down by the invading Spanish, so most of what remains
today is in the form of architecture, textiles, and ceramics. The Inca valued gold among all other
metals, and equated it with the sun god Inti. Some Inca buildings in the capital of Cusco were
literally covered in gold, and most contained many gold and silver sculptures. Most Inca art,

however, was abstract in nature. Inca ceramics were primarily large vessels covered in geometric
designs. Inca tunics and textiles contained similar motifs, often checkerboard patterns reserved
for the Inca elite and the Inca army. Today, due to the unpopularity of abstract art and the lack of
Inca gold and silver sculpture, the Inca are best known for the architecture - specifically the
complex of Machu Picchujust northwest of Cusco. Inca architecture makes use of large stone
blocks, each one cut specifically to fit around the other blocks in a wall. These stones were cut
with such precision that the Incas did not need to make use of mortar to hold their buildings
together. Even without mortar, Inca buildings still stand today; they form many of the foundations
for even modern-day buildings in Cusco and the surrounding area. The Incas produced thousand
of large stone structures, among them forts, temples, and palaces, even though the Inca Empire
lasted for only ninety-five years.

Romanesque art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (January 2015)
For other uses, see Romanesque (disambiguation).

Carving from Maria Laach Abbey, in the Eifel, Rhineland.

The "Morgan Leaf", detached from the Winchester Bible of 116075. Scenes from the life of David.

Romanesque art refers to the art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic
style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region.The preceding period is increasingly

known as the Pre-Romanesque. [according to whom?] The term was invented by 19th-century art historians,
especially for Romanesque architecture, which retained many basic features of Roman
architectural style most notably round-headed arches, but also barrel vaults, apses,
and acanthus-leaf decoration but had also developed many very different characteristics. In
Southern France, Spain and Italy there was an architectural continuity with the Late Antique, but
the Romanesque style was the first style to spread across the whole of Catholic Europe, from
Scandinavia to Sicily. Romanesque art was also greatly influenced by Byzantine art, especially in
painting, and by the anti-classical energy of the decoration of the Insular art of the British Isles,
and from these elements forged a highly innovative and coherent style.
Contents
[show]

Characteristics[edit]
Outside Romanesque architecture, the art of the period was characterised by a very vigorous
style in both sculpture and painting. The latter continued to follow
essentially Byzantine iconographic models for the most common subjects in churches, which
remained Christ in Majesty, the Last Judgement and scenes from the Life of Christ. In illuminated
manuscripts, where the most lavishly decorated manuscripts of the period were mostly bibles
or psalters, more originality is seen, as new scenes needed to be depicted. The same applied to
the capitals of columns, never more exciting than in this period, when they were often carved with
complete scenes with several figures. The large wooden crucifix was a German innovation right
at the start of the period, as were free-standing statues of the enthroned Madonna, but the high
relief was above all the sculptural mode of the period.
Master of Pedret, The Virgin and Child in Majesty and the Adoration of the Magi, apse fresco from
Treds, Val d'Aran, Catalonia, c. 1100, now at The Cloisters in New York.

Colours, now remaining bright only in stained glass and well-preserved manuscripts, tended to be
very striking, and mostly primary. It was in this period that stained glass became widely used,
although survivals are sadly few. In an invention of the period, the tympanums of important
church portals were carved with monumental schemes, often again Christ in Majesty or the Last
Judgement, but treated with more freedom than painted versions, as there were no equivalent
Byzantine models.
Compositions usually had little depth, and needed to be flexible to squeeze themselves into the
shapes of historiated initials, column capitals, and church tympanums; the tension between a
tightly enclosing frame, from which the composition sometimes escapes, is a recurrent theme in
Romanesque art. Figures still often varied in size in relation to their importance, and landscape
backgrounds, if attempted at all, were closer to abstract decorations than realism - as in the trees
in the "Morgan Leaf". Portraiture hardly existed.

Background[edit]
The period saw Europe grow steadily more prosperous, and art of the highest quality was no
longer confined, as it largely was in the Carolingian and Ottonian periods, to the royal court and a
small circle of monasteries. Monasteries remained extremely important, especially those of the
expansionist new orders of the period, the Cistercian, Cluniac, and Carthusian, which spread
across Europe. But city churches, those on pilgrimage routes, and many churches in small towns
and villages were elaborately decorated to a very high standard - indeed it is often these that
have survived, when cathedrals and city churches have been rebuilt, and no Romanesque royal
palace has really survived.

The lay artist was becoming a valued figure Nicholas of Verdun seems to have been known
across the continent. Most masons and goldsmiths were now lay, and lay painters like Master
Hugo seem to have been in the majority, at least of those doing the best work, by the end of the
period. The iconography of their church work was no doubt arrived at in consultation with clerical
advisors.

Sculpture[edit]
Metalwork, enamels, and ivories[edit]

Stavelot Triptych, Mosan, Belgium, c. 115658. 4866 cm with wings open,Morgan Library, New York

Precious objects in these media had a very high status in the period, probably much more so
than paintings we know the names of more makers of these than painters, illuminators or
architect-masons. Metalwork, including decoration in enamel, became very sophisticated, and
many spectacular shrines made to hold relics have survived, of which the best known is
theShrine of the Three Kings at Cologne Cathedral by Nicholas of Verdun and others (ca 1180
1225). The Stavelot Triptychand Reliquary of St. Maurus are other examples
of Mosan enamelwork. Large reliquaries and altar frontals were built around a wooden frame, but
smaller caskets were all metal and enamel. A few secular pieces, such as mirror cases, jewellery
and clasps have survived, but these no doubt under-represent the amount of fine metalwork
owned by the nobility.

The Gloucester candlestick, early 12th century

The bronze Gloucester candlestick and the brass font of 110817 now in Lige are superb
examples, very different in style, of metal casting, the former highly intricate and energetic,
drawing on manuscript painting, while the font shows the Mosan style at its most classical and
majestic. The bronze doors, a triumphal column and other fittings at Hildesheim Cathedral,
the Gniezno Doors, and the doors of the Basilica di San Zeno in Verona are other substantial
survivals. The aquamanile, a container for water to wash with, appears to have been introduced
to Europe in the 11th century, and often took fantastic zoomorphic forms; surviving examples are
mostly in brass. Many wax impressions from impressive seals survive on charters and
documents, although Romanesque coins are generally not of great aesthetic interest.
The Cloisters Cross is an unusually large ivory cruxifix, with complex carving including many
figures of prophets and others, which has been attributed to one of the relatively few artists
whose name is known, Master Hugo, who also illuminated manuscripts. Like many pieces it was
originally partly coloured. The Lewis chessmen are well-preserved examples of small ivories, of
which many pieces or fragments remain from croziers, plaques, pectoral crosses and similar
objects.

Architectural sculpture[edit]

The tympanum of Vzelay Abbey, Burgundy,France, 1130s, has much decorative spiral detail in the
draperies.

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the tradition of carving large works in stone and sculpting
figures in bronze died out, as it effectively did (for religious reasons) in the Byzantine world. Some
life-size sculpture was evidently done in stucco or plaster, but surviving examples are
understandably rare.[1] The best-known surviving large sculptural work of Proto-Romanesque
Europe is the life-size wooden Crucifix commissioned by Archbishop Gero of Cologne in about
96065, apparently the prototype of what became a popular form. These were later set up on a
beam below the chancel arch, known in English as a rood, from the twelfth century accompanied
by figures of the Virgin mary and John the Evangelist to the sides.[2] During the 11th and 12th
centuries, figurative sculpture flourished.
Sources and style[edit]
Figurative sculpture was based on two other sources in particular, manuscript illumination and
small-scale sculpture in ivory and metal. The extensive friezes sculpted on Armenian and Syriac
churches have been proposed as another likely influence. [3] These sources together produced a
distinct style which can be recognised across Europe, although the most spectacular sculptural
projects are concentrated in South-Western France, Northern Spain and Italy.

Man and confronted animals,Cahors Cathedral

Images that occurred in metalwork were frequently embossed. The resultant surface had two
main planes and details that were usually incised. This treatment was adapted to stone carving
and is seen particularly in the tympanum above the portal, where the imagery of Christ in
Majesty with the symbols of the Four Evangelists is drawn directly from the gilt covers of
medieval Gospel Books. This style of doorway occurs in many places and continued into the
Gothic period. A rare survival in England is that of the "Prior's Door" at Ely Cathedral. In SouthWestern France, many have survived, with impressive examples at SaintPierre, Moissac, Souillac,[4] and La Madaleine, Vzelay all daughter houses of Cluny, with
extensive other sculpture remaining in cloisters and other buildings. Nearby, Autun Cathedral has
a Last Judgement of great rarity in that it has uniquely been signed by its creator, Giselbertus.[5][6]
A feature of the figures in manuscript illumination is that they often occupy confined spaces and
are contorted to fit. The custom of artists to make the figure fit the available space lent itself to a
facility in designing figures to ornament door posts and lintels and other such architectural
surfaces. The robes of painted figures were commonly treated in a flat and decorative style that
bore little resemblance to the weight and fall of actual cloth. This feature was also adapted for
sculpture. Among the many examples that exist, one of the finest is the figure of the Prophet
Jeremiah from the pillar of the portal of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, from about
1130.[6]
One of the most significant motifs of Romanesque design, occurring in both figurative and nonfigurative sculpture is the spiral. One of the sources may be Ionic capitals. Scrolling vines were a
common motif of both Byzantine and Roman design, and may be seen in mosaic on the vaults of
the 4th century Church of Santa Costanza, Rome. Manuscripts and architectural carvings of the
12th century have very similar scrolling vine motifs.

