PREHISTORIC ART:

AGE OF FAITH
 PREHISTORIC ART: PALEOLITHIC
ORIGINS

The
The oldest
oldest firmly-dated
firmly-dated example
example is
is aa collection
collection of
of 82,000
82,000
year
year old
old Nassarius
Nassarius snail
snail shells
shells found
found in
in Morocco
Morocco that
that are
are
pierced
pierced and
and covered
covered with
with red
red ochre.
ochre. Wear
Wear patterns
patterns suggest
suggest
that
that they
they may
may have
have been
been strung
strung beads.
beads.
PREHISTORIC ART: PALEOTHIC ORIGINS

Nassarius shell beads found in Israel may be more

than 100,000 years old and in the Blombos cave in
South Africa, pierced shells and small pieces of
ochre (red Haematite) etched with simple geometric
patterns have been found in a 75,000-year-old layer
of sediment
PREHISTORIC ART: PALEOTHIC ORIGINS

The oldest known representational imagery comes from

the Aurignacian culture of the Upper Paleolithic period.
*Archeological discoveries across a broad swath of Europe
(especially Southern France, Northern Spain, and Swabia,
in Germany) include over two hundred caves with spectacular
Aurignacian paintings, drawings and sculpture that are
among the earliest undisputed examples of representational
image-making.
PREHISTORIC ART: PALEOTHIC ORIGINS

The caves at Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc , Lascaux,

Pech Merle, and Altamira contain the best
known examples of prehistoric painting
and drawing.
PREHISTORIC ART: PALEOTHIC ORIGINS

What can we really know about the creators of these paintings and what the images
originally meant? These are questions that are difficult enough when we study art made
only 500 years ago.

The cave at Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc is over 1,000 feet in length with two large chambers.
Carbon samples date the charcoal used to depict the two head-to-head Rhinoceroses (see
the image above, bottom right) to between 30,340 and 32,410 years before 1995 when the
samples were taken. The cave’s drawings depict other large animals including horses,
mammoths, musk ox, ibex, reindeer, aurochs, megaceros deer, panther, and owl (scholars
note that these animals were not then a normal part of people’s diet). Photographs show
that the drawing shown above is very carefully rendered but may be misleading.
 THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

 It is dated approximately 3000 B.C.E.

and set on Salisbury Plain in England,
 It is an example of the cultural advances
brought about by the Neolithic revolution
the most important development in human
history.
 Neolithic revolution, which occurred
approximately 11,500-5,000 years ago. Stonehenge, c. 3,000 B.C.E., Salisbury Plain, England

would have lived with your extended family as a nomad

 THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

Neolithic Art
 The massive changes in the way people lived also
changed the types of art they made.
 It seems very unlikely that Stonehenge could have
been made by earlier, Paleolithic, nomads.
 Stonehenge is approximately 320 feet in circumference
and the stones which compose the outer ring weigh as
much as 50 tons; the small stones, weighing as much as 6
tons, were quarried from as far away as 450 miles.
 THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION

Plastered Skulls
most fascinating are the plaster skulls found around the area of the Levant, at six sites,
including Jericho. At this time in the Neolithic, c. 7000-6,000 B.C.E.
The traditional interpretation of these the skulls has been that they offered a means of
preserving and worshiping male ancestors.
Neolithic peoples didn't have written language, so we may never know (the earliest
example of writing develops in Sumer in Mesopotamia in the late 4th millennium B.C.E.
However, there are scholars that believe that earlier proto-writing developed during the
Neolithic period).
 ANCIENT NEAR EAST

The Cradle of Civilization Mesopotamia, the area

between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
(in modern day Iraq), is often referred to as the cradle
of civilization because it is the first place where complex
urban centers grew. The history of Mesopotamia,
however, is inextricably tied to the greater region, which
is comprised of the modern nations of Egypt, Iran,
Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, the Gulf states and Turkey.
We often refer to this region as the Near or Middle East.
 ANCIENT NEAR EAST

What’s in a Name? Why is this region named this way? It is the

proximity of these countries to the West (to Europe) that led this
area to be termed “the near east.”
 ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Geography and the Growth of Cities

Mesopotamia remains a region of stark geographical contrasts: vast deserts rimmed by rugged
mountain ranges, punctuated by lush oases.
 ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Flowing through this topography are rivers and it was the irrigation
systems that drew off the water from these rivers, specifically in southern
Mesopotamia, that provided the support for the very early urban centers
here.
The region lacks stone (for building) and precious metals and timber.
Historically, it has relied on the long distance trade of its agricultural
products to secure these materials.
 ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Sumerian Art •The region of southern Mesopotamia

is known as Sumer, and it is in Sumer that we find
some of the oldest known cities, including Ur and
Uruk.
Uruk This large city-state (and it environs) was
largely dedicated to agriculture and eventually
dominated southern Mesopotamia. Uruk perfected
Mesopotamian irrigation and administration systems.
 ANCIENT NEAR EAST

