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I also love stain glass windows, they are always a pleasure to look at and it seems like the designs and the colors are never ending! It’s almost like looking into a kaleidoscope. The amount of work and the products that are put into making these, is incredible! I also find it mind blowing that they are made with such an incredible amount of heat to produce the glassy,m vibrant colors. I feel as if that much heat would crack or melt the art work completely, but instead it produces an amazing master piece! I believe that these stain glass windows, especially the ones in churches tells a story about Christ and the way they lived back then.

Art History Chapter 13: Gothic Art

In chapter 13, the book talks about Gothic Art and Gothic cathedrals. Gothic cathedrals are one of the greatest and most elaborate monuments made out of stone. The name “Gothic” is given to the art primarily produced in Western Europe from about the middle of the twelfth century in France to the sixteenth century in other parts of Europe. Originally, the term was used by the Italians in the sixteenth century to denigrate the pre-Renaissance style. So the term refers to the Germanic tribes that took over Greece and Italy in 410 B.C. The “Goths” were to blame for destroying what remained of the Classical style. The origin of Gothic style art has no relation to its names history but once the scholars realized their mistake it was too late and Gothic was the accepted name for this form of art.

The elements of the Gothic architecture is very important and is what defines the Gothic style. The rib vault in Gothic architecture replaces the early barrel vaults seen in Romanesque architecture. The rib vault was more successful because it required less buttressing, where the barrel vault needed more buttressing because they exert pressure along their entire length which means they need more buttressing. Because the weight of the rib vault is concentrated only at the corners of the bay, the structure can be buttressed at intervals, which made more room for windows, stain glass windows. The ribs could be build before the windows were put in. Also, adding the ribs enabled Gothic builders to reinforce the ceiling vaults and to distribute their weight more efficiently and because of the rib’s weight bearing capacity, the vault surface could be made out of lighter material.

The pointed arches, as seen in all gothic style buildings, are both a characteristic and an essential feature of Gothic architecture. The pointed arch can be thought of as the intersection of two arcs of non-concentric circles. Some example of pointed arches is seen in Romanesque buildings but in a tentative form. The piers channel the downward thrust of the pointed arch, minimizing the sideways thrust against the wall. Pointed arches can be theoretically be raised to any height regardless of the distance between supports, unlike round arches. Because of this, the pointed arch is more flexible building elements.

Finally, my favorite element of Gothic styled architecture; stain glass windows. The windows were a beautiful style of art on their own and took an amazing amount of effort to make. Stain glass is translucent colored glass cut to form a window design. The windows are made from pieces of colored glass formed by mixing metallic oxides with molten glass or fusing colored glass with clear glass. The artist cuts the individual pieces as closely as possible, with amazing detail, to the shape of a face or another individual feature of the window. The pieces are then fitted on a model drawing printed on wood or paper and details are added with black enamel. The dark pigments are hardened and fused with the glass through baking in a kiln. This section about Cathedrals and stain glass windows really interests me because when I took my trip to Paris, I was able to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. Which was one of my favorite parts of the trip because of the beauty and time put into the creation of the cathedral. I enjoyed reading more into the process of making the cathedrals and the windows. I love learning about things I have already experienced and it gives me a better understanding and respect for the history I’ve come to learn about over the years. (The picture is of the beautiful stained glass window I loved from the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris)

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Gothic Art

The chapter about Gothic Art was interesting and I learned a lot from reading it. In the first part of the reading it talked about Suger and his reconstruction of the church. I thought it was very interesting and thoughtful of the way he in cooperated God and light into the church. Everyone kind of has a perception of God and what kind of characteristics he is made up of, he is holy, divine, and associated with light. Suger made sure to express the relationship of light and God’s presence in a distinctive way. This change in architecture and allowing light into the churches attracted so many more people than the Romanesque architecture did because all the Romanesque features included dark interiors and thick massive walls. I think this is important to remember because it brings about a new “vision” of the church and how people saw it.

Another thing I read about the Gothic art that I found interesting were the “Guilds”. In this society, these places were formed to protect and aid their members to pursue economic and religious goals. I feel like the guilds of the Gothic time are almost like City Halls in our time now because they regulate wages and prices, oversee working conditions, and maintain high standards of workmanship. It’s almost like the rules to keep a quality living conditions for EVERYONE. One thing that is different is the three grades of membership- masters, journeymen, and apprentices. These grades can advance to other grades with a certain set of rules as well for the promotion to the rank of “master”. I can kind of relate this to the ranks in a city though, almost like a city council member to a mayor of the city. I thought this part in the chapter was interesting as to how they ran things in their society back then.

Cathedrals, are more important than I had thought before reading this chapter. I learned that these giant buildings were not only important to the people that worshiped there, but they were important to the masons, carpenters, sculptors, stone-cutters, and other craftsman. In short, it created many jobs for people. Also, cathedrals brought people together and were used for community activities, nonreligious as well as religious. All together though it brought together the pride of the town, knowing that their town housed the cathedral that brought so many people together and brought so many people jobs back in the Gothic age.

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I think it is crazy how much religion played an important role in people’s lives back then and how much people relied on religion and their “God” to get through the day and to build their lives. So much back then was based around religion and how culture was, ranging from paintings, sculptures, writings, and even buildings. I think that it is important to remember these styles and the way people lived back then, so that people now can realize that it was the little things that were important to these people and that art work was what they lived their lives on and how they managed to “keep going” back then.

