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Questions and Answers
Which order of columns is characterized by a plain, unadorned column capital and a column that rests directly on the stylobate of the temple without a base?
Which order of columns is characterized by a plain, unadorned column capital and a column that rests directly on the stylobate of the temple without a base?
Which order of columns originated in Ionia and is notable for its graceful and elegant profile?
Which order of columns originated in Ionia and is notable for its graceful and elegant profile?
Which order of columns is characterized by acanthus leaves surrounding a votive basket in its capital?
Which order of columns is characterized by acanthus leaves surrounding a votive basket in its capital?
Who is considered the first actor in Greek theatre?
Who is considered the first actor in Greek theatre?
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According to Aristotle, what does art complete that nature cannot bring to a finish?
According to Aristotle, what does art complete that nature cannot bring to a finish?
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Who said 'Art is a mad search for individualism'?
Who said 'Art is a mad search for individualism'?
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Art is the expression of man’s through the use of his body. True or False?
Art is the expression of man’s through the use of his body. True or False?
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Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it. Who said this?
Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it. Who said this?
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Match the following terms with their descriptions:
Match the following terms with their descriptions:
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Which type of marble was favored especially for state-funded projects by Roman architects?
Which type of marble was favored especially for state-funded projects by Roman architects?
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Roman architects were among the greatest administrators.
Roman architects were among the greatest administrators.
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Roman Festivals also included ______, which were official religious festivals.
Roman Festivals also included ______, which were official religious festivals.
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Match the Roman Tragic Playwright with their notable works:
Match the Roman Tragic Playwright with their notable works:
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Study Notes
ART: THE BASICS
- Art is defined as completing what nature cannot bring to a finish (Aristotle), a shadow of divine perfection (Michelangelo), a mediator of the unspeakable (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), and a mad search for individualism (Paul Gauguin).
- Art is the expression of man's ideas, imagination, and emotions through the use of his body.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ART
- Man-made and transformed by man.
- Unique and individualistic, no two art pieces are alike.
- Aesthetic, beautiful, and intelligible.
TYPES OF ART
- Traditional Art (High Art): Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Literature, Music, Dance, and Theatre.
- Elements of Art: Space, Line, Shape, Form, Color, and Texture.
ELEMENTS OF ART
- Space: Refers to the distances or areas around, between, and within components of a piece.
- Line: Indicates direction, orientation, movement, and energy.
- Types of Line: Vertical, Horizontal, Jagged, and Curved.
- Shape: An enclosed space, a bounded two-dimensional form that has both length and width.
- Types of Shape: Organic and Geometric.
- Form: Connotes something that is three-dimensional and encloses volume, having length, width, and height.
- Color: Produced when light, striking an object, is reflected back to the eye.
- Terminologies of Colors: Hue, Saturation, and Value.
- Texture: Used to describe the way a three-dimensional work actually feels when touched.
PRINCIPLES OF ART
- Emphasis: Developing points of interest to pull the viewer's eye to important parts of the work.
- Balance: Achieved in a body of work by using similar elements throughout the work.
- Movement: Adds excitement to the work by showing action and directing the viewer's eye throughout the picture plane.
- Unity: Seen in a painting or drawing when all the parts equal a whole.
MODULE 2 | ANCIENT GREEK ART
- Frescoes: Paintings of color pigments on wet lime plaster without a binding agent, often depicting scenes from everyday life.
- Pottery: Vases were meant to be used in everyday life, with painters partnering with potters in creating vases.
- Sculptures: Greek art of classical antiquity is believed to be a mixture of Egyptian, Syrian, Minoan, and Persian cultures.
- Three periods of Greek Sculpture: Archaic Period, Classical Period, and Hellenistic Period.
MODULE 2 | ANCIENT GREEK SCULPTURES
- Archaic Period: Characterized by the development of monumental marble sculpture.
- Classical Period: The creative highpoint of Greek sculpture, with famous sculptors like Phidias, Praxiteles, Kritios, Lysippos, and Myron.
- Hellenistic Period: A continuation, refinement, and expansion of Greek influence in the Mediterranean world after Alexander the Great.
MODULE 2 | ARCHITECTURE
- Three Types of Columns:
- Doric Order: Earliest of the three Classical orders of architecture, characterized by a plain, unadorned column capital and a column that rests directly on the stylobate of the temple without a base.
- Ionic Order: Originated in Ionia, a coastal region of central Anatolia, characterized by volutes (scroll-like ornaments) and a base supports the column.
- Corinthian Order: Originated from the Greek city-state of Corinth, characterized by an elaborate, carved capital, which incorporates even more vegetal elements than the Ionic order does.
MODULE 2 | THEATRE
- Originated from the cult of Dionysus, associated with darkness, with the loss of boundaries around the self.
- Four Dionysian Festivals: Rural Dionysia, Lenaia, Anthesteria, and City Dionysia.
