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I looked up more pictures of the interior of the Reliquary Chapel of Saint-Chapelle, to get a closer look at the golden stars on the ceilings, what a great accent. They really pulled all the gold used in the rest of the interior. I agree this architecture timeless and will be enjoyed for generations to come. I read the other day that concrete from earlier eras such as these centuries was stronger than today’s concrete.

Week 9

As we begin with Gothic art, we start to look at Saint-Denis Cathedral. Saint-Denis has twin towers, three portals, and a narthex just by the revisions of Abbot Suger. In gothic architecture, the key elements to this are rib vaults, piers, flying buttresses, pointed arches, skeleton, and stained-glass windows. Rib vaults replace the barrel vaults of Romanesque architecture style. Rib vaults also help distribute weight, and since these are enormous structures, this is sort of a must. Piers are the support to the rib vaults and also help with the overall look and structure to these style buildings. Flying buttresses, like the piers, help with structure and the overall structure as well with their thin half-arches. Pointed arches are the middle point of two arcs, and are also dual-use like piers and flying buttresses. The Skeleton is pretty much self-explained by the name, it is the core structure that gives the building life. Lastly, my favorite part of this architectural style, is the stained-glass windows. These filter the natural light and shine with various colors and stories. One interesting thing about the stained-glass windows is that details, like in the face, are added in black enamel. I knew that they used iron to put the entire window together, but I did not know they used black enamel.  Another interesting and surprising fact was that other towns in northern France were building in the new Gothic style when Saint-Denis was finally completed. Just like large buildings being built today, back then a cathedral would make hundreds of jobs, which keeps the economy going well I assume, as well as nowadays attract visitors.

Chartres is one of the best early gothic and high gothic preserved cathedral. When Adams brings this up, it makes me wonder why this cathedral, was there something with the surroundings of it that helped keep this so preserved?  I think that the ongoing construction work and rebuilding after the fire of 1194 would help preserve this building, because the people surrounding it took care of the building, as well as possibly location of the building that helped. Another thing that took me off guard was the it was constructed on an elevated site to enhance visibility, just taking a glance of the south wall of Chartres, it seems almost silly to make an already enormous building even more elevated, but that’s just personal opinion. I also like that the entire structure is from different parts of gothic style architecture, it shows that it has evolved but also kept its timeliness. The interior of Chartres is sort of what I imagine most cathedrals, high ceilings, a lot of stone detailing, arches, and of course stain-glass windows. An interesting fact that Adams brings up is that, “each series of geometric shapes around the center of the rose window numbers twelve- a reference to the twelve apostles.” I find that in this enormous building, no detailed is spared, and there is always another way to make a reference or another detail to make it even better.

Book: Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

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CH13 Blog

I am not a very religious man so, when I think of Gothic I think of dark ages or something along the lines of not very popular. This chapter has enlighten me about what Gothic art means. Gothic art styles beginning in Italy and west Germany flowed down into France and up into England. Gothic refers to the architecture of the cathedrals or churches as we name them in the United States.

The French architecture from the 1200’s is amazing to look at. For example, the interior of Saint-Denis in figures 13.2- 13.4 showing off the ribs and webbing that inhabited these great structures. The chapter mentioned in France alone architects built over eighty Gothic cathedrals in a twenty-year period. I cannot believe that people in those times were able to do such things like build hundred-foot-tall buildings. The ribs being great artwork were actually built in such a way that made these vaults and naves stand as a structural sound building. I am amazed as I stated earlier, how the art is in the work of the architecture. The building receives its strength from the design of the interior which simultaneously, is beautiful to look at. Another instance of beauty in the architecture being the use of the buttresses and piers. The book states they combined with the ribbed vaults were referred to as the skeleton. Which brings me to another architectural aww, being the use of these buttresses and flying buttresses to eliminate the number of piers inside the cathedrals allowing room for light to invade as much room as possible. Allowing room for yet more architectural beauty, not only by letting natural light in but introducing stained glass to the absolute unique beauty of these buildings. The creation of a Rose window is incredibly entertaining, not being able to look away and taking the time to study and figure out what the sideways and upside-down pictures in the stained glass were and what they meant to the community and its religion. These windows really pulled the symmetry of the sides of the cathedrals together that they resided on. Unlike the French towers of the cathedrals, the English and German Gothic style towers are identical which adds to the symmetry. The sculptors of this era were far beyond their time. The carvings in the interior and the exterior is incredible. Depicting the religion that tied these communities together and the stories they tell of the lord and savior of these people.

