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History of art

May 16, 2023

For the academic discipline, see Art history.

The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic visual form. Visual art can be classified in diverse ways, such as separating fine arts from applied arts; inclusively focusing on human creativity; or focusing on different media such as architecture, sculpture, painting, film, photography, and graphic arts. In recent years, technological advances have led to video art, computer art, performance art, animation, television, and videogames.

Venus of Hohle Fels
Horse painting from Lascaux cave system
Mask of Tutankhamun
Venus de Milo, Alexandros of Antioch
Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci
Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Pablo Picasso

The history of art is often told as a chronology of masterpieces created during each civilization. It can thus be framed as a story of high culture, epitomized by the Wonders of the World. On the other hand, vernacular art expressions can also be integrated into art historical narratives, referred to as folk arts or craft. The more closely that an art historian engages with these latter forms of low culture, the more likely it is that they will identify their work as examining visual culture or material culture, or as contributing to fields related to art history, such as anthropology or archaeology. In the latter cases, art objects may be referred to as archeological artifacts.

Prehistory

Main article: Prehistoric art

Prehistoric art includes a broad range of art made by painters and sculptors from illiterate cultures, including some of the earliest human artifacts. Among the first art objects are decorative artifacts from Middle Stone Age Africa.[1][2][3] Containers from that period have also been discovered in South Africa that may have been used to hold paints dating as far back as 100,000 years ago.[4]

A form of prehistoric art found all over the world, especially in Europe, small prehistoric statuettes known as Venus figurines with exaggerated breasts and bellies were made, the most famous ones being the Venus of Hohle Fels and the Venus of Willendorf, found in Germany and Austria. Most have small heads, wide hips, and legs that taper to a point. Arms and feet are often absent, and the head is usually small and faceless. The Venus of Hohle Fels is one of the numerous objects found at the Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the oldest non-stationary works of human art yet discovered were found, in the form of carved animal and humanoid figurines, in addition to the oldest musical instruments unearthed so far, with the artifacts dating between 43,000 and 35,000 BC.[5][6][7][8]

The best-known prehistoric artworks are the large Paleolithic cave paintings that depict animals in continental Europe, particularly the ones at Lascaux in the Dordogne region of France. Several hundred decorated caves are known, spanning the Upper Paleolithic period (c. 38,000–12,000 BC). There are examples in Ukraine, Italy and Great Britain, but most of them are in France and Spain. Many theories have been suggested about the art's purpose, the most accepted being that it was part of religious rituals, possibly to evoke hunting success.

Antiquity

Main article: Ancient art

Ancient Near East

Main article: Mesopotamian art

Ancient Near East stretched from Turkey and the Mediterranean seaboard in the west to Iran and the Arabian peninsula in the east. Over time, multiple civilizations appeared, lived and disappeared here. One of the key regions was Mesopotamia, which witnessed during the 4th millennium BC the emergence of the first cities and the earliest form of writing. Ancient Mesopotamia covers present-day Iraq, and parts of Syria and Turkey. Its northern half forms part of the so-called Fertile Crescent, where important Neolithic developments such as early farming and the establishment of permanent village settlements first appeared. Because the region is situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river delta, numerous civilizations lived here, notably Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia. Mesopotamian architecture was characterized by the use of bricks, lintels, and cone mosaic. Notable examples are the ziggurats, large temples in the form of step pyramids.

The political, economic, artistic and architectural traditions of the Sumerians lead to the foundation of Western civilization. Multiple things appeared for the first time in Sumer: the first city-state (Uruk), ruled by king Gilgamesh; the first organized religion, based on a hierarchical structure of gods, people and rituals; the first known writing, the cuneiforms; the first irrigation system and the first vehicles with wheels. Cylinder seals appeared here as well, engraved with little inscriptions and illustrations. Another civilization that developed here was the Akkadian Empire, the world's first great empire.

During the early 1st millennium BC, after the Akkadians, an empire called Assyria came to dominate the whole of Middle East, stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. Its cities were filled with impressive buildings and art. Assyrian art is best known for its detailed stone reliefs, depicting scenes of court life, religious practice, hunting and epic battles. These reliefs were initially painted in bright colours and placed in palaces. Besides their beauty, they also show us Assyrian life and views of the world, including Assyrian clothing and furniture.

Later, the Babylonians conquered the Assyrian Empire. During the 6th century BC, Babylon became the largest city in the world. Upon entering Babylon, visitors were greeted with the impressive Ishtar Gate, with its walls covered in vivid blue glazed bricks and reliefs showing dragons, bulls and lions. This gate is named after Ishtar, the goddess of war and love.

In the mid-6th century BC, after a series of military campaigns, the Babylonian Empire fell to the Achaemenid Empire, ruled by King Cyrus II, stretching across the Middle East and Central Asia, from Egypt to the Indus Valley. Its art incorporates elements from across the empire, celebrating its wealth and power. Persepolis (Iran) was the capital of the empire, and it is full of impressive sculptures showing religious images and people of the empire. There are also the ruins of a palace here, with a big audience hall for receiving guests.

Besides Mesopotamia and Iran, there were Ancient civilizations who produced art and architecture in other regions as well. In Anatolia (present-day Turkey), the Hittite Empire appeared. During Antiquity, South Arabia was important in the production and trade of aromatics, bringing wealth to the kingdoms that were in this region. Before circa 4000 BC, the climate of Arabia was wetter than today. In south-west, several kingdoms appeared, like Saba’. The south Arabian human figure is usually stylized, based on rectangular shapes, but with fine details.[11][12][13]

Egypt

Main article: Ancient Egyptian art

One of the first great civilizations arose in Egypt, which had elaborate and complex works of art produced by professional artists and craftspeople. Egypt's art was religious and symbolic. Given that the culture had a highly centralized power structure and hierarchy, a great deal of art was created to honour the pharaoh, including great monuments. Egyptian art and culture emphasized the religious concept of immortality. Later Egyptian art includes Coptic and Byzantine art.

The architecture is characterized by monumental structures, built with large stone blocks, lintels, and solid columns. Funerary monuments included mastaba, tombs of rectangular form; pyramids, which included step pyramids (Saqqarah) or smooth-sided pyramids (Giza); and the hypogeum, underground tombs (Valley of the Kings). Other great buildings were the temple, which tended to be monumental complexes preceded by an avenue of sphinxes and obelisks. Temples used pylons and trapezoid walls with hypaethros and hypostyle halls and shrines. The temples of Karnak, Luxor, Philae and Edfu are good examples. Another type of temple is the rock temple, in the form of a hypogeum, found in Abu Simbel and Deir el-Bahari.

Painting of the Egyptian era used a juxtaposition of overlapping planes. The images were represented hierarchically, i.e., the Pharaoh is larger than the common subjects or enemies depicted at his side. Egyptians painted the outline of the head and limbs in profile, while the torso, hands, and eyes were painted from the front. Applied arts were developed in Egypt, in particular woodwork and metalwork. There are superb examples such as cedar furniture inlaid with ebony and ivory which can be seen in the tombs at the Egyptian Museum. Other examples include the pieces found in Tutankhamun's tomb, which are of great artistic value.[19]

Indus Valley Civilization

Main article: Indus Valley Civilisation § Arts_and_crafts

Discovered in 1922, long after the contemporary cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Indus Valley Civilization, aka the Harappan Civilization (c. 2400–1900 BC) is now recognized as extraordinarily advanced, comparable in some ways with those cultures. Its sites span an area stretching from today's northeast Afghanistan, through much of Pakistan, and into western and northwestern India. Major cities of the culture include Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, located respectively in Punjab and in Sindh province in northern Pakistan, and the port city Lothal, in the state of Gujarat (India). The most numerous artefacts are square and rectangular stamp seals and seal impressions, featuring animals, usually bulls, very short Harappan texts. Many stylized terracotta figurines have also been found in Harappan sites, and a few stone and bronze sculptures, more naturalistic than the ceramic ones.[24]

China

Main articles: Chinese art § Bronze casting, Chinese ritual bronzes, and Sanxingdui
Further information: Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty
 
Warriors of the Terracotta Army; c. 214 BC; terracotta; height (average soldier): c. 1.8 m; Lintong District (Xi'an, Shaanxi, China)[26]

Th first metal objects produced in China were made almost 4000 years ago, during the Xia dynasty (c.2100–1700 BC). During the Chinese Bronze Age (the Shang and Zhou dynasties) court intercessions and communication with the spirit world were conducted by a shaman (possibly the king himself). In the Shang dynasty (c.1600–1050 BC), the supreme deity was Shangdi, but aristocratic families preferred to contact the spirits of their ancestors. They prepared elaborate banquets of food and drink for them, heated and served in bronze ritual vessels. These bronze vessels had many shapes, depending on their purpose: for wine, water, cereals or meat, and some of them were marked with readable characters, which shows the development of writing. This kind of vessels, of a very high quality and complexity, were discovered on the Valley of the Yellow River in the Henan province, in sites like Erlitou, Anyang or Zhengzhou. They were used in religious rituals to cement the Dhang authority, and when the Shang capital fell, around 1050 BC, its conquerors, the Zhou (c.1050–156 BC), continued to use these containers in religious rituals, but principally for food rather than drink. The Shang court had been accused of excessive drunkenness, and the Zhou, promoting the imperial Tian ("Heaven") as the prime spiritual force, rather than ancestors, limited wine in religious rites, in favour of food. The use of ritual bronzes continued into the early Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).

One of the most commonly used motifs was the taotie, a stylized face divided centrally into two almost mirror-image halves, with nostrils, eyes, eyebrows, jaws, cheeks and horns, surrounded by incised patterns. Whether taotie represented real, mythological or wholly imaginary creatures cannot be determined.

The enigmatic bronzes of Sanxingdui, near Guanghan (in Sichuan province), are evidence for a mysterious sacrificial religious system unlike anything elsewhere in ancient China and quite different from the art of the contemporaneous Shang at Anyang. Excavations at Sanxingdui since 1986 have revealed four pits containing artefacts of bronze, jade and gold. There was found a great bronze statue of a human figure which stands on a plinth decorated with abstract elephant heads. Besides the standing figure, the first two pits contained over 50 bronze heads, some wearing headgear and three with a frontal covering of gold leaf. Tubular bronze fragments with little branches were discovered here as well, probably representing trees, and also bronze leaves, fruits and birds. Over 4000 objects were found at Sanxingdui in 1986.

Succeeding the Shang Dynasty Zhou (1050–221 BC) ruled more than any other one from Chinese history. Its last centuries were characterized by violence, the era being known as the Warring States period. During this troubling time, some philosophical movements appeared: Confucianism, Daoism and Legalism.

The Warring States period was ended by Qinshi Huangdi, who united China in 221 BC. He ordered a huge tomb, guarded by the Terracotta Army. Another huge project was a predecessor of the Great Wall, erected for rejecting pillaging tribes from the north. After the death of the emperor, his dynasty, the Qin (221–206 BC), lasted only three years. Qinshi Huangdi was followed by the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), during which the Silk Road developed considerably, bringing new cultural influences in China.[27][28]

Greek

Main article: Ancient Greek art
 
 
Unlike how most of us see them today, all Egyptian, Greek and Roman sculptures and temples were initially painted in bright colours. They became white because of hundreds of years of neglect and vandalism provoked by Christians during the Early Middle Ages, who saw them as 'pagan' and believed that they promoted idolatry.[31] To us they look odd, although all of them were very colourful back in Ancient times

Through harmonious proportion and a focus on aesthetics, ancient Greek and Roman art became the foundation and inspiration of all Western art, being the standard to which most European artists aspired, until the 19th century.[32] The Latin poet Horace, writing in the age of Roman emperor Augustus (1st century BC to 1st century AD), famously remarked that although conquered on the battlefield, "captive Greece overcame its savage conqueror and brought the arts to rustic Rome." The power of Greek art lies in its representation of the human figure and its focus on human beings and the anthropomorphic gods as chief subjects. The artworks of the Greeks were meant to decorate temples and public buildings, to celebrate battle victories and remarkable personalities, and to commemorate the dead. They were also given as offerings to the gods.

Although there was no definitive transition, the art is usually divided stylistically into the four periods of Geometric, Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic. During the Classical period (5th and 4th centuries BC), realism and idealism were delicately balanced. In comparison, the works of the earlier Geometric (9th to 8th centuries BC) and Archaic (7th to 6th centuries BC) ages can seem appear primitive, but these artists had different goals: naturalistic representation was not necessarily their aim. Greek and artists built on the artistic foundations of Egypt, further developing the arts of sculpture, painting, architecture, and ceramics. Among the techniques they perfected include methods of carving and casting sculptures, fresco painting and building magnificent buildings.

Roman art lovers collected ancient Greek originals, Roman replicas of Greek art, or newly created paintings and sculptures fashioned in a variety of Greek styles, thus preserving for posterity works of art otherwise lost. Wall and panel paintings, sculptures and mosaics decorated public spaces and private homes. Greek imagery also appeared on Roman jewellery, vessels of gold, silver, bronze and terracotta, and even on weapons and commercial weights. Rediscovered during the early Renaissance, the arts of ancient Greece, transmitted through the Roman Empire, have served as the foundation of Western art until the 19th century.[33]

Since the advent of the Classical Age in Athens, in the 5th century BC, the Classical way of building has been deeply woven into Western understanding of architecture and, indeed, of civilization itself.[34] From circa 850 BC to circa 300 AD, ancient Greek culture flourished on the Greek mainland, on the Peloponnese, and on the Aegean islands. Five of the Wonders of the World were Greek: the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. However, Ancient Greek architecture is best known for its temples, many of which are found throughout the region, and the Parthenon is a prime example of this. Later, they will serve as inspiration for Neoclassical architects during the late 18th and the 19th century. The most well-known temples are the Parthenon and the Erechtheion, both on the Acropolis of Athens. Another type of important Ancient Greek buildings were the theatres. Both temples and theatres used a complex mix of optical illusions and balanced ratios.

Looking at the archaeological remains of ancient buildings it is easy to perceive them as limestone and concrete in a grey taupe tone and to make the assumption that ancient buildings were monochromatic. However, architecture was polychromed in much of the Ancient world. One of the most iconic Ancient buildings, the Parthenon (c. 447–432 BC) in Athens, had details painted with vibrant reds, blues and greens. Besides ancient temples, Medieval cathedrals were never completely white. Most had colored highlights on capitals and columns.[35] This practice of coloring buildings and artworks was abandoned during the early Renaissance. This is because Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance artists, including Michelangelo, promoted a color palette inspired by the ancient Greco-Roman ruins, which because of neglect and constant decay during the Middle Ages, became white despite being initially colorful. The pigments used in the ancient world were delicate and especially susceptible to weathering. Without necessary care, the colors exposed to rain, snow, dirt, and other factors, vanished over time, and this way Ancient buildings and artworks became white, like they are today and were during the Renaissance.[36]

Rome

Main article: Roman art
 
 
Augustus of Prima Porta (in the left: how it originally looked; in the right: how it looks now); c. 20 BC; marble; height: 2.06 m; Vatican Museums (Vatican City).[44] Just like the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, the Romans painted all their sculptures and buildings in bright colors too

No civilization has had an impact as enduring and powerful on Western art as the Roman Empire. The legacy of ancient Rome is evident through the medieval and early modern periods, and Roman art continue to be reused in the modern era in both traditionalist and Postmodern artworks.[45] Sometimes it is viewed as derived from Greek precedents, but also has its own distinguishing features, some of them inherited from Etruscan art. Roman sculpture is often less idealized than its Greek precedents, being very realistic. Roman architecture often used concrete, and features such as the round arch and dome were invented. Luxury objects in metal-work, gem engraving, ivory carvings, and glass are sometimes considered in modern terms to be minor forms of Roman art,[46] although this would not necessarily have been the case for contemporaries. An innovation made possible by the Roman development of glass-blowing was cameo glass. A white 'shell' was first created, into which coloured glass was then blown so as to produce an interior lining. The white shell was then cut down to create relief patterns of white against a darker background. They also made mosaics, this way producing durable pictorial art with cut-stone cubes (tesserae) and/or chips of coloured terracotta and glass. Some villas of wealthy Romans had their walls covered with frescos, aimed at dazziling and entertaining guests. Much of Roman wall painting that survives comes from sites around the Bay of Naples, in particular Pompeii and Herculaneum, thriving towns that were preserved under metres of volcanic debris when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. As a result, Roman wall painting is often discussed in terms of four 'Pompeian styles'.[47]

The Romans were deeply influenced by all aspects of Hellenistic culture. In architecture, just like in other art media, they essentially adopted the Classical language and adapted it to new situations and uses. The Romans also have their own innovations brought to Classical architecture. They used the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders in a far freer manner than the Greeks had, creating their own version of the Doric and using the Corinthian far more frequently. They also added two new orders to the repertoire: the Tuscan, a simpler, more massive version of the Doric derived from Etruscan architecture; and the Composite, a combination of the scroll-like volutes of the Ionic with the Corinthian's acanthus leaves. Other important innovations include the arch, and the dome. Using arches, they built aqueducts and monumental triumphal arches. Roman emperors were proud of their conquests, and commemorated them at home and in the conquered territories through triumphal arches, a good example of this being the Arch of Constantine in Rome. Between 30 and 15 BC, the architect and civil and military engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio published a majore treatise, De Architectura, which influenced architects around the world for centuries.[48][49]

After the Middle Ages, with the Renaissance that started in Florence (Italy), a growing interest for ancient Rome started. During it, for the first time since Classical Antiquity, art became convincingly lifelike. The Renaissance also sparked interest for ancient Greek and Roman literature, not just for art and architecture.[50]

Islamic

Main article: Islamic art

Islamic art is well-known since the Middle Ages for the use of elaborate geometric patterns, colourful tiles, stylized natural motifs and detailed calligraphy. Rarely has lettering had such a profound impact on applied arts and architecture. Islam appeared in western Arabia in the 7th century AD through revelations delivered to the prophet Muhammad in Mecca. Within a century of Muhammad's death the Islamic empires controlled the Middle East, Spain and parts of Asia and Africa. Because of this, similarly with Roman art, Islamic art and architecture had regional versions. As the Islamic world extended into centres of late antique culture, it was enriched by philosophical and intellectual movements. The translation of Greek works into Arabic and advances in mathematics and science were encouraged by early caliphates. This is in contrast with the modern perception that Islamic art is dogmatic and unchanging. Human and animal representation wasn't rare. Only certain periods restricted it (similar with the Byzantine Iconoclasm).[54]

Americas

Main article: Pre-Columbian art

Mesoamerica

Main articles: Ancient Maya art and Aztecs § Art and cultural production

Some of the first great civilizations in the Americas developed in Mesoamerica (meaning 'middle Americas'), the most well known being the Mayans and the Aztecs.

