The history of art - Essay Example

Art History and Appreciation of Art (Essay Ancient Aegean and Greek The account of ancient Greece portrayed in the Iliad and Odyssey has been corroborated by the discoveries of archaeologists like Heinrich Schliemann and Arthur Evans. The art history of the Greece is usually divided into seven main periods: the Geometric, the Orientalizing, the Archaic, the Early Classical, High Classical, Late Classical and Hellenistic. The Ancient Greek style of architecture can be divided into three major types: the Doric order, the Ionic order and the Corinthian order. The Greek temple was built as a segment of a religious area called the acropolis. Small circular temples were called tholos of which the Treasury of Atreus is the largest. The construction of a temple used to occur in two main steps: the entablature and the pediment. The former, which is the main horizontal structure that encircles the entire construction, is further divided into the architrave and the frieze.  The entablature in Ionic order featured carvings of draped female figures called caryatids. In some structures, the frieze consists of triglyphs or vertical rectangular blocks, the spaces between which are filled up by sections called metopes. The upper part of the entablature is a decorative element called the cornice. The idea of the tethered wooden frame was still not in vogue and hence to build a temple a set of columns was used to support the roof or cella of the temple. Inside the cella was a small chamber called opisthodomos that was used for storing treasure. The capitals usually featured a variety of volutes. The Corinthian capital used to be much deeper and shaped like a geometric krater. The part of the temple’s base which supported the columns was called the stylobate and the entrance consisted of the dromos or the pathway and the arched vault called the corbelled arch. The big houses had a peristyle courtyard inside them and most of the houses had an open porch called the ‘pronaos’ and a rectangular hall called megaron. Two remarkable specimens of Greek architecture are the Parthenon, the temple dedicated to goddess Athena, and Erechtheion, the temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon. Kouros statues, referring to the large marble statues of youth, were a common feature of Greek sculpture. Most of these were based on the contrapposto or counter-pose technique. Kritios boy was another version of statues and depicted athletes. Peplos Kore was a marble representation of young woman and was the best known sample of Greek sculpture. Some of the most notable works of ancient Greek sculpture are Aphrodite of Knidos, Hermes and Dionysos, Venus de Milo, Laocoon and His Sons, Discobolus of Myron and the Male Lyre Player. The Three Revelers is a red-figure amphora painting made in 510 B.C. by Euthymides. Herakles Wrestling Antaios was another red-figure calyx krater painting. The Harvester Vase is a masterpiece of Greek art. It is a long egg-shaped vase that depicts the scene of a procession. Bull Leaping Fresco is the masterly Minoan depiction of a leaping bull using repoussé technique. Another successful depiction of animal in Greek art was the Lion Gate which was the main entrance of citadel of Mycenae in southern Greece. It was the sheer beauty and elegance of these works of art that instigated Lord Elgin of Great Britain to steal away many of the marble statues of Parthenon in his warship Hydra in 1810. 2. Etruscan and Roman Ancient Roman architecture consists of elements like paintings, mosaics and statues made up of concrete and cement. One chief feature of ancient Roman architecture was the construction of vault in the ceiling or roof. The vaults can be semicircular in shape (barrel vault) or elliptical (groin vault). The two most common perspectives used by the Roman artists in their works were the linear perspective and the atmospheric perspective. Another technique that was mastered by the Romans was chiaroscuro or the strong contrasts between light and dark. A very good execution of the same can be seen in the painting ‘Still Life with Peaches’. The use of a garden scape is yet another feature of Roman wall paintings. The Tomb of the Reliefs and The Tomb of the Leopards are two of the most well-known tombs of Tarquinia. Sarcophagus from Cerveteri is an Etruscan sculpture depicting a married couple together in the afterlife. The four styles of Roman painting are Masonry Style, Illusionistic Style, Ornate Style and Realistic Style. In sculpture, the equestrian statue, or the statue of a rider mounted on a horse, was very popular. An example is the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius. The Capitoline Wolf is a bronze figure of a female wolf feeding her two infants, inspired by the myth of the founding of Rome. Such female personification is another dominant trait of erstwhile Roman sculpture. Most of the famous historic buildings and archaeological sites in Italy can be found in Colosseum and Pantheon. The Ara Pacis Augustae is the altar dedicated to the Roman goddess of Peace which was built in the honor of Augustus’s return to Rome. The Maison Carree is one of the well-maintained Roman temples existing today. The Arch of Constantine and the Arch of Titus are two of the most famous arches in the world and have set an example for the arches that have