Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
70 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Venus of Willendorf, c. 28,000-21,000 BCE, limestone, Natural History Museum, Vienna
Reproductive organs emphasized; huge breasts, belly, buttocks, navel Hair in clumps arranged in rows Deemphasized arms, face, legs; no feet--Venus was never meant to stand up Face may have been painted in; traces of paint of the body Fertility symbol? Small, only 4 1/2 inches long, meant to be handheld Venus is a clever name given to the object after its discovery as a way of comparing it to the ancient goddess of beauty |
|
|
Lascaux Caves, 15,000-13,000 BCE, Dordogne, France
Natural products used to make paint: charcoal, iron ore, plants 650 Paintings: most common are cows, bulls, horses, and deer Animals placed deep inside cave, some hundreds of feet from the entrance Bodies seen in profile, frontal or diagonal view of horns, eyes, and hooves; some appear pregnant Many overlapping figures Evidence still visible of scaffolding erected to get to higher areas of the caves Negative handprints: are those signatures? Caves were not dwellings because prehistoric people led migratory lives following the herds of animals; some evidence exists that people sought shelter at the mouths of caves Walls were scraped to an even surface; paint colors were count with animal fat; lamps light the interior of caves Well scene: narrative art? Bison's bowels hanfing as if slaughtered; male figure (masked?) with outstretched hands of four fingers--is he wounded? in a trance? dead? Contrast of the realistic rendering of the animals to stick-figure humans Many theories about reasons for the paintings: - Traditional view that they were used to ensure a successful hunt - Ancestral animal worship - Shamanism: a religion based on the idea that the forces of nature can be contacted by intermediaries, called shamans, who go into a trancelike state to reach another state of consciousness |
|
|
Stonehenge, c. 21000 BCE, Wiltshire, England
Perhaps took a thousand years to build, gradually redeveloped by each succeeding generation Post-and-lintel building; lintels grooved in place by the mortise-and-tenon system of construction Large megaliths in center are over 20 feet tall and form a horseshoe surrouding a central flat zone Ring of megaliths, originally all united by lintels, surrounds central horseshoe Some stones over 50 tons Hundreds of smaller stones of unknown purpose placed around monument Some stones imported from over 200 miles away Generally thought to be oriened toward sunrise on the longest day of the year; may also predict eclipses |
|
|
Tell Asmar Statues, c. 2700 BCE, limestone, alabaster, and gypsum, Iraq Museum, Baghdad
Figures are of different heights, denoting hierarchy of scale Hand are folded in gesture of prayer Huge eyes in awe; spellbound, perhaps staring at deity Men: bare upper chest; skirt from waist down; beard flows in ripple patterns Women: dress draped over one shoulder Arms and feet cut away Pinkie in a spiral; chin a wedge; ear a double volute Inscribed on back: "it offers prayer" Figures represent mortals, placed in a temple and praying--perhaps to the god Abu |
|
|
Standard of Ur, c. 2600 BCE, panel inlayed with shell, lapis lazuli, and limestone, British Museum - Sumerian
Two sides: war side and peace side; may have been two halves of a narrative; early example of a historical narrative Perhaps used as part of a soundbox for a musical instrument War side: Sumerian king a half head taller, has descended from his chariot to inspect captives, some debased by their nakedness; chariot advances over dead in lowest register figures have broad frontal shoulders, body in profile emphasized eyes, eyebrows, ears |
|
|
