1. Beginnings of Western Art

2. Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) (prior to 10,000 BC)
Cave Paintings
Wild animals in profile usually grazing, running, or resting.
Altamira, Spain
Painted the bodies of animals over the irregularities in the cave to create sculptural effects.
Highly skilled artists that observed their surroundings.

3. Paleolithic (prior to 10,000 BC)
Lascaux, France
Best-known cave paintings
Horns, eyes, and hooves are seen from the front, yet heads and bodies are rendered in profile.

4. Paleolithic (prior to 10,000 BC)
Venus of Willendorf
Found in Austria, 25,000 years old
Limestone but originally colored in red ocher. 4 3/8 inches tall
Represented stability, dignity, permanence, abundant fertility and a plentiful supply of food.

5. Neolithic (New Stone Age)
Jericho, Israel. 8,000 BC
Molded bricks out of clay then hardened them in the sun.
Was home to about 2,000 people on a six acre site.

6. Neolithic (New Stone Age)
Stonehenge, England. 2,000 BC
Megalith – a large monument created from huge stone slabs
Henge or Cromlech – a round grouping of stones
the largest stone weighed 35 tons, stood 16 feet high and was brought from a quarry 23 miles away!
Was a ritual site for solstices and equinoxes of the calendar year.
Post-and-lintel construction – massive posts support crossbeams, or lintels.

7. Mesopotamia Sumeria, near Iraq
first city-states established about 3,500 BC
Credited with many firsts: invented the wagon wheel and plow, cast objects in copper and bronze, cuneiform writing, record-keeping, and schools.
Ziggurat
A stepped pyramid structure with a temple or shrine on top.
Tower of Babel is the oldest and most famous but has been completely destroyed.

8. Mesopotamia Sumerian art Goat and Tree- found in royal cemetery in Ur.
Sumerian sculpture has eyes that are very prayerful (windows to the soul).
Musical lyre.

9. Mesopotamia Babylonians (1,700 BC)
Hammurabi (first leader)- Humane code of ethics inscribed on a black basalt slab seven feet tall.
Babylonian Hanging Gardens- built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife. One of the Seven Wonders of the World.

10. Mesopotamia Assyrians
Used low relief to carve- a technique in which figures are carved to project only slightly from a flat background.
Dying Lioness – Ninevah

11. Mesopotamia
Persians
King Darius built huge palaces to serve as visible symbols of his authority.
Bulls are craved from limestone and covered with silver, gold leaf, and lapis lazuli.

12. Egypt
Nile Valley
Protected from invaders by huge mountains to the south, deserts on both sides and water to the north.
Egyptians developed a unique way of life and style of art that remained unaffected for thousands of years.
Recorded history in Egypt begins in 3,500 BC
Menes was the first ruler
Hieroglyphics developed and history was recorded.

13. Egypt
Pyramids
Their desire for a happy after life led to the development of tombs and tomb art
The wealth of Egyptian art is buried in the pyramids
First pyramids was built for Zoser
Imhotep is the first recorded artist. He designed Zoser’s pyramid.
Stone structures
Huge stones (some weighed 40 tons)
Levers and rollers were used

14. Egypt Largest pyramid was built for Cheops (2,570 BC) Great Sphinx
Covers 13 acres
Contains two million blocks
Originally was polished with limestone to reflect the sun. This caused passerby’s to bow their head, a sign of respect.
Great Sphinx
Stands 65 feet tall and is 240 feet in length.
Body of a lion and head of a man (Chefren – ruler of Dynasty 5)
Damaged by erosion and muslin vandalism

15. Egypt Sculptures Three types Mycerinus and His Queen
Standing, Sitting, and Seated
Mycerinus and His Queen
A single block of slate.
Stylized appearance (ideal bodies)
Frontal views
Katep and his Wife
Carved from limestone and painted.
Non-official art of the common people.
Seated Scribe
Not just royalty was created
Less idealized

16. Egypt Temples Architecture shifted from tombs to temples
Part of temple was cut into cliffs, part was built outside.
Queen Hatshepsut, Middle Kingdom
Projects an imposing image of authority
Incorporated water, stone columns, trees and cliffs. This created a union with nature and architecture.

17. Egypt Temple of Amun at Karnak
Hypostyle Hall- 340 feet wide and 170 feet long. Containing 135 columns that average 60 feet in height and about 12 feet in diameter.
Built for worship of one of their gods.
Only kings and priest were allowed to enter the sanctuary.

18. Egypt Papyrus Greenfield Papyrus – an illuminated manuscript
Descriptive perspective- most important figures are shown larger than less important ones.
Arms, legs, faces are shown in profile while the body and eyes face the viewer.

19. Egypt Tomb Painting Dancing Girls at a Banquet Registers- shows depth
More realistic.

20. Egypt Realism Began with sculpture
Sculpture of Nefertiti shows knowledge of the structure of the head.

21. Egypt Tutankhamen Ruled for only nine years. Was Akhenaton’s successor
Discovery of his tomb
In 1922, English archeologist Howard Carter discovered the entrance to his tomb and in 1924 they finally reached the innermost chamber.
The body of the boy-king was mummified.
The funerary mask was seen for the first time in 1925.
Innermost coffin was gold and weighed over a ton.
This find gave us a glimpse into the wealth of Egyptian rulers.

22. Egypt Abu Simbel Temple
Four figures of Ramses II is carved into the cliff. They stand 65 feet tall.
The smaller figures next to his feet are family members.
The interior stretches back about 160 feet and is oriented in such a way that on the most important day of the Egyptian calendar the rising sun shines the entire depth to illuminate a row of four statues on the back wall.
Construction of the Aswan Dam caused the figures to be moved to a spot 215 feet higher and 690 feet back from the river.