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Information about Art history

Arts of Ancient Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), is often considered the "cradle of
civilization." Within its boundaries, the most ancient civilizations known
to man first developed writing and agriculture. Many civilizations
flourished there, leaving behind a rich legacy of ancient art.

Sumeria

Sumeria is considered by many to be the first civilization - archaeological
evidence attests to their existance during the 5th millennium BC. The
Sumerians were the first to develop pottery. They decorated their works with
cedar oil paints. The Sumerians also developed jewellery.

One of the most remarkable artifact remaining from the Sumerian civilization
is known as the Standard of Ur. Dated to approximately 2500 B.C., the
Standard is a wooden box inlaid with shells and lapis lazuli. It depicts
soldiers presenting their king with prisoners on one side and peasants
presenting him with gifts on the other - stunning evidence attesting to the
vibrancy of art in this ancient culture.

Babylon

The conquest of Sumeria and Akkad by Babylon marks a turning point in the
artistic as well as political history of the region.

The Babylonians took advantage of the the abundance of clay in Mesopotamia
to create bricks. The use of brick led to the early development of the
pilaster and column, as well as of frescoes and enamelled tiles. The walls
were brilliantly coloured, and sometimes plated with bronze or gold as well
as with tiles. Painted terra-cotta cones were also embedded in the plaster.

The Babylonians were also great metal-workers, creating funtional and
beautiful tools with copper. It is possible that Babylonia was the original
home of copper-working, which spread westward with the civilization to which
it belonged. In addition, the want of stone in Babylonia made every pebble
precious and led to a high perfection in the art of gem-cutting. The arts of
Babylon also included tapestries, and Babylonian civilization was from an
early date famous for its embroideries and rugs.

Assyria

Like all kingdoms, the Babylonian one did not survive. When Babylon fell
into decline and were eventually conquered by one of their former colonies,
Assyria, which inherited its arts as well as its empire.

At first, Assyrian architects and artists copied Babylonian styles and
materials, but as time went on, however, the later Assyrians began to shake
themselves free from Babylonian influences. The walls of the Assyrian
palaces were lined with slabs of stone instead of brick, and were colored
instead of painted as in Chaldea. In place of the bas relief we have the
figure in the round, the earliest examples being the statues from Tello
which are realistic but somewhat clumsy.

No remarkable specimens of metallurgic art from early Assyria have been
found, but at a later epoch great excellence was attained in the manufacture
of such jewellery as ear-rings and bracelets of gold. Copper, too, was
worked with skill.

The forms of Assyrian pottery were graceful; the porcelain, like the glass
discovered in the palaces of Nineveh, was derived from Egyptian originals.
Transparent glass seems to have been first introduced in the reign of Sargon
II. Stone as well as clay and glass were employed in the manufacture of
vases, and vases of hard stone have been disinterred at Tello similar to,
those of the early dynastic period of Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian Art

Because of the highly religious nature of Ancient Egyptian civilization,
many of the great works of Ancient Egypt depict gods, godesses, and Pharaohs
(themselves godly).

During the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, a Pharaoh by the name of Akhenaton took
the throne and abolished the traditional polytheism, forming a monotheistic
religion around based on worship of Aten, a sun god. Artistic change
followed political upheval, and a new style of art was introduced that was
more naturalisticthan the the stylised frieze favored in Egyptian art for
the last 1700 years. After Akhenaton's death, however, Egyptian artists
reverted to their old styles.

Greco-Roman Art

The art of Ancient Greece was to be lost at the fall of the Roman Empire and
rediscovered in Europe during the Renaissance.

European Art History

Medieval Art

Art during Medieval times was almost exclusively concerned with
Christianity. During this period, since the vast majoirty peasantry was
illiterate, art was the main method of communicating religious ideas besides
sermons. The Church was one of the few institutions wealthy enough at the
time to commission artists, and thus most art was religious in nature. Since
the fall of the Roman Empire, many of the artistic techniques of Ancient
Greece were lost. Thus, during the Middle Ages, most figures were painted as
entirely two-dimensional. Since there was no concept of perspective in art,
figures were painted larger or smaller according to their signifigance.
Besides painting, tapestries were also an important art form in the Middle
Ages, since they were nessecary to heat stone castles during the winter. The
most famous medieval tapestry cycle is The Lady and the Unicorn.

Most artists during the Middle Ages were anonymous; thus, it is difficult to
identify individual artists from the period.