This capital of Christ washing the feet of his Apostles has strong narrative qualities in the interaction of the
figures.

Another source of the spiral is clearly the illuminated manuscripts of the 7th to 9th centuries,
particularly Irish manuscriptssuch as the St. Gall Gospel Book, spread into Europe by
the Hiberno-Scottish mission. In these illuminations the use of the spiral has nothing to do with
vines or other plant forms. The motif is abstract and mathematical. The style was then picked up
in Carolingian art and given a more botanical character. It is in an adaptation of this form that the
spiral occurs in the draperies of both sculpture and stained glass windows. Of all the many
examples that occur on Romanesque portals, one of the most outstanding is that of the central
figure of Christ at La Madaleine, Vezelay.[6]
Another influence from Insular art are engaged and entwined animals, often used to superb effect
in capitals (as at Silos) and sometimes on a column itself (as at Moissac). Much of the treatment
of paired, confronted and entwined animals in Romanesque decoration has similar Insular
origins, as do animals whose bodies tail into purely decorative shapes. (Despite the adoption of
Hiberno-Saxon traditions into Romanesque styles in England and on the continent, the influence
was primarily one-way. Irish art during this period remained isolated, developing a unique
amalgam of native Irish and Vikingstyles which would be slowly extinguished and replaced by
mainstream Romanesque style in the early 13th century following the Anglo-Norman invasion of
Ireland.[7])

Judas Iscariot hangs himself, assisted by devils, always a favourite subject of carvers. Autun Cathedral

Subject matter[edit]
Most Romanesque sculpture is pictorial and Biblical in subject. A great variety of themes are
found on capitals and include scenes of Creation and the Fall of Man, episodes from the life of
Christ and those Old Testament scenes which prefigure hisDeath and Resurrection, such
as Jonah and the Whale and Daniel in the lions' den. Many Nativity scenes occur, the theme of
the Three Kings being particularly popular. The cloisters of Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey in
Northern Spain, andMoissac are fine examples surviving complete.
A feature of some Romanesque churches is the extensive sculptural scheme which covers the
area surrounding the portal or, in some case, much of the facade. Angouleme Cathedral in
France has a highly elaborate scheme of sculpture set within the broad niches created by the
arcading of the facade. In Catalonia, an elaborate pictorial scheme in low relief surrounds the
door of the church of Santa Maria at Ripoll.[6]

Around the upper wall of the chancel at the Abbaye d'Arthous,Landes, France, are small figures depicting
lust, intemperance and a Barbary ape, symbol of human depravity.

The purpose of the sculptural schemes was to convey a message that the Christian believer
should recognize wrongdoing, repent and be redeemed. The Last Judgement reminds the
believer to repent. The carved or painted Crucifix, displayed prominently within the church,
reminds the sinner of redemption.

Ouroboros, single and in pairs atKilpeck, England

Often the sculpture is alarming in form and in subject matter. These works are found on capitals,
corbels and bosses, or entwined in the foliage on door mouldings. They represent forms that are
not easily recognizable today. Common motifs includeSheela na Gig,
fearsome demons, ouroboros or dragons swallowing their tails, and many
other mythical creatures with obscure meaning. Spirals and paired motifs originally had special
significance in oral tradition that has been lost or rejected by modern scholars.
The Seven Deadly Sins including lust, gluttony and avarice are also frequently represented. The
appearance of many figures with oversized genitals can be equated with carnal sin, and so can
the numerous figures shown with protruding tongues, which are a feature of the doorway
of Lincoln Cathedral. Pulling one's beard was a symbol of masturbation, and pulling one's mouth
wide open was also a sign of lewdity. A common theme found on capitals of this period is a
tongue poker or beard stroker being beaten by his wife or seized by demons. Demons fighting
over the soul of a wrongdoer such as a miser is another popular subject. [8]

Prtico da Gloria, Santiago Cathedral. The colouring once common to much Romanesque sculpture has
been preserved.

Late Romanesque sculpture[edit]

Gothic architecture is usually considered to begin with the design of the choir at the Abbey of
Saint-Denis, north of Paris, by the Abbot Suger, consecrated 1144. The beginning of Gothic
sculpture is usually dated a little later, with the carving of the figures around the Royal Portal
at Chartres Cathedral, France, 115055. The style of sculpture spread rapidly from Chartres,
overtaking the new Gothic architecture. In fact, many churches of the late Romanesque period
post-date the building at Saint-Denis. The sculptural style based more upon observation and
naturalism than on formalised design developed rapidly. It is thought that one reason for the rapid
development of naturalistic form was a growing awareness of Classical remains in places where
they were most numerous and a deliberate imitation of their style. The consequence is that there
are doorways which are Romanesque in form, and yet show a naturalism associated with Early
Gothic sculpture.[6]
One of these is the Prtico da Gloria dating from 1180, at Santiago de Compostela. This portal is
internal and is particularly well preserved, even retaining colour on the figures and indicating the
gaudy appearance of much architectural decoration which is now perceived as monochrome.
Around the doorway are figures who are integrated with the colonnettes that make the mouldings
of the doors. They are three-dimensional, but slightly flattened. They are highly individualised, not
only in appearance but also expression and bear quite strong resemblance to those around the
north porch of the Abbey of St. Denis, dating from 1170. Beneath the tympanum there is a
realistically carved row of figures playing a range of different and easily identifiable musical
instruments.

Painting[edit]

The Three Magi from theSt. Albans Psalter, English, 12th century.

Manuscript illumination[edit]
A number of regional schools converged in the early Romanesque illuminated manuscript: the
"Channel school" of England and Northern France was heavily influenced by late Anglo-Saxon
art, whereas in Southern France the style depended more on Iberian influence, and in Germany
and the Low Countries, Ottonian styles continued to develop, and also, along with Byzantine
styles, influenced Italy. By the 12th century there had been reciprocal influences between all
these, although naturally regional distinctiveness remained.
The typical focii of Romanesque illumination were the Bible, where each book could be prefaced
by a large historiated initial, and thePsalter, where major initials were similarly illuminated. In both
cases more lavish examples might have cycles of scenes in fully illuminated pages, sometimes
with several scenes per page, in compartments. The Bibles in particular often had a very large
page size, and might be bound into more than one volume. Examples include the St. Albans
Psalter, Hunterian Psalter, Winchester Bible(the "Morgan Leaf" shown above), Fcamp
Bible, Stavelot Bible, and Parc Abbey Bible. By the end of the period lay commercial workshops
of artists and scribes were becoming significant, and illumination, and books generally, became
more widely available to both laity and clergy.

Wall painting[edit]

Life of St. Eldrado, abbot. 11th century fresco in Novalesa Abbey

Apse of Sant Climent de Tall, aCatalan fresco by the Master of Tall, now in Museu Nacional d'Art de
Catalunya.

The large wall surfaces and plain, curving vaults of the Romanesque period lent themselves to
mural decoration. Unfortunately, many of these early wall paintings have been destroyed by damp
or the walls have been replastered and painted over. In England, France and the Netherlands
such pictures were systematically destroyed or whitewashed in bouts
of Reformation iconoclasm. In Denmark and elsewhere many have since been restored.
In Catalonia, there was a national campaign to save such murals in the early 20th century (as of
1907) by removing them and transferring them to safekeeping in Barcelona, resulting in the
spectacular collection at theNational Art Museum of Catalonia. In other countries they have
suffered from war, neglect and changing fashion.
A classic scheme for the full painted decoration of a church, derived from earlier examples often
in mosaic, had, as its focal point in the semi-dome of the apse, Christ in Majesty or Christ the
Redeemer enthroned within a mandorla and framed by the four winged beasts, symbols of
the Four Evangelists, comparing directly with examples from the gilt covers or the illuminations
of Gospel Books of the period. If the Virgin Mary was the dedicatee of the church, she might
replace Christ here. On the apse walls below would be saints and apostles, perhaps including
narrative scenes, for example of the saint to whom the church was dedicated. On the sanctuary
arch were figures of apostles, prophets or the twenty-four "elders of the Apocalypse", looking in
towards a bust of Christ, or his symbol the Lamb, at the top of the arch. The north wall of the nave
would contain narrative scenes from the Old Testament, and the south wall from the New
Testament. On the rear west wall would be a Last Judgement, with an enthroned and judging
Christ at the top.[9]

The painted crypt of San Isidoro at Len, Spain

One of the most intact schemes to exist is that at Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe in France. The long
barrel vault of the nave provides an excellent surface for fresco, and is decorated with scenes of

the Old Testament, showing the Creation, theFall of Man and other stories including a lively
depiction of Noah's Ark complete with a fearsome figurehead and numerous windows through
with can be seen the Noah and his family on the upper deck, birds on the middle deck, while on
the lower are the pairs of animals. Another scene shows with great vigour the swamping of
Pharaoh's army by the Red Sea. The scheme extends to other parts of the church, with the
martyrdom of the local saints shown in the crypt, and Apocalypse in the narthex and Christ in
Majesty. The range of colours employed is limited to light blue-green, yellow ochre, reddish brown
and black. Similar paintings exist in Serbia, Spain, Germany, Italy and elsewhere inFrance.[10]
The now-dispersed paintings from Arlanza in the Province of Burgos, Spain, though from a
monastery, are secular in subject-matter, showing huge and vigorous mythical beasts above a
frieze in black and white with other creatures. They give a rare idea of what decorated
Romanesque palaces would have contained.

