Module 8

• Classical Antiquity


  900-year period in which ancient Greece and later ancient Rome (first as a Republic, then as an Empire) dominated the Mediterranean region
• The Romans assimilated many parts of Greek culture when they conquered the territories of Europe under Greek rule
• Greek pantheon of Gods and Godesses

  Ares was the Greek god of war, but Mars was the Roman god of war
• Ancient Greek art was also copied by the Romans
• The Romans frequently employed marble to build reproductions of Greek bronze sculptures
• Ancient Greek and Roman sculpture

  • Naked, athletic, young, idealized, and with perfect proportions
• Humanists


  A frame of mind which was re-born in the Renaissance, where human beings and what they could do with their minds and bodies were held in high regard
• The ancient Greeks were the first Western society to believe in rational answers to life's most pressing concerns
• The ancient Greeks assumed that the universe was regulated by constant principles, such as how stars move, the materials that make up the universe, and mathematical laws that govern harmony, beauty, geometry, and physics
• When Roman generals began capturing Greek cities (starting in 211 B.C.E.), they returned triumphantly to Rome with works of art rather than the normal loot of gold and silver coins
• The Roman aristocracy were so taken with this piece that studios were established to accommodate the growing demand for copies for affluent Roman villas
• Byzantine art


  Art produced by artists from the Eastern Roman Empire, also called Byzantium
• Romanesque art


  Art period that began around 1000 AD and ended around 1300 AD, when the Gothic Art period began
• Romanesque art


  • Stained glass art, enormous paintings on walls and domed ceilings, and carvings on buildings and columns
• Gothic art


  Art period that began around 1300 AD, where the use of richer colors, size, and perspective shifted toward realism, and new subject areas outside of religion were incorporated
• During the Middle Ages, much of Europe's art was religious, with Catholic subjects and themes
• The start of the Middle Ages is often called the Dark Ages, which is the period of time from 500 to 1000 AD
• Only a few people could read and write during the Middle Ages, and the majority of literature was written by religious clerics and monks
• Renaissance


  A fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic "rebirth" following the Middle Ages, generally described as taking place from the 14th century to the 17th century
• Humanism


  A cultural movement that began to gain momentum in Italy during the 14th century, which promoted the idea that man was the center of his own universe, and people should embrace human achievements in education, classical arts, literature and science
• In 1450, the invention of the Gutenberg printing press allowed for improved communication throughout Europe and for ideas to spread more quickly
• Baroque art


  Intense, with dramatic motion, swirling imagery, and tension pulling on the compositions
• Baroque music


  A radical departure from the previous Renaissance and Mannerist periods' peaceful, classical compositions
• Neoclassicism


  Arose as a reaction to the Baroque period, and was seen as a way of resurrecting the classical eras' styles from the past, with elements of being organized, controlled, serious, perfect, simple, non-religious, and intelligent
• Realism


  A movement that opposed Romanticism's ideas, and strives to depict things as they are, without the addition of artificial or fanciful elements
• Impressionism


  A movement where a group of young artists decided to paint, very simply, what they saw, thought, and felt, using much lighter and looser brushwork and painting out of doors, en plein air
• Post-Impressionism


  Encompasses a wide range of distinct artistic styles that all share the common motivation of responding to the opticality of the Impressionist movement, concentrating on the subjective vision of the artist
• Neo-Impressionism


  Foregrounded the science of optics and color to forge a new and methodical technique of painting that eschewed the spontaneity and romanticism that many Impressionists celebrated
• Art Nouveau


  Aimed at modernizing design, seeking to escape the eclectic historical styles that had previously been popular, drawing inspiration from both organic and geometric forms
• Fauvism


  Characterized by strong colours and fierce brushwork, with the fauvists being interested in the scientific colour theories developed in the nineteenth century
• Cubism


  A style that developed through a mixture of influences, particularly the faceted brushwork of Cézanne and the angular distortions of African art, seeking to escape the merely visual concerns of Impressionism's optical recordings and Post-Impressionism's surface patterning
• Futurism


  A style that sought to capture the dynamism, speed, and energy of the modern world