Art History PDF

Art History Introduction Art = Producing works that express technical proficiency with human imagination and creative skill Biggest Arts = Painting, Sculpture, Architecture Art History = academic history of history and development of objects created by...

Art History Introduction Art = Producing works that express technical proficiency with human imagination and creative skill Biggest Arts = Painting, Sculpture, Architecture Art History = academic history of history and development of objects created by different cultures Antiquity Naturalis Historia = writes about contemporary art De architectura = architecture and engineering guide for building projects Aristoteles and Plato = philosophers and architects Renaissance Art Theory = artists (Leonardo Davinci,…) Paragone = (comparison) debate between different art forms Art histography = Artists biography, style history… Canon = (Rule) group of approved literary / artistic work 20th century New sciences and Perspectives History, archeology, paleography, psychology, neurology, sociology, anthropology, economics Exact sciences Dendrochronology, infrared reflectography, chemistry, microscopy Progression in restoration of artistic works Dissection of an Artwork The Key elements: Idea, Composition, Light, Color, Material and Technique Idea Subject (what is depicted in the artwork) Content (meaning communicated by the artist in the artwork) Early civilizations, Greeks and Romans Cultural promotion Communication Entertainment Decoration (Basic anatomy and no perspective in the artworks) Middle Ages Religious propaganda (Basic anatomy and no perspective in the artworks) Renaissance Religious-political propaganda (Refined anatomy and start using of correct perspective) Baroque Political propaganda (Dynamic anatomy and very good knowledge of perspective and composition) Romanticism Political propaganda (Dynamic anatomy, very good knowledge of perspective and composition) Realism Realism (Realistic anatomy, and perfect perspective) Modern Art L’art pour l’art Contemporary Art Expression Concept Revolt and critique Message Composition The way in which different elements of an artwork line, shape, color, texture, value, form, space, … are arranged Foreground > Middle ground > Background  Static composition Appears orderly and stable Mostly horizontal and vertical lines Dynamic composition Conveying the idea of movement Often asymmetric, diagonal Leading lines Lines that our eyes follow round a composition Rule of Thirds Arranging the important features of an image on the horizontal and vertical lines that would divined the image in thirds Rule of Space Especially for motion leave space in front of the subject to create room Golden Ratio Ratio between two numbers that equals = 1.618 Light Fundamental factor since it affects color, texture and volume Esthetic value in combination with shadow, certain lighting can determine the composition of the work Uses of light Symbolic light ( Divine light in Christian medieval art) Forming shapes and spaces (Incorporating sciences during the Renaissance) Conveying emotion and drama (In Baroque painting use of Chiaroscuro = Sharp contrast between light and dark / shadow) Light as a subject from still lives during the age of enlightenment, landscape paintings of the realists, and the romantics to impressionists paintings Color Visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum Related to object’s light absorption, reflection, emission, spectra, and interference  Primary colors = Red, Yellow and Blue Secondary colors = Orange, Green and Purple Tertiary colors = combination of primary and secondary colors Monochrome colors Grayscale color palette, only tones of a single color Complementary colors Opposite colors, placed next to each other they create the strongest contrast Warm vs Cold = creates an atmospheric perspective Material and Technique See next lessons The Art of Storytelling Neo-Assyrian Empire Mesopotamia King Ashurbanipal had military success and brough prosperity He had the Divine protection of the gods Assyrian bas-relief Propaganda, Action moments, No perspective, attention to anatomy & detail Lamassu Protective spirit and symbol of power A Hybrid and has the body of a lion or bull (strength), eagle wings (freedom), Human head (intelligence) The death of Sardanapalus Self-indulgent figure, dissatisfaction in Assyrian empire causes conspiracy against Assyrians Dies in orgy of destruction There was no actual king named Sardanapalus in the Assyrian King list Eugène Delacroix Orientalism (subject matter) Romanticism, Asymmetrical / diagonal composition Painterly brushstroke Warm reds vs bright whites Neo-Babylonian empire During King Nebuchadnezzar 2nd they had a prosperous civilization, flourishing art, architecture, urban and science development Monumental ziggurats for the gods Written accounts Ishtar Gate of Babylon By order of