Time Period: 6th century - 15th century

The Renaissance

In the Middle Ages in Europe, paintings and scultptures tended to focus on
religion. However, as the Renaissance emerged, the focus on the arts of
Ancient Greece and Rome led to many changes in the technical aspects of
painting and sculpture as well as subject matter. For instance, during the
Renaissance, painters began to enhance the realism of their work by using
new techniques in perspective, creating a more authentic representaion of
three dimensions. Artists also began to use new techniques in the
manipulation of light and darkeness, such as the tone contrast evident in
many of Titian's portraits and the development of sfumato by Lonardo da
Vinci. Sculptors, too, began to rediscover many ancient techniques such as
contrapposto. Following with the Humanist spirit of the age, art became more
secular in subject matter, depicting Anicent mythology as well as Christian
themes. This genre of art is often reffered to as Renaissance Classicism.
The most influential Renaissance artists inclue such figures as Leonardo da
Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Raffaello Santi, all of whom contributed
to the Italian Renaissance to flourish. Another equally important but less
well-known figure of the Renaissance is Jan van Eyck, a Flemish painter
often attributed with "bringing the Renaissance North."

Time Period:

   * Italian Renaissance - Late 14th century to Early 16th century
   * Northern Renaissance - 16th Century

Mannerism, Baroque, and Rococo

In European art, Renaissance Classicism spawned two different movements -
Mannerism and Baroque art. Mannerism, a reaction against the idealist
perfection of Classicism, employed distortion of light and spatial
frameworks in order to emphasize the emotional content of a painting and the
emotions of the painter. Baroque art took the representationalism of the
Renaissance to new heights, emphasizing detail and movement in their search
for beauty. Perhaps the best known Baroque painters are Rembrandt and Peter
Paul Rubens. Baroque art is often seen as part of the Counter-Reformation -
the artistic emement of the revival of spiritual life in the the Catholic
Church. Additionally, the emphasis that Baroque art placed on grandeur is
seen as Absolutist in nautre. Louis XIV said, "I am grandeur incarnate," and
many Baroque artists served kings seeking after this very goal. However, The
Baroque love of detail is often considered overly-ornate and gaudy,
especially as it developed into the even more richly decorated style of
Rococo. After the death of Louis XIV, Rococo flourished for a short while,
but soon fell out of favor. Indeed, disgust for the ornateness of Rococo was
the impetus for Neoclassicism.

Time Period:

   * Mannerism - 16th century
   * Baroque Art - 16th Century to 17th century
   * Rococo - Mid-17th century

Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and Realism

As time passed, many artists were repulsed by the ornate grandeur of these
styles and sought to revert to the earlier, simpler art of the Renaissance,
creating Neoclassicism. Neoclassicism was the artisic component of the
intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment, which was similarly
idealistic. Ingres, Canova, and Jacques-Louis David are among the most
well-known neoclassicists.

Just as Mannerism rejected Classicism, so did Romanticism reject the ideas
of the Enlightnement and the aesthetic of the Neoclassicists. Romantic art
focused on the use of color and motion in order to portray emotion, but like
classicism used Greek and Roman mythology and tradition as an important
source of symbolism. Another important aspect of Romanticism was its
emphasis on nature and portraying the power and beauty of the natural world.
Romanticism was also a large literary movement, especially in poetry. Among
the greatest Romantic aristst are Eug�ne Delacroix, Francisco Goya, and
William Blake.

However, in the early 19th century, the face of Europe was radically altered
by industrialization. Poverty, squalor, and desperation were to be the fate
of the new working class created by the "revolution." In response to these
changes going on in society, the movement of Realism emerged. Realism sought
to accurately portray the conditions and hardships of the poor in the hopes
of changing society. In contrast with Romanticism, which was essentially
optimistic about mankind, Realism offered a stark vision of poverty and
despair. Similarly, while Romanticism glorified nature, Realism portrayed
life in the depths of an urban wasteland. Like Romanticism, Realism was a
literary as well as an artistic movement. The great Realist painters include
Gustave Courbet and Edouard Manet.

Time Period:

   * Neoclassicsim - 17th century to 19th century
   * Romanticism - Late 18th Century to 19th century
   * Realism: 19th century

Modern Art

Out of the naturalist ethic of Realism grew a major artistic movement,
Impressionism. The Impressionists pioneered the use of light in painting as
they attempted to capture life as seen from the human eye. Edgar Degas,
Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir,
were all invovled in the Impressionist movement.

