The 20th Century- The Establishment of Modern Art

Scientific and technological discovery reign supreme during this time period. Radio, radar, television, talking motion pictures, automobiles, airplanes, jet planes, electric railways, municipal transit systems, electric street lighting, and home appliances were all technological advances made during this time period.  The world wars were catalysts to many inventions, discoveries, and advancements.  On the scientific front many advancements were also made- the electron microscope, electronic instrumentation for machines, biochemistry, plastics, polymers and antibiotics were just some of the advancements.  On the architecture prestressed and reinforced concrete made larger buildings possible.

Art Nouveau was a movement whose participants tried to incorporate natural forms into architecture and the decorative arts. Check out the pictures on the link below.
Art nouveau

Andre Derain
Henri Matisse
Gustav Klimt
Kathe Kollwitz
Franz Marc (off limits to Jared- you need to learn about others ;) )
Max Beckmann
Stuart Davis
Marcel Duchamp
Piet Mondrian
Alexander Calder
Henry Moore

Georgia O'Keeffe

Marcel Duchamp

Frida Kahlo

Marc Chagall

Dorthea Lange

Edward Hopper

Claim one artist above to create a fake wall for.  The idea here is to use the following link to create a Facebook type "wall" for the artist.  Include a lot of biographical information. Make sure I can find your work.  If someone has already posted a fake wall for your artist do it anyway :)
Fake Wall

Pick two artist to send on a date.... Those highlighted in pink are women.  Research both of these artists to find out enough about them to guess what would happen if you sent them on a date.  Think about first dates and the learning about one another period.  If you don't try to learn about the other person on a first date then you have just gotten dating advice from Mrs. Lubinski (that's probably not a good thing).  Post the converstions the artists have on the date.

Nineteenth Century Pluralism of Styles

Yes, we skipped a lot of information again.  Hope that's alright with you!?

Timeline

1801 Thomas Jefferson is elected President of America
1803 Napoleon sells the Louisiana Purchase to America to fund his war
1804 Napoleon makes himself emperor of France
1807 Slave trade abolished in Britian
         Napoleon controls most of Europe
1814 British forces burn Washington D.C. before negotiating peace for Canada
         Stevenson builds the first steam locomotive
1819 Spain cedes Florida to America
1828 Francisco Goya dies
1837 Daguerre invents the Daguerreotype a precursor to the photograph
1838 Mass relocation of Native Americans- the Trail of Tears
1848 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish the "Communist Manifesto"
        Texas becomes part of America
        The gold rush begins
1859 Charles Darwing publishes "Origin of the Species"
1861 Abraham Lincoln is elected President of America
         The civil war starts (America)
1863 Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg address
1865 the civil war ends
         slavery is abolished
1866 Alfred Nobel produces dynamite
1874 first Impressionist exhibit
1876 Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
         Custer's last stand
1877 Thomas Edison invents the first phonograph
1878 Thomas Edison invents the first electric light
1885 George Eastman markets the first box camera
1886 Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz produce the first automobiles
1889 The Eiffel Tower is built in Paris
1890 Death of Vincent vcan Gogh
        The London Underground opens (an all electric subway)

ROMANTICISM
 

Delacroix
 JMW Turner
Hudson River School

REALISM (a reaction against Romanticism)

Millet
Gustav Courbet
Thomas Eakins
Winslow Homer

IMPRESSIONISM

Manet
Edgar Degas
Claude Monet

Camille Pissaro

FREEDOM OF IMAGINATION

Henri Rousseau MY FAVORITE!!!
Edvard Munch
Rodin

scavenger hunt

This artist was an intense anti-semite.

What year did Eastman mraket his box camera?

His paintings showed peasants in a realistic manner rather than a glamorizing their situations.

His early works were about the civil war, his later works were about the sea.

This artist grew up in Oslo, Norway.

This artist was said to be "...passionately in love with passion."

This arist was his studio assisstant.

There is some confusion about this artist's first/middle name.

This artist worked as a customs officer.

This artist attended Jefferson Medical College while attending the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

The High Renaissance and Mannerism

This chapter has 55 pages in the book so obviously it is going to be impossible for me to cover everything covered in this chapter sufficiently without pounding the work down- I hope you'll forgive me for not covering everything.  If you feel strongly that you are being shorted please let me know and I will be happy to give you a book to read and an activity that will encourage a deeper understanding of this chapter.

As always the post is informed by  Gardner's Art Through The Ages tenth edition. 

Previously the cultural/artistic center had shifted to Florence.  From about 1495-1527 (when Rome was sacked) Rome gained back the title of artistic and cultural center.  A series of ambitious popes created a new force in Italy.  A papal state was formed and Rome was its capitol.  These popes were living in the luxury previously known to royalty.  They commissioned art to beautify the city of Rome. 

This period is home to such famous artists as...
Leonardo DaVinci
Raffaello Sanzio- Raphael
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Tiziano Vecelli- Titian
Andrea Palladio


...just to name a few


Pick an artist from above- post your choice.
Research the artist (remember wikipedia is unreliable)

Give us the information we need to feel informed about this artist. like: short history of their life, most famous pieces, where their works are, how can we identify their style, who was/were their patron(s), their choice of medium, interesting facts etc. Don't forget to include links for art works


I want to hear from you (not another website).  Please collect information and then put it in your own words.  The list above is just to start you thinking of what we need to know- please add information to fill in their life.  You are seniors you can do this- don't be lazy ;)

THE EARLY RENAISSANCE

POST FOR 3/23
Check out this VOKI

INTERVIEW WITH AN ARTIST (or two)Pick a color- the two artist with the same color are both yours to "interview." Post the color and artists name so others can pick a different pair. Do this early on so your choice is known.

