Art History & Western Art Flashcards
Section I of Art Resource Guide
In Advance of a Broken Arm
1915 work by Marcel Duchamp in which he displayed a snow shovel in New York City
Constructivist movement
movement in which Russian artists sought to further merge art and life by applying their abstract style to items like clothing fabric and kitchen tools
Spiral Jetty
Robert Smithson work of a giant coil of rock and dirt on the shore of the Great Salt Lake
Double Negative
Michael Heizer work of two massive cuts made into a mesa in Nevada
Art history
an academic discipline dedicated to the reconstruction of the social, cultural, and economic contexts in which an artwork was created
Art criticism
the explanation of current art events to the general public via the press
Fine art
produced specifically for appreciation by an audience who also understood the objects as works of art (e.g. paintings, prints, architecture)
Formal analysis
the visual qualities of the work of an art itself
Contextual analysis
examines present and later cultural, religious, and economic contexts in which a work is consumed
Which type of analysis do we begin a study on a work of art to keep the focus on the object itself?
formal analysis
Pliny the Elder
sought to analyze historical and contemporary art in his text Natural History
Giorgio Vasari
gathered the biographies of great Italian artists, past and present, in The Lives of the Artists, which developed the concept of “individual genius”
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
German scholar who shifted away from Vasari’s biographical emphasis to a rigorous study of stylistic development as related to historical context
Throughout which centuries did art historians continue to develop approaches that placed increasing emphasis on the interrelationship between the formal qualities of a work of art and its context?
Nineteenth through twentieth centuries
Chauvet Cave
cave in southeastern France that is the location of the oldest works of art discovered
When are the paintings in Chauvet Cave dated to?
c. 30,000 BCE
When were the paintings in Chauvet Cave discovered?
1994
What do the Chauvet Cave paintings depict?
horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalos, and mammoths using red ochre and black charcoal
Lascaux/Altamira cave paintings
large colored drawings of horses, bears, lions, bison, and mammoths along with the inclusion of several outlines of human hands
Which animals do the Chauvet Cave and Lascaux/Altamira paintings have in common?
horses, lions, and mammoths
Venus (or Woman) of Willendorf
four and one-eighth-inch high stone figure of a female with exaggerated female features, an undefined face, barely visible arms, and missing feet
Recap: What were the Old Stone Age (Upper Paleolithic Period) artworks?
Chauvet Cave, Lascaux/Altamira, and the Venus of Willendorf
Where was evidence of cave dwellers moving toward rock shelters in the Middle Stone Age found?
eastern Spain
Rock shelter paintings
portray human beings, both alone and in groups, with an emphasis on scenes in which humans dominate animals
Where was the Old Stone Age exception for painting a human figure?
Lascaux
When are the rock shelter paintings dated to?
7000 BCE to 4000 BCE
Recap: What were the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic Period) artworks?
rock shelter paintings in eastern Spain
Megaliths
“great stones”
Where is Stonehenge located?
Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England
When was Stonehenge built?
2100 BCE
Post and lintel construction
two upright pieces of stone topped with a crosspiece (or lintel)
“Heel-stone”
marks the point at which the sun rises on the midsummer solstice from the northeast
How large/heavy were the rough-hewn stones used to build Stonehenge?
17 feet in height and 50 tons
Describe the outer ring of Stonehenge
comprised of huge sarsen stones in post and lintel construction
Describe the inner ring of Stonehenge
composed of bluestones, which encircle a horseshoe-shaped row of 5 lintel-topped sarsen stones that weighed as much as 50 tons
Which two civilizations developed writing and arts in parallel to one another?
Mesopotamia and Egypt
Sumerians
built massive temples at the centers of cities, which later evolved into the stepped ziggurat pyramids
When did the Sumerians control Mesopotamia?
4000 BCE
When did the cities of Sumer come under control of the Sargon of Akkad?
2334 BCE
Akkadians
assimilated Sumerian culture, supplanted loyalty to the city-state with loyalty to the king, and depicted rulers in freestanding and relief sculptures
When did Akkadian rule come to an end?
2150 BCE
Guti
barbarous mountaineers who invaded the Akkadians in Mesopotamia and took control
Neo-Sumerians
greatest known works were the ziggurats that functioned as temples and administrative/economic centers
King of Ur
Neo-Sumerian ruler
When did the Sumerians reinstate control in Mesopotamia?
2100 BCE
Babylonians
enduring legacy is left in the codification of Babylonian law
When did the city-state of Babylonia centralize power?
