Art 2 (plus art) Flashcards
Title- Palette of Narmer
Location- Hierakonpolis
Year- Upper Egypt- 3000 BCE
Medium- Slate
Title- Temple of Amen-Mut-Khonsu
Location- Luxor
Year- 1370 BCE
Artist- Imhotep
Title- Stepped Pyramid of King ZOser
Location- Saqquara (Necropolis of Memphis)
Year- 2610 BCE
Title- The Ishtar Gate
Location- Babylon
Year- 575 BCE
Medium- Glazed Brick
Title- Royal Audience Hall and Stairway
Location- Persepolis (Iran)
Year- 500 BCE
Title- Pylon Temple of Horus
Location- Edfu
Year- 237-212 BCE
Title- Head of an Akkadian Ruler
Location- Nineveh
Year- 2300-2200 BCE
Medium- bronze
Title- Stonehenge
Location- Salisbury Plain, Wilshire, England
Year- 2000 BCE
Medium0 Cromlech
Title- Hall of Bulls
Location- Lascaux, Dordogne, France
Year- 15,000-18,000 BCE
Medium- pigment on cave wall
Title-Venus of Willendorf
Year-25,000-20,000 BCE
Medium- carved stone
Title- Temple of Ramses II
Location- Abu Simbel
Year- 1257
Title- Stele of Hammurabi
Location- Susa
Year- 1880 BCE
Medium- Carved Basalt Stone
Title- Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions and Dying Lioness
Location- Nineveh
Year- 650 BCE
Medium- Carved Alabaster
Title- Psychostasis (Soul raising) of Hu-Nefer
Location- Thebes
Year- Late Period (716-332 BCE)
Medium - Papyrus Scroll
Title-The Great Sphinx with CHepren’ Pyramid in the background
Location- Gizeh
Year- 2530 BCE
Medium- cut sandstone
Title- Great Pyramids of GizEH
FRONT TO BACK
Menkure- 2460 BCE
Khafre- 2500 BCE
Khufu- 2530 BCE
Title- Rosetta Stone
Year- Ptolemaic Era (332-30 BCE)
Medium- Granodiorite Stone
Title- Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
Location- Deir el-Bahri
Year- 1350 BCE
Title-Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
Year- 2300-2200 BCE
Mediuim- Carved Sandstone
Title- Queen Nefertiti
Location- Tel-el-Armana
Year- 1360 BCE
Medium- painted limestone
Title- Ziggurat at Ur-Nammu
Location- Ur-Nammu
Year- 2100 BCE
Title- Death Mask of Tutankhamen
Location- Innermost coffin
Year- 1340 BCE
Medium- gold with inlay of semiprecious stones
Akhenaton reforms
religion of Aton- universal and only god of sun
abolished native cult of Amen- strong resentments among temple priests at Thebes, Karnak, and Luxor
moved capital from THebes downriver to Tel el-Amarna
Monotheistic rule- only Aton
Akkad bust style
metal
elaborate coiffure (curly locks)
embedded eye sockets
Akkadian rule coninceded with what
Age of metal in Mesopotamia
Ancient Persia
Defeated the Babylonian (538-331 BCE)
encompassed most of Middle East, including Egypt, and ranged from Danube to Undus river)
Anicent Egpyt
preoccupation with the after-life
conservative taste in matters of art and architecture- little changes in conventions of representing human figure or way they built their temples over the course of thousands of years
Armana Period
only time seen break from taditional canon- during rule of Pharoah Amenhotep IV, Akhenaten
Armana Period Art
heightened degree of naturalism and realism- especially depictions of body
Queen Nerfertiti- capturing quintessence of realism of Armna period
Art of New Kingdom
higher degree of naturalism is found
poses implying movement and animated rendering birds are more realistic than what seen before
Assyria
Came from way up north of Great River Valley from today northern Iraw.