Stained glass, the Prophet Daniel from Augsburg Cathedral, late 11th century.

Other visual arts[edit]

Embroidery[edit]
Romanesque embroidery is best known from the Bayeux Tapestry, but many more closely
worked pieces of Opus Anglicanum("English work" - considered the finest in the West) and other
styles have survived, mostly as church vestments.

Stained glass[edit]
The oldest-known fragments of medieval pictorial stained glass appear to date from the 10th
century. The earliest intact figures are five prophet windows at Augsburg, dating from the late 11th
century. The figures, though stiff and formalised, demonstrate considerable proficiency in design,
both pictorially and in the functional use of the glass, indicating that their maker was well
accustomed to the medium. At Le Mans, Canterbury and Chartres Cathedrals, and Saint-Denis, a
number of panels of the 12th century have survived. At Canterbury these include a figure of Adam
digging, and another of his son Seth from a series of Ancestors of Christ. Adam represents a

highly naturalistic and lively portrayal, while in the figure of Seth, the robes have been used to
great decorative effect, similar to the best stone carving of the period. Glass craftsmen were
slower than architects to change their style, and much glass from at least the first part of the 13th
century can be considered as essentially Romanesque. Especially fine are large figures of 1200
from Strasbourg Cathedral (some now removed to the museum) and of about 1220 from Saint
Kunibert's Church in Cologne.
Most of the magnificent stained glass of France, including the famous windows of Chartres, date
from the 13th century. Far fewer large windows remain intact from the 12th century. One such is
the Crucifixion of Poitiers, a remarkable composition which rises through three stages, the lowest
with a quatrefoil depicting the Martyrdom of St Peter, the largest central stage dominated by the
crucifixion and the upper stage showing the Ascension of Christ in a mandorla. The figure of the
crucified Christ is already showing the Gothic curve. The window is described by George Seddon
as being of "unforgettable beauty".[11] Many detached fragments are in museums, and a window
at Twycross Church in England is made up of important French panels rescued from the French
Revolution.[12] Glass was both expensive and fairly flexible (in that it could be added to or rearranged) and seems to have been often re-used when churches were rebuilt in the Gothic style the earliest datable English glass, a panel in York Minster from a Tree of Jesse probably of before
1154, has been recycled in this way.

Gothic art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Western (Royal) Portal atChartres Cathedral (ca. 1145). These architectural statues are the earliest
Gothic sculptures and were a revolution in style and the model for a generation of sculptors.

Later Gothic depiction of theAdoration of the Magi from Strasbourg Cathedral.

Gothic sculpture, late 15th century,Amiens Cathedral.

Gothic art was a style of Medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque
art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to
all of Western Europe, never quite effacing more classical styles in Italy. In the late 14th century,
the sophisticated court style of International Gothic developed, which continued to evolve until the
late 15th century. In many areas, especially Germany, Late Gothic art continued well into the 16th
century, before being subsumed into Renaissance art. Primary media in the Gothic period
included sculpture, panel painting, stained glass, fresco and illuminated manuscripts. The easily
recognizable shifts in architecture from Romanesque to Gothic, and Gothic to Renaissance
styles, are typically used to define the periods in art in all media, although in many ways figurative
art developed at a different pace.
The earliest Gothic art was monumental sculpture, on the walls of Cathedrals and abbeys.
Christian art was often typologicalin nature (see Medieval allegory), showing the stories of the
New Testament and the Old Testament side by side. Saints' lives were often depicted. Images of
the Virgin Mary changed from the Byzantine iconic form to a more human and affectionate
mother, cuddling her infant, swaying from her hip, and showing the refined manners of a wellborn aristocratic courtly lady.
Secular art came into its own during this period with the rise of cities, foundation of universities,
increase in trade, the establishment of a money-based economy and the creation of
a bourgeois class who could afford to patronize the arts and commission works resulting in a
proliferation of paintings and illuminated manuscripts. Increased literacy and a growing body
of secular vernacular literature encouraged the representation of secular themes in art. With the
growth of cities, trade guildswere formed and artists were often required to be members of
a painters' guildas a result, because of better record keeping, more artists are known to us by
name in this period than any previous; some artists were even so bold as to sign their names.
Contents

[show]

Origins[edit]

14th Century International GothicMary Magdalene in St. John Cathedral in Toru

Gothic art emerged in le-de-France, France, in the early 12th century at the Abbey Church of St
Denis built by Abbot Suger.[1] The style rapidly spread beyond its origins in architecture to
sculpture, both monumental and personal in size, textile art, and painting, which took a variety of
forms, including fresco, stained glass, the illuminated manuscript, and panel painting.[2] Monastic
orders, especially the Cistercians and the Carthusians, were important builders who disseminated
the style and developed distinctive variants of it across Europe. Regional variations of
architecture remained important, even when, by the late 14th century, a coherent universal style
known as International Gothic had evolved, which continued until the late 15th century, and
beyond in many areas.
Although there was far more secular Gothic art than is often thought today, as generally the
survival rate of religious art has been better than for secular equivalents, a large proportion of the
art produced in the period was religious, whether commissioned by the church or by the laity.
Gothic art was often typological in nature, reflecting a belief that the events of the Old Testament
pre-figured those of the New, and that this was indeed their main significance. Old and New
Testament scenes were shown side by side in works like the Speculum Humanae Salvationis,
and the decoration of churches. The Gothic period coincided with a great resurgence in Marian
devotion, in which the visual arts played a major part. Images of the Virgin Mary developed from
the Byzantine hieratic types, through the Coronation of the Virgin, to more human and initimate
types, and cycles of the Life of the Virgin were very popular. Artists like Giotto, Fra
Angelico and Pietro Lorenzetti in Italy, and Early Netherlandish painting, brought realism and a
more natural humanity to art. Western artists, and their patrons, became much more confident in
innovative iconography, and much more originality is seen, although copied formulae were still
used by most artists.
Iconography was affected by changes in theology, with depictions of the Assumption of
Mary gaining ground on the olderDeath of the Virgin, and in devotional practices such as
the Devotio Moderna, which produced new treatments of Christ in subjects such as the Man of
Sorrows, Pensive Christ and Piet, which emphasized his human suffering and vulnerability, in a
parallel movement to that in depictions of the Virgin. Even in Last Judgements Christ was now
usually shown exposing his chest to show the wounds of his Passion. Saints were shown more
frequently, and altarpieces showed saints relevant to the particular church or donor in attendance

on a Crucifixion or enthroned Virgin and Child, or occupying the central space themselves (this
usually for works designed for side-chapels). Over the period many ancient iconographical
features that originated in New Testament apocrypha were gradually eliminated under clerical
pressure, like the midwives at the Nativity, though others were too well-established, and
considered harmless.[3]

Etymology[edit]
The word "Gothic" for art was initially used as a synonym for "Barbaric", and was therefore used
pejoratively. Its critics saw this type of Medieval art as unrefined and too remote from the
aesthetic proportions and shapes of Classical art.[4]Renaissance authors believed that the Sack of
Rome by the Gothic tribes in 410 had triggered the demise of the Classical world and all the
values they held dear. In the 15th century, various Italian architects and writers complained that
the new 'barbarian' styles filtering down from north of the Alps posed a similar threat to the
classical revival promoted by the early Renaissance.[5] The "Gothic" qualifier for this art was first
used in Raphael's letter to Pope Leo X c. 1518 and was subsequently popularised by the Italian
artist and writer Giorgio Vasari,[6] who used it as early as 1530, calling Gothic art a "monstrous
and barbarous" "disorder".[7] Raphael claimed that the pointed arches of northern architecture
were an echo of the primitive huts the Germanic forest dwellers formed by bending trees together
- a myth which would resurface much later in a more positive sense in the writings of the
German Romantic movement. "Gothic art" was strongly criticized by French authors such
as Boileau, La Bruyre, Rousseau, before becoming a recognized form of art, and the wording
becoming fixed.[8] Molire would famously comment on Gothic:
The besotted taste of Gothic monuments,
These odious monsters of ignorant centuries,
Which the torrents of barbary spewed forth.
Molire.[4]
In its beginning, Gothic art was initially called "French work" (Opus Francigenum), thus attesting
the priority of France in the creation of this style.[4]

Painting[edit]

Simone Martini (12851344)

French late Gothic frescos

Painting in a style that can be called Gothic did not appear until about 1200, or nearly 50 years
after the origins of Gothic architecture and sculpture. The transition from Romanesque to Gothic
is very imprecise and not at all a clear break, and Gothic ornamental detailing is often introduced
before much change is seen in the style of figures or compositions themselves. Then figures
become more animated in pose and facial expression, tend to be smaller in relation to the
background of scenes, and are arranged more freely in the pictorial space, where there is room.
This transition occurs first in England and France around 1200, in Germany around 1220 and
Italy around 1300. Painting during the Gothic period was practiced in four primary
media: frescos, panel paintings, manuscript illumination and stained glass.

