Art Appreciation College (Ebook)

Course Name:Art Appreciation College (eBook)
Course Introduction
Use the arrows at the top right of your page to navigate through your learning.
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Course Overview
Course Introduction
In this course, the student will gain an understanding of artistic media, historical periods
and artistic movements, the roles of the artist and the viewer, and the principles of art
criticism.
Course Materials
Your course materials include this course experience, Penn Foster's Learning Resource
Center Art Appreciation
Page(https://pflibrary.pennfoster.edu/socialsciencecenter/art/home), and a textbook, Living
with Art. You'll find it easiest to study this course by following these steps:
1. Look over the syllabus, paying close attention to the course and lesson objectives.
2. Read each objective. Pay close attention to main concepts and definitions.
3. Complete each resource and exercise as you come to it.
4. When you've completed each objective, look over the lesson review.
5. When you're confident you understand the material, complete the lesson exam.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, you'll be able to
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Demonstrate effective written and interpersonal communication skills

Demonstrate an understanding of the liberal arts, natural sciences, and social sciences
Define the language, visual elements, and principles of design of art
Identify two-dimensional media
Identify three-dimensional media
Explain the evolution of art from ancient Mediterranean cultures through eighteenth
century Europe
Identify features and popular examples of art throughout the history of African, Asian,
Pacific, and American cultures
Compare the genres of the Modern and Postmodern eras of art from around the world
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College Syllabus
Course Name Art Appreciation (ebook)
Course Number HUM102

Prerequisites None
Credits 3.0 college credit hours
Delivery Method Distance learning
Course Materials Textbook: Living with Art

Methods of Instruction Reading assignments and exercises
Methods of Assessment Unit quizzes, graded project, and final exam
Course Description In this course, the student will gain an understanding of artistic media,
historical periods and artistic movements, the roles of the artist and the
viewer, and the principles of art criticism.
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Course Objectives
Objectives Assessments
Discuss the various powers of art for society, the patron, the artist, and the Unit 1 quiz
viewer
Explain what features make up a piece of art
Describe the basic structures within the many themes of art
Discuss the visual elements manipulated by an artist
Summarize the principles of design including emphasis, unity, variety,

proportion, balance, rhythm, and scale
Summarize drawing and the dry and liquid media used with drawing Unit 2 quiz
Describe painting and the importance of the pain medium
Describe the techniques of printmaking
List camera and computer technologies from before and throughout the digital
revolution
Explain graphic design and its goal of conveying a specific message
Summarize the methods, materials, and installations of sculptures Unit 3 quiz
Recognize the art found in everyday objects and rituals
Describe the connections between art and architecture
Explain how art evolved and moved throughout the early Mediterranean Unit 4 quiz
civilizations
Identify Christianity’s influence on late Roman and European art through the
Middle Ages
Summarize the themes, subjects, and styles of art in various regions of Europe
during the Renaissance
Compare the Baroque style of seventeenth century European art to the Rococo
style of the eighteenth century
List characteristics of Islamic and African art up to the early twentieth century Unit 5 quiz
Describe the styles and evolutions of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese art
Compare the art styles of the Pacific islands to those in South and Central
America
Describe the characteristics of various genres of art from the nineteenth century Unit 6 quiz
to the end of World War II
Explain how art styles evolved following World War II and up to the twenty-first
century
Analyze the work of 10 artists from various art movements studied throughout Unit 7 quiz
this course
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Credit Hour Calculation
Unit Acquisition Time Application Time
Unit 1: The Language of Art 25 hours 26 minutes 3 hours 12 minutes
Unit 2: Two-Dimensional Media 18 hours 44 minutes 3 hours 21 minutes
Unit 3: Three-Dimensional 15 hours 40 minutes 2 hours 33 minutes

Media
Unit 4: Ancient Mediterranean 20 hours 2 minutes 3 hours 17 minutes

Cultures through the 18th
Century
Unit 5: Arts of Africa, Asia, and 13 hours 4 minutes 2 hours 16 minutes

the Pacific and Americas
Unit 6: Modernism, 22 hours 14 minutes 7 hours 15 minutes

Postmodernism, and World Art
Unit 7: Final Quiz 20 minutes
Total 115 hours 30 minutes 21 hours 54 minutes
Estimated Exam Time

Unit Acquisition Time Application Time
Unit 1: The Language of Art 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes
Unit 2: Two-Dimensional Media 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes
Unit 3: Three-Dimensional 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

Media
Unit 4: Ancient Mediterranean 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

Cultures through the 18th
Century
Unit 5: Arts of Africa, Asia, and 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

the Pacific and Americas
Unit 6: Modernism, 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