Sargon II, massive citadel construcuted that would have covered 25 acres and 200 courtyard and rooms- not done
Assyrian Relief Sculptures
sculpture carved out of only opne side of a block of stone
lamassu- compostire creatures between himans and animals
Babylon
Two period of prosperity- Old and new (or neo) Babylon- separed by a 1200 year interval
BCE
Before Common (Christian) Era
Bull Symbol
symbol of fertility and strength
revered through Middle East and Mediterranean
Canon of Representation
follows a fixed set of rules which artists rarely deviated and which turned into standard
Center of Persian culture
Palace at Persepolis- built by Darius I and Xerxes I
destroyed by Alexander the Great (Greek)
Common example of Cromlech structure
Stonehenge- 2000 BCE- England
features post-and-lintel constructions
common feature of hypostyle design
Egypt- Clerestory
raised central rows of columsn- central ones higher than those at sides- that allow for light to filter in while interior is remianed in shadow- natural cooling effect
overall emphasis of monumentality
Construction of pyramids
harvesting limestone blocks from wuarries along Eastern NIle
floating block to construction site along river
dragging blocks over ramps- no wheels invented
completed with final outer sheathing of white limestone
Cromlech
circular, or semi-circular structures of monumental stones and believed to have religious association- cult of dead or sun worship
defining characteristics of village cultures in Asia Minor
farming and domestication of animals (instead of food-fathering)
Permanent human shelters/settlements
Onset of village culture with the earliest traces of urban settlements found in Hericho BCE and in Catal Huyuk 7000-5000 BCE
Lack of centralized power strucutre
Dendrochronology
Alternative dating method based on tree rings and their unique patter found in time
bristle cone pines in California, date back as far as 4000 BCE
Dolmen
Neolithic Structures that survived to present day
tomb structures consisting of row of stones, planted vertically on ground, covered with slab and cromlech- huge stones placed in circle
earliest great mesopotamian civilzations
Sumer
Early Dynastic Period
3000-2686 BCE
legendary King Menes unified upper and lower egpyt into singular monarchy
Early Dynastic Period Architecture
first monumental royal tomb built for King Zoser of Third Dynasty
precursor for Pyramidss of Gizeh
Egpyt Canon
human- profile view for head and frontal view for legs, arms, torso
figure groups presented in registers (bands)
squaring techniques- key to development of canon
Egpyt Division
Pre- and Early Dynastic Period (5500-2700 BCE)
Old Kingdom (2686-2155 BCE)
Middle Kingdom (1975-1640 BCE)
New KIngdom (1570-1070 BCE)
Late Period (664-332 BCE)
Ptolemaic Period (323-30 BCE)- Greek domination of Egpyt, after part of Roman Empire
Egyptian writing
known as hieroglyphics
Egyptians with death
Pre-occuptation of afterlife
believed in preservation of ka (life force or spirit) beyond death.
defines their tombs and temples
fetish
objects that possess or confer some sort of spiritual power upon the owner
final layer of pyramid
white limestone
most gone because stripped of blocks of stone for centuries to build Cairo
served to prevent tomb robbery- size and visiblity defeated this pupose
Founding myth of Egyptian civilization
Osiris and Isis
Osiris assassinated by evil brother Seth and his body dismembered along NIle
Wife, Isis, reassembled him and revied Osiris, getting pregnant with Harpocrates (Horus) who is founder of Egypt
Funerary Practices
Book of the Dead-written on papyrus scolls and wrapped up with mummies after burial ceremonies.
contains spells, prayers, formulas, counsels.
Hammurabi
most powerful king of Old Babylonia
first ruler to establish codified (written) laws
states that he recieved it from sun god Shamash
Hatshepsut’s temple
one of largest and best preserved of rock-cut tombs
consists of three colonnaded terraces and chamfered (flattened at edges) columns
orgiianlyl had rich vegetation surrounding temple complex
Heliopolis
adjacent to Memphis
means Sun City- suscribed to cult of the Sun god- Re
Re symbol was pyramidial stone called ben-ben
4th dynasty, Pharaohs considred son of Re and had pyramid to resembed the ben-ben stone
Hieratic scale
the king’s body is represented much larger than anybody elses to signify his superior rank
How is Egyptian history divided
dynasties- subsumed under umbrella of the following larger historal epochs
How long from the Asia Minor Villages did the River Valley Cultures appear
4000 years later
how to date stone age artifacts
Radiocarbon dating
dendrochronology
How were Early Mesopotamian civilizations defined
Political organization in city-states, surrounded by nomadic people and interlinked in trade
rising of cities as religious and administrative centers enjoying econimic prosperity
buildings of temple structures to communicate with the stars (different from Egypt and its preoccupation with royal tombs)
Hyksos
invaded Egypt in the New Kingdom period
used new types of weaponry, especially dismountable chariots,
Imhotep
creator of first monumental royal tomb that precursors the pyramids of Gizeh.
first known artist/archtiect of recorded history
King Tut Tomb
Tutankhamen
never raided before- so full of things
objects from beaten gold, semiprecious stones (lapis-lazuli, turqoiuse, carnelian)
food, entertainment, funiture, provided
3 coffins, in first and second- attire and attributes of god Osiris- carbed of wood and covered with gold leaf
death mask over features
Lascaux Cave art
color pigment opf red and yellow applied to walls with brushes and blowpipes
Mastabas
bench- typically rectuangular structure with sloping outside walls made of bricks.