An Agricultural Theocracy Within the city of Uruk, there was a large
temple complex dedicated to Innana, the patron goddess of the city. The
City-State’s agricultural production would be “given” to her and stored at
her temple. Harvested crops would then be processed (grain ground into
flour, barley fermented into beer) and given back to the citizens of Uruk in
equal share at regular intervals.
 ANCIENT NEAR EAST

The head of the temple administration, the chief

priest of Innana, also served as political leader,
making Uruk the first known theocracy.
Cuneiform script - These tablets made of dried mud
and many were sealed in clay envelopes and signed
using cylinder seals.
 ANCIENT NEAR EAST

Cylinder seals - is a small pierced object like a long bead that is carved in reverse (intaglio)
with a unique image and sometimes the name of the owner. The seal was rolled over the
soft clay of a tablet and functioned as a signature. The minute images on these seals use a
system of symbolic representation that identifies the political status of the owner.
 ANCIENT EGYPT

Ancient Egypt has a greater impact on later culture

was immense.
Provided the building blocks for Greek and roman culture
Influenced the western tradition

Longevity
Lasted more than
3000 yrs
 ANCIENT EGYPT

Narmer Palette” the earliest royal monuments, carved around 3100 B.C.E., display
identical royal costumes and poses as those seen on later rulers, even Ptolemaic kings on
their temples 3000 years later.
Consistency and Stability
 ANCIENT EGYPT

A vast amount of Egyptian imagery, especially royal

imagery that was governed by decorum
(a sense of what was ‘appropriate’), remained
stupefyingly consistent throughout its history.
This is why, especially to the untrained eye, their
art appears extremely static—and in terms of symbols,
gestures, and the way the body is rendered, it was. It
was intentional. The Egyptians were aware of their
consistency, which they viewed as stability, divine balance,
and clear evidence of the correctness of their culture.
 ANCIENT EGYPT

Geography
Egypt is a land of duality and cycles, both in
topography and culture. The geography is almost
entirely rugged, barren desert, except for an explosion of
green that straddles either side of the Nile as it flows the

Deshret, the “red lands” and Kemet, the “black lands”

 ANCIENT EGYPT

Time—Cyclical and Linear

The annual inundation of the Nile was also a reliable, and measurable, cycle that
helped form their concept of the passage of time. In fact, the calendar we use today is
derived from one developed by the ancient Egyptians
They divided the year into 3 seasons: akhet ‘inundation’, peret ‘growing/emergence’,
and shemw ‘harvest.’ Each season was, in turn, divided into four 30-day months.
Osiris, the eternal lord of the dead, and Re, the sun god who was reborn with each
dawn.
 ANCIENT EGYPT

Early Development: The Predynastic Period

‘Dynastic’ Egypt—sometimes referred to as ‘Pharaonic’ which was the time when the
country was largely unified under a single ruler, begins around 3100 B.C.E. The period
before this, lasting from about 5000 B.C.E. until unification, is referred to as
Predynastic by modern scholars. Prior to this were thriving Paleolithic and Neolithic
groups, stretching back hundreds of thousands of years, descended from northward
migrating homo erectus who settled along the Nile Valley.
Ceramics, figurines, mace heads, and other artifacts such as slate palettes used for
grinding pigments
 ANCIENT EGYPT

Dynasties

 created in the first Western-style history of Egypt, written by an Egyptian priest named Manetho in the 3rd
century BCE
 33 dynasties included a series of rulers usually related by kinship or the location of their seat of power
 Egyptian history is also divided into larger chunks, known as ‘kingdoms’ and ‘periods’, to distinguish times of
strength and unity from those of change, foreign rule, or disunity
 ANCIENT EGYPT

The Pharaoh—Not Just a King

 ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

◦ CLASSIC ANTIQUITY
◦ Gods and Goddesses
Romans adopted the Greek pantheon of Gods and Goddesses but changed their names
GREEK NAME ROMAN NAME DESCRIPTION
Zeus Jupiter King of Gods
Hera Juno Goddess of Marriage
Poseidon Neptune God of the Sea
Ares Mars God of War
Aphrodite Venus Goddess of Love
Hades Pluto God of the Underworld
 ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

◦ Diana of Versailles
Roman’s Art (Marble) Greek Art (Bronze)

The ancient Romans also copied ancient Greek art.

 ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

◦ A Rational Approach
The ancient Greeks were the first Western culture that believed in finding rational answers
to the great questions of earthly life. They assumed that there were consistent laws which
governed the universe:
• how the stars move;
• the materials that compose the universe;
• mathematical laws that govern harmony and beauty, geometry and physics.
Both the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Romans were Humanists.
When you imagine Ancient Greek or Roman sculpture, you might think of a figure that is
nude, athletic, young, idealized, and with perfect proportions.
 ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

◦ Roman Copies of Ancient Greek Art

For the Romans, Greek culture symbolized a desirable way of life of leisure, the arts, luxury and
learning.
◦ The Popularity of Ancient Greek Art for the Romans
The Doryphoros was one of the most sought after,
and most copied Greek sculptures.
 ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

◦ Bronze vs. Marble

The Greeks created their free-standing sculpture in
bronze, but because bronze is valuable and can be
melted down and reused, sculpture was often recast
into weapons. So we often have to look at ancient
Roman copies in marble.
 ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

◦ Why Sculptures Are Often Incomplete or Reconstructed

Roman marble sculptures were buried for centuries,
and very often we recover only fragments of a
sculpture that have to be reassembled. This is the
reason you will often see that sculptures in museums
include an arm or hand that are modern recreations,
or that ancient sculptures are simply displayed incomplete.
 ANCIENT GREECE AND ROME

◦ The Canon
The idea of a canon, a rule for a standard of beauty developed for artists to follow.
Polykleitos’s idea of relating beauty to ratio was later summarized by Galen, writing in the
second century,
“Beauty consists in the proportions, not of the elements, but of the parts,
that is to say, of finger to finger, and of all the fingers to the palm and the wrist,
and of these to the forearm, and of the forearm to the upper arm, and of all the
other parts to each other.”
 KEY
CHARACTERISTICS
OF ART:

AGE OF FAITH
 THE MEDIEVAL AND BYZANTINE ERAS

Petrarch, an Italian poet and scholar of the fourteenth

century, famously referred to the period of time between
the fall of the Roman Empire (circa 476) and his own day
(circa 1330s) as the Dark Ages.
 THE MEDIEVAL AND BYZANTINE ERAS

Matthew from the Lindisfarne Gospels, made on the island of Lindisfarne off the coast of England,
late seventh century or early eighth century
 THE MEDIEVAL AND BYZANTINE ERAS

Petrarch believed that the Dark Ages was a period of

intellectual darkness due to the loss of the classical
learning, which he saw as light. Later historians picked
up on this idea and ultimately the term Dark Ages was
transformed into Middle Ages. Broadly speaking, the
Middle Ages is the period of time in Europe between
the end of antiquity in the fifth century and the Renaissance, Map of Medieval Europe in 1190

or rebirth of classical learning, in the fifteenth century

and sixteenth centuries.
 THE MEDIEVAL AND BYZANTINE ERAS

Not So Dark After All

During this time, the Roman Empire slowly
fragmented into many smaller political entities.
The geographical boundaries for European
countries today were established during the
Middle Ages. This was a period that heralded
the formation and rise of universities, the
establishment of the rule of law, numerous
periods of ecclesiastical reform and the birth of
the tourism industry. Many works of medieval
literature, such as the Canterbury Tales, the Divine The Byzantine Empire in 1025
Comedy, and The Song of Roland, are widely read
and studied today
 THE MEDIEVAL AND BYZANTINE ERAS

Byzantium
The Byzantine Empire experienced two periods of Iconoclasm (730-787 and 814-842), when images and image-making
were problematic.

In the European West, medieval art is often broken

into smaller periods. These date ranges vary by location:
c.500–800: Early Medieval Art
c.780–900: Carolingian Art
c.900–1000: Ottonian Art
c.1000–1200: Romanesque Art
c.1200–1400: Gothic Art Apa Abraham, c. 590-600, watercolor on panel,

Egyptian (Bode Museum, Berlin)

 EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

◦ The beginnings of an identifiable Christian art can be traced to

the end of the second century and the beginning of the third
century. The Old Testament prohibitions against graven images.
 EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

◦ Christianity gained converts like:

there was a change in burial practices in the Roman world away from cremation to
inhumation
CREMATION INHUMATION
 EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

◦ Christian catacombs were dug frequently adjacent to non-Christian ones, and

sarcophagi with Christian imagery were apparently popular with the richer
Christians.