Postmodernism, and World Art
Unit 7: Final Quiz 5 hours 10 hours
Total 35 hours 25 hours
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Grading Criteria
Grades are calculated on the following scale:
Grade (Percent) Letter Equivalent Rating QPA
90–100 A Excellent 4.0
80–89 B Good 3.0
70–79 C Average 2.0
Below 70 F Failing 0.0
An overall program average of 70% or higher is required to graduate and earn your career diploma.
Refer to the Academic Policies section of the Student Catalog for specific information on grades.
Items contributing to your grade:
Graded Item Percentage
Unit 1 Graded Quiz: The Language of Art 8%
Unit 2 Graded Quiz: Two-Dimensional Media 8%
Unit 3 Graded Quiz: Three-Dimensional Media 8%
Unit 4 Graded Quiz: Ancient Mediterranean Cultures through the 18th Century 8%
Unit 5 Graded Quiz: Arts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific and Americas 8%
Unit 6 Graded Quiz: Modernism, Postmodernism, and World Art 8%
Final Quiz 22%
Graded Project 30%
Academic Integrity
As a Penn Foster College student, you’re expected to follow the Penn Foster College Code of Conduct.
You should observe all rules about submitting work and taking exams. Behaving unethically or failing to
follow the Code of Conduct is subject to disciplinary action up to and including dismissal from Penn Foster
College. This includes but is not limited to: plagiarism, cheating, and illegal or improper use of the Web
within the school’s environment.
We encourage you to read Penn Foster’s Academic Integrity Policy in your Student Catalog
(www.pennfoster.edu/college/catalog).
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Online Library
Students in College will have access to an online library for use during their studies with the school.
Students can use this library to do the required research in the courses they complete or can use it for
general reference and links to valuable resources. The library contains helpful research assistance,
articles, databases, books, web links, and email access to a librarian. Students can access the library from
their homepage. A librarian is available to answer questions on general research-related topics via email
and assist students in research activities during their studies with Penn Foster College.
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The Language of Art
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Overview
Art is all around us. It’s not just in museums. It’s in the way a building or bridge is
designed. It’s in the photos or pictures hanging in your home. Art can represent a time in
the past or the present day. It provides us with emotional and intellectual stimulation.
Once you get a better understanding of art, you can appreciate art and how it affects your
life like never before.
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Objectives
Discuss the various powers of art for society, the patron, the artist, and the viewer
Explain what features make up a piece of art
Describe the basic structures within the many themes of art
Discuss the visual elements manipulated by an artist
Summarize the principles of design including emphasis, unity, variety, proportion,
balance, rhythm, and scale
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Looking at Art
Read the following section. Then read Chapter 1 in your textbook.
Categories of Art
The whole of creative art is broken down into three broad categories—performing arts,
literary arts, and visual arts. Visual art, something that’s created to be seen, is what’s
discussed in this course. In visual arts, works are further broken down into two categories:
fine arts and applied arts.
Fine arts are works that are created simply for aesthetic value. Fine arts include paintings,
drawings, sculpture, prints, and photography. They’re just meant to be enjoyed visually;
they aren’t meant to be used.
Applied arts means that aesthetic design and beauty are incorporated into functional and
everyday objects. Some examples of applied arts include fashion design, interior design,
graphic design, and industrial design.
Art Criticism
Art criticism is an opinion of art based on the viewpoint of the person viewing it. You’ve
already read a little bit about how individual perceptions, opinions, and experiences help
shape your opinion of what you see. Two important professions in the art world that can
also expand your understanding are art critics and art historians. An art critic helps you
understand, interpret, and judge a piece of art. Art historians study art and the culture
surrounding it during a specific period of time. Both art critics and art historians have a
strong interest in finding the meaning associated with any particular work.
Art and You
Sometimes people who live outside of major metropolitan areas don’t know how they can
get involved in the art community. Try checking out your local museums and galleries.
Look for art groups in your neighborhood or visit studios and festivals. Art exhibits may
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travel to your area. Getting involved in the art community is as easy as becoming a
patron, or a supporter of art; a volunteer; or even a creator of art.
Look for opportunities where you can go and talk to artists whose work is being displayed.
This gives you the chance to ask questions about their work. Attend seminars or lectures
given by art historians at your local museums, galleries, or colleges.
Seeing art in person is a far different experience than looking at it in a book or online. One
of the most shocking experiences people have when viewing the original of a piece of art
they’ve seen online or in a book is the size of it. You may find that the way the original
work is framed, presented, or located changes how you interpret the work when you see it
in person.
Where to See Art
Any city with a museum or art gallery is a place to start discovering art. If you’re planning a
vacation, you might want to check out some of the following places:
New York City. The Big Apple has a multitude of museums and galleries. Some
notable places to visit include the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.
Washington, DC. There are several places in Washington, DC that you can visit
for free: the National Gallery of Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden,
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Library of
Congress. The Phillips Collection is also located in D.C., but they do charge for
admission.
Philadelphia. If you’re going to Philadelphia, make sure that you check out the
Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Barnes Collection.
Chicago. Chicago is considered to be a cultural hub for many different forms of
art. If you’re going to Chicago, visit the Art Institute of Chicago Museum and the
Museum of Contemporary Art.
Los Angeles. The City of Angels is home to the Los Angeles County Museum of
Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Pittsburgh. If you’re going to Pittsburgh, check out the Carnegie Museum of Art
and the Andy Warhol Museum.
Boston. Boston is home to the Museum of Fine Arts.
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Kansas City, Missouri. The Midwest isn’t without its notable museums, either.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
are both located in Kansas City.
Detroit. The Motor City is home to the Detroit Institute of Art.
Collecting Art
Collecting art isn’t something that only the rich and famous can do. Anyone can enjoy the
process of collecting art; you just have to find an area of art that you like (such as
drawings or watercolors) that has an affordable price. Local artists often have work that
they want to sell. By buying art directly from an artist, you support that artist as well as
begin your art collection. Buying from local artists is often less expensive than buying art
created by masters.
Of course, there are items other than paintings and drawings. You can also collect
sculptures, ceramics, fiber, metal, glass, or other objects.
Buying Art
In your local community, look for galleries, local art exhibits, expos, or festivals as places
to purchase art. Many times, artists have studios that you can visit and buy their work.
Estate auctions are a great place to buy art. You can also find art online.
Collecting versus Buying Art
Both collecting and buying art usually involve an exchange of money, but there’s still a
difference. If you’re just buying art, it’s usually to decorate your home or office. You’re not
that involved in the art community. Once you have enough art for your home or office, you
don’t buy any more pieces.
Art collectors continue to buy because they have an ongoing interest in art. They look for
opportunities to educate themselves on their collection, and they continue to collect
artwork even if they no longer have room to hang it on walls.
Museums are one example of art collectors. Sometimes, museums have their own
financial backing, but other times they receive financial backing from wealthy art lovers.
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Art Resources
In addition to art exhibits, galleries, and museums in your area, there are some other
resources available to learn about art:
Museum libraries often require you to set an appointment, but they enable you to
look at original works or books.
The Library of Congress has a database that you can use to search for artwork.
Art magazines are also great resources. Keep in mind that some magazines are
directed toward artists, while others are directed toward critiques or exhibitions.
Using the Internet to View Art
Millions of art websites are hosted by museums, artists, or galleries. The following are
some useful and educational resources:
ARTnews (http://www.artnews.com/) is the oldest art magazine in the world. It

reports on “art, people, issues, trends, and events shaping the international art
world.”
The National Gallery of Art (https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/education.html)
located in Washington, DC, gifted by Andrew W. Mellon, has resources for
teachers, children, teens, and adults.
ThoughtCo. (https://www.thoughtco.com/visual-arts-4132957) is a great resource
where you can learn about art history or even how to draw.
PBS (http://www.pbs.org), a not for profit organization, calls itself, “the nation’s
largest stage for the arts.”
Living with Art
Whether you realize it or not, art is all around you. You see art when you turn on the
television and watch a show or even a commercial. You see art when you’re driving down
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the road and see a billboard advertising a product. Of course, you see art if you go to a
museum.
Art is a way that artists express themselves. They use it to tell stories or to share ideas. It
can cause you to think about the past, the present, or the future. Sometimes art is strictly
meant to be aesthetically pleasing, which means that seeing or hearing it provides
pleasure in some way.
Living with art engages you on three levels: attention, imagination, and intelligence.
Because of this, everyone interprets a work of art in a different way and art becomes even
more interesting.
While you can appreciate an artistic work the first time you see it, when you continue to
think about it or look at it again, you become open to new interpretations on what the art is
meant to express and what it means.
Analyzing Art
Analyzing an artistic work involves the following elements:
The subject
The artist
The time period in which the work was created
The style
The physical arrangement of the work
Why Artists Create Art
Chapter 1 of your textbook discusses artists, what they do, and why they do it. Artists
create because:
They want to express personal ideas.