Lyre, c. 2600 BCE, wood with inlay of gold, shell, and lapis lazuli, University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia - Sumerian
Lyre has a bull's head Four panels on side: Top: Sumerian wrestling two man-headed bulls 2nd level: wolf carries a table with animal parts, preparing for a ceremony; lion bears wine, jug, cup 3rd level: donkey pulls a bull-harp; bear dances; seated fox plays a rattle 4th level: jackal (?) waves rattles; scorpion-man Animals in profile; people have frontal shoulders |
|
|
Ziggurat, c. 2100 BCE, Ur, Iraq - Sumerian
Mud-brick building on a colossal scale Buttresses spaced across the surface to create a light and shadow pattern Whitewash used to disguise the mud appearance, perhaps the holes in the surface were for flags or banners to animate the facade Tapers outward so that rainwater washes off Temple on top was small, set back, and removed fro the populace Entire form resembles a mountain Four corners oriented to the compass Three large staircases lead to the upper story entrance from three different directions; guardhouse at point where the staircases meet Dedicated to the moon god Nanna |
|
|
Gudea, c. 2100 BCE, dolerite, Louvre - Sumerian
Folded hands; long, fine fingers right arm bare broad shoulders, narrow waist, simple contours sense of calm, peaceful Diorite, an expensive stone, proclaims the wealth of the wealth of the owner and importance of the subject |
|
|
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, 2254-2218 BCE, sandstone, Louvre - Akkadian
Naram-Sin deifies himself as the composition leads him up the mountain to the heavens, indicated by the three stars above him Victory blessed by the gods, represented as suns, but he acts independently King wears horned crown of divinity, bow in one hand, arrow in the other, battle axe in hollow of arm Defeated soldiers beg for mercy, one with a lance through his throat, another thrown over the side of the mountain Spatial isolation of king, hierarchy of scale Figures are in comparative views Depicts his victory over the Lullubi |
|
|
Stele of Hammurabi, c. 1780 BCE, basalt, Louvre - Babylonian
Contains one of the earliest law codes ever written Sun god, Shamash, enthroned on a ziggurat and handing Hammurabi a rope, a ring, and a rod of kingship Hammurabi with a speaking/greeting gesture Shamash: frontal and profile at the same time, headdress in profile; rays (wings?) from behind his shoulder Shamash's beard in fuller than Hammurabi's They stare at one another directly; even though their shoulders are frontal; composite views 300 law entries placed below the grouping, symbolically given from Shamash himself to Hammurabi |
|
|
Ishtar Gate, c. 575 BCE, glazed brick, State Museum, Berlin [Babylonian]
• Glazed brick covers mud walls of the city • Animals guard the entrance to the city • Lions sacred to the goddess Ishtar • Crenellations give a warlike appearance to gate • Reconstructed in Berlin from ruins in Babylon |
|
|
Palace of Sargon II, 720-705 BCE, Khorsabad, Iraq
[Assyrian] (720-705 BCE) • City on a platform 50-feet high • Made of mud-brick • Contains a ziggurat • Huge palace complex: 25 acres, 30 courtyards, 200 rooms |
|
|
Lamassu, limestone, British Museum
[Assyrian] (700 BCE) • Human-headed animal guardian figures • Winged • 5 legs: when seen from front seems to be standing at attention; when seen from side; seems to be walking by you as you walk by it • Meant to ward off enemies both visible and invisible |
|
|
Lion Hunt, limestone, British Museum
[Assyrian] (640 BCE) • Among the oldest surviving narratives of art • Bold contours • Emotions in animals, not humans • Narrative takes place on a projecting ledge acting as a ground line • Lion: representative of the more fearsome of beasts, domination by the king is an act of power over nature |
|
|
How do you remember the Ancient Near Eastern Civiliations?