modest plateau above ground hides undersgrund shadts and passages- acess to tokmb
earliest funerary monuments
Mesolithic Period
Middle Stone Age
(8000-6000 BCE for Eastern Mediterranean)
(8000-4000 BCE for Spain and Northern Europe)
Mesolithic Rock-Shelter Paintings
hunters left caves
became more abstract and schematic, more symbolic than representational
stylized, rhythmic repetitions of basic shapes recorded step in evolution toward symbolic from pictorial
monolith
a single, large stone
most iconic images of Ancient Egypt
Death Mask of Tutankhamen
Naram-Sin
conquered by military force
called governors of cities his slaves and himself the king of four quarters (universe)
Neo-Bablyonia
Hittites broughth Hammurabi’s empire down and sacked it in 1595 BCE.
King Nebuchadnezzar brought it back
Ishtar Gate is way to get into city
Neolithic Age defined by what
giant stride forwards in human development
began to live in fixed abosed
domesticate plants and animals
surrounded by fields and inhabitants change to herdsman
(Near East- 7000 BCE, Europe- 4000 BCE)
Neolithic Period
Late Stone Age
(Eastern Mediterranean: 6000-3500 BCE)
(Spain and Northern Europe: 4000-1500 BCE)
New Kingdom
Egpyt invaded by Hyksos from Syrian and Mesopotamian Highlands
quelled with difficulty- copied advanced technology they had
Bring areas from Euphrates (Mesopotamia) to NUbia (regions south of Egypt) under control
Thebes is capital of New Kingdom Egypt
Old Babylonia
Most powerful king is Hammurabi
Akkadian rulers toppled by Guti people incursion. Political structured went back to independent city states- Babylonia most powerful city state
Old Kingdom
Great Pyramids of Gizeh
Palace at Persopolis
succession of columned courts, axially arranged, inclduing cetral court- 60 ft high and strecthing over 200 sq. ft.
Central court- large fluted columns and vast rock-cut podium with relief carvings fighting animals and Persian king reviewing troops
Ceremonial purposes for Persian kingd
Paleolithic Period
Early Stone Age
(35000-8000 BCE)
palette
tablet on which eye makeup was prepared- utilitarian object
Periods of Stone Age
Paleolithic Period
Mesolithic Period
Neolithic Period
Political organization of Egypt
leaders/kings called pharoahs
politically influential cast of temple pirests who oversaw religous ritualized pracitce
also power brokees- occasionaly more powerful than pharoahs
post-fix “lith”
means stone- Latin
Ptolemaic Period- Pylon temple
thousand years later, pylon temple unchanged
Pylon Temples
monumental Pylon temples with Hypostlye Halls are typcial for nEw Kingdom architecute
consist of massive trapezoid walls- inscribed with figures/hieroglyphics
bisected in middle by passageway to give access to central axis of temple complex
series of hypostyle courtyards- hidden behind Pylon
symmetrical around axis that runs from approaching avnue- flanked by sphinxes and obelisks= through a succession of colonnaded courts and halls to terminate in dimnly lit inner sanctuary
Pyramids of Gizeh
from Old Kingdom
structures became monumental and mass dominates suburbs of Cairo
believed to been result of moving the royal residence to Memphis during third Dynasty
Queen Nefertiti
Served for artistic inspiration above all else
smooth skin and symmetrical physiogonomy- quest for idealized beauty- likened to Greek
Radiocarbon dating
invented 1955
based on fact that living organisms continually absorb carbon isotopes, including C-14 (radioactive) which disintegreates in N-14 (nonradioactive). After death of organism, absorption ceases but disintegration contineues.
Deductions about age can be made based on amount of C-14 remaining
River Valleys Cultures
Mesopotamia and Egypt
Rock Cut temples
New Kingdom
mortary temples for royal burials carved directly out of cliffs on bank of NIle
Hatshepsut’s temple, Temple of Ramses
Rosetta Stone
discovered during Napoleon Egyptian Campaighn.
Contains text in Greek, Demotic (Late Egpyrian) and formal hieroglypihic.
How found hieroglphyics were phoetic, not pictographs.
breakthrough of decoding Egyptian writing
RUined Sumerian Cities
Ur, Warka, Nippur, Larsa, Eridu
Sculptures from Paleolithic period
“Venus” of WIllendorf- carved stone
suggest fertility fetish
Bison horn
exctinct series of bison, head turned, animal iconography and simplified depiction
Soul after death (Egpyt)
ANubis (Jackal-headed god of death) weights soul after death.