They want to express social commentary.
They want to create memories.
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They have the impulse to create.
The last point, having an impulse to create, is one of the things that sets humans apart.
This impulse has existed since the beginning of time. Image 1.3 in your textbook depicts
“Lion Panel,” a cave painting. Experts believe that the painting was created around 30,000
BCE. Some scholars believe that cave paintings were just a form of recreation. However,
because many images are further back in caves, others believe the works were more to
their creators than just a pastime. Some believe that cave paintings were used to
communicate with the spirit world.
Consider Stonehenge, shown in Image 1.4 in your textbook. Stonehenge is a form of art
known as a megalith, a prehistoric monument made from large stones fitted together
without mortar or cement. There’s no telling why it was made, but it’s recognized as a work
of art. Art is made from meaningful images and forms. Sometimes the meaning is known
only to the artist. Sometimes the meaning of the original work is lost because of the
passage of time.
Creating art requires the artist to use his or her imagination. When the work is observed or
heard by others, it’s interpreted based on their history and understanding. This can create
a powerful and moving experience. It doesn’t matter if the artist is well-known or someone
local to your community, the power of art has the ability to touch lives in many ways.
Artists create extraordinary versions of ordinary objects. One example of this principle is
kente, a type of textile woven in West Africa by the Asante people. Every pattern has its
own name, history, and symbolism. It’s all the same type of art—textile weaving—but each
one is extraordinary. When you look at kente, and indeed most art, you get a glimpse of
the culture, religious beliefs, and ideals of the time period in which it was created. Art
styles have changed throughout history. In this course, you’ll learn about some of the
major changes that occurred from prehistoric times to the present. You’ll also learn about
important movements, artists, and pieces of art.
Artists’ Influences
Artists are often influenced by the history and traditions surrounding art, influences they
may not be aware of. Some artists intentionally use specific styles, subjects, and images
from the past, while others incorporate them subconsciously. Some artists purposefully
reject tradition and instead look to do something totally original.
Regardless of what influences an artist, there’s no right way or wrong way to create
art. But art history and traditions play an important role in how you understand art.
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How Perspective Affects Art
How you feel about a piece of art is a personal response. It doesn’t make you right or
wrong. You may have an aversion to a famous work of art that everyone else seems to
love. You may feel confused by the work. You may feel like you personally know the artist
and what he or she was feeling. The person standing next to you could have an entirely
different experience.
The Elements of Art Criticism
The opinion that you express regarding a work of art is art criticism . Though it doesn’t
take any special training, art criticism is about more than just seeing a piece of art and
then moving on to look at another piece. True art criticism involves both looking and
putting what you see into words.
Art criticism involves four main elements:
1. Describing
2. Analyzing
3. Interpreting
4. Deciding
Describing
To start, you must describe the art. Use the following seven steps to help you describe a
piece in a way that someone else would understand.
1. Slowly and carefully look at every aspect of the work. This step gives you all the
information you need so that your mind can begin to understand the work.
2. Think about what you see. Are there specific shapes? Do you see certain colors?
What textures do you see? Are there individual items?
3. Note the space within the work. Do you see any illusions in forms, the spaces in
the work, or in gestures being made?
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4. Note the obvious and subtle. Which aspects of the work jump out at you? Which
parts are more hidden or require longer observation to see?
5. Discuss technique. Discuss the range of colors and the changes in dark and
light, the width of the lines in the work, and textures that you can see or feel.
6. Discuss common shapes that you see. Examples of common shapes are a
circle, a square, a building, or a tree.
7. Keep a diary. Write down or verbalize what you see in the work.
Analyzing
After describing what you see, analyze the work. Consider the following questions:
How is the work organized?

the work symmetrical or asymmetrical?
Did you notice any dominant colors, textures, or shapes?
Do you see any actual or implied movements?
Did you notice any contrasts or conflicts between elements of the work? Are
those contrasts and conflicts subtle or do they stand out?
In art, symmetry doesn’t mean a mirror image on two halves of the work.
Instead, it means a balance within the work: large objects balancing small
objects, bold colors balancing muted colors, or empty spaces balancing
cluttered spaces. Balance and symmetry are more of a feeling than a
technical definition. As you analyze more pieces of art, you’ll come to
understand how balance works.
Interpreting
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The next step in art criticism is interpreting the work. Interpreting comes after describing
and analyzing because you must first take note of what you’re seeing before you can
consider what the work means from your perspective. The following are questions you
should ask yourself:
What message is the artist trying to communicate to the audience?

What is the idea behind the work? Is it a political statement? Is it a feeling about
nature? Does it depict a historical event? Is it meant to express a comment about
that particular time? Is the artist experimenting?
What do you feel when you look at it? What about the piece makes you feel that
way?
Deciding
The final step in art criticism is deciding whether or not you like the work. Art is rarely
as simple as liking or not liking something. Again, ask yourself some questions:
What are your initial thoughts about the work?

Do you like it? If so, why? If not, why not?
Did the artist communicate an idea or feeling to you? If so, what was that idea or
feeling?
Have you compared the work to similar works?
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Reading Assignment
Please review your reading assignment before reading your textbook.
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US)
This resource is available on VitalSource.
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Chapter 1: Living with Art
https://courses.portal2learn.com/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=18128&type=lti&rcode=ashworthtest-
978182&srcou=18128
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Key Points and Links
Key Points
Humans seem to have a natural need to construct meaningful images and form,
create order and structure, and to explore aesthetic possibilities.
Artists are specialists whose function in society include: creating places for some
human purpose; creating extraordinary versions of ordinary objects; recording
and commemorating; giving tangible form to the unknown; giving tangible form to
feelings and ideas; and refreshing our vision and helping us to see the world in
new ways.
Visual art is something that’s created to be seen, and it can be further broken
down into two categories: fine arts and applied arts.
Fine arts are works that are created simply for aesthetic value such as paintings,
drawings, sculpture, prints, and photography. They’re just meant to be enjoyed
visually; they aren’t meant to be used.
Applied arts means that aesthetic design and beauty are incorporated into
functional and everyday objects. Some examples include fashion design, interior
design, graphic design, and industrial design.
Art criticism is an opinion of art based on the viewpoint of the person viewing it.
Individual perceptions, opinions, and experiences help shape the opinion of the
viewer.
Important keys to interpreting art include looking for details, visual relationships,
exploring associations and feelings; and searching for knowledge to bring to the
piece.
Links
ARTnews (http://www.artnews.com/)
National Gallery of Art (https://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/education.html)
ThoughtCo. (https://www.thoughtco.com/visual-arts-4132957)
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PBS (http://www.pbs.org)
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Optional Webinar
Join us for our Art Appreciation Open Office Webinar. In this informal Q&A session, we'll
discuss the HUM102 Art Appreciation course in detail, including textbook shipments,
online exams, written assignments, discussion boards, and more. Bring your questions
and leave with valuable information that will enable you to be successful in Art
Appreciation.
Click to open https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/6943105180645828879
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Practice: Discuss the Various Powers of Art for Society, the