Lorenzo Ghiberti

Donatello

Filippo Brunelleschi

Masaccio

Fra Angelico

Verrocchio

Domenico Ghirlandaio

Sandro Botticelli

Perugino (Pietro Vannucci)

Andrea Mantegna

Please post your interview with your two artists.  You may create a Voki to communicate the information if you want. To create the Voki avatar go to voki.com you can email your Voki(s) to me at riannlubinski@nixaschools.net.  You are limited to the amount of information you can communicate with a Voki so if you can't get it all in you will need to type your response like usual.  The Voki is optional feel free to post as usual.

Questions:  feel free to add to the list if you find something interesting while researching.

NAME
WHERE ARE YOU FROM? WHERE DO YOU LIVE NOW?
ON WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING?(these people are obviously dead so this is a hypothetical- find a work they actually did do and post the link)
DO YOU HAVE A PATRON?
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MEDIUM?
ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL TECHNIQUES YOU ARE WELL KNOWN FOR OR ARE DEVELOPING?
WHAT IS YOUR MOST FAMOUS PIECE?
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR?
Post a link to al least 2 works by your artist.

Rome High and Late Empires

 Colosseum  
Read this article and look at the 360 degree tour.

THE HIGH EMPIRE
    "In the second century A.D., under Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines, the Roman Empire reached its          greatest geographical extent and the summit of its power.  Rome's might and influence were unchallenged in the Western world, although pressure was constantly being applied by the Germanic peoples in the north, the Berbers in the south, and the Parthaians and resurgent Persians in the east.  Within the secure boundaries on the empire, the Pax Romana produced an unprecedented prosperity for all those who came under Roman rule." 
- Gardner's Art Through the Ages 10th Edition
   

TORI-  Create a response describing (in your own words) the forum in Rome commissioned by Trajan.


TAYLOR- Create a response describing (in your own words) the Arch of Trajan.


JOHN-  Create a response describing (in your own words) the Pantheon.


SAMANTHA-  Create a response describing (in your own words) Ostia, Rome's harbor city. 

JARED-  Create a response describing (in your own words) the Antonines the family of Emperors and their influence on Roman art.

THE LATE EMPIRE

Rome was in decline Pax Romana was coming to an end.  Order was becoming one and more difficult to maintain on the frontiers.  The Antonine dynasty ended with the assassination of Marcus Aurelius's son Commodus.  the economy was declining, and the bureaucracy was disentigrating.  The official state religion was being challenged by Eastern cults and Christianity.  This pivotal historical era leads the world into the Christian Middle Ages. 

The Baths of Caracalla in Rome was a huge bathing complex built by the Severans.  This complex was built with imperial funds to win the favor of the public.  The baths were huge especially in comparison to others throughout the Roman Empire.  The concrete walls were up to 140' tall and were covered by barrel vaults, groin vaults and domical vaults.  The complex covered almost 50 acres (that's like 50 football fields!).  In these baths were landscaped gardens, lecture halls, libraries, a giant swimming pool, and workout spaces.  In one of these workout spaces a 10 1/2' tall copy of the Greek statue of Herakles stood, presumably to inspire Romans to exercise vigorously.  It was Roman practice to take a dip in the cold pool, the warm pool and then the hot pool.  Water was supplied to the baths by a branch of one of the city's major aqueducts.  The central heating was supplied by furnaces taht circulted the hot air through hollow walls and floors. It is estimated that 1,600 (every student at NHS) bathers could be accomodated in the baths of Caracalla. 
Baths

The Severan Dynasty ends and is followed with the tumult of soldiers declaring their general as emperor only to have him murdered by another general a few years or just a few months later.  In 238 co-emperors chosen by the senate were dragged from the imperial palace and murdered in public after ruling for only 3 months.  During this crazy time these emperors did not have time to initiate architectural projects so significant building came to a stop.  During this time a wall was built for the capitol a sign of the decay of Roman power. 

During the third century as architects were going hungry sculptos and engravers were prospering.  They were busy creating great quantities of coins, of lesser metals, so that Roman soldiers could be paid in coins reflecting the current Emperor.  Also, portrait statues and busts were set up everywhere to display the power of the new ruler. 

Third century A.D. portrait busts are known for their truthful likenesses of their subject matter as well as the emotional content.

In 284 A.D. Diocletian (named Emporer by his troops) decide the way to restore order to Rome was to share the power.  He established the tetrarchy (ruled by four).  He was Augustus of the East, there was an Augustus of the west and then two Caesars.  The two Caesars were married to the daughters of the Augusti, thus sealing their allegiance.  They ruled without problem until Diocletian's retirement in 305.  When this all fell apart the division of the empire into East and West survived and would last through the Middle Ages setting the papacy of the Latin West (Christian) apart from the Byzantine Empire of the East.

After the tetrarcy the next ruler of Rome (after a period of conflict) Constantine emerged as the sole ruler of Rome.  He gave credit for his victory to the God of the Christians and eventually issued the Edict of Milan which ended the persecution of Christians.  Constantine , shortly after defeating Licinius who had been his co-ruler, founded "new Rome" on the site of Byzantium and called it Constantinople (the city od Constantine).  The transfer of power from Rome to Constantinople and the establishment of Christianity as the official religion marks the begionning of the Middle Ages.
Constantine  This portrait bust is 8' 6" tall!
 For FUN! NOT required- just silly.

 Check out this site and several short blurbs on Later Roman Empire ArchitectureLate Roman Architecture


Ancient Rome was a colorful place.  Often our current impression  is informed by what we see in history books but the reality of the time would have been many buildings most portrait busts, an statues would have been painted bright colors. 