|
SABHAP
Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Hittite, Assyrian, Persian |
|
|
Palace at Persepolis, Iran
[Persian] (500 BCE) • Built by Darius I and Xerxes I; destroyed by Alexander the Great • Built not so much as a complex of places but rather as a seat for spectacular receptions and festivals • Built on artificial terraces, as is most Mesopotamian architecture • Mud-brick with stone facing • Giant lamassu gates • Built to be the center of elaborate ceremonies • Relief sculptures depict delegations from all parts of the empire bringing gifts to be stored in the local treasury; Darius selected this central location in Persia to ensure protection of the treasury. • Audience hall: apadana, had 36 columns covered by a wooden roof; held thousands of people; used for the king's receptions; stairways adorned with reliefs of the New Year's festival and a procession of representatives of 23 subject nations • Columns had a bell shaped base that is an inverted lotus blossom, capitals are bulls or lions • Carved into the stairs are the immortals, the King's Gaurds, who were so-called because they always numbered 10,000 |
|
|
Bull Capital, c. 500 BCE, from Susa, marble, Louvre
- from Persepolis (?) |
|
|
Palace of Shapur I, c. 250 CE, Ctesiphon, Iraq
[Persian] (250 BCE) • Built by Sassanian Persian rulers • Brick audience hall • Influence of Roman architecture in the barrel vault and arches |
|
|
Narmer Palette, 3000-2920 BCE, slate, Egyptian Museum, Cairo
|
|
|
Stepped Pyramid of King Djoser, c. 2630-2611 BCE, Saqqara, Egypt
|
|
|
Great Pyramids, c. 2500, Giza, Egypt
|
|
|
Great Sphinx, c. 2500 BCE, Giza, Egypt
|
|
|
Khafre, c. 2500 BCE, diorite, Egyptian Museum, Cairo
|
|
|
Seated Scribe, c. 2400 BCE, limestone, Louvre
|
|
|
Ti Watching the Hippopotamus Hunt, c. 2400 BCE, painted limestone, Tomb of Ti, Saqqara, Egypt
|
|
|
Rock Cut Tombs of Beni Hasan, c. 1950-1900 BCE, Egypt
|
|
|
Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, c. 1473-1458 BCE, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt
|
|
|
Queen Hatshepsut, c. 1473-1458 BCE, granite, Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA)
|
|
|
Temple of Ramses II, 1290-1224 BCE, Abu Simbel, Egypt
|
|
|
Temple of Amen-Re, 1290-1224 BCE, Thebes, Egypt
|
|
|
Akhenaton, c. 1353-1335 BCE, sandstone, Egyptian Museum, Cairo
|
|
|
Nefertiti, 1353-1335 BCE, limestone, Egyptian Museum, Berlin
|
|
|
King Tutankhamen, c. 1323 BCE, gold, enamel, semiprecious stones, Egyptian Museum, Cairo
|
|
|
Judgment before Osiris, c. 1290-1280 BCE, papyrus, British Museum
|
|
|
Cycladic Female Figure, c. 2500 BCE, Cylcadic Art
|
|
|
Palace at Knossos, c. 1700-1400 BCE, Crete, Minoan Art
|
|
|
Toreador Fresco, c. 1400 BCE, fresco, Archaeological Museum, Herakleion, Minoan Art
|
|
|
Spring Fresco, c. 1650 BCE, fresco, National Archaeology Museum, Athens, Minoan Art
|
|
|
Snake Goddess, c. 1600 BCE, gold, ivory, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Minoan Art
|
|
|
Corbelled Gallery, 1400-1200 BCE, Tiryns, Greece, Mycenaean Art
|
|
|
Treasury of Atreus, c. 1300 BCE, Mycenae, Greece, Mycenaean Art
|
|
|
Funerary Mask, c. 1600 BCE, gold, National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Mycenaean Art
|
|
|
|
Kouros, c. 600 BCE, marble, MMA, New York, Greek Art
[Archaic] (600BCE) • Grave marker, replacing hug vases of the Geometric period • Not a real portrait, but a general representation of the dead • Rigidly frontal • Emulates stance of Egyptian sculpture, but is nude; arms and legs largely cut free from the stone • Freestanding and able to move, in contrast to many Egyptian works that are reliefs or are attached to stone • Hair is knotted and falls in neatly braided rows down the back |
|
|
Kouros, marble, MMA, New York
[Archaic] (600BCE) • Grave marker, replacing hug vases of the Geometric period • Not a real portrait, but a general representation of the dead • Rigidly frontal • Emulates stance of Egyptian sculpture, but is nude; arms and legs largely cut free from the stone • Freestanding and able to move, in contrast to many Egyptian works that are reliefs or are attached to stone • Hair is knotted and falls in neatly braided rows down the back |
|
|
Calf Bearer, marble, Acropolis Museum, Athens