What is was like to live in these times and help build, attend daily events, and to admire these public buildings. Now eight hundred years later we are still in aww over the architecture of these times. I get the sense of community and union when I think about these times. The religion pulling people together not only from building these massive community buildings and attending worship sessions but to educate the future generations. The community must have been very tightly woven together. I would love to visit these sites, to appreciate the architecture of these people and the devotion to such projects to pass on as a relic of their beliefs and religion.

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I agree art is very influential. The forces around us defiantly influence the way and in this case starting off with the Islamic art the way we can express ourselves and the beliefs we inherit and create for ourselves. I am also glad you are learning how art has more of an influence on society than just being something to look at and take up wall space. Art is as you stated a reflection of our beliefs.

Week 8

Art is very influential. It can make you feel, think, and believe in something just by looking at it, but the question this week’s reading brings up is; What influences art? Is it a religion? Is it the government or political organizations? Is it simply the artist’s values and beliefs? Or maybe there is a set of rules that forbid you from getting influenced by religion, politics, and/ or your values and beliefs to create art. According to Muhammad’s teachings and the Koran, it is forbidden to create a representation of Allah and his prophets. It is forbidden to be influenced by their own religion to create art, and that is the primary reason why Islamic art mostly consists of abstract geometric and floral patterns.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for abstract paintings and fields of flowers. Take the mosaic-filled Dome in front of mihrab in Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain. This Dome is part of The Great Mosque of Córdoba. For those of you who don’t know what a Mosque is, it is a building where Muslims come to pray; they kneel and face Mecca. The dome is filled with inspiration from Byzantine mosaics and backdropped by shining gold. It is a shame that King Charles I of Spain ordered to build a cathedral inside of it ultimately damaging it. Luckily most of the Mosque was saved and shining brightly in Spain, today.

When I continued to read Chapter Eleven I was pleasantly surprised when I came across Hiberno-Saxon Art which originated in Ireland. I just so happen to be 48% Irish and I absolutely love to learn new things about my heritage. We all know Saint Patrick was the one that ultimately spread Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century, however, it was in Britain that Christian art spread drastically. This style was called Hiberno-Saxon Art and the word Hibernia is Latin which just so happens to means Ireland.

Christian art produces many thinks but what really catches my eye is the manuscripts that were created by monks in Irish and English monasteries. The Lion Symbol of Saint John, from the Book of Durrow, is extremely intricate with a number of swirls and dots that borders a warrior of a lion in the middle. This piece is very unique in the fact that they only use a max of three colors, red, yellow, and green, but their use of those three colors makes the piece burst with unseen color.

I am not one that openly shares her beliefs on religion and politics in general, but this class is kicking me in the butt and telling me to get over hiding your beliefs and just simply write about it. It is hard with the way today’s society is. It is hard to come out and say what you want to say without getting completely bashed and criticized for it. Sure, I am still a little shy to say what I want to say, but what I am starting to realize is that art is nothing but reflections of your beliefs, whether they be reflections on your religion or on politics. Art is art; I can’t believe I am just now realizing that.

Works Cited:

Picture: Lion Symbol of Saint John, from the Book of Durrow;  "Manuscripts.“ Art History Leaving Cert. N.p., 21 June 2014. Web. 03 July 2017.

Book: Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

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Week8

Week8 Blog

The early middle ages were a transition period of western Germany becoming Roman Catholic and Islamic in the times from about 600 AD to 1022 AD.  As Islam spread to the west, Mosques were built and created from all ready standing churches. The reading states that Islamic beliefs suggested no iconography of Mohammad. No sculptures of the god, nothing to show the relevance of the Islamic beliefs. With that said the art shown from Islamic beliefs came in the form of buildings (mosques) and the interior designs in the buildings, see figure 11.4 in the book. I cannot begin to understand how these buildings were designed and built. They are mesmerizing to look at. In the city, I live in there are a lot of churches. None as beautiful as the interiors of these ancient places of worship. A lot of time and effort obviously went into the creation of these holy places our ancestors loved.

With the Charlemagne Empire, education and manuscripts had an important role in the Roman Catholic revival. The manuscripts in from this time showed how important the catholic beliefs were centered around Jesus Christ. Even Monks in monasteries lived by the catholic beliefs. The testament scenes are beautiful. The way these people were able to sculpt the bronze doors in picture 11.17 is amazing too.

