Statuettes of Worshipers

Ancient Mesopotamia

2700 BCE

-votive statues, watchful eyes

Standard of Ur (peace side)

Ancient Mesopotamia

2600 BCE

-divided into "registers" for visual order

-mosaics in shell, wood, etc

-standard = symbol representing figure or group

Victory Stele of Naram Sin

Ancient Mesopotamia

2250 BCE

*Naram Sin was an Akkadian King who claimed divinity

*Stele shows him defeating the Lullubi

*Pink Sandstone

2000 BCE, Prehistoric Europe

Possibly for yearly rituals celebrating summer, peace, or healing

Possibly for religious ritual

-Ancient Near East

-Included Sumer, Assyria, Babylon, Akkad

-Tigris and Euphrades Rivers 

-a large structure made of earth bricks

-"manmade mountain reaching to heaven"

-Large stairs on side, temple on top

statues used in prayer

offerings to gods

excagerated watchful eyes

-one of the earliest writing systems

-wedge shaped marks in clay tablets

-Cuneiform means "wedge-shaped"

Stele with the Laws of Hammurabi

Ancient Mesopotamia

1780 BCE

*Hammurabi king of Babylon

*one of the first written codes

*written in cuneiform

Method used to build stonehenge

-2 posts hold up 1 lintel 

Human headed winged lion 

ancient mesopotamia

"guard" for palace

Palette of King Narmer

Egypt

3000 BCE

Early Egyptian Necropolis

contains stepped pyramid of Pharoah Djoser

Imhotep: architect of pyramid

Great Pyramids

Egypt

2500 BCE

*Tombs for Pharoahs Khafre, Menkaure, and Kfufu

*Mostly solid masonry

*Located at Gizeh

*originally covered with smooth stone cladding

Egypt, 2500

lion with human head

Khafre Enthroned

Egypt

2500 BCE

*Ka statue of early pharoah

Khafre

Early Egyptian Pharoah

Buried in 1 Great Pyramid

"Khafre Enthroned"- Ka statue of him

Egyptian Pharoah

Buried in 1 Great Pyramid

"Menkaure and his Wife" statue

Menkaure and his Wife

Egypt 

2500 BCE

idealized, stiff, formal depiction in the typical fashion of ancient egyptian sculpture

Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt

Egypt

2500 BCE

*Ti is Govt official watching workers hunt- hierarchy of scale

in Temple of Amen-Re

1200 BCE

low relief columns

-Woman Pharoah, still depicted with male features (beard)

-Depicted as sphinx

-Mortuary hidden in cliff instead of pyramid for security reasons

Temple of Ramses II

Egypt 

1200 BCE

*located on edge of nile

*moved when a dam was put in place

Ahkenaton

Egypt

1300 BCE

*Radical Pharoah- didn't choose to be idealized the way others did

*Embraced only Aten, god of the sun, instead of all the gods

Nefertiti

Egypt

1300 BCE

-Not a pharoah- wife to Ahkenaton (radical Pharoah)

-New display in Berlin lets you appreciate her beauty in the round

Death Mask of Tutankhamun

Egypt

1300 BCE

*Idealized image

*gold and precious gems

*iconic

often used in ancient egypt, seen in "Standard of Ur", "Judgement befor Osiris"

different parts of the story shown in continuous space

Cycladic culture and Minoan culture

Eastern Mediteranian Sea

V early Aegean culture 

3000-2000 BCE

Islands in Meditteranean 

little known about culture

small sculptures of abstracted human figures

Later Aegean Culture

1700-1400 BCE

Centered on Island of Crete

maze like palace complexes

sea creatures, bulls

Figurine of a Woman

Aegean 

2500 BCE

Cycladic culture

abstracted body of woman

placed flat in a grave

made from white marble commonly found in greek islands

Snake Goddess

Aegean 

1600 BCE

*minoan

Bull Leaping

Aegean

1400 BCE

*minoan

*has been partially restored with modern paint

*Not Slide ID

Liongate at Citadel of Mycenae

1500 BCE

Kouros

Greek

600 BCE

*visual similarities to Egyptian sculpture- sort of stiff and rigid

Contraposto

began to emerge around 900 BCE on Greek Mainland

Archaic Period (around 600 BCE)

Classical Period (500 BCE)

worshiped pantheon of gods, emphasis on perfection

Spear Bearer

artist: Polykleitos

Greek

450 BCE

-later Roman copy of Greek Bronze statue

-Exemplifies "Canon" of Polykleitos

-Realistic AND idealized

-Not a portrait, a generalization

Polykleitos

Greek Artist 

Canon of Proportions

Spear Bearer

Discus Thrower

artist: Myron

Greek

450 BCE

*later Roman copy of Greek Bronze

*realistic yet idealized

Aphrodite of Knidos

artist: Praxiteles

Greek

350 BCE

*Roman copy of Greek Bronze

*earliest depiction of idealized female nude

*men fell in love with her

-Black figure

-Red figure

-White ground

Achilles and Ajax Playing a Dice Game

artist: Exekias

Greek 

450 BCE

*example of Black Figure vase painting

Doric

Ionic

order of Greek architecture

stouter columns

simple and plain compared to Ionic

Greek architectural order

characterized by taller fluted columns, stacked bases

Fifth century BCE

Sanctuary dedicated to Athena

Safe meeting place even during war

Parthenon

architects: Iktinos and Kallikrates

Greek

450 BCE

*temple dedicated to athena

Doric and Ionic friezes

Lapith versus Centaur

Greek

450 BCE

 *part of Doric outer frieze of Parthenon

*depicts battle between human and centaur

Elders and Maidens 

Greek

450 BCE

*part of inner Ionic frieze of Parthenon

depicts participants in festival dedicated to Athena

Erechtheion

Greek

420 BCE

*secondary temple in Acropolis, also dedicated to Athena

*"porch of the maidens" womens bodies as columns called "caryatids"