ROMAN ART I

The Roman Empire spanned from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to the Thames and the Danube to the Nile. This entire expansive area was ruled by one government.  In this empire lived people of different races, creeds, tongues, and cultures.  Because of this diversity the ancient Roman Empire most resembles the make up of  the current United States of America.  The Roman government, arts and politics are the basis for modern cultures and worlds. 

Ancient Roman architecture still stands and is used to support modern buildings today.  Some Roman aqueducts still carry water to modern towns, ships still dock at Roman ports and the European highway system still closely follows the Roman road system. 

READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE AND LOOK AT THE LINKS

Article- Roman Roads

Tabel of Peutinger

Roman Road Map

What was the ancient name for the area of modern Spain and Portugal?

What is the name for the ancient scroll depicting a "map of the world?"

What were Roman rest houses used for? 

How were they noted on the "map of the world?"

What was described by Tassan as, "a real treasure?"

In feet, What is the standard width of a Roman chariot axle?

What is one hypothesis  about what happened to the aqueduct that supplied water to Arles?


Romans during the "Republican style" were very eclectic in stylization of architecture and art.  They incorporated elements from the different  peoples they conquered.  The Roman general Marcellus conquered the Greek city of Syracuse.  Syracuse was very wealth and Marcellus   brought back not only the typical spoils of war but also the "artistic patrimony" of the city.  Thus igniting the demand of Greek art.  Roman plundered Greek art weighing down sips with as many pieces as possible.  If an original could not be had a copy was commissioned.  The Romans who were previously fighters or farmers now began developing opinions about art and artists. 

The Romans borrowed from both the Etruscans and Greeks when creating their own Republican style of architecture.  Using the Temple of "Fortuna Virilis" as a visual guide EXPLAIN three traditionally Etruscan architectural features and two traditionally Greek architectural features borrowed by the Romans to build this Republican style temple.  If you are struggling with this use an art history book.  I recommend Gardner's Art Through The Ages.
 Fortuna Virilis

The Romans invented concrete a HUGE invention I don't need to draw ties to current usage of concrete for you- yes it's the same stuff!  Romans were able to use concrete as a much less expensive alternative to even local stone.  Concrete enabled the Romans to create architectural elements that are not possible with masonry construction (stone).  Roman architects were able to create domes and vaults without internal supports.  Romans developed a taste for these curved elements over the Greek and Etruscan post-and-lintel structures. 

Roman Vaulting Systems

The Romans were very proud of thier lineage.  Romans celebrated their blood lines by having sculptural portratis created.  These imagines were stored in wooden cabinets in the homes of elevated Romans.  These sculptures were paraded at the funerals of prominent relatives.  The artists commissioned to create these likenesses were NOT asked to make their patrons look more noble than they were.  Artists were asked to painstakingly record imperfections and the realistic look of their patrons.  However, it is not uncommon for realistic heads to be found on perfect youthful bodies.  Romans were the first to put the portraits of powerful rulers on coins.  The Greeks used images of powerful gods for their coins.  Julius Caesar was the first to place his own likeness on a coin shortly before his assassination.  The Denarius (coin) also declared his new title dictator perpetuus (dictator for life).

One reason we know so much about everyday life in Rome is because of the city of Pompeii.
         What was the population of Pompeii in A.D. 62 when an earthquake shook the city?

        What happened 17 years later?  

         What are some details about everyday life still in place in Pompeii?

        List 2 public buildings still in tact in Pompeii.

What is a major structural difference between a Greek and Roman outdoor theatre?  hint: amphitheter Again, If you need, an art history book is a great source of information.

What is a velarium?  How does this word apply to Roman amphitheaters?

What event ended the 13 year civil war which erupted when Julius Caesar was murdered?  How was this new ruler related to Julius Caesar?

Augustus was recognized as princeps (first citizen), imperator (commander in chief root of emperor) and later pintifex maximus (chief priest).  These titles gave Augustus control of all aspects of Roman public life.  Augusts brought 2 centuries of peace to Roman life; the Pax Romana.  When Augustus (then Octavian) inherited Caesar's fortune he was less than 19 years old.   Other victories sealed Octavian's power.  No longer was Rome ruled by elders. Now artists were called upon to create images of a young leader.  Augustus was following Caesar who had made himself a god before his death.  So not only was Augustus young he was the son of a god.  He marketed himself a son of a god widely and throughout his reign never aged.  Augustus's wife had the same youthful privilege.  Her hair was always represented in the latest style but she also never aged.  Guess I married wrong ;) Think about how this tactic is used today... have you seen any billboards for Branson performers?!!  Were any of those pictures taken in the last 30 years?   Think Hollywood.

All monuments and works of civic improvement were boldly credited to Augustus.  His portrait and/or arches recounting his good deeds were erected throughout Rome reminding the Roman people of their great and generous leader.  These items were not created as a historical record but for propaganda.

There is more Rome to come!  This is an important chapter and the information has far reaching effects (so it's important).  Dividing this chapter will throw off our schedule but we'll do the best we can.

ETRUSCAN ART

POST BY 5:00 FEBRUARY 17

"The Etruscans as everyone knows, were the people who occupied the middle of Italy in early Roman days, and whom the Romans, in their usual neighbourly fashion, wiped out entirely." D. H. Lawrence

The origins of the Etruscan people is unclear.

The Etruscans lived in an area whit great natural resources.  Iron,. tin, copper and silver were all mined in Etruria.  The Etruscans were also masters of the sea.  The agrarian economy of early times was replaced by international commerce.  The Etruscans themselves became wealthy and appreciated luxury items as well as used Eastern motifs.  Local craftsmen were inspired by these imports. They did not copy them though they created their own versions in Etruscan style.