king Nebuchadnezzar 2nd Wall reliefs with glazed bricks with Dragons (Marduk – Lord of the gods), Bulls (Adad – Storm God) and Lions (Ishtar – War Goddess) Ishtar or Inanna Lion as symbol of power – Queen of the heaven, Love, Fertility and War Made out of the same materials as the Ishtar gate Lapis lazuli, silver and wood Religion in Japan Shinto or Shintoism – Way of the Gods Buddhism And some minor religions Kami Deities, spirits that are venerated in Shinto religion Worshipped in shrines or sanctuaries proceeded by the torii gate Kodama is a forest / tree spirit that is market with shimenawa Yokai Supernatural entities and spirits Often animal-like features Oni Hulking figure with horns massive teeth and clawlike nails carrying iron spiked club They bring calamities to land, war, plague and earthquakes and eclipses Destructive lighting and thunder power Often build at the front of the shrines to fend of the bad spirits just like the Gargoyles in Roman and Gothic architecture Allegory Art style Allegory = Narrative or visual representation in which a character, place or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance Symbol = sign or word that indicates an idea, object or relationship Personification = Incarnation Representation of certain ideas as a person Memento mori = from Latin – “Remember you must die” Vanitas = from Latin – “Vanity” or pointless (Allegorical artworks that remind the viewer of the shortness and fragility of life) The allegory of painting Self portrait of Johannes Vermeer The elements represent the debate on Paragone and The liberal Arts Art & Cultural appropriation The use of pre-existing ideas, objects, images with little to no transformation applied Cradle of European civilization Political structures – Kingdom, Democracy and Empire Science, Philosophy, Theatre, Literature, Architecture, Visual Arts Round arches and barrel vaults, pillars as decoration, domes and concrete Ancient mediterranean Minoan culture Open trading community, Colorful motifs from nature No perspective, indication of movement but still static and stiff Mycenaean culture Warrior elite society with pre-Olympic religion Ancient Egyptian culture Successful agriculture in Nile valley Unified with the Pharoah Collective construction projects Independent writing system Elaborate system of religious beliefs Greeks & Romans Archaic period Less rigid stylization Archaic smile Attention to anatomy Classical period Technical skills Ideal human form build as decoration Contrapposto Hellenistic period Diversification Standardization More technical development More naturalism and emotion Roman empire Copying Greek sculptures Horror Vacui (filling every empty space) Realism in subject Renaissance Italy 1300-1600 Rebirth of European culture Doumo of Florence Start of Italian Renaissance Medieval Gothic style Gates of Paradise Events of old Testament Greater idealization of subject Use of discovered principles of perspective David First colossal marble statue made in early modern period Greek heroic male nude Depicted before the battle Perfect anatomy with contrapposto Iconoclasm The social belief in the importance of the destruction of icons, images or monuments for religious or political reasons Art destruction - Willful, accidental or natural decay of a work of art Palmyra Wealth from trade caravans Roman, Hellenistic and Mediterranean influences Archeological site 2011 Syrian Civil war – 2023 Restoration of theatre Questionable ownership Acropolis of Athens Inhabited since 4th millennium BC Most important buildings were constructed during the Golden Age of Athens Parthenon Build as thanks for victory during Greco-Persian War Converted to Christian church Mosque after Ottoman conquest Venetian bomb damages the temple used as munition dump Elgin or Parthenon Marbles Transported to England for museum Sold to the British government due to financial problems Ghent Altarpiece Survived hidden in the cathedral tower French revolution & Napoleon Cut vertically in half in Berlin Oriental fantasies Orientalism Depiction of aspects of eastern world by artists from the Western world Jean-Léon Gérôme Academic painter and sculptor Grand Tour of Near East, travel around Europe to study Collection of artefacts and costumes David Roberts Stage designer and painter The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia Detailed prints of Egypt and near east Craig Mullins Concept artist, Illustrator and matte painter Pioneer in digital painting before drawing tablets where available World of Illusion Piranesi Archeologist, antiquarian, architect and graphic artist Interest in ancient culture signified by the grand tour Escher Graphic artist inspired by mathematical objects and operations Inspired by decorative designs Dune Cancelled after preproduction Too long, too expensive… Documentary Jodorowsky’s dune (2013) Chris Foss Studies architecture Fascinated by WOII