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1
Q

Visual (formal) analysis

A

making objective, visual observations or descriptions about features of a work,
focuses on form (ex: format, scale, composition, viewpoint, space, form, line, color, light,
texture)
- Also includes analyses of the effects of visual features

2
Q

Contextual Analysis

A

trying to determine subject matter, cultural characteristics, and historical significance; the
time/place in which a work was created, why and by whom it was made, how it originally
functioned; the interpretation of subject matter

3
Q

style/representational mode

A

shared characteristics between artists working in the same time/place

4
Q

iconography

A

the subject matter of images

5
Q

iconographic analysis

A

the interpretation of the subject matter’s meaning; finding the purpose beyond the aesthetic

6
Q

Mexica artists, Templo Mayor, c. 1400–1521, in Tenochtitlan, Mexico City. Mixed-Media.

A

Dedicated to 2 main deities (Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli)
- Reconstructed during 7 main building phases
- Located in the sacred precinct at the heart of the city, which was at the center of 4 quadrants
- Symbolized “atl-tlachinolli” meaning burnt water, which connotated warfare, the primary way
of gaining power/wealth
- Huitzilopochtli Temple: sacrificial stone, standard-bearer figures, serpent balustrades,
Coyoxauhqui monolith found at base of stairs
- Tlaloc temple: chacmool (a male figure holding a vessel to receive offerings), altar of the
frogs, symbolizes the mountain of sustenance, which was a fertile mountain that produced
high amounts of rain
- After the Spanish conquest the temple was destroyed and the remains were buried
- Each ruler was responsible for growing the temple
- The temple was restricted to rulers and high priests
- Meant to commemorate the origin story but also aid in the reenactment of the origin story
every year

7
Q

Mexica artist, Coyolxauhqui Monolith (She of the Golden Bells), from Tenochtitlán, Mexico
City, Mexico, ca. 1469. Stone

A

Relates to the myth of the birth of Huitzilopochtli (born from immaculate conception)
- Portrays the moment after Huitzilopochtli banished Coyoxauhqui and threw her body down
the mountain for attempting to kill their mother along with her brothers
- By placing the stone at the base of the temple, the Mexica effectively transformed the temple
into Coatepec
- Used to be painted in many colors
- Portrayed as naked = symbol of humility and defeat
- Jewelry indicates her of high status
- Rolls in her stomach were a symbol of motherhood
- Pinwheel composition = chaotic motion

8
Q

Spolia

A

the Spanish reused the remaining stones of the indigenous buildings/structures they conquered and destroyed to build their own structures (ex: the Templo Mayor)

9
Q

Mexica aesthetic

A

Time: begins 1375, transforms/adapts after 1521 (post-Columbian)
- Representational mode: interest in abstraction but also in the natural world (curvilinear,
smooth, monochromatic, 3D carving, natural stone) *use of the natural world to make
characters that don’t exist in the natural world
- Important subject/these: Tlaloc, religion, warfare
- Context: religious setting, offertory, pre-Columbian

10
Q

Tlaloc

A

the Aztec rain and agriculture god

11
Q

Huitzilopochtli

A

the patron deity of the Mexica; “hummingbird”; lead the Mexica to the Valley of Mexico and Lake Texoco

12
Q

Coyolxauhqui

A

the sister of Huitzilopochtli; “she of golden bells”; depicted on a monolith, which led to the discovery of the Templo Mayor

13
Q

Coatlicue

A

the mother of Huitzilopochtli and Coyolxauqui; “snake skirt”

14
Q

Centzonhuitznahua

A

the 400 brothers of Coyolxauhqui who attempted to kill Coatlicue, but were defeated by Huitzilopochtli

15
Q

Mexica artist, Tlaloc Vessel, c. 1440–70, found Templo Mayor, Tenochtitlan, ceramic

A

Maya blue – a special bright blue pigment used in Mesoamerican culture; Connotations with water, preciousness, vegetation

  • Key features of Tlaloc are goggle eyes and a fanged mouth
  • Important to Mesoamerican cultures
  • A type of offering that was found at the Templo Mayor; these offerings were buried within and under the temple
  • Tlaloc temple: chacmool (a male figure holding a vessel to receive offerings), altar of the frogs, symbolizes the mountain of sustenance, which was a fertile mountain that produced high amounts of rain
16
Q

Inka artist, Qorikancha, Peru, 15 th c. Limestone

A

The most sacred shrine of the Inka; “the golden house”