The Romanesque art with the Celtic look of streams and colors reminds me of what we call Irish art today. I like how the Pilgrimage had a relic of Sainte Foy. The use of gold sheets sounds like something that we could only come up with in much later centuries. But the relic is defiantly one of a kind with the jewels and stones embedded into it. I appreciate how the use of these relics were used to great worshipers as they entered or passed by the churches they occupied. Using the pilgrimage people to help build these huge architectures for worship was to me a way of pulling people that did not really know each other together. The vaults in these churches are breathtaking, the way the architects and artists put these structures together and designed the interior painting is beyond their time. With technology where it is today it seems like we are not very far ahead of our ancient ancestors in working together and building such beautiful churches and other buildings.      

The last judgment is straight up creepy. While reading about this piece, I was starting to veer and think about the things I might have done wrong in my life and was hoping I was not going to be judged to Hell. The text explains what is in the picture, but I think one does not need the description to see what is going on in this picture at all. The mangled side filled with demons, serpents, and people with weapons obviously shows the down pointing all powerful hand of Jesus Christ. Then the other side of the picture Jesus’s hand is up portraying the life in the heavens, where every person is in order and not being tortured by demons.  

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Natalie Kahle

Week 6

Moving on from the Etruscans, the Romans were a mixture of many different cultures, and had many interpretations of these influences. For starters, the Romans had very different views on the afterlife than the Etruscans. The Romans were pragmatic about the afterlife, while the Etruscans thought differently.  Another thing the Romans adopted from other cultures is architecture styles, they pretty much took the best ideas and compiled them together to make it their own. Although cement had previously been invented and used in the ancient Near East, the Romans, perfected it and used it in complex ways for architecture. The Romans tended to use cement more often than other materials such as wattle-and-daub. When looking back at the architecture, I wondered how they made such complex curved architecture. Learning that they used voussoirs for this was intriguing because, these complex arches seem advanced for the time. The Romans didn’t just have different architectural developments, they had various types as well.

Domestic architecture is used greatly in Roman culture. Although the Romans didn’t invent the insulae (tenements), they did it in a different way just as they do in other aspects of their culture. It is astounding to think that they could get these buildings up to five stories and be a structurally sound. Although most of the Roman population lived in insulae, villas were invented as an escape from the city. My first thought about this is that, if they were an escape from the city, the person who built and owned these villas must be higher ranking in the culture and have money.  Although the book doesn’t say, I will assume this because later Hadrian’s villa is quite elaborate and extensive.

Public buildings, like the forum, began with a simple square open space structure, and overtime buildings were added on to make much larger forums. Looking back at the plans for these buildings, I don’t quite understand if this is like the size of the colosseum or if it is smaller, it is hard to understand from what is given. This also is my wonder with the public baths. Public baths also have a lot of different uses and rooms within it, and the way the book makes it seem is that it is a massive building with intricate details, nothing but the best. Overall, I enjoy the immense thought going into every aspect of public buildings to sort of show off.

Religious architecture is no different than any other aspect of Roman culture, it has been derived from another culture in some way. Like the Etruscans, the Romans also worshiped the Gods and Goddesses, and dedicated religious buildings to them. The Temple of Portunus is on a raised podium, seemed to be a metaphor for the emperor’s authority, I wonder if the raised podium had a double use as a way to level the structure as well, but is unclear. Overall the Romans had a fantastic way of combining cultures all into one, just as America does, and had a very elaborate way of life.

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Week6Ch9Blog

You wonder why so much of the western world today is Roman Catholic, it seems everywhere you go there are Catholic churches. Not only the German people but Spanish and African People too. Chapter nine starts with showing a picture of the geographic area the Raman empire laid across. Also, talking about the cultures that clashed into the Roman ways and beliefs. I had no idea that Romans went as far south as Africa. It looks like Romans derived from Greek and Etruscan architecture and art culture.

I really like the use for pillars for the buildings used for ceremonies and people of interest. Although in picture 9.3 the nonuse of a roof is explained and used in some houses and buildings of interest. Which sounds like if it was raining that day, the ceremony or event would have to be moved to another location due to no roof and the rain coming straight through the building. Picture 9.4 the use of blocks or insulae set up as perpendicular squares to resemble a modern military camp (castrum). This is so fascinating. Because this was about 2000 years ago and they had towns sectioned into neat what we call today blocks. The use of brick and concrete is astonishing, I had no idea that concrete has been around for so long. The picture looks like a town block of today’s world. I also love the idea of the villa’s outside of town. These people knew how to relax, the picture in 9.5 of Canopus, Hadrian’s Villa, of Tivoli is beautiful. The public architecture is amazing to say the least. I would like to visit some of these sites. I read that these points of interest such as the Colosseum, the Pont du Gard, and the Pantheon are not really showcased in a way that educates tourists about these creations and the time they were built. Which would show how long ago we had some of this technology. There are tours, but none that take you through multiple cities other than Europe, due to geographical separation.

