Art History Quiz 2

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Bull-leaping, from the palace, Knossos (Crete), Greece, ca. 1400-1370 BCE. Note the geometric frame, and solid color background - no setting. Women have light skin and men dark, this is a common theme. Pinched waist is distinctively Minoan.

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Lion Gate, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 BCE. Protected by left wall of natural rock and right wall made of large blocks. Defenders could stand above on both sides. Post and lintel doorway, with corbelled arch above lintel to form a relieving triangle. 2 lions in high relief filling the space in the arch, flanking a column in heraldic composition. Pillar has Minoan mushroom-y look, and rectuangular spaces under lions are part of Minoan altars. Monumental sculpture in this time was rare. Animals may have Egyptian/Near East influence.

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Interior of the Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae, Greece, ca. 1300-1250 BCE. Cyclopian masonry, use of corbelled arch to create relieving triangle. Previously there were decorative columns in the triangle. Contemporaneous with the Lion Gate, long passageway leading to it. 43ft high dome, largest pre-Roman vaulted interior space. More corbelling used in the dome.

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Geometric krater, from the Dipylon cemetery, Athens, Greece, ca. 740 BCE. Well over 3ft tall, a considerable technical achievement. Vessel had an open bottom, possibly to pour libations into or disperse rainwater. Much of surface is covered with geometric shapes and bands. A meander (border from a continuous line) separates the neck. Most Greek vases are filled with geometric shapes, but two bands have exceptions. There's a man laid on a bier, who is shown being mourned. People are very geometric, but have defining characteristics.

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Kroisos, from Anavysos, Greece, ca. 530 BCE. Stood over the grave of a young man who died in battle. More naturalism that earlier, waist is less pinched and arms hang more naturally. Note the archaic smile and hair texture. Related to earlier Kouros figures, part of the sculptural tradition spanning Egyptian to Archaic styles. Arms pinned/in fists are Egyptian, as is moved leg without weight shift.

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Exekias, Achilles and Ajax, playing a dice game, from Vulci, Italy, ca. 540-530 BCE. An amphora, found in an Etruscan tomb. Exekias is an acknowledged master of black figure. No registers, all of the vase is one scene of the dice game. Spears give diagonals to focus attention to center. Incredibly detailed garments on both figures.

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Dying warrior, from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece, ca. 480BCE. Shows transition from archaic to classical art, represents the figure rather than the idea. Doesn't look at viewer, is caught in own pain. Turning point in archaic/classical art. More attention to anatomy.

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Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer). Roman copy from the palaestra, Pompeii, Italy,of a bronze statue of ca. 450-440 BCE. Polykleitos is known for creating an idealized canon of the human form. Broad planes of the face, soft lips, idealized form, realistic(ish) weight shift. A roman copy from the Palestra (?).

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Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 447-438 BCE. Built according to harmonious numbers, often y = 2x + 1. Primarily Doric, but has Ionic elements. Corners have larger columns to be aesthetically pleasing. Contained a 38' ivory and gold statue of Athena Parthenos, with Nike perched on her hand, representing Greek victory over the Persians. Each side had a different metope. Was part of the Panathenaic festival procession route, and contained a frieze memorializing this. Four metopes, gigantomachy, centaurmachy, Amazonomachy, and Greeks warring with Trojans.

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Caryatids of the south porch of the Erechtheion, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, ca. 421-405BCE. Use of statues as columns. The lips, central part, and wavy hair indicate them to likely be goddesses. Classical drapery.

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Lysippos, Weary Herakles, Rome, Italy, based on a bronze statue of ca. 320 BCE. Is holding apples behind his back, forcing viewer to interact with statue and move around it. Shows weariness in face and pose, despite still appearing strong.

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Epigonos, Dying Gaul, Rome. Roman copy of a bronze statue from Pergamon, Turkey,ca. 230-220 BCE. Roman copy of a greek bronze. Shown to be gauls by their hair and chokers. Only showing dying enemies, and in noble form. By elevating the defeated, they elevate their own victory. Sculpture includes blood coming from wound, figure is engrossed in own pain. Nudity implies heroism in their artistic culture.

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Apulu (Apollo of Veii), from the roof of the Portonaccio temple, Veii, Italy, ca. 510-500BCE. Finest remaining Etrustan statue. Resembles greek statuary, but pose is gesticulating, which differs from the Egyptian stoicness in greece. Also, we have an interest in drapery here, and the figure was wooden - a material the greeks didn't use.

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Temple of Vesta, Tivoli, Italy, early first century BCE. Employs Corinthian order (column type with elaborate capitals). Tholos type (or "round") temple. Obviously influenced by round greek temple architecture. Frontal orientation and cella, an orientation not found in greece. Concrete was used for the cella.