The Olmecs (c.1400–400 BC) were the first major civilization in modern-day Mexico. Many elements of Mesoamerican civilizations, like the practice of building of pyramids, the complex calendar, the pantheon of gods and hieroglyphic writing have origins in Olmec culture. They produced jade and ceramic figurines, colossal heads and pyramids with temples at the top, all without the advantage of metal tools. For them, jadeite was a stone more precious than gold and symbolized divine powers and fertility. 17 Olmec colossal heads have been discovered, each weighing a few tons. Each head, with the flattened nose and thick lips, wears a helmet, similar with the ones worn during official ball games, possibly representing kings of officials.

The Maya civilization began around 1800 BC and grew until the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 1500s. They occupied southeast Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador. The Mayans were trading with cities, like Teotihuacán, but also with many Mesoamerican civilizations, like the Zapotecs or the other groups from central or coast areas of Mexico, and also with populations that didn't inhabit Mesoamerican territories, like the Taíno from the Caribbean. They produced impressive king portraits, polychrome ceramic vessels, earthenware figures, wooden sculptures, stelas, and built complex cities with pyramids. Most of the well preserved polychrome ceramic vessels were discovered in the tombs of nobles.

Arising from humble beginnings as a nomadic group, the Aztecs created the largest empire in Mesoamerican history, lasting from 1427 to 1521. They didn't call themselves 'Aztecs', but Mexica. The term Aztecs was assigned by historians. They transformed the capital of their empire, Tenochtitlan, into a place where artists of Mesoamerica created impressive artworks for their new masters. The present-day Mexico City was built over the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan.[59][60][61]

Colombia

Further information: Muisca art

Similarly with Mesoamerica, the present-day territory of Colombia is an area where multiple cultures developed before the arrival of Spanish colonizers. Here, gold body accessories were produced, many golden ones, but also many other ones made of tumbaga, a non-specific alloy of gold and copper given by Spanish Conquistadors to metals composed of these elements found in widespread use in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica in North America and South America.

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    Animal-headed figure pendant (Yotoco); 1st–7th century; gold; height: 6.35 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

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    Lime container (Quimbaya); 5th–9th century; gold; height: 23 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

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    Male figure/tunjo (Muisca); 10th–mid-16th century; gold; height: 14.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

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    Pendant (Tairona); 10th–16th century; gold; height: 14 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Andean regions

Further information: Chavín culture § Art, Paracas culture, Nazca culture, Moche culture § Material culture, Sican culture § Art and ideology, Tiwanaku § Structures, and Inca empire § Arts and technology
 
Mantle (Paracas); 50–100 AD; embroidered wool; height: 1.01 m; Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, USA)[67]

The ancient civilizations of Peru and Bolivia nurtured unique artistic traditions, including one of the world's most aesthetically impressive fibre art traditions. Two of the first important cultures from this land are the Chavín and the Paracas culture.

The Paracas culture of the south coast of Peru is best known for its complex patterned textiles, particularly mantels. The Moche controlled the river valleys of the north coast, while the Nazca of southern Peru held sway along the coastal deserts and contiguous mountains. The Nazca are best known for the famous Nazca Lines, a group of geoglyphs in a desert in southern Peru. They also produced polychrome ceramics and textiles influenced by the Paracas, and used a palette of at least 10 colours for their pottery. Both cultures flourished around 100–800 AD. Moche pottery is some of the most varied in the world. In the north, the Wari (or Huari) Empire are noted for their stone architecture and sculpture accomplishments.

The Chimú were preceded by a simple ceramic style known as Sicán (700–900 AD). The Chimú produced excellent portrait and decorative works in metal, notably gold but especially silver. Later, the Inca Empire (1100–1533) stretched across the Andes Mountains. They crafted precious metal figurines, and like other civilizations from the same area, complex textiles. Llamas were important animals, because of their wool and for carrying loads.[68][69][70]

Asian

Main article: Eastern art history

Eastern civilization broadly includes Asia, and it also includes a complex tradition of art making. One approach to Eastern art history divides the field by nation, with foci on Indian art, Chinese art, and Japanese art. Due to the size of the continent, the distinction between Eastern Asia and Southern Asia in the context of arts can be clearly seen. In most of Asia, pottery was a prevalent form of art. The pottery is often decorated with geometric patterns or abstract representations of animals, people or plants. Other very widespread forms of art were, and are, sculpture and painting.

Central Asia

Main article: Central Asian art

Central Asian art developed in Central Asia, in areas corresponding to modern Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of modern Mongolia, China and Russia.[74][75] The art of ancient and medieval Central Asia reflects the rich history of this vast area, home to a huge variety of peoples, religions and ways of life. The artistic remains of the region show a remarkable combinations of influences that exemplify the multicultural nature of Central Asian society. The Silk Road transmission of art, Scythian art, Greco-Buddhist art, Serindian art and more recently Persianate culture, are all part of this complicated history. Central Asia has always been a crossroads of cultural exchange, the hub of the so-called Silk Road – that complex system of trade routes stretching from China to the Mediterranean. Already in the Bronze Age (3rd and 2nd millennium BC), growing settlements formed part of an extensive network of trade linking Central Asia to the Indus Valley, Mesopotamia and Egypt.[76]

Indian

Main article: Indian art

Early Buddhists in India developed symbols related to Buddha. The major survivals of Buddhist art begin in the period after the Mauryans, within North India Kushan art, the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara and finally the "classic" period of Gupta art. Additionally, there was the Andhra school which appeared before the Gandhara school and which was based in South India.[81] Good quantities of sculpture survives from some key sites such as Sanchi, Bharhut and Amaravati, some of which remain in situ, with others in museums in India or around the world. Stupas were surrounded by ceremonial fences with four profusely carved toranas or ornamental gateways facing the cardinal directions. These are in stone, though clearly adopting forms developed in wood. They and the walls of the stupa itself can be heavily decorated with reliefs, mostly illustrating the lives of the Buddha. Gradually life-size figures were sculpted, initially in deep relief, but then free-standing.[82] Mathura art was the most important centre in this development, which applied to Hindu and Jain art as well as Buddhist.[83] The facades and interiors of rock-cut chaitya prayer halls and monastic viharas have survived better than similar free-standing structures elsewhere, which were for long mostly in wood. The caves at Ajanta, Karle, Bhaja and elsewhere contain early sculpture, often outnumbered by later works such as iconic figures of the Buddha and bodhisattvas, which are not found before 100 AD at the least.

Chinese

Main article: Chinese art

In Eastern Asia, painting was derived from the practice of calligraphy, and portraits and landscapes were painted on silk cloth. Most of the paintings represent landscapes or portraits. The most spectacular sculptures are the ritual bronzes and the bronze sculptures from Sanxingdui. A very well-known example of Chinese art is the Terracotta Army, depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BC whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

Chinese art is one of the oldest continuous traditional arts in the world, and is marked by an unusual degree of continuity within, and consciousness of, that tradition, lacking an equivalent to the Western collapse and gradual recovery of classical styles. The media that have usually been classified in the West since the Renaissance as the decorative arts are extremely important in Chinese art, and much of the finest work was produced in large workshops or factories by essentially unknown artists, especially in Chinese ceramics. The range and quality of goods that decorated Chinese palaces and households, and their inhabitants, is dazzling. Materials came from across China and far beyond: gold and silver, mother of pearl, ivory and rhinoceros horn, wood and lacquer, jade and soap stone, silk and paper.

Japanese

Main article: Japanese art

Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture, ink painting and calligraphy on silk and paper, ukiyo-e paintings and woodblock prints, ceramics, origami, and more recently manga—modern Japanese cartooning and comics—along with a myriad of other types.

The first settlers of Japan, the Jōmon people (c. 11,000–300 BC). They crafted lavishly decorated pottery storage vessels, clay figurines called dogū. Japan has been subject to sudden invasions of new ideas followed by long periods of minimal contact with the outside world. Over time the Japanese developed the ability to absorb, imitate, and finally assimilate those elements of foreign culture that complemented their aesthetic preferences. The earliest complex art in Japan was produced in the 7th and 8th centuries in connection with Buddhism. In the 9th century, as the Japanese began to turn away from China and develop indigenous forms of expression, the secular arts became increasingly important; until the late 15th century, both religious and secular arts flourished. After the Ōnin War (1467–1477), Japan entered a period of political, social, and economic disruption that lasted for over a century. In the state that emerged under the leadership of the Tokugawa shogunate, organized religion played a much less important role in people's lives, and the arts that survived were primarily secular.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Main article: African art
Further information: Igbo art, Yoruba art, Benin art, Kuba art, and Luba art

Sub-Saharan African art includes both sculpture, typified by the brass castings of the Benin people, Igbo Ukwu and the Kingdom of Ifẹ, and terracottas of Djenne-Jeno, Ife, and the more ancient Nok culture, as well as folk art. Concurrent with the European Middle Ages, in the eleventh century AD a nation that made grand architecture, gold sculpture, and intricate jewelry was founded in Great Zimbabwe. Impressive sculpture was concurrently being cast from brass by the Yoruba people of what is now Nigeria. In the Benin Kingdom, also of southern Nigeria, which began around the same time, elegant altar tusks, brass heads, plaques of brass, and palatial architecture were created. The Benin Kingdom was ended by the British in 1897, and little of the culture's art now remains in Nigeria. Today, the most significant arts venue in Africa is the Johannesburg Biennale.

Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by a high density of cultures. Notable are the, Dogon people from Mali; Edo, Yoruba, Igbo people and the Nok civilization from Nigeria; Kuba and Luba people from Central Africa; Ashanti people from Ghana; Zulu people from Southern Africa; and Fang people from Equatorial Guinea (85%), Cameroon and Gabon; the Sao civilization people from Chad; Kwele people from eastern Gabon, Republic of the Congo and Cameroon.

The myriad forms of African art are components of some of the most vibrant and responsive artistic traditions in the world and are integral to the lives of African people. Created for specific purposes, artworks can reveal their ongoing importance through physical transformations that enhance both their appearance and their potency. Many traditional African art forms are created as conduits to the spirit world and change appearance as materials are added to enhance their beauty and potency. The more a work is used and blessed, the more abstract it becomes with the accretion of sacrificial matter and the wearing down of original details.

Oceania

Main article: Art of Oceania

The Art of Oceania includes the geographic areas of Micronesia, Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand, and Melanesia. One approach treats the area thematically, with foci on ancestry, warfare, the body, gender, trade, religion, and tourism. Unfortunately, little ancient art survives from Oceania. Scholars believe that this is likely because artists used perishable materials, such as wood and feathers, which did not survive in the tropical climate, and there are no historical records to refer to most of this material. The understanding of Oceania's artistic cultures thus begins with the documentation of it by Westerners, such as Captain James Cook, in the 18th century. At the turn of the 20th century the French artist Paul Gauguin spent significant amounts of time in Tahiti, living with local people and making modern art — a fact that has become intertwined with Tahitian visual culture to the present day.[citation needed] The indigenous art of Australia often looks like abstract modern art, but it has deep roots in local culture.

The art of Oceania is the last great tradition of art to be appreciated by the world at large. Despite being one of the longest continuous traditions of art in the world, dating back at least fifty millennia, it remained relatively unknown until the second half of the 20th century.

The often ephemeral materials of Aboriginal art of Australia makes it difficult to determine the antiquity of the majority of the forms of art practised today. The most durable forms are the multitudes of rock engravings and rock paintings which are found across the continent. In the Arnhem Land escarpment, evidence suggests that paintings were being made fifty thousand years ago, antedating the Palaeolithic rock paintings of Altamira & Lascaux in Europe.

European

Main article: Art of Europe

Medieval

Main article: Medieval art

With the decline of the Roman Empire in c. 300 AD, the Medieval era began, lasting for about a millennium, until the beginning of the Renaissance in c. 1400. Early Christian art begins the period, followed by Byzantine art, Anglo-Saxon art, Viking art, Ottonian art, Romanesque art and Gothic art, with Islamic art dominating the eastern Mediterranean. Medieval art grew out of the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and Byzantium, mixed with the 'barbarian' artistic culture of northern Europe.[110]

In Byzantine and Gothic art of the Middle Ages, the dominance of the church resulted in a large amount of religious art. There was extensive use of gold in paintings, which presented figures in simplified forms.

Byzantine

Main article: Byzantine art
 
 
 
 
The Hagia Sophia (Istanbul, Turkey), c. 532–537 BC, by Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus[111]

Byzantine art refers to the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire,[112][113] as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire. Though the empire itself emerged from Rome's decline and lasted until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453,[114] the start date of the Byzantine period is rather clearer in art history than in political history, if still imprecise. Many Eastern Orthodox states in Eastern Europe, as well as to some degree the Muslim states of the eastern Mediterranean, preserved many aspects of the empire's culture and art for centuries afterward.

Surviving Byzantine art is mostly religious and with exceptions at certain periods is highly conventionalised, following traditional models that translate carefully controlled church theology into artistic terms. Painting in fresco, illuminated manuscripts and on wood panel and, especially in earlier periods, mosaic were the main media, and figurative sculpture very rare except for small carved ivories. Manuscript painting preserved to the end some of the classical realist tradition that was missing in larger works.[115] Byzantine art was highly prestigious and sought-after in Western Europe, where it maintained a continuous influence on medieval art until near the end of the period. This was especially so in Italy, where Byzantine styles persisted in modified form through the 12th century, and became formative influences on Italian Renaissance art. But few incoming influences affected the Byzantine style. With the expansion of the Eastern Orthodox church, Byzantine forms and styles spread throughout the Orthodox world and beyond.[116] Influences from Byzantine architecture, particularly in religious buildings, can be found in diverse regions from Egypt and Arabia to Russia and Romania.