Theatre incorporated into nature

ampitheatre style

Greek, 350 BCE

Spread of Greek Classicism throughout Meditteranean

Begins around 323 BCE with death of Alexander the Great

lasts until 30 BCE

emphasis not so much on perfection

Macedonian educated in Greek culture- loved it

Conquered East Mediteranean and spread his love of Greek culture

Altar of Zeus

Hellenistic

175 BCE

Religious structure built in Pergamon

currently in Pergamon museum in Berlin

Dying Gaul

Hellenistic 

230 BCE

compare to Polykleitos' Spear Bearer

roman copy of Hellenistic original

combines realism, idealization, visual drama

depicts dramatic moment of soldier's death

Laocoon and his Sons

Hellenistic

Early 1st Century BCE

artists: Hagesandros, Polydoros, and Athanadoros of Rhodes

Nike of Samothrace 

Hellenistic

190 BCE

depiction of one of the Nikes of Athena

shows movement

Venus de Milo 

Hellenistic

150 BCE

much admired idealized female nude

compare to aphrodite of Knidos

Old Market Woman 

Hellenistic

150 BCE

realistic, not idealized

either old woman going to market, or drunken follower of Dionysus

Etruscan Period

Roughly 800-500 BCE

precursor to Roman culture

influenced by Greek culture

Sarcophagus 

Etruscan

520 BCE

terra cotta coffin

note individuality of husband and wife figures

500 BCE-476 BCE (almost 1000 yrs)

centered on city of Rome

Great conquerors, administrators, builders

Head of an Old Man 

Roman

Mid-first century BCE

good example of "verism", Roman realism

emphasis on old age, wisdom, duty

Aule Metele 

Roman

Early 1st century BCE

realistically depicted govt' official

Temple of Portunus

Roman

75 BCE

small Roman religious building

a Roman city destroyed in 79 CE by volcanic ash

one of the most perfectly preserved examples of Roman life

Roman theatre- concept still in use today

made of concrete

Dionysiac Mystery Frieze

Roman

50 BCE

second style wall painting depicting Dionysus

1st style: illusion of stones, bricks, etc.

2nd style: illusion of looking through a window

3rd style: embraced flat surface of wall. tiny details. monochromatic

4th style: "intricate style" combo of the first 3

Augustus as Geeneral

Roman

Early 1st Century CE

combines Roman verism with classic Greek idealism

Young, vigorous depiction of Rome's first emperor

the cupid connects Augustus to the gods, making him semi-divine

Procession of the Imperial Family

Roman

10 BCE

low relief depicting Augustus's Imperial family- meant as realistic portraits

Pont du Gard

Roman

16 BCE

large scale aquaduct, display of Roman engineering skill, use of round arches for support

Colosseum

Roman

75 CE

one of the largest Roman amphitheatres ever built

concrete with marble veneer

round arches and barrel vaults

Pantheon

Roman

125 CE

grand temple dedicated to the "pantheon" of gods

cylinder with a shallow dome roof

grand, circular interior

niches used to hold statues of the gods

now a christian church

Flavian Woman

Roman

90 CE

elegant portrait 

Flavian was the dynasty that ruled Rome at the time

Equestrian Statute of Marcus Aurelius

Roman

175 CE

bronze with some surviving guilding

one of few remaining bronze sculptures

Mummy Portrait of a priest of Serapis

Roman

150 CE

portrait of Egyptian priest- buried with him

"encaustic" color mixed with hot wax

Constantine the Great

Roman

315 CE

bust of the last great emperor of Rome

legalized Christianity in 313- Edict of Milan

made Christianity de-facto religion throughout the empire

Arch of Constantine

Roman

315 CE

triumphal arches- Roman monuments erected by leaders to show their triumphs

built to honor Constantine's triumphs over rivals for the throne

Battle Sartcophagus

Roman

250 CE

jumble of space and figures

Roman architectural order

the most complex

fluted, thin columns

Basics of Buddhism

1.) Centerpiece of life is suffering

2.) Suffering is caused by desire

3.) You can cleanse yourself of desire

4.) And reach Nirvana and be freed of the cycle

The buddhist way to enlightenment

right view

right attitude

right speech

right action

right livelihood

full effort

thorough awareness

meditation

Indian

over 200 pillars erected by emperor Ashoka to honor Buddha 200 years after his death

axis of universe

Lion Capital

India

250 BCE

once stood atop Ashokan pillars

wheels symbolize circle of life

roaring the buddha's teachings in 4 directions

lotus symbolizes beauty from filth

Great Stupa

Indian

3rd century BCE- 1st century CE

built in stages over hundreds of years

sacred area within fence- meditation

potion of Buddha's ashes 

solid, no interior

Seated Buddha

India

5th century CE

Funeral Army

China

210 BCE

terra cotta soldiers created for grave of Qin Shi Huangdi

combination of standardized and individualized features

Seated Buddha

China

completed 676 CE

located on Silk Road

Travelers among Mountains and Streams

artist: Fan Kuan

China

11th century CE

hanging scroll with vertical orientation

Daoist principles of flexibility and meditation

Confucist principles of order

View from bottom up

Haniwa Warior Figure
Jpan

5th century CE

Shaka Triad

artist: Tori Busshi

Japan

623 CE

Genji visits Murasaki

Japan

12th century

part of a handscroll that illustrates a novel about a nobleman's life at court

point of view is "eavesdropping"

Night Attack on the Sajo Palace

Japan

13th century 

part of a longer scroll illustrating a battld in Japanese civil war

Buddhist temple in Japan, Chinese pagoda influences but more emphasis on extended eves and natural wood