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Celebrating the dead is becoming more used as we progress through the text and I too also enjoy the idea of creating likenesses of those deceased and filling their tombs with decorated urns, paintings on the walls -- depicting various different activities that were once enjoyed by the deceased -- and even protecting the dead by drawing images of leopards for example to ward off evil spirits that seek to disturb those who were laid to rest inside their massive tombs.

Chapter 8: The Etruscans

So, what I got out of this chapter is a little interesting on a personal level and not what I was expecting. Before I state it, I would like to say that I honestly had not heard about the Etruscans before Any who, my realization and understanding is that the Etruscans are the better less known or less public Greeks in almost every way. My problems that I became aware of last week with the Greeks have been resolved by the Etruscans. This intrigues me since the cultures are so closely related geometrically and in the measurement of time.

I wasn’t exactly a fan of the depiction of women and how they were treated in their cultures of the previous chapters. The Etruscan culture and how it is shows how women were treated is much more in line with how I believe women should be treated. This week we learned that the Etruscans respected their women and they were not held in a sort of servitude that the Greeks and Egyptians had. In their art, the Etruscans showed that women were closer to equals to men than any of the other cultures we had experienced up to this point. They were able to go out in public and partake in events like banquets that were seen as male-centric in the Greek culture.

I love seeing that women were also given their own art pieces that were probably used on a daily basis. I speak of the mirrors with the mythological scenes of empowerment that also have inscriptions on them, thus showing that not only women were more equal, but also literate 

adding a layer of equality.  Continuing with the message of strong women, I loved that the majority of Etruscan art that was of mythological scenes shows mainly the goddesses and that these goddesses weren’t just pretty but had strong and sometimes higher purposes and titles than the gods.

The Etruscan funerary art and culture is treated much like I believe should be for anyone, especially for myself when the day comes. Instead of completely mourning and being sad for the life lost, the Etruscans also celebrate the life of the deceased. In doing this, they have urns that show the likeness of the deceased as well as where they lived. Then, there are the sarcophagi that continue to celebrate the deceased by showing their likeness and even the relationships between husband and wife. The fact the the closeness of husband and wife was not something to be ashamed of or even looked down on, but celebrated just makes me smile. The tomb paintings also continued this idea of celebration with the occasional mourner of the deceased. Even this, I appreciate. I think that this is a much better way to go about the rituals of previous cultures. Close to how the Egyptians in the way that they are the same styles of doing things, but way different in how they were completed. The Egyptians were much more of a reverence for only the nobility, where these tombs were for the individual as well and they showed who they were as people instead of how they wanted to be seen by the public.

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Week 10

In this week’s chapter, the book covered the Art of the Etruscans. While reading this chapter I found out that the Etruscans were a civilization that began to grow between c. 1000 and 100 B.C. The Etruscans are important to Western History for its culture and what they brought to the art world. Borrowing art techniques and style from previous civilizations that we have went over in the book including Greece and Rome. The Etruscans had elaborate burials involving iron, bronze, and ivory objects filling the tombs where the dead rested. Very few Etruscan buildings have withstood the test of time because of the basic materials used such as woods, mud, and Tufa (a soft, volcanic rock that is easy to manipulate and form) but one major source for determining their own style of Art comes from the great tombs and necropoleis (cities of the dead) that the Etruscans prided themselves in building and maintaining.

Etruscans continues the growing trend of respecting the dead with large burial grounds showered with gifts and different objects that were mostly made with bronze. Bronze proved to be the most common material used in the makings of pottery and sculptures because bronze is a strong alloy that consists of primarily copper that can be forged to make different weapons and tools while also being versatile enough to be used when creating sculptures and pottery. I found that the Wounded Chimera provides the most evidence to why bronze was so popular to use. This figure is depicting the mythological monster with highly detailed features such as its snake tail and lion’s mane. Facial features of this mythical beast suggest that it fears something, even for being such a magnificent and dominate creature, the figure is shaped in the way that looks as if the Chimera is about to spring forward, ready to attack and or defend itself. This piece reminds me a lot of the Ancient Greek civilization that the book previously went over, as the Chimera originated in the rich history of Greek mythology.