Byzantine architecture is notorious for the use of domes. It also often featured marble columns, coffered ceilings and sumptuous decoration, including the extensive use of mosaics with golden backgrounds. The building material used by Byzantine architects was no longer marble, which was very appreciated by the Ancient Greeks. They used mostly stone and brick, and also thin alabaster sheets for windows. Mosaics were used to cover brick walls, and any other surface where fresco wouldn't resist. Good examples of mosaics from the proto-Byzantine era are in Hagios Demetrios in Thessaloniki (Greece), the Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo and the Basilica of San Vitale, both in Ravenna (Italy), and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Greco-Roman temples and Byzantine churches differ substantially in terms of their exterior and interior aspect. In Antiquity, the exterior was the most important part of the temple, because in the interior, where the cult statue of the deity to whom the temple was built was kept, only the priest had access. The ceremonies here held outside, and what the worshipers view was the facade of the temple, consisting of columns, with an entablature and two pediments. Meanwhile, Christian liturgies were held in the interior of the churches, the exterior usually having little to no ornamentation.[117][118]

Ottonian

Main article: Ottonian art
 
 
 
 
The Essen cross with large enamels with gems and large senkschmelz enamels, c. 1000. Otto II, by the Gregory Master. Apotheosis of Otto III, Liuthar Gospels. Henry II being crowned by Christ, from the Sacramentary of Henry II.

Ottonian art is a style in pre-romanesque German art, covering also some works from the Low Countries, northern Italy and eastern France. It was named by the art historian Hubert Janitschek after the Ottonian dynasty which ruled Germany and northern Italy between 919 and 1024 under the kings Henry I, Otto I, Otto II, Otto III and Henry II.[123] With Ottonian architecture, it is a key component of the Ottonian Renaissance (circa 951–1024). However, the style neither began nor ended to neatly coincide with the rule of the dynasty. It emerged some decades into their rule and persisted past the Ottonian emperors into the reigns of the early Salian dynasty, which lacks an artistic "style label" of its own.[124] In the traditional scheme of art history, Ottonian art follows Carolingian art and precedes Romanesque art, though the transitions at both ends of the period are gradual rather than sudden. Like the former and unlike the latter, it was very largely a style restricted to a few of the small cities of the period, and important monasteries, as well as the court circles of the emperor and his leading vassals.

After the decline of the Carolingian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire was re-established under the Saxon Ottonian dynasty. From this emerged a renewed faith in the idea of Empire and a reformed Church, creating a period of heightened cultural and artistic fervour. It was in this atmosphere that masterpieces were created that fused the traditions from which Ottonian artists derived their inspiration: models of Late Antique, Carolingian, and Byzantine origin. Surviving Ottonian art is very largely religious, in the form of illuminated manuscripts and metalwork, and was produced in a small number of centres for a narrow range of patrons in the circle of the Imperial court, as well as important figures in the church. However much of it was designed for display to a wider public, especially of pilgrims.[125]

The style is generally grand and heavy, sometimes to excess, and initially less sophisticated than the Carolingian equivalents, with less direct influence from Byzantine art and less understanding of its classical models, but around 1000 a striking intensity and expressiveness emerge in many works, as "a solemn monumentality is combined with a vibrant inwardness, an unworldly, visionary quality with sharp attention to actuality, surface patterns of flowing lines and rich bright colours with passionate emotionalism".[126]

Romanesque

Main article: Romanesque art

The Romanesque was the first pan-European style to emerge after the Roman Empire, spanning the mid-tenth century to the thirteenth. The period saw a resurgence of monumental stone structures with complex structural programmes.

Romanesque churches are characterized by rigid articulation and geometric clarity, incorporated into a unified volumetric whole. The architecture is austere but enlivened by decorative sculpting of capitals and portals, as well as frescoed interiors. Geometric and foliate patterning gives way to increasingly three-dimensional figurative sculpture.

St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim, Germany, 1001–1030, is seen as a Proto-Romanesque church.[127]

From the mid-eleventh to the early thirteenth centuries, Romanesque paintings were two-dimensional, defined by bold, linear outlines and geometry, particularly in the handling of drapery; symmetry and frontality were emphasised. Virtually all Western churches were painted, but probably only a few wall painters were monks; instead, itinerant artists carried out most of this work. Basic blocking out was done on wet plaster with earth colours. A limited palette, dominated by white, red, yellow ochres and azure, was employed for maximum visual effect, with dense colouring forming a backdrop of bands, a practice that originated in late Classical art as an attempt to distinguish earth and sky.

During the later eleventh and twelfth centuries, the great age of Western monasticism, Europe experienced unprecedented economic, social and political change, leading to burgeoning wealth among landowners, including monasteries. There was increasing demand for books, and economic wealth allowed many manuscripts to be richly illuminated.

One of the outstanding artefacts of the age is the 70 m long Bayeux Tapestry.[128][129][130] It depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England with protagonists William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. It is thought to date from the 11th century. It tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans, but is now agreed to have been made in England most likely by women, although the designer is unknown. It is housed in France.

Gothic

Main article: Gothic art

Gothic art developed in Northern France out of Romanesque in the 12th century AD, and led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Southern and Central Europe, never quite effacing more classical styles in Italy. In the late 14th century, the sophisticated court style of International Gothic developed, which continued to evolve until the late 15th century.

The imposing Gothic cathedrals, with their sculptural programmes and stained glass windows, epitomize the Gothic style.[136] It differs from Romanesque through its rib-shaped vaults, and the use of ogives. Instead of the thick Romanesque walls, Gothic buildings are thin and tall. Spiral stairs in towers are specific to Gothic architecture.[137]

Gothic painting, much of it executed in tempera and, later, oils on panel, as well as fresco, and with an increasingly broad palette of secondary colours, is generally seen as more 'naturalistic' than Romanesque. The humanity of religious narrative was highlighted, and the emotional state of the characters individualized.[138] The increased urbanity of the medieval economy and the rise of the clerical and lay patron saw a change in the nature of the art market, which can be seen in developments in Gothic manuscript illumination. Workshops employed specialists for different elements of the page, such as figures or marginal vine motifs.[139]

Renaissance

Main article: Renaissance art

Encompassing Early, Northern and High Renaissance, the term Renaissance describes the 'rebirth' in Europe of a new interest for Classical antiquity. For the first time since antiquity, art became convincingly lifelike. Besides the ancient past, Renaissance artists also studied nature, understanding the human body, animals, plants, space, perspective and the qualities of light. The most common theme were religious subjects, but depictions of mythological stories were produced as well. Also, there was no uniform Renaissance style. Each artist developed their own distinct visual language, influenced by their predecessors and contemporaries.

The Early Renaissance was a period of great creative and intellectual activity when artists broke away completely from the parameters of Byzantine art. It is generally accepted that it started in Florence in present-day Italy in the early 15th century. It is characterized by a surge of interest in classical literature, philosophy and art, the growth of commerce, the discovery of new continents, and new inventions. There was a revival of interest in the art and literature of ancient Rome, and the study of ancient Greek and Latin texts instigated concepts of individualism and reason, which became known as humanism. Humanists considered life in the present and emphasized the importance of individual thought, which affected artists' approaches.

Despite being highly associated with Italy, particularly with Florence, Rome, and Venice, the rest of Western Europe participated to the Renaissance as well.[143] The Northern Renaissance occurred in Europe north of the Alps from the early 15th century, following a period of artistic cross-fertilization between north and south known as 'International Gothic'. There was a big difference between the Northern and Italian Renaissance. The North artists did not seek to revive the values of ancient Greece and Rome like the Italians, while in the south Italian artists and patrons were amazed by the empirical study of nature and the human society, and by the deep colors that northern artists could achieve in the newly developed medium of oil paint. The Protestant Reformation increased the northern interest in secular painting, like portraits or landscapes. Two key northern artists are Hieronymus Bosch, known for his surreal paintings filled with hybrid creatures like The Garden of Earthly Delights, and Albrecht Dürer, who brought the new art of printmaking to a new level.

The High Renaissance took place in the late 15th-early 16th centuries and was influenced by the fact that as papal power stabilized in Rome, several popes commissioned art and architecture, determined to recreate the city's former glory. Raphael and Michelangelo produced vast and grandiose projects for the popes. The most famous artwork of this part of the Renaissance is probably the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Mannerism broke away from High Renaissance ideals of harmony and a rational approach to art, to embrace exaggerated forms, elongated proportions, and more vibrant colors. It developed in Italy between 1510 and 1520, among artists who prized originality above all. The name of this movement comes from the Italian maniera, meaning 'style or 'manner'. The word was meant to describe the standard of excellence achieved during the High Renaissance, to which all art should now adhere, but in practice it led to stylization and art 'to show art', sometimes with great success, an example being Raphael's pupil Giulio Romano. Mannerism has also been used more generally to describe a period following the Renaissance and preceding the Baroque.[144]

Baroque

Main article: Baroque
See also: Style Louis XIV
The Palace of Versailles (Versailles, France), one of the most iconic Baroque buildings, c. 1660 – 1715, by Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart
 
The Marble Court
 
The Salon d'Hercule
 
The Royal Chapel
 
The Hall of Mirrors
 
The gardens

The 17th century was a period of volatile change, both in science, through inventions and developments, such as the telescope or the microscope, and in religion, as the Catholic Counter-Reformation contested the growing popularity of Protestant faith. After the Protestant Reformation the Catholic Church reacted with the Counter-Reformation, decreeing that art should inspire viewers with passionate religious themes.

Succeeding Mannerism, and developing as a result of religious tensions across Europe, Baroque art emerged in the late 16th century. The name may derive from 'barocco', the Portuguese word for misshaped pearl, and it describes art that combined emotion, dynamism and dramawith powerful color, realism and strong tonal contrasts. Between 1545 and 1563 at the Council of Trent, it was decided that religious art must encourage piety, realism and accuracy, and, by attracting viewers' attention and empathy, glorify the Catholic Church and strengthen the image of Catholicism. In the next century the radical new styles of Baroque art both embraced and developed High Renaissance models, and broke new ground both in religious art and in new varieties of secular art – above all landscape. The Baroque and its late variant the Rococo were the first truly global styles in the arts, dominating more than two centuries of art and architecture in Europe, Latin America and beyond from circa 1580 to circa 1750. Born in the painting studios of Bologna and Rome in the 1580s and 1590s, and in Roman sculptural and architectural ateliers in the second and third decades of the 17th century, the Baroque spread swiftly throughout Italy, Spain and Portugal, Flanders, France, the Netherlands, England, Scandinavia, and Russia, as well as to central and eastern European centres from Munich (Germany) to Vilnius (Lithuania). The Portuguese, Spanish and French empires and the Dutch treading network had a leading role in spreading the two styles into the Americas and colonial Africa and Asia, to places such as Lima, Mozambique, Goa and the Philippines.

Just like paintings and sculptures, Baroque cathedrals and palaces are characterised by the use of illusion and drama as well. They also frequently use dramatic effects of light and shade, and have sumptuous, highly decorated interiors that blurred the boundaries between architecture, painting and sculpture. Another important characteristic of Baroque architecture was the presence of dynamism, done through curves, Solomonic columns and ovals. In France, Baroque is synonymous with the reign of Louis XIV between 1643 and 1715, since multiple monumental buildings were built in Paris, Versailles and other parts of France during his rule, such as the Palace of Versailles, the Château de Maisons, the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, the Louvre Colonnade or The Dôme des Invalides. Besides the building itself, the space where it was placed has a role too. Baroque buildings try to seize viewers' attention and to dominate their surroundings, whether on a small scale such as the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome, or on a massive one, like the new facade of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, designed to tower over the city. Applied arts prospered during this period as well. Baroque furniture could be as bombastic as the rooms they were meant to adorn, and their motifs and techniques were carefully calibrated to coordinate with the architect's overall decorative programme. One of the most prestigious furniture makers was André Charles Boulle, known for his marquetry technique, made by gluing sheets of tortoiseshell and brass together and cut to form the design. His works were also adorned with gilded bronze mounts. Complex Gobelins tapestries featured scenes inspired by classical antiquity, and the Savonnerie manufactory produced big highly detailed carpets for the Louvre. These carpets with black or yellow backgrounds had a central motif or a medallion. Chinese porcelain, Delftware and mirrors fabricated at Saint-Gobain (France) spread rapidly in all princely palaces and aristocratic residences in France. During the reign of Louis XIV, big mirrors are put above fireplace mantels, and this trend will last long after the Baroque period.[159]

Rococo

Main article: Rococo
See also: Style Louis XV
 
Coiffure à l’Indépendance ou Le Triomphe de la Liberté, 1778, depicting a fashionable aristocratic woman is applying the finishing touches to her toilette[168]

Originating in c.1720 Paris, Rococo is characterized by natural motifs, soft colours, curving lines, asymmetry and themes including love, nature and light-hearted entertainment. Its ideals were delicacy, gaiety, youthfulness and sensuality.

Beginning in France as a reaction against the heavy Baroque grandeur of Louis XIV's court at the Palace of Versailles, the rococo movement became associated particularly with the powerful Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), the mistress of the new king Louis XV (1710–1774). Because of this, the style was also known as 'Pompadour'. The name of the movement derives from the French 'rocaille', or pebble, and refers to stones and shells that decorate the interiors of caves, as similar shell forms became a common feature in Rococo design. It began as a design and decorative arts style, and was characterized by elegant flowing shapes. Architecture followed and then painting and sculpture. The French painted with whom the term Rococo is most often associated is Jean-Antoine Watteau, whose pastoral scenes, or fêtes galantes, dominate the early part of the 18th century.

Although there are some important Bavarian churches in this style, such as the Wieskirche, Rococo is most often associated with secular buildings, principally great palaces and salons where educated elites would meet to discuss literary and philosophical ideas. In Paris, its popularity coincided with the emergence of the salon as a new type of social gathering, the venues for which were often decorated in the Rococo style. Among the most characteristically elegant and refined examples is the Salon Oval de la Princesse of the Hôtel de Soubise, one of the most beautiful 18th century mansions in Paris. The Rococo introduced dramatic changes to elite furniture, as it favoured smaller pieces with narrow, sinewy frames and more delicate, often asymmetrical decoration, often including elements of chinoiserie. The taste for Far Eastern objects (mainly Chinese) lead to the use of Chinese painted and lacquered panels for furniture.

The movement spread quickly throughout Europe and as far as Ottoman Turkey and China thanks to ornament books featuring cartouches, arabesques and shell work, as well as designs for wall panels and fireplaces. The most popular were made by Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier (1695–1750), Jacques-François Blondel (1705–1774), Pierre-Edmé Babel (1720–1775) and François de Cuvilliés (1695–1768).[169]

Neoclassicism

Main article: Neoclassicism

Inspired by the excavations of the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum from 1748, a renewed interest in the arts of antiquity occurred. Neoclassicism dominates Western art from the mid to late 18th century until the 1830s. Embracing order and restraint, it developed in reaction to the perceived frivolity, hedonism and decadence of Rococo and exemplifying the rational thinking of the 'Age of Enlightenment' (aka the 'Age of Reason'). Initially, the movement was developed not by artists, but by Enlightenment philosophers. They requested replacing Rococo with a style of rational art, moral and dedicated to the soul.[173] This fitted well with a perception of Classical art as the embodiment of realism, restraint and order. Inspired by ancient Greek and Roman art, the classical history paintings of the French artist Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) and the ideas of the German writer Anton Raphael Mengs (1728–1779) and the archaeologist and art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768), Neoclassicism began in Rome, but soon spread throughout Europe. Rome had become the main focus of the Grand Tour by the mid-18th century, and aristocratic travellers went there in search of Classical visions to recreate on their country estates, thus spreading the style across Europe, particularly in England and France. The tour was also an opportunity for collecting Classical antiquities. Neoclassical paintings tended to be populated with figures posed like Classical statues or reliefs, set in a locations filled with archaeological details. The style favoured Greek art over Roman, considering it purer and more authentically classical in its aesthetic goal.

In 1789, France was on the brink of its first revolution and Neoclassicism sought to express their patriotic feelings. Politics and art were closely entwined during this period. They believed that art should be serious, and valued drawings above painting; smooth contours and paint with no discernible brushstrokes were the ultimate aim. Both painting and sculpture exerted calmness and restraint and focused on heroic themes, expressing such noble notions as self-sacrifice and nationalism.