1792 BCE
Hammurabi
Babylonian king whose code is carved onto a stone stele along with a sculpture in high relief of him receiving inspiration from the sun-god Shamash
Code of Hammurabi
oldest legal code known in its entirety and is preserved in the Louvre Museum
Shamash
Babylonian sun-god who gave Hammurabi inspiration for his legal code
Assyrians
civilization in northern Mesopotamia whose most notable artworks are relief carvings that depict battles, sieges, and hunts
When were Assyrians the most powerful civilization in the Near East?
900-600 BCE
When did Assyrian hold on power weaken?
7th century BCE
When did Babylonia reassert dominance in Mesopotamia?
c. 612-538 BCE
Neo-Babylonians
notable artworks are the hanging gardens of Babylon and the Ishtar Gate
Ishtar Gate
the gateway to the great ziggurat of the temple of Bel in which animal figures are superimposed on a walled surface
Persian Empire
present-day Iran and most notable for architectural achievements that reflect Egyptian influence
Persepolis
Persian palace that was constructed of stone, brick, and wood, reflecting the influence of Egyptian architecture
Who conquered Egypt in 332 BCE?
Alexander the Great
When did Alexander the Great conquer Egypt?
332 BCE
Hierarchiacal scale
uses the states of figures or objects to determine their relative sizes within an artwork
Palette of King Narmer
a ceremonial palette for mixing cosmetics from the Old Kingdom that exemplifies hierarchical scale with its depiction of King Narmer as considerably larger than his enemies
Fractional representation
when the head is in profile with the eye in frontal view, the torso in full frontal view and the lower body, legs, and feet in profile
Tutankhamun’s burial mask
made of gold and decorated with blue glass and semiprecious stones
By when had most ancient Egyptian tombs been broken into and robbed of?
20th century
When was Tutankhamun’s tomb discovered?
1922
Nubia
kingdom south of Egypt that once ruled the region
Place the Aegean island cultures in ascending order from the earliest civilization to the latest
Cycladic, Minoan, Myceneaen
When did the Cycladic culture flourish?
3200 to 2000 BCE
Cyclades
a group of islands in the Aegean
Cycladic culture
artworks include simplified, geometric nude female figures, decorated pieces of pottery, and marble bowls and jars
When did the Minoan culture develop?
2nd millennium BCE
Crete
island where the Minoan culture developed
Which city were Minoans centered around?
Knossos
Minotaur
creature believed to be half man and half bull and who devoured those who entered his maze
What actually was the maze from the Minotaur legend?
the Minoan royal palace at Knossos
Minoan culture
naturalistic pictorial style of artworks depict sea life, a female snake goddess, frescoes painted on palace walls, pottery designs, and four unfortified palaces
Mycenae
city on the Greek mainland
Mycenaean culture
notable for elaborate tombs, a mastery of goldsmithing, and relief sculpture
Archaic Period
Greeks created freestanding marble and limestone sculptures, temples using Doric and Ionic columns were built, and vase painting became popular
When was the Archaic Period?
660 to 475 BCE
Corinthian vases
set figures against a floral, ornamented background
Athenian-style vases
similar to the Corinthian style but used black figures that were more linear and larger in scale
Red-figure vases
set red figures standing out against a black background
Where is the best-known Greek art?
Athens
Early Classical Period
temples were typically built using sturdy, Doric columns that characterized solemnity, strength, and simplicity (either in the moment before or after an important action)
Contrapposto
standing figure is posed with its weight shifted onto one leg, for a more relaxed, naturalistic appearance
What is contrapposto also known as?
counter-positioning
Middle Classical Period
characterized by important advances in architecture such as by the Parthenon
How long has the Parthenon’s use of columns been a principle of Western architecture?
more than 2000 years
When was the Parthenon destroyed?
480 BCE
When was the Parthenon restored?
447 BCE
Late Classical Period
architecture declined but the use of highly decorative Corinthian columns became more and more popular
Where was the city of Athens defeated?
in the Peloponnesian War
Hellenistic Period
notable works include freestanding the sculptures Venus de Milo and Lacoon Group; increasing influence from Eastern civilizations as Greek styles blended with those of Asia Minor
Etruscan civlization
transition from the ideals of Greece to the pragmaticism of the Romans
Where did Etruscan civilization arise?
Italy
When did Etruscan civilization develop?
1st millennium BCE
Etruscan art
sarcophagus lids, temples with tiled roofs, bronze work, and paintings that depict figures playing music and dancing as part of funeral celebrations
By which century did Roman art become variations of Greek works?
