Ch. 1- Art before History

Ch. 1‐ Art before History
What does “art before history” mean?
Prehistoric Europe & the Near East
Overview
• Paleolithic Art introduces the capability of humankind. – Representational images appear in Asia, Africa & Europe.
• Cave dwellers created a fixed environment which identified their time and space.
• Cave dwellers possibly invented symbols to ritualize their domain and give birth to the beginnings of understanding the world around them. – They created the “hunt” on cave walls & began the art of representation.
Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism ‐ the attribution of human form or behavior to a deity, animal, etc ‐ human body (male/female?) & feline head
‐ purpose/function?
Human with feline head, from Hohlenstein‐Stadel, Germany, ca. 30,000–28,000 BCE. Mammoth ivory, 11 5/8” high. Ulmer Museum, Ulm. Animals are the most common
subject in Prehistoric Art
Animal facing left, from the Apollo 11 Cave, Namibia, ca. 23,000 BCE. Charcoal on stone, 5” X 4 1/4”. State Museum of Namibia, Windhoek. Female Figurines
Nude woman (Venus of Willendorf), from Willendorf, Austria, ca. 28,000–25,000 BCE. Limestone, 4 1/4” high. Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna.
What is known about this Venus?
Function?
Features?
Why is it called “Venus”? Is that a contemporary term or one used by its creators?
Female Figurines
Woman holding a bison horn, from Laussel, France, ca. 25,000–20,000 BCE. Painted limestone, approx. 1’ 6” high. Musée d’Aquitaine, Bordeaux.
How does this differ & how is it
similar to the Venus of Willendorf?
*function
*features Based on what you know so far, what assumptions can be made about this image?
*function , location, etc
Top: Reclining woman, rock‐cut relief on the right wall of the first corridor in the middle cave at La Madeleine des Albis, France, ca. 12,000 BCE. 2’ 3 5/8” long. Bottom: Drawing of the reclining woman in the middle cave at La Magdelaine (Siegfried Giedion). Bison
Two bison, from the cave at Le Tuc
d’Audoubert, France, ca. 15,000–10,000 BCE. Clay, each 2’ long.
Twisted Perspective
Figure 1‐8
Bison with turned head, from La Madeleine, France, ca. 12,000 BCE. Reindeer horn, 4” long.
Why is this called twisted perspective?
12,000 BCE
Twisted Perspective
Red figure vase, 440 BCE
Palette of Narmer, 3000 BCE
Cave Paintings in
France
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnSq0c7j
M‐A
Layout, Lascaux
Hall of Bulls
Spotted horses and negative hand imprints, wall painting in the cave at Pech‐Merle, France, ca. 22,000 BCE. 11’ 2” long.
Compare + Contrast
cave at Pech‐Merle, 22,000 BCE
“Chinese horse,” detail of the left wall in the Axial Gallery of the cave at Lascaux, France, ca. 15,000–
13,000 BCE. Horse, 4’ 11” long.
Cave Painting in Spain
Bison, detail of a painted ceiling in the cave at Altamira, Spain, ca. 12,000–11,000 BCE. Altamira Cave
New Subjects Appear….
Rhinoceros, wounded man and disemboweled bison, painting in the well of the cave at Lascaux, France ca. 15,000 – 13,000 BCE. What event is being represented? Can it be considered a narrative? Meaning of the depiction?
Neolithic Art
• The Neolithic is marked by the beginning of domesticated crops and animals and the development of crafts
– This was impossible before because of a nomadic lifestyle • Most significant is the invention of fired ceramics. – Food production replaced food gathering. – This is first seen in the Near East.
• Art becomes an important part of community living, describing the community and the aesthetic vision of its people.
– Neolithic art visually expressed communities’ thinking, philosophy and religion.
Permanent Structures
Great stone tower built into the settlement wall, Jericho, ca. 8000–7000 BCE
What is a possible purpose of these towers/walls? Why would such massive towers/walls
be needed?
HUMAN FIGURES
Human skull with restored features, from Jericho, ca. 7200–6700 BCE. Features modeled in plaster, painted, and inlaid with seashells. Life size. Archaeological Museum, Amman
Human figure, from Ain Ghazal, Jordan, ca. 6750–6250 BCE. Plaster, painted and inlaid with bitumen, 3’ 5 3/8” high. Louvre, Paris
7500 B.C. to 5700 B.C
Catal Huyuk, Turkey
Restored view of a section of Level VI, Çatal Huyük, Turkey, ca. 6000–5900 BCE (John Swogger).
Landscapes
Landscape with volcanic eruption (?), watercolor copy of a wall painting from Level VII, Çatal Huyük, Turkey, ca. 6150 BCE.
Compare + Contrast Neolithic Artists Developments
1. Function, 2. Evolution of figure, 3. Individuality
6750–6250 BCE 25,000‐20,000 BCE 28,000‐25,000 BCE
Compare + Contrast
Neolithic Artists Developments
1. Content, 2. Painting technique
Lascaux, 15,000 – 13,000 BCE
Deer hunt, detail of a wall painting from Level III, Çatal Huyük, Turkey, ca. 5750 BCE. Monumental Architecture
Western Europe
Hagar Qim is thought to date ca. 3600 to 3200 BCE. Unlike most other Maltese temples, it is a single temple rather than a complex of two or three. Aerial view of the ruins of Hagar Qim, Malta
Ireland
Gallery leading to the main chamber of the passage grave, Newgrange, Ireland, ca. 3200 – 2500 BCE. Scotland
House 1, Skara Brae, Scotland, ca. 3100–2500 BCE.
England
How did our ancestors manage to carry the mighty stones from so far away and then, using only the most primitive of tools, build this amazing structure? Was Stonehenge a temple for sun worship, a healing centre, a burial site or perhaps a huge calendar? Aerial views of Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England, ca. 2550–1600 BCE. Circle is 97' in diameter; trilithons 24' high.
Compare + Contrast
Fig. 1‐1
Aerial view of the ruins of Hagar Qim, Malta, ca. 3200‐2500 BCE.
Fig. 1‐20
Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England
2550‐1600 BCE.