This movement paved the way for Romanticism, that appeared when the idealism of the revolution faded away and after the Napoleonic period came to an end in the early 19th century. Neoclassicism should not be seen as the opposite of Romanticism, however, but in some ways an early manifestation of it.[174][175]

Western art after 1770

 
The Ghost of a Flea; by William Blake; 1819; tempera with gold on panel (21.4 × 16.2 cm); Tate Britain, London

Many art historians place the origins of modern art in the late 18th century, others in the mid 19th century. Art historian H. Harvard Arnason stated "a gradual metamorphosis took place in the course of a hundred years."[183] Events such as the age of enlightenment, revolutions and democracies in America and France, and the Industrial Revolution had far reaching affects in western culture. People, commodities, ideas, and information could travel between countries and continents with unprecedented speed and these changes were reflected in the arts. The invention of photography in the 1830s further altered certain aspects of art, particularly painting. By the dawn of the 19th century, a long and gradual paradigm shift was complete, from the Gothic when artists were viewed as craftsmen in the service of the church and monarchies, to the idea of art for art's sake, where the ideas and visions of the individual artist were held in the high regard, with patronage from an increasingly literate, affluent, and urban middle and upper class population that had been emerging for 200 years (particularly in Paris and London). A dichotomy began in the late 18th century between neoclassicism and romanticism that subdivided and continued to run through virtually every new movement in modern art: "Spreading like waves, these "isms" defy national, ethnic, and chronological boundaries; never dominant anywhere for long, they compete or merge with each other in endlessly shifting patterns."[184]

Modern art has consistently moved toward international influences and exchanges, from the exotic curiosity of Orientalism, the deeper influence of Japonisme, to the arts of Oceania, Africa, and the Americas. Conversely modern art has increasingly extended beyond western Europe. In Russia and the USA the arts were developing to a degree that rivaled the leading European countries by the end of the 19th century. Many of the major movements appeared in Latin America, Australia, and Asia too and geography and nationality became increasingly insignificant with each passing decade. By the 20th century important and influential artists were emerging around the world: e.g. Foujita (Japan), Arshile Gorky (Armenia), Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo (Mexico), Wifredo Lam (Cuba), Edvard Munch (Norwegian), Roberto Matta (Chilean), Mark Rothko (Lithuanian-American), Fernando Botero Angulo (Colombia), Constantin Brâncuși and Victor Brauner (Romania).[185][186][187][188][189]

19th century

Romanticism (c. 1790–1880)

Main article: Romanticism § Visual arts
 
English landscape garden at Stourhead (the UK), the 1740s, by Henry Hoare[190]

Romanticism emerged in the late 18th century out of the German Sturm und Drang movement and flourished in the first half of the 19th century with significant and international manifestations in music, literature, and architecture, as well as the visual arts. It grew from a disillusionment with the rationalism of 18th century Enlightenment. Despite being often viewed as the opposite of Neoclassicism, there were some stylistic overlapping with both movements, and many Romantic artists were excited by classicism. The movement focused on intense emotions, imagination, and on the impressive power of nature, a bigger and more powerful force than the one of men, with its potential for disaster. "Neoclassicism is a new revival of classical antiquity... while Romanticism refers not to a specific style but to an attitude of mind that may reveal itself in any number of ways."[191]

One of the earliest expressions of romanticism was in the English landscape garden, carefully designed to appear natural and standing in dramatic contrast to the formal gardens of the time. The concept of the "natural" English garden was adopted throughout Europe and America in the following decades. In architecture, the romantics frequently turned to alternative sources other than the Greek and Roman examples admired by the neo-classicist. Romantic architecture often revived Gothic forms and other styles such as exotic eastern models. The Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament), London is an example of romantic architecture that is also referred to as Gothic Revival.[191] In painting romanticism is exemplified by the paintings of Francisco Goya in Spain, Eugène Delacroix and Théodore Géricault in France, William Blake, Henry Fuseli, Samuel Palmer, and William Turner in England, Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge in Germany, Francesco Hayez in Italy, Johan Christian Claussen Dahl in Norway, and Thomas Cole in America. Examples of sculptors of the romantic period include Antoine-Louis Barye, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Auguste Préault, and François Rude. As romanticism ran its course, some aspects of the movement evolved into symbolism.[192][193][188][194][195]

Academism

Main article: Academic art

Academism is the codification of art into rules that can be learned in art academies. It promotes the Classical ideals of beauty and artistic perfection. There was also a very strict hierarchy of subjects. At the top, there were paintings that depicted historic events, including the biblical and Classical ones, followed by the portrait and by the landscape. At the bottom of the hierarchy were still life and genre painting. Nicolas Poussin was the artist whose works and theories played the most significant role in the development of academism. The vales of academism were situated in the centre of the Enlightenment project of discovering the basic principles and ideals of art.

During the 18th century, across all Europe, many academies were founded, that will later dominate the art of the 19th century. In order to study at an art academy, young artist had to take an admission exam, and after being admitted, they would study there for multiple years. Most of the 19th century French art movements were exterior or even opposing the values of academism.

Some of the most important artists of the French academy were William Bouguereau (1825–1905), Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904), Alexandre Cabanel (1823–1889) and Thomas Couture (1815–1879). Academic art is closely related to Beaux-Arts architecture, which developed in the same place and holds to a similar classicizing ideal. The Beaux-Arts style takes its name from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where it developed and where many of the main exponents of the style studied.[201][202]

Revivalism and Eclecticism

When it comes to architecture and applied arts, the 19th century is best known as the century of revivals. One of the most well-known revivalist styles is the Gothic Revival or Neo-Gothic, which first appeared in the mid-18th century in a few houses in England, like the Strawberry Hill House in London. However, these houses were isolated cases, since the beginning of the 19th century was dominated by Neoclassicism. Later, between 1830 and 1840, a taste and nostalgia for the rediscovery of past styles, ranging from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, developed under the influence of romanticism. Approximatively until World War I, rehashes of the past dominated the world of architecture and applied arts. Associations between styles and building types appeared, for example: Egyptian for prisons, Gothic for churches, or Renaissance Revival for banks and exchanges. These choices were the result of other associations: the pharaohs with death and eternity, the Middle Ages with Christianity, or the Medici family with the rise of banking and modern commerce. Sometimes, these styles were also seen in a nationalistic way, on the idea that architecture might represent the glory of a nation. Some of them were seen as 'national styles', like the Gothic Revival in the UK and the German states or the Romanian Revival in Romania. Augustus Pugin called the Gothic style the 'absolute duty'[207] of the English architect, despite the fact that the style is of French origin. This way, architecture and the applied arts were used to grant the aura of a highly idealized glorious past. Some architects and designers associated historic styles, especially the medieval ones, with an idealized fantasy organic life, which they put in comparison with the reality of their time.[208]

Despite revivalism being so prevalent, this doesn't mean that there was no originality in these works. Architects, ébénistes and other craftsmen, especially during the second half of the 19th century, created mixes of styles, by extracting and interpreting elements specific to certain eras and areas. This practice is known as eclecticism. This stylistic development occurred during a period when the competition of World's Fairs motivated many countries to invent new industrial methods of creation.

Realism (c. 1830–1890)