Week 8

Both chapter eleven and twelve consist of periods heavily focused on religion and the troubles the religions faced. Because theses eras were religious based, so was their artwork. The Islamic religion had a strong idea on their artwork just being geometric figures and floral patterns. This is because they did not want their followers to idolize the Gods and thought sculptures were the devils work. There geometric and floral pattern artwork reminds me of a lot of contemporary art and how some artists have pulled ideas from this era. The Islamic architectural expression is a mosque. The Great Mosque Cordoba is extravagant mosque with bright colors and crazy patterns. The Mihrab bay and the Dome have a very intrinsic design which would be breath taking to see up close. This Mosque represents western styled mosques and it was eventually converted into a cathedral. I find that to be ironic because the Hagia Sophia was a Catholic chapel turned into a Mosque.

During northern European era, the Anglo-Saxon had amazing metal work and created the Sutton Hoo purse. This was a fashion piece and I could see how its design would show your wealth and importance. The Hiberno-Saxon art era had a strong Christian influence. The medieval manuscript, Lion Symbol of Saint John shows the combination of Christian and Irish culture. Within the manuscript there is a rich history and every detail or color is a symbol. This manuscript reminds me of the Irish heritage I see in America. Many Family have a crest or some color that represents their identity. There is a rich history behind these manuscripts.

Religion also played a big role in the Romanesque era. Over half of the west had some type of religion affiliation and religion was an influence in many people’s lives. Christians made sacred pilgrimages across the west and with these pilgrimages brought new art ideas. Christian towns and places of worship were being built along the travel routes. Most of the buildings architecture reflected the Christian faith and their values. One pilgrimage church that stood out to me was the Sante-Foy at Conques. It was more modern than previous churches because of its stone barrel vaults roof compared to the previous wooden roofs. This church was also huge and was made to accommodate the large crowds that were on their pilgrimage. The inside of Sante-Foy seems similar to catholic churches in the United States. Sante-Foy however has many different dimensions such as a separate area for the monasteries. It’s truly amazing all the detail and work that went into the church, especially for being a stop along the pilgrimage.

Manuscripts were commonly found across the chapters I read for this week. During the Romanesque period manuscripts took on lively patters and had a flat space. It reflects the religious heritage and beliefs of that time. The manuscript Saint Matthew, has some Anglo-Saxon and Islamic influence. You can tell the manuscript Saint Matthew is catholic because of the combination of figures and abstract work. Islamic artwork rarely had figures in them.

Both these chapters display extravagant artwork that has a heavy religious influence. This era differs a lot from the other eras because there is not a lot of unique pieces and there is less artwork modeling the high class. A lot of the religious artwork found in these chapters has influenced the Catholic churches I go to today.

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

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Early Middle Ages and Romanesque Art

The early middle ages chapter was quite fascinating to read about. I thought that it was interesting that the powerful new influence of this era was Islam. Islam’s primary expression was the mosque, this is where they pray and are kneeling towards the Mecca. I thought it was interesting that sculpture was considered the work of Satan and there wasn’t much created in Islamic art. Also, reading about the differences of Islam and Christianity, I thought it was interesting that Islam doesn’t have a religious hierarchy or priesthood, whereas Christians are always praising God and representing God in many ways. On the other hand, Christians didn’t have as strict rules like Islamic people did, like worship in the mosque on Fridays, give alms to the poor, fast, and abstain from sex are some good examples. Although these are strict rules, I think that these rules bring together the religion and it brings everyone on to the same page.

The one thing I really found interesting while reading chapter 11 was the monasteries. The idea that these buildings were meant for reforms in art and education, shows how dedicated western Europe was. I thought it was neat having a building solely dedicated for a religious life. Each monastery has a school and included a religious and administrative center, along with an agricultural production as well. Knowing that many of the monks lived as hermits or dedicated themselves to prayer, shows how serious these people were with their religious beliefs and ways. The quote I really liked was “According to Benedict’s Rule, monks should live communally under supervision of an abbot, devoting themselves to a strict routine of work, study, and prayer.” This quote really shows their dedication to religion and the study of it.

Chapter 12 was the introduction of the Romanesque Art. This type of art was not really meant to be a historical term, it is rather a stylistic term intended to describe medieval art. Now having the Christian Church being so stable and prosperous, it brought on a lot of building activities such as: cathedrals, churches, and monasteries. Pilgrims were of the many people stopping in and traveling through these buildings due to the many traveling routes that they had created across France to the Pyrenees Mountain Range. In these buildings are the best examples of Romanesque art today, especially in France.

Sainte-Foy at Conques was the building that really peaked my interest in this chapter. The architecture behind this building is amazing and well planned. This was one of the Pilgrimage churches that served as a communication place for the Pilgrims along their routes they had made. I thought it was unique that that replaced the roofs with barrel vaults instead of wood, so that there would be a lesser change of fire or decomposition and the barrel vaults also provided better acoustics. Along with this building is also the famous scene the “Last Judgment”, this is a great visual of the advantages and glories of being “on the right hand of God”. I think that this is a great representation and reminder that people who make bad decisions will go to hell or be punished and those who abide my God and those who are good will live an eternal life with God at their side.

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As a Christian myself, I also thought it was ironic that Christianity was not able to be practiced without major consequences, especially because it was such a large and popular religion. Isn’t it crazy how things can change so much over time? I can’t imagine not being able to go to church and worshiping, where as in other religions the “holy” places were strictly for Gods only and no worship from the people. To me Christianity is one of the best religions because of its diversity and willingness to be open.

Chapter 10: Early Christian and Byzantine Art

 In chapter ten, it begins by discussing how Christianity came about. As a Christian myself, this was not new to me, but it still fascinates me how it began way back in A.D. 33. One thing I did discover reading, was how Christians were not safe in Rome before A.D. 313, until Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which allowed acceptance of all religions. Specifically, in this chapter, it discusses Early Christian Art, Justinian and the Byzantine Style, The Codex, and the Later Byzantine Developments.