[Archaic] (560 BCE) • Rhonbos the Calf Bearer bringing an offering to Athena in thanksgiving for his prosperity • Thin coat draped over figure • Two figures are united; tightly woven composition • Archaic smile, knotted hair |
|
|
Peplos Kore, marble, Acropolis Museum, Athens
[Archaic] (560 BCE) • Broken hand used to carry offering to Athena • Hand emerges into our own space, breaks out of the mold of static Archaic statues • Tightened waist • Breasts revealed beneath drapery • So-called because she is named for the peplos garment she is wearing • Rounded naturalistic face • Much of the paint still remains, animating the face and hair |
|
|
Gods and Giants from the Siphnian Treasury, marble, Delphi, Greece
[Archaic] (530 BCE) • Mythic battle between the Greek gods and the giants, called a gigantomachy • Shows contemporary military tactics and weapons • Undercutting of forms creates shadows around legs • Varying relief depth; attempt at placing figures one behind the other; however, they are all on the same ground line |
|
|
Dying Warrior from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, marble, Glyptothek, Munich
[Archaic] (500-490 BCE) • From the temple of Alphaia • Warrior dying fits neatly into the corner of the pediment • Hair in rows of tight cords • Rigid musculature • Pose of the crossed legs is awkward and unnatural, especially given the life-and-death struggle the dying warrior is undergoing • Archaic smile |
|
|
Kritios Boy, marble, Acropolis Museum, Athens
[Classical] (480 BCE) • Introduction of the contrapposto, body standing naturally • Slight turn to the body head not strictly frontal but a bit to one side • Transitional piece between Archaic and Classical art |
|
|
Athena, Herakles, and Atlas from the Temple of Zeus, marble, Archaeological Museum, Olympia
[Classical] (470-456 BCE) • Atlas returning to Herakles with the apples of the Hesperides; Herakles held the world (with a cushion to soften the discomfort) for Atlas while he was gone • Transitional phase between the stiff Archaic and the more relaxed Classical forms • Athena's body revealed under her clothes; idealized forms on the bodies of Herakles and Atlas • Archaic smile gone • Figures appear to be able to think • From the Temple of Zeus |
|
|
Myron, The Discus Thrower, marble copy of bronze original, National Roman Museum, Rome
[Classical] (450 BCE) • By Myron • In-between motion, mid-swing • Impossible pose to throw the discus, but optically the pose works • Viewpoint mainly from the front • Expressionless face, or perhaps thinking • Use of negative space opens large areas in the sculpture • Idealized heroic body |
|
|
Polykleitos, Spear Bearer (Doryphoros), marble copy of bronze original, National Museum, Naples
[Classical] (450-440 BCE) • By Polykleitos • Closed stance • Alternating tense and relaxed elements of the body • Blocklike solidity • Broad shoulders, thick morso, muscular body • Movement restrained, Spartan ideal of body • Warrior and athlete • Hand once held a spear • He averts his gaze; you may admire him, but he does not reorganize the admiration |
|
|
Three Goddesses, from the Parthenon, marble, British Museum
[Classical] (438-432 BCE) • Figures are related to one another in their poses, positions, and interconnected meaning • Clinging. "wet" drapery reveals the voluptuous bodies beneath; deeply cut drapery • Figures sit naturally within the framework of the pediment • Poetic pose |
|
|
Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, from the Temple of Athena Nike, marble, Acropolis Museum, Athens
[Classical] (410 BCE) • From the temple of Athens • Graceful winged figure modeled in high relief • Deeply incised drapery lines reveal body, wet drapery |
|
|
Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos, marble copy, Vatican Museums
[Classical] (350-340 BCE) • By Praxitiles • Statue once was housed in a round temple and could only have been seen by someone though peeking around columns; voyeuristic view • Novel in its approach to the nudity for females not openly erotic; but sensual • Aphrodite steps into a bath • She is admired, but averts her gaze • She is taking a cloak off a water jar • Sensuous "S" curve to the body • Gentle, dreamy quality • Modest-hand that is missing would have covered her pelvis |
