1. African Masks

2. Western Art Usually intended to be: Decorative Realistic Beautiful
“Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window”
Johannes Vermeer

3. African Art Usually not meant to be decorative or beautiful
Often meant to be highly unrealistic or “abstract”
Intended for:
Tribal worship ceremonies
Tribal rituals, such as honoring ancestors
To conjure magic or
To conjure Supernatural forces
African art was usually unsigned

4. African Masks Europeans were especially impressed by African masks!
Europeans begin to travel and settle in Europe in the 1400s
Examine the following African mask and compare it to “Lady with an ermine” by Leonardo Da Vinci
List 3 ways that the mask and the painting show different styles

6. Essential Question
Examine the following Examples of African Tribal Masks
Try to point out the “abstract” or unrealistic qualities

7. Chimpanzee Mask Democratic Republic of the Congo
Represented a magical creature that was:
Half Human
Half Chimpanzee
What type of animal do you think lived on this tribe’s land?

8. Liberia Passport Mask Less than 8 inches
Copy of traditional family masks
Honors family’s ancestors
Carried by tribal members when they were away from home
What do you think the mask was supposed to remind them of?

9. Ceremonial Mask Cote D’Ivoire Combines human and animal features
What features and human?
What features are animal?
Worn by members of the tribe after a death during a dance
The mask would help the deceased tribal member get to heaven
The mask would also help the tribe to heal after the death

10. Female Ancestors Mask Puna Tribe live in Gabon Mask is meant to honor:
White represents peace, spirits of the dead and
The afterlife
Mask would be worn as part of a dance during funerals or
During Special ceremonies to impress visitors

11. Goli Mask Cote d’Ivoire Goli was a day long party for the whole tribe!
The mask would be worn during dancing to celebrate:
Peace and Joy!

12. African Art’s Influence on the West
In the 1800 and 1900s, European art began to show African influences
European artists like Pablo Picasso loved the abstract or “unreal” feel of African Art
This gave European artists new Freedom!
Examine Picasso’s “Guernica” from 1937
Picasso painted the work in response to the Nazi bombing of the town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s
Identify 3 things about the painting which could be “abstract” or “unreal”

14. Sources