           In Early Christian Art, it discusses Sarcophagi’s, Basilica’s, and centrally planned churches. The Sarcophagi is a marble piece of art which include scenes from the Old and New Testament. It also includes figures from Roman and Christian meaning. I thought the Sarcophagi reminded me of those flip books where you flip through really fast and you see the story unfold. I felt the marble art resembled a long story like a flip book. The Basilica’s personally are my favorite. I find their ginormous structure to be extravagant and religious. Little did I know, prior to basilica’s, Christians were forced to worship in private homes. After the Edict of Malian though, basilicas were built for Christian prayers. The closest basilica to my home town is only thirty minutes away and is in Dyersville. Just recently my Great Aunt Carol’s funeral took place there, and I could not help but think how precious and pristine it was to have the funeral in a basilica. Besides the basilica, there are the centrally planned churches. These churches are centrally planned round or a polygonal building. A common event at these churches were baptisteries, mausolea, or martyria.

           The second part of the chapter discusses Justinian and the Byzantine Style. The San Vital is a Justinian church and was dedicated to San Vitale, a Roman slave and Christian martyr who became the object of a growing cult from the end of the fourth century. In the book, it is said to be compared to the Early Christian basilica. The outside of the church is rather plain with bricks, while the interior is richly decorated with mosaics and marble. The second style was the Hagia Sophia. This church was dedicated to Christ as the personification of Holy Wisdom. Personally, I do not know how to describe the design of this building, other than the fact there is a central point in the middle with four huge piers surrounding it. From the outside, the building looks as if it is rather large, and has a large praying center in the middle building known as the “Nave.”

           The third part of the chapter discusses the Codex. This came about towards the end of the first century and was a new method of transmitting miniature imagery accompanying written texts came into use. The Codex was flat sheets of parchment and sturdy vellum. The Codex was also illustrated with richer colors on the pages, and was praised for the way it held the complete work of Virgil in a single volume.

           The last part of the chapter discusses the later Byzantine Developments. During the eighth and ninth centuries, there was a dispute as to what the nature of imagery should be. This was called the Iconoclastic Controversy, in which the virtues and dangers of religious imagery were debated. I found this crazy because they would fight about how people should not praise the painting but rather the real person. Yes, to a degree I understand, but sometimes people need things to pray into. Overall, this chapter was very interesting to read, and I enjoyed discovering the different buildings and how Christians gained their own freedom!

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Early Christian and Byzantine Art

Reading about the early Christian and Byzantine art, it helps me connect to what I have grown up around and learned in the past and still to this day. It started out with the familiar “crucifixion” of Jesus Christ outside the city of Jerusalem and it went into detail on how Christianity differed from many different cults back then. For example, we know that Christians did not include animal or blood sacrifices, except in a symbolic form, which we know is bread (Christ’s body) and red wine (Christ’s blood). The other example on how they differ was the fact that they refused to worship the emperor like the Romans and Greeks did, this led to persecution by Rome. I find this first part of the chapter very interesting because so many people wanted to be different and didn’t want to be like the “norm” or everyone else. I also like that this religion brought in the lower class’s approval and that they could now be a part of something that they were proud of. The Edict of Milan produced by Constantine, by far, was the best thing to happen for Christianity because it granted the tolerance to ALL religions.

One thing that I found interesting was the idea of the “catacombs” (underground cemeteries) for Christian followers. The catacombs were established and were a supposedly safe place from Roman persecution because the Roman law states that they were “sacrosanct” or to important/valuable to be interfered with. So, these catacombs were safe places to perform funerary services and they are important in the fact that many of the earliest forms and examples of the Christian art can be found. For example, “Christ as the Good Shepherd” in the catacomb of Priscilla, is a fitting example of compassion in Jesus Christ. I also love that they pursued to build buildings that were for the worshipers rather than being a house simply for the statue of Gods or emperors.

The Basilica of San Vitale is a church in Ravenna, Italy and it states that it is one of the most important examples of the early Christian and Byzantine art/architecture in Europe. When reading about this building it seems to me that a lot of demanding work and engineering was put behind building this. The church has an octagonal plan. It also combines many Roman elements such as: the dome, the shape of doorways, and stepped towers. But, yet it also combines with the Byzantine elements such as: the apse, capitals, narrowing bricks, and flying buttresses. Most importantly this church is known for its mosaics. One example is the “Court of Justinian” where it is “intended to depict Justinian as Christ’s representative on Earth and to show him as a worthy successor to Constantine- to express his power as head of both church and state.”

What I loved about reading this chapter is the fact that the art and the architecture is enormous and extravagant but it is anonymous. Also, Byzantine art seems to be a slowly changing mood/designs rather than a list of single masterpieces. The art that these people from the Christian and Byzantine era created are a part of the buildings they are in, they cannot be erased from them without destroying it. I find that to be the most amazing part of this chapter, that the people creating this art made sure that no one would forget about it.

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I also found that one of my favorite parts of this section and one of the most interesting, were the public baths. Isn’t it crazy to think that the Romans thought that baths would bring people together and create a place of relaxation for their community? And it worked! It’s almost like today’s “Boys and Girls Clubs” or Recreation centers, just minus the bathing and swimming part. I also thought it was crazy that every town/city had a public bath, that shows how dedicated the Romans were to giving their people social and relaxation time.

Week 6- Ancient Rome

Greek art was a model throughout the Mediterranean and provided a classical ideal. Rome had its local styles but the Romans continued to be influenced by Greek sculpture, painting, and architecture. Unlike Greek art, Roman art was typically commemorative, narrative, and based on history rather than myth. A lot like the Hellenistic style, Roman portraits preserved the features of their subjects. They even did more and made wax death masks and copied them in marble. Now I had no idea what a wax death max was, so I googled it. And according to google, a wax death mask is an image, typically in wax or plaster cast made of a person’s face following death, often by taking a cast or impression directly with the corpse. Super creepy if you ask me!