Frescoes[edit]
Frescoes continued to be used as the main pictorial narrative craft on church walls in southern
Europe as a continuation of early Christian and Romanesque traditions. An accident of
survival has given Denmark and Sweden the largest groups of surviving church wall paintings in
the Biblia pauperum style, usually extending up to recently constructed cross vaults. In both
Denmark and Sweden, they were almost all covered with limewash after the Reformation which
has preserved them, but some have also remained untouched since their creation. Among the
finest examples from Denmark are those of theElmelunde Master from the Danish island
of Mn who decorated the churches of Fanefjord, Keldby and Elmelunde.[9]Albertus Pictor is
arguably the most well-known fresco artist from the period working in Sweden. Examples of
Swedish churches with well-preserved frescos include Tensta, Gkhem and Anga churches.

Stained glass[edit]
In northern Europe, stained glass was an important and prestigious form of painting until the 15th
century, when it became supplanted by panel painting. Gothic architecture greatly increased the
amount of glass in large buildings, partly to allow for wide expanses of glass, as in rose windows.
In the early part of the period mainly black paint and clear or brightly coloured glass was used,
but in the early 14th century the use of compounds of silver, painted on glass which was then
fired, allowed a number of variations of colour, centred on yellows, to be used with clear glass in
a single piece. By the end of the period designs increasingly used large pieces of glass which
were painted, with yellows as the dominant colours, and relatively few smaller pieces of glass in
other colours.[10]

Manuscripts and printmaking[edit]

Illuminated manuscripts represent the most complete record of Gothic painting, providing a
record of styles in places where no monumental works have otherwise survived. The earliest full
manuscripts with French Gothic illustrations date to the middle of the 13th century.[11] Many such
illuminated manuscripts were royal bibles, although psalters also included illustrations; the
Parisian Psalter of Saint Louis, dating from 1253 to 1270, features 78 full-page illuminations
in tempera paint and gold leaf.[12]

Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux, by Jean Pucelle, Paris, 1320s

During the late 1200s, scribes began to create prayer books for the laity, often known as books of
hours due to their use at prescribed times of the day.[12] The earliest known example seems to
have written for an unknown laywoman living in asmall village near Oxford in about 1240. Nobility
frequently purchased such texts, paying handsomely for decorative illustrations; among the most
well-known creators of these is Jean Pucelle, whose Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux was
commissioned by King Charles IV as a gift for his queen, Jeanne d'vreux.[13] Elements of the
French Gothic present in such works include the use of decorative page framing reminiscent of
the architecture of the time with elongated and detailed figures.[12] The use of spatial indicators
such as building elements and natural features such as trees and clouds also denote the French
Gothic style of illumination.[12]
From the middle of the 14th century, blockbooks with both text and images cut as woodcut seem
to have been affordable byparish priests in the Low Countries, where they were most popular. By
the end of the century, printed books with illustrations, still mostly on religious subjects, were
rapidly becoming accessible to the prosperous middle class, as were engravings of fairly highquality by printmakers likeIsrahel van Meckenem and Master E. S.. In the 15th century, the
introduction of cheap prints, mostly in woodcut, made it possible even for peasants to have
devotional images at home. These images, tiny at the bottom of the market, often crudely
coloured, were sold in thousands but are now extremely rare, most having been pasted to walls.

Altarpiece and panel painting[edit]

Painting with oil on canvas did not become popular until the 15th and 16th centuries and was a
hallmark of Renaissance art. In Northern Europe the important and innovative school of Early
Netherlandish painting is in an essentially Gothic style, but can also be regarded as part of
the Northern Renaissance, as there was a long delay before the Italian revival of interest
in classicism had a great impact in the north. Painters like Robert Campin and Jan van Eyck,
made use of the technique ofoil painting to create minutely detailed works, correct in perspective,
where apparent realism was combined with richly complex symbolism arising precisely from the
realistic detail they could now include, even in small works. In Early Netherlandish painting, from
the richest cities of Northern Europe, a new minute realism in oil painting was combined with
subtle and complex theological allusions, expressed precisely through the highly detailed settings
of religious scenes. The Mrode Altarpiece (1420s) of Robert Campin, and the Washington Van
Eyck Annunciation or Madonna of Chancellor Rolin (both 1430s, by Jan van Eyck) are examples.
[14]
For the wealthy, small panel paintings, even polyptychs in oil painting were becoming
increasingly popular, often showing donor portraits alongside, though often much smaller than,
the Virgin or saints depicted. These were usually displayed in the home.

Sculpture[edit]
Monumental sculpture[edit]

French ivory Virgin and Child, end of the 13th century, 25 cm high, curving to fit the shape of the ivory tusk

The Gothic period is essentially defined by Gothic architecture, and does not entirely fit with the
development of style in sculpture in either its start or finish. The facades of large churches,
especially around doors, continued to have large tympanums, but also rows of sculpted figures
spreading around them.
The statues on the Western (Royal) Portal at Chartres Cathedral (c. 1145) show an elegant but
exaggerated columnar elongation, but those on the south transept portal, from 121520, show a
more naturalistic style and increasing detachment from the wall behind, and some awareness of
the classical tradition. These trends were continued in the west portal atRheims Cathedral of a
few years later, where the figures are almost in the round, as became usual as Gothic spread
across Europe.[15] Bamberg Cathedral has perhaps the largest assemblage of 13th century
sculpture, culminating in 1240 with theBamberg Rider, the first life-size equestrian statue in
Western art since the 6th century.
In Italy Nicola Pisano (125878) and his son Giovanni developed a style that is often called ProtoRenaissance, with unmistakable influence from Roman sarcophagi and sophisticated and
crowded compositions, including a sympathetic handling of nudity, in relief panels on their pulpit
of Siena Cathedral (126568), the Fontana Maggiore in Perugia, and Giovanni's pulpit in
Pistoia of 1301.[16]
Another revival of classical style is seen in the International Gothic work of Claus Sluter and his
followers in Burgundy andFlanders around 1400.[17] Late Gothic sculpture continued in the North,
with a fashion for very large wooden sculpted altarpieces with increasingly virtuoso carving and
large numbers agitated expressive figures; most surviving examples are in Germany, after much
iconoclasm elsewhere. Tilman Riemenschneider, Veit Stoss and others continued the style well
into the 16th century, gradually absorbing Italian Renaissance influences. [18]

Life-size tomb effigies in stone or alabaster became popular for the wealthy, and grand multi-level
tombs evolved, with theScaliger Tombs of Verona so large they had to be moved outside the
church. By the 15th century there was an industry exporting Nottingham alabaster altar reliefs in
groups of panels over much of Europe for economical parishes who could not afford stone
retables.[19]

South portal of Chartres Cathedral (c. 1215-20)

West portal at Rheims Cathedral,Annunciation group

Nicola Pisano, Nativity and Adoration of the Magi from the pulpit of the Pisa Baptistery

Claus Sluter, David and a prophet from the Well of Moses

Base of the Holy Thorn Reliquary, French (Paris), 1390s, a Resurrection of the Dead in gold, enamel
and gems

Man of Sorrows on the main portal ofUlm Mnster by Hans Multscher, 1429

Panelled altarpiece section withResurrection of Christ, EnglishNottingham alabaster, 145090, with

remains of colour

Detail of the Last Supper from Tilman Riemenschneider's Altar of the Holy Blood, 150105,
carved limewood,Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria

Portable sculpture[edit]

Lid of the Walters Casket, with the Siege of the Castle of Love at left, and jousting. Paris, 1330-1350

Small carvings, for a mainly lay and often female market, became a considerable industry in Paris
and some other centres. Types of ivories included small devotional polyptychs, single figures,
especially of the Virgin, mirror-cases, combs, and elaborate caskets with scenes from Romances,
used as engagement presents.[20] The very wealthy collected extravagantly elaborate jewelled and
enamelled metalwork, both secular and religious, like the Duc de Berry's Holy Thorn Reliquary,
until they ran short of money, when they were melted down again for cash. [21]
Gothic sculptures independent of architectural ornament were primarily created as devotional
objects for the home or intended as donations for local churches., [22] although small reliefs in ivory,
bone and wood cover both religious and secular subjects, and were for church and domestic use.