Main article:
May 16, 2023
history, academic, discipline, history, history, focuses, objects, made, humans, number, spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, even, functional, other, purposes, with, primary, emphasis, aesthetic, visual, form, vi. For the academic discipline see Art history The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual narrative philosophical symbolic conceptual documentary decorative and even functional and other purposes but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic visual form Visual art can be classified in diverse ways such as separating fine arts from applied arts inclusively focusing on human creativity or focusing on different media such as architecture sculpture painting film photography and graphic arts In recent years technological advances have led to video art computer art performance art animation television and videogames Venus of Hohle FelsHorse painting from Lascaux cave systemMask of TutankhamunVenus de Milo Alexandros of AntiochMona Lisa Leonardo da VinciLes Demoiselles d Avignon Pablo Picasso The history of art is often told as a chronology of masterpieces created during each civilization It can thus be framed as a story of high culture epitomized by the Wonders of the World On the other hand vernacular art expressions can also be integrated into art historical narratives referred to as folk arts or craft The more closely that an art historian engages with these latter forms of low culture the more likely it is that they will identify their work as examining visual culture or material culture or as contributing to fields related to art history such as anthropology or archaeology In the latter cases art objects may be referred to as archeological artifacts Contents 1 Prehistory 2 Antiquity 2 1 Ancient Near East 2 2 Egypt 2 3 Indus Valley Civilization 2 4 China 2 5 Greek 2 6 Rome 3 Islamic 4 Americas 4 1 Mesoamerica 4 2 Colombia 4 3 Andean regions 5 Asian 5 1 Central Asia 5 2 Indian 5 3 Chinese 5 4 Japanese 6 Sub Saharan Africa 7 Oceania 8 European 8 1 Medieval 8 1 1 Byzantine 8 1 2 Ottonian 8 1 3 Romanesque 8 2 Gothic 8 3 Renaissance 8 4 Baroque 8 5 Rococo 8 6 Neoclassicism 9 Western art after 1770 9 1 19th century 9 1 1 Romanticism c 1790 1880 9 1 2 Academism 9 1 2 1 Revivalism and Eclecticism 9 1 3 Realism c 1830 1890 9 1 4 Impressionism c 1865 1885 9 1 5 Symbolism c 1860 1915 9 1 6 Post Impressionism c 1885 1910 9 2 Early 20th century 9 2 1 Art Nouveau c 1890 1914 9 2 2 Fauvism c 1898 1909 9 2 3 Expressionism c 1905 1930 9 2 4 Cubism c 1907 1914 9 2 5 Art Deco c 1920 1940 9 2 6 Surrealism c 1924 1966 9 3 Mid and late 20th century 10 See also 11 Notes 12 References 13 Further reading 14 External links 14 1 TimelinesPrehistory EditMain article Prehistoric art Prehistoric art includes a broad range of art made by painters and sculptors from illiterate cultures including some of the earliest human artifacts Among the first art objects are decorative artifacts from Middle Stone Age Africa 1 2 3 Containers from that period have also been discovered in South Africa that may have been used to hold paints dating as far back as 100 000 years ago 4 A form of prehistoric art found all over the world especially in Europe small prehistoric statuettes known as Venus figurines with exaggerated breasts and bellies were made the most famous ones being the Venus of Hohle Fels and the Venus of Willendorf found in Germany and Austria Most have small heads wide hips and legs that taper to a point Arms and feet are often absent and the head is usually small and faceless The Venus of Hohle Fels is one of the numerous objects found at the Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura UNESCO World Heritage Site where the oldest non stationary works of human art yet discovered were found in the form of carved animal and humanoid figurines in addition to the oldest musical instruments unearthed so far with the artifacts dating between 43 000 and 35 000 BC 5 6 7 8 The best known prehistoric artworks are the large Paleolithic cave paintings that depict animals in continental Europe particularly the ones at Lascaux in the Dordogne region of France Several hundred decorated caves are known spanning the Upper Paleolithic period c 38 000 12 000 BC There are examples in Ukraine Italy and Great Britain but most of them are in France and Spain Many theories have been suggested about the art s purpose the most accepted being that it was part of religious rituals possibly to evoke hunting success Giant deer bone of Einhornhohle c 49 000 BC Megaloceros bone Einhornhohle Germany Lowenmensch c 41 000 35 000 BC Hohlenstein Stadel caves Swabian Jura Germany Painting of rhinoceroses c 32 000 14 000 BC charcoal on rock length c 2 m Chauvet Cave Ardeche France 9 Venus of Willendorf c 25 000 BC limestone with ochre colouring height 11 cm Natural History Museum Vienna Austria 10 Antiquity EditMain article Ancient art Ancient Near East Edit Main article Mesopotamian art Ancient Near East stretched from Turkey and the Mediterranean seaboard in the west to Iran and the Arabian peninsula in the east Over time multiple civilizations appeared lived and disappeared here One of the key regions was Mesopotamia which witnessed during the 4th millennium BC the emergence of the first cities and the earliest form of writing Ancient Mesopotamia covers present day Iraq and parts of Syria and Turkey Its northern half forms part of the so called Fertile Crescent where important Neolithic developments such as early farming and the establishment of permanent village settlements first appeared Because the region is situated within the Tigris Euphrates river delta numerous civilizations lived here notably Sumer Akkad Assyria and Babylonia Mesopotamian architecture was characterized by the use of bricks lintels and cone mosaic Notable examples are the ziggurats large temples in the form of step pyramids The political economic artistic and architectural traditions of the Sumerians lead to the foundation of Western civilization Multiple things appeared for the first time in Sumer the first city state Uruk ruled by king Gilgamesh the first organized religion based on a hierarchical structure of gods people and rituals the first known writing the cuneiforms the first irrigation system and the first vehicles with wheels Cylinder seals appeared here as well engraved with little inscriptions and illustrations Another civilization that developed here was the Akkadian Empire the world s first great empire During the early 1st millennium BC after the Akkadians an empire called Assyria came to dominate the whole of Middle East stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea Its cities were filled with impressive buildings and art Assyrian art is best known for its detailed stone reliefs depicting scenes of court life religious practice hunting and epic battles These reliefs were initially painted in bright colours and placed in palaces Besides their beauty they also show us Assyrian life and views of the world including Assyrian clothing and furniture Later the Babylonians conquered the Assyrian Empire During the 6th century BC Babylon became the largest city in the world Upon entering Babylon visitors were greeted with the impressive Ishtar Gate with its walls covered in vivid blue glazed bricks and reliefs showing dragons bulls and lions This gate is named after Ishtar the goddess of war and love In the mid 6th century BC after a series of military campaigns the Babylonian Empire fell to the Achaemenid Empire ruled by King Cyrus II stretching across the Middle East and Central Asia from Egypt to the Indus Valley Its art incorporates elements from across the empire celebrating its wealth and power Persepolis Iran was the capital of the empire and it is full of impressive sculptures showing religious images and people of the empire There are also the ruins of a palace here with a big audience hall for receiving guests Besides Mesopotamia and Iran there were Ancient civilizations who produced art and architecture in other regions as well In Anatolia present day Turkey the Hittite Empire appeared During Antiquity South Arabia was important in the production and trade of aromatics bringing wealth to the kingdoms that were in this region Before circa 4000 BC the climate of Arabia was wetter than today In south west several kingdoms appeared like Saba The south Arabian human figure is usually stylized based on rectangular shapes but with fine details 11 12 13 Standard of Ur Sumerian c 2600 2400 BC shell red limestone and lapis lazuli on wood length 49 5 cm British Museum London 14 King of Akkad Akkadian c 2250 BC copper alloy height 30 cm Iraq Museum 14 Stag rhyton Hittite c 1400 1200 BC silver with gold inlay height 13 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 15 Incense burner Pre Islamic South Arabian c mid 1st millennium BC bronze height 27 6 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 16 Winged bulls Neo Assyrian c 710 BC alabaster height max 4 2 m Louvre 17 Delegation bearing gifts Persian Achaemenid c 490 BC limestone c 260 x 150 cm in situ Persepolis Iran 18 Egypt Edit Main article Ancient Egyptian art One of the first great civilizations arose in Egypt which had elaborate and complex works of art produced by professional artists and craftspeople Egypt s art was religious and symbolic Given that the culture had a highly centralized power structure and hierarchy a great deal of art was created to honour the pharaoh including great monuments Egyptian art and culture emphasized the religious concept of immortality Later Egyptian art includes Coptic and Byzantine art The architecture is characterized by monumental structures built with large stone blocks lintels and solid columns Funerary monuments included mastaba tombs of rectangular form pyramids which included step pyramids Saqqarah or smooth sided pyramids Giza and the hypogeum underground tombs Valley of the Kings Other great buildings were the temple which tended to be monumental complexes preceded by an avenue of sphinxes and obelisks Temples used pylons and trapezoid walls with hypaethros and hypostyle halls and shrines The temples of Karnak Luxor Philae and Edfu are good examples Another type of temple is the rock temple in the form of a hypogeum found in Abu Simbel and Deir el Bahari Painting of the Egyptian era used a juxtaposition of overlapping planes The images were represented hierarchically i e the Pharaoh is larger than the common subjects or enemies depicted at his side Egyptians painted the outline of the head and limbs in profile while the torso hands and eyes were painted from the front Applied arts were developed in Egypt in particular woodwork and metalwork There are superb examples such as cedar furniture inlaid with ebony and ivory which can be seen in the tombs at the Egyptian Museum Other examples include the pieces found in Tutankhamun s tomb which are of great artistic value 19 Nebamun Hunting in the Marshes c 1380 BC paint on plaster 98 83 cm British Museum London 20 Akhenaten and Nefertiti with Daughters c 1345 BC painted limestone 32 5 x 39 cm Egyptian Museum of Berlin Germany 21 Mask of Tutankhamun c 1327 BC gold glass and semi precious stones height 54 cm Egyptian Museum Cairo Nefertiti Bust 1352 1336 BC painted limestone height 50 cm Neues Museum Berlin Germany 22 Temple of Philae Egypt 380 BC 117 AD 23 Indus Valley Civilization Edit Main article Indus Valley Civilisation Arts and crafts Discovered in 1922 long after the contemporary cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt the Indus Valley Civilization aka the Harappan Civilization c 2400 1900 BC is now recognized as extraordinarily advanced comparable in some ways with those cultures Its sites span an area stretching from today s northeast Afghanistan through much of Pakistan and into western and northwestern India Major cities of the culture include Harappa and Mohenjo daro located respectively in Punjab and in Sindh province in northern Pakistan and the port city Lothal in the state of Gujarat India The most numerous artefacts are square and rectangular stamp seals and seal impressions featuring animals usually bulls very short Harappan texts Many stylized terracotta figurines have also been found in Harappan sites and a few stone and bronze sculptures more naturalistic than the ceramic ones 24 Seals with Indus script and impressions 2500 2000 BC steatite various sizes mostly c 3 cm British Museum London 25 Dancing Girl c 2400 1900 BC bronze height 10 8 cm National Museum New Delhi India 24 Proto Shiva Stamp Seal c 2400 1900 BC steatite height 3 6 cm National Museum New Delhi 24 Priest King c 2400 1900 BC steatite height 17 5 cm National Museum of Pakistan Karachi 24 Seal with two horned bull and inscription c 2010 BC steatite overall 3 2 3 2 cm Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland Ohio US China Edit Main articles Chinese art Bronze casting Chinese ritual bronzes and Sanxingdui Further information Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty Warriors of the Terracotta Army c 214 BC terracotta height average soldier c 1 8 m Lintong District Xi an Shaanxi China 26 Th first metal objects produced in China were made almost 4000 years ago during the Xia dynasty c 2100 1700 BC During the Chinese Bronze Age the Shang and Zhou dynasties court intercessions and communication with the spirit world were conducted by a shaman possibly the king himself In the Shang dynasty c 1600 1050 BC the supreme deity was Shangdi but aristocratic families preferred to contact the spirits of their ancestors They prepared elaborate banquets of food and drink for them heated and served in bronze ritual vessels These bronze vessels had many shapes depending on their purpose for wine water cereals or meat and some of them were marked with readable characters which shows the development of writing This kind of vessels of a very high quality and complexity were discovered on the Valley of the Yellow River in the Henan province in sites like Erlitou Anyang or Zhengzhou They were used in religious rituals to cement the Dhang authority and when the Shang capital fell around 1050 BC its conquerors the Zhou c 1050 156 BC continued to use these containers in religious rituals but principally for food rather than drink The Shang court had been accused of excessive drunkenness and the Zhou promoting the imperial Tian Heaven as the prime spiritual force rather than ancestors limited wine in religious rites in favour of food The use of ritual bronzes continued into the early Han dynasty 206 BC 220 AD One of the most commonly used motifs was the taotie a stylized face divided centrally into two almost mirror image halves with nostrils eyes eyebrows jaws cheeks and horns surrounded by incised patterns Whether taotie represented real mythological or wholly imaginary creatures cannot be determined The enigmatic bronzes of Sanxingdui near Guanghan in Sichuan province are evidence for a mysterious sacrificial religious system unlike anything elsewhere in ancient China and quite different from the art of the contemporaneous Shang at Anyang Excavations at Sanxingdui since 1986 have revealed four pits containing artefacts of bronze jade and gold There was found a great bronze statue of a human figure which stands on a plinth decorated with abstract elephant heads Besides the standing figure the first two pits contained over 50 bronze heads some wearing headgear and three with a frontal covering of gold leaf Tubular bronze fragments with little branches were discovered here as well probably representing trees and also bronze leaves fruits and birds Over 4000 objects were found at Sanxingdui in 1986 Succeeding the Shang Dynasty Zhou 1050 221 BC ruled more than any other one from Chinese history Its last centuries were characterized by violence the era being known as the Warring States period During this troubling time some philosophical movements appeared Confucianism Daoism and Legalism The Warring States period was ended by Qinshi Huangdi who united China in 221 BC He ordered a huge tomb guarded by the Terracotta Army Another huge project was a predecessor of the Great Wall erected for rejecting pillaging tribes from the north After the death of the emperor his dynasty the Qin 221 206 BC lasted only three years Qinshi Huangdi was followed by the Han Dynasty 202 BC 220 AD during which the Silk Road developed considerably bringing new cultural influences in China 27 28 Ding c 1384 1050 BC bronze height 22 9 cm Shanghai Museum Shanghai China 27 Lifesize figure c 1200 1000 BC bronze height 2 62 m Sanxingdui Museum Guanghan Sichuan China 29 Fang Lei c 925 875 BC bronze height 22 8 cm National Museum of China Beijing China 27 Funerary banner c 180 BC silk 205 x 92 cm upper part Hunan Museum Changsha Hunan China 30 Ornamental handle with a bi disc c 100 BC jade 18 x 14 cm Museum of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King Guangzhou Guangdong China 30 Greek Edit Main article Ancient Greek art Unlike how most of us see them today all Egyptian Greek and Roman sculptures and temples were initially painted in bright colours They became white because of hundreds of years of neglect and vandalism provoked by Christians during the Early Middle Ages who saw them as pagan and believed that they promoted idolatry 31 To us they look odd although all of them were very colourful back in Ancient times Through harmonious proportion and a focus on aesthetics ancient Greek and Roman art became the foundation and inspiration of all Western art being the standard to which most European artists aspired until the 19th century 32 The Latin poet Horace writing in the age of Roman emperor Augustus 1st century BC to 1st century AD famously remarked that although conquered on the battlefield captive Greece overcame its savage conqueror and brought the arts to rustic Rome The power of Greek art lies in its representation of the human figure and its focus on human beings and the anthropomorphic gods as chief subjects The artworks of the Greeks were meant to decorate temples and public buildings to celebrate battle victories and remarkable personalities and to commemorate the dead They were also given as offerings to the gods Although there was no definitive transition the art is usually divided stylistically into the four periods of Geometric Archaic Classical and Hellenistic During the Classical period 5th and 4th centuries BC realism and idealism were delicately balanced In comparison the works of the earlier Geometric 9th to 8th centuries BC and Archaic 7th to 6th centuries BC ages can seem appear primitive but these artists had different goals naturalistic representation was not necessarily their aim Greek and artists built on the artistic foundations of Egypt further developing the arts of sculpture painting architecture and ceramics Among the techniques they perfected include methods of carving and casting sculptures fresco painting and building magnificent buildings Roman art lovers collected ancient Greek originals Roman replicas of Greek art or newly created paintings and sculptures fashioned in a variety of Greek styles thus preserving for posterity works of art otherwise lost Wall and panel paintings sculptures and mosaics decorated public spaces and private homes Greek imagery also appeared on Roman jewellery vessels of gold silver bronze and terracotta and even on weapons and commercial weights Rediscovered during the early Renaissance the arts of ancient Greece transmitted through the Roman Empire have served as the foundation of Western art until the 19th century 33 Since the advent of the Classical Age in Athens in the 5th century BC the Classical way of building has been deeply woven into Western understanding of architecture and indeed of civilization itself 34 From circa 850 BC to circa 300 AD ancient Greek culture flourished on the Greek mainland on the Peloponnese and on the Aegean islands Five of the Wonders of the World were Greek the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus the Statue of Zeus at Olympia the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria However Ancient Greek architecture is best known for its temples many of which are found throughout the region and the Parthenon is a prime example of this Later they will serve as inspiration for Neoclassical architects during the late 18th and the 19th century The most well known temples are the Parthenon and the Erechtheion both on the Acropolis of Athens Another type of important Ancient Greek buildings were the theatres Both temples and theatres used a complex mix of optical illusions and balanced ratios Looking at the archaeological remains of ancient buildings it is easy to perceive them as limestone and concrete in a grey taupe tone and to make the assumption that ancient buildings were monochromatic However architecture was polychromed in much of the Ancient world One of the most iconic Ancient buildings the Parthenon c 447 432 BC in Athens had details painted with vibrant reds blues and greens Besides ancient temples Medieval cathedrals were never completely white Most had colored highlights on capitals and columns 35 This practice of coloring buildings and artworks was abandoned during the early Renaissance This is because Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance artists including Michelangelo promoted a color palette inspired by the ancient Greco Roman ruins which because of neglect and constant decay during the Middle Ages became white despite being initially colorful The pigments used in the ancient world were delicate and especially susceptible to weathering Without necessary care the colors exposed to rain snow dirt and other factors vanished over time and this way Ancient buildings and artworks became white like they are today and were during the Renaissance 36 Horse figurine Geometric c 800 700 BC bronze height 17 6 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City Pedestalled krater Geometric c 750 BC terracotta height 108 3 cm diameter 72 4 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 37 New York Kouros Archaic c 600 BC marble and pigment height 1 95 m Metropolitan Museum of Art 38 Panathenaic amphora Archaic c 530 BC ceramic height 62 2 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 39 Red figure kylix Classical c 480 BC ceramic height 12 7 cm diameter 27 2 cm Kimbell Art Museum Fort Worth Texas USA 40 Zeus of Artemision Classical c 460 BC bronze height 209 cm National Archaeological Museum Athens Greece 41 Temple of Segesta Calatafimi Segesta present day Italy 5th century BC 42 Erechtheion Athens with its Ionic columns and caryatid porch 421 405 BC 42 Centuripe vase Hellenistic c 300 100 BC ceramic height 9 4 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 43 Rome Edit Main article Roman art Augustus of Prima Porta in the left how it originally looked in the right how it looks now c 20 BC marble height 2 06 m Vatican Museums