The Romans carried out extensive building programs, partly to accommodate their expanding territory and its growing population, and partly to glorify the state and the emperor. The public baths were something I found sort of interesting. The Roman public bath was a cultural center, a place used for socializing, bathing, and swimming. It also provided facilities for playing ball, running, and wrestling. So basically, like a big rec center I suppose.  Except the amenities included a cold room, a warm room, a hot room, steam rooms, changing rooms, libraries, gardens, and a museum. I thought it was interesting and sort of cool how the public baths had things like the garden, museum, and library in there, it’s something different. And I’ve never known of one building to have so many different options and things to do.

The most typical sculptural type of the Romans was the sarcophagus, which had also been used by the Etruscans and became an expression of status under Hadrian. One of the most important Roman sculptures in the round was the emperor himself, The Augustus of Prima Porta. In this sculpture, the emperor is shown as a general addressing his troops. By the right leg, Cupid rides a dolphin and serves as a reminder that Atticus traced his lineage to Aeneas and was descended from the gods. This sculpture is the first sculpture I’ve seen throughout the chapters that could look like a person from today’s time, so I thought that was cool.

Roman murals are among the most significant legacies of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Hundreds of wall paintings and mosaics have been discovered among the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. I remember learning about the Pompeii eruption, but I don’t remember ever learning that and I thought that was neat. Roman mural paints had small amounts of wax added to increase the surface shine. Because of the durability this adds, the murals could survive the volcanic ash and stay in decently good condition. The scholars have divided the wall decorations of Pompeian houses into four styles. My favorite from these out of the picture I seen is the first style. The exaggerated expressions are a characteristic of the Hellenistic style. You can tell this in the Soothsayers picture. The witches’ faces are creepy looking.

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Ancient Rome

In chapter 9 I learned a lot about Roman architecture, sculptural styles, murals, and the new materials, styles, and techniques they used to become one of the most well-known empires. Ancient Rome grew from a small town on the Tiber River into an empire that at its peak covered most of Europe, Britain, western Asia, northern Africa, and the Mediterranean islands.

One interesting thing that I liked during this reading was how Rome was founded by a set of twins, Romulus and Remus. These two babies were cared after by a she-wolf along the Tiber River. The sad part is that Romulus killed his brother to rise to power. Romulus became the first king of Rome, which is named after him and after him, a line of other Italian civilization kings followed him. I thought it was ironic that a brother could kill his own flesh and blood and literally his other half, just to get the power and to rule the region. Being a twin myself, I cannot fathom or even come to grips why anyone would destroy such a powerful relationship that twins have together.

Also, the Roman architecture continued in the wake of the Greeks and this was evident in many large public buildings, like the pillars/columns and the Corinthian style. But, knowing that the Romans wanted to be “more” and more extravagant than anyone else, they quickly began to create new construction techniques, used new materials, and combined many other existing techniques with their own fresh ideas to make a whole new level of architectural buildings. A few examples of the new and improved buildings are the basilica, the triumphal arch, monumental aqueduct, the Colosseum, and public baths. The public baths intrigued me the most because coming from a society today that believes baths should be private and a part of your alone time, I found it interesting that many people used public baths to get their social hour and to exercise even. These public baths were far from ordinary, they were beautiful. They created breath-taking interior space using arches, domes, vaults. The biggest of these complexes were built symmetrically along a single axis and included pools, cold and hot rooms, fountains, libraries, and under-floor heating.

The last thing that I like reading about this was about the murals. I love to read about Pompeii and the history behind it, so when I found out that most of the wall paintings and murals that were found and now that are being preserved are at Pompeii, it fascinated me! I always thought that Pompeii was a destruction land of volcanic ash, but it shows that a lot of murals have been found here. Who knew something good could have ever come out of that unfortunate event. I learned that the wax the painters put over the murals that gave the painting its final shine and the volcanic ash on top of that, helped save and protect the mural from any further damages and helped keep them in their relative good condition that they are in today and when they were found.

Altogether, I learned that Rome is a place where they want to rise to power and get to the top, but the want to work their way to the top instead of giving everything handed to them. This is why Rome today, is known to be a prosperous and a city that is help high in other people’s views.

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I also found it quite interesting that the Etruscan people put a lot of emphasis on the women back then. Isn’t it crazy that still in today’s world, people still think of women as a lesser individual or that we can’t hold higher positions than men? I believe that every individual, no matter what their sex is, they should be given the benefit of the doubt to show people what they are truly made of and how capable everyone can be at something. I find it great that the Etruscan people where one of the first to help recognize women and how great/equal they are!

The Art of the Etruscans

           The Etruscan civilization was alive and developing between C. 1000 and 100 B.C. It was also in relation with the Greek Culture. The Etruscans used iron, bronze and ivory objects for their elaborate burials. The Etruscan homeland is modern day Tuscany, or earlier known as Etruria. The origin and the language of Etruscan is uncertain and not presently known. The Greek alphabet derived from the Phoenician and is written from right to left.

The architecture of the Etruscan civilization is large-scale and personally pleasing to the eye. The idea came from Greek prototypes and was called the wattle-and-daub construction. The “wattle” was the reinforcing braches that were held with clay and mud, which was called “daub.”

           I quickly learned how the Etruscan people adapted a lot of their ideas from the Greek culture, including their sense of pottery and sculpture. They adapted and adopted the Greek social customs such as symposium, drinking party, and the practice of banqueting in a reclining position. The Greek sculptures and pottery, made all from bronze, take on an aggressive form, showcasing scenes such as the Capitoline Wolf, where a mother wolf protects her cubs. When I first saw this sculpture, I was confused as the mother looking like she was feeding human babies, rather than actual wolf cubs.

