Art History

At the beginning of this semester I hardly knew any art history. Being an art major, this class has really given me a strong foundation to start my education with. I really enjoyed learning not only about paintings but also about sculpture and architecture!

Roman and Christian Art

The Pantheon

 

Built by Hadrian in 118-128 CE, the Pantheon served as a temple to all of the Olympian gods. The building has the normal looking entry of a pediment upheld by Corinthian columns, but what set it apart was the circular part of the building that came right after the entry. Built completely of concrete, the engineers were able to construct a dome atop the rotunda, which became one of the main attractions of this temple. This dome was made so mathematically well, that for years after this and other domes like it were built, people forgot and could not figure out how to duplicate a dome such as the Pantheon’s dome. Although we can all see the Pantheon’s circular features today, it wasn’t that way when it was originally built. The enclosed courtyard around the Pantheon kept the circular shape concealed until people actually walked in and noticed the rotunda and dome. Inside, the floor level consists of more Corinthian columns, plus a few statues. The domed ceiling, which takes up most of the structure, extends high into the sky and is divided up into square coffers. At the very top is a circular oculus 29 ft. in diameter that exposes the inside of the temple to the outside elements. When the sun is shining, the bright, almost heavenly light from above, combined with the open space of the building, provides a feeling of being able to rise right out of the ceiling and up into the heavens.

The Church of Hagia Sophia

 

In 532-537 CE, Byzantine Emperor Justinian I ordered the construction of the Church of Hagia Sophia, meaning “The Church of Holy Wisdom,” in order to show his earthly power and promote Christian glory. This church combined central and longitudinal planning, with a circular structure in the center, and extensions on the sides that formed a more rectangular structure. This huge structure featured a dome in the center supported by four pendentives. The dome was by far the focal point of the whole church because of the feeling that the dome was almost floating, or held up by a string. Other features of the inside of the church were mosaics of saints and angels, and above the overshadowed altar was a painting of Christ on his thrown. The heavenly and spiritual feeling evoked from the “floating” dome was reinstated by the many clarestory windows that allowed the sunshine to shine throughout the church.

When Christianity began to take over Rome, the spirituality of the citizens and leaders was not the only thing that changed. The elaborate columns and sculptures that adorned the outside of Roman buildings began to be replaced by Christian churches that were less elaborate on the outside, but made up for it on the inside. The Christian churches completely did away with the columned porches seen on many Roman temples. The churches did, however, keep the idea of the dome and circular structures, which can be seen in both the Roman Pantheon and the Christian Church of Hagia Sophia. Although much of the inside of the Roman temples cannot be seen as they were when they were built, we do know that they included life-like yet idealized sculptures of rulers and deities. In the Christian churches, there were less sculptures seen, and most were very unproportional.  The church walls were instead covered in mosaics or painting of Christ and saints that did not look quite as realistic as the art of the Romans had. 

Parthenon Project

(Her white shoes cannot be seen due to the curvature of the Parthenon)

When looking at the front of the Parthenon, it is possible to notice the slight horizontal curvature in the stylobate. There are many theories for why the architects chose to do this. According to Stokstad, “since long, straight horizontal lines seem to sag when seen from a distance, base and entablature curve slightly upward to correct this optical illusion.” Along with that compensation theory, Pollitt also provides the exaggeration theory, in that the curvature “was intended to amplify normal optical distortion so that the temple appeared to be more immense than it actually was.” The last theory, according to Pollitt, was the tension theory. The architects could have purposely curved it to create tension in the viewer’s mind, which would then “make the structure seem vibrant, alive, and continually interesting.

Amphora Vessel

Amphora, ca. 530B.C.; Archaic; red-figure
Signed by Andokides, as potter; Attributed to the Andokides Painter (red-figure decoration); Attributed to Psiax (black-figure decoration)
Greek, Attic
Terracotta

Amphoras were usually used as large storage jars. This amphora vessel could possibly be one of the first red-figure painting, which was a much easier technique than the traditional black-figure decorations. The scene on the vessel is of Herakles and Apollo's fight over the tripod at Delphi. The top of the vessel is actually made much different than the rest because the white lip is decorated with black-figure painting. This small painting is of Herakles strangling a lion in the presence of Athena and Hermes. The style of the paintings were most likely influences by the pediments of the Siphnian Treasury at Delphi.

Egypt Project

http://prezi.com/pcei9bkrlofx/ancient-egyptian-project/

Odd Nerdum

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/feature-2004-02.html

Odd Nerdum, a painter from Norway, really lives up to his name. In a time where art is centered around abstract and cubist modernism, Nerdum still chooses to paint a few centuries off, in the Old Masters technique. Of course, being as they all think modernism is the only way to go, art critics have given Nerdum much grief over the years. The author tries to be unbiased but I believe that Paul. A Canton is most likely routing for Nerdum or his article would have been a bit more negative. I think that this article is trying to show that although art is supposed to be a type of freedom of speech and thoughts, there is still a "right" way to do it, and that it is important to fight this thought and do what we want to do. 

Greek Funerary Krater

This krater was a typical Egyptian grave marker. The outside is covered in funerary art aimed at the emotions of the survivors, and not as much the afterlife of the dead, as was done in Egyptian art. The paintings depict funerary rituals in which the deceased is shown about to be cremated (a new practice at the time) and others look on in distress at the loss of the loved one.

This ceramic krater represents the art of the geometric period in Greece. The Greeks still shared some Persian culture, and this showed with the Persian-like decorations on this krater. It fits into the geometric period because many of the subjects are painted using geometric shapes, instead of trying to make a representational painting. I think this artists and sculptor had a feel for the formal elements in art, even if they didn't know it. The dark and light of the painting is evenly balanced, and the darker being on the skinnier part really works well. The person who actually made the krater also did well in the shape of it because it really does fill its space well and doesn't look awkward.