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Portrait of a Roman general, from the Sanctuary of Hercules, Tivoli, Italy, ca. 75-50BCE. Very Roman example of eclecticism, picking and choosing aspects from various cultures. Clumsy bilingual statue used to convey ideas - Republican face, emphasizing gravitas and referring to Imagenes of ancestors, but body is a heroic nude. Says something unique to this person, and is in a pose of elocution.

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Portrait of Augustus as general, from Primaporta, Italy, early-first-century CE copy of abronze original. Augustus became the son of a god when Caesar was deified. He and his general beat Marc Antony at Actium, securing the empire. Note his weight shift, contrapposto pose (most of the weight on one leg, shoulders turned off-axis from legs), these are indicative of 5th century BC statuary. (Compare spear thrower.) Portrayed as youthful, idealized in the Greek style. Still shows his features, has high ridged eyebrows, pointed chin, aquiline nose, and broad cranium.

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Ara Pacis Augustae, Rome, Italy, 13-9 BCE. The Altar of Augustan Peace. Peace refers to no more civil wars during this time. The actual altar is inside the walls, and this frontal axis of procession is very Roman. The images on the walls are carefully chosen myths in 4 panels, sometimes with recognizable figures from the day. Contains a processional frieze with identifiable members of the imperial family and women and children - a reference to the Panathenaic processional.

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Second style wall painting from the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor, Boscoreale, Italy,ca. 50-40 BCE. 2nd style attempts to dissolve the walls, showing a 3D landscape extending beyond the walls. Shows temples, etc. Specific example of Phollos Temple. (What?)

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Severus and Celer, octagonal hall of the Domus Aurea of Nero, Rome, Italy, 64-68 CE. Part of Nero's Golden Palace - Nero appropriated space after the fire of Rome for it. Hole in the roof is an oculus (like the one in the Pantheon). Slits in the roof let light in, the novelty of this and the space itself was allowed by concrete. Had a stepped water feature in the dome's Aria space.

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Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater), Rome, Italy, ca. 70-80 CE. Built on Nero's appropriated artificial lake, it was a way of distancing politically from him and giving back to the city. It gets its name from the colossal statue of Nero out front. Wooden posts held an awning over the crowd when it was sunny. The aesthetic effect of each level gets lighter as you go up. Influenced by Pompeian amphitheater and Pompey's Theater. Very complex architecture and engineering feat. Had seating by social order.

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Spoils, of Jerusalem, relief panel in the passageway of the Arch of Titus, Rome, Italy,after 81 CE. Titus sacked Jerusalem in 60AD, razed the temple. Relief is of them bringing back treasure, identifiable easily by the iconic menorah. Panels would have had painted scenes on them depicting battle.

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Column of Trajan, Forum of Trajan, Rome, Italy, dedicated 112 CE. 100 feet high, same amount as was cut into the hill for the forum. Had a 660 foot long frieze around it, likely painted in color. Lifted up with pulleys. Sculptures all done in situ. Containes Trajan's tomb at the base. 3 main functions: Glorified statue base, tomb of Trajan & wife, reminder of removal of 100ft of hell and his accomplishments in wars. The images were meant to display the might of the Roman military, as well as of the emperor.

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Apollodorus of Damascus, interior of the great hall, Markets of Trajan, Rome, Italy, ca.100-112 CE. Uses hidden light sources for illumination. Space where the emperor distributed grain to citizens. Note the use of barrel vaulting.

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Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 118-125 CE. 3rd pantheon on this site. Ironically, 2nd was struck by lightning. One of the most influential designs in history: A colonnaded porch connected to a dome on a drum. Very simple, yet magnificent. Dome is 142ft in diameter, and 140ft tall, meant to make viewer feel in the dome of heaven. Concrete used in the dome varied in composition as the dome got higher, from basalt based at the bottom to pumice based at the top. Thickness decreases as it nears the oculus - 30ft across and the only light source. Dome is decorated with coffers, lightening the concrete. Within them were stars of bronze. Survived partially due to being converted to a Christian church.

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Canopus and Serapeum, Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, Italy, ca. 125-128 CE. A water channel or long rectangular pool. Name comes from a water channel in Egypt, and is an allusion to the Nile. Serapeum is a dining space at the far end of it, named after the conflated Egyptian/Greek god Serapis. Hadrian loved collecting art, this contains karyatids which are exact copies of the ones on the Acropolis (perfectly matched measurements on purpose). Contains a pumpkin vault, Hadrian's own addition to architecture which looks like a pumpkin. Has statues of crocodiles to reinforce Nile theme. Villa spaces were leisure spaces before this, but Hadrian made them business ones as well. In front of the Serapeum is a small pool with a depiction of Scylla.