           The difference between the Greeks and the Etruscan people differed in their views and attitudes towards women. Etruscan art showed how women participated more in public life with their husbands and held higher positions than women in ancient Greece (male-centered Greeks disapproved). Husbands and wives joined together for banquets, and women of wealth wore elaborate jewelry to show off their rank. This sounds a lot like today’s society if you ask me! Etruscan artists frequently would depict scenes in which the women dominated the men by being older more powerful or higher in status. I found this interesting because after reading this, we also see this struggle in power in today’s world. We struggle with the segregation between men and women, and their rights vs. power. It blows my mind that even how many centuries back the same difficulties that we face today took place. It makes me question if we will ever tackle this issue in my lifetime.

           In the last part of the chapter, it discusses Funerary Art. The Etruscans believed in an afterlife far deeper and closer than the Greeks, but is not known what their specific views are. Like the Egyptians, the Etruscans believed in materialistic things, and sent things such as mirrors, jewelry, and weapons with the dead for their afterlife. Cinerary containers came around in the seventh century when many Etruscans cremated their dead. The lid of the container was in the form of a human head. Even the bottle of the ashes had markings to define if the body was female or male! They cremated their dead to form a generalized likeness between the people. I found it amazing how they would even make their urns in the shape of houses or huts. This is so cool!

           The last pages of the chapter talk about the Sarcophagi and tomb paintings. The Sarcophagi was meant for the wealthier of people, and represented a married couple, the family unit was an important element in Etruscan art and society. The women in the Sarcophagi represented her position in life with her long hair, and perfect soft body. Tomb paintings were also a service to the dead. In the Tomb of the Leopards, it shows men and women reclining on banqueting couches, with the only standing people being servants. The colors of the paintings are mainly tones of brown.

           The Etruscans remained as a quiet and individualized culture. Prior to reading this chapter, I was unaware of their culture and if they even existed. I personally loved learning about how the women played a higher role in their culture versus the other cultures I have always read about!

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Art of the Etruscans

The Etruscan art was very interesting to read about this week because, like the Greeks, they put a lot of hard work and details into their work. Their work retained distinct characteristics though that set it apart from the Greeks. The Etruscan’s were particularly strong in figurative sculpting with “terracotta”, wall painting and metal working that included iron, bronze, and ivory, and jewelry. Although Etruscan art still is considered “mysterious” because none of their history or literature survives today, we can gather a lot about them through their buried tombs and “necropoleis” (cities of the dead). These two places, the Romans seemed to leave undisturbed. These burials seemed to be of high importance due to the lively tomb paintings, to sculptures, or to pottery that they could use in the next world/afterlife.

One thing I really enjoyed reading about was the women in Etruscan art. I liked how they emphasized women and that they were apart of public life and were held in higher positions than women of ancient Greece. The artists tended to reveal women in myths where they dominate men by being older, more powerful, or higher divine status. The pictures on the mirrors, for example, when Uni is breast feeding Herakles in front of other people, shows that the woman is more powerful and that the men obey them. I think it is great that an ancient society put such emphasis on women because not many people back then thought of women as being dominant or of higher status.

Also, I thought the cinerary containers were interesting and how the urns sometimes had body markings on the outside of the container to depict whether it was a male or female. Also, I learned that some urns were providing clues to the development of building styles back then and it also expresses the metaphor in which a tomb/burial place is a “house for the dead”. I find it really fascinating that many people wanted their deceased civilians to be remembered by what they put on the urns or how the urn was shaped or designed. Depending on what type of urn you had could tell a lot about who you were as a person or what you meant to that society/civilization.

One piece of art that I found the most interesting throughout this chapter was the “Mater Matuta” which was made out of limestone. This sculpture portrayed a female with a baby swaddled across her lap. Then there is a sphinx at her side, which shows the importance that this woman was an important Goddess, in this case “a protector of mothers” due to her death in childbirth. This sculpture truly shows that the Etruscan’s really did hold their women to high standards and made them an important part of society.

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I really like how you go in to depth about beauty and how we usually think about women and children when we think of something as “pretty”. Now that you bring that up, it makes me more aware that I associate beauty with feminine things as well. I don’t think of some big/bad/tough guy walking around. I think of a women with fair skin and a flowy outfit on. I also loved the architecture. Isn’t it crazy to think that Greek was the “role-model” for other cultures around the world and we still use a lot of the designs today. I never would have guessed that Greece, of all places, would be a place placed in such high honors.

Week 4

The Ancient Origins of Modern Beauty podcast was interesting to listen to.  It started with things people thought were beautiful in 6 words.  I agreed with most of their responses which were lighthearted and relatable.  I found it interesting how they explained the word kallos and how the definition of that word in Hebrews focused on physical attractiveness.  

It made sense when the speaker explained Greek love and how we often refer beauty with women and young children.  Men don’t usually come to mind when the word beauty is brought up.  The speaker explains how it just doesn’t fit to call a hero like Hercules, “pretty.”  The Greek concept of beauty was skin deep, literally.

Greek beauty is related to symmetry and proportions.  I found it interesting that there is competing theories stating that proportion is the gold standard of measuring attractiveness.  Greek statues are often thought of as symbols of beauty and they are proportioned well.  The head is usually 1/7 the size of the entire body.  

When thinking about this idea of beauty and proportions, I thought of an idea in today’s world that contradicts this theory of what is beautiful.  Models are an icon or beautiful and desirable.  Not every model in today’s world is proportioned perfectly, in fact many models have unique features that make them stand out.  