Patron, the Artist, and the Viewer
https://courses.portal2learn.com/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?ou=18128&type=quiz&rcode=ashworthtest-11505
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Features of Art
Art and Pleasure
You probably have your own ideas of what you consider art. Not everyone likes the same
artists or the same works. Some people view all art through a critic’s lens. Some people
use a concept known as disinterested contemplation, which means they set aside any
personal feelings toward the work and just admire it as it is.
Not all artwork is about providing pleasure. Some works are created to give other feelings.
They may still be beautiful while provoking feelings of sadness or even anger.
Art and Appearance
In Images 2.12 and 2.13, you see artworks which show everyday things. Antonio Pérez de
Aguilar’s painting (Image 2.12) shows bread, baskets, vessels, and other items, and they
look the way they do in nature. This natural appearance is in keeping with the tradition of
Western art. Image 2.13 shows Picasso's drawing and collage Bottle of Vieux Marc,
Glass, Guitar and Newspaper, which doesn't try to render objects as they appear to the
eye. Instead there's a distortion, thus rejecting traditional Western techniques. When you
think of Picasso, Image 2.13 is likely what you think about. Picasso was one of many
artists throughout history who experimented in different styles of art.
Representational and Abstract Art
The two images are different styles: Painter's Cupboard is representational, which means
that it looks like something you would see in the real world. Another name for this style is
naturalistic. Bottle of Vieux Marc, Glass, Guitar and Newspaper is abstract, which
means that the artist exaggerates some elements and simplifies others. Abstract is the
style that most people associate with Picasso.
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A middle ground between representational and abstract art is called stylized. In stylized
art, the pieces may incorporate abstract elements, but the elements conform to a set of
conventions specific to the style. Image 2.18 shows a porcelain bowl from China. The
clouds along the rim are stylized; the inward-swirled style to represent clouds or wind is
found in many Chinese art forms. The clouds are also symmetrical in design.
Nonrepresentational Art
When an abstract work represents something we see in the world, we consider it to be

representational. When an abstract work doesn’t represent or refer to something we see in
the world, it’s considered nonrepresentational or nonobjective. Even without reading the
title, you can clearly see what Picasso’s Bottle of Vieux Marc, Glass, Guitar and
Newspaper depicts. But Elaine De Kooning’s Bullfight (Image 2.20) isn’t so obvious. An
interpretation of electric lights glowing in the boulevard at night, the shapes and colors
used, reference the energy of the experience rather than what the scene looked like in real
life.
These various concepts—representational, abstract, stylized, nonrepresentational, and so

on—are styles. A style is a recognizable use of recurring characteristics. You’ll read about
other styles later in this course.
Art and Meaning
When you consider the meaning of art, you must consider the following elements:
Form and content

and techniques
Iconography
Context
Form and Content
There’s meaning in both form and content. The form of a piece is what the artwork
actually looks like—the colors and shapes used or the way the artwork is organized.
Content is the subject of the art. When you’re looking at representational or abstract work,
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the content comes from the objects or events in the image, which are referred to as the
subject matter.
Materials and Techniques
The materials used to create a piece can range from paint on canvas to recycled plastic
bottles and everything in between. The techniques are the methods used to create the
piece. Paint on canvas can be applied with a brush, but it can also be applied by dripping
the paint from above, splashing large portions of paint at a time, or applied using a leaf or
sponge.
Materials or techniques may not hold a lot of meaning. Sometimes artists simply used
what they could get. In Image 2.27, Rodin’s The Kiss, a beautiful work of marble, there’s
not a lot of meaning behind the use of marble for Rodin. Marble was the common material
used in Europe during that time. Other artists do use specific techniques and materials
because of their associations. In Image 2.28, artist Janine Antoni’s choice of materials and
techniques relate directly to her content, the chocolate and lard representing aspects of
self-image in society.
Iconography
Iconography is how you interpret objects or imagery in artwork based on previous

knowledge of culture or history. You should ask questions such as “What does each item
in the artwork represent?” and “What does the entire subject matter represent?” while also
considering the cultural significance. For instance, many cultures around the world use
decorated cow skulls for rituals as well as decorative pieces. For some cultures, the skull
represents death or the past, while for others the skull represents rebirth, the cycle of life,
or the concept of a religious mother figure.
Context
The context of a work is the personal, social, cultural, and historical time in which the work
was created, discovered, and interpreted. Context can change over time. The historical
context of a work doesn’t change, but how future generations view it may. Seeing a
sculpture in a museum is far different than seeing it during the period of time in which it
was created.
Art and Art History
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Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (Image 2.1) was created sometime between 1503 and
1505. L.H.O.O.Q. (https://www.nortonsimon.org/art/detail/P.1969.094) by Marcel Duchamp
gives yet another take on the Mona Lisa. Duchamp’s rendition was created in 1919 and
depicts Mona Lisa with facial hair, drawn on a cheap postcard reproduction of the painting.
What would you think of Duchamp’s or Warhol’s recreations of the Mona Lisa if you had
never been exposed to it before? Would you find them funny? Maybe you’d find the idea of
30 pictures of the same woman a bit odd. In reality, those two images can exist only
because of da Vinci’s work.
Art and Objects
In the twentieth century, artists began to question the importance of museums in

presenting their work. They asked whether art could be viewed and represented within
cultural surroundings, such as on a billboard downtown or in a shopping center. By
questioning the purpose of art and the role of the artist in culture, artists began to focus on
the process of creating art rather than the final product.
The experience of art as process is not a new idea. The Navajo practice of sand painting
is about the process as much as the finished piece, which is temporary and eventually
dismantled. Artists began exploring performance and installation as forms of art.
Installation is a space presented as a work of art that can be explored and experienced by
the viewer.
Today, the word “art” encompasses many categories and experiences; paintings,
sculptures, videos, installations, websites, performances, and commercial billboards may
all be interpreted and understood as art.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 2: What Is Art?
546307&srcou=18128
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Key Points
Modern ideas of art carry their own set of ideas about the artist, their task, and
the audience. Other times and places in history did not share these assumptions
about the nature of the artist's task, the purpose it served, and the audience it
was for.
Aesthetics is that branch of philosophy that studies art and the nature of beauty.
Artworks may still be beautiful while provoking feelings of sadness or even anger.
Beauty is not just about providing pleasure. Some works are created to give other
feelings.
Representational artwork means that it looks like something you’d see in the real
world, this style is also known as, naturalistic art. Nonrepresentational art, or
nonobjective, does not represent or refer to the world outside of itself.
Abstract is a style in which the artist exaggerates some elements and simplifies
others. When an abstract work represents something we see in the world, we
consider it to be representational. When an abstract work doesn’t represent or
refer to something we see in the world, it’s considered non-representational or
nonobjective.
A middle ground between representational and abstract art is called stylized. In
stylized art, the pieces may incorporate abstract elements, but the elements
conform to a set of conventions specific to the style.
When a view considers the meaning of art they should look at the following
elements: form, the physical appearance of the work (everything the eye
registers); content, what the work is about; materials, the things used to create a
piece ranging from paint to everything in between; and techniques which are the
methods used to create the art.
Two other important elements to consider when viewing art are the iconography,
how you interpret objects or imagery in artwork based on previous knowledge of
culture or history and the context, the personal, social, cultural, and historical time
in which the work was created, discovered, and interpreted.
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Artists have questioned the purpose of art and the role of the artist in culture,
focusing on the process of creating art rather than the final product as well as
exploring performance and installation as forms of art.
Link
L.H.O.O.Q, Mona Lisa with moustache (https://www.wikiart.org/en/marcel-