Following the Impressionists came the Fauvism, often considered the first
"modern" genre of art. Just as the Impressionists revolutionized light, so
did the fauvists rethink color, painting their canvases in bright, wild
hues. After the Fauvists, modern art began to develop in all its forms,
ranging from Expressionism, concerned with evoking emotion through objective
works of art, to Cubism, the art of transposing a three-dimentional reality
onto a flat canvas, to Abstract art. These new art forms of pushed the
limits of traditional notions of "art" and corresponded to the similiar
rapid changes that were taking place in human society, technology, and thought.

Time Period: Early 20th century

China Art History

Tang and Song Dynasties

In ancient Imperial China, painting and calligraphy were the most highly
appreciated arts in court circles and were produced almost exclusively by
amateurs, aristocrats and scholar-officials who alone had the leisure to
perfect the technique and sensibility necessary for great brushwork.
Calligraphy was thought to be the highest and purest form of painting. The
implements were the brush pen, made of animal hair, and black inks made from
pine soot and animal glue. Writing as well as painting, was done on silk.
But after the invention of paper in the 1st century, silk was gradually
replaced by the new and cheaper material. Original writings by famous
calligraphers have been greatly valued throughout China's history and are
mounted on scrolls and hung on walls in the same way that paintings are.

Painting in the traditional style involved essentially the same techniques
as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black or colored ink; oils
were not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular materials on which
paintings are made are paper and silk. The finished work is then mounted on
scrolls, which can be hung or rolled up. Traditional painting also is done
in albums and on walls, lacquerwork, and other media.

Beginning in the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-907), the primary subject matter of
painting was the landscape, known as shanshui (mountain-water) painting. In
these landscapes, usually monochromatic and sparse, the purpose was not to
reproduce exactly the appearance of nature but rather to grasp an emotion or
atmosphere so as to catch the "rhythm" of nature. During the Song dynasty
(960-1279), landscapes of more subtle expression appeared; immeasurable
distances were conveyed through the use of blurred outlines, mountain
contours disappearing into the mist, and impressionistic treatment of
natural phenomena. Emphasis was placed on the spiritual qualities of the
painting and on the ability of the artist to reveal the inner harmony of man
and nature, as perceived according to Taoist and Buddhist concepts.

Yuan and Ming Dynasties

Following the invasion of China under Genghis Khan at the start of the 13th
century, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was established in China, openining up its
arts and culture to a degree of outside influence. Undery the reign of
Kublai Khan, a rich cultural diversity developed, with ideas and art flowing
between the European, Islamic, and Chinese portions of the empire. The major
cultural achievements were the development of drama and the novel and the
increased use of the written vernacular. The extensive cultural interchange
between China and the outside world led to changes in painting. Beginning in
the 13th century, there developed a tradition of painting simple subjects--a
branch with fruit, a few flowers, or one or two horses.

The arts continued to flourish after the expulsion of the Yuan dyansty in
the 14th century. Under the new Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Chinese culture
bloomed. Narrative painting, with a wider color range and a much busier
composition than the Song painting, was immensely popular during the time.
The porcelain industry expanded rapidly and fine Chinese porcelain acquired
the reputation that it holds today. In addition, the first books illustrated
with colored woodcuts appeared. As the techniques of color printing were
perfected, illustrated manuals on the art of painting began to be published.
Jieziyuan Huazhuan (Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden), a five-volume work
first published in 1679, has been in use as a technical textbook for artists
and students ever since.

The Cultural Revolution

Beginning with the New Culture Movement, Chinese artists started to adopt
Western techniques. It also was during this time that oil painting was
introduced to China.

In the early years of the People's Republic of China, artists were
encouraged to employ socialist realism. Some Soviet Union socialist realism
was imported without modification, and painters were assigned subjects and
expected to mass-produce paintings. This regimen was considerably relaxed in
1953, and after the [[Hundred Flowers Campaign of 1956-1957, traditional
Chinese painting experienced a significant revival. Along with these
developments in professional art circles, there was a proliferation of
peasant art depicting everyday life in the rural areas on wall murals and in
open-air painting exhibitions.

During the Cultural Revolution, art schools were closed, and publication of
art journals and major art exhibitions ceased. Nevertheless, amateur art
continued to flourish throughout this period.

Following the Cultural Revolution, art schools and professional
organizations were reinstated. Exchanges were set up with groups of foreign
artists, and Chinese artists began to experiment with new subjects and
techniques. Chinese artists have become a contributing force to contemporary art.

Japanese Art History

Contemporary art

Moreso than any other form of art, contemporary art is often focused on the
abstract. Because of this, contemporary art is often criticized for being
"meaningless" or for "not being art." Contemporary art often has the goal of
criticizing or commenting on society, politics, and religion.

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