Chapter 7 covered the Art of Ancient Greece.  Ancient Greek has made a lasting impact on our culture.  Painting and pottery, sculptures and architecture of Greece are all explained in detail with a time period and when the style was introduced.  It also covers Late Classical Style (c. 400-323 B.C.) and the Hellenistic period (323-31 B.C.)  After listening to the podcast and then reviewing chapter 7, I noticed common themes of how Greek architecture, pottery and statues had incredible symmetry and proportions.

The architecture was my favorite to read about in this chapter.  The pictures of architecture in ancient Greece were phenomenal. The Parthenon caught my eye because earlier today two girls on Instagram posted a picture by the Parthenon because they are in Greece.  It was completed as a temple to Athena.  I found it interesting that the name Parthenon came from Athena, the virgin goddess.  Virgin is Parthenos in Greek.

The Greek Theater became its own architecture after fifth century B.C.  The design is based on how sound travels.  There is a slightly semicircular seating and a round area for the orchestra.  The Theater at Epidauros is one of the theaters still preserved today.  It was cool to read that there is an alter dedicated to Dionysos in that theater.    

During the Hellenistric period, sculptures began to develop as children and older people were now represented.  Sculptors explored the nature of childhood and created Sleeping Eros, which was a sculpture of a sleeping god with childlike proportions and outward appearance.  My favorite part about Sleeping Eros is the great attention to detail, especially in the curls of his hair and his wings.  Also this little boy as an angel statue brought up the idea in the podcast that only young boys were thought of as a symbol of beauty, but not men.

[linzym13-blog]

Ancient Greece and Origins Of Modern Beauty

After reading chapter 7, I learned that ancient Greece has made a huge impact on our western culture today and that it has shaped our ideas of what perfection should look like. There is no doubt that Greece has inspired America and the way we built/ran our country. For example, in the text it states that our words are influenced by Greece, like the word “alphabet”, it combines the first two letters of the Greek alphabet (alpha and beta). Also, Greece had an influence on how we built our democracy today. The establishment of “city-states” required males to participate in the government, these “city-states” are thought to be a very important foundation of the modern democracy, which was how Thomas Jefferson was inspired. Another thing we still use from the Greeks is the style of architecture. For example, the pillar. The most famous example from Greek architecture is the Parthenon, which was a huge building located in Athens with numerous pillars. Today, we use pillars in many buildings, including the White House.

Another thing that I found fascinating in this weeks reading was the fact that Greece emphasized the “individual above all”. It states that Greek art rapidly changed from stylization to naturalism. They started focusing more upon a celebration of the everyday human figures, rather than a celebration of the Gods. It stated that Greeks were one of the first westerners that signed their works, which shows that they sparked a new interest with the creators and their pieces of work. Also, new techniques were formed to portray the body in ever more realistic ways than before - in action, erotic positions, and even at rest, also with animals and the believable detailing that depicts something we might see in reality. A great example is the sculpture of “Peplos Kore”. Her pose is less rigid than the earlier “kouros”, the drapery of her upper body reveals contours of her breasts and arms. The most important and the most naturalistic, is the “archaic smile”, which accents on the fact of being alive and her lips are curved upward and her cheekbones are raised in response (p.92). This artwork is almost unrealistic to me. It fathoms me that someone can actually sculpt like this and make a human or any object our of stone. It truly shows how talented and dedicated people of Ancient Greece really were. It also shows how dedicated to the human body they were as well.

Lastly, I have always been really intrigued by the architecture of Greece, ever since my 5th grade Ancient Western Civilizations project. The gracefulness and powerful image just behind the architecture alone, is incredible. The Parthenon located at the Arcopolis in Athens, built in the mid-5th century by Ictinus and Callicrates. This is one of the best known buildings in the world and one of the greatest cultural monuments. This temple expresses classical balance, proportion, and unity and it seemed to be the “role model” for future civilizations throughout Greek culture. I also find it interesting that the Parthenon was dedicated to the Greek Goddess, Athena, for her aspect of being a virgin goddess. This building isn’t like any other building, it has life and dynamics to it. To think that this building was built over 15 years, shows the dedication and the powerful building these architects wanted to portray for the world to see.

“What is beauty?” All together, I believe the ancient Greek art deserves and portrays the word “kalos”, meaning beauty. The Greeks did everything right when it came to accenting on their artwork/sculpture/architect. They didn’t simply build something and want to quickly get it done. They dedicated their time to their artwork and made sure that that it was anything but ordinary. They wanted it to be harmonious and beautiful, and they made sure to put the extra emphasis and accents on their artwork to make it more realistic and great. What does Greek art do for us? It accentuates the attractiveness and the desire we feel towards an object, it makes us feel a strong connection with the artwork. From reading this chapter, I have to say that the Greeks did a phenomenal job in inspiring other civilizations and cultures to portray beauty as well.

[linzym13-blog]

Nicole,

I on the other hand think that it would be fascinating to remove body organs and to preserve the bodies after death. As a nursing major I love to examine as much of the body as I can to learn more about the body systems/organs! Also, I think it is crazy as well that even way back when lifts and pulleys were not invented, that the Egyptians could still manage to lift those 2.5 ton blocks. I believe that shows how dedicated they were to show off the most important things to them, which in this case was the pyramids.I also love the paintings and objects of both the Egyptians and the Aegean’s artwork, they really put in a lot of time and effort to show off their artistic abilities to portray their beliefs and experiences through objects/paintings.

Week 3

What I found intriguing while reading chapters 5 and 6 were the process of the mummification and how the bodies were stored. For ancient Egyptians they go through this process to ensure a plentiful afterlife. The coffins even preserved the bodies, preserving the soul to another bountiful life. I knew that the bodies were wrapped in clothes and the bodies were preserved for thousands of years because of the climate but I didn’t know that their organs were removed. I also didn’t know that they were preserved in sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. They also washed the bodies, treated in oils, then wrapped in many bandages. Removing the internal organs must have been tough and gross. I would not want to see brain or any other organ. There were also many religions for the Egyptians, a couple popular Egyptian Gods would be Ra and Anubis. They worshipped many gods, more than 17 gods.