Such sculptures were the work of urban artisans, and the most typical subject for three
dimensional small staues is the Virgin Mary alone or with child. [23] Paris was the main centre of
ivory workshops, and exported to most of northern Europe, though Italy also had a considerable
production. An exemplar of these independent sculptures is among the collections of the Abbey
Church of St Denis; the silver-gilt Virgin and Child dates to 1339 and features Mary enveloped in
a flowing cloak holding an infantile Christ figure.[23] Both the simplicity of the cloak and the youth of
the child presage other sculptures found in northern Europe dating to the 1300s and early 1400s.
[23]
Such sculpture shows an evolution from an earlier stiff and elongated style, still partly
Romanesque, into a spatial and naturalistic feel in the late 12th and early 13th century.[23] Other
French Gothic sculptural subjects included figures and scenes from popular literature of the time.
[23]
Imagery from the poetry of the troubadours was particularly popular among artisans of mirrorcases and small boxes presumably for use by women. [23] The Casket with Scenes of Romances
(Walters 71264) of 1330-50 is an unusually large example with space for a number of scenes
from different literary sources.
Souvenirs of pilgrimages to shrines, such as clay or lead badges, medals and ampullae stamped
with images were also popular and cheap. Their secular equivalent, the livery badge, were signs
of feudal and political loyalty or alliance that came to be regarded as a social menace in England
under bastard feudalism. The cheaper forms were sometimes given away free, as with the 13,000
badges ordered in 1483 by King Richard III of England in fustian cloth with his emblem of awhite
boar for the investiture of his son Edward as Prince of Wales,[24] a huge number given the
population at the time. The Dunstable Swan Jewel, modelled fully in the round in enamelled gold,
is a far more exclusive version, that would have been given to someone very close or important
to the donor.

Renaissance art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also: Renaissance architecture

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (November 2011)

Titian, Sacred and Profane Love, c. 1513 1514

Renaissance art is the painting, sculpture and decorative arts of that period of European history
known as the Renaissance, emerging as a distinct style in Italy in about 1400, in parallel with
developments which occurred in philosophy, literature, music and science. Renaissance art,
perceived as a royalty of ancient traditions, took as its foundation the art of Classical antiquity, but
transformed that tradition by the absorption of recent developments in the art of Northern Europe
and by application of contemporary scientific knowledge. Renaissance art, withRenaissance
Humanist philosophy, spread throughout Europe, affecting both artists and their patrons with the
development of new techniques and new artistic sensibilities. Renaissance art marks the
transition of Europe from the medieval period to the Early modern age.
In many parts of Europe, Early Renaissance art was created in parallel with Late Medieval art.

The influences upon the development of Renaissance man and women in the early 15th century
are those that also affected Philosophy, Literature, Architecture, Theology, Science, Government
and other aspects of society. The following list presents a summary, dealt with more fully in the
main articles that are cited above.

Classical texts, lost to European scholars for centuries, became available. These included
Philosophy, Prose, Poetry, Drama, Science, a thesis on the Arts and Early Christian
Theology.

Simultaneously, Europe gained access to advanced mathematics which had its

provenance in the works of Islamic scholars.

The advent of movable type printing in the 15th century meant that ideas could be
disseminated easily, and an increasing number of books were written for a broad public.

The establishment of the Medici Bank and the subsequent trade it generated brought
unprecedented wealth to a single Italian city, Florence.

Cosimo de' Medici set a new standard for patronage of the arts, not associated with the
church or monarchy.

Humanist philosophy meant that man's relationship with humanity, the universe and with
God was no longer the exclusive province of the Church.

A revived interest in the Classics brought about the first archaeological study
of Roman remains by the architect Brunelleschi and sculptor Donatello. The revival of a style
of architecture based on classical precedents inspired a corresponding classicism in painting
and sculpture, which manifested itself as early as the 1420s in the paintings
of Masaccio and Uccello.

The improvement of oil paint and developments in oil-painting technique by Netherlandish

artists such as Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and Hugo van der Goes led to its
adoption in Italy from about 1475 and had ultimately lasting effects on painting practices,
worldwide.

The serendipitous presence within the region of Florence in the early 15th century of
certain individuals of artistic genius, most notably Masaccio, Brunelleschi,Ghiberti, Piero della
Francesca, Donatello and Michelozzo formed an ethos out of which sprang the great masters
of the High Renaissance, as well as supporting and encouraging many lesser artists to
achieve work of extraordinary quality.[1]

A similar heritage of artistic achievement occurred in Venice through the

talented Bellini family, their influential inlaw Mantegna, Giorgione, Titian andTintoretto.[1][2][3]

The publication of two treatises by Leone Battista Alberti, De Pitura (On Painting), 1435,
and De re aedificatoria (Ten Books on Architecture), 1452.
Contents
[show]

History[edit]

Giotto, Lamentation, Cappella degli Scrovegni.

Proto-Renaissance in Italy, 12801400[edit]

Main article: Italian Renaissance painting
In Italy in the late 13th and early 14th centuries, the sculpture of Nicola Pisano and his
son Giovanni Pisano, working at Pisa,Siena and Pistoia shows markedly classicising tendencies,
probably influenced by the familiarity of these artists with ancient Roman sarcophagi. Their
masterpieces are the pulpits of the Baptistery and Cathedral of Pisa. Contemporary with Giovanni
Pisano, the Florentine painter Giotto developed a manner of figurative painting that was
unprecedentedly naturalistic, three-dimensional, lifelike and classicism, when compared with that
of his contemporaries and teacher Cimabue. Giotto, whose greatest work is the cycle of the Life
of Christ at the Arena Chapel in Padua, was seen by the 16th century biographerGiorgio
Vasari as "rescuing and restoring art" from the "crude, traditional, Byzantine style" prevalent in
Italy in the 13th century.

Early Dutch art, 14001525[edit]

Main article: Early Netherlandish painting

Rogier van der Weyden, The Descent from the Cross (c. 1435), oil on oak panel, 220 cm 262 cm (87 in
103 in). Museo del Prado, Madrid

The painters of the Low Countries at this period included Jan van Eyck, his brother Hubert van
Eyck, Robert Campin, Hans Memling, Rogier van der Weyden and Hugo van der Goes. Their
painting developed independently of Early Italian Renaissance painting, and without the influence
of a deliberate and conscious striving to revive antiquity. The style of painting grew directly out of
the Medieval arts of tempera painting, stained glass and book illumination. The media used was
oil paint, which had long been utilised for painting leather ceremonial shields and accoutrements,
because it was flexible and relatively durable. The earliest Netherlandish oil paintings are
meticulous and detailed like tempera paintings. The material lent itself to the depiction of tonal
variations and texture, so facilitating the observation of nature in great detail.

The Netherlandish painters did not approach the creation of a picture through a framework of
linear perspective and correct proportion. They maintained a Medieval view of hierarchical
proportion and religious symbolism, while delighting in a realistic treatment of material elements,
both natural and man-made. Jan van Eyck, with his brother Hubert painted The Altarpiece of the
Mystical Lamb. It is probable that Antonello da Messina became familiar with Van Eyck's work,
while in Naples or Sicily. In 1475, Hugo van der Goes' Portinari Altarpiece arrived in Florence
where it was to have a profound influence on many painters, most immediately Domenico
Ghirlandaio who painted an altarpiece imitating its elements.

Early Renaissance in Italy, 14001479[edit]

Donatello, David (1440s?) Museo Nazionale del Bargello.

Main article: Italian Renaissance painting

Although both the Pisanos and Giotto had students and followers, the first truly Renaissance
artists were not to emerge in Florence until 1401 with the competition to sculpt a set of bronze
doors of the Baptistery of Florence Cathedral which drew entries from seven young sculptors
including Brunelleschi, Donatello and the winner, Lorenzo Ghiberti. Brunelleschi, most famous as
the architect of the dome of Florence Cathedral and the Church of San Lorenzo, created a
number of sculptural works, including a lifesized Crucifix in Santa Maria Novella, renowned for its
naturalism. His studies of perspective are thought to have influenced the
painter Masaccio. Donatello became renowned as the greatest sculptor of the Early Renaissance,
his masterpieces being his Humanist and unusually erotic statue of David, one of the icons of the
Florentine republic, and his great monument to Gattamelata, the first large equestrian bronze to
be created since Roman times.
The contemporary of Donatello, Masaccio, was the painterly descendant of Giotto, furthering the
trend towards solidity of form and naturalism of face and gesture that he had begun a century
earlier. Masaccio completed several panel paintings but is best known for the fresco cycle that he
began in the Brancacci Chapel with the older artist Masolino and which had profound influence on
later painters, including Michelangelo. Masaccio's developments were carried forward in the
paintings of Fra Angelico, particularly in his frescos at the Convent of San Marco in Florence.

The treatment of the elements of perspective and light in painting was of particular concern to
15th-century Florentine painters. Uccello was so obsessed with trying to achieve an appearance
of perspective that, according to Vasari, it disturbed his sleep. His solutions can be seen in his
masterpiece, the Battle of San Romano. Piero della Francesca made systematic and scientific
studies of both light and linear perspective, the results of which can be seen in his fresco cycle
of The History of the True Cross in San Francesco, Arezzo.
In Naples, the painter Antonello da Messina began using oil paints for portraits and religious
paintings at a date that preceded other Italian painters, possibly about 1450. He carried this
technique north and influenced the painters of Venice. One of the most significant painters of
Northern Italy was Andrea Mantegna, who decorated the interior of a room, the Camera degli
Sposi for his patron Ludovico Gonzaga, setting portraits of the family and court into an illusionistic
architectural space.
The end of the Early Renaissance in Italian art is marked, like its beginning, by a particular
commission that drew artists together, this time in cooperation rather than competition. Pope
Sixtus IV had rebuilt the Papal Chapel, named the Sistine Chapel in his honour, and
commissioned a group of artists, Sandro Botticelli,Pietro Perugino, Domenico
Ghirlandaio and Cosimo Rosselli to decorate its wall with fresco cycles depicting the Life of
Christ and the Life of Moses. In the sixteen large paintings, the artists, although each working in
his individual style, agreed on principals of format, and utilised the techniques of lighting, linear
and atmospheric perspective, anatomy, foreshortening and characterisation that had been carried
to a high point in the large Florentine studios of Ghiberti, Verrocchio, Ghirlandaio and Perugino.