Vatican City 44 Just like the ancient Greeks and Egyptians the Romans painted all their sculptures and buildings in bright colors too No civilization has had an impact as enduring and powerful on Western art as the Roman Empire The legacy of ancient Rome is evident through the medieval and early modern periods and Roman art continue to be reused in the modern era in both traditionalist and Postmodern artworks 45 Sometimes it is viewed as derived from Greek precedents but also has its own distinguishing features some of them inherited from Etruscan art Roman sculpture is often less idealized than its Greek precedents being very realistic Roman architecture often used concrete and features such as the round arch and dome were invented Luxury objects in metal work gem engraving ivory carvings and glass are sometimes considered in modern terms to be minor forms of Roman art 46 although this would not necessarily have been the case for contemporaries An innovation made possible by the Roman development of glass blowing was cameo glass A white shell was first created into which coloured glass was then blown so as to produce an interior lining The white shell was then cut down to create relief patterns of white against a darker background They also made mosaics this way producing durable pictorial art with cut stone cubes tesserae and or chips of coloured terracotta and glass Some villas of wealthy Romans had their walls covered with frescos aimed at dazziling and entertaining guests Much of Roman wall painting that survives comes from sites around the Bay of Naples in particular Pompeii and Herculaneum thriving towns that were preserved under metres of volcanic debris when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD As a result Roman wall painting is often discussed in terms of four Pompeian styles 47 The Romans were deeply influenced by all aspects of Hellenistic culture In architecture just like in other art media they essentially adopted the Classical language and adapted it to new situations and uses The Romans also have their own innovations brought to Classical architecture They used the Doric Ionic and Corinthian orders in a far freer manner than the Greeks had creating their own version of the Doric and using the Corinthian far more frequently They also added two new orders to the repertoire the Tuscan a simpler more massive version of the Doric derived from Etruscan architecture and the Composite a combination of the scroll like volutes of the Ionic with the Corinthian s acanthus leaves Other important innovations include the arch and the dome Using arches they built aqueducts and monumental triumphal arches Roman emperors were proud of their conquests and commemorated them at home and in the conquered territories through triumphal arches a good example of this being the Arch of Constantine in Rome Between 30 and 15 BC the architect and civil and military engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio published a majore treatise De Architectura which influenced architects around the world for centuries 48 49 After the Middle Ages with the Renaissance that started in Florence Italy a growing interest for ancient Rome started During it for the first time since Classical Antiquity art became convincingly lifelike The Renaissance also sparked interest for ancient Greek and Roman literature not just for art and architecture 50 Mysteries Fresco mid 1st century BC fresco height 1 62 m Villa of the Mysteries Pompeii Italy 51 Portland Vase late 1st century BC glass height 24 cm British Museum London 52 The Maison Carree Nimes France one of the best preserved Roman temples c 2 AD Marine mosaic central panel of three panels from a floor 200 230 mosaic stone and glass tesserae 2 915 mm x 2 870 mm Museum of Fine Arts Boston US Arch of Constantine Rome that commemorates the triumph of Constantine the Great after his victory over Maxentius in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge 316 53 Islamic EditMain article Islamic art Islamic art is well known since the Middle Ages for the use of elaborate geometric patterns colourful tiles stylized natural motifs and detailed calligraphy Rarely has lettering had such a profound impact on applied arts and architecture Islam appeared in western Arabia in the 7th century AD through revelations delivered to the prophet Muhammad in Mecca Within a century of Muhammad s death the Islamic empires controlled the Middle East Spain and parts of Asia and Africa Because of this similarly with Roman art Islamic art and architecture had regional versions As the Islamic world extended into centres of late antique culture it was enriched by philosophical and intellectual movements The translation of Greek works into Arabic and advances in mathematics and science were encouraged by early caliphates This is in contrast with the modern perception that Islamic art is dogmatic and unchanging Human and animal representation wasn t rare Only certain periods restricted it similar with the Byzantine Iconoclasm 54 Perfume box 950 975 ivory height 11 7 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 55 Mihrab 961 976 stucco and glass mosaic diameter internal arch c 2 3 m Mosque Cathedral of Cordoba Cordoba Spain 55 Mosque lamp c 1285 glass enamels and gold height 26 4 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 56 Court of the Lions Alhambra Granada Spain 1362 1391 57 Ardabil Carpet 1539 1540 wool pile on silk length 10 51 m Victoria and Albert Museum London 58 Americas EditMain article Pre Columbian art Mesoamerica Edit Main articles Ancient Maya art and Aztecs Art and cultural production Some of the first great civilizations in the Americas developed in Mesoamerica meaning middle Americas the most well known being the Mayans and the Aztecs The Olmecs c 1400 400 BC were the first major civilization in modern day Mexico Many elements of Mesoamerican civilizations like the practice of building of pyramids the complex calendar the pantheon of gods and hieroglyphic writing have origins in Olmec culture They produced jade and ceramic figurines colossal heads and pyramids with temples at the top all without the advantage of metal tools For them jadeite was a stone more precious than gold and symbolized divine powers and fertility 17 Olmec colossal heads have been discovered each weighing a few tons Each head with the flattened nose and thick lips wears a helmet similar with the ones worn during official ball games possibly representing kings of officials The Maya civilization began around 1800 BC and grew until the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 1500s They occupied southeast Mexico Guatemala Belize and parts of Honduras and El Salvador The Mayans were trading with cities like Teotihuacan but also with many Mesoamerican civilizations like the Zapotecs or the other groups from central or coast areas of Mexico and also with populations that didn t inhabit Mesoamerican territories like the Taino from the Caribbean They produced impressive king portraits polychrome ceramic vessels earthenware figures wooden sculptures stelas and built complex cities with pyramids Most of the well preserved polychrome ceramic vessels were discovered in the tombs of nobles Arising from humble beginnings as a nomadic group the Aztecs created the largest empire in Mesoamerican history lasting from 1427 to 1521 They didn t call themselves Aztecs but Mexica The term Aztecs was assigned by historians They transformed the capital of their empire Tenochtitlan into a place where artists of Mesoamerica created impressive artworks for their new masters The present day Mexico City was built over the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan 59 60 61 Colossal head c 1050 BC steatite height 2 2 m Museo de Antropologia de Xalapa Xalapa Mexico 62 Seated shaman in ritual pose shaped pendant Olmec 9th 5th century BC serpentine and cinnabar height 18 5 cm Dallas Museum of Art Dallas Texas USA 62 Bat effigy Zapotec c 50 BC jadeite and shell height 28 cm National Museum of Anthropology Mexico City 63 Portrait of K inich Janaab Pakal I Maya 615 683 stucco height 43 cm National Museum of Anthropology 64 Vessel with a throne scene Maya late 7th 8th century ceramic 21 59 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City Yaxchilan Lintel 24 Maya 702 limestone 109 x 74 cm British Museum London 65 Warrior columns Toltec c 1000 basalt height c 460 cm Tula de Allende Mexico Double headed serpent Aztec c 1450 1521 cedar turquoise shell and traces of gilding length 43 3 cm British Museum 66 Coyolxauhqui Stone Aztec c 1469 1481 stone diameter 3 m Templo Mayor Museum Mexico City 66 Tlaloc effigy vessel Aztec c 1440 1469 painted earthenware height 35 cm Templo Mayor Museum 66 Colombia Edit Further information Muisca art Similarly with Mesoamerica the present day territory of Colombia is an area where multiple cultures developed before the arrival of Spanish colonizers Here gold body accessories were produced many golden ones but also many other ones made of tumbaga a non specific alloy of gold and copper given by Spanish Conquistadors to metals composed of these elements found in widespread use in pre Columbian Mesoamerica in North America and South America Animal headed figure pendant Yotoco 1st 7th century gold height 6 35 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City Lime container Quimbaya 5th 9th century gold height 23 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art Male figure tunjo Muisca 10th mid 16th century gold height 14 9 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art Pendant Tairona 10th 16th century gold height 14 cm Metropolitan Museum of ArtAndean regions Edit Further information Chavin culture Art Paracas culture Nazca culture Moche culture Material culture Sican culture Art and ideology Tiwanaku Structures and Inca empire Arts and technology Mantle Paracas 50 100 AD embroidered wool height 1 01 m Museum of Fine Arts Boston USA 67 The ancient civilizations of Peru and Bolivia nurtured unique artistic traditions including one of the world s most aesthetically impressive fibre art traditions Two of the first important cultures from this land are the Chavin and the Paracas culture The Paracas culture of the south coast of Peru is best known for its complex patterned textiles particularly mantels The Moche controlled the river valleys of the north coast while the Nazca of southern Peru held sway along the coastal deserts and contiguous mountains The Nazca are best known for the famous Nazca Lines a group of geoglyphs in a desert in southern Peru They also produced polychrome ceramics and textiles influenced by the Paracas and used a palette of at least 10 colours for their pottery Both cultures flourished around 100 800 AD Moche pottery is some of the most varied in the world In the north the Wari or Huari Empire are noted for their stone architecture and sculpture accomplishments The Chimu were preceded by a simple ceramic style known as Sican 700 900 AD The Chimu produced excellent portrait and decorative works in metal notably gold but especially silver Later the Inca Empire 1100 1533 stretched across the Andes Mountains They crafted precious metal figurines and like other civilizations from the same area complex textiles Llamas were important animals because of their wool and for carrying loads 68 69 70 The Hummingbird one of the Nazca Lines Nazca c 200 BC 600 AD rocks gravel and dirt length 50 m Nasca and Palpa Provinces Peru 71 Portrait head bottle Moche 3rd 6th century painted ceramic overall 26 35 x 16 21 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City Mosaic figurine of a noble man Wari 7th 9th century wood shell stone and silver height 10 2 cm Kimbell Art Museum Fort Worth Texas USA 72 Ceremonial knife tumi Sican 10th 13th century gold turquoise greenstone and shell height 33 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 67 Royal tunic Inca 1476 1534 camelid fibre and cotton height 91 cm Dumbarton Oaks Washington D C USA 73 Asian EditMain article Eastern art history Eastern civilization broadly includes Asia and it also includes a complex tradition of art making One approach to Eastern art history divides the field by nation with foci on Indian art Chinese art and Japanese art Due to the size of the continent the distinction between Eastern Asia and Southern Asia in the context of arts can be clearly seen In most of Asia pottery was a prevalent form of art The pottery is often decorated with geometric patterns or abstract representations of animals people or plants Other very widespread forms of art were and are sculpture and painting Central Asia Edit Main article Central Asian art Central Asian art developed in Central Asia in areas corresponding to modern Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Turkmenistan Azerbaijan Tajikistan Afghanistan Pakistan and parts of modern Mongolia China and Russia 74 75 The art of ancient and medieval Central Asia reflects the rich history of this vast area home to a huge variety of peoples religions and ways of life The artistic remains of the region show a remarkable combinations of influences that exemplify the multicultural nature of Central Asian society The Silk Road transmission of art Scythian art Greco Buddhist art Serindian art and more recently Persianate culture are all part of this complicated history Central Asia has always been a crossroads of cultural exchange the hub of the so called Silk Road that complex system of trade routes stretching from China to the Mediterranean Already in the Bronze Age 3rd and 2nd millennium BC growing settlements formed part of an extensive network of trade linking Central Asia to the Indus Valley Mesopotamia and Egypt 76 Seated figurine Bactrian 3rd 2nd millennia BC chlorite and limestone height 9 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 76 Belt buckle 3rd 1st centuries BC gold height 7 9 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 77 Goblet showing The Rape of Europa and of Ganymede part of the Bagram Treasure 1st century AD painted glass height 16 cm diameter 10 cm Guimet Museum Paris 78 Goddess and celestial musician Buddhist 7th century pigments on plaster height 2 03 m Museum of Asian Art Berlin Germany 79 Gur i Amir Mausoleum Samarkand Uzbekistan 15th century 80 Indian Edit Main article Indian art Early Buddhists in India developed symbols related to Buddha The major survivals of Buddhist art begin in the period after the Mauryans within North India Kushan art the Greco Buddhist art of Gandhara and finally the classic period of Gupta art Additionally there was the Andhra school which appeared before the Gandhara school and which was based in South India 81 Good quantities of sculpture survives from some key sites such as Sanchi Bharhut and Amaravati some of which remain in situ with others in museums in India or around the world Stupas were surrounded by ceremonial fences with four profusely carved toranas or ornamental gateways facing the cardinal directions These are in stone though clearly adopting forms developed in wood They and the walls of the stupa itself can be heavily decorated with reliefs mostly illustrating the lives of the Buddha Gradually life size figures were sculpted initially in deep relief but then free standing 82 Mathura art was the most important centre in this development which applied to Hindu and Jain art as well as Buddhist 83 The facades and interiors of rock cut chaitya prayer halls and monastic viharas have survived better than similar free standing structures elsewhere which were for long mostly in wood The caves at Ajanta Karle Bhaja and elsewhere contain early sculpture often outnumbered by later works such as iconic figures of the Buddha and bodhisattvas which are not found before 100 AD at the least The Great Stupa of Sanchi Madhya Pradesh India 3rd century c 100 BC 84 Lion Capital of Ashoka c 250 BC polished sandstone height 2 2 m Sarnath Museum India 85 Seated Buddha c 475 sandstone height 1 6 m Sarnath Museum 86 Bodhisattva Padmapani c 450 490 pigments on rock height c 1 2 m Ajanta Caves India 86 Shiva as lord of the dance c 11th century bronze height 96 cm Musee Guimet Paris 87 Kandariya Mahadeva Temple Khajuraho India c 1030 88 Durga killing the buffalo demon c 1150 argilite height 13 5 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 89 Ganesha c 14th 15th century ivory height 18 4 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 87 Basawan Akbarnama c 1590 watercolor on paper 33 x 20 cm Victoria and Albert Museum London 90 Taj Mahal Agra India an iconic example of Mughal architecture 1632 1648 91 Chinese Edit Main article Chinese art In Eastern Asia painting was derived from the practice of calligraphy and portraits and landscapes were painted on silk cloth Most of the paintings represent landscapes or portraits The most spectacular sculptures are the ritual bronzes and the bronze sculptures from Sanxingdui A very well known example of Chinese art is the Terracotta Army depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang the first Emperor of China It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210 209 BC whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife Chinese art is one of the oldest continuous traditional arts in the world and is marked by an unusual degree of continuity within and consciousness of that tradition lacking an equivalent to the Western collapse and gradual recovery of classical styles The media that have usually been classified in the West since the Renaissance as the decorative arts are extremely important in Chinese art and much of the finest work was produced in large workshops or factories by essentially unknown artists especially in Chinese ceramics The range and quality of goods that decorated Chinese palaces and households and their inhabitants is dazzling Materials came from across China and far beyond gold and silver mother of pearl ivory and rhinoceros horn wood and lacquer jade and soap stone silk and paper Buddha Pagoda Fogong Monastery Yingxian China 1056 92 Early Spring by Guo Xi 1072 hanging scroll ink on silk 1 58 x 1 08 m National Palace Museum Taipei Taiwan 93 Guanyin of the Southern Seas 11th 12th century painted and gilded wood height 2 41 m Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Kansas City Missouri USA 94 Ladies Preparing Silk after Zhang Xuan early 12th century ink and colours on silk 0 37 x 1 47 m Museum of Fine Arts Boston USA 95 Autumn Colours on the Qiao and Hua Mountains by Zhao Mengfu 1296 handscroll detail ink and colours on paper 28 4 x 93 2 cm National Palace Museum Taipei Taiwan 96 Lacquer dish with garden scene late 14th century carved red lacquer diameter 19 7 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City David Vases 1351 glazed porcelain height 63 5 cm British Museum London 97 Assistant to a judge of hell c 1522 1620 stoneware height 137 cm British Museum 98 Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests Temple of Heaven Beijing 1545 rebuilt in 1890 99 Cloisonne box 18th century cloisonne enamels on copper with gilt bronze 20 5 19 8 cm Walters Art Museum Baltimore Maryland USA Japanese Edit Main article Japanese art Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media including ancient pottery sculpture ink painting and calligraphy on silk and paper ukiyo e paintings and woodblock prints ceramics origami and more recently manga modern Japanese cartooning and comics along with a myriad of other types The first settlers of Japan the Jōmon people c 11 000 300 BC They crafted lavishly decorated pottery storage vessels clay figurines called dogu Japan has been subject to sudden invasions of new ideas followed by long periods of minimal contact with the outside world Over time the Japanese developed the ability to absorb imitate and finally assimilate those elements of foreign culture that complemented their aesthetic preferences The earliest complex art in Japan was produced in the 7th and 8th centuries in connection with Buddhism In the 9th century as the Japanese began to turn away from China and develop indigenous forms of expression the secular arts became increasingly important until the late 15th century both religious and secular arts flourished After the Ōnin War 1467 1477 Japan entered a period of political social and economic disruption that lasted for over a century In the state that emerged under the leadership of the Tokugawa shogunate organized religion played a much less important role in people s lives and the arts that survived were primarily secular Temple of the Golden Pavilion Kitayama Kyoto a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto 1398 100 Female figure c 1670 1690 porcelain with overglaze polychrome enamels height 39 7 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City Noh robe 1750 1800 silk embroidery and gold leaf on silk satin length 1 66 m Metropolitan Museum of Art 101 The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai c 1830 1832 full colour woodblock print 25 7 x 37 9 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 102 Plum Park in Kameido by Hiroshige 1857 full colour woodblock print 36 4 x 24 4 cm Rijksmuseum Amsterdam the Netherlands Sub Saharan Africa EditMain article African art Further information Igbo art Yoruba art Benin art Kuba art and Luba art Sub Saharan African art includes both sculpture typified by the brass castings of the Benin people Igbo Ukwu and the Kingdom of Ifẹ and terracottas of Djenne Jeno Ife and the more ancient Nok culture as well as folk art Concurrent with the European Middle Ages in the eleventh century AD a nation that made grand architecture gold sculpture and intricate jewelry was founded in Great Zimbabwe Impressive sculpture was concurrently being cast from brass by the Yoruba people of what is now Nigeria In the Benin Kingdom also of southern Nigeria which began around the same time elegant altar tusks brass heads plaques of brass and palatial architecture were created The Benin Kingdom was ended by the British in 1897 and little of the culture s art now remains in Nigeria Today the most significant arts venue in Africa is the Johannesburg Biennale Sub Saharan Africa is characterized by a high density of cultures Notable are the Dogon people from Mali Edo Yoruba Igbo people and the Nok civilization from Nigeria Kuba and Luba people from Central Africa Ashanti people from Ghana Zulu people from Southern Africa and Fang people from Equatorial Guinea 85 Cameroon and Gabon the Sao civilization people from Chad Kwele people from eastern Gabon Republic of the Congo and Cameroon The myriad forms of African art are components of some of the most vibrant and responsive artistic traditions in the world and are integral to the lives of African people Created for specific purposes artworks can reveal their ongoing importance through physical transformations that enhance both their appearance and their potency Many traditional African art forms are created as conduits