bunkers, steam trains Advertisement and publishing commissions for sci fi book covers MŒBIUS AKA Jean Giraud Comics in imaginative, surreal and abstract style Storyboards and concept designs for Alien, Tron, The Fifth Element and The Abyss Hans Reudi Giger Industrial design Biomechanical (blending human physics with machines) Monochromatic surreal, nightmarish dreamscapes Airbrush, pastels, markers, ink, … Étienne-Louis Boullée Neo-classical architect, teacher and theorist Abstract geometric style, inspired by classical forms Regularity, symmetry and variety Cenotaph for Isaac Newton Taller than Great Pyramids of Giza S[here as most beautiful, perfect natural body (according to Boullée) Sarcophagus for Newton in middle Effect of day and night Isaac Newton Mathematician, physicist, author, astronomer, alchemist and theologian Key figure in Scientific Revolution Albrecht Durer Painter, printmaker and theorist Acquainted with Italian artists and German humanists Introduction of classical motifs and nude in Northern art Treaties about linear perspective, body proportions, … Sanzio Raphael Painter & architect Great influence on Academies and Neo Classicism Clarity of form compositions School of Athens Commissioned by Pope Julius II Ancient philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians representing knowledge acquired through reason Accurate use of perspective Baroque and drama Baroque = rough or imperfect pearl Began 1600 in Rome Wiliam Shakespeare, Galileo Galilei, Rene Descartes, Isaac Newton,… Further colonization of the world 30 years war, 80 years war Baroque vs Renaissance Renaissance Baroque Classic New genres Order and reason Drama Symmetry Asymmetry Mental movement Physical movement The individual “Gesamtkunstwerk” Pieter Paul Rubens Artist, humanist and diplomat Hight amount of work Travels to Italy to see classical art Dramatics, unique take on movement, color and sensuality Dynamic compositions Gian Lorenzo Bernini Sculptor, architect, painter, … Technical versatility and inventive compositions Patronage of extravagantly wealthy and powerful cardinal Scipione Borghese Le Corbusier Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner and writer One of the pioneers of modern architecture and design Founding member if CIAM(Congres International d’Architecture Moderne) Modulor Based on human measurements, golden ratio and double unit Mathematical proportions of the human body Using Fibonacci numbers Introduce scale of visual measures that would unit Anglo-Saxon foot / inch and International metric system Repoussoir Object in the foreground that directs the viewer’s eye into the composition Caravaggio Painter with a tumultuous life Naturalistic portrait of people with dramatic use of lighting Live models directly painted on canvas, often depicted struggle, torture and death with Chiaroscuro Inspiration for Baroque Rembrandt van Rijn Painter, printmaker and drawer in the golden age Wide range of subject matter Successful portrait painter and teacher of many important artists  But tragedy and financial hardship in personal life Warm colors Soft play of light and shadow (environment gradually disappears into the dark) Golden light illuminates the main theme William Turner Painter, printmaker, watercolorist, professor and gallery owner Child prodigy Expressive portrayal of light in landscape paintings Influence on French impressionists like Claude Monet Claude Monet Founder of Impressionism and key precursor to modernism Paint nature as perceived by artist Plein air landscape painting Exhibition of rejects Impressionism Rejected dark, contrasting lighting of romantic and realist paintings in favor of pale tones Painting the same scene many times to capture the changing of light and the passing of seasons Henri Cartier-Bresson Artist and humanist photographer Founding member Magnum Photos Early user 35mm film Alexander Rodchenko Sculptor, photographer and graphic designer in Soviet Russia Exploring odd angles Photomontage Edward Weston Straight photography Highly detailed photographic images Cindy Sherman Postmodernist photographer Untitled Film Stills Self portraits in different contexts and imagined characters Jeff Wall Photographer and professor Large-scale back-lit-photo-transparencies Staged scenes with references to art history or philosophical problems Stephan Vanfleteren Photojournalist -> portraiture Sober, black and white, close to the subject, … Black Black as a metaphor for misery, disease, mortality, ignorance, sin, … Contrast with the goodness and godliness of light Absence of color and light Kazimir Malevich Avant-garde artist and art theorist Pioneering work and writing for development of 20th century abstract art Suprematism(abstract art movement founded in Russia) White washing Original polychrome painted Have almost completely perished or faded over time Aztec civilization Meaning to the red color City states Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco and Tlacopan Maize cultivation Social division nobility and common Calendric system Pantheon with Tezcatlipoca Xipe Totec, Quetzalocatl & Huitzilopochtli Prussian blue Created by accident in Germany First synthetic blue pigment invented since ancient Egypt Favorite in Baroque and others Imported from Europe to Japan Use of Prussian blue revolutionized Japanese prints during Edo period The Great Wave off Kanagawa First in series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji” Synthesis of traditional Japanese prints and graphical perspective One of the first Japanese prints featuring Prussian blue Tyrian purple Phoenician discovery Labor intensive production Natural scarcity The age of revolution American War of independence National revolts in Europe Scientific revolution Industrial revolution Sir Willam Henry Perkin Failed attempt to make anti-malarial drug from coal-tar hydrocarbons Patent for “Tyrian purple” Mauve mania Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Group of English painters, poets and art critics Return of Quattrocento Italian art Bright white grounds Most vivid modern pigments Avoid mixing colors, used pure pigments next to each other  Avoid using blacks Purple in shadows Color in movies Creating a mood Visual development before production while storyboarding But also during production to help the lighting department Color in games 1. Shapes player behavior 2. Controls the player’s attention 3. Gives feedback and signals important cues 4. Conveying various meanings of scenes, locations, elements, … 5. Mood building Camera obscura (Dark chamber) Rays of light passing through a small hole into a dark space, forming an inverted and reversed image of the view Camera Lucida (well-lit room) Projects optical superimposition of the subject being viewed onto drawing surface, helpful when for construct perspective but doesn’t capture light information Kinetic art Any medium that contains movement perceivable by viewer Or that depends on motion powered by wind, motor or the observer for its effects Alexander Calder Inspired by visit studio Modriaan Stabiles, mobiles and monumental abstract public sculptures Integrating ideas of gesture, spatial relationships and immateriality as aesthetic factors Zimoun Sound sculptures, sound architectures and installation art Raw industrial materials with mechanical elements Three-dimensional spaces the visitor can actively explore Casey Curran Kinetic landscapes & sculptures Hidden narratives / history Repeating patterns from nature Automatons Relatively self-operating machine Mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations / respond to predetermined instructions Jean Tinguely Metamatics = machines that produce art works Questioning the automation and overproduction of material goods and the role of the artist, artwork and the viewer Installation art Site-specific three-dimensional works designed to transform the viewer’s perception of an interior space Exterior interventions are often called public art, land art or art intervention Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller Collaborative couple Immersive multimedia sound installation Audio / video walks The Rube Goldberg machine American cartoonist Chain reaction machine designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overly complicated way Bill Voila Pioneer in fields of new media, video and installation art Fundamental human experiences Philosophical, spiritual and art historical traditions The night journey Collaboration with designers USC Game Innovation Lab Experimental art game Takashi Murakami Blurring the lines between high arts and low arts Mr. DOB as alter ego Characteristics of 2D imagery from Japanese artistic tradition and postwar Japanese culture Smiling flowers, mushrooms, skulls, Buddhist iconography, and sexual complexes of otaku culture Vibrant colors, glossy surfaces Collaborations with famous brands and artists Palace of Knossos Excavated by Arthur Evans in 1900 Inaccuracies in reconstruction Knossos in Assassin’s Creed Feels authentic Good overall impression of Greece with colorful temples & independent cities Hagia Sophia Built by Emperor Justinian I Converted to mosque after fall of Constantinople Museum / Tourist attraction Re-converted to mosque Basilica of San Vitale Byzantine architecture / art Mosaics of emperor Justinian and Theodora Octagonal ground plan Doumo di Milano Start building at the peak of Gothic art Romantics and the Gothic revival Westmister Abbey Location for coronations, royal weddings and burial site prominent people ( Tomb of Isaac Newton) Church of England Henry VII Lady chapel Shrine, mausoleum and tombs or royals More elaborate chapel dedicated to Virgin Mary Famous for pendant fan vault ceiling Perpendicular Gothic Gothic style developed in Kingdom of England in the Late middle