duchamp/l-h-o-o-q-mona-lisa-with-moustache-1919)
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Practice: Explain What Features Make Up a Piece of Art
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Themes of Art
The meanings behind a work of art are referred to as themes. Themes of art are broad
areas. Sometimes, artists create a piece of art that involves more than one theme.
Themes aren’t about categorizing art, but instead creating a framework to help explore the
meaning behind a complex piece. The following is a list of common themes in art.
The Sacred Realm
One well-known theme in art is the depiction of the sacred realm. The word sacred
means that the piece is in the context of the church or religion. It may include concepts
from a religion or depictions of deities, or gods. Artwork in the theme of the sacred realm
usually tries to help people envision or honor the religion.
Politics and Society
Another commonly used theme in art is to address opinions about politics and society. By
studying details from the art of the past, historians are able to gain information on what life
was like for society in different parts of the world. It’s a mesmerizing glimpse of the past
and also an intriguing look at how works of a time period demonstrate the opinions and
society, compiled through the eyes of various artists. Picasso’s Guernica (Image 3.8) is a
political comment on a massacre of a capital in Spain in 1937 by German air raids, created
as a form of protest for the Paris World’s Fair in 1937.
Stories and Histories
Some works of art depict folktales, heroes, and even saints throughout time. Shared
stories can define a community’s cultural memory. Art can immortalize a person or a
moment in history. Christian Boltanski’s Altar to the Chases High School (Image 3.12)
addresses stories surrounding the Holocaust, adding broader narratives to history.
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Daily Life
Some artists choose their subjects based on their daily life. In Image 3.14, you’ll see a
twelfth-century painting that depicts a group of women working with a length of silk ( Court
Ladies Preparing New Woven Silk). When you look at that image and think about the
differences in how such a scene would appear today, you can see how the daily life theme
can easily be included in a historical theme.
The Human Experience
Some works of art depict human experience. Life in the United States differs according to
where people live and what they do or don’t have access to. It differs when compared to
life in another country or in the past. Many works of art involving the human experience
show rituals that honor others.
Invention and Fantasy
Some artists depict invention and fantasies, including dreams. Image 3.21 shows an
ominous work by Italian artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi. "The Sawhorse," a print from his
series Il Carceri, depicts a nightmarish, prison-like environment culled from the depths of
Piranesi's imagination.
Natural World
From paintings or photos of mountains and streams to giant storms, natural scenes are
widely used. Many artists strive to depict the scenes strictly as observed in nature, while
others construct imaginary scenes from the mind’s eye. Some artists use nature as their
medium and their theme, as seen in Image 3.25 in your book. Robert Smithson explored
the idea that artists could shape the landscape as their art (Image 3.26).
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 3: Themes of Art
506347&srcou=18128
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Key Points
The meanings behind a work of art are referred to as themes. Themes of art are
broad areas of meaning and a piece of art can reflect more than one theme.
Artwork in the theme of the sacred realm usually tries to help people envision or
honor the religion and may include concepts from a religion or depictions of
deities, or gods.
Art that addresses opinions about politics and society are in the theme of politics
and social order. By studying art of the past, historians are able to gain
information on what
life was like for society in different parts of the world.
Some artworks depict folktales, heroes, and even saints throughout time. Artists
often turn to the theme of shared stories and histories that help define a
community’s cultural memory as subject matter.
Artists, also choose their subjects based on their daily life. The theme of daily life
often reflects the “here and now” and the place and time of the artist which is why
it can easily be included in a historical theme too.
Some works of art depict human experience too. Although one life in another
country or in the past may differ from another life, by virtue of being human, they
share common experiences such as life, love, death, sorrow, and laughter.
Another theme that artists depict is invention and fantasies including dreams.
These artworks bring imaginary worlds, visually to life.
Nature and humans relationship to it are themes that are often addressed in art.
Many artists strive to depict scenes strictly as observed in nature, while others
construct imaginary scenes from the mind’s eye. Some artists may use nature as
their medium as well as their theme.
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Practice: Describe the Basic Structures Within the Many

Themes of Art
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The Visual Elements
When discussing the physical attributes of art, the discussion begins with form. Form
simply means everything that can be seen with your eyes, or what a work of art looks like.
The form of a piece of art can first be defined as three-dimensional or two-dimensional:
A form that’s three-dimensional can be viewed from different angles. An example

of a three-dimensional form is a sculpture or a building.
A form that’s two-dimensional can depict more than one angle, but you can only
look at it from one side. An example of a two-dimensional form is a drawing or a
painting.
To get a better sense of the differences between three- and two-dimensional forms,
imagine that you were to take a trip to Egypt to see the pyramids in person. You’d see
them as three-dimensional forms: you could look at them from any side or walk around
them. If you stood back far enough, you could see more than one side. Because you can
move around the pyramids and see each side of them, they’re three-dimensional forms.
Now, consider looking at a photograph of the pyramids. Although you may be able to see
more than one side of the pyramid depending on the angle of the photo, the photo itself is
two-dimensional. No matter where you stand and look at the photo, you can see only the
portion that was photographed.
The form of a work of art is further broken down into the following visual elements:
Line
A line is defined as the shortest distance between points. Yet, lines are used to do a
number of things in art:
They make shapes.

They can indicate movements and direction.
They can create texture and give meaning.
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They can create moods and emotions.
To accomplish all of these tasks, artists use a number of different types of lines:
Contour lines are used to record the boundaries of an object; they’re sometimes
called outlines.
Directional lines are vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines placed to direct the eye
around the work of art. These lines can also create a sense of steadiness, power,
or movement.
Implied lines aren’t physical, but our mind fills in the spaces, like a dotted line or
a space where shading ends to imply an edge.
Geometric and organic lines create a sense of order or spontaneity depending
on the type of line chosen.
Descriptive lines convey information or appear three-dimensional.
Expressive lines convey emotional qualities.
Gestural lines reveal the touch of the artist’s hand, and are often quick and loose
in appearance.
Shape and Mass
Shape and mass are often treated as interchangeable, but they’re not. A shape has a
definable outline. A circle and a triangle are shapes. Shapes are two-dimensional, but
mass is a three-dimensional form that occupies space. Images 4.12 and 4.13 in your book
demonstrate the difference between mass and shape. One form, a three-dimensional
sculpture, has volume and physical weight. The other form, a two-dimensional painting,
uses line and shape in a way that conveys a sense of volume without having any mass.
Shape and mass are often divided into two broad categories:
1. Geometric. A geometric shape is regular. Common geometric shapes are

squares, rectangles, circles, and ovals.
2. Organic. An organic shape is irregular. An example of an organic shape can be
seen if you look at an aerial map of a natural lake.
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Implied shapes occur when the placement of other objects creates an area that appears
to be a shape, as shown in Image 4.15.
The figure is the shape we focus on and the ground is the surrounding visual information.
When you look at a painting, consider what it is that your eyes focus on. That’s the figure,
the part that stands out. The surrounding visual work is part of the work, but it doesn’t
stand out.
The forms of the image, or where you focus, are the positive spaces or positive shapes.
The space behind the image is the negative space or negative shapes.
Light and Value
Light in a work can be direct or implied. We don’t always see a source of light in the
artwork, but we know it’s there. Light is important because it helps us understand forms
and spatial relationships.
Value refers to the light and dark areas of objects and the shades between those areas.
(See Image 4.19 for an example of a value scale in gray.) Value is what allows you to see
the contrast between the figure and the ground. Value is either chromatic or achromatic:
Chromatic means that you see something in color.