  • The most important structure in the inka empire
  • dedicated to the worship of the sun because the Inka claimed descent from the sun
  • located in hurin the lower section
  • after conquest, turned into Christian holy space
  • double-jambed doorways signify importance of building
  • walls covered in sheets of gold to signify dedication to Inti (the sun)
  • houses manco capac’s mummy
  • trapezoidal niches and doorways
  • garden of gold and silver
17
Q

Inka aesthetics

A

Time: origins in the 13 th century, but the empire, 1438-c. 1534
- Location: west south America, from Ecuador to chile
- Representational mode/style: fondness for geometric, abstraction, standardization, a culture
of stone, textiles
- Important subjects/themes: natural world, Sapa Inka, ancestors, textiles, Cuzco, Qorikancha, Machu Picchu
- Context and Important terms: the ancestor Manco Capac; the establishment of Cuzco and Tawantinsuyu, the reign of Pachakuti; tinkuy

18
Q

Polygonal masonry

A

the shapes of the stones are irregular but the way they fit is regular

19
Q

Ashlar masonry

A

stones of similar shapes smoothed together; reserved for buildings of the highest quality

20
Q

Inti

A

the sun

21
Q

Inka/Inca

A

people of the sun

22
Q

Sapa Inka

A

the inka emperor

23
Q

Manco Capac

A

first Sapa Inka that establishes Cuzco

24
Q

Mama Ocllo

A

wife of Manco Capac

25
Q

Tawantinsuyu

A

“the land of the four quarters”; what the inka called their empire

26
Q

Inka artist, El Torreon, Machu Picchu, Peru, 15 th c. Limestone

A

The emperor would only reside at Machu Picchu for part of the year
- Commanded colonists to work for the Inka nobility which was an expression of imperial power
- Uses ashlar masonry
- Extension of living rock that encapsulates a sacred stone
- Staircases that go nowhere to create an optional illusion that what is natural and Inca is the same (tinkuy)
- Reminding people of their relationship to the sun and to the earth. They are married to the
earth

27
Q

Inka artist, Royal Unku, Peru, 15 th /16 th c. camelid fiber

A

Signified the geographical regions that the inka conquered

  • An elaborate collage of other unkus that signifies the emperor as a person of power
  • Geometric/abstract – symbolizes mountains/rocks
28
Q

Unku

A

article of clothing made of cotton and camelid fiber covered with geometric patterns; essentially a robe

29
Q

Masaccio, Tribute Money, c. 1427, Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence,
Italy, fresco, patron: Felice Brancacci

A

Tax collecter comes and Jesus tells peter to pluck a fish out of the ocean and pay the tax, features three scenes in one. An example of Italian Renaissance art

30
Q

fresco

A

usually done on a wall; involves plastering in sections before painting so if you look closely you are able
to see “a days work” colors are less vibrant and you are able to include less detail; uses
tempura paint which is made of egg yolk/pigment: very sticky and dries quickly

31
Q

Italian Renaissance art

A

Emotion

  • Figures from many points of view
  • Modeling (chiaroscuro)
  • Revival of classical interest in anatomy/proportion
  • Illusion of space (an earthly setting)
  • Atmospheric perspective
  • Naturalism: the faithful representation of the observable world
32
Q

Chiaroscuro

A

the body takes up space and interacts with light

33
Q

Contrapposto

A

a more naturally positioned body where weight

34
Q

Vanishing point

A

the illusion of 3D space on a 2D surface (linear perspective)

35
Q

Aerial/atmospheric perspective

A

background is blurry to indicated depth, more blue in color

36
Q

Historia

A

from Leon Battista Alberti’s “On Painting” which he argues is one of 3 components that make a
painting “good.” It needs to depict a narrative where a convincing action takes place

37
Q

Humanism

A

interest in humans and human bodies

38
Q

Robert Campin, Merode Altarpiece, c. 1425, oil on wood, patron: Inghelbrecht family

A

Intended for private devotion
- Center panel: “the annunciation” Gabriel tells mary she is pregnant with Jesus
- Right panel: joseph the carpenter; in his workshop making a mousetrap = sign for ensnaring
the devil
- Left panel: patrons of the painting (Inghelbrecht and Scrynmakers) watching the annunciation
- Inghelbrecht = husband, angel bringer
- Schrynmakers = wife, cabinet makers
- Status symbol, shows devotion of mary, coat of arms
- Examples of disguised symbolism: white cloth = purity, copper put = purity, lilies = virginity, 3
flowers = trinity, extinguished candle = presence of god, open book = new testament, scroll =
old testament)