Junius Bassus Sarcophagus

 EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

Themes of Death and Resurrection

(Borrowed from the Old Testament)
The theme of death and resurrection was represented through a series of images, many of
which were derived from the Old Testament that echoed the themes. For example, the story
of Jonah—being swallowed by a great fish and then after spending three days and three
nights in the belly of the beast is vomited out on dry ground—was seen by early Christians
as an anticipation or prefiguration of the story of Christ’s own death and resurrection.
Images of Jonah, along with those of Daniel in the Lion’s Den, the Three Hebrews in the
Firey Furnace, Moses Striking the Rock, among others, are widely popular in the Christian
art of the third century, both in paintings and on sarcophagi.
 EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

Themes of Death and Resurrection

(Borrowed from the Old Testament)
 EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

◦ Christianity’s Canonical Texts and the New Testament

One of the major differences between Christianity and the public
cults was the central role faith plays in Christianity and the
importance of orthodox beliefs. The emphasis was on maintaining
customary traditions. One accepted the existence of the gods, but
there was no emphasis on belief in the gods.
 EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

◦ Early Representations of Christian and the Apostles

Christ, from the Catacomb of Domitilla Apostle Paul
 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

Many of Europe’s medieval cathedrals are museums in their own

right, housing fantastic examples of craftsmanship and works of
art. Additionally, the buildings themselves are impressive.
Although architectural styles varied from place to place, building
to building, there are some basic features that were fairly
universal in monumental churches built in the Middle Ages, and
the prototype for that type of building was the Roman basilica.
 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

The Ancient Roman Basilica

In ancient Rome, the basilica was created as a place for tribunals and other types of
business. The building was rectangular in shape, with the long, central portion of the hall
made up of the nave. Here the interior reached its fullest height.
 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

The nave was flanked on either side by a colonnade that delineated the side
aisles, which were of a lower height than the nave. Because the side aisles
were lower, the roof over this section was below the roofline of the nave,
allowing for windows near the ceiling of the nave. This band of windows
was called the clerestory.
CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

The Medieval Church

 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

 The entrance foyer is called the narthex, the color peach, but this is not found
in all medieval churches. Daily access may be through a door on the north or
south side. The largest, central, western door may have been reserved for
ceremonial purposes.
 The Nave which is the color yellow, is the central and principal part of a
church.
 The Aisle, color light blue,, is the passageway to either side of the nave.
 The Tower, color blue, is the bell tower of a church building.
 The Choir or Chancel which is the light yellow, is the are use by the clergy
and choir during worship.
 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

 The Crossing, the green one, is the conjuction of the four arms of a
cross-shaped chruch.
 The Porch, color pink, is a room-like structure at a church's main
entrance.
 The Ambulatory, light violet, is the continuation of the aisled spaces on
either side of the nave around apse to form a continuous processional
way.
 And the last one, the color violet is the Chevet, is the eastern end of a
church.
 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

The Chruch Plan

In very extensive buildings there may be two side aisles, with the ceiling of
the outer one lower than the one next to the nave. This hierarchy of size and
proportion extended to the major units of the plan – the bays. A bay is the
square unit in the arcade defined by a vault, the section supported by
consecutive pillars. Typically, the width of the nave was equal to two bays.
The vault is the arched roof or ceiling, or a section of it.
 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

The major arcade at the ground floor is topped by a

second arcade, called the gallery, which is topped by the
clerestory or a third arcade level. The arcade just below
the clerestory is called the triforium. The nave was used
for the procession of the clergy to the altar. The main
altar was basically in the position of the basilican apse,
although in some designs it is further forward. The area a
round the altar – the choir or chancel – was reserved for the
clergy or monks, who performed services throughout the day.
 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

 Development of this plan over time shows that very

soon the apse was elongated, adding more room
to the choir. Additionally, the termini of the aisles
developed into small wings themselves, known as
transepts. These were also extended, providing room
for more tombs, more shrines, and more pilgrims.

 The area where the axes of the nave and transepts

meet is called, logically, the crossing.
 CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

An aisle often surrounds the apse, running behind the

altar. Called the ambulatory, this aisle accessed additional
small chapels, called radiating chapels or chevets. Of
course, there are many variations on these typical
building blocks of medieval church design. Different
regions had different tastes, greater or lesser financial
power, more or less experienced architects and masons,
which created the diversity of medieval buildings still
standing today.
 ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE
EARLY PERIOD

Islamic Art: The Caliphates (Political/Religious Dynasties)

The umbrella term “Islamic art” casts a pretty big shadow, covering several
continents and more than a dozen centuries. So to make sense of it, we first
have to first break it down into parts. One way is by medium—say,
ceramics or architecture—but this method of categorization would entail
looking at works that span three continents. Geography is another means of
organization, but modern political boundaries rarely match the borders of
past Islamic states.
 ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE
EARLY PERIOD
Umayyad (661–750)

Map showing Islam expansion from 622 to 750

Four leaders, known as the Rightly Guided Caliphs, continued the spread of Islam immediately following the
death of the Prophet. It was following the death of the fourth caliph that Mu’awiya seized power and established
the Umayyad caliphate, the first Islamic dynasty. During this period, Damascus became the capital and the empire
expanded West and East.
 ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE
EARLY PERIOD