Early Renaissance in France, 13851520[edit]

The artists of France, (including duchies such as Burgundy) were often associated with courts,
providing illuminated manuscripts and portraits for the nobility as well as devotional paintings and
altarpieces. Among the most famous were the Limbourg brothers, Flemish illuminators and
creators of the Trs Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. Jean Fouquet, painter of the royal court,
visited Italy in 1437 and reflects the influence of Florentine painters such as Paolo Uccello.
Although best known for his portraits such as that of Charles VII of France Fouquet also created
illuminations, and is thought to be the inventor of the portrait miniature. There were a number of
artists at this date who painted famed altarpieces, that are stylistically quite distinct from both the
Italian and the Flemish. These include two enigmatic figures, Enguerrand Quarton to whom is
ascribed the Pieta of Villeneuve-ls-Avignon, and Jean Hey, otherwise known as "the Master of
Moulins" after his most famous work, the Moulins Altarpiece. In these works realism and close
observation of the human figure, emotions and lighting are combined with a Medieval formality,
which includes gilt backgrounds.

High Renaissance in Italy, 14751525[edit]

Main article: High Renaissance

Michelangelo, (c. 1511) The Creation of Adam, from the Sistine Chapel ceiling

The "universal genius" Leonardo da Vinci was to further perfect the aspects of pictorial art
(lighting, linear and atmospheric perspective, anatomy, foreshortening and characterisation) that
had preoccupied artists of the Early Renaissance, in a lifetime of studying and meticulously
recording his observations of the natural world. His adoption of oil paint as his primary media

meant that he could depict light and its effects on the landscape and objects more naturally and
with greater dramatic effect than had ever been done before, as demonstrated in the Mona Lisa.
His dissection of cadavers carried forward the understanding of skeletal and muscular anatomy,
as seen in the unfinished St Jerome. His depiction of human emotion inThe Last Supper set the
benchmark for religious painting.
The art of Leonardo's younger contemporary Michelangelo took a very different direction.
Michelangelo, in neither his painting nor his sculpture demonstrates any interest in the
observation of any natural object except the human body. He perfected his technique in depicting
it, while in his early twenties, by the creation of the enormous marble statue of David and the
group the Pieta, in St Peter's Basilica, Rome. He then set about an exploration of the expressive
possibilities of the human anatomy. His commission by Pope Julius II to paint the Sistine Chapel
ceiling resulted in the supreme masterpiece of figurative composition, which was to have
profound effect on every subsequent generation of European artists.
Standing alongside Leonardo and Michelangelo as the third great painter of the High
Renaissance was the younger Raphael, who in a short life span painted a great number of lifelike
and engaging portraits, including those of Pope Julius II and his successor Pope Leo X, and
numerous portrayals of the Madonna and Christ Child, including the Sistine Madonna.
In Northern Italy the High Renaissance represented by the religious paintings of Giovanni
Bellini which include several large altarpieces of a type known as "Sacred Conversation" which
show a group of saints around the enthroned Madonna. His contemporary Giorgione left a small
number of enigmatic works, including The Tempest, the subject of which has remained a matter
of speculation. The earliest works of Titian date from the era of the High Renaissance, including a
massive altarpiece The Assumption of the Virgin which combines human action and drama with
spectacular colour and atmosphere.

German Renaissance art[edit]

This section requires expansion.
(October 2012)

Main article: German Renaissance

Hieronymus Bosch was a painter who employed the type of fanciful forms that were often utilised
to decorate borders and letters in illuminated manuscripts, combining plant and animal forms with
architectonic ones. When taken from the context of the illumination and peopled with humans,
these forms give Bosch's paintings a surreal quality which have no parallel in the work of any
other Renaissance painter. His masterpiece is the triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights Salads
Romen.

Themes and symbolism[edit]

Sandro Botticelli, Magnificat, 148081, tempera on panel, Uffizi Gallery,Florence

Renaissance artists painted a wide variety of themes. Religious altarpieces, fresco cycles, and
small works for private devotion were very popular. For inspiration, painters in both Italy and
northern Europe frequently turned to Jacobus de Voragine's Golden Legend (1260), a highly
influential source book for the lives of saints that had already had a strong influence on Medieval
artists. The rebirth of classical antiquity and Renaissance humanism also resulted in
manyMythological and history paintings. Ovidian stories, for example, were very popular.
Decorative ornament, often used in painted architectural elements, was especially influenced by
classical Roman motifs.

Techniques[edit]

The use of perspective: The first major treatment of the painting as a window into space
appeared in the work of Giotto di Bondone, at the beginning of the 14th century. True linear
perspective was formalized later, by Filippo Brunelleschi andLeon Battista Alberti. In addition
to giving a more realistic presentation of art, it moved Renaissance painters into composing
more paintings.

foreshortening - The term foreshortening refers to the artistic effect of shortening lines in a
drawing so as to create an illusion of depth.

sfumato - The term sfumato was coined by Italian Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci,
and refers to a fine art painting technique of blurring or softening of sharp outlines by subtle
and gradual blending of one tone into another through the use of thin glazes to give the
illusion of depth or three-dimensionality. This stems from the Italian word sfumare meaning to
evaporate or to fade out. The Latin origin is fumare, to smoke.

chiaroscuro - The term chiaroscuro refers to the fine art painting modeling effect of using
a strong contrast between light and dark to give the illusion of depth or three-dimensionality.
This comes from the Italian words meaning light (chiaro) and dark (scuro), a technique which
came into wide use in the Baroque Period.

Balance and Proportion: proper sizes.

Italian artists[edit]

Leone Battista Alberti (14041472)

Fra Angelico (c. 1395 1455)

Biagio d'Antonio (1446 1 June 1516)

Giotto di Bondone (12671337)

Donatello (c. 1386 December 13, 1466)

Leonardo da Vinci (15 April 1452 2 May 1519)

Michelangelo (6 March 1475 18 February 1564)

Raphael (April 6 or March 28, 1483 April 6, 1520)

Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445 May 17, 1510)

Masaccio (December 21, 1401 1428)

Domenico Veneziano (c. 1410 May 15, 1461)

Filippo Lippi (c. 1406 8 October 1469)

Andrea del Castagno (c. 1421 19 August 1457)

Piero di Cosimo (2 January 1462 12 April 1522)

Paolo Uccello (1397 10 December 1475)

Antonello da Messina (c. 1430 February 1479)

Pisanello (c. 1395 c. 1455)

Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431 September 13, 1506)

Luca Signorelli (c. 1445 16 October 1523)

Alessio Baldovinetti (14 October 1425 29 August 1499)

Piero della Francesca (c. 1415 12 October 1492)

Masolino (c. 1383 c. 1447)

Titian (c. 1488/1490 27 August 1576)

Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1435 1488)

Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 11 January 1494)

Benozzo Gozzoli (c. 1421 1497)

Carlo Crivelli (c. 1435 c. 1495)

Marco Cardisco (c. 1486 - c. 1542)

Pietro Negroni (c. 1505 c. 1565)

Artists of the Low Countries[edit]

Main articles: Early Netherlandish painting for 15th-century artists, Dutch and Flemish
Renaissance painting for 16th-century artists

Jean Bellegambe (c. 1470 1535)

Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450 1516)

Dirk Bouts (1415 6 May 1475)

Robert Campin (c. 1380 1444)

Petrus Christus (1410/14201472)

Jacques Daret

Gerard David (c. 1455 1523)

Hubert van Eyck (1366?1426)

Jan van Eyck (1385?1440?)

Geertgen tot Sint Jans

Hugo van der Goes

Adriaen Isenbrant (c. 1490 1551)

Limbourg brothers

Quentin Matsys (14661530)

Hans Memling (c. 1430 1494)

Joachim Patinir

Rogier van der Weyden (Rogier de la Pasture)

"The Ghent Altarpiece: The Adoration of the Lamb" (interior view) painted 1432 by Jan van Eyck.