|
|
Praxiteles, Hermes and the Infant Dionysos, from the Temple of Hera, Olympia, marble copy, Archaeological Museum, Olympia
[Classical] (340 BCE) • By Praxitiles • Shallow S-shaped curve; subtle modeling of musculature • Soft shadows play on body surface • Dionysos perhaps reaching for grapes • Hermes with a dreamy expression, a deep reverie |
|
|
Lysippos, Scraper, marble copy from a bronze original, Vatican Museums
[Classical] (330 BCE) • Breaks down the dominance of the frontal view • Thin forms, smaller heads, elongated bodies, sleek lanky look, eyes closely set • Athlete is scraping off oil after a competition • Arms are straight out, extended into space • Head one-eighth of the body • Twist of the knee, torsion of the body; leans back into a contrappasto stance • Far-away look • By Lysippos |
|
|
Dying Gaul from Pergamon, marble copy of a bronze original, Capitoline Museum, Rome
[Hellenistic] (230-220 BCE) • Trumpeter from Gaul collapsing on his instrument; blood oozing from his wound: shows defeat of the Gauls • Seen as a hero by the Greeks, which in turn glorifies their conquest • Represents a barbarian foe; hair kept in an uncultivated manner • Figure meant to be seen in the round • Negative space • Great emotion shown on face |
|
|
Athena battling Alkyoneos, from the Pergamon Altar, marble, State Museum, Berlin
[Hellenistic] (175 BCE) • Describes the battle between gods and the giants; the giants, as helpless tools, were dragged up to worship the gods • The gods' victory over the giants offers a parallel to Alexander the Great's defeat of the Persians • Deeply carved figures overlap one another; masterful handling of spatial illusion • Dramatic intensity of figures, movement; heroic musculature |
|
|
Nike of Samothrace, marble, Louvre
[Hellenistic] (190 BCE) • Meant to sit on a fountain as a figurehead of a boat; the fountain would splash water on the figure • Wet drapery look imitates the water playing on the wet body • Built to commemorate a naval victory 191 BCE • Dramatic twist and contrapasto of the torso • Monumentality of the figure • His missing right arm may have raised a victory crown; perhaps she was landing on the prow of a ship |
|
|
Venus de Milo (Aphrodite of Melos), marble, Louvre
[Hellenistic] (150-125 BCE) • Elegance of pose, long S-shaped curve; sensuous; erotic • Once hand held an apple, her symbol; the other hand probably held up her robes • Softly modeled forms; light and shadow softly play on surface |
|
|
Rhodes sculptors, Laocoon, Vatican Museums
[Hellenistic] (1st Century) • Story from the Aeneid of the Trojan priest who tried to warn his people of the dangers lurking inside the horse given to Troy by the Greeks; snakes were sent by the gods to prevent him from speaking • High drama; emotional • Twisting, curving forms, the eye cannot rest, wanders round the composition; viewing the composition from many angles is encouraged • Heightened musculature accentuates pathos of the moment • Negative space |
|
|
Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, Athens
(447-438 BCE) • Constructed under the leadership of Pericles after the Persian sack of Athens in 480 BCE destroyed the original Acropolis • Pericles used the extra funds in the Persian war Treasury to build the Acropolis; Greek allies were furious • Greek predilection for algebra and geometry omnipresent in the building (research equations on your own, they're lame) • Unusually light interior had two windows in the cella • Floor curves upward in the center of the façade to drain off rain water and to deflect the appearance of the sagging ends • The columns at the ends are surrounded by light, which alters their appearance, so they are made thicker in order to look the same as the other columns • Ionic elements in a Doric temple; rear room contains Ionic capitals, frieze on interior is Ionic • Interior built to house a massive statue of Athena, to whom the building was dedicated |
|
|
The Erechtheion, Athens
(421-405 BCE) • Honors Erechtheus, an early king of Athens, during whose reign an ancient wooden idol of Athena was said to have fallen from the heavens • Also marks the spot where Athena and Poseidon competed to be patrons of the city of Athens • Because it incorporated a few sites, the building has an irregular, asymmetrical plan, unusual to Greek architecture • Caryatids walk toward the Parthenon in a procession • Ionic temple |