Achromatic means you see something in black, white, and gray.
Value does more than measure light and color, however. It can also impart psychological
and emotional qualities to a piece of art by playing with degrees of shadow and darkness
or highlighting and brightness.
The technique in art that involves achromatic use of value to create a

realistic sense of mass and depth is known as chiaroscuro. This word
comes from the Italian words for light and dark. This type of lighting was
refined by Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci (see Image 4.20 in
your book).
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Color
Color is believed to evoke both psychological and physiological responses. Studies have
shown that colors can be closely associated with specific emotional responses—not only
moods like anger or joy, but also stimulations like hunger, relaxation, or anxiety.
Sir Isaac Newton, an English mathematician, physicist, and astronomer, used a prism, a
polished material used to refract light, to divert the rays of the sun and noted that the
colors were broken up and arranged in a certain order. That order is the order that you see
in the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
Image 4.24 in your book shows how these colors are arranged in a color wheel. This is a
way to order and understand color and how it can be used. The three groups of color on a
color wheel are:
1. Primary colors. Red, yellow, and blue. They’re labeled with the number 1 on
the color wheel in Image 4.24. Primary colors are considered primary because in
theory they can’t be replicated exactly by mixing two other primary colors.
2. Secondary colors. Orange, green, and violet. They’re labeled with the number
2 on the color wheel in your textbook. Secondary colors can be made by mixing
two primary colors together.
3. Intermediate colors. Sometimes referred to as tertiary colors. On the color
wheel, they’re labeled number 3. Intermediate colors are the result of mixing one
primary color with a secondary color.
Colors that are found on the red/orange side of the color wheel are referred to as warm
colors. Colors on the blue/green side of the color wheel are cool colors. The terms “warm”
and “cool” have existed for hundreds of years and are thought to differentiate the colors of
the rising sun with those of an overcast day.
Color Properties
All colors have three properties:
Hue is the name of the color according to the color wheel.
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Value is a color’s lightness or darkness. Value is created by adding tint (adding a

white tint to red creates pink) or shade (adding a black tint to red creates
maroon).
Intensity, sometimes called chroma or saturation, is how pure a color is. Colors
on the color wheel are very saturated and pure, while colors with a low intensity
are dull or softened.
Color Schemes
Color schemes, also called color harmonies, are selected colors that work together. Four
common color schemes follow:
Monochromatic. Colors are of the same hue but may differ in value and
intensity. Image 4.28 in your book demonstrates a monochromatic scheme with
tints and shades of blue.
Complementary. Colors opposite each other on the color wheel are
complementary colors.
Analogous. When colors next to each other on the color wheel are combined in
a work, they’re analogous colors. Image 4.29 in your book is a great example of
an analogous color scheme: the artist uses yellow, yellow-orange, orange, red-
orange, and red.
Triadic. Triadic colors are three colors that are equidistant to one another on the
color wheel. Think of a triangle placed in the middle of the color wheel that can
point at three different colors; those are triadic schemes.
Optical Effects of Color
Colors can be used in certain ways to create an optical effect, or a “trick” on the eyes.
An afterimage occurs when someone stares at an image using saturated color for a long
period of time and the eyes begin to get fatigued. The eyes compensate for this fatigue
when allowed to rest by producing a ghostly after-image that uses the complementary
colors of the original image. Image 4.30 in the reading gives you a great opportunity to
experience this phenomenon.
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Complementary colors cause another optical effect called simultaneous contrast. This
phenomenon happens when large areas of complementary colors are placed next to each
other in a composition, causing them to react with each other in a way that makes them
stand out.
Another optical effect of color interactions is called optical color mixture. When the artist
uses small patches of different colors close together, your eyes try to blend them. You end
up seeing colors that aren’t used in the work. Artist Georges Seurat used this effect, called
pointillism, in his work Evening, Honfleur.
Texture and Patterns
A work’s texture is how it feels, perhaps rough or smooth. Artists can use an actual
texture, or it can be implied by how they use their mediums.
Artists can also use pattern, or a repetitive motif or design, to create their own visual
textures. It’s important to note that visual texture won’t always create a pattern. In general,
pattern tends to flatten depth and volume in a work of art.
Space
Space creates a sense of depth in a work of art. Sculptures and buildings are examples of
art in three-dimensional space. Paintings are created in two-dimensional space. Space
can be actual, as with three-dimensional art, or implied, with two-dimensional art. A
picture plane is the surface that the painting is completed on, such as a canvas or a wall,
and represents that actual space of the painting. Artists use spatial indicators to give us
the sense of implied space. Common spatial indicators include the following:
Scale. Scale shows depth. When objects are large, they look like they’re closer
to you than objects that are smaller.
Overlap. Overlap is also used to show depth. When shapes are on top of other
shapes, the ones on top seem closer to you than the ones underneath.
Positioning. Objects placed lower on the image can often feel closer to you
than objects that are higher up in the image.
Sharp and diminishing detail. When an artist puts in details that make an
object appear sharp and in focus, it appears closer in space when compared to
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objects in the image without that level of detail.

Value. You’ve learned that value is how light or dark something is. Shapes made
of darker colors appear closer to the viewer than shapes made of lighter colors.
Perspective
Perspective in art is a method of creating optically convincing depth on a two-dimensional

surface. Linear perspective, a technique that creates an optically convincing space,
applies two principles:
1. Forms seem to get smaller the farther away they are.

2. Parallel lines converge into the distance to ultimately meet at a point, called a
vanishing point. (See Image 4.45 in your textbook.)
Foreshortening is another tool of perspective where the actual measurement of an object

appears to be visually shorter because it’s angled away from the viewer. This is seen in
Image 4.47 in your book, where the figure is reclined on the ground, angling away from us.
This makes the figure’s proportions appear shorter than they actually measure, and the
effect is convincing—the figure appears to be lying on the ground.
Atmospheric perspective, also known as aerial perspective, creates an illusion of a three-

dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. Sharper and darker objects appear
closer to the “front” of the image, while lighter and blurrier objects appear farther away.
Atmospheric perspective is masterfully demonstrated in Image 4.48. Note that the
mountains appear far away compared to the grass at the bottom of the painting due to the
level of detail of each.
Time and Motion
Advances in using time and motion in works of art only developed as late as the twentieth
century. In the early 1900s, artists such as Alexander Calder created types of art called
mobiles, which were set into motion by wind or gravity. (The mobile that hangs above a
newborn’s crib takes its name from these early motion-art installations.) Mobiles are
examples of kinetic art, which is art that’s designed to move. Kinetic art is intended to be
observed from many angles and distances and under varying degrees of motion to fully
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appreciate the art. Image 4.53 shows Calder's sculpture Carmen, a work that employs
both kinetic and stationary art.
Some pieces of kinetic art don’t themselves move, but rather rely on the movement of the
viewer to create an artistic effect. This art installation requires the viewer to physically
navigate through and around the piece in order to experience the artistic effect.
Advances in technology have allowed artists to use the digital medium to create art.
Jennifer Steinkamp’s Dervish, shown in Image 4.55, is made up of four digitally projected,
spinning trees that cycle through the seasons, losing and regrowing their leaves. The
displays are programmed to react to sounds or feedback from the viewers, which adds
another element to the work: audience participation.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 4: The Visual Elements
857432&srcou=18128
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Key Points
Form is what a work of art looks like and it can be defined as three-dimensional
or two-dimensional and is further broken down into the following visual elements -
line, shape and mass, light and value, color, texture and patterns, space,
perspective, time and motion.
A line is defined as the shortest distance between points. Different types of lines
express different qualities such as making shapes, indicating movements and
direction, creating texture and giving meaning and creating moods and emotions.
A shape has a definable outline and is two-dimensional, but mass is a three-
dimensional form that occupies space. Shape and mass are often divided into
two broad categories: geometric, a shape that is regular and organic, a shape
that is irregular.
Light in a work can be direct or implied. Value refers to the light and dark areas of
objects and the shades between those areas. Value is either chromatic, you see
something in color or achromatic, you see something in black, white, and gray.
Color has three properties: hue, its name on a color wheel; value, its lightness or
darkness; and intensity (also known as chroma or saturation), how pure a color
is. Color is believed to evoke both psychological and physiological responses.
A work’s texture is how it feels, perhaps rough or smooth. There can be an actual
texture, or it can be implied by the medium. Artists can also use pattern, or a
repetitive motif or design, to create their own visual textures.
Space creates a sense of depth in a work of art. It can be actual, as with three-
dimensional art, or implied, with two-dimensional art. Artists use spatial indicators
such as scale, overlap, positioning, sharp and diminishing details, and value - to
give us the sense of implied space.
Perspective in art is a method of creating optically convincing depth on a two-
dimensional surface. Types of perspective include linear, foreshortening, and
aerial.
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Practice: Discuss the Visual Elements Manipulated by an

Artist
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Principles of Design
Composition is the organization of lines, shapes, colors, textures, values, and space in a
work of art. Sometimes, people refer to composition as design. This section covers the
principles of design, which work with the elements of art in a composition.
Unity and Variety
Unity in a work of art means that there are elements in the artwork with shared qualities.
Variety in a work of art means that there are elements in the artwork that are different.
Usually, an artist tries to compromise between the two—enough visual unity to create
cohesiveness, but enough visual variety to create interest. Unity and variety can be
modified to evoke emotion: a piece with greater unity will evoke calm, while a piece with
excessive variety reflects chaos, anxiety, or the unknown.
Balance
Visual weight refers to the apparent visual “lightness” or “heaviness” of elements, by how
much they draw our eye. Shapes, forms, colors, and lines all have a visual weight when
compared to each other in a composition. The trick is for the artist to create a balance
between these elements. Generally, artists do this using two types of balance: symmetrical
and asymmetrical.
Symmetrical balance occurs when elements in a composition are divided across

a central axis, effectively cutting the composition in half and mirroring it onto the
other half so the halves match exactly. This is sometimes called bilateral
symmetry. Radial symmetry is another kind of symmetry in which all elements in
the work of art are mirrored around a central point in the composition. The
mandala shown in Image 5.8 is a good example of radial symmetry.
Asymmetrical balance occurs when two sides of a composition don’t exactly
match, but the visual weight on each side is similar. This balance is intuitive.
Some examples of asymmetrical balance are demonstrated in Image 5.8 in your
book.
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Emphasis and Subordination
For art to have the desired effect on its viewers, artists must use emphasis to draw
attention to certain parts of the composition more than others. A small area of emphasis
created within an artwork is called a focal point. To create emphasis, an artist creates a
contrast in size, color, value, and implied direction. Image 5.15 in your book demonstrates
use of value and direction to create a focal point, which is the face of the banjo in the midst
of the combined figure of the older man and boy.
The opposite of emphasis is subordination, which occurs when certain areas of an

artwork are less intense and don’t draw as much attention as the main focal point. In
Image 5.14 of your textbook, you can see how Erik Nitsche used the subordination of low-
value, blending colors in the backdrop to bring focus to the bright, colorful emphasis point
of the atom at center.
Scale and Proportion
Both scale and proportion deal with size. Scale is the relation of objects to what’s
considered a standard size for that object, or the size we expect that object to be. Claes
Oldenburg’s sculpture (Image 5.19) is an excellent example of exaggerated scale,
changing the meaning of this mundane object for the viewer.
Proportion is the ratio of individual pieces within a whole in relation to each other. For
example, proportions of a human figure have certain measurements that are considered
standard in our society. Many cultures represent human proportions differently, depending
on what they consider to be “perfect” or culturally “correct.”
Rhythm
The principle of rhythm is based in the idea of repetition. It implies a sense of visual
movement across a composition. Rhythm can be obtained by repeating line, shape,
texture, value, or color.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 5: Principles of Design
529956&srcou=18128
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Key Points
Composition is the organization of lines, shapes, colors, textures, values, and

space in a work of art. Sometimes, people refer to composition as design.
Unity in an artwork means that there are elements in the artwork with shared
qualities and variety means that there are elements in the artwork that are
different. An artist tries to compromise between the two—enough visual unity to
create cohesiveness, but enough visual variety to create interest.
Shapes, forms, colors, and lines all have a visual weight, the apparent visual
“lightness” or “heaviness” of elements. The artist tries to create balance between
these elements using symmetrical and asymmetrical balance.
Artists must use emphasis to draw attention to certain parts of the composition.
For example by creating a small area of emphasis created within an artwork
called a focal point. Also, an artist can create emphasis using a contrast in size,
color, value, and implied direction.
The opposite of emphasis is subordination, which occurs when certain areas of
an artwork are less intense and don’t draw as much attention as the main focal
point.
Both scale and proportion deal with size. Scale is the relation of objects to what’s
considered a standard size for that object, or the size we expect that object to be.
Proportion is the ratio of individual pieces within a whole in relation to each other.
Rhythm is based on the idea of repetition and implies a sense of visual
movement across a composition. It can be obtained by repeating line, shape,
texture, value, or color.
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Practice: Summarize the Principles of Design Including

Emphasis, Unity, Variety, Proportion, Balance, Rhythm, and
Scale
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Unit Review
In this Review, you’ll complete practice activities, which may include a Practice Quiz, to
help you test your knowledge. The Review activities and Practice Quiz are ungraded. You
can complete the Review activities and Practice Quiz as many times as you want. When
you feel ready, you can complete the graded assessment.
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Try to define the term before you flip the card. You should write down the term and definition in
your notebook. Consider making your own note cards to study with.
Megalith Definition: A very large stone
Definition: The branch of philosophy concerned with the feelings

aroused in us by sensory experiences such as seeing and hearing.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics examines, among other things, the nature of art and the
nature of beauty.
Definition: The ability to produce something that's both innovative