German artists[edit]

Hans Baldung (c. 1480 1545), Alsatian

Lucas Cranach the Elder (14721553)

Lucas Cranach the Younger (15151586)

Albrecht Drer (14711528)

Matthias Grnewald (c. 1470 1528)

Hans Holbein the Elder (c. 1460 1524)

Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1497 1543)

Ambrosius Holbein (14941519)

French artists[edit]

Jean Fouquet (14201481)

Jean Clouet (14801541)

Franois Clouet (c. 1510 22 December 1572)

Barthlemy d'Eyck (c. 1420 after 1470)

Nicolas Froment (c. 1435 c. 1486)

Jean Hey (formerly known as the Master of Moulins) (ca. 1475 ca. 1505)

Simon Marmion (c. 1425 - 24/25 December 1489)

Enguerrand Quarton (c. 1410 c. 1466)

Spanish Artists[edit]

Bartolom Bermejo

Pedro Berruguete

Ayne Bru

Juan de Flandes

Luis de Morales

Jaume Huguet

Paolo da San Leocadio

Alonso Snchez Coello

Croatian Artists[edit]

Frane Vranjanin(c. 1430 12? March 1502)

Juraj Dalmatinac (c. 1410 10 October 1475)

Nikola Firentinac

Andrija Alei (14251505)

Nikola Boidarevi (1460? 1517)

Ivan Duknovi (c. 1440 c. 1514)

Julije Klovi (1498 January 5, 1578)

Andrija Meduli (c. 1510/15151563)

Works[edit]

Ghent Altarpiece, by Hubert and Jan van Eyck

The Arnolfini Portrait, by Jan van Eyck

The Werl Triptych, by Robert Campin

The Portinari Triptych, by Hugo van der Goes

The Descent from the Cross, by Rogier van der Weyden

Flagellation of Christ, by Piero della Francesca

Spring, by Sandro Botticelli

Lamentation of Christ, by Mantegna

The Last Supper, by Leonardo da Vinci

The School of Athens, by Raphael

Sistine Chapel ceiling, by Michelangelo

Equestrian Portrait of Charles V, by Titian

Isenheim Altarpiece, by Matthias Grnewald

Melencolia I, by Albrecht Drer

The Ambassadors, by Hans Holbein the Younger

Melun Diptych, by Jean Fouquet

Saint Vincent Panels, by Nuno Gonalves

Major collections[edit]
General Collections:

National Gallery, London

Louvre, Paris

National Gallery of Art, Washington

Gemldegalerie, Berlin

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

Netherlandish:

Musee Communal des Beaux-Arts, Bruges, Belgium

Groeningemuseum, Bruges, Belgium

Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain - for works of Hieronymus Bosch

Italian:
Uffizi, Florence
French:

Chteau d'couen (National museum of the Renaissance), couen, France

Art of the Low Countries

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, National Gallery, London.

Art of the Low Countries is painting, sculpture, architecture, printmaking, and other forms
of visual art produced in the Low Countries, and since the 19th century in Belgiumand
the Netherlands. It includes the traditions of Early Netherlandish painting and theRenaissance in
the Low Countries. During the 17th century Dutch Golden Age paintingprominently represents the
artistic culture of the northern Netherlands while Flemish Baroque painting and the art of Peter
Paul Rubens is the cornerstone of art in thesouthern Netherlands.
Contents
[show]

Early Netherlandish[edit]
Main article: Early Netherlandish painting
Early Netherlandish art includes those artists, more notably painters, who were active during the
15th and early 16th centuries in theLow Countries, especially in the flourishing cities
of Bruges and Ghent. It begins approximately with the careers of Robert
Campinand Hubert and Jan van Eyck around 1400 and ends with Gerard David about 1520.
Other major figures include Rogier van der Weyden, Hugo van der Goes, and Petrus Christus.[1]

Pieter Bruegel the Elder,Netherlandish Proverbs, 1559

Renaissance and Mannerism[edit]

Main article: Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting

The 16th century was a period of response to Italian Renaissance art and the development of
several distinctly Netherlandish themes. At the start of the century Hieronymus Bosch painted
fantastic images, often for courtly viewers, that left a long legacy. Jan Mabuse, Maarten van
Heemskerck and Frans Floris were all instrumental in adopting Italian models and incorporating
them into their own artistic language. The spread of Mannerism throughout Europe produced
important forms of Northern Mannerist art in the Low Countries. Finally, Joachim Patinir was a
recognized innovator of landscape painting, while Pieter Bruegel the Elder and Pieter
Aertsen helped establish genre painting as a popular subject matter.

German art
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Late Gothic altar by Tilman Riemenschneider

German art has a long and distinguished tradition in the visual arts, from the earliest known work
of figurative art to its current output of contemporary art.
Germany has only been united into a single state since the 19th century, and defining its borders
has been a notoriously difficult and painful process. For earlier periods German art often
effectively includes that produced in German-speaking regions including Austria, Alsace and
much of Switzerland, as well as largely German-speaking cities or regions to the eastof the
modern German borders.
Contents
[show]

Prehistory to Late Antiquity[edit]

Venus of Hohle Fels, 35,000 to 40,000 BP, the oldest known figurative work of art (true height 6 cm (2.4 in)).

The area of modern Germany is rich in finds of prehistoric art, including the Venus of Hohle Fels.
This appears to be the oldest undisputed example of Upper Paleolithic art and figurative sculpture
of the human form in general, from over 35,000 years BP, which was only discovered in 2008;
[1]
the better-known Venus of Willendorf (2422,000 BP) comes from a little way over the Austrian
border. The spectacular finds of Bronze Age golden hats are centred on Germany, as was the
"central" form of Urnfield culture, and Hallstatt culture. In the Iron Age the "Celtic" La Tne
culture centred on Western Germany and Eastern France, and Germany has produced many
major finds ofCeltic art like the elite burials at Reinheim and Hochdorf, and oppida towns
like Glauberg,Manching and Heuneburg.
After lengthy wars, the Roman Empire settled its frontiers in Germania with the Limes
Germanicusto include much of the south and west of modern Germany. The German provinces
produced art in provincial versions of Roman styles, but centres there, as over the Rhine in
France, were large-scale producers of fine Ancient Roman pottery, exported all over the
Empire. Rheinzabern was one of the largest, which has been well-excavated and has a dedicated
museum.[2]
Non-Romanized areas of the later Roman period fall under Migration Period art, notable for
metalwork, especially jewellery (the largest pieces apparently mainly worn by men).

Middle Ages[edit]

The Bamberg Apocalypse, from theOttonian Reichenau School, achieves monumentality in a small scale.
10001020.

German medieval art really begins with the Frankish Empire of Charlemagne (d. 814), the first
state to rule the great majority of the modern territory of Germany, as well as France and much of
Italy. Carolingian art was restricted to a relatively small number of objects produced for a circle
around the court and a number of Imperial abbeys they sponsored, but had a huge influence on
later Medieval art across Europe. The most common type of object to survive is the illuminated
manuscript; wall paintings were evidently common but, like the buildings that housed them, have

nearly all vanished. The earlier centres of illumination were located in modern France, but
later Metz in Lorraine and the Abbey of Saint Gall in modern Switzerlandcame to rival them.
The Drogo Sacramentary and Folchard Psalter are among the manuscripts they produced.[3]
No Carolingian monumental sculpture survives, although perhaps the most important patronage
of Charlemagne was his commissioning of a life-size gold figure of Christ on a crucifix for
his Palatine Chapel in Aachen; this is only known from literary references and was probably gold
foil around a wooden base, probably modelled with a gesso layer, like the later and rather
crumpled Golden Madonna of Essen. Early Christian art had not featured monumental sculptures
of religious figures as opposed to rulers, as these were strongly associated by the Church
Fathers with the cult idols of Ancient Roman religion. Byzantine art and modern Eastern
Orthodox religious art have maintained the prohibition to the present day, but Western art was
apparently decisively influenced by the example of Charlemagne to abandon it. Charlemagne's
circle wished to revive the glories of classical style, which they mostly knew in its Late
Antique form, and also to compete withByzantine art, in which they appear to have been helped
by refugee artists from the convulsions of the Byzantine iconoclasm. As Charlemagne himself
does not appear to have been very interested in visual art, his political rivalry with the Byzantine
Empire, supported by the Papacy, may have contributed to the strong pro-image position
expressed in the Libri Carolini, which set out the position on images held with little variation by
the Western Church for the rest of the Middle Ages, and beyond.[4]
Under the next Ottonian dynasty, whose core territory approximated more closely to modern
Germany, Austria, and German-speaking Switzerland, Ottonian art was mainly a product of the
large monasteries, especially Reichenau which was the leading Western artistic centre in the
second half of the 10th century. The Reichenau style uses simplified and patterned shapes to
create strongly expressive images, far from the classical aspirations of Carolingian art, and
looking forward to the Romanesque. The wooden Gero Cross of 965970 in Cologne Cathedral is
both the oldest and the finest early medieval near life-size crucifix figure; art historians had been
reluctant to credit the records giving its date until they were confirmed by dendrochronology in
1976.[5] As in the rest of Europe, metalwork was still the most prestigious form of art, in works like
the jewelled Cross of Lothair, made about 1000, probably in Cologne.

Romanesque carving from Maria Laach Abbey

Romanesque art was the first artistic movement to encompass the whole of Western Europe,
though with regional varieties. Germany was a central part of the movement, though German
Romanesque architecture made rather less use of sculpture than that of France. With increasing
prosperity massive churches were built in cities all over Germany, no longer just those patronized
by the Imperial circle.[6] The French invented the Gothic style, and Germany was slow to adopt it,
but once it had done so Germans made it their own, and continued to use it long after the rest of
Europe had abandoned it. According toHenri Focillon, Gothic allowed German art "to define for
the first time certain aspects of its native genius-a vigorous and emphatic conception of life and
form, in which theatrical ostentation mingled with vehement emotional frankness." [7] TheBamberg
Horseman of the 1330s, in Bamberg Cathedral, is the oldest large post-antique standing stone
equestrian statue; more medieval princely tomb monuments have survived from Germany than
France or England. Romanesque and Early Gothic churches had wall paintings in local versions
of international styles, of which few artists' names are known.[8]

Three Foolish Virgins, Magdeburg Cathedral, c. 1250.