Respecting the dead is a common practice that we are seeing increasingly on as we move forward throughout the text and I find this to be the most interesting topic so far in this class because this art “practice” continues to be expanded upon with each new civilization we have discovered so far for the text and is still expanded upon today in our society. The major contribution that the Etruscans had for respecting the dead was their own expansion of the famous Sarcophagus founded in Ancient Egypt. The Etruscans started to add monumental sculptures to the top of the sarcophagi of wealthy individuals. The sculptures depicted the human like features of the those who were laid to rest inside these massive stone coffins. The paintings inside these tombs were mostly frescoes (a painting done rapidly in watercolor on wet plaster on a wall or ceiling) and this was because the colors would penetrate the plaster to become fixed into it giving it a naturalistic look. Frescoes were also used to paint the walls of these massive tombs. Paintings of these tombs usually included funeral rites or positive scenes of dancing, sports, or music-making. Some paintings were added to potentially ward off evil influences like the use of leopards drawn on the wall of the Tomb of the Leopard, to fight back and protect the dead from evil spirits.  

Etruscans were independent from, but taught the Romans a great deal about irrigation, engineering, drainage, and building. Etruscans were master of their craft and it showed in their work. Jewelry and fashion was always an envy for Romans as they were not quite as talented at making beautiful pieces of clothes or jewelry as they excelled in many fields such as divination, bronze casting, gold decorated jewelry, and dentistry. The last thing that caught my eye was at the end of the chapter when they book talks about how remarkable the Etruscans truly were, even developing a way to replace a broken set of teeth and better the health of the individual with their invention of dentures (which is essentially a fake set of teeth derived from other people or animals).

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Week 6

In this week’s readings, we delved into the ancient civilizations that bordered the Aegean Sea. From c. 3000 B.C. to c. 1100 B.C., The Aegean Era was responsible for a great leap forward in Art History and has also expanded on different art forms we learned about in past readings. During this time, civilizations were built around the Aegean Sea for its vast supply of resources and transportation along with providing protection. The people of these ancient communities have brought an expansion of new knowledge and technique to the Art world. The earliest of these civilizations was the Cyclades. The Cyclades own insights and traditions were best seen through their various forms art. One of the best examples of the Cyclades work was the Female Idols. These idols were almost exclusively female but some male and were carved out of marble. Geometric sections composed these figures along with slight curves, pyramidal noses, painted on eyes and mouth. The Minoan civilizations, Greek mythology played a pivotal role in art. Related to Greek mythology, the great Palace at Knossos was the site where the famous mythological Minotaur once dwelled, and is also an example of the advanced level of architecture as pillars, columns and massive stone masonry walls composed this great palace. Those massive stone walls served as canvases for various types of relatively new colored pigments. My personal favorite example of these new style of wall paintings is the way the Minoans created their paintings with lime plaster such as the famous, Toreador Fresco. This technique brought about colors not really used or even thought of now such as blues and greens. I didn’t know a whole lot about how these people could get these designs to look such a way as it does on the wall so finding out they use plaster to blend the color into stone wall to give it more of a natural look really amazed me that they came up with this idea and whole process of bonding the color to the fabric of the wall allowing them to paint additional details over the “fresco” as it dry’s. The afterlife was very important to the people living in these societies and it showed through their marvelous tombs filled with treasures of art. These massive burial grounds housed the royal dead from kings to queens. It is made evidently clear based on the amount of wealth and treasure that has been discovered in these tombs. Royalty typically likes to be buried with the things that gave them the most power in their lives and along with these treasures lies various pieces of art that prove to be some of the most valuable objects recovered from tombs. Objects such as burial daggers with artistic designs such as a dagger that I personally think looks pretty freaking epic with its gold design of armed soldiers fighting off attacking lions that I found during reading this chapter. Gold masks were also created specifically as “Death Masks” for the royal dead to wear as they slumbered. These masks were beaten gold with features of a human face with some resemblance to what he actual person dead looked like.

