Art Of Emerging Europe

Lesson 8

Art of Emerging Europe Presented by: Rencie joy L. Nito

The Major Periods in Western Art History • Ancient Greece • Ancient Rome

• Middle ages • Renaissance art • Mannerism • Baroque and Rococo • Neoclassicism

ANCIENT GREECE • Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient culture for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic development between about 750 and 300 BC was remarkable by ancient standards, and in surviving works is best seen in sculpture.

• The art of ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into four periods: the Geometric, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. Geometric art is a phase of Greek art, characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase painting. (900 BC – 700 BC)

The Hirschfeld Krater, mid-8th century BC.

The Dipylon Amphora, mid-8th century BC, with human figures for scale.

Archaic art is characterised by a shift towards representational and naturalistic styles. It was the period in which monumental sculpture was introduced to Greece, and in which Greek pottery styles went through great changes, from the repeating patterns of the late geometric period to the earliest red figure vases.

The kore known as the Dedication of Nikandre.

The Archaic period saw a shift in styles of pottery decoration from the repeating patterns of the geometric period.

Classical art saw changes in the style and function of sculpture. Poses became more naturalistic and the technical skill of Greek sculptors in depicting the human form in a variety of poses greatly increased. From about 500 BC statues began to depict real people.

The Artemision Bronze, either Poseidon or Zeus, c. 460 BC.

Hermes, possibly by Lysippos.

Hellenistic art is the art of the Hellenistic period generally taken to begin with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and end with the conquest of the Greek world by the Romans. A number of the bestknown works of Greek sculpture belong to this period.

the Venus de Milo, discovered at the Greek island of Milos, 130–100 BC, Louvre.

the Winged Victory of Samothrace, from the island of Samothrace, 200– 190 BC, Louvre.

ANCIENT ROME (500 BC – 500 AD) • Roman art was influenced by Greece and can in part be taken as a descendant of ancient Greek painting and sculpture, but was also strongly influenced by the more local Etruscan art of Italy. Roman sculpture, is primarily portraiture derived from the upper classes of society as well as depictions of the gods. However, Roman painting does have important unique characteristics. Among surviving Roman paintings are wall paintings. • Almost all of the surviving painted portraits from the Ancient world are a large number of coffin-portraits of bust form.

Mummy portrait of a young girl, 2nd century AD, Louvre.

Bust of "Mondragone" Antinous, c. 130 AD.

MIDDLE AGES (6th century to 15th century) • Most surviving art from the Medieval period was religious in focus, often funded by the Church, powerful ecclesiastical individuals such as bishops, communal groups such as abbeys, or wealthy secular patrons. Many had specific liturgical functions—processional crosses and altarpieces.

Saint Matthew from the Lindisfarne Gospels.

Byzantine monumental Church mosaics are one of the great achievements of medieval art.

• Byzantine art overlaps with or merges with what we call Early Christian art until the iconoclasm period of 730-843 when the vast majority of artwork with figures was destroyed; so little remains that today any discovery sheds new understanding. After 843 until 1453 there is a clear Byzantine art tradition. •

It is often the finest art of the Middle Ages in terms of quality of material and workmanship, with production centered on Constantinople. Byzantine art's crowning achievement were the monumental frescos and mosaics inside domed churches, most of which have not survived due to natural disasters and the appropriation of churches to mosques.

The "Handy Tables" of Ptolemy.

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Early Medieval art/Migration period art is a general term for the art of the "barbarian" peoples who moved into formerly Roman territories. Celtic art in the 7th and 8th centuries saw a fusion with Germanic traditions through contact with the Anglo-Saxons creating what is called the Hiberno-Saxon style or Insular art, which was to be highly influential on the rest of the Middle Ages.

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Illuminated manuscripts contain nearly all the surviving painting of the period, but architecture, metalwork and small carved work in wood or ivory were also important media.

Book of Kells, Folio 292r, Incipit to John. In principio erat verbum.

Detail of God addressing Jeremiah.

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Romanesque art refers to the period from about 1000 to the rise of Gothic art in the 12th century. This was a period of increasing prosperity, and the first to see a coherent style used across Europe, from Scandinavia to Switzerland.

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Romanesque art is vigorous and direct, was originally brightly coloured, and is often very sophisticated.

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Gothic art is a variable term depending on the craft, place and time. The term originated with Gothic architecture in 1140, but Gothic painting did not appear until around 1200 (this date has many qualifications), when it diverged from Romanesque style.

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International Gothic describes Gothic art from about 1360 to 1430, after which Gothic art merges into Renaissance art at different times in different places. During this period forms such as painting, in fresco and on panel, become newly important, and the end of the period includes new media such as prints.

Pentecost the Musée Condé, Chantilly.

RENAISSANCE ART • The Renaissance is characterized by a focus on the arts of Ancient Greece and Rome, which led to many changes in both the technical aspects of painting and sculpture, as well as to their subject matter. It began in Italy, a country rich in Roman heritage as well as material prosperity to fund artists. During the Renaissance, painters began to enhance the realism of their work by using new techniques in perspective, thus representing three dimensions more authentically.

MANNERISM • 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.

Madonna with the Long Neck Painting by: Parmigianino

The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest Painting by El Greco

BAROQUE AND ROCOCO • Baroque art took the representationalism of the Renaissance to new heights, emphasizing detail, movement, lighting, and drama in their search for beauty. • Baroque art was characterized by strongly religious and political themes; common characteristics included rich colors with a strong light and dark contrast. Paintings were elaborate, emotional and dramatic in nature.

• Rococo art was characterized by lighter, often jocular themes; common characteristics included pale, creamy colors, florid decorations and a penchant for bucolic landscapes. Paintings were more ornate than their Baroque counterpart, and usually graceful, playful and light-hearted in nature.

NEOCLASSICISM • Neoclassicism was the artistic component of the intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment; the Enlightenment was idealistic, and put its emphasis on objectivity, reason and empirical truth. • Neoclassical art, inspired by different classical themes, was characterized by an emphasis on simplicity, order and idealism.

The End Thank you!