Sas 3l

• Historical Foundations of Art exam
• The history of art is the history of any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview
• Egyptian Art (c. 3000 BCE – 350 BCE):

  • Concerned with immortality, Egyptian culture was centered on death and the afterlife
  • Art made for gods, monarchs, and the dead for their journey to the afterlife
  • Tombs in Egypt elaborately decorated with hieroglyphics, statues, pottery, jewelleries, and paintings
• Greek Art (c. 900 BCE – 30 BCE):

  • Nude figures, idealized human forms, and classical architecture originated in ancient Greece
  • Depicted myths, athletic competitions, symposiums, idealized nude figures, funerals, and religious ceremonies
• Baroque (c. 1600 CE – 1700 CE):

  • Emotional, realistic, and dynamic style
  • Full of movement, exuberant colors, and dramatic contrast of light and dark
  • Subjects viewed as participants on a stage that extended beyond the canvas
• Rococo (c. 1700 CE – 1776 CE):

  • Decorative, elaborate art with fluidity, curving lines, and lustrous colors
  • Depicted courtly lifestyles and playful love lives of the aristocracy
• Neo-Classicism (c. 1780 CE – 1820 CE):

  • Focused on line and symmetry, using set proportions and exact perspective
  • Generated a more uniform, ideal work of art
• Romanticism (c. 1800 CE – 1850 CE):

  • Focused on emotional experiences and contemporary events
  • Rejected Enlightenment ideas and emphasized nature's enduring power
• Realism (c. 1850 CE -1900 CE):

  • Attempted to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality
  • Emerged in France in the 1840s, rejecting Romanticism
  • Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci exemplifies Realism
• Impressionism (c. 1860 CE – 1886 CE):

  • Artists reacted to photography by capturing light's effect on figures and scenery
  • Painted scenes in plain air with short, heavy brushstrokes of color
• Fauvism (c. 1904 CE – 1908 CE):

  • Intensified colors used by Impressionists, expressing emotions
  • Colors were unrealistic and undiluted, expressing emotions about subjects
• Cubism (c. 1908 CE – 1914 CE):

  • Abstracted surroundings logically, influenced by African art
  • Broke subjects into geometric forms and used multiple vantage points
• Surrealism (c. 1921 CE -1942 CE):

  • Originated in the early 1920s based on the writings of poet André Breton
  • Influenced by psychological theories of Sigmund Freud, sought to express the subconscious in dreamscapes
• Surrealist art, such as Miró's, appears whimsical due to its improvised nature
• The horrors of World Wars I and II and the Great Depression of the 1930s impacted both Miró and Snead
• By emphasizing the subconscious in their art, these artists may have found and provided a diversion from difficult times
• Abstract Expressionism emerged shortly after World War II, with New York City becoming the center of attention in the art world
• Artists like Norman Bluhm, a former fighter pilot, moved away from traditional ideas and styles due to the hard times of the Depression and the war
• Surrealist themes of the subconscious and various Post-Impressionist movements influenced American painters
• Two routes used by artists to express concerns with human irrationality and vulnerability were Action Painting and Color Fields
• Ancient Egyptian culture was centered on death and the afterlife
• Art was made for gods, goddesses, monarchs, and the dead for their journey to the afterlife
• Egyptians decorated tombs with hieroglyphics, statues, pottery, jewelry, and paintings
• Greek art originated almost 3,000 years ago and influenced Western culture
• Nude figures, idealized human forms, and classical architecture originated in ancient Greece
• Greek art depicted myths, athletic competitions, symposiums, idealized nude figures, funerals, and religious ceremonies
• Baroque style is described as emotional, realistic, and dynamic
• Baroque painters saw the canvas as a stage and paintings are full of movement, exuberant colors, and dramatic contrast of light and dark
• Protestant Reformation led to more secular art in the Baroque era portraits and landscapes
• Rococo art was decorative, elaborate, and characterized by fluidity, curving lines, and lustrous colors
• Favourite subjects for Rococo artists were the courtly lifestyles and playful love lives of the aristocracy
• Neoclassicism focused on line and symmetry, using set proportions and exact perspective
• Romanticism focused on emotional experiences and contemporary events
• Realism aimed to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality or implausible elements
• Realism emerged in France in the 1840s, rejecting Romanticism
• Impressionism revolutionized painting techniques by capturing light's effect on figures and scenery
• Impressionists painted scenes in plain air, using short, heavy brushstrokes of color to express movement and light
• Fauvism intensified colors used by Impressionists and expressed emotions through unrealistic colors
• Cubism abstracted surroundings into geometric forms and used multiple vantage points
• Surrealism focused on dreams and subconscious thoughts, influenced by psychological theories of Sigmund Freud