This chapter was fairly interesting. I learned about most of this stuff along the way from previous world history classes I have been a part of but it was cool to dive deeper into the art side of things.

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Chapter 5

Ancient Egypt to me has always been one of the most fascinating time periods. Being one of the most powerful and long-lasting civilizations, Ancient Egypt left its mark on the world with its great pyramids, temples, and innovation in painting.

Great pyramids were built to express the power of the pharaoh and served as a resting place for these great kings when they pass away. These massive burial chambers were designed with 3 or four-sided brick steps and required a massive amount of labor to construct. My personal favorite pyramid was the one constructed as the resting place for Khafre, ancient Egyptian king of 4th dynasty during the Old Kingdom. This pyramid was accompanied by a great road that is guarded by a colossal statue of Khafre himself, known as the Great Sphinx. The Great Sphinx took the form of the lion that traditionally guards temples and palaces. These great pharaohs chose lions because it is said to be believe that lions never sleep as they belonged with the sun as the eye of heaven. Another magnificent temple was the Rock-Cut Temple of Ramses II. This temple had 4 huge statues that looked like Ramses made from stone in the traditional royal pose seating outside the front of the temple.

Huts fulfilled the role of Egyptian temples in the Neolithic era and were proceeded by the standard Egyptian temple, the pylon temple. The pillars were designed with the vegetation of Egypt and represented the fertility of the Earth. These temples were created for places of worship and tribute. Rituals were conducted in attempts to connect man to God and designs of Ancient Gods were etched into the walls of the temples. The temple that most interested me was Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple because of the story of how Queen Hatshepsut became the first female king along with symbolizing the amount of power she possessed over her people. Her own vision and imagination is depicted throughout the temple. The queen proclaimed her divine right as the king and these great temples give us insight to her greatness.

Ancient Egypt was an innovator when it came to the use of synthetic pigments. They invented new colors such as earth tones and used eye catching greens, blues, and golden yellows.  Unlike prehistoric paintings, Egyptians used pictures of Humans along with animals. Paintings often represented the Gods and deities from Ancient Egypt along with rituals and various other forms of ceremonies that were practiced inside temples. Some of my favorite art comes from Ancient Egypt, I just loved the way they expressed their imaginations and used their own creativity as ways to spread religion. Art was widely respected in Ancient Egypt and you can really see that from the pyramids to paintings inside temples.

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Week 4

The New Stone Age is the term used to identify a period of changes in human social behavior and society. The Neolithic Era (c. 6000/4000-c. 2000 B.C.) saw the beginning of a revolutionary shift in Western Europe from hunting and gathering societies to agriculture based societies that lead to the creation of a new art forms such as Monumental Stone architecture, decorated household items, and the skill of being an Artist.

           Sedentary life and a surplus of resources had changed society in the “New Stone Age”. The food supply was outpacing the need for working farmers and thus specialized labor came about to help shape new social organizations and civilizations. Rather than having mostly everyone who was capable to go out to hunt and gather, people during this time were able to stay at home to work on building structures out of stone. People during this age lived in shelters that were created from mud bricks. Most villages were constructed with bricks because of how easy it was from them to create bricks and position them in such a way that would provide reinforced protection in the form of walls and roofs. Stone structures are also used to create burial grounds for people of importance or for those who were said to have divine powers like the site founded in Portugal. These sites were typically build on small hills to further reinforce the idea that these sites were used as burial sites for the leaders attached to the local village.

           Along with these new stone structures, the people would take notice at the blank, emotionless walls, and had proceeded to unknowingly create a brand new form of art: Decorating. Walls and different size pots were used as canvases, colored with designs and patterns. Similar to cave paintings we covered in the previous chapter, decorating these canvases is a mystery as to why the people of early civilizations decided to create different patterns and other images. What this did do however, was satisfy the creative part of our brains, with the expansion of specialized jobs, people started to dedicate themselves to perfecting the skill (art) of pottery.

