Chapter 13

The Art of the Ancients

Art is exalted above religion and race. Not a single solitary soul these days believes in the religion of the Assyrians, the Egyptians, or the Greeks. . . . Only their art, whenever it was beautiful, stands proud and exalted, rising above all time. –Emil Nolde

The Art of the Ancients

Prehistoric Art

Art of the Ancient

Near East

Egyptian Art

Aegean Art

Phases of Prehistoric Art

1. Upper Paleolithic - (late years to the Old Stone Age)

2. Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)

3. Neolithic (New Stone Age)

• These 3 periods roughly spanned 14,000 - 200 BCE.

• Works of art from the Stone Age include cave paintings, reliefs, sculpture of stone, ivory and bone.

Prehistoric Art

• Why did early humans create art?

• What links between religion and art were forged as early as the Stone Age?

• What were the purposes and forms of early cave art and sculpture?

• What type of construction and purpose do you believe Stonehenge served?

Paleolithic Art • Paleolithic art is the art of the last Ice Age in North

America and Europe.

• Cave paintings were discover in France dating back 15,000 years. – They used early “spray painting” - taking a hollowed out

bone or reed they blew dried ground pigment onto the wall.

– These cave paintings used naturalism and foreshortening!

– They were found in the darkest, deepest parts of the cave.

– Thus, the paintings are not easily reached.

– New figures were painted over previous figures, without thought of composition.

– They left the earlier figures untouched.

• What do you think was the purpose of the cave paintings?

Figure 13.1, p.271: Hall of Bulls, Lascaux (Dordogne), France (Upper Paleolithic, c. 15,000–10,000 BCE).

Figure 13.2, p.271: Venus of Willendorf (Upper Paleolithic) (c. 25,000 BCE). Stone. H: 4 3⁄8”.

Mesolithic Art

• The Middle Stone Age began with the final retreat of the glaciers.

• Wall paintings and stone sculptures were more abstract and highly stylized.

• Mesolithic artists concentrated more on the human figure.

• The human figure was simplified.

• Subjects ranged from warriors to ceremonial dancers.

Neolithic Art

• Began about 8,000 BCE.

• Plants and animals were domesticated and life became more stable.

• During the Late Neolithic period writing appeared.

• Numerous metal implements were fashioned.

• About 4,000 BCE significant architectural monuments were erected.

• The most famous is Stonehenge in Southern England.

• Megalith - comes from the Greek word meaning “large stones”

ART OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST

• Sumer

• Akkad

• Babylonia

• Assyria

• Persia

Historic societies are marked by written language, advanced social organization, and developments in government, science, and art as well as the development of agriculture.

Sumer

• Sumer was located in the Euphrates River Valley in Southern Mesopotamia.

• They had a system of writing called cuneiform – Cuneiform comes from the Latin word meaning “wedge”

because cuneiform writing was wedge shaped.

• Sumer may have been among the first to establish a formal religion.

• Ziggurat - large pyramidal platforms created to hold a temple at the top. – The ziggurat known to the Hebrews as the Tower of Babel

was 270 feet tall.

cuneiform

Figure 13.4a, p. 277 White temple at Uruk and Ziggurat (Sumer, c. 3200 - 3000 BCE). Sun dried brick.

Akkad

• Was located north of Sumer in the valley of the Tigris river.

• Their art commemorated its rulers (such as Sargon) and other warriors instead of offering homage to the gods.

• Their art also used naturalism.

• The ruler and warriors were stylized by the enemies, but were natural looking in position and depiction.

Figure 13.6, p.275 Victory Stele of Narim Sin (Akkadian, c. 2300 – 2200 BCE). Stone H 6’6”.

Babylonia

• Babylonia rose to power in Mesopotamia in the 18th century BCE (near Iraq).

• Hammurabi codified the laws of Mesopotamia, inscribed on a basalt stele in relief.

• Used a more natural style of art.

Figure 13.7, p.275: Stele (upper portion) inscribed with the Law Code of Hammurabi, at Susa (Babylonian, c. 1760 BCE). Diorite. H: 7’4” (225 cm).

Assyria

• The Assyrian empire developed along the upper Tigris river.

• They were influenced by the Babylonian art, culture, and religion.

• Carved stone reliefs were the most common art form in Assyria.

• Most of the scenes were of war and hunting.

Figure 13.8, p.276: The Dying Lioness, from Nineveh (Assyrian, 660 BCE). Limestone. H: 13 3⁄4”.

Persia

• The Persian empire developed east of Mesopotamia (near modern-day Iran)

• Created a deeper carved relief. The images are fleshier, and more well rounded with detail.

• Some of the figures twist and turn in space.

EGYPTIAN ART

• Predynastic

• Old Kingdom

• Middle Kingdom

• New Kingdom

• Ptolemaic (after Alexander the Great)

Egyptian Art

• Much of Egyptian art was very religious, and the Nile river was revered as a god. – The Nile is referred to as the Fertile Crescent.

– Its counterpart in Egypt is called the Fertile Ribbon.

Three aspects of Egyptian art and life are unique: 1. Their link to religion

2. Their link to death

3. Their ongoing use of strict conventionalism in the arts. There are very few variations in their art throughout the periods.

Old Kingdom

• Before the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt (c. 5500 BCE)

• Art consisted mainly of funerary offerings, such as small figures, carved ivory, pottery, and slate cosmetic palettes.

• At the period’s end, large limestone figures were created.

Sculpture

• Religion was bound to the afterlife, so permanence in their art was essential.

• Tombs and pyramids carried scenes of every-day objects and common earthly activities.