ages Art Deco Style in visual arts, architecture and product design Geometric shapes, bold colors and exoticized art styles Representation of luxury and faith in social and technological progress Rockefeller building Construction before Great Depression Financiers pulled out John Rockefeller Jr. backed remaining construction project August Rodin Founder of modern sculpture Naturalism with emphasis on individual character and emotion Detailed textured surfaces in clay American comic book Developed from the daily strops in newspapers and magazines Famous funnies Golden age of comic books Introduction of superman National Comics Publications request more superheroes for its titles The comics code Flourishing horror and true-crime comics with graphic violence / gore Public anxiety and discussions about impact of comics on youth Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Writer and illustrator Frank Miller Illustrator Klaus Janson colorist Lynn Varley Watchmen Writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, colorist John Higgins Reflection of contemporary anxiety Deconstruction of concept superhero Political commentary Grim and gritty era Impact of the dark knight returns and watchmen on American comic Growing popularity of anti-heroes Darker tone More and more seen as literature Franco-Belgian comic Newspapers and magazines Sub-category of Flemish comics The Adventures of Tintin Considered starting point / archetype of modern Franco-Belgian comic Dominant styles in comics Ligne claire style (reduction of reality to easy clear lines and geometrical features with realistic proportions, lack of shadows little to no speed- lines and strong color schemes) Comic-dynamic style (convey impression of movement, using lines of varying thickness to accent drawings, Even, primary, schematic coloring) Realistic style (Very detailed drawings, Little to no comic elements, Nuances in coloring) Japanese manga Typical printed in black-and-white Usually, single episode serialized in large manga magazines Predecessors of Japanese manga Emakimono (horizontal narration system of painted handscrolls dating back to Nara period) Kibyoshi (Japanese picture book produced during Edo period) Japanese manga after WII Explosion of artistic creativity Two marketing genres: Shonen for boys and Shojo for girls Machiko Hasegawa One of the first female manga artists Consistent four-panel layout Daily life and women’s experience Osamu Tezuka Father of manga Cinematographic technique Change from cartoony slapstick to more realistic style Gekiga Aimed at adult audiences More maturethemes More cinematic art style, influenced by film noir and crime novels Yoshihiro Tatsumi Anti-manga manga Darker elements of life Gustave Dore Printmaker, Illustrator, comic artists, caricaturist, painter and sculptor Wood-engravings illustrating classic literature More than 10.000 illustrations Never married, lived with his mother Divine comedy (Dante Alighieri) One of greatest work of Western literature Representing Medieval worldview western church Imaginative vision of afterlife Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso Frans Masereel Graphic artist Member of Lumiere Woodcuts focused on political and social issues 40 wordless novels Expressionism – presenting the world from a subjective perspective Passionate Journey Best-selling novel Longest with 167 caption less prints Genre flourishes during interbellum The Sun Contemporary retelling of Greek myth of Icarus The Idea Allegory – manifested as a naked woman – of a man’s idea Representing new – disrupting-ideas, rested by tradition Manipulation of the image of women by society and media The idea 2 year animating, initially in collab with Masereel Multiple layers of superimposed animation Electronic music score by Swiss Arthur Honegger Lynd Ward Illustrator of books and graphic work with political themes Symbolic contrast of dark and light to emphasize corruption of the city Exaggerating facial expression to convey emotion without words Composition conveys emotion God’s Man Precursor of the graphic novel Artist who signs away his soul for a magic paintbrush Vertigo Effects of great depression Expression of socialist sympathies More detailed and more realistic Longest and most complex and last finished novel Maus: A survivor’s tale Interviewing his father about his experiences as Polish jew and holocaust survivor First and only graphic novel to win Pulitzer Prize Leon Spillaert Draughtsman, illustrator, lithographer and painter Contributor to the development of symbolism in Belgium Teneberism (like chiaroscuro but much more dramatic use of the effect) Simplicity of form Mysterious expression of characters and landscapes Rinus van de Velde Monumental charcoal drawings Sculptures, ceramics, movies, … Fictional autobiography of parallel lives / open-ended narratives for viewer to interpret Based on photos Text snippets