2nd century BCE
What did the development of concrete enable the Romans to create?
huge domed buildings
What was the Roman invention of the curved arch used for?
construction of bridges and aqueducts
What are two buildings that can still be seen in Rome?
the Colosseum and the Pantheon
Mosaics
small ceramic tiles, pieces of stone, or glass are set into a ground material to create large murals (often Christian in content)
Ravenna
the shining mosaic walls at its great churches are a prominent example of the largely Christian emphasis placed on mosaic works
Where was the Hagia Sophia built?
Constantinople
Books were hand copied on what during the Medieval Period?
vellum or parchment
Notable books from the Medieval Period
the Book of Kells and the Coronation Gospels
Early medieval period
notable artwork includes decorative metalwork from nomadic Germanic peoples and woodwork from the Scandinavian Vikings
Hiberno-Saxon
a merging of the artistic styles of the Vikings and those found in Anglo-Saxon England and Celtic Ireland
Later medieval period
the architecture of churches became the dominant art form as the greatest of these masterpieces took over a century to complete
What did the earliest churches use as the basis of their design?
Roman arches
What is a prominent example of the Romanesque style?
Saint-Sernin
Where is Saint-Sernin?
Toulouse, France
What are the qualities of a Romanesque church?
stone vaulted buildings usually formed by a barrel vault, with massive walls (that limited space for windows and doors) used to support these arches
When did the Gothic style develop?
12th century through the 16th century
Vault
an arch-shaped structure that is used as a ceiling or as a support to a roof
Barrel vault
a tunnel of arches
Ribbed vaults
a framework of thin stone ribs or arches built under the intersection of the vaulted sections of the ceiling
What are the characteristics of the Gothic period?
pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses
Flying buttresses
additional bracing material and arches placed on the exterior of the building to counteract the downward and outward pressure created by barrel vaults
What did the development of flying buttresses allow for?
larger windows and higher ceilings
Chartres Cathedral
a classic example of a Gothic cathedral in France in which the effect of the tall arches and brightly colored light from stained-glass windows directs attention heavenward
When was the Chartres Cathedral first built?
c. 1145
When was the Chartres Cathedral rebuilt?
1194
Giotto di Bondone
Florentine artist who marks the transitional time period between the Gothic and Renaissance styles by his use of simple perspective and emotional expressions
What is Giotto di Bondone best known for?
frescoes
How did Giotto di Bondone achieve his use of simple perspective?
by overlapping and modeling his figures in the round
What directly led to the vast fortunes accumulated by notables such as the Medici family?
the development of paper money
What were painters and sculptors considered until the Renaissance?
artisians
Artisians
people who were viewed as being of lesser status because they worked with their hands
Lorenzo Ghiberti
designed a door panel that depicted the sacrifice of Isaac in which he appears as a Greek classical figure
When was the competition for the design of the doors for the new baptistery in Florence held?
1401
What was Lorenzo Ghiberti asked to do after his doors were installed into the Florence baptistery?
to make a second set for another entrance to the baptistery
How long did Ghiberti’s second set of doors to the Florence baptistery take to make?
more than 25 years
What did Michelangelo call Ghiberti’s second set of doors to the Florence baptistery?
“Gates of Paradise”
Filippo Brunelleschi
second-place winner in the Florence baptistery competition who later concentrated on architecture and won a competition to complete the dome of the Florence Cathedral
Why had the Florence Cathedral remained unfinished for many years?
architects had not been able to construct the huge vault required to span the open space
How was Brunelleschi able to complete the dome of the Florence cathedral?
double-shelled dome design
Other than the double-shelled dome design, what else is Brunelleschi credited with developing?
linear (single vanishing point) perspective
Masaccio
credited with putting Brunelleschi’s theory of linear perspective into practice with the use of both linear and aerial perspective in his frescoes
Who is considered to be the founder of modern sculpture?
Donatello
What did the works of Donatello evidence?
the influence of classical antiquity and (later in life) a greater emphasis on naturalism and the expression of character and dramatic action
What is Donatello’s best-known work?
David (c. 1420s-60s)
Botticelli’s David
a bronze statue that is the first known freestanding nude statue to have been cast since antiquity
What is Botticelli’s best-known painting?
The Birth of Venus
The Birth of Venus
one of the first paintings of a full-length nude female since antiquity that established an image of female beauty of a long-necked woman with flowing hair
What were the generation of artists that followed Donatello and Botticelli referred to as?
