Ch. 1 Art before History. What does art before history mean?

Transcription

1 Ch. 1 Art before History What does art before history mean?

2 Prehistoric Europe & the Near East

3 Overview Paleolithic Art introduces the capability of humankind. Representational images appear in Asia, Africa & Europe. Cave dwellers created a fixed environment which identified their time and space. Cave dwellers possibly invented symbols to ritualize their domain and give birth to the beginnings of understanding the world around them. They created the hunt on cave walls & began the art of representation.

4 Anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism the attribution of human form or behavior to a deity, animal, etc human body (male/female?) & feline head purpose/function? Human with feline head, from Hohlenstein Stadel, Germany, ca. 30,000 28,000 BCE. Mammoth ivory, 11 5/8 high. Ulmer Museum, Ulm.

5 Animals are the most common subject in Prehistoric Art Animal facing left, from the Apollo 11 Cave, Namibia, ca. 23,000 BCE. Charcoal on stone, 5 X 4 1/4. State Museum of Namibia, Windhoek.

6 Female Figurines Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria, ca. 28,000 25,000 BCE. Limestone, 4 1/4 high. Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna. What is known about this Venus? Function? Features? Why is it called Venus? Is that a contemporary term or one used by its creators?

7 Female Figurines Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France, ca. 25,000 20,000 BCE. Painted limestone, approx. 1 6 high. Musée d Aquitaine, Bordeaux. How does this differ & how is it similar to the Venus of Willendorf? *function *features

8 Top: Reclining woman, rock cut relief on the right wall of the first corridor in the middle cave at La Madeleine des Albis, France, ca. 12,000 BCE /8 long. Bottom: Drawing of the reclining woman in the middle cave at La Magdelaine (Siegfried Giedion). Based on what you know so far, what assumptions can be made about this image? *function, location, etc

9 Bison Two bison, from the cave at Le Tuc d Audoubert, France, ca. 15,000 10,000 BCE. Clay, each 2 long.

10 Twisted Perspective Figure 1 8 Bison with turned head, from La Madeleine, France, ca. 12,000 BCE. Reindeer horn, 4 long. Why is this called twisted perspective?

11 12,000 BCE Twisted Perspective Red figure vase, 440 BCE Palette of Narmer, 3000 BCE

12 Cave Paintings in France M A Layout, Lascaux

13 Hall of Bulls

14 Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech Merle, France, ca. 22,000 BCE long.

15 Compare + Contrast cave at Pech Merle, 22,000 BCE Chinese horse, detail of the left wall in the Axial Gallery of the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 15,000 13,000 BCE. Horse, 4 11 long.

16 Bison, detail of a painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain, ca. 12,000 11,000 BCE. Cave Painting in Spain

17 Altamira Cave

18 New Subjects Appear. Rhinoceros, wounded man and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France ca. 15,000 13,000 BCE. What event is being represented? Can it be considered a narrative? Meaning of the depiction?

19 Neolithic Art The Neolithic is marked by the beginning of domesticated crops and animals and the development of crafts This was impossible before because of a nomadic lifestyle Most significant is the invention of fired ceramics. Food production replaced food gathering. This is first seen in the Near East. Art becomes an important part of community living, describing the community and the aesthetic vision of its people. Neolithic art visually expressed communities thinking, philosophy and religion.

20 Permanent Structures Great stone tower built into the settlement wall, Jericho, ca BCE What is a possible purpose of these towers/walls? Why would such massive towers/walls be needed?

21 Human skull with restored features, from Jericho, ca BCE. Features modeled in plaster, painted, and inlaid with seashells. Life size. Archaeological Museum, Amman HUMAN FIGURES Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan, ca BCE. Plaster, painted and inlaid with bitumen, 3 5 3/8 high. Louvre, Paris

22 7500 B.C. to 5700 B.C

23 Catal Huyuk, Turkey Restored view of a section of Level VI, Çatal Huyük, Turkey, ca BCE (John Swogger).

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25 Landscapes Landscape with volcanic eruption (?), watercolor copy of a wall painting from Level VII, Çatal Huyük, Turkey, ca BCE.

26 Compare + Contrast Neolithic Artists Developments 1. Function, 2. Evolution of figure, 3. Individuality BCE 25,000 20,000 BCE 28,000 25,000 BCE

27 Compare + Contrast Neolithic Artists Developments 1. Content, 2. Painting technique Lascaux, 15,000 13,000 BCE Deer hunt, detail of a wall painting from Level III, Çatal Huyük, Turkey, ca BCE.

28 Monumental Architecture Western Europe Hagar Qim is thought to date ca to 3200 BCE. Unlike most other Maltese temples, it is a single temple rather than a complex of two or three. Aerial view of the ruins of Hagar Qim, Malta

29 Gallery leading to the main chamber of the passage grave, Newgrange, Ireland, ca BCE. Ireland

30 Scotland House 1, Skara Brae, Scotland, ca BCE.

31 England How did our ancestors manage to carry the mighty stones from so far away and then, using only the most primitive of tools, build this amazing structure? Was Stonehenge a temple for sun worship, a healing centre, a burial site or perhaps a huge calendar? Aerial views of Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England, ca BCE. Circle is 97' in diameter; trilithons 24' high.

32 Compare + Contrast Fig. 1 1 Fig Aerial view of the ruins of Hagar Qim, Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England Malta, ca BCE BCE.