At the end of the 7th century Etruscan artists created the first known example of monumental statuary.  The Centaur, from Vulci.  The centaur is a Greek inspired monster. It was placed at the necropolis in Vulci presumably as a tomb guardian.  Art historians think that the inspiration for this work may have come from Greek vase paintings.  The style of the man portion of the centaur is Greek inspired.  The left leg is engaged and the hair and face are also of the early Daedalic style.  However, the placement of the centaur as a tomb guardian is "un-Greek."

Etruscan Temple
Etruscan temples were superficially similar to Greek temples.  The Etruscans used wood and mud brick to build their temples so today only the foundations remain.  Temples typically had a gabled roof.  They also stood high on a podium.  Columns were used only in the front of the building and stairs came only to the front.  Unlike Greek temples which had stairs on all sides and the front and back of the temple were identical.  Etruscan columns resembled Greek Doric columns but they were made of wood and were not fluted and had bases.  Along the roof were terracotta statues.  Apollo

The Greeks did not create large funerary items like tombs and sarcophagi.  One example of an Etruscan sarcophagus is the reclining couple from Cerveteri.  Contrary to the Greeks where the men dined on couches this sarcophagus clearly shows a man and his wife dining together.  Aristotle noted that Etruscan men and women dined together  and women enjoyed freedoms not known to Greek women.  Etruscan women often kept their own names and were allowed to legally own property independent of their husbands.  As is part of the current Italian culture, the Etruscans used gestures with their speech  and represented this animation in their statues.  The Etruscans built great tombs.  The tomb architecture consisted of multiple chambers very similar to their homes.  The tombs were arranged in the cemeteries in orderly rows with a network of streets creating a necropolis or city of the dead.  The tombs were cut into the bedrock and decorated just as a home would be with bright paint and creature comforts.  The most elaborate tomb at Cerveteri is the tomb of the reliefs.  It was built to house several generations of the same family but the bedrock walls and pillars were covered with stucco relief.

In 509 B.C. the Roams who had been ruled by the Etruscans revolted and threw out the last Etruscan king.  They replaced the monarch y with a republican form of government.  Shortly after this the Etruscan fleet was defeated and this destroyed the Etruscans rule of the sea.  This defeat also marked the end of Etruscan prosperity.  Rome began conquering Etruscan territories.  The taking of Etruscan strongholds marked the end of Etruscan tombs and effected the quality of Etruscan furnishings.  Etruscan art did not cease though.  Impressive works were still produced just fewer in number.

Today's symbol of Rome The Capitoline Wolf was created by an Etruscan artist.  It is a she-wolf (hollow-cast bronze) who according to legend nursed the heroes of Rome, Romulus and Remus after they were abandoned as infants.The Roman style of art had not yet developed.  Romulus and Remus were Renaissance additions.

In Hellenistic Etruria the Porta Marzia is a precursor to the Roman practice of erecting triumphal arches.
Porta Marzia  We can see Greek inspired motifs.  The pilasters, and arches bracketed by engaged columns.  These Greek elements are still seen in architecture.

One more Etruscan masterpiece is Aule Metele or Arringatore, Orator He is portrayed as a magistrate raising an arm to address an assembly (hence the title).He is cast in bronze.  Reply MLITB to Mrs. Lubinski as your assingment this week.  Be sure you read all of this becasue you will be held resonsible for it later! At about the time Arringatore was produced by an Etruscan the Romans conferred citizenship upon all inhabitants of Italy.  Aule Metele is his Etruscan name and the names of his father and mother are inscribed on the hem of his Roman style toga and boots.  He is Etruscan in name only.  He became Roman and all Etruscan art became Roman art.

Ancient Greece

POST BY 5 P.M. FEBRUARY 10 


CLAIM A PERIOD
Post YOUR CLAIM SO EVERYONE IN THE CLASS CAN CLAIM SOMETHING DIFFERENT!

- Geometric and Orientalizing Period
- Archaic Period
- Early and High Classical Periods
- Late Classical
- HEllenistic Period

SEE ME A.S.A.P. FOR YOUR POSTING GUIDE.

Read the article about the Parthenon posted at the bottom of this post.

		1200 BC	The Trojan War and the destruction of Troy (Ilium)
	1050 BC	1050-750 BC: The Dark Ages of Greece and the fall of the Mycenean culture
	850 BC	850 - 700 BC: Development of the first Greek Alphabet
	776 BC	The First Olympic Games are staged
	750 BC	750 -700 BC: Homer writes the Iliad and the Odyssey
	730 BC	730-710 BC - the First Messenian War and the Spartans conquer southwest Peloponnesia
	650 BC	The Rise of the Greek tyrants
	621 BC	Draco's code of law is introduced
	600 BC	Greek Coin currency introduced
	500 BC	500-323 BC - The Greek Classical Period
	505 BC	Cleisthenes introduces democracy in Athens
	490 BC	Greek / Persian Wars led by Xerxes
	468 BC	Sophocles writes his first tragedy
	461 BC	461-446 BC: The Peloponnesian Wars begins between Sparta and Athens
	449 BC	449 -432: Construction of the Parthenon and the Acropolis in Athens
	441 BC	Euripides writes his first tragedy
	443 BC	443 - 429 BC Pericles leads Athens
	430 BC	Outbreak of Bubonic Plague in Athens
	431 BC	Second of the Peloponnesian Wars between Sparta and Athens
	420 BC	420 - 410: Construction of Temple of Athena Nike
	399 BC	Socrates is executed for his opposition to the Thirty Tyrants
	386 BC	Plato founds the Academy
	384 BC	Aristotle is born
	359 BC	Philip II becomes the king of the Greeks
	356 BC	Alexander the Great, son of King Philip II, is born
	333 BC	Alexander the Great defeats the Persians at Issus and is given Egypt by the Persian Satrap where he builds a capital at Alexandria and founds the great library
	323 BC	Alexander the Great dies at Babylon
	323 BC	323 -31 BC: The Hellenistic Period
	224 BC	Earthquake destroys the Colossus of Rhodes
	200 BC	200 - 196 BC: First Roman victory over Greece
	197 BC	King Philip V of Greece loses to Roman forces at Kynoskephalai
	86 BC	The Roman General Sulla captures Athens

Parthenon Link

Egyptian Art

POST BY 5 p.m. FEBRUARY 3

Read this article:
http://www.articleclick.com/Article/From-Iceman-to-Ice-T-History-of-Tattoo-Art/1007323

Pick two from the following  four videos.