to the spirit world and change appearance as materials are added to enhance their beauty and potency The more a work is used and blessed the more abstract it becomes with the accretion of sacrificial matter and the wearing down of original details Seated figure by Nok culture 5th century BC 5th century AD earthenware central Nigeria height 38 cm Musee du Quai Branly Paris 103 Pot from Igbo Ukwu Nigeria 9th century bronze unknown dimensions Nigerian National Museum Lagos Head of a king or dignitary by Yoruba people 12th 15th century terracotta 19 cm discovered at Ife Nigeria Ethnological Museum of Berlin Germany Seated figure by Djenne Djenno culture Mali 13th century earthenware width 29 9 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 103 Pendant mask by Edo people Nigeria 16th century ivory and iron height 24 5 cm British Museum London 104 Plaque with warriors and attendants by Edo people 16th 17th century Nigeria brass height 47 6 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art N dop king Mishe miShyaang maMbul from the Kuba Kingdom Democratic Republic of the Congo 18th century wood 49 5 cm Brooklyn Museum New York City 105 Royal mask by Bamum people Cameroon before 1880 wood copper glass beads raffia and shells height 66 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 105 Ngaad A Mwash mask by the Kuba people late 19th early 20th centuries wood shells glass beads raffia and pigment height 82 cm Detroit Institute of Arts Detroit Michigan USA 105 Headrest by Luba people 19th century wood height 18 5 cm Musee du quai Branly Paris 106 Oceania EditMain article Art of Oceania The Art of Oceania includes the geographic areas of Micronesia Polynesia Australia New Zealand and Melanesia One approach treats the area thematically with foci on ancestry warfare the body gender trade religion and tourism Unfortunately little ancient art survives from Oceania Scholars believe that this is likely because artists used perishable materials such as wood and feathers which did not survive in the tropical climate and there are no historical records to refer to most of this material The understanding of Oceania s artistic cultures thus begins with the documentation of it by Westerners such as Captain James Cook in the 18th century At the turn of the 20th century the French artist Paul Gauguin spent significant amounts of time in Tahiti living with local people and making modern art a fact that has become intertwined with Tahitian visual culture to the present day citation needed The indigenous art of Australia often looks like abstract modern art but it has deep roots in local culture The art of Oceania is the last great tradition of art to be appreciated by the world at large Despite being one of the longest continuous traditions of art in the world dating back at least fifty millennia it remained relatively unknown until the second half of the 20th century The often ephemeral materials of Aboriginal art of Australia makes it difficult to determine the antiquity of the majority of the forms of art practised today The most durable forms are the multitudes of rock engravings and rock paintings which are found across the continent In the Arnhem Land escarpment evidence suggests that paintings were being made fifty thousand years ago antedating the Palaeolithic rock paintings of Altamira amp Lascaux in Europe Hoa Hakananai a an example of a moai c 1200 AD flow lava height 242 cm British Museum London 107 Statue of A a from Rurutu probably 18th century wood height 117 cm British Museum 108 Taurapa maori canoe sternpost late 18th early 19th century wood and sheel height 148 cm Musee du Quai Branly Paris 109 Australian painting of a kangaroo totemic ancestor c 1915 painting on bark 92 5 35 5 cm Musee du Quai BranlyEuropean EditMain article Art of Europe Medieval Edit Main article Medieval art With the decline of the Roman Empire in c 300 AD the Medieval era began lasting for about a millennium until the beginning of the Renaissance in c 1400 Early Christian art begins the period followed by Byzantine art Anglo Saxon art Viking art Ottonian art Romanesque art and Gothic art with Islamic art dominating the eastern Mediterranean Medieval art grew out of the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire and Byzantium mixed with the barbarian artistic culture of northern Europe 110 In Byzantine and Gothic art of the Middle Ages the dominance of the church resulted in a large amount of religious art There was extensive use of gold in paintings which presented figures in simplified forms Byzantine Edit Main article Byzantine art The Hagia Sophia Istanbul Turkey c 532 537 BC by Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus 111 Byzantine art refers to the body of Christian Greek artistic products of the Eastern Roman Byzantine Empire 112 113 as well as the nations and states that inherited culturally from the empire Though the empire itself emerged from Rome s decline and lasted until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 114 the start date of the Byzantine period is rather clearer in art history than in political history if still imprecise Many Eastern Orthodox states in Eastern Europe as well as to some degree the Muslim states of the eastern Mediterranean preserved many aspects of the empire s culture and art for centuries afterward Surviving Byzantine art is mostly religious and with exceptions at certain periods is highly conventionalised following traditional models that translate carefully controlled church theology into artistic terms Painting in fresco illuminated manuscripts and on wood panel and especially in earlier periods mosaic were the main media and figurative sculpture very rare except for small carved ivories Manuscript painting preserved to the end some of the classical realist tradition that was missing in larger works 115 Byzantine art was highly prestigious and sought after in Western Europe where it maintained a continuous influence on medieval art until near the end of the period This was especially so in Italy where Byzantine styles persisted in modified form through the 12th century and became formative influences on Italian Renaissance art But few incoming influences affected the Byzantine style With the expansion of the Eastern Orthodox church Byzantine forms and styles spread throughout the Orthodox world and beyond 116 Influences from Byzantine architecture particularly in religious buildings can be found in diverse regions from Egypt and Arabia to Russia and Romania Byzantine architecture is notorious for the use of domes It also often featured marble columns coffered ceilings and sumptuous decoration including the extensive use of mosaics with golden backgrounds The building material used by Byzantine architects was no longer marble which was very appreciated by the Ancient Greeks They used mostly stone and brick and also thin alabaster sheets for windows Mosaics were used to cover brick walls and any other surface where fresco wouldn t resist Good examples of mosaics from the proto Byzantine era are in Hagios Demetrios in Thessaloniki Greece the Basilica of Sant Apollinare Nuovo and the Basilica of San Vitale both in Ravenna Italy and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul Greco Roman temples and Byzantine churches differ substantially in terms of their exterior and interior aspect In Antiquity the exterior was the most important part of the temple because in the interior where the cult statue of the deity to whom the temple was built was kept only the priest had access The ceremonies here held outside and what the worshipers view was the facade of the temple consisting of columns with an entablature and two pediments Meanwhile Christian liturgies were held in the interior of the churches the exterior usually having little to no ornamentation 117 118 Christ as the Good Shepherd c 425 430 mosaic width c 3 m Mausoleum of Galla Placidia Ravenna Italy 119 Diptych Leaf with a Byzantine Empress 6th century ivory with traces of gilding and leaf height 26 5 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna Austria 120 Collier late 6th 7th century gold an emerald a sapphire amethysts and pearls diameter 23 cm from a Constantinopolitan workshop Antikensammlung Berlin Berlin Germany 121 Page of the Gospel Book with Commentaries Portrait of Mark 1000 1100 ink tempera gold vellum and leather binding sheet 28 23 cm Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland Ohio US Ladder of Divine Ascent late 12th century tempera and gold leaf on panel 41 x 29 5 cm Saint Catherine s Monastery Sinai Peninsula Egypt 122 Ottonian Edit Main article Ottonian art The Essen cross with large enamels with gems and large senkschmelz enamels c 1000 Otto II by the Gregory Master Apotheosis of Otto III Liuthar Gospels Henry II being crowned by Christ from the Sacramentary of Henry II Ottonian art is a style in pre romanesque German art covering also some works from the Low Countries northern Italy and eastern France It was named by the art historian Hubert Janitschek after the Ottonian dynasty which ruled Germany and northern Italy between 919 and 1024 under the kings Henry I Otto I Otto II Otto III and Henry II 123 With Ottonian architecture it is a key component of the Ottonian Renaissance circa 951 1024 However the style neither began nor ended to neatly coincide with the rule of the dynasty It emerged some decades into their rule and persisted past the Ottonian emperors into the reigns of the early Salian dynasty which lacks an artistic style label of its own 124 In the traditional scheme of art history Ottonian art follows Carolingian art and precedes Romanesque art though the transitions at both ends of the period are gradual rather than sudden Like the former and unlike the latter it was very largely a style restricted to a few of the small cities of the period and important monasteries as well as the court circles of the emperor and his leading vassals After the decline of the Carolingian Empire the Holy Roman Empire was re established under the Saxon Ottonian dynasty From this emerged a renewed faith in the idea of Empire and a reformed Church creating a period of heightened cultural and artistic fervour It was in this atmosphere that masterpieces were created that fused the traditions from which Ottonian artists derived their inspiration models of Late Antique Carolingian and Byzantine origin Surviving Ottonian art is very largely religious in the form of illuminated manuscripts and metalwork and was produced in a small number of centres for a narrow range of patrons in the circle of the Imperial court as well as important figures in the church However much of it was designed for display to a wider public especially of pilgrims 125 The style is generally grand and heavy sometimes to excess and initially less sophisticated than the Carolingian equivalents with less direct influence from Byzantine art and less understanding of its classical models but around 1000 a striking intensity and expressiveness emerge in many works as a solemn monumentality is combined with a vibrant inwardness an unworldly visionary quality with sharp attention to actuality surface patterns of flowing lines and rich bright colours with passionate emotionalism 126 Romanesque Edit Main article Romanesque art The Romanesque was the first pan European style to emerge after the Roman Empire spanning the mid tenth century to the thirteenth The period saw a resurgence of monumental stone structures with complex structural programmes Romanesque churches are characterized by rigid articulation and geometric clarity incorporated into a unified volumetric whole The architecture is austere but enlivened by decorative sculpting of capitals and portals as well as frescoed interiors Geometric and foliate patterning gives way to increasingly three dimensional figurative sculpture St Michael s Church Hildesheim Germany 1001 1030 is seen as a Proto Romanesque church 127 From the mid eleventh to the early thirteenth centuries Romanesque paintings were two dimensional defined by bold linear outlines and geometry particularly in the handling of drapery symmetry and frontality were emphasised Virtually all Western churches were painted but probably only a few wall painters were monks instead itinerant artists carried out most of this work Basic blocking out was done on wet plaster with earth colours A limited palette dominated by white red yellow ochres and azure was employed for maximum visual effect with dense colouring forming a backdrop of bands a practice that originated in late Classical art as an attempt to distinguish earth and sky During the later eleventh and twelfth centuries the great age of Western monasticism Europe experienced unprecedented economic social and political change leading to burgeoning wealth among landowners including monasteries There was increasing demand for books and economic wealth allowed many manuscripts to be richly illuminated One of the outstanding artefacts of the age is the 70 m long Bayeux Tapestry 128 129 130 It depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England with protagonists William Duke of Normandy and Harold Earl of Wessex later King of England and culminating in the Battle of Hastings It is thought to date from the 11th century It tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans but is now agreed to have been made in England most likely by women although the designer is unknown It is housed in France Holy Face 904 1018 wood with polychromy height 2 9 m Sansepolcro Cathedral Sansepolcro Italy 131 Speyer cathedral Speyer Germany 1030 1106 132 Maria Laach Abbey Rhineland Palatinate Germany 1093 1230 133 Head of pope Alexander 1145 wood silver gilt bronze gems pearls and champleve enamel height c 45 cm Art amp History Museum Brussels Belgium 134 The stoning of Saint Stephen 1160s fresco height 1 3 m Saint John Abbey Val Mustair Canton of Grisons Switzerland 135 Manuscript Illumination with Initial V from a Bible c 1175 1195 tempera on parchment 27 5 x 15 2 cm Metropolitan Museum of ArtGothic Edit Main article Gothic art Gothic art developed in Northern France out of Romanesque in the 12th century AD and led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture It spread to all of Western Europe and much of Southern and Central Europe never quite effacing more classical styles in Italy In the late 14th century the sophisticated court style of International Gothic developed which continued to evolve until the late 15th century The imposing Gothic cathedrals with their sculptural programmes and stained glass windows epitomize the Gothic style 136 It differs from Romanesque through its rib shaped vaults and the use of ogives Instead of the thick Romanesque walls Gothic buildings are thin and tall Spiral stairs in towers are specific to Gothic architecture 137 Gothic painting much of it executed in tempera and later oils on panel as well as fresco and with an increasingly broad palette of secondary colours is generally seen as more naturalistic than Romanesque The humanity of religious narrative was highlighted and the emotional state of the characters individualized 138 The increased urbanity of the medieval economy and the rise of the clerical and lay patron saw a change in the nature of the art market which can be seen in developments in Gothic manuscript illumination Workshops employed specialists for different elements of the page such as figures or marginal vine motifs 139 North transept windows c 1230 1235 stained glass diameter rose window 10 2 m Chartres Cathedral Chartres France 140 The Sainte Chapelle Paris 1243 1248 by Pierre de Montreuil 141 Ekkehard and Uta attributed to the Master of Namburg 1245 1260 limestone and polychromy height c 1 9 m Naumburg Cathedral Naumburg Germany 142 Arrest of Christ and Annunciation of the Virgin by Jean Pucelle 1324 1328 grisaille and temprea on vellum 8 9 x 12 4 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 139 The Wilton Diptych c 1395 1459 tempera and gold on panel 53 37 cm National Gallery London 138 Renaissance Edit Main article Renaissance art Encompassing Early Northern and High Renaissance the term Renaissance describes the rebirth in Europe of a new interest for Classical antiquity For the first time since antiquity art became convincingly lifelike Besides the ancient past Renaissance artists also studied nature understanding the human body animals plants space perspective and the qualities of light The most common theme were religious subjects but depictions of mythological stories were produced as well Also there was no uniform Renaissance style Each artist developed their own distinct visual language influenced by their predecessors and contemporaries The Early Renaissance was a period of great creative and intellectual activity when artists broke away completely from the parameters of Byzantine art It is generally accepted that it started in Florence in present day Italy in the early 15th century It is characterized by a surge of interest in classical literature philosophy and art the growth of commerce the discovery of new continents and new inventions There was a revival of interest in the art and literature of ancient Rome and the study of ancient Greek and Latin texts instigated concepts of individualism and reason which became known as humanism Humanists considered life in the present and emphasized the importance of individual thought which affected artists approaches Despite being highly associated with Italy particularly with Florence Rome and Venice the rest of Western Europe participated to the Renaissance as well 143 The Northern Renaissance occurred in Europe north of the Alps from the early 15th century following a period of artistic cross fertilization between north and south known as International Gothic There was a big difference between the Northern and Italian Renaissance The North artists did not seek to revive the values of ancient Greece and Rome like the Italians while in the south Italian artists and patrons were amazed by the empirical study of nature and the human society and by the deep colors that northern artists could achieve in the newly developed medium of oil paint The Protestant Reformation increased the northern interest in secular painting like portraits or landscapes Two key northern artists are Hieronymus Bosch known for his surreal paintings filled with hybrid creatures like The Garden of Earthly Delights and Albrecht Durer who brought the new art of printmaking to a new level The High Renaissance took place in the late 15th early 16th centuries and was influenced by the fact that as papal power stabilized in Rome several popes commissioned art and architecture determined to recreate the city s former glory Raphael and Michelangelo produced vast and grandiose projects for the popes The most famous artwork of this part of the Renaissance is probably the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel Mannerism broke away from High Renaissance ideals of harmony and a rational approach to art to embrace exaggerated forms elongated proportions and more vibrant colors It developed in Italy between 1510 and 1520 among artists who prized originality above all The name of this movement comes from the Italian maniera meaning style or manner The word was meant to describe the standard of excellence achieved during the High Renaissance to which all art should now adhere but in practice it led to stylization and art to show art sometimes with great success an example being Raphael s pupil Giulio Romano Mannerism has also been used more generally to describe a period following the Renaissance and preceding the Baroque 144 The Florence Cathedral Florence Italy 1294 1436 by Arnolfo di Cambio Filippo Brunelleschi and Emilio De Fabris 145 Crucifix by Giotto c 1300 tempera on panel 5 78 x 4 06 m Santa Maria Novella Florence Italy 146 Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck 1434 oil on panel 82 2 x 60 cm National Gallery London 147 David by Donatello c 1460s bronze height 1 6 m Bargello Florence 148 Saint George and the Dragon by Paolo Uccello c 1470 oil on canvas 55 6 x 74 2 cm National Gallery London 149 Primavera by Sandro Botticelli c 1478 tempera on panel 2 x 3 1 m Uffizi Gallery Florence 150 The Tempietto San Pietro in Montorio Rome 1502 by Donato Bramante 151 Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci c 1503 1519 oil on poplar panel 77 53 cm Louvre 152 The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch c 1504 oil on panel 2 2 x 1 95 m Museo del Prado Madrid Spain 153 Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo 1508 1512 fresco 13 7 x 39 m Sistine Chapel Vatican City 154 The School of Athens by Raphael 1509 1510 fresco 5 8 x 8 2 m Apostolic Palace Vatican City 155 The Rhinoceros by Albrecht Durer 1515 woodcut 23 5 29 8 cm National Gallery of Art Washington D C USA Chateau d Azay le Rideau Loire France 1518 1527 156 The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder 1563 oil on panel 1 14 x 1 55 m Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna Austria 157 Cupboard c 1580 walnut and oak partially gilded and painted height 2 06 m width 1 50 m Louvre 158 Baroque Edit Main article Baroque See also Style Louis XIV The Palace of Versailles Versailles France one of the most iconic Baroque buildings c 1660 1715 by Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin Mansart The Marble Court The Salon d Hercule The Royal Chapel The Hall of Mirrors The gardens The 17th century was a period of volatile change both in science through inventions and developments such as the telescope or the microscope and in religion as the Catholic Counter Reformation contested the growing popularity of Protestant faith After the Protestant Reformation the Catholic Church reacted with the Counter Reformation decreeing that art should inspire viewers with passionate religious themes Succeeding Mannerism and developing as a result of religious tensions across Europe Baroque art emerged in the late 16th century The name may derive from barocco the Portuguese word for misshaped pearl and it describes art that combined emotion dynamism and dramawith powerful color realism and strong tonal contrasts Between 1545 and 1563 at the Council of Trent it was decided that religious art must encourage piety realism and accuracy and by attracting viewers attention and empathy glorify the Catholic Church and strengthen the image of Catholicism In the next century the radical new styles of Baroque art both embraced and developed High Renaissance models and broke new ground both in religious art and in new varieties of secular art above all landscape The Baroque and its late variant the Rococo were the first truly global styles in the arts dominating more than two centuries of art and architecture in Europe Latin America and beyond from circa 1580 to circa 1750 Born in the painting studios of Bologna and Rome in the 1580s and 1590s and in Roman