1 Flashcards
aesthetics,
philosophical inquiry
into the nature and expression of beauty
art criticism
explanation of current events to the general public via the press
fine art includes
paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, and architecture – produced specifically for appreciation by an audiecne
2 modes of artistic analysis
formal, contextual
formal analysis
focuses on the visual qualities of the work itself
basic assumption of formal analysis
the artist makes decisions related to the visual aspects of the artwork that can reveal to us something about its meanings
contextual analysis
involves looking outside of the work of art (social, religious, economic) in order to determine its meaning in which the work was and continues to be consumed; includes LATER contexts
art history as an academic discipline in
mid-18th century
pliny the elder
ancient roman historian who sought to analyze historical and contemporary art in his text Natural History
Giorgio VAsari
author and artist. during the renaissance, gathered biographies of great italian artists, part and present, in The Lives of the Artists
Johann Joachim Wnckelmann
german scholar who lived during the 18th century enlightenment. shifted away from vasari’s biographical emphasis to a rigorous study of stylistic cevelopment as related to historical context
recent revision of art history
by feminist historians, who have noted that the traditional version of art history has focused largely on white men
the ancient objects that remain are those made of enduring materials such as __, __, __, as opposed to __ or __
stone, metal, fired clay
wood fibers
oldest works of art
cave paintings found in Chauvet Cave in southeastern France
when do the chauvet cave paintings date from
30,000 bce; old stone age (upper paleoithic period)
chauvet cave paintings depict
animals – mammoths, rhinos, lions, horses, buffalos
chauvet cave paintings colors
little yellow,
red ochre, black charcoal
later cave paintings (15,000 to 10,000 bce) discovered in __ and __. __ and __ most famous
france, spain
lascaux, altamira
laxcaux and altamira paintings function?
hunting ceremonies or other ritual behaviors
another well known group of artworks from old stone age.
most famous of which is
fertility figures – small stone female figures that have exaggerated bellies, breasts, and pubic areas
venus/woman of willendorf
venus of willdendorf dates from
28,000 to 25,000 bce
middle stone age aka
mesolithic period
climate during middle stone age
the climate warmed; cave dwellers moved out of their caves and began using rock shelters
rock shelter vs cave paintings
rock shelter paintings depicted the human figure