- Plays and Playwrights: Only 44 plays survived from the Greek classical period, written by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes.
- Performers, Masks, Costumes, and Music:
- All performers were male.
- Masks were essential, with tragic masks having formalized, expressionless faces, and comic masks presenting caricatures, grotesques, or animal heads.
- Costumes for tragedy included a tunic or sometimes a long/short cloak, and for comedy, based on everyday wear and included a phallus.
- Music was integral, with a double pipe, aulos, used above the rest of the crowd to denote importance.
MODULE 3 | ANCIENT ROMAN ART
- Spanned for 1,000 years in three continents – Europe, Asia, and Africa.
- Used a broad spectrum of media, including marble, painting, mosaic, gems, silver and bronze work, and terracotta.
- Mostly has Greek, Etruscan, and Egyptian influences.
- Roman Art in Republican Rome:
- Art was produced in the service of the state, depicting public sacrifices or celebrating victorious military campaigns.
- Portraits depicted the collective goals of the Republic, with patrons choosing to have themselves represented with balding heads, large noses, and extra wrinkles.
- Roman Art in Imperial Rome:
- Aggrandized the ruler and his family, often hearkening back to the Classical art of the past.
MODULE 3 | MINOR ART
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Jewelry equates to richness, mostly worn by women but also by men.
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Made of precious stones such as opals, emeralds, diamonds, topaz, and pearls.
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Types of Jewelry: Bracelets of bronze, bone, and jet, often made of shale.### Late Antique Art
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Characteristics include frontality, stiffness of pose and drapery, deeply drilled lines, less naturalism, squat proportions, and lack of individualism.
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Important figures are often slightly larger or placed prominently.
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Jewellery like bracelets and rings were worn by men, women, and children, made of silver, gold, bronze, iron, and jet, sometimes with precious stones and intaglios.
Mosaics
- Mosaics, also known as opus tessellatum, were made with small black, white, and colored squares of marble, tile, glass, pottery, stone, or shells.
- Each piece measured between 0.5 and 1.5 cm, with fine details rendered using even smaller pieces (as little as 1mm in size).
- Popular subjects included scenes from mythology, gladiator contests, sports, agriculture, hunting, food, flora, and fauna, as well as realistic portraits of Romans.
Pottery
- Ancient Roman fine wares were called terra sigillata, characterized by red-colored pottery with glossy surface slips.
- They flourished in Italy and Gaul (modern-day France) during the Roman Empire.
Sculpture
- Roman sculpture blended the idealized perfection of earlier Classical Greek sculpture with a greater aspiration for realism and Eastern art styles.
- Sculptures depicted prominent political figures, wealthy individuals, gods, emperors, and heroes, often larger than life.
- Materials used included marble and bronze.
Painting
- Roman interiors were lavishly painted and had stucco.
- The largest body of evidence comes from Pompeii and Herculaneum, both destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius.
- Wall painters preferred natural earth colors like darker shades of red, yellow, and brown.
- Subjects included portraits, scenes from mythology, architecture, flora, fauna, and townscapes.
Architecture
- Roman architecture continued the legacy left by earlier Greek architects.
- Marble was favored, especially for state-funded projects.
- Notable architects included Apollodorus of Damascus, Hadrian, Severus, Celer, and Vitruvius.
- The Roman Composite order mixed the volute of the Ionic order with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order.
- The Roman Tuscan order is a form of Doric column but with a smaller capital.
Socio-Cultural Context
- By 146 BCE, Rome had conquered Greece and absorbed its other territories.
- Romans were uninterested in theoretical questions but were skilled engineers, military tacticians, and administrators.
Theatre
- Ludi were official religious festivals, Pompa was a religious procession, and Munera were honorary festivals.
- Ludi Romani was the oldest festival in honor of Jupiter, held every September.
- Fabula crepidata were tragedies based on Greek originals, while Fabula praetexta were tragedies based on Roman subjects.
Roman Comic Playwrights
- Livius Andronicus was the first playwright, coming to Rome as a prisoner of war but later freed.
- Gnaeus Naevius was the first native playwright, writing comedies with Roman allusions added to Greek originals.
- Titus Maccius Plautus was the first important successor, known for his comedies, witty jokes, and varied poetic meters.
Roman Tragic Playwrights of the Republic
- Only three recorded Roman tragedians exist from 200-75 BCE: Quintus Ennius, Marcus Ocuvius, and Luccius Accius.
Acting Style in Tragedy and Comedy
- Delivery in tragedy is slow, stately, and declamatory, while in comedy, it is conversational.
- Actors specialized in one dramatic form, with movement in tragedy being slow and dignified, and lively in comedy.
- Gestures and movement were considered enlarged, and actors did not use masks in mime.
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Description
Learn the basics of art, including the definition of art according to Aristotle, and the elements of art. Explore the world of art, from literature to film.