1- The Great Pyramids
  http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-egypt/videos#the-great-pyramids-deconstructed

2- The Sphinx
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-egypt/videos#the-great-sphinx-is-the-worlds-oldest-statue

3- Temple
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-egypt/videos#ramses-temple-at-abu-simbel

4- Egyptian town (use both links)
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-egypt/videos#engineering-an-empire-it-takes-a-village
http://dsc.discovery.com/egypt/


 Read the article about Nefertiti
http://dsc.discovery.com/egypt/nefertiti-story/story.html

Find a photo of the portrait bust of Nefertiti by Thutmose.  Find a photo of the portrait bust of Queen Tiye. from Gurob.

Write an informational reaction about each video you watched.  Respond to two video reactions from your classmates.  

From the Nefertiti article:  Do you agree that the vandalism to the bodies was the work of disgruntled priests or do you think it is the work of some one else?  Why?

Ancient Near Eastern Art

POST BY 5 P.M. JANUARY 27

Early fourth millennium B.C.Mesopotamia and Egypt

Settlement of the great river valleys took place.  In both areas writing, monumental architecture, and new political forms appear. During this time two different and major civilizations developed; Mesopotamia and Egypt.  These two cultures were not cut off from one another.  There were a series of contemporaneous city civilizations connecting Egypt to Mesopotamia.  Along these cities and cultures trade took place, cultures diffused into one another and conquests occurred.  
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bible/map-01.html

Sumerian Art
The Sumerian people used the wheel and plow, controlled flooding in the area, and constructed irrigation ditches to bring river water to areas not directly on the rivers.  Their techniques created what we know as the fertile crescent.  Sumerians established the first urban communities Uruk (modern day Warka) and Lagash (Al-Hiba).  They also developed the first script- cuneiform.  The Sumerians relied heavily on trade.  Even though they had great fertility of land their area lacked basics like stone, metal and wood.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/masterpieces.html?c=y&page=2

From the Paleolithic period  there has been evidence of people trying to control their environment through the use of magic.  With the emergence of the Sumerians the old magic began to be replaced by a religion of gods and goddesses.  Often these deities personified the forces of nature humans deal with in day-to-day life.  The gods were rulers over everything and humans were responsible for keeping them happy.

Some inventions of the Sumerians that created a urban society were:  division of regularized activities, development of agriculture, and civic administrators.  Priests were the civic administrators directing communal activities, like canal building and distribution of food to those not growing the food.  Because of the division of activities not all members of the society were consumed with growing food, some were able to be involved in manufacturing and trade.

Temples were the cities monumental nucleus.The temple was actually a temple complex.  There were priests and scribes.  It is thought that writing developed into a precise instrument.  The earliest examples have to do with records of accounts. At this time a stylus was pressed into soft clay which eventually hardened into a nearly indestructible record.   To this point hundreds of thousands of these records have survived for us today.

The White Temple and ziggurat at Uruk has been well preserved.  Sumerian builders used mostly mud brick so survival is unusual.  The lack of longevity did not stop the Sumerian builders though they still built monumental settings for worship of their deities.  Have we abandoned the practice of building monumental places of worship?  Give an example to back up your thoughts.

 The Sumerians also introduced monumental statues to the world.  The marble female head (8 inches tall) is entirely manmade.  To create this out of marble the stone had to be imported and would have been too expensive to create a full figure.  This head would have been painted originally- not white as it appears today.  The head is thought to be the goddess associated with Venus, daughter of the moon god.  


The Sumerians also created statuettes.  A group of statuettes ranging in height from a few inches to30" tall was found.  These statuettes are believed to be for the Sumerian god Abu (god of vegetation).  We believe that there is such a difference in sizes because size represents importance in this group of work.  These are votive figures, created to offer up constant prayer to the deity.  We this this is why their eyes are so big it symbolizes their constant wakefulness required to fulfill thier duty.


RESEARCH:  The Royal Cemetery at Ur  find one piece of art OR if you prefer the entire site and discuss the significance.  Write at least 100 words on this topic

About 2300 B.C.  the sity-states known as Sumer came under Akkadian rule.  The Akkadians were very different from the Sumerians but assimilated Sumerian culture.  They did, however, introduce a new concept- royal power.  Now, rather than being loyal to a city-state citizens were loyal to a king.  An example of this loyalty is a hollow cast bronze sculpture Head of an Akkadian ruler  http://www.panoramio.com/photo/29685405  this work has suffered damage becasue it is a political work.  The eyes were once filled with precious and semiprescious stones, there were ears and the other portions which have sustained damage were created without flaw.  The artist who created this work paid special attention to details like hair and the curly beard (this was a Semetic culture).  This piece is one ot the first attempts at hollow cast bronze that we known.  Another piece of art dedicate to the god-like king of Akkadia is the Victory stele of Naram-Sin.  It is a  thin piece of snadstone 6'7" in height representing a victory over a neighboring enemy.  This piece is also the first landscape work in Near Eastern art. 


NEO-SUMERIAN ART

The Sumerians once again came to power after overthrowing another invader the Guti people.  This reemergence created the neo-Sumerian period.  