Dome of the Rock, 687, Jerusalem (photo: author)

The first years following the death of Muhammad were, of course, formative for the religion and its artwork. The
immediate needs of the religion included places to worship (mosques) and holy books (Korans) to convey the word
of God. So, naturally, many of the first artistic projects included ornamented mosques where the faithful could
gather and Korans with beautiful calligraphy.
 ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE
EARLY PERIOD

These elements can be seen in the earliest significant

work from the Umayyad period, the most important of
which is the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. This
stunning monument incorporates Coptic, Sassanian,
and Byzantine elements in its decorative program and
remains a masterpiece of Islamic architecture to this day.

Interior of the base of the dome, Dome of the Rock

 ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE
EARLY PERIOD

The Abbasid revolution in the mid-eighth century ended Abbasid (750–1258)

the Umayyad dynasty, resulted in the massacre of the
Umayyad caliphs (a single caliph escaped to Spain,
prolonging Umayyad work after dynasty) and established
the Abbasid dynasty in 750. The new caliphate shifted its
attention eastward and established cultural and commercial
capitals at Baghdad and Samarra.
 ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD: THE
EARLY PERIOD
The Umayyad dynasty produced little of what we would
consider decorative arts (like pottery, glass, metalwork),
but under the Abbasid dynasty production of decorative
stone, wood and ceramic objects flourished.
Artisans in Samarra developed a new method for carving
surfaces that allowed for curved, vegetal forms
(called arabesques) which became widely adopted.
The use of luster painting (which gives ceramic ware a metallic sheen)
The Abbasid empire weakened with the establishment and growing Bowl, 9th century, Susa, Iran,

power of semi-autonomous dynasties throughout the region, Earthenware, metal lustre

until Baghdad was finally overthrown in 1258. overglaze decoration, opaque glaze
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE

From Indonesia to the United Kingdom, the mosque in its many forms is the quintessential Islamic
building. The mosque, masjid in Arabic, is the Muslim gathering place for prayer. Masjid simply means
“place of prostration.”Though most of the five daily prayers prescribed in Islam can take place anywhere.
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE

The main mosque of a city, used for the Friday

communal prayer, is called Jami masjid, literally
meaning “Friday mosque,” but it also sometimes
called Congregational mosque in English.
This style of mosque came to be known as a
hypostyle mosque, meaning “many columns.”
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE

Common Features
The architecture of a mosque is shaped most strongly by the regional traditions of the time
and place where it was built.
Sahn (Courtyard)
The most fundamental necessity of congregational mosque architecture is that it be able to
hold the entire malepopulation of a city or town .To that end congregational mosques must
have a large prayer hall. In many mosques this is adjoined to an open courtyard, called a
sahn. Within the courtyard one often finds a fountain, its waters both a welcome respite in
hot lands, and important for the ablutions (ritual cleansing) done before prayer.
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE
Mihrab (Niche)

Another essential element of a mosque’s architecture is a mihrab—a niche in the wall that indicates the direction
of Mecca, towards which all Muslims pray. Mecca is the city in which the Prophet Muhammad was born, and the
home of the most important Islamic shrine, the Kaaba.
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE
Minbar (Pulpit)
The minbar is often located on the qibla wall to the right of
the mihrab.
Minaret (Tower)
One of the most visible aspects of mosque architecture is the
minaret, a tower adjacent or attached to a mosque, from which
the call to prayer is announced. Minarets take many different forms
from the famous spiral minaret of Samarra, to the tall, pencil
minarets of Ottoman Turkey. Not solely functional in nature,
the minaret serves as a powerful visual reminder of the presence
of Islam.
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE

Qubba (Dome)
Most mosques also feature one or more domes, called
qubba in Arabic. While not a ritual requirement like the
mihrab, a dome does possess significance within the
mosque—as a symbolic representation of the vault of
heaven.
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE

Furnishing
• Calligraphic Frieze or Cartouche with a prominent inscripstion
(Date of the building’s dedication and the name of the Patron)
• Hanging lamps
• Light
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE
Mosque Patronage
Most historical mosques are not stand-alone buildings.
Many incorporated charitable institutions like soupkitchens,
hospitals, and schools. Some mosque patrons also chose to
include their own mausoleum as part oftheir mosque complex.
The endowment of charitable institutions is an important
aspect of Islamic culture, due in part to the third pillar of
Islam, which calls for Muslims to donate a portion of their
income to the poor.
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE
The mihrab now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
bears the inscription:

“And he [the Prophet], blessings and peace be upon

him, said:
“Whoever builds a mosque for God, even the size of a
sand-grouse nest, based on piety, [God will build for him
a palace in Paradise].”
 INTRODUCTION TO MOSQUE
ARCHITECTURE
In Ottoman Turkey the complex surrounding a
mosque is called akulliye. The kulliye of
the Mosque of Sultan Suleyman, in Istanbul,
is a fine example of this phenomenon,
comprising a soup kitchen, a hospital, several
schools, public baths, and a caravanserai
(similar to a hostel for
travelers). The complex also includes two
mausoleums for Sultan Suleyman and his family member
 ROMANESQUE

The name gives it away–Romanesque architecture is based on

Roman architectural elements. It is the rounded Roman arch
that is the literal basis for structures built in this style.
Based on the Oxford English Dictionary shows arch as coming
from Latin arcus, which defines the shape, while arch-as in
architect, archbishop and archenemy-comes from Greek
arkhos, meaning chief.
 ROMANESQUE

The arches that define the naves of

these churches are well modulated
and geometrically logical – with one
look you can see the repeating shapes,
and proportions that make sense for
an immense and weighty structure.
 ROMANESQUE

There is a large arcade on the ground level made

up of bulky piers or columns. The piers may
have been filled with rubble rather than being
solid, carved stone. Above this arcade is a second
level of smaller arches, often in pairs with a
column between the two. The next higher
level was again proportionately smaller,
creating a rational diminution of structural
elements as the mass of the building is
reduced.
 ROMANESQUE

The decoration is often quite simple,

using geometric shapes rather than
floral or curvilinear patterns. Common
shapes used include diapers – squares
or lozenges– and chevrons, which were
zigzag patterns and shapes.
 ROMANESQUE

Plain circles were also used, which

echoed the half-circle shape of the
ubiquitous arches and early
Romanesque ceilings and roofs
were often made of wood.
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

GOTHIC ARCHITECTUR
Forget the association of the word “Gothic” to dark, haunted houses, Wuthering Heights, or
ghostly pale people wearing black nail polish and ripped fishnets.
The original Gothic style was actually developed to bring sunshine into people’s lives and
especially into their churches.
The Goths were a so-called barbaric tribe who held power in various regions of Europe,
between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Gothic grew out of the Romanesque architectural style, when both prosperity and peace
allowed for several centuries of cultural development and great building schemes.
From roughly 1000 to 1400, several significant cathedrals and churches were built, particularly
in Britain and France
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

The most fundamental element of

the Gothic style of architecture is the
pointed arch, which was likely borrowed
from Islamic architecture that would
have been seen in Spain at this time.
So, rather than having massive,
drum-like columns as in the Romanesque
churches, the new columns could be more slender.
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

In the vault, the pointed arch could

be seen in three dimensions where the
ribbed vaulting met in the center of
the ceiling of each bay. This ribbed
vaulting is another distinguishing feature
of Gothic architecture.
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

The ornate stonework that held the

windows–called tracery–became
more florid, and other stonework
even more exuberant.
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

The ribbed vaulting became more

complicated and was crossed with
lierneribs into complex webs, or the
addition of cross ribs, called tierceron.
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

the slender columns and lighter

systems of thrust allowed for larger
windows and more light.
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
Egypt is a land of duality and cycles, both in topography and culture.

The geography is almost entirely

rugged, barren desert,except for an
explosion of green that straddles
either side of the Nile as it flows
the length of the country.

The river emerges from far to the south, deep in Africa, and empties into the Mediterranean sea in
the north after spreading from a single channel into a fan-shaped system, known as a delta, at its
northernmost section.
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

The influence of this river on Egyptian culture and

development cannot be overstated—without its presence, the
civilization would have been entirely different, and most likely
entirely elsewhere.
 The Nile provided not only a constant source of life-giving
water, but created the fertile lands that fed the growth of this
unique (and uniquely resilient) culture.
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS
◦ Neo-Confucianism—a reinterpretation of Chinese moral philosophy, a revival, or
reinterpretation, of Chinese moral philosophy that focuses on the ideal of the
absolute truth of nature. It was Buddhism that first introduced, from India, a
system of metaphysics and a coherent worldview more advanced than anything
known in China.
◦ Beginning in the late Tang and early Northern Song (960-1127), Neo-Confucian
thinkers rebuilt Confucian ethics using Buddhist and Daoist metaphysics. Chinese
philosophers found it useful to think in terms of complimentary opposites,
interacting polarities— inner and outer, substance and function, knowledge and
action.
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS
◦In their metaphysics they naturally employed the ancient yin and yang (Yin: feminine, dark,
receptive, yielding, negative, and weak. Yang: masculine, bright, assertive, creative, positive, and
strong.) The interaction of these complementary poles was viewed as integral to the processes
that generate natural order.
◦Central to understanding Neo-Confucian thought is the conceptual pair of li and qi. Li is usually
translated as principles. It can be understood as principles that underlie all phenomena. Li
constitutes the underlying pattern of reality. Nothing can exist if there is no li for it. This applies
to human conduct and to the physical world. Qi can be characterized as the vital force and
substance of which man and the universe are made. Qi can also be conceived of as energy, but
energy which occupies space. In its most refined form it occurs as mysterious ether, but
condensed it becomes solid metal or rock.
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS

◦ The different types of art in China developed according to the interest

and patronage of each dynasty, as well as the whims of regional rulers.
◦ The Song Dynasty ruled China for over three centuries from 960 to
1279. During this time, Song China was the most technologically
advanced society in the world. Its society invented the magnetic
compass, movable type printing, paper money, gunpowder, and reached
a new level of sophistication with further development of landscape
painting.
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS

◦ Characteristics of Chinese Art

Landscape painting is traditionally at the top of the hierarchy of
Chinese painting styles. It is very popular and is associated with refined
scholarly taste. The Chinese term for "landscape" is made up of two
characters meaning the shan shui style painting—”shan” meaning
mountain and “shui” meaning river—became prominent in Chinese
landscape art. It is linked with the philosophy of Daoism, which
emphasizes harmony with the natural world.
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS

Idealized Landscapes. Chinese artists do not usually paint real places

but imaginary, idealized landscapes. The Chinese phrase woyou
expresses this idea of "wandering while lying down." In China,
mountains are associated with religion because they reach up towards
the heavens. People therefore believe that looking at paintings of
mountains is good for the soul.
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS
Fan Kuan was born in Huayuan, now in Tongchuan area in
northwestern China’s Shaanxi Province. It is said he hated
urban life and loved to travel among towering mountains
and live close to nature. He also loved wine and Taoist
thinking, eventually becoming a Taoist recluse in his later years.
Today, however, Fan is remembered chiefly as one of the top
landscapists in the early Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279).
During this time, he turned away from the world to seek
spiritual enlightenment.
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS
"Travelers Among Mountains and Streams"
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS

Travelers Among Mountains & Streams is a massive painting

at 206.3 cm (81.2 inches) long by 103.3 cm (40.7 inches) wide.
It towers over most visitors while capturing the grandeur of r
ising mountains in a dramatic vertical landscape. Furthermore
the painting uses light, shade, distance, and texture to convey
the complex landscape before the viewer.
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS
In this painting Fan Kuan skillfully arranges the three levels of scenery: the foreground,
middleground amd background in a centralized and monumental landscape.
Details of the painting:
Foreground Middle Ground
 NEO- CONFUCIANISM AND FAN KUAN’S
TRAVELERS BY STREAMS AND MOUNTAINS

"By seeing things not through the

human eye, but in the light of their
own principles."
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)
A Sacred Object out of Context
The art of medieval India, like the art of medieval
Europe, was primarily in the service of religion.
The devotee’s spiritual experience was enhanced by
meditation inspired by works of art and architecture.

“Nataraja”—nata meaning dance or performance,

and raja meaning king or lord
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)

It’s important to keep in mind that the bronze Shiva As Lord of the Dance is
a sacred object that has been taken out of its original context—in fact, we
don’t even know where this particular sculpture was originally venerated.
In the intimate spaces of the Florence and Herbert Irving South Asian
Galleries in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Shiva Nataraja is
surrounded by other metal statues of Hindu gods including the Lords
Vishnu, Parvati, and Hanuman.
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)
Made for Mobility
From the 11th century and onwards, Hindu devotees carried these statues in
processional parades as priests followed chanting prayers and bestowing blessings
on people gathered for this purpose. Sometimes the statues would be adorned in
resplendent red and green clothes and gold jewelry to denote the glorious human
form of the gods. In these processions The Shiva Nataraja may have had its legs
wrapped with a white and red cloth, adorned with flowers, and surrounded by
candles. In a religious Hindu context, the statue is the literal embodiment of the
divine. When the worshiper comes before the statue and begins to pray, faith
activates the divine energy inherent in the statue, and at that moment, Shiva is
present.
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)
A Bronze Shiva
Shiva constitutes a part of a powerful triad of divine energy within the
cosmos of the Hindu religion. There is Brahma, the benevolent creator of
the universe; there is Vishnu, the sagacious preserver; then there is Shiva,
the destroyer. “Destroyer” in this sense is not an entirely negative force, but
one that is expansive in its impact. In Hindu religious philosophy all things
must come to a natural end so they can begin anew, and Shiva is the agent
that brings about this end so that a new cycle can begin.
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)
This image of Shiva is taken from the ancient Indian
manual of visual depiction, the Shilpa Shastras
(The Science or Rules of Sculpture), which contained
a precise set of measurements and shapes for the limbs
and proportions of the divine figure. Arms were to be
long like stalks of bamboo, faces round like the moon,
and eyes shaped like almonds or the leaves of a lotus.
The Shastras were a primer on the ideals of beauty and
physical perfection within ancient Hindu ideology.
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)
In his upper right hand he holds the damaru, A Dance within the Cosmic
the drum whose beats syncopate the act of creation Circle of Fire
and the passage of time.