It’s crazy that the people would make sculptures, tombs, and pyramids by using what items they found around them to make it work. It’s amazing how they worked on the tall statues and risked their lives over building the sculptures. Not to mention, building the pyramids. The blocks are like 2.5 tons and they had to carry/drag the blocks up to the top of the pyramid. Maybe they used a ramp or some sort. That is a lot of muscle power to carry 2.5 tons up a pyramid. They could have had lots of people dragging the blocks. That’s a lot of work. Learning more about ancient Egyptians are quite fascinating.  The paintings are so decorative. Plus, they painted so much on the walls, painting in code.  It’s amazing to depict a different language to help what they were talking about. What else I didn’t know was they were restricted to six colors that could not be mixed. I researched more about King Tut and found out that he died at age 18 and was buried with two children. But there were no recordings of him having children. Not only that, Tutankhamun’s wife/sister, Ankhesenamun, was missing and her body was not discovered. It turns out he had two stillborn daughters. It’s weird to marry a sibling or a family member but it was to keep the bloodline pure. Just to keep the royalty going and pharaohs did inbreed a lot.

 Reading more about the kings and queens is quite fascinating what they did in the past. The was a woman who was the first recorded king. Although it was disgusted by the Egyptians, Hatshepsut ruled for fifteen years as a pharaoh. It is awesome because she didn’t listen to what everyone else thought and still became a king. Once she died everyone forgot her due to other pharaohs would have been ignorant of her existence. It’s not certain how she died, maybe naturally dying or killed by someone. I found her intriguing since she was the first royal woman to become a king. On the statues, she was mainly drawn as a male instead of a female statue.

[linzym13-blog]

Egypt & Aegean Art

During this weeks chapters, I found a lot of interesting things about ancient Egypt and Aegean art. I learned that ancient Egyptian art has been around since 3000 BC to 300 AD. They have a lot of priority put into their painting and sculptures, especially their pyramids. It evolved over different periods of time such as: Predynastic, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. Then there was the Aegean art which existed from 3000 BC to 1200 BC. They developed so many styles/cultures such as: Cycladic, Minoan, and, Mycenaean.

As I was reading, I realized that ancient Egyptian art shows women with much less pace when comparing them to the males. As males had more featured strides/legs, as well as a body that was at attention, the women have parallel legs. The reason behind this was because the queen was ranked below a king, and therefore her left foot doesn’t extend as far outward than the kings. An interesting facts that I learned about Aegean art was that figures of females were much more numerous than those of males. The females were very accentuated, especially in the breasts and the pubic triangle. Although there purpose is unknown, they were thought to be religious processions. I find this very intriguing because back then, not many males or hierarchy thought highly of the women, they were usually lower on the totem pole, but with Aegean art, they were highly important/available. So, I came to the conclusion that Egyptian art that involved women made it clear that women were less important/powerful, and Aegean art pronounced that women were more popular/abundant.

I also really liked reading about the mummification process in Egyptian art. As a nursing major, I love to read about bodies and the processes after death. What really surprised me was that it takes a whole 72 days to complete this process and that they take everything out, except for the heart, and then to top it off, they put 20 layers of linen on the body. Also, the brain was thrown out and considered useless. I would have thought that any other body part be thrown out, besides the brain. To me the brain is the most intelligent and important part of the body, so it surprised me that they would just toss it out like it was nothing special.

All together, I learned that Egyptians were particularly interested in sculptures and pyramids, whereas Aegean’s were more interested with sketches/objects/drawings. Also, both show similarity in that the art was used for religious and cultural reasons. For example, a lot of Aegean art was intended for thanking/representing their gods. On the other hand, Egyptians didn’t perceive their artwork as gods, but believed that gods existed in them. All together, both of these places take high initiative in keeping their culture and beliefs alive.

[linzym13-blog]

Scarlett, I also agree that the astronomical calendar is one of the most plausible theories, especially because everything was in perfect position with the sun and the moon, and although it was hundreds of years ago and not many people were knowledgeable about astronomy, I still think that people can teach themselves and pick up on the patterns of the sun (which in this case they produced Stonehenge with their patterns). But, as you said in the beginning of your post, the art/sites that were talked about in this chapter can all be open for interpretation based on what they were used for, we just have to be logical about it!

3-4 + Stonehenge

Ch 3 + 4

In chapter 3 we learn about the Stone Age in Western Europe. I think prehistoric art is cool because it can be open for interpretation to an extent, and also because it can also be functional, like weapons or tools. We don’t know much about the Paleolithic period, except that the societies buried their loved ones with jewelry/weapons, and they were nomads and lived together, using fire and gathering and hunting to survive. Even though there was no writing, the people might have kept track of time by making marks on hard surfaces. The piece of art that the book features from this time period is the Venus of Willendorf sculpture which is made out of limestone, which is cool because growing up in Dubuque I became very familiar with limestone but I’ve never seen it sculpted into anything before. The book alludes that the artist was probably emphasizing the parts of the body meant for reproduction and nursing, which I would agree with based on the parts that are enlarged on the sculpture’s body. Because of this sculpture, we can infer that the society was fixated on reproduction, and rightfully so as the survival of the society depends on it

Later on in the Neolithic period, most art was built for religious reasons. These structures are called “megaliths” meaning “made of big stones”, and you guessed it, they were made out of big stones.