sculptural and architectural ateliers in the second and third decades of the 17th century the Baroque spread swiftly throughout Italy Spain and Portugal Flanders France the Netherlands England Scandinavia and Russia as well as to central and eastern European centres from Munich Germany to Vilnius Lithuania The Portuguese Spanish and French empires and the Dutch treading network had a leading role in spreading the two styles into the Americas and colonial Africa and Asia to places such as Lima Mozambique Goa and the Philippines Just like paintings and sculptures Baroque cathedrals and palaces are characterised by the use of illusion and drama as well They also frequently use dramatic effects of light and shade and have sumptuous highly decorated interiors that blurred the boundaries between architecture painting and sculpture Another important characteristic of Baroque architecture was the presence of dynamism done through curves Solomonic columns and ovals In France Baroque is synonymous with the reign of Louis XIV between 1643 and 1715 since multiple monumental buildings were built in Paris Versailles and other parts of France during his rule such as the Palace of Versailles the Chateau de Maisons the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte the Louvre Colonnade or The Dome des Invalides Besides the building itself the space where it was placed has a role too Baroque buildings try to seize viewers attention and to dominate their surroundings whether on a small scale such as the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome or on a massive one like the new facade of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral designed to tower over the city Applied arts prospered during this period as well Baroque furniture could be as bombastic as the rooms they were meant to adorn and their motifs and techniques were carefully calibrated to coordinate with the architect s overall decorative programme One of the most prestigious furniture makers was Andre Charles Boulle known for his marquetry technique made by gluing sheets of tortoiseshell and brass together and cut to form the design His works were also adorned with gilded bronze mounts Complex Gobelins tapestries featured scenes inspired by classical antiquity and the Savonnerie manufactory produced big highly detailed carpets for the Louvre These carpets with black or yellow backgrounds had a central motif or a medallion Chinese porcelain Delftware and mirrors fabricated at Saint Gobain France spread rapidly in all princely palaces and aristocratic residences in France During the reign of Louis XIV big mirrors are put above fireplace mantels and this trend will last long after the Baroque period 159 The Four Continents by Peter Paul Rubens c 1615 oil on canvas 209 x 284 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna Austria Chateau de Maisons France by Francois Mansart 1630 1651 160 The Rape of the Sabine Women by Nicolas Poussin 1634 1635 oil on canvas 1 55 2 1 m Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City 161 The Night Watch by Rembrandt 1642 oil on canvas 3 63 4 37 m Rijksmuseum Amsterdam the Netherlands 162 Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini 1647 1652 marble height 3 5 m Santa Maria della Vittoria Rome 163 Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez 1656 oil on canvas 3 18 cm 2 76 m Museo del Prado Madrid Spain 164 Vanitas Still Life by Maria van Oosterwijck 1668 oil on canvas 73 x 88 5 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum 165 Carpet with fame and fortitude by the Savonnerie manufactory 1668 1685 knotted and cut wool pile woven with about 90 knots per square inch 909 3 x 459 7 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art Dome des Invalides Paris 1677 1706 by Jules Hardouin Mansart 166 Commode by Andre Charles Boulle c 1710 1732 walnut veneered with ebony and marquetry of engraved brass and tortoiseshell gilt bronze mounts antique marble top 87 6 x 128 3 x 62 9 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art 167 Rococo Edit Main article Rococo See also Style Louis XV Coiffure a l Independance ou Le Triomphe de la Liberte 1778 depicting a fashionable aristocratic woman is applying the finishing touches to her toilette 168 Originating in c 1720 Paris Rococo is characterized by natural motifs soft colours curving lines asymmetry and themes including love nature and light hearted entertainment Its ideals were delicacy gaiety youthfulness and sensuality Beginning in France as a reaction against the heavy Baroque grandeur of Louis XIV s court at the Palace of Versailles the rococo movement became associated particularly with the powerful Madame de Pompadour 1721 1764 the mistress of the new king Louis XV 1710 1774 Because of this the style was also known as Pompadour The name of the movement derives from the French rocaille or pebble and refers to stones and shells that decorate the interiors of caves as similar shell forms became a common feature in Rococo design It began as a design and decorative arts style and was characterized by elegant flowing shapes Architecture followed and then painting and sculpture The French painted with whom the term Rococo is most often associated is Jean Antoine Watteau whose pastoral scenes or fetes galantes dominate the early part of the 18th century Although there are some important Bavarian churches in this style such as the Wieskirche Rococo is most often associated with secular buildings principally great palaces and salons where educated elites would meet to discuss literary and philosophical ideas In Paris its popularity coincided with the emergence of the salon as a new type of social gathering the venues for which were often decorated in the Rococo style Among the most characteristically elegant and refined examples is the Salon Oval de la Princesse of the Hotel de Soubise one of the most beautiful 18th century mansions in Paris The Rococo introduced dramatic changes to elite furniture as it favoured smaller pieces with narrow sinewy frames and more delicate often asymmetrical decoration often including elements of chinoiserie The taste for Far Eastern objects mainly Chinese lead to the use of Chinese painted and lacquered panels for furniture The movement spread quickly throughout Europe and as far as Ottoman Turkey and China thanks to ornament books featuring cartouches arabesques and shell work as well as designs for wall panels and fireplaces The most popular were made by Juste Aurele Meissonnier 1695 1750 Jacques Francois Blondel 1705 1774 Pierre Edme Babel 1720 1775 and Francois de Cuvillies 1695 1768 169 The Embarkation for Cythera by Jean Antoine Watteau 1718 oil on canvas 1 29 x 1 94 m Schloss Charlottenburg 170 The Salon Oval de la Princesse of the Hotel de Soubise Paris 1737 1739 by Germain Boffrand Charles Joseph Natoire and Jean Baptiste Lemoyne 171 Candelabrum by Jean Joseph de Saint Germain c 1750 gilt bronze overall 72 4 x 49 3 x 39 7 cm Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland Ohio USA Fire by Jean Pierre Defrance c 1750 1760 limestone height 223 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City Side table commode en console by Bernard II van Risamburgh c 1755 1760 Japanese lacquer gilt bronze mounts and Sarrancolin marble top height 90 2 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art Madame de Pompadour by Francois Boucher 1756 oil on canvas 2 01 x 1 57 m Alte Pinakothek Munich Germany 171 Coffeepot 1757 silver height 29 5 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art Covered tureen terrine du roi by the Manufacture nationale de Sevres 1756 soft paste porcelain with enamel and gilt decoration overall 24 2 cm Cleveland Museum of Art The Swing by Jean Honore Fragonard 1767 oil on canvas 81 x 64 cm Wallace Collection London 171 Marie Antoinette with the Rose by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun 1783 oil on canvas 130 x 87 cm Palace of Versailles Versailles France Neoclassicism Edit Main article Neoclassicism Oath of the Horatii by Jacques Louis David 1784 oil on canvas Louvre 172 Inspired by the excavations of the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum from 1748 a renewed interest in the arts of antiquity occurred Neoclassicism dominates Western art from the mid to late 18th century until the 1830s Embracing order and restraint it developed in reaction to the perceived frivolity hedonism and decadence of Rococo and exemplifying the rational thinking of the Age of Enlightenment aka the Age of Reason Initially the movement was developed not by artists but by Enlightenment philosophers They requested replacing Rococo with a style of rational art moral and dedicated to the soul 173 This fitted well with a perception of Classical art as the embodiment of realism restraint and order Inspired by ancient Greek and Roman art the classical history paintings of the French artist Nicolas Poussin 1594 1665 and the ideas of the German writer Anton Raphael Mengs 1728 1779 and the archaeologist and art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann 1717 1768 Neoclassicism began in Rome but soon spread throughout Europe Rome had become the main focus of the Grand Tour by the mid 18th century and aristocratic travellers went there in search of Classical visions to recreate on their country estates thus spreading the style across Europe particularly in England and France The tour was also an opportunity for collecting Classical antiquities Neoclassical paintings tended to be populated with figures posed like Classical statues or reliefs set in a locations filled with archaeological details The style favoured Greek art over Roman considering it purer and more authentically classical in its aesthetic goal In 1789 France was on the brink of its first revolution and Neoclassicism sought to express their patriotic feelings Politics and art were closely entwined during this period They believed that art should be serious and valued drawings above painting smooth contours and paint with no discernible brushstrokes were the ultimate aim Both painting and sculpture exerted calmness and restraint and focused on heroic themes expressing such noble notions as self sacrifice and nationalism This movement paved the way for Romanticism that appeared when the idealism of the revolution faded away and after the Napoleonic period came to an end in the early 19th century Neoclassicism should not be seen as the opposite of Romanticism however but in some ways an early manifestation of it 174 175 Fantasy View with the Pantheon and other Monuments of Ancient Rome by Giovanni Paolo Panini 1737 oil on canvas Museum of Fine Arts Houston USA The ancient Capitol ascended by approximately one hundred steps by Giovanni Battista Piranesi c 1750 etching Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City Hotel de la Marine Paris by Ange Jacques Gabriel 1761 1770 176 Petit Trianon Versailles France by Ange Jacques Gabriel 1764 177 A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery by Joseph Wright of Derby c 1766 oil on canvas Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby England 178 The Hall Osterley Park London by Robert Adam 1767 179 The Artist and her Daughter by Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun c 1785 oil on canvas Louvre 180 Washstand athenienne or lavabo 1800 1814 legs base and shelf of yew wood gilt bronze mounts iron plate beneath shelf Metropolitan Museum of Art Portrait of Charlotte du Val d Ognes by Marie Denise Villers 1801 oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art 181 The Three Graces by Antonio Canova 1813 1816 marble Hermitage Museum Saint Petersburg Russia 182 Western art after 1770 Edit The Ghost of a Flea by William Blake 1819 tempera with gold on panel 21 4 16 2 cm Tate Britain London Many art historians place the origins of modern art in the late 18th century others in the mid 19th century Art historian H Harvard Arnason stated a gradual metamorphosis took place in the course of a hundred years 183 Events such as the age of enlightenment revolutions and democracies in America and France and the Industrial Revolution had far reaching affects in western culture People commodities ideas and information could travel between countries and continents with unprecedented speed and these changes were reflected in the arts The invention of photography in the 1830s further altered certain aspects of art particularly painting By the dawn of the 19th century a long and gradual paradigm shift was complete from the Gothic when artists were viewed as craftsmen in the service of the church and monarchies to the idea of art for art s sake where the ideas and visions of the individual artist were held in the high regard with patronage from an increasingly literate affluent and urban middle and upper class population that had been emerging for 200 years particularly in Paris and London A dichotomy began in the late 18th century between neoclassicism and romanticism that subdivided and continued to run through virtually every new movement in modern art Spreading like waves these isms defy national ethnic and chronological boundaries never dominant anywhere for long they compete or merge with each other in endlessly shifting patterns 184 Modern art has consistently moved toward international influences and exchanges from the exotic curiosity of Orientalism the deeper influence of Japonisme to the arts of Oceania Africa and the Americas Conversely modern art has increasingly extended beyond western Europe In Russia and the USA the arts were developing to a degree that rivaled the leading European countries by the end of the 19th century Many of the major movements appeared in Latin America Australia and Asia too and geography and nationality became increasingly insignificant with each passing decade By the 20th century important and influential artists were emerging around the world e g Foujita Japan Arshile Gorky Armenia Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Mexico Wifredo Lam Cuba Edvard Munch Norwegian Roberto Matta Chilean Mark Rothko Lithuanian American Fernando Botero Angulo Colombia Constantin Brancuși and Victor Brauner Romania 185 186 187 188 189 Newton s Cenotaph exterior by night by Etienne Louis Boullee 1784 ink and wash 40 2 63 3 cm Bibliotheque Nationale The Dog Francisco de Goya ca 1819 1823 mural transferred to canvas 131 5 79 3 cm Museo del Prado Death on a Pale Horse J M W Turner c 1830 oil on canvas 60 76 cm Tate Britain Toothless Man Laughing Charles Philipon form Celebrites du Juste milieu Honore Daumier 1832 33 painted clay 6 12 high Musee d Orsay Still life with statue of Jupiter Tonans by Louis Jacques Daguerre c 1839 daguerreotype19th century Edit Romanticism c 1790 1880 Edit Main article Romanticism Visual arts English landscape garden at Stourhead the UK the 1740s by Henry Hoare 190 Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich Romanticism emerged in the late 18th century out of the German Sturm und Drang movement and flourished in the first half of the 19th century with significant and international manifestations in music literature and architecture as well as the visual arts It grew from a disillusionment with the rationalism of 18th century Enlightenment Despite being often viewed as the opposite of Neoclassicism there were some stylistic overlapping with both movements and many Romantic artists were excited by classicism The movement focused on intense emotions imagination and on the impressive power of nature a bigger and more powerful force than the one of men with its potential for disaster Neoclassicism is a new revival of classical antiquity while Romanticism refers not to a specific style but to an attitude of mind that may reveal itself in any number of ways 191 One of the earliest expressions of romanticism was in the English landscape garden carefully designed to appear natural and standing in dramatic contrast to the formal gardens of the time The concept of the natural English garden was adopted throughout Europe and America in the following decades In architecture the romantics frequently turned to alternative sources other than the Greek and Roman examples admired by the neo classicist Romantic architecture often revived Gothic forms and other styles such as exotic eastern models The Palace of Westminster Houses of Parliament London is an example of romantic architecture that is also referred to as Gothic Revival 191 In painting romanticism is exemplified by the paintings of Francisco Goya in Spain Eugene Delacroix and Theodore Gericault in France William Blake Henry Fuseli Samuel Palmer and William Turner in England Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge in Germany Francesco Hayez in Italy Johan Christian Claussen Dahl in Norway and Thomas Cole in America Examples of sculptors of the romantic period include Antoine Louis Barye Jean Baptiste Carpeaux Auguste Preault and Francois Rude As romanticism ran its course some aspects of the movement evolved into symbolism 192 193 188 194 195 Elohim Creating Adam by William Blake 1795 color print finished in ink and watercolour on paper 43 1 53 6 cm Tate Britain London 196 The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya 1814 oil on canvas 2 68 3 47 m Museo del Prado Madrid Spain 197 The Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault 1819 oil on canvas 4 91 7 16 m Louvre 198 The Death of Sardanapalus by Eugene Delacroix 1827 oil on canvas 3 92 4 96 m Louvre 199 Palace of Westminster London 1840 1870 by Sir Charles Barry and A Welby Pugin 200 Schwerin Castle Mecklenburg Vorpommern Germany 1845 1857 by Gottfried Semper Friedrich August Stuler Georg Adolf Demmler and Ernst Friedrich Zwirner Neuschwanstein Castle Bavaria Germany 1869 1886 by Eduard RiedelAcademism Edit Main article Academic art Academism is the codification of art into rules that can be learned in art academies It promotes the Classical ideals of beauty and artistic perfection There was also a very strict hierarchy of subjects At the top there were paintings that depicted historic events including the biblical and Classical ones followed by the portrait and by the landscape At the bottom of the hierarchy were still life and genre painting Nicolas Poussin was the artist whose works and theories played the most significant role in the development of academism The vales of academism were situated in the centre of the Enlightenment project of discovering the basic principles and ideals of art During the 18th century across all Europe many academies were founded that will later dominate the art of the 19th century In order to study at an art academy young artist had to take an admission exam and after being admitted they would study there for multiple years Most of the 19th century French art movements were exterior or even opposing the values of academism Some of the most important artists of the French academy were William Bouguereau 1825 1905 Jean Leon Gerome 1824 1904 Alexandre Cabanel 1823 1889 and Thomas Couture 1815 1879 Academic art is closely related to Beaux Arts architecture which developed in the same place and holds to a similar classicizing ideal The Beaux Arts style takes its name from the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris where it developed and where many of the main exponents of the style studied 201 202 Palais Garnier Paris 1860 1875 by Charles Garnier 203 Pollice Verso Thumbs Down by Jean Leon Gerome 1872 oil on canvas height 96 5 cm Phoenix Art Museum Phoenix Arizona USA The Birth of Venus by William Adolphe Bouguereau 1879 oil on canvas 300 x 215 cm Musee d Orsay Paris 204 Phaedra by Alexandre Cabanel 1880 oil on canvas 194 x 286 cm Musee Fabre Montpellier France 205 The Roses of Heliogabalus by Lawrence Alma Tadema 1888 oil on canvas 1 3 x 2 1 m private collection of Juan Antonio Perez Simon 206 Revivalism and Eclecticism Edit When it comes to architecture and applied arts the 19th century is best known as the century of revivals One of the most well known revivalist styles is the Gothic Revival or Neo Gothic which first appeared in the mid 18th century in a few houses in England like the Strawberry Hill House in London However these houses were isolated cases since the beginning of the 19th century was dominated by Neoclassicism Later between 1830 and 1840 a taste and nostalgia for the rediscovery of past styles ranging from the Middle Ages to the 18th century developed under the influence of romanticism Approximatively until World War I rehashes of the past dominated the world of architecture and applied arts Associations between styles and building types appeared for example Egyptian for prisons Gothic for churches or Renaissance Revival for banks and exchanges These choices were the result of other associations the pharaohs with death and eternity the Middle Ages with Christianity or the Medici family with the rise of banking and modern commerce Sometimes these styles were also seen in a nationalistic way on the idea that architecture might represent the glory of a nation Some of them were seen as national styles like the Gothic Revival in the UK and the German states or the Romanian Revival in Romania Augustus Pugin called the Gothic style the absolute duty 207 of the English architect despite the fact that the style is of French origin This way architecture and the applied arts were used to grant the aura of a highly idealized glorious past Some architects and designers associated historic styles especially the medieval ones with an idealized fantasy organic life which they put in comparison with the reality of their time 208 Despite revivalism being so prevalent this doesn t mean that there was no originality in these works Architects ebenistes and other craftsmen especially during the second half of the 19th century created mixes of styles by extracting and interpreting elements specific to certain eras and areas This practice is known as eclecticism This stylistic development occurred during a period when the competition of World s Fairs motivated many countries to invent new industrial methods of creation Egyptian Revival Coin cabinet 1809 1819 mahogany probably Swietenia mahagoni with applied and inlaid silver 90 2 x 50 2 x 37 5 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art Gothic Revival Pair of vases manufactured in 1832 decorated in 1844 hard paste porcelain 36 4 x 32 7 x 20 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art Eclectic Eglise Saint Augustin de Paris 1860 1868 by Victor Baltard Renaissance Revival Buffet by Henri Auguste Fourdinois Nivillier Party Hugues Protat Primo and Maigret 1867 walnut jasper and lapis lazuli marquetry and ivory and silver inlayed interior unknown dimensions Musee des Arts Decoratifs Paris Rococo Revival Apartment building no 8 on Rue de Miromesnil Paris 1900 by P LobrotRealism c 1830 1890 Edit Main article a, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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