The court of the Holy Roman Emperor, then based in Prague, played an important part in forming
the International Gothic style in the late 14th century.[9] The style was spread around the wealthy
cities of Northern Germany by artists such Conrad von Soest in Westphalia and Meister
Bertram in Hamburg, and later Stefan Lochner in Cologne. Hamburg was one of the cities in
the Hanseatic League, then at the height of its prosperity, and Bertram was succeeded in the city
by artists such as Master Francke, the Master of the Malchin Altar, Hans Bornemann,Hinrik
Funhof and Wilm Dedeke who survived into the Renaissance period. Hanseatic artists painted
commissions for Baltic cities in Scandinavia and the modern Baltic states to the east. In the
south, the Master of the Bamberg Altar is the first significant painter based in Nuremberg, while
the Master of Heiligenkreuz and then Michael Pacher worked in Austria.
Like that of Pacher, the workshop of Bernt Notke, a painter from the Hanseatic city of Lbeck,
both painted altarpieces or carved them in the increasingly elaborate painted and gilded style
used as frameworks or alternatives for painted panels. South German wood sculpture was
important in developing new subjects that reflected the intensely emotional devotional life
encouraged by movements in late medieval Catholicism such as German mysticism. These are
often known in English asandachtsbilder (devotional images) and include the Piet, Pensive
Christ, Man of Sorrows, Arma Christi, Veil of Veronica, the severed head of John the Baptist, and
the Virgin of Sorrows, many of which would spread across Europe and remain popular until the
Baroque and, in popular religious imagery, beyond. Indeed "Late Gothic Baroque" is a term
sometimes used to describe hyper-decorated and emotional 15th-century art, above all in
Germany.[10]
Martin Schongauer, who worked in Alsace in the last part of the 15th century, was the culmination
of late Gothic German painting, with a sophisticated and harmonious style, but he increasingly
spent his time producing engravings, for which national and international channels of distribution
had developed, so that hisprints were known in Italy and other countries. His predecessors were
the Master of the Playing Cards and Master E. S., both also from the Upper Rhine region.
[11]
German conservatism is shown in the late use of gold backgrounds, still used by many artists
well into the 15th century.[12]

Renaissance painting and prints[edit]

The Heller altar by Albrecht Drer

The concept of the Northern Renaissance or German Renaissance is somewhat confused by the
continuation of the use of elaborate Gothic ornament until well into the 16th century, even in
works that are undoubtedly Renaissance in their treatment of the human figure and other
respects. Classical ornament had little historical resonance in much of Germany, but in other
respects Germany was very quick to follow developments, especially in
adopting printing with movable type, a German invention that remained almost a German
monopoly for some decades, and was first brought to most of Europe, including France and Italy,
by Germans.
Printmaking by woodcut and engraving (perhaps another German invention) was already more
developed in Germany and the Low Countries than anywhere else, and the Germans took the
lead in developing book illustrations, typically of a relatively low artistic standard, but seen all over
Europe, with the woodblocks often being lent to printers of editions in other cities or languages.
The greatest artist of the German Renaissance, Albrecht Drer, began his career as an
apprentice to a leading workshop in Nuremberg, that ofMichael Wolgemut, who had largely
abandoned his painting to exploit the new medium. Drer worked on the most extravagantly
illustrated book of the period, theNuremberg Chronicle, published by his godfather Anton
Koberger, Europe's largest printer-publisher at the time.
After completing his apprenticeship in 1490, Drer travelled in Germany for four years, and Italy
for a few months, before establishing his own workshop in Nuremberg. He rapidly became
famous all over Europe for his energetic and balanced woodcuts and engravings, while also
painting. Though retaining a distinctively German style, his work shows strong Italian influence,
and is often taken to represent the start of the German Renaissance in visual art, which for the
next forty years replaced the Netherlands and France as the area producing the greatest
innovation in Northern European art. Drer supported Martin Luther but continued to
create Madonnas and other Catholic imagery, and paint portraits of leaders on both sides of the
emerging split of the Protestant Reformation.

The Crucifixion, central panel of theIsenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grnewald.

Drer died in 1528, before it was clear that the split of the Reformation had become permanent,
but his pupils of the following generation were unable to avoid taking sides. Most leading German

artists became Protestants, but this deprived them of painting most religious works, previously
the mainstay of artists' revenue. Martin Luther had objected to much Catholic imagery, but not to
imagery itself, and Lucas Cranach the Elder, a close friend of Luther, had painted a number of
"Lutheran altarpieces", mostly showing the Last Supper, some with portraits of the leading
Protestant divines as the Twelve Apostles. This phase of Lutheran art was over before 1550,
probably under the more fiercely aniconic influence of Calvinism, and religious works for public
display virtually ceased to be produced in Protestant areas. Presumably largely because of this,
the development of German art had virtually ceased by about 1550, but in the preceding decades
German artists had been very fertile in developing alternative subjects to replace the gap in their
order books. Cranach, apart from portraits, developed a format of thin vertical portraits of
provocative nudes, given classical or Biblical titles. [13]
Lying somewhat outside these developments is Matthias Grnewald, who left very few works, but
whose masterpiece, hisIsenheim Altarpiece (completed 1515), has been widely regarded as the
greatest German Renaissance painting since it was restored to critical attention in the 19th
century. It is an intensely emotional work that continues the German Gothic tradition of
unrestrained gesture and expression, using Renaissance compositional principles, but all in that
most Gothic of forms, the multi-winged triptych.[14]

Albrecht Altdorfer (c.14801538), Danube landscape near Regensburg c. 1528, one of the earliest Western
pure landscapes, from the Danube School in southern Germany.

The Danube School is the name of a circle of artists of the first third of the 16th century
in Bavaria and Austria, includingAlbrecht Altdorfer, Wolf Huber and Augustin Hirschvogel. With
Altdorfer in the lead, the school produced the first examples of independent landscape art in the
West (nearly 1,000 years after China), in both paintings and prints.[15]Their religious paintings had
an expressionist style somewhat similar to Grnewald's. Drer's pupils Hans Burgkmairand Hans
Baldung Grien worked largely in prints, with Baldung developing the topical subject matter
of witches in a number of enigmatic prints.[16]
Hans Holbein the Elder and his brother Sigismund Holbein painted religious works in the late
Gothic style. Hans the Elder was a pioneer and leader in the transformation of German art from
the Gothic to the Renaissance style. His son,Hans Holbein the Younger was an important painter
of portraits and a few religious works, working mainly in England and Switzerland. Holbein's well

known series of small woodcuts on the Dance of Death relate to the works of the Little Masters, a
group of printmakers who specialized in very small and highly detailed engravings for bourgeois
collectors, including many erotic subjects.[17]
The outstanding achievements of the first half of the 16th century were followed by several
decades with a remarkable absence of noteworthy German art, other than accomplished portraits
that never rival the achievement of Holbein or Drer. The next significant German artists worked
in the rather artificial style of Northern Mannerism, which they had to learn in Italy or
Flanders. Hans von Aachen and the Netherlandish Bartholomeus Spranger were the leading
painters at the Imperial courts in Vienna and Prague, and the productive Netherlandish Sadeler
family of engravers spread out across Germany, among other counties.[18] This style was
continued for another generation by Bartholomeus Strobel, an example of an essentially German
artist born and working in Silesia, in today's Poland, until he emigrated to escape the Thirty Years
War and become painter at the Polish court. Adam Elsheimer, the most influential German artist
in the 17th century, spent his whole mature career in Italy, where he began by working for another
emigr Hans Rottenhammer. Both produced highly finished cabinet paintings, mostly on copper,
with classical themes and landscape backgrounds.

Sculpture[edit]

Wessobrunner stucco at Schussenried Abbey

In Catholic parts of South Germany the Gothic tradition of wood carving continued to flourish until
the end of the 18th century, adapting to changes in style through the centuries. Veit Stoss (d.
1533), Tilman Riemenschneider(d.1531) and Peter Vischer the Elder (d. 1529) were Drer's
contemporaries, and their long careers covered the transition between the Gothic and
Renaissance periods, although their ornament often remained Gothic even after their
compositions began to reflect Renaissance principles.[19] Two and a half centuries later, Johann
Joseph Christian and Ignaz Gnther were leading masters in the late Baroque period, both dying
in the late 1770s, barely a decade before the French Revolution. A vital element in the effect of
German Baroque interiors was the work of the Wessobrunner School, a later term for
the stuccoists of the late 17th and 18th centuries. Another manifestation of German sculptural skill
was in porcelain; the most famous modeller is Johann Joachim Kaendler of the Meissen factory in
Dresden, but the best work of Franz Anton Bustelli for the Nymphenburg Porcelain
Manufactory in Munich is often considered the greatest achievement of 18th century porcelain. [20]

arta pe teritoriul patriei noastre din XII pana in XVI