High Renaissance artists
Who are the models for the term “Renaissance Man”?
Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci
What is Leonardo da Vinci’s key innovation in painting?
sfumato
Where does the word sfumato derive from?
Fumo (smoke)
Sfumato
the use of mellowed colors and a blurred outline that allows forms to blend subtly into one another without perceptible transitions
In which Leonardo da Vinci painting is sfumato readily apparent?
the Mona Lisa
When did Michelangelo create his vision of David?
1504
Michelangelo’s David
larger than life-sized marble statue originally meant to be placed on top of the Florence Cathedral but later placed on ground for its popularity
When did Pope Julius II commission Michelangelo to design his tomb?
1505
Which statues did Michelangelo create to be included in Pope Julius II’s tomb?
Moses, The Dying Slave, and the Bound Salve
How large is the Sistine Chapel?
700 square yards
How long did it take Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?
4 years (1508-12)
Who is considered to be the most influential painter of the Madonna
Raphael Sanzio
Madonna
term to refer to the Virgin Mary
School of Athens
a Raphael fresco that was an homage to the great Greek philosophers and scientists
Giorgione
credited with making innovations in the subject matter of landscapes as he painted scenes NOT taken from the Bible or classical stories
The Temptest
Giorgione painting that depicts figures of being of lesser importance than the storm that threatens them
Titian Vecelli
most prolific of the Venetian painters and known as being the greatest colorist of the Renaissance artists
Which objects did Titian Vecelli often use as the backdrop for his portraits
a column or curtain
Tintoretto
Venetian painter who used Mannerist pictorial techniques but differed from the style by using dramatic color schemes and angles
What marks Tintoretto’s later works?
spiritual subject matter and an anticipation of the Baroque era
When did Mannerism gain popularity?
late 16th century
Mannerism
characterized by the distortion of perspective and scale, the use of acidic colors, and the twisted positioning of their subjects
Chiaroscuro
dramatic contrasts of light and dark used to heighten the emotional impact of an artwork
What event most impacted the art history of the 16th century?
the Reformation
Reformation
Protestants criticized the opulence and corruption of the Catholic Church and called for its purification
Counter-Reformation
emphasized, even more than before, lavish church decoration and art of a highly dramatic and emotional nature
Which artist is most associated with the Counter-Reformation?
El Greco
What is El Greco’s full name?
Dominikos Theotokopoulos
El Greco
a well-known Mannerist painter whose dramatic use of elongated figures captured the religious fervor of the Counter-Reformation
Who was El Greco strongly influenced by?
Tintoretto
Whose workshop did El Greco work in while in Venice?
Titian Vecelli
When did El Greco leave Italy for Toledo, Spain?
1576
Which are transitional artists between the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque?
El Greco and Tintoretto
Place the Italian Renaissance artists in ascending order from the earliest to the latest
Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo di Buonarotti, Raphael Sanzio, Giorgione, Titian Vecelli, Tintoretto, El Greco
Which Renaissance artists hailed from Florence?
Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo di Buonarotti
Which Renaissance artist was based in Rome?
Raphael Sanzio
Which Renaissance artists are from Venice?
Giorgione, Titian Vecelli, and Tintoretto
Which Renaissance artist is from Toledo?
El Greco
What development enabled northern European Renaissance artists to display a greater degree of realistic detail than can be seen in works of the south?
oil paints
While the Renaissance occurred in Italy, much of European art north or where was still Gothic in style?
the Alps
Artwork from which century in northern Europe demonstrates a greater awareness of the Italian Renaissance?
16th century
Which two methods brought Italian Renaissance ideas to the north?
engravers who copied notable works and trade networks between upper-class German merchants and Venetian merchants
Who are considered the greatest artists of the Renaissance in northern Europe?
Matthias Grunewald and Albrecht Durer
How many of Grunewald’s works have survived?
10
What is Grunewald best known for?
religious scenes and his depiction of Christ’s crucifixion
Insenheim Altarpiece
a Grunewald work consisting of nine panels mounted on two sets of folding wings that depicts the crucifixion of Jesus Christ
Albrecht Durer
most famous artist of Reformation Germany who combined the naturalistic detail favored by the north with the theoretical ideas developed by Italian artists
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
a woodcut published by Albrecht Durer
Hans Holbein the Younger
German Renaissance portraitist and court painter to King Henry VIII of England
Holbein’s works became the model and standard for English painting up through which century?
19th century