BABYLONIAN ART

During this time the MEso[otamian political pattern, city-states, reemerged.  Due to the nature of this situation eventually the most powerful ruler of a city-state asserted power over the other sity-states and brought all under one centralized government.  This king was Hammurabi, one of the city-states was Babylon.  Ahmmurabi establised the first code of laws and prescribed penalties.  These laws were inscribed on a Stele.  A piece of basalt 7'4" tall.  http://www.commonlaw.com/Hammurabi.html  check out the different laws and punishments prescribed by the first written code of laws.  Some are similar to laws we have today.

ASSYRIAN ART

Khorsabad palace was guarded by a man-headed, bull with fve legs and wings it is called a lamassu.  It is carved limestone 13' 10" tall.The head is sculpture in the round and the body is high relief. The kings expected their dominance to be displayed through low relief limestone carvings of their hunting and conquering victories.

NEO-BABYLONIAN ART

As I am sure you have figured out the NEar East was an unstable place- warring was practically constant.  With the collapse of Assyrian rule the Babylonians returned to power. King Nebuchadnezzer restored Babylon to one of the greatest ancient cities (his exploits are chronicled in the Bible, the book of Daniel).  Under his direction the "hanging gardens" were built and the great ziggurat of Babylon to Bel (tower of Babel).  A grand entrance way to the temple complex was built.  Along the walled processional way sixty low relief lions were molded and glazed onto colored bricks.  The Lions are brown, yellow and red against a dark blue backround they lead to the also brightly colored Istar Gate. 

SASANIAN ART

" With the conquesr of Persia by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C., the history of the ancient Near East becomes part of the history of Greece and Rome.  In the third century A.D., however, a new power rose up in Persia to challenge the Romans and sought to force them out of Asia.  The new dynasts called themselves Sasanians and traced their lineage to a legendary figure names Sasan, who was said to be a direct descendant of the Achaemenid kings."  Gardners Art Through the Ages, 10th ed.  Check out Ctesiphon's palace.  http://www.google.com/imgres?q=ctesiphon&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1152&bih=671&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=AEJ_MMw4XPzutM:&imgrefurl=http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog%3Ftopic_id%3D1113733&docid=wP4_eI6T8BqADM&imgurl=http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/Ctesiphon-ruin_1864_1qaa1.jpg&w=640&h=397&ei=zcUdT9yZJ4eC2AXXo6DiCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=695&vpy=362&dur=81&hovh=177&hovw=285&tx=120&ty=173&sig=100270782774107038522&page=1&tbnh=116&tbnw=187&start=0&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0

Check out this link for pictures of the work discussed in this post:
http://www.crystalinks.com/sumerart.html

RESPOND:
Post to the orange prompts above

1.  Use an art history book to identify some architectural element in the Ctesiphon palace.  Describe the feature and give credit to the art history text used.

2.  Why is knowing about this time period important?

Art- The Beginning

POST A RESPONES BY 5 P.M. JANUARY 20

Gardner's Art Through The Ages 10 edition 

This post is adapted from the above text.  If you would like more in depth information or to read more about this topic please check out a copy from Mrs. Lubinski.

FYI:  lithos- (Greek) Stone
         paleo- old (early)
         meso- middle

         neo- new (late)

PALEOLITHIC ART

During the Paleolithic time period ice is still advancing creating a tundra and forest-tundra climate.  People are food gatherers (hunter/gatherers).  Of negligible concern to Stone Age cave people would be the creation of a sophisticated art form; survival was all consuming.  About 30,000 B.C. Cro-Magnon peoples replaced Neanderthals.  These, more highly evolved people began creating more than survival tools; they began creating art.  Venus of Willendorf was created circa (about) 28,000-23,000 B.C.it is Limestone and only about 4 1/4" tall.  Any ideas why it might have been so small? Google images of the Venus of Willendorf  There are other known works of Paleolithic sculpture in stone, bone and clay.  Many of these are depictions of women or animals.  Some of these works are low-relief inside caves.

1879, northern Spain:  Altamira Caves:  The owner of the estate on which the caves are located explores the cave with his young daughter.  Over time the cave has collected debris and this has cause the ceiling to be only inches from the owner's head his daughter actually discerns the pictures on the ceiling.  Her lower vantage point allowed her to have a better viewing perspective. These paintings were dismissed at the 1880  Lisbon Congress on Prehistoric Archeology, as forgeries.  However, in 1896 the paintings were proven to be authentic.  Other caves with prehistoric art were also discovered in the western region of Europe; for example Lascaux, Chauvet and Pech-Merle.

Prehistoric artist's names are unknown.  These works of art significantly predate writing.  The era before writing is referred to as pre history.  Art historians are not sure of the purpose of cave paintings but these paintings have a few things in common that give us clues with which we can speculate.  Interestingly, all of the animals represented in cave paintings are identifiable (even those which are extinct).  These stone age artists took much care in their representations.  Cave paintings were created on walls and ceilings of parts of the caves away from the mouthes.  There are also works incised into cave walls.

Please use the link below to look up the Chapter 1 Web Links  check out the links to Lascaux, Chauvet and Pech-Merle  view the cave paintings.Why do you think prehistoric people created these works of art?

Use this link to view the works cited in the above post.

http://websites.swlearning.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=0155050907&discipline_number=436

MESOLITHIC ART

Around 9,000 B.C. the climate is warming.  which changed the  migration and habitation patterns of animals which changed the life patterns of humans as well.  Since 1903 lesser but very "lively" works of animals and humans in the hunt, battle, ritual dance, and harvest have been discovered in shallow rock shelters and on stone walls.  Art historians continue to believe that these paintings, like the cave paintings, are "...of magical-religious significance, although some observers believe them to be no more than pictorial records of memorable events."  During the Mesolithic period people are still hunter/gatherers but this period is also marked by the domestication of the dog.