In Chapter 4, the book talks about the Neolithic era, including Jericho, which was a city surrounded by huge walls. This society buried their loved ones under their floors and they made “skull portraits” to preserve the memory of the dead. In-home burial are similar to the culture at Catal Huyuk, except their houses were connected by roofs because the city was planned without streets. I think that would make for a pretty tight-knit town. In Mesopotamia, the Neolithic period ended, and urbanization followed. They believed that each city was under the protection of a god, so they built ziggurats, or platforms, for the god. A symbolic mountain, the ziggurats served as a space between the people and the gods. The book features quite a few pieces of art, and one that stuck out to me from chapter 4 was the Kneeling Bull which is from Iran. It would be very interesting to have a description of what the art meant, but we will never know the place of origin or the meaning of the piece. I think it’s a beautiful piece of work, and because the bull is worshipped in so many cultures, I think it’s probably pretty special. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful piece of work and it’s a shame that we lost the history of this art because of someone’s careless decision to take it from its original place.

Individual Research- Stonehenge

`           There has been tons of speculation as to how the stones got to the Stonehenge location, and also why they were placed there.

There are a couple that are pretty far out of reach, such as Merlin the wizard moving them there, or my personal favorite, aliens.

`           There are also a few theories that sound like they could work. One of which is that the area was sacred and was to be used as a burial ground. This theory is pretty viable because there were many people buried and at least 17 shrines found near the site. They also discovered a big wooden building, which researchers suspect was used for burial rituals.

Another option is that the site was used to celebrate peace and unity. The British isle was increasingly unified during the time of heavy construction of Stonehenge, and building it would’ve taken many people. This theory would also explain how the stones were brought from Wales.

Stonehenge also could’ve been built as an astronomical calendar. The avenue near Stonehenge is aligned with the winter solstice sunset, faces the sunrise during the mid-summer solstice, and evidence suggests that pigs were slaughtered during December and January, perhaps for a mid-winter feast.

Another theory is that the Stonehenge builders were trying to create a sound illusion by raising the megaliths to block sound from an area. The monument is nicknamed “The Piper’s Stones” in England, and it does have really amazing acoustics. There is another music-related theory as well, which is that because each stone makes a different sound, similar to bells, they may have been used as church bells are used today, or even as a form of primitive communication.

I personally think that the site was built for multiple reasons because none of these theories alone would justify transporting those giant stones into their current locations. I think the astronomical calendar and the burial ground are the most likely because of their functionality and the fact that burial grounds, especially ones where the elite are buried, were important to them in that time.

[linzym13-blog]

“Stonehenge”

Week 2 Blog:

When reading this weeks chapter’s, I was really interested in the history behind Stonehenge, located in Salisbury, England. When reading I came across a part of the text that peaked my interest, “This circular area of land on a gradually sloping ridge has been a sacred site before 3000 B.C”, it is thought that these stones have been apart of history since 2800-1500 B.C. In the reading it states that the absence of a roof indicates the relationship of the structure with the sky and celestial phenomena. I also find it very fascinating that the circular monuments are aligned according to the positions of the sun and moon at critical times of the year. Reading up on Stonehenge, there are many theories as to what these stones may represent or mean and I think that it is amazing that this sites and it’s stones are still standing and create attraction everyday. According to the book, Adams suggests that Stonehenge possibly served as some kind of giant sundial used to predict weather changes/seasons and astronomical phenomena. Adams also believes that it is almost certainly a ritual site. But, even though all of the archaeological advances today, they still cannot identify its true/real function. As I did research about common theories about Stonehenge, I found many interesting facts and opinions of how it all started.

First, it could be a place for burial, mainly a cemetery for the elite. There were bone fragments extracted from the site more than a century ago, almost 63 individuals have been represented from these bone fragments. As plausible as this may sound, I wouldn’t agree with this theory because over the millions of years this earth has been around, there could have been other civilizations that lived there and archaeologists discovered that the earliest burials long predate the monument today. Secondly, Geoffrey Wainwright and Timothy Darvil said that there is evidence that Stonehenge had been a place sought out by pilgrims for its healing powers. They believe that the ancient chipping of the rocks help indicate that Stonehenge was equivalent of Lourdes, which was a French commune that was labeled for its miraculous healing powers and properties. Also, the state that the bodies were in when they were found suggested that many people were dying when they went to the stone circle, due to the many bone deformities. On to the third theory, an astronomer, Gerald Hawkins, suggested that Stonehenge was a computer for predicting eclipses/solstices of the sun and moon. Hawkins identified 165 key points at the site and found that many of them strongly related with the rising and setting positions of the sun and moon. I thought it was interesting that the site faces the summer solstice sunrise, and both winter and summer solstices are still celebrated there today.

Out of these three theories, I believe that the third one is the most plausible. Due to the alignment with the summer solstice being correct and exactly “right on”, I believe that this would have been calculated very precisely by the creators of Stonehenge. Although it was a very long time ago that Stonehenge was built, that doesn’t mean that there could have been experts out there who followed these paths of the sun and moon. Everything we have today and in the future is somehow related to people in the past and their knowledge. So, I believe that the creators were experts in the astronomy field, and that Stonehenge’s purpose is to predict the eclipses/solstices.

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

"Stonehenge." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 May 2017. Web. 31 May 2017.

Pappas, Stephanie. "5 Strange Theories About Stonehenge." LiveScience. Purch, 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 May 2017.

[linzym13-blog]

I love these types of paintings. It almost reminds me of the spray painting I shared on my wall. It’s crazy how so many different colors and objects can be put together as a real picture, so many emotions attached to these types of paintings.

Rain Princess- Leonid Afremov 

I love Afremov’s work mostly for the colors he chooses, but this one in particular I enjoy because of the anonymity of the girl which gives me a feeling of mystery and content in being independent.