His lower right hand with his palm raised and

facing the viewer is lifted in the gesture of the
abhaya mudra, which says to the supplicant,
“Be not afraid, for those who follow the path of
righteousness will have my blessing.”
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)
Shiva’s lower left hand stretches diagonally across
his chest with his palm facing down towards his
raised left foot, which signifies spiritual grace and
fulfillment through meditation and mastery over
one’s baser appetites.
In his upper left hand he holds the agni (image right),
the flame of destruction that annihilates all that the
sound of the damaru has drummed into existence.
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)
Shiva’s right foot stands upon the huddleddwarf,demon
Apasmara, the embodiment of ignorance.

 Shiva’s hair, the long hair of the yogi, streams

out across the space within the halo of fire that
constitutes the universe. Throughout this entire
process of chaos and renewal, the face of the god
remains tranquil, transfixed in what the historian
of South Asian art Heinrich Zimmer calls,
“the mask of god’s eternal essence.”
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)
Beyond Grace There Is Perfection
The supple and expressive quality of the dancing Shiva is one of the touchstones of South
Asian, and indeed, world sculpture. When the French sculptor Auguste Rodin saw some
photographs of the 11th century bronze Shiva Nataraja in the Madras Museum around
1915, he wrote that it seemed to him the “perfect expression of rhythmic movement in the
world.” In an essay he wrote that was published in 1921 he wrote that the Shiva Nataraja
has “what many people cannot see—the unknown depths, the core of life. There is grace in
elegance, but beyond grace there is perfection.” The English philosopher Aldous Huxley
said in an interview in 1961 that the Hindu image of god as a dancer is unlike anything he
had seen in Western art. “We don’t have anything that approaches the symbolism of this
work of art, which is both cosmic and psychological.”
 SHIVA AS LORD OF THE DANCE
(NATARAJA)

The eloquent bronze statue of the Shiva Nataraja, despite the impact of its
formal beauty on Rodin who knew little of its background, is incomplete
without an understanding of its symbolism and religious significance.
Bronzes of the Chola period such as Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja)
arose out of a need to transmute the divine into a physical embodiment of
beauty.
 CLASSIC MAYA PORTRAIT STELAE

In 1839, American lawyer and amateur

archaeologist John Lloyd Stephens and
English artist Frederick Catherwood
were the first outsiders to venture into the
rainforests of Central America. They
brought back their romanticized accounts
and drawings of the remains of ancient Maya
civilization to an eager England.
 CLASSIC MAYA PORTRAIT STELAE

We now understand that the sculptors

who chiseled these monuments were
commissioned by privileged elites
who lorded over vast city-states. These
regional political and geographic
partitions were dominated by singular
powerful city-centers that vied for control
of land and resources.
 CLASSIC MAYA PORTRAIT STELAE

A Medium for Political and Religious Rhetoric

The stone monuments over which Stephens and Catherwood marveled were
crucial to the social and political cohesion of ancient Maya city-states.
While small-scale art objects were cloistered behind the walls of privileged
homes and courts, larger stone sculptures served as the principal medium
for presenting political and religious rhetoric to the public.
The most vital and imposing format was the ‘stela’, an upright flat slab of
stone worked in relief on one, two, or four faces.
 CLASSIC MAYA PORTRAIT STELAE

These figures act out one of a standard set of rites

of passage: they wear battle garb to emphasize
their military prowess, ritually let blood in offering
to the deities, ‘scatter’ sacred substances with
Outstretched hands, or participate in ritual dance.
Imagine trying to dance while balancing a
headdress that is half your own height!
Accompanying hieroglyphic texts elaborated
on the life of the ruler and his ancestors
 CLASSIC MAYA PORTRAIT STELAE

The Conquering Ruler As regional conflicts became more

frequent in 8th century, military themes on portrait stelae
increased. Stela 6 from Aguateca, Guatemala (right) exemplifies
the archetype of the conquering ruler, responsible for defeating
enemies and procuring captives for ritual sacrifice.
THANK YOU
AND
GODBLESS