PLEASE NOTE:  THERE IS SO MUCH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MESOLITHIC ART BUT SINCE THIS IS A BLOG AND NOT A BOOK THE ABOVE PARAGRAPH IS A VERY CONDENSED VERSION.

NEOLITHIC ART

Neolithic peoples are identified by certain changes they were able to enact in their day to day lives.  The became herders, rather than hunters (animal husbandry), they built permanent settlements and cultivated crops.  Life became more predictable and permanent. 

7000 B.C. agriculture is well established in Isreal/Jordan, Iran and Turkey.  Jericho was a town located near the Jordan river.  It had an unfailing spring which allowed a village to be supported.  Because the areas wealth neighboring villages developed and the first stone fortification was built.  By 7500 B.C. Jericho had approximately two thousand people.  The wall surrounding the town was 5 feet thick, almost 13 feet tall. As part of he wall the builders built a circular tower alomst 33 feet in diameter and 28 feet tall.  We are unsure if this was a solitary tower or one of several.  this tower was built with only primitive tools which increases the technical achievement. This is the first example of monumental architecture.

In some buildings, believed to be shrines, statuettes of women or goddesses and of animals have been discovered.  These are believed to be associated with a fertility cult.  A group of human skulls with modeled plaster features, seashell eyes, and painted hair have also been found. These skulls are important to art history becasue they mark the beginning of sizable sculpture in the Near East

Possibly the most advanced Neolithic culture between 7,000 B.C. and 5,000 B.C. was in Anatolia.  The areas wealth cam from trade in obsidian.  Obsidian is a volcanic rock valued for it's usefulness, when chipped, to make cutting edges for tools.  Interestingly the settlement did not have streets.  The houses adjoined one anotherand also have no doors.  People would have accessed their homes through an opening in the roof which also served as ventilation for the hearth.   This seems like and absurd arrangement today but when considered with the time period in mind it actually has some advantages.  What do you think some advantages could have been?  These houses were constructed of mud brick and sturdy timber frame.  Surfaces were plastered and painted.  Furniture was built into the walls like shelves.  Dead were buried beneath the floors. These people also built shrines.  Shrines are identifiable by the richness of the interior space.  The housed wall paintings, relief sculptures, animal heads and cow sculls.  They also held symbols of masculine potency like bull horns.  Small statuettes of terracotta clay have also been found.  These Paleolithic people also put effort into preparing the surface on which they were going to paint by plastering over previous paintings.  Preparing the surface before painting is moving these Paleolithic artists closer to our more modern method of preparing to paint.a surface.

In Western Europe during this time there are no settlements as advanced as the settlement in Anatolia.  But perhaps as early as 4000 B.C. the Neolithic people of the area developed a monumental architecture of graves and megaliths (great stones).  In Carnac there is a large alignment of menhirs (single verticle megaliths).  They are arranged in parallel rows some rows run for miles.  We do not know the exact purpose for this arrangement of stones but it is believed it is for religious worship possibly pertaining to the sun.  The rows align with the sun during the solstices.

STONEHENGE
Read this article from Smithsonian magazine.  Click the link

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/light-on-stonehenge.html?c=y&page=

RESPOND:
To the highlighted questions above and the questions below.

What is one new thing you learned about Stone Age art?

What did you find to be particularly interesting?

Art History Timeline (weekly guide)

 DO NOT POST A RESPONSE TO THIS POST!!

The following time line will serve as our weekly guide for posts.  There will be a few weeks where periods will be teamed up so we can cover this IMMENSE amount of information in the time we have left this year.  This will in no way be a complete and far reaching study but rather a general introduction so you will possess a foundation on which you can add a  more detailed and  in-depth understanding in your future art history classes.

The following information is From Art History For Dummies by Jesse Bryant Wilder, MA, MAT

Studying art history starts with taking a look at the timeline of major art periods, including the artists and events that defined these movements and the evolution of art over time.

Art History Timeline

The history of art is immense, the earliest cave paintings pre-date writing by almost 27,000 years! This table  briefly outlines the artists, traits, works, and events that make up major art periods and how art evolved to present day:

We will be using this table as a weekly guide to our very brief overview of art history.   Th week will be highlighted in Red.