Rotunda, there’s an interesting word. I do not know how concrete has been around for so long but that is amazing to know that we had that type of technology in these times. I should be talking about the oil painting in the structure but I am more impressed with the buildings and standing structures, this culture was able to build in their time. The interior of the rotunda is one of a kind in itself as well. The use of the canvas was very important to these people, every monument has no dead space or extra spot for anything to add the canvases they used to portray their culture. For example, Trajan’s column pic 9.23 and the west/south side of the Ara Pacis 9.20. The same idea carried over to the Sarcophagus’s used for funerary art. The 8-foot-tall bust in picture 9.34 of Constantine is crazy to look at. what a great way to remember someone, with an 8-foot head of floating around of them. Very interested I n reading how the Roman’s came up with Catholicism in the following chapters.

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I also am perplexed as to why the sculpture of Capitoline Wolf was nursing human babies. The babies do not look threatened by whatever is bother the female wolf. Which just kind of leaves a very odd piece of art. The babies, the threatened wolf but not threatened babies, the human babies nursing from the wolf. I really like how they made women just as important as the men in society. In previous chapters the women of the cultures were second class citizens.

Week 5

I thought it was interesting that Etruscan art is very rare. In fact, the only information about their art is from buried tombs and cities of the dead, which are called necropolis. However, the tombs and cities were not in the best shape considering the materials they used to build the city were highly decomposable.

I have to admit I am a little weirded out by the sculpture of Capitoline Wolf that is made of bronze. At first glance, the part that was really confusing to me was the two human babies nursing from the she-wolf. I tried to understand the meaning myself before I read on about it in the book and everything that I came up with really didn’t make and sense. After giving up and reading the short description of the sculpture, it still left me confused and asking more questions. I understand the part on why the she-wolf and the two boys, Romulus and Remus, are together. She’s protecting the twins, but why are they nursing from her? And what exactly is she protecting the boys from, considering the emotion on the she-wolf’s face portrays fear, illuminating the fact that there may be a predator nearby?

The sculpture, Wounded Chimera also leaves me confused. With a body of a lion, a serpent as a tail, and a very disturbing goat head sticking out of the lion’s back, I am left with one question; Where did they get the imagination to create such a thing? Obviously, this thing doesn’t exist. It is almost comical even thinking about it being real, but why? Why make it? What is the purpose of it? Is it to protect or to destroy? Or am I completely overthinking this and it is just a silly myth to scare their children or their enemies?

What really catches my attention in Chapter Eight, is the fact the art is being put on other things than just canvas, or sculptures, or walls of a building, but on simple, everyday objects such as mirrors. A scene of Uni, which is similar to the Greek Hera, breastfeeding Herakles is carved out on the back of a mirror from Volterra. It is odd to me that that certain scene would be on the back of a mirror, of all things. To me that scene seems important and, maybe, shouldn’t be on something that is used every day.

I love how, in Etruscan art, the female is portrayed as an equal to men, if not more. In the sculpture of a terra-cotta sarcophagus from Cerveteri shows a man and woman lying on a dining couch and they appear to be husband and wife, maybe lovers. However, it is the woman who catches my eye, well, more like her appearance does. She looks “done-up,” her hair looks styled to a certain point and she isn’t pushed behind the male. In fact, she is up front and centered. I like the way Etruscans portray their females, it is how it should be. (winky-face)

Other artworks done by Etruscan artists that I should mention are their tomb paintings, which remind me of the prehistoric cave painting in Western Europe that we studied earlier in Chapter Three. However, these tomb paintings are a little more realistic and easily translated. I like how they show a wide range of patterns from the checkerboard ceiling to the criss-cross action on the couches in the middle of the Tomb of the Leopards in Tarquinia, Italy. 

Works Cited:

Picture: Tomb of the Leopards; Russell, Marsha. “AP ART HISTORY 250.” Pinterest. N.p., 10 June 2014. Web. 05 June 2017.

Book: Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

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Week5Blog

The reading reminds me of a situation currently happening in my life with my fiancé. Like the Greeks the Etruscans had a hierarchical government. One evolutionary difference between the two culture’s governments were that Etruscan women were part of society and the government unlike their Greek counter parts.