• Sculptures of the deceased were placed in the tombs with life-like sculptures of family and friends.

• In Egyptian relief, the head, pelvis, and legs are in profile while the upper torso and eyes are shown from a frontal view.

• Wall decorations were carved in very low relief using a great deal of incised detail.

• Horus - god of the sun.

• Canon of Proportions - relating the scale of anatomical parts to one another.

Architecture

• The most spectacular and most famous of the Egyptian Old Kingdom are the Great Pyramids at Gizeh.

• They were tombs.

Figure 13.12, p.280: Great Pyramids at Giza (Egyptian, Old Kingdom, c. 2570–2500 BCE).

Architecture

Middle Kingdom

• At first, art was stunted by political strife; Egypt was eventually reorganized and art once again flourished.

• Very little experimentation under the rigid stylistic conventions.

• Rock-cut tombs were carved out of living rock.

• The entrance ways were marked by columned porticoes of post-and lintel construction.

• Halls lined with relief sculptures, such as those of the Tomb of Ti.

New Kingdom

• The Hyskos conquered Egypt and introduced Bronze Age weapons.

• The Hyskos was overthrown and the result was a stable period of creativity.

• This period was one of the most vital periods in Egyptian history.

• The New Kingdom artwork combines the artistic conventions of the earlier two kingdoms.

• The Egyptian society embraced a death cult and during the New Kingdom period a new type of architecture was created -the Mortuary Temple.

• The Mortuary Temple was not a tomb, but was instead a place where they could worship during life and be worshiped after death.

Figure 13.14, p.282: Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, Thebes (Egyptian, New Kingdom, c. 1480 BCE).

The Amarna Revolution: The Reign of Akhenaton and

Nefertiti

• The reign of Akhenaton in 14th century BCE marked a revolution in religion and the arts for the Egyptians.

• He changed the capital to Tel el-Amarna

• He also said that there was only one god, the sun god, Aton.

• During his reign the art became more naturalistic with curving lines and full-bodied forms.

Figure 13.16, p.288: Pillar statue of Akhenaton from Temple of Amen-Re, Karnak (Egyptian, New Kingdom, c. 1356 BCE). Sandstone, painted.

Figure 13.17, p.289: Bust of Queen Nefertiti (Egyptian, New Kingdom, c. 1344 BCE). Limestone. H: approx. 20”.

Figure 13.18, p.285: Coffin of Tutankhamen (c. 1323 BCE). Gold.

Concluding Discussion:

After the unusual rule of Pharaoh Akhenaton and the brief rule of Tutankhamen, Egypt returned to its regular religious worship and its highly stylized artistic traditions for another 1,000 years.

AEGEAN ART

• The Cyclades

• Crete (Minoan)

• Mycenae

• The Bronze Age civilizations of Pre-Hellenic Greece along with the Cyclades Islands comprised Aegean culture.

Aegean Art

• The arts of the trading maritime powers of the Aegean region, including Egypt and Asia Minor

• The discoveries of the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and excavations of Sir Arthur Evans (Crete)

• Pre-Hellenistic Greece

The Cyclades

• A group of six islands in the archipelago of the Aegean Sea.

• This is were they found Venus de Milo (see Fig. 13-16)

• The art that survives is mostly from tombs. – It is mainly comprised of pottery and small figures.

• The female figures tend to be geometric and abstract.

• The male figures are seated and play instruments.

• Their original purpose is unclear.

Crete • The Minoan civilization is where the myths about the Minotaur

of King Minos, and the labyrinth come from.

• Their art was not about death, instead they build lavish palaces for their royalty.

There were 3 periods:

• The Early Minoan Period (or the pre-palace period)

• The Middle Minoan Period(or the period of the old palaces) – began around 2000 BCE, may have been destroyed by an

earthquake.

– The great palaces were constructed

– A form of writing based on pictographs and call Linear A was developed.

• During the Late Minoan Period the palaces were reconstructed. – A form of writing, Linear B was developed.

– The most spectacular palace was Knossos.

– The palace was three stories high with many rooms and magazine, or storage areas for wine and grain.

Figure 13.20, p.287: Queen’s bedroom in Palace at Knossos (Late Minoan, c. 1500 BCE).

Mycenae

• The Mycenaeans were a Greek-speaking people who were experts in forging weapons.

• Their art was influenced by the Minoans.

• They took over and occupied the Minoan Crete after the Minoan palaces were destroyed.

• The art and architecture of the Mycenaean’s is centered around defense.

Figure 13.21, p.288: Lion Gate at Mycenae (c. 1300 BCE). Height of sculpture above lintel: 9’6 1⁄2”.

Architecture

Architecture

Terms:

• Lintel

• Beveled

• Tholos or beehive tombs

• Shaft graves

• Stele or headstones

Figure 13.22, p.288: The Treasury of Atreus (Mycenaean, c. 1300–1250 BCE).

Gold Work

• Created masks hammered from thin sheets of gold.

• The masks were placed over the faces of the deceased.

• Although parts of the masks were stylized, such as the eyes, ears and eyebrows, they did try to give them individualized unique features.

• The period following the Dorian invasion of the Mycenaeans did not produce any significant art, architecture, or writing.

Figure 13.23, p.289 Funerary mask, from Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece (c. 1600–1500 BCE). Beaten gold. H: 12”.

Gold Work

Discussion Questions:

• What are the differences between the arts of prehistoric people and the arts of the historic people?

• Which cultures tended to be more naturalistic in their art and which were more stylistic?

• What themes were generally depicted by each group discussed in this chapter on the Ancients?