|
|
Polykleitos, Theater, Epidauros, Greece
(350 BCE) • Theaters often had a view of the sea; the sea plays an important role in Greek drama • Acoustics were excellent; every one of the 12,000 spectators could hear • Stage juts out and is enriched by the audience on three sides • Stage had removable and modest sets • Plays typically held on feast days and as part of contests • In Polykleitos |
|
|
Pergamon Altar, State Museum, Berlin
(175 BCE) • Altar placed on an elevated platform up a dramatic flight of stairs • Conscious effort to be in dialogue with the Panathenatic Frieze on the Parthenon • 7(1/2) foot high frieze over 400 feet long wraps around monument • Contains an altar dedicated to Zeus • Ionic columns frame monument • Parallels made between the Peragamon victories over the Barabrians in a recent war, Alexander the Great's defeat of the Persians, and the gods' defeat over the giants in mythology |
|
|
Klietias, Francois Vase, Archaeological Museum, Florence
(570 BCE) • By Klietias • Signed by the potter and the painter twice • More than two hundred figures represented in six superimposed rows and two rows on each handle • Neatly every feature is labeled, even horses, dogs, and water jars • Mythological subjects, among which are a boar hunt, a dance of maidens rescued from the minotaur by Theseus, a chariot race at the funeral of Patroklos, arrival of the gods at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, a row of animals and monsters, and Ajax carrying the dead body of Achilles (on the handle) • Separate themes on each band of the vase echo one another; parallels draw meaning from various mythological episodes • Said to have every Greek god on the vase |
|
|
Exekias, Ajax and Achilles Playing Dice, Vatican Museums
(540-530 BCE) • By Exekias • Concentration on two competing figures on a Greek amphora • Subdued emotions portrayed • Spears suggest depth; spears at the ready, enemies will not catch them unaware • Legs mirror the reflective pose • Black figure style with decorative band of geometric designs • Left: Achilles wins by saying "four"; right Ajax says "three"; it is ironic that Ajax will live and bury his dead friend Achilles, who will eventually lose in a battle |
|
|
Battle of Issus, National Archaeological Museum, Naples
(100 BCE) • Alexander at left: young, brave, forthright assured of success • Darius in center right on chariot: horrified, weakly ceding the victory; his charioteer commands the horses to make their escape • Crowded, with nervous excitement • Roman floor mosaic based on an original Greek mural painting |
|
|
The life-size[1] marble statue known as the Barberini Faun or Drunken Satyr is located in the Glyptothek in Munich, Germany. A Faun is the Roman equivalent of a Greek Satyr. In Greek mythology, satyrs were human-like male woodland spirits with several animal features, often a goat-like tail, hooves, ears, or horns. Satyrs attended Dionysus.
The sculpture was either carved by an unknown Hellenistic sculptor of the Pergamene school, in the late third or early second century BCE[2] or is a Roman copy of high quality, though its present form was given it by a series of restorers in Rome, ending with Vincenzo Pacetti.[3] The statue was found in the 1620s in the moat below the Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, which in Antiquity had been Hadrian’s Mausoleum. Work on the fortification was undertaken by the Barberini Pope Urban VIII in 1624. The sculpture made its first documented appearance in a receipt for its restoration, 6 June 1628, when it already belonged to the Pope's nephew, Cardinal Francesco Barberini[4]. When discovered, the statue was heavily damaged; the right leg, parts of both hands, and parts of the head were missing. The historian Procopius recorded that during the siege of Rome in 537 the defenders had hurled down upon the Goths the statues adorning Hadrian's Mausoleum, and Johann Winckelmann speculated that the place of discovery and the statue's condition suggested that it had been such a projectile |