Greek culture still stands out today, even with women in high social and government rankings. My fiancé has a serving job as a second job for the weekends. Greek people own the restaurant. The owner handed the business down to the sons. Anyway, my fiancé Courtney is 3 months pregnant. The owners don’t want her working while she’s pregnant at all at the restaurant. I told her it is because she’s pregnant and it is discrimination. They wanted her to get a doctor’s note for being able to work after she asked why they were skipping her and limiting her to two people tables. Then made her get another doctor note. By then her doctor demanded to talk to one of the owners over the phone. There were more hoops they were trying to get the doctor and Courtney to jump through too. The doctor, Courtney’s parents, and I all agree that they just don’t want the look of a pregnant woman in their restaurant. Which is discrimination. With all that said, I believe after reading the past two chapters that These Greek people are just following their culture and see women as second-class citizens. Only justifying the women’s part in their business because of the culture today in this western part of the world. Another example as to why I believe this because they also have illegal aliens working in their kitchen, that swap out every couple of weeks.

It was good to read that women had a part in society and government in this chapter about the Etruscans. It is very evident with the women not being “behind the man” as described in previous chapters for example in the Egyptian culture. To me the Etruscan culture seems to be a hybrid of the Greek and Egyptian counter-parts, with having Death rituals and buildings, and a democracy.

I do not understand the naked little men or babies beneath the female wolf in 8.2, did the Etruscans believe the Capitoline wolf’s milk was good for them. With not much of the language of this culture decoded, it is hard to understand such a piece of work. On the other hand, the wounded chimera in 8.3 is beautiful. I wonder what that is worth if some wealthy person wanted to buy that. This is a great piece of art. I love how big it is.

The Apollo made of terra-cotta is awesome I do not understand how these works of art stand the test of time as well as they do. But defiantly a cool piece. Almost six feet tall and I noticed that the statue is hollow. How would they make such huge statues hollow? Interesting they learned to work at night on these sculptures as the day must have been too hot to mold and carve the art.

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In the movie 300, there is a scene that depicts a democratic meeting between the government. All of which that attended were men. But in this scene, the queen popped in on the meeting. Now my mind was wondering if this was politically correct, or the movie bent the truth from how we understand ancient Greece and the government system. I’m going to have to watch that part or the movie again to figure it out I guess. Maybe she being royalty as the queen had some sort of exception to the laws in Greece.

The idea of having a government and buildings associated to them, is very much functional art. Like other cultures such as the Asian and Egyptian structures, Greece had giant structures that were beautiful and stand against the test of time well. I think the pillars are a great sign of how powerful the people in the building behind them were. The art in our western civilization today still resembles these powerful vertical stone structures in front of our government buildings. The statues of the women from the caryatid porch of the Erechtheum in 7.31 were so cocky. Just think if you walked by a house or any building today and seen these women as pillars to a huge porch of a building. You would think that whoever owned that building may be very sexist. Or just about any rapper because they depict women in a terrible way.  The culture was different than ours today in our western part of the world. There were women gods just as there were men gods. The Greek theater 7.33, is amazing. Today we come up with art like this but it’s just not the same to look at. I say this because today this same building would have takin maybe weeks to build not months or years. With that said when a person sees this structure for the first time they cannot help to take a moment to try to grasp how much effort, showmanship, time, and loyalty this took the builders (artists) to render. Like the pyramids of Egypt, these buildings were not built with cranes using combustible engines. They were built and designed by the hands of a lot of people. Think about that. These structures took communities months and years to put together. All those people working together. That’s a beautiful thing that I think might be over looked. It’s like when we go to work now, were pull together and work as a team. These buildings took entire communities to pull together day in and day out. All believing in the same idea, wanting to build such great structures to show how great the culture was. You know these people appreciated their work for a lifetime. The generations that followed must have really appreciated who they were, growing up with such beautiful surrounding made of natural earth elements. Today we have theaters, buildings with huge massive pillars, and fine art crafted into walls but I don’t think they pull people together like these structures did in ancient cultures.

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The Venus figurines are quite interesting. In most cultures, these thicker figures for women are preferred. In ancient times and even today this figure is a sign of good health. I think the western culture today is forming this same opinion, from the “skinny” figure was a fad in this last century. I also, appreciate you pointing out how women’s niche was very important to the tribes and communities they were apart of. Like the men as hunters, women were people that nurtured and took care of things locally in the communities they were a part of.