Art Periods/ Movements	Characteristics	Chief Artists and Major Works	Historical Events
Stone Age (30,000 b.c.–2500 b.c.)	Cave painting, fertility goddesses, megalithic structures	Lascaux Cave Painting, Woman of Willendorf, Stonehenge	Ice Age ends (10,000 b.c.–8,000 b.c.); New Stone Age and first permanent settlements (8000 b.c.–2500 b.c.)
Mesopotamian (3500 b.c.–539 b.c.)	Warrior art and narration in stone relief	Standard of Ur, Gate of Ishtar, Stele of Hammurabi's Code	Sumerians invent writing (3400 b.c.); Hammurabi writes his law code (1780 b.c.); Abraham founds monotheism
Egyptian (3100 b.c.–30 b.c.)	Art with an afterlife focus: pyramids and tomb painting	Imhotep, Step Pyramid, Great Pyramids, Bust of Nefertiti	Narmer unites Upper/Lower Egypt (3100 b.c.); Rameses II battles the Hittites (1274 b.c.); Cleopatra dies (30 b.c.)
Greek and Hellenistic (850 b.c.–31 b.c.)	Greek idealism: balance, perfect proportions; architectural orders(Doric, Ionic, Corinthian)	Parthenon, Myron, Phidias, Polykleitos, Praxiteles	Athens defeats Persia at Marathon (490 b.c.); Peloponnesian Wars (431 b.c.–404 b.c.); Alexander the Great's conquests (336 b.c.–323 b.c.)
Roman (500 b.c.– a.d. 476)	Roman realism: practical and down to earth; the arch	Augustus of Primaporta, Colosseum, Trajan's Column, Pantheon	Julius Caesar assassinated (44 b.c.); Augustus proclaimed Emperor (27 b.c.); Diocletian splits Empire (a.d. 292); Rome falls (a.d. 476)
Indian, Chinese, and Japanese(653 b.c.–a.d. 1900)	Serene, meditative art, and Arts of the Floating World	Gu Kaizhi, Li Cheng, Guo Xi, Hokusai, Hiroshige	Birth of Buddha (563 b.c.); Silk Road opens (1st century b.c.); Buddhism spreads to China (1st–2nd centuries a.d.) and Japan (5th century a.d.)
Byzantine and Islamic (a.d. 476–a.d.1453)	Heavenly Byzantine mosaics; Islamic architecture and amazing maze-like design	Hagia Sophia, Andrei Rublev, Mosque of Córdoba, the Alhambra	Justinian partly restores Western Roman Empire (a.d. 533–a.d. 562); Iconoclasm Controversy (a.d. 726–a.d. 843); Birth of Islam (a.d. 610) and Muslim Conquests (a.d. 632–a.d. 732)
Middle Ages (500–1400)	Celtic art, Carolingian Renaissance, Romanesque, Gothic	St. Sernin, Durham Cathedral, Notre Dame, Chartres, Cimabue, Duccio, Giotto	Viking Raids (793–1066); Battle of Hastings (1066); Crusades I–IV (1095–1204); Black Death (1347–1351); Hundred Years' War (1337–1453)
Early and High Renaissance (1400–1550)	Rebirth of classical culture	Ghiberti's Doors, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael	Gutenberg invents movable type (1447); Turks conquer Constantinople (1453); Columbus lands in New World (1492); Martin Luther starts Reformation (1517)
Venetian and Northern Renaissance (1430–1550)	The Renaissance spreads north- ward to France, the Low Countries, Poland, Germany, and England	Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Dürer, Bruegel, Bosch, Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden	Council of Trent and Counter-Reformation (1545–1563); Copernicus proves the Earth revolves around the Sun (1543
Mannerism (1527–1580)	Art that breaks the rules; artifice over nature	Tintoretto, El Greco, Pontormo, Bronzino, Cellini	Magellan circumnavigates the globe (1520–1522)
Baroque (1600–1750)	Splendor and flourish for God; art as a weapon in the religious wars	Reubens, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Palace of Versailles	Thirty Years' War between Catholics and Protestants (1618–1648)
Neoclassical (1750–1850)	Art that recaptures Greco-Roman grace and grandeur	David, Ingres, Greuze, Canova	Enlightenment (18th century); Industrial Revolution (1760–1850)
Romanticism (1780–1850)	The triumph of imagination and individuality	Caspar Friedrich, Gericault, Delacroix, Turner, Benjamin West	American Revolution (1775–1783); French Revolution (1789–1799); Napoleon crowned emperor of France (1803)
Realism (1848–1900)	Celebrating working class and peasants; en plein air rustic painting	Corot, Courbet, Daumier, Millet	European democratic revolutions of 1848
Impressionism (1865–1885)	Capturing fleeting effects of natural light	Monet, Manet, Renoir, Pissarro, Cassatt, Morisot, Degas	Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871); Unification of Germany (1871)
Post-Impressionism (1885–1910)	A soft revolt against Impressionism	Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, Seurat	Belle Époque (late-19th-century Golden Age); Japan defeats Russia (1905)
Fauvism and Expressionism (1900–1935)	Harsh colors and flat surfaces (Fauvism); emotion distorting form	Matisse, Kirchner, Kandinsky, Marc	Boxer Rebellion in China (1900); World War (1914–1918)
Cubism, Futurism, Supremativism, Constructivism, De Stijl (1905–1920)	Pre– and Post–World War 1 art experiments: new forms to express modern life	Picasso, Braque, Leger, Boccioni, Severini, Malevich	Russian Revolution (1917); American women franchised (1920)
Dada and Surrealism (1917–1950)	Ridiculous art; painting dreams and exploring the unconscious	Duchamp, Dalí, Ernst, Magritte, de Chirico, Kahlo	Disillusionment after World War I; The Great Depression (1929–1938); World War II (1939–1945) and Nazi horrors; atomic bombs dropped on Japan (1945)
Abstract Expressionism (1940s–1950s) and Pop Art (1960s)	Post–World War II: pure abstraction and expression without form; popular art absorbs consumerism	Gorky, Pollock, de Kooning, Rothko, Warhol, Lichtenstein	Cold War and Vietnam War (U.S. enters 1965); U.S.S.R. suppresses Hungarian revolt (1956) Czechoslovakian revolt (1968)
Postmodernism and Deconstructivism (1970– )	Art without a center and reworking and mixing past styles	Gerhard Richter, Cindy Sherman, Anselm Kiefer, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid			Nuclear freeze movement; Cold War fizzles; Communism collapses in Eastern Europe and U.S.S.R. (1989–1991)

American Art Museum

Check out this video about Crystal Bridges Art Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.

http://artvest.com/cbs-sunday-morning-alice-waltons-crystal-bridges-110611/

Please comment on your reaction to this video, and the discussion topics as well as other's opinions and reactions.  Be respectful and aware that this is an assignment for Portfolio. I am reading this! 

DISCUSSION TOPICS:
What do you think about:
              the attitude of those who believe significant pieces of art should not be in Arkansas? 
             The Wall Street Journal's comment that Allice Walton may be a "...hovering culture vulture." as reported?
            were there other portions of this video on which you would like to comment?