If too heavy, monster devours soul of deceased
if balanced, granted audience with Osiris
Stele
vertically oriented stone anchored to grounf
Stele of Hammurabi
contains first written code of laws known to mankind
Stonehenge
mile in diameterw
outermost rings consist of Large monolithis or Sarsen stones capped by lintels
inner ring of bluestones envcircing horeshoe (open end facing east) of trilithons (five intel-topped pairs of largest Sarsen stones)
center of horseshoe is heelstones- marking point chosen to allow observation of sunrise at mid-summer solstice
Akkad
2300 BCE Sumerian cities uniffied under ruler Sargon of Akkad
peak of power under Naram-Sin (Sargon grandson)
Sumer
loose assocation of independent cities- became one of earliest great Mesopotamian civilizations
Sumer innovations
system of gods (ANu, god of sky; En-lil (Bel), creator of ruler and earth, Lord of storm)
god-man relationships
city-state itself
art of writing
each city had city god, representative on earth was local ruler
Sumerian Architecture
Ziggurat
Sumerian Art
Statues
first time a fixed set of sylistic conventions found across diverse artifacts from one coherent cultural complez
(Sundbox)
Sumerian Soundbox
bull’s head made of lapis lazuli and beaten gold.
front plaque show stylitics features and content typical for all SUmerian art
formalized poses, heraldic symmetry, and
animal symbolism
Sumerian Statues
feature clasp hands (prayer/ritual)
found in temples
disproportionally large rendering of eyes
also found in Arabic Peninsula until advent of Islam
Sumerian Cuneiform
script recorded on seals used for record keeping task of temple priest
clay tablets
concerned food supply, taxes, administrative matters
Temple of Ramses II
New kingdom, Rock-cut temple
tendency toward monumental art and architcutre
Great Warrior-Pharoah
built far up the Nile- represent four colossal images of Ramses II- carved directly from natural sandstone cliff
The Great Sphinx of Gizeh
connected by causeway with pyramid complex of Gizeh
cut directly out of bed of sandstone rock
capture likenss of Pharoah Cephren
refer t ovisual traditions of Mesopotamian cultures
Time Period of Stone Age
35,000 BCE to 1500 BCE
Tomb Architecture
Mastabas-
Famous pyramids type like Gizeh
tomb of Zoser
first one- monunmental ryoal tomb
stepped pyramid- like Ziggurat- adjacent temple complx
designed to protect mummified body of king, buried in hidden, underground chamber and stymbolizs absolute god-like power during and after his rule
Tutankhamen
some realism and naturalism carried over from Amarna period- yield some of most spectacular objects of Egyptian Art
What contains some of the best preserved cave paintings
CHauvet-Pont-d’Arc
Dordogne region of Southern France
What did Assyrian Relief sculptures achieve
unseen degree of realism
What did Egyptians mostly write down
Spells (not founding myths)- those come from Greek Author
What do we find in Ancient Mesopotamia
earliest evidence for Civilization
what happened 8000 BCE
marks final recession of ice and onset of more temperate weather in northern hemisphere
Cro-Magnon man replaced Neanderthal man
what happened when Cro-Magnon man repladcded Neanderthal Man
artistic abilities expand greatly after this point
What is most famous example of Paleolithic Art
Lascaux France cave complex
what is only deviation found in Egpyt history
under Pharoah Akhenaton’s rule during Amarna period
What is shown in wall paintings of caves
hunting iconography- mammoth, bison, reindeer, etc.
spears and traps are visible
occasional handprints
what is the earliest evidence for Civilization
political organizations
religious beliefs
cities
food storage
MESOPOTAMIA based
what is the function of stonehenge
giant farmer’s calendar- important for agriculture in Neolithic Society
indicated right points in time for sowing and harvesting
what is the thought of the cave art
teenage grafittii
(maybe proto-religious)
What other art forms did Paleolithic people do
Sculptures
What place used hieractic scale
Akkad
when was Upper and Lower Egypt unified
Early Dynasitc Period
King Menes
Where is Ancient Mesopotamia located
Iraq and parts of Syria
White Lady of Brandberg
early mesolihtic rock paintings linked to similar cave paintings scattered across Africa from Sahara to Namib Desert. first century BCE, thousands of years later, hardly changed.
parts of Africa, earliest art form persisted into modern age
Who could enter nner sanctuary in Pylon temples
only temple priests
occasionary sacred object kept there brought in ritualized parades along courtyard
who knew how to read and write in Egypt
only the trained scribes and priests
Who led revival of Babylonian culture
King Nebuchadnezzar
construction of Farden of Bablyon and Ziggurat temple of BEl
Ziggurat
stepped temple structure made of sun-dried brick
typical in Mesopotamian civilizations
Ziggurat of Ur
three ramp-like staircases with 100 steps each- each tower flanked by gateways
shrine to gods of night- why so high