Week 2:

I found the Venus figurines to be very intriguing when reading the topic of prehistoric western art. These figurines date back to 25,000 B.C. to 21,000 B.C. and were created by early humans around Europe. This piece sparked my interest because of all the different opinions on what the figurine means. Being a woman, I am able to relate to this piece through its design and meaning. I can understand how these figurines became important and how it had impacted my life today. According to our book, Adams believes that the shape of the Venus of Willendorf was created to resemble a woman. In Adams opinion, the figurine seemed to stand for reproduction or nursing. The artist’s design is based off of the duties performed by women. Some scholars believe the figurine represents a type of fertility God which was important for survival back in the day. While doing research on my own I came across some interesting facts and opinions. Some people thought that the figurines were representations of women from that time period; however, that seems very unlike that women were obese because of the harsh survival conditions. These figurines could have represented a common goal to reach among a tribe because it symbolized health and prosperity. Other opinions are that the Venus figurines are the first representations of religious figures and others believe that they represented a society ran by woman. Before the discovery of the Venus figurines, female images were unknown and most of the prehistoric art was cave drawings of animals. These figurines told archaeologist a lot about women during this time. Most of the Venus figurines have a deliberate exaggeration of female body parts and this is why I believe that the figurines represent women. There were many different designs of the Venus figurines, but among all research the common theme seemed to be that the figurines had some type of relation to women and their body parts. In my own opinion, I believe that the figurines were symbols of a healthy woman. The design of these figurines show wide hips, thighs and breast all representing the signs of a strong reproductive woman. I could see this figurine in the houses of the early humans to promote the survival of their tribe and the continuation of their human line. Whether this figure was used to pray or was supposed to bring luck, I believe it had some religious affiliation. I believe religion had a huge role in the lives of early humans and is why there were many different Venus figurines to represent the different areas of needs within a tribe. Unlike today I believe that the prehistoric society was very nonsexist. Although Men had to go out and hunt, it was because they had the physical strength to kill animals, and although women cooked and took care of the children, it was crucial to support the tribe. Both men and women had very important roles and without each sex doing their given roles the community would not survive. The figurine could show the strengths of women and their important role in the tribe.

Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Aprilholloway. “The Venus Figurines of the European Paleolithic Era.“ Ancient Origins. Ancient Origins, 11 Apr. 2014. Web. 30 May 2017.

"Prehistoric Venus Figurines (30,000-20,000 BCE)." Venus Figurines, Prehistoric: Definition, Characteristics, Interpretation. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2017.

Vandewettering, Kaylea R. "Upper Paleolithic Venus Figurines and Interpretations of Prehistoric Gender Representations." PURE Insights. N.p., 2015. Web.

Wilford, John Noble. "Full-Figured Statuette, 35,000 Years Old, Provides New Clues to How Art Evolved." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 May 20Aprilholloway. "The Venus Figurines of the European Paleolithic Era." Ancient Origins. Ancient Origins, 11 Apr. 2014. Web. 30 May 2017.09. Web. 30 May 2017.

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Ancient Egypt & the Aegean

Chapter 5 & 6                                                                                                        

Chapter 5 is very interesting. I wonder how awesome it would have been to be the Egyptologist’s that found all the tombs and artifacts inside them. To be thought of as a god was quite the idea. I am sure more than a couple of kings tried to make up their own religion as Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV). The Idea of using the word dynasty to describe the generations of the royal families is so over the top. I find Egyptian culture so intriguing. The sun is our god today as it was at that time as well. I think we today do not worship the earth the way we should, after all it is our god along with the sun. not one culture so far in this book has pointed out how great the earth is to us. Without her (earth) and the sun we could not exist the way we do. Today we still barely recognize what the earth does for us. End of rant on my opinion of what we should worship and label as our gods.

The art from all eras of ancient Egypt are more beautiful than the predecessors that came before them. Who knew that king Tutankhamun’s tomb had 2 gold coffins, the inner smaller one weighing a staggering 243 pounds. That’s a lot of gold, and it is absolutely stunning to look at.

Unlike the Egyptian paintings, the Minoan fresco’s suggested that the figures in the pictures were in movement. Although I do not see the difference in the paintings. Egyptians were either killing someone, carrying things and what looks to be like walking, and playing with their children in their pictures. I would say the difference that stands out to me is that the Minoan art is generally more detailed. I refer to “6.9 ship fresco” in the text. Also, the pottery vases 6.7 and 6.8 show how the Cyclades were more advanced with their art. Verses the bold colors and outlines used by Egyptians 5.25 and 5.26 of the text for example. Tutankhamun’s coffin is one of a kind, but compared to the Minoan art it is primitive.

Although the stone carvings and structures were quite comparable, the city of Thera in the southern Cyclades was way ahead of its time. This affluent ancient town was paved, mud brick housing, and plumbing systems in the buildings and ground. It is too bad that many earthquakes destroyed Crete.