39
Q

Northern Renaissance art

A
Perfection of oil paint
- Representation of minute detail/reality effects
- Light/textures
- Naturalism
- Material objects
- Antiquity less important
- Empirical spatial conceptualization (slanted/elongated space to show maximum area)
- Symbolism/iconography and setting
Disguised Symbolism
Oil Paintings
40
Q

Disguised symbolism

A

objects with a larger message/deeper meaning

41
Q

oil painting

A

allow for a greater color palette, dries slowly so the artist is able to layer and add texture/detail

42
Q

Albrecht Dürer, Rhinoceros, woodcut, 1515, Germany

A

Circulates after Guttenberg invents the printing press
- People had never seen an exotic animal and much of what people knew about rhinos was
from the print
- Allowed them to experience something they had never actually seen before because prints
are easily produced and portable

43
Q

Woodcut

A

printmaker carves image into wood, rub ink on surface; parts that remain transfer to paper while areas gouged out do not; each color = different block

44
Q

Engraving

A

engraver uses a burin to incise metal (usually copper); surface inked, then wiped clean; incisions
retain ink, pressed onto paper; evolution of print making, allowed for more detail

45
Q

Sofonisba Anguissola, Self-Portrait at Easel, 1556, oil on canvas

A

Depicted herself painting; portraiture was a way to show skill and intellect
- Not normal for a woman to be an artist
- Looking directly at us which was uncommon because women were not supposed to look
people directly in the eye; outside the boundaries of her gender
- Provocative moment
- Self taught but she studied with other males
- Became well known for skill in painting
- Recruited by the court of Philip II to paint portraits = great honor

46
Q

El Greco, Burial of the Count of Orgaz, 1586–88, oil on canvas, Santo Tomé, Toledo, Spain

A

Don Gonzalo Ruiz (count of Orgaz)

  • Donated money to the church of Santo Tome upon his death
  • The story is: after he died, saints Augustine and Stephen lowered him into a tomb to honor
    him for his good deeds
  • One of the world’s most recognizable and reproducible paintings
  • Painted by “the Greek” El Greco who trained as a byzantine icon painter, worked in titian’s
    workshop, and settled in spain to work for king Philip II
  • Malleable/elongated figures are lit from unknown sources
  • Depicts numerous figures/miraculous circumstances surrounding the burial of the count
  • Reminiscent of paintings showing the entombment of Christ where Christ’s body is lowered
    into the grave
  • Recognized for the number of portraits included within a complex composition
  • Combines portraits with saintly figure = witnessing of events
  • A reminder of judgment
  • Heavenly realm vs. earth realm
  • Uses looser brushwork that creates movement
  • The painting is above Count Orgaz’s tomb: this creates the effect that the saints are lowering
    the body into the tomb, which brings the viewer into the narrative and reminds the viewer of
    death/judgment; makes the moment more dramatic/leaves a greater impression
47
Q

Post-tridentine art

A

art that embodies the ideas of the Council of Trent – people who reformed the Catholic
Church – images of holy figures are important, but not alive; a response to Protestants
who thought art was problematic

48
Q

Nahua artist, Crucifixion, c. 1560–90, large cloister of ex-convento, San Agustín de
Acolman, Mexico

A

Painted largely in black and white because they are inspired by European prints

  • Fresco
  • Educational images to tell people about the life of Jesus
  • Surrounded by grotesques (pretty filler imagery meant for framing)
  • Tlacuilo artist
49
Q

Tlacuilo

A

indigenous artist authors, well-educated, well-esteemed men who were trained in European art at
schools attached to conventos

50
Q

Nahua artist, The Mass of St. Gregory, 1539, feathers on wood with touches of paint,
Mexico

A

Narrative of when Jesus comes to life during the eucharist; jesus depicted as the “man of
sorrows”
- Made entirely of feathers on wood
- Made during the height of the Spanish conquest
- Hybrid piece
- The frame translates that the artwork is going to Pope Paul III who intervened and said that
Ameri Indians have souls and should be treated like human beings
- Divine power and sacredness associated with birds/feathers

51
Q

Amanteca

A

featherworkers; highly regarded in society, got special privileges, special connection to Mexica ruler

52
Q

Postcolonialism

A

looking to artwork to understand histories that don’t fit into European styles; responds to the cultural legacies of colonialism and imperialism

53
Q

Hybrid

A

the result of the interactions between different cultures and moments of time; speaks to various worlds/people; “clash of cultures”

54
Q

featherwork

A

art that utilized feathers; iridescent feathers were highly prized not just for their color but for the
way they interact with light; other kinds of feathers used were Quetzal and hummingbirds;
usually sent back to Europe to be displayed in cabinets of curiosity