           Pottery is complex and very time consuming, process that presupposes a knowledge of all its stages: choice of suitable clay, removal of impurities and clay preparation with or without tempering, modelling of the vase, and firing at a temperature up to 850-900o C. Decorative designs were also added to these bases and clay creations but they were all made to serve a certain function. If the pot was to fall or break, those broken pieces were used as part of different projects or as tools. As popularity of these decorative pots grew, so did the number of people claiming themselves to be specialized workers at creating pottery. They would spend long days at home, hard at work perfecting their craft and artistic abilities with decorating the outside. Pottery is known as one of the earliest forms of Art and can also be credited as the first technique to receive credit and popularity due to how certain pieces looked.

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Week 3

Cave paintings existed as one of the oldest forms of art dating back to some 40,000 years ago. These prehistoric paintings were first discovered in Eurasia, around 38,000 BCE. The paintings consisted of animals typically hunted at the time such as deer, horses, buffalo, mammoths, and bears, it is said that these paintings were carved into the stone walls of rocky caves with stone tools and colored with pigments such as red and yellow ochre or charcoal. Humans were rarely drawn with little to no knowledge as to why that is, some theorists say it was because of “Sacred taboos” that forbid the drawing of humans in fear of bad luck. The only human like qualities that were added to these extraordinary walls were hand stencils that again were made with various types of pigments. As the times went on, discoveries of cave paintings started to occur all throughout the world. From the Great Mural Rock art that was found in Baja, California to the rock art found in Khoit Tsenkher Cave, Mongolia, there are many examples of cave paintings that existed in the past but the mystery as to why these great murals were created remains in question. Henri Breuil, a French Catholic priest who discovered caves with wall art back in the 1920’s, theorized that these ancient drawings were mostly used to create “good hunting magic”, that was believed to increase the amount of huntable animals in the surrounding area. This idea coincides with the belief of “bad luck” from breaking taboos of drawing humans, but in other parts of the world, archaeologists and geologists have discovered different forms of cave paintings that start to become more intricate showing images of child birth, communal drinking and dancing like the ones found in India. Some theorists say that these paintings were images or visions that shamans had seen and thus translated those visions onto the wall. Paintings found like the ones in South America, with images of the sun along with scenes from the hunt, are said to have been created in appreciation and as offering to the sun/sky which many tribes praised as a deity. The true meaning as to why cave paintings were created will forever be a mystery, but what we do know is that these paintings had significant value to those who articulated these creations. Cave paintings is evidence of human development and evolution, from the creation of tools to the expressions we created on cave walls, you can see throughout history through these pieces of art, what the culture, atmosphere, traditions and stories of great hunts that were witnessed by the people who actually went out and gathered to survive. Cave paintings act as a gateway to the past, providing insight to what was seen as important to the people who lived back in 30,000 BCE and as more discoveries are made, the more we learn about what life was like thousands of years ago.

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week 2

The author of our reading, “Ellen Dissanayake”, said in her one of her books, “There is a more natural way of art and life that contemporary people have departed from and to some degree, consciously or not, long for”.  I believe the value in art is derived from the certain feeling of accomplishment you feel when you create something with your own two hands.  That feeling has been carried out all throughout history in various forms from carvings into stone to digital masterpieces that we see today but the true value of art is much more then scribbles on the wall or memes of our favorite political figures. Art holds some of our most precious memories, are greatest turmoil and even conceals deep lessons to be decoded.

               Art is simply anything created by the hands of men such as tools, clothes, paintings, architecture, and even cooking. In history, art has been a part of some of the most influential practices being involved in rituals, sacred ceremonies, and great celebrations within ancient civilizations. Ellen believes that it’s a big stretch that small villages “could truly prosper or can avert plague, famine, diseases, and debilitating warfare”, thanks to the use of lavish, expensive ritual ceremonies packed full of pieces of clay molds, paintings of deities, and delectable foods served plentiful to all attending. Although these sacred rituals had no actual effect on protecting the people from such tragedies, they played a crucial role in strengthening the communities and bringing the people of these small villages closer together.

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I feel that “The Scream” is one of my favorite works of art because it is a perfect depiction of the hardships of modern life. The creature with the deformed face represents a terrible scream that can be heard while walking through a park, an experience that haunts the author of this painting, Edvard Munch.