The Mycenaean civilization was ahead of its time too. The housing suggested a higher standard of living. The layout and art on the walls of the buildings is just like the Minoan people. Using different chambers for different uses, made these buildings one a kind.

Egyptian and Mycenaean tombs were somewhat similar. The Egyptian tombs being gigantic stone structures, though had an inner area for the tombs for their royalty like the Mycenaean tombs. Most which were plundered anyway. Finding the stone, moving it, and building the pyramids must have takin a long time to do. Along with taking forever to build the shrines how many people were involved with these creations. The Egyptian civilization must have been enormous to the Cyclades civilizations.

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Ancient Egypt & the Aegean

Chapter 5 & 6                                                                                                        

Chapter 5 is very interesting. I wonder how awesome it would have been to be the Egyptologist’s that found all the tombs and artifacts inside them. To be thought of as a god was quite the idea. I am sure more than a couple of kings tried to make up their own religion as Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV). The Idea of using the word dynasty to describe the generations of the royal families is so over the top. I find Egyptian culture so intriguing. The sun is our god today as it was at that time as well. I think we today do not worship the earth the way we should, after all it is our god along with the sun. not one culture so far in this book has pointed out how great the earth is to us. Without her (earth) and the sun we could not exist the way we do. Today we still barely recognize what the earth does for us. End of rant on my opinion of what we should worship and label as our gods.

The art from all eras of ancient Egypt are more beautiful than the predecessors that came before them. Who knew that king Tutankhamun’s tomb had 2 gold coffins, the inner smaller one weighing a staggering 243 pounds. That’s a lot of gold, and it is absolutely stunning to look at.

Unlike the Egyptian paintings, the Minoan fresco’s suggested that the figures in the pictures were in movement. Although I do not see the difference in the paintings. Egyptians were either killing someone, carrying things and what looks to be like walking, and playing with their children in their pictures. I would say the difference that stands out to me is that the Minoan art is generally more detailed. I refer to “6.9 ship fresco” in the text. Also, the pottery vases 6.7 and 6.8 show how the Cyclades were more advanced with their art. Verses the bold colors and outlines used by Egyptians 5.25 and 5.26 of the text for example. Tutankhamun’s coffin is one of a kind, but compared to the Minoan art it is primitive.

Although the stone carvings and structures were quite comparable, the city of Thera in the southern Cyclades was way ahead of its time. This affluent ancient town was paved, mud brick housing, and plumbing systems in the buildings and ground. It is too bad that many earthquakes destroyed Crete.

The Mycenaean civilization was ahead of its time too. The housing suggested a higher standard of living. The layout and art on the walls of the buildings is just like the Minoan people. Using different chambers for different uses, made these buildings one a kind.

Egyptian and Mycenaean tombs were somewhat similar. The Egyptian tombs being gigantic stone structures, though had an inner area for the tombs for their royalty like the Mycenaean tombs. Most which were plundered anyway. Finding the stone, moving it, and building the pyramids must have takin a long time to do. Along with taking forever to build the shrines how many people were involved with these creations. The Egyptian civilization must have been enormous to the Cyclades civilizations.

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The clay tablet is really quite amazing, a tablet that had a point of reference for this learning culture. I also would like to believe that Stonehenge was a place of ceremonial uses. The idea of concerts sounds like another ritual a culture would believe in using for this rock arrangement. If aliens built this on the other hand I am sure they used the site for the very same reasons that our ancestors would have used it for.

Week 2

“Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?”

Chapter Three started out with asking us these three questions. I read the questions multiple times, trying to understand the point or purpose in them. And then I read the next line, “Works of art help us to answer these questions.” I paused after I read that and the first thing that came to my mind was how absolutely true that is.

Chapter Three goes into depth on the prehistory of art, which is the time before the invention of writing, and the only way to truly answer the questions Who are we? and Where do we come from? is to get to know and understand the ones that came before us through their beautiful carvings in limestone, through their detailed stories on cave walls in bright red and black pigments, and through the mystery of huge rock architecture. Laurie Adams said it best, “The challenge lies in discovering how to read and interpret them [prehistoric works of art].

When the time came and writing was invented most assume those cave paintings and mysterious rock architectures dissolved, however, carvings, paintings, and certainly new and improved architectural structures thrived.

I can’t even imagine how intelligent the people in the Neolithic Era were. They built these incredible architectural structures; ziggurats, temples, and amazing rounded arches. And not only were they massive, they were decorated with beautiful carvings either using pictures to tell a story or newly invented words.