55
Q

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, “His Majesty Asks, the Author Responds,” in The First
New Chronicle and Good Government, c. 1615, pen and ink on paper, Peru

A

Guaman poma writes a long letter about the Andan peoples prior to the arrival of Europeans

  • Documented the current colonial situation
  • Recorded the abuses of indigenous peoples under the colonial government
  • Most famous manuscript from South America because it is so long and because it has many
    illustrations
  • Tells us about the pre-Hispanic Andean peoples
  • Written in multiple languages
  • First self portrait after Spanish conquest (pay little attention to the detail of faces)
  • Recounts the Spanish conquest and civil wars
  • Portrays the complexity and chaos of the time
  • While he was writing he stopped to draw instead of adding drawings in as an afterthought
  • Shows him kneeling in front of the Spanish kind and pope dressed in European and
    indigenous clothes
  • Influenced by prints
  • Not commissioned
56
Q
Edo peoples (Benin Kingdom), Equestrian Oba with Attendants, 1550–1680, brass plaque,
Nigeria
A

Ruler surrounded by attendants, riding a horse
- Features of global exchange: rosettes = European influence, brass = from trade, coral =
comes from Mediterranean
- Hierarchic scale: size of figures not representative of their height but of importance
- Tells the story of the royal lineage
- Oba has the most elaborate head gear, chest plate, beads
Benin Style – hierarchic scale, balance/symmetry, 3D, rosette pattern, precision

57
Q

Lost-wax technique

A

existed prior to the arrival of Europeans
- Clay core, general approximation of figure; layer of wax, sculpt detail; put sculpture on base,
surround with sand/clay; pour molten brass

58
Q

British Punitive Expedition of 1897

A

in response to the end of their trade relationship with the people of Benin, Britain seized the Oba’s palace, burned down the city and looted art and treasure; now there is a debate whether art should be returned to its people or remain in museum collections around the world

59
Q

Oba

A

King of the Benin empire

60
Q

Edo Peoples, Queen Mother Pendant Mask, 16 th century, Court of Benin, Nigeria, ivory,
iron, copper

A

The Queen mother was the Oba’s mother

  • Person of importance; the only other person to get brass portraits
  • made of ivory
  • headdress with crown of Portuguese and mudfish = symbol of power
  • secured the Oba’s power
  • depicted similarly to the Oba in terms of features and symbols
  • conical headdress shape was used to depict women
61
Q

Sapi artist, Lidded Saltcellar, 15 th –16 th century, ivory, Sierra Leone

A

made to hold salt, which was a symbol of status
- made by the Sapi peoples and sent back to Europe to be sold
- used as diplomatic gifts to secure alliances, displayed in curiosity cabinets as a sign of
exotica
- influenced by European prints
- predominantly sapi aesthetic but has European influences (ex: rosettes and braiding, snakes
are a Sapi aesthetic)
- traumatic impact of Portuguese reflected in sapi art
- sapi perception of what happens in this time period
- swirling snakes = motion/movement, dogs were thought to see spirits, dogs vs. snakes =
conflict/unfrendly
- patterns based on local textile patterns
- shape modeled after gourds and relates to an egg (egg = creation story)
- life vs. death

62
Q

Shen Zhou, Lofty Mount Lou, dated 1467. Hanging scroll

A

Very delicate/fragile
- Ink and color on paper
- Extremely detailed, crisp lines
- Painted by Shen Zhou, an intellectual artist who removed himself from the everyday life to
appreciate landscape and nature
- Includes poetry inscriptions about the scroll
- Meant for people to spend time looking at the painting and appreciating the details
- Meditate with nature
- Sparks conversation

63
Q

Ming dynasty aesthetics

A

Iconography: figural and landscape themes that evoked Song dynasty, especially recluses,
gardens, intellectuals/literati
- Media: paintings, gardens, ceramics
- Historical context: period of cultural renewal; desire to reassert native artistic traditions
especially following the fall of the Mongol Yuan dynasty

64
Q

Hanging scroll

A

piece of paper that hangs from a rod, which has a string attached in order to be hung on the wall; can be rolled up for transportation

65
Q

Ming dynasty. Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets, 16 th century and later, Suzhou, China

A

Everything in the garden is unnatural, madn-made

  • Not solely meant for the purpose of aesthetic
  • Private gardens
  • The site was developed over time, not all at once
  • The rhythm created is small buildings punctuated by courtyards
  • “scholars rocks” are found here (rocks with perforations)
  • Distillation of the qualities of nature
  • Molded by nature but enhanced by man
  • Presentation of contrasts
  • Changing of the seasons but consistency of rocks
  • Utilized literary references
  • A type of refuge
  • Functioned as sites of retirement, leisure, entertainment, self-cultivation, moral cultivation
66
Q