been erected after the 16th century. The Column of Trajan was built to celebrate Roman emperor Trajans victory in the Dacian Wars. House of the Vettii in Pompeii and the sculpture of the four Tetrarchs are few more specimens of ancient Roman art. 3. Early Christian (Late Antiquity) and Byzantine In Late Antiquity, diptych and transept were a major form of architecture. In Christian buildings, the transept is the structure that separates the nave from the apse. Few other elements of a Christian church are aisles, narthex and clerestory. The squinch and the pendentive are structures used to rest the vault upon a square base. The Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus is the most famous piece of early Christian sculpture. It was basically a marble that was used in 359 A.D. for the burial of Junius Bassus. Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well is an oil painting located in the Indianapolis Museum of Art which was made by Italian painter Carlo Maratta. Some very famous specimens of Byzantine art are the Emperor Justinian and His Attendants Mosaic and the Good Shepherd Mosaic from Galla Placidia made in the 5th century and the Crucifixion at the Church of the Dormition made in the 10th century. Hagia Sophia is an important monument for both the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires. It was created as a result of the Nika Rebellion that broke out during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian. This great piece of architecture was initially a church, then a mosque and is now a museum. This period saw the creation of the mosaics of Justinian and Theodora in the San Vitale in Ravenna. The destruction caused to Constantinople by the revolt eventually led to the initiation of new building project by Constantine. This period in the history of the Byzantine art was characterized by iconoclasm or the opposition of the use of religious icons. 4. Early Medieval and Romanesque Charlemagne was made the king of England in the year 800 with an aim to re-establish the old Roman Empire. But after the Battle of Hastings and the following invasion of England by William of Normandy in the year 1066 brought about the erection of castles and churches that revived the Norman reign. However in the latter half of the 10th century, the reign of Otto I, II and III brought back the lost artistic glory of Christian architecture. Some of the pioneers of art and architecture during this era were the Bishop Bernwald and the Odo of Metz. The chief features of the Romanesque churches were portal, archivolt, voussoirs, transverse arch, nave arcade, the ambulatory with radiating chapels, heavy wall, flying buttresses and alternate support system in the naves. Some of the famous Romanesque buildings are the Palatine Chapel (Germany), Pisa Cathedral (Italy) and Durham Cathedral (England). The most noted church buildings of the period are St Sernin at Toulouse, St Etienne at Nevers and St Michael’s at Hildesheim. Not only the architecture of buildings but also the elements in the Gospels and Psalters, the architectonic stone cuttings and wall paintings in the churches and chauvet caves reflected an appreciation of art. Some remarkable paintings of the figure of St. Matthew are present in the illuminated manuscripts of Lindisfarne Gospels and Ebbo Gospels, and the Cross and Carpet Page in the Lindisfarne Gospels and the unusual Crucifixion on cover of the Lindau Gospels. The Gero Crucifix in Cologne Cathedral in Germany which is the oldest sculpture of the crucified Christ also belongs to this period. The Autun cathedral is famous for its Romanesque tympanum (c.1130), which depicts the scene of the Last Judgment. The abbey of St. Pierre is well known for its trumeau that features a scripture of Jeremiah. The statue of Madonna and Child (or the Morgan Madonna) is a masterpiece of the twelfth century. The Bayeux Tapestry that possibly depicts the Norman Conquest of England is a highly distinguished work of art of the medieval world. The fibula, or the brooches in multiple shapes were another form of art that was very popular. 5. Gothic Gothic architecture, which evolved from Romanesque architecture, was in vogue in Europe during the mid and late medieval period. Some of the most spectacular Gothic buildings are the medieval churches and cathedrals like Amiens Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral, the Basilica of St Denis, Notre Dame de Paris, Salisbury Cathedral, Cologne Cathedral and Milan Cathedral. One of the best examples of Gothic architecture is the Chartres Cathedral in France. Of the few parts of the Chartres Cathedral surviving today the most remarkable are the west portals also called the Royal Portals. Moreover the cathedral is famous for its three large Rose windows and five thin Lancet windows. Abbot Suger and Bishop Maurice de Sully were two of the pioneers of Gothic art. The design of Notre-Dame Paris was, for instance, worked out by Suger. The presence of the pointed arch, the ribbed vault, triforium and flying buttresses is a recurring feature in Gothic architecture. The flying buttresses first appeared at Saint-Denis. The Salisbury Cathedral features the tallest spire in England. The east end of Cologne Cathedral has the maximum verticality. The Milan Cathedral is well known for its large and beautifully decorated windows. Read More