What people overlook, or I should say sometimes overlook, is that the Scripture or the writings are works of art themselves. Take the clay tablet on page 37 (fig. 4.7) for example, this tablet was made by pressing a rounded object into the clay and not only are there written words on the tablet but a form of a numerical system. To some, it may look like a bunch of scribbles, but it is truly a work of art.

Stonehenge is and, more than likely will always be an intriguing mystery. Since we are not privileged enough to know the true meaning and /or purpose of the Stonehenge, scholars theories will just have to do for now.

I have to say there were some crazy theories out there such as a giant helped built it, it was built with music in mind, it was used as a team-building exercise, and of course, anything to do with aliens.

After I read the “out of this world” crazy theories, pun intended, I came across some eye-opening theories such as a place of burial, a place of healing, even a soundscape. The soundscape theory is what makes the most sense to me. Steven Waller, a researcher in Archaeol Acoustics, came up with this theory. Waller explains, “if two pipers were to play their instruments in a field, a listener would notice a strange effect. In certain spots, the sound waves from the dual pipes would cancel each other out, creating quiet spots… the stones of Stonehenge replace the pipes in this example” (qtd. in Live Science). The music theory doesn’t sound so crazy now. After reading this all I can imagine is what prehistoric concerts looked like.

We may never know what the true meaning of Stonehenge is, but it sure is fun coming up with different theories to pass our time. 

Works Cited:

Adams, Laurie Schneider. A History of Western Art. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

Pappas, Stephanie. “5 Strange Theories About Stonehenge.” LiveScience. Purch, 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 28 May 2017.

Picture: Stonehenge https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2015/01/09/robin-heath-stonehenge-the-marriage-of-the-sun-and-moon/  

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Week 2 Blog

Prehistoric Europe + Ancient Near East

Prehistoric Europe said often considered the "cradle of civilization". Where we all came from and formed as the humans we have evolved into today. Homo sapiens have said to be around since one million five hundred B.C. Homo sapiens meaning “wise wise man”. The stone age was split up into three groups due to time. Paleolithic were the first, Mesolithic being the middle, and Neolithic being the newest.

Paleolithic people created sculptures and used blood to paint with, making cave wall pictures. The Mesolithic era was short, people learned how to congregate near water to live. The Neolithic era created monoliths using stones. With these we are to believe today that these monoliths were used for religious reasons. Also, honoring the dead. We believe today that these structures (buildings) were set up to face the sun during summer and winter solstice months. Without any hard evidence who is to say that this is what these buildings and arrangements were used for.

With how many religions we have in the today, we can only guess this is what these structures were used for. In my town, I live in there are probably 20 churches or better. With that said I can only imagine that these structures were used for sacred events.

What I find interesting is the Neolithic people created documentation, a written language. Ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia recorded language on tablets called cuneiforms. Over thousands of years, Mesopotamian scribes recorded daily events, trade, astronomy, and literature on clay tablets. The Cuneiform writing system developed here was the first form of communication beyond the use of pictograms. Between half a million and two million cuneiform tablets are estimated to have been excavated in modern times, of which only approximately 30,000– 100,000 have been read or published. Mesopotamia ranging in the historical region situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in modern days roughly corresponding to most of Iraq. Now I want to know how did we modern man decipher this language.

Scholars need a good knowledge of several languages: The three main languages of Mesopotamia; Akkadian (including its major dialects), Sumerian and Imperial Aramaic and Eastern Aramaic dialects. In the mid-third millennium, the direction of writing was changed from columns running downwards and signs were written from left to right in horizontal rows. The Behistun inscription was to the decipherment of cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone was to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs. We cracked the language, being able to find a ruler’s name as a starting point and going from there. it was not until 1835, when Henry Rawlinson, a British East India Company army officer, visited the Behistun Inscriptions in Iran that a breakthrough in understanding was made.

The evolution of written language has come a long way from smearing blood or ash on walls of caves and building post-and-lintel constructions. These cuneiform's are really exciting to learn about. It was also, so surprising to know how many of them were produced and still exist today. I look forward getting more out of this class.

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Oh this is definitely artwork, I live in Dubuque IA. being from here I never realized or appreciated the cathedrals and churches we have here. not until a friend visited and noticed the artwork of these historic sites did I start to appreciate the artwork right here in my city.

I’m not sure if architecture is the same as a “work of art,” but I have always been in awe of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.  I’ve been there twice and each time was stuck by the magnitude of its beauty.