Ming dynasty, Cup with Chicken Design, 15 th century, porcelain with underglaze and
overglaze polychrome decoration, China

A

Chicken: symbol of good luck/wealth

  • Ceramics are the most important types of artwork created at this time
  • No one was able to replicate
  • Expansion of the repertoire of ceramics
  • Utilized doucai, new colors (pink, yellow, black, green)
  • Went for 32 million dollars
  • Used symbols/elements that attract a certain audience
67
Q

Kaolin

A

special clay that was used to produce the finest blue and white porcelain

68
Q

Cobalt

A

a special type of blue that was imported

69
Q

Doucai

A

underglaze of blue and white and overglaze of other colors after 1 st firing; “joined” or “contrasted” colors

70
Q

Underglaze

A

first coat of color/design before firing

71
Q

blue-and-white porcelain

A

produced for export markets
- Earliest example found are temple vases
- Used in temples and burials, but most were exported
- Decoration had primarily Chinese influence/motifs but also geometric patterns to satisfy
Middle East market
- Admired by imperial court
- Took their shapes from Islamic metalwork
- Could not be replicated

72
Q

Sesshu Toyo, Splashed Ink Landscape, 1495, hanging scroll, ink on paper, Japan

A

Impressionist

  • Tree on a rocky island with a wine shop and people on a boat
  • Uses haboku technique
  • Mirrors the idea of sartori: that enlightenment happens all at once
  • The idea is that you’ve thought of the image already
  • For samurai to channel the focus and mindfulness to kill and not be killed
  • monochrome
73
Q

Zen Buddhism

A

Style: monochrome, splashed ink painting, kare sansur, wabi and sabi aesthetics

  • Subjects: ink landscape painting, patriarch figures, rock gardens, tea ceremony, raku ware
  • Context: zen buddhism, muromachi period, shogun and samurai
74
Q

Haboku

A

fast, broken ink technique

75
Q

Ashikaga/ Muromachi era, Ryoan-ji Temple, Kyoto, 15 th c. Japan

A

White gravel raked into lines  using mindfulness to create parallel straight, identical lines

  • Aid to mediation and working mindfully
  • Wabi sabi aesthetic
  • Stones surrounded by white gravel = Microcausm of the universe, life cycle, scale
  • Rocks suggest islands, shores, bridges
  • Worshop of dieties in nature
  • Expression of abstract composition
  • Emphasizes the ideas of Zen buddhism and meditation
76
Q

Kare sansui

A

dried up mountain and water

77
Q

Hon’ami Koetsu, Mount Fuji, ca. 1600. Raku ware, Japan

A

Raku ware – the cups used during the tea ceremony; reflects the wabi sabi aesthetic (rough, natural, earthy), engages the senses
Wabi-sabi – truth to materials; wabi: austerity, simplicity, refined; sabi: subdued taste, subtle yet artfully complex

78
Q

Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaykh to Kings, ca. 1615-1618, opaque watercolor on
paper, India

A

Jahangir “Seizer of the world”  emperor
- His head is in front of a sun and moon which symbolize his emperorship and divine truth
- Seated on an elevated stone platform, depicted as the largest of the 5 figures
- Halo is a visual manifestation of honor
- 2: Sufi Shaikh accepts a book from the emperor which makes a statement about the
emperor’s spiritual leanings
- 3: Ottoman Sultan exhibits respect and humility
- 4: King James I of England hand not drawn touching weapon to avoid interpretation of
threat to the emperor
- 5: Bichitr: the artist self portrait showing humility towards the emperor
- Once part of an album
- His reputation is strong in formal portraiture and rendering of hands
- Jahangir’s gem studded bracelets and rings vs. Shaikh’s bare hands = rich vs. poor, material
vs. spiritual
- Crouching angels
- “O Shah, may the span of our life be a thousand years”
- Allegorical portrait
- The artist indulges Jahangir’s desire to be seen as a powerful ruler

79
Q

Mughal dynasty, Taj Mahal, 1632-1653, marble and semi-precious stones, Agra, India

A

made by Shah Jahan – 5 th ruler of the Mughal dynasty

  • build in Agra on the banks of the Yamuna river
  • uses white marble and red sandstone
  • center of chamber holds emperor and his wife’s coffins and cenotaphs
  • gardens
  • Architectural “symbol of love”
  • Not a funeral monument
  • Symbolic representation of a divine throne on the day of judgment
  • Replica of a house of paradise to glorify Mughal rule and the emperor