Creativity
and useful within a given social context
Definition: A type of textile woven in West Africa by artists of the

Kente Asante people. Kente is woven in hundreds of patterns, each with its
own name, history, and symbolism.
Definition: A famous Dutch painter known for his influential works of

Vincent Van Gogh
art as well as battles with mental illness
Definition: Approach to portraying the visible world that emphasizes

the objective observation and accurate imitation of appearances.
Naturalistic
Naturalistic art closely resembles the forms it portrays. Naturalism
and realism are often used interchangeably.
Definition: Forms of the visual world are purposefully simplified,

Abstract
fragmented, or otherwise distorted.
Definition: The physical appearance of a work of art—its materials,

Form style, and composition. 2. Any identifiable shape or mass, as a
“geometric form.”
Definition: A composition consisting of three panels side by side,

Triptych generally hinged so that the outer two panels can close over the
central one
Definition: Derived from the Greek for “image breaking,” it's the
Iconoclasm
destroying of images in the name of spiritual purity.
Definition: A circular arrangement of hues used to illustrate a

Color Wheel
particular color theory or system
Definition: Three-dimensional form, often implying bulk, density, and

Mass
weight
Definition: A system for portraying the visual impression of three-

Perspective
dimensional space and objects in it on a two-dimensional surface
Definition: A two-dimensional area having identifiable boundaries,

Shape created by lines, color or value changes, or some combination of
these
Definition: The apparent “heaviness” or “lightness” of the forms

Visual Weight arranged in a composition, as gauged by how insistently they draw
the viewer’s eye
Definition: In Hinduism and especially Buddhism, a diagram of a

Mandala
cosmic realm, from the Sanskrit for “circle”
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Practice Quiz: The Language of Art
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Two-Dimensional Media
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Overview
One of the best ways to learn to appreciate art is to learn about the various media used to
create it. In this lesson, you’ll look at five different media used to create two-dimensional
art.
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Objectives
Summarize drawing and the dry and liquid media used with drawing
Describe painting and the importance of the paint medium
Describe the techniques of printmaking
List camera and computer technologies from before and throughout the digital revolution
Explain graphic design and its goal of conveying a specific message
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Drawing
Regardless of age, drawing is an art form that most people are involved in at some point.
Some people who begin drawing at a young age ultimately stop drawing. Some people
invest money into expensive art supplies, and other people just use the material that they
have on hand. Recall the cave drawings discussed in Lesson 1. Those weren’t done with
expensive colored pencils or other purchased art supplies. They were created with the
materials that were on hand.
Many great works of art started off as sketches that weren’t meant for the eyes of the
public. They were just ideas that the creators put onto a surface to make sure that they
fully knew what they wanted to do with the work. With these sketches, you can see the
artist’s creative process. Picasso was one artist who began to date and save all of his
sketches related to his creative work, as a record of his process.
Artists sometimes draw just to draw, with no intention of turning a sketch into anything
more. Leonardo da Vinci was one such artist. He filled notebooks with extremely detailed
sketches, including the movement of water currents and grass in the wind.
When you think about the process of drawing, you likely think of notebook paper, printer
paper, or even paper in a sketchbook. Yet, paper isn’t the only common material used for
drawing. The Paleolithic cave drawings from Lesson 1 were sketched out on rock. The
Greeks drew on pottery. Ancient Egyptians used papyrus, a paper-type material made from
the pressed stems of plants. Moving on through history, treated animal skins were used in
the Roman Empire. In ancient China, silk was used for drawings. Of course, today you can
use paper, canvas, fabric, older methods such as walls or pottery, or even computers.
Materials for Drawing
Now that you’ve learned a little bit about the importance of sketches as well as a short
history of materials used to hold drawings, you’ll look at some of the materials used to
draw. Drawing media are divided into two broad categories: dry media and liquid media.
Dry media are generally applied to a surface in stick form. They leave particles on the
drawing surface as they’re used. Examples of dry media include colored pencils, chalks,
charcoals, and crayons. Liquid media are generally applied using a tool. Ink and paint are
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two common examples of liquid media; you need to use a tool, such as a pen or a brush, to
apply them to your surface.
Some media are naturally occurring, but most of the media that we use in art is
manufactured. The media that we purchase are made by combining two types of materials:
pigment and binder. Pigment is what gives the medium its color. Binder is the material that
either shapes the product into sticks (dry media) or suspends it in fluid (liquid media).
Dry Media
You’ve likely used many types of dry media. Dry media is often the choice of artists who
are just learning to draw. Shapes, outlines, and shading can be drawn without using
additional tools and are relatively easy to erase or blend.
Graphite
Graphite, a soft, crystalline form of carbon, is a naturally occurring medium. Finding solid
graphite is rare; it’s usually extracted and purified into a powder. Then it’s mixed with a
binder and clay. When graphite is covered in wood, you get the most common dry medium
used in drawing, a pencil.
Sets of drawing pencils are numbered or categorized in terms of how soft or hard they are.
Hard graphite has more clay mixed in than does soft. Soft pencils result in darker, richer
marks. Hard pencils result in lines that are lighter and thinner.
Image 6.5 in your textbook is known as Prince Among Thieves with Flowers. The artist,
Chris Ofili, used both soft and hard pencils. The hard pencils were used to create the
flowers in the background of the image. Soft pencils were used to create the image of the
man. If you look closely at the man, you’ll notice that the dots that make up the profile are
actually tiny heads that have afros. Ofili is a British artist of African ancestry. In many of his
works, you can see how he uses imagery that holds a sense of his identity.
Metalpoint
Metalpoint involves the use of soft metal, like silver; it creates fine, delicate lines that are
uniform in width. It was extremely popular during the Renaissance era, but many artists
shy away from metalpoint now because it’s hard to correct mistakes. The drawing surface
must first be covered with a coat of paint called a ground. In the past, the ground was a mix
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of bone ash, glue, white pigment, and water. After the ground dried, the end of a wire was
pulled across it. The metal particles left behind turn pale gray. Image 6.6 in your textbook is
a metalpoint piece by Filippino Lippi created in 1480. Notice how Lippi used hatching and
cross-hatching in the image. Consider how much time must have been used to create this
work, especially considering the unforgiving medium.
Charcoal
Charcoal is charred wood. It can be naturally occurring or manufactured. Natural charcoal

creates a soft line that smudges easily. It can also be erased with a cloth. For detailed work
or work that needs to be more durable, sticks of compressed charcoal or charcoal pencils
can produce a rich, velvety black.
Crayon, Pastel, and Chalk
The dry media mentioned so far have one thing in common: the work is done in shades of
gray and black. Crayon, pastels, and even chalk can give an artist access to a full range of
colors.
Crayons and pastels are made from powdered pigments mixed with a binder. Crayons use
a greasy wax binder. Some crayons are, of course, designed for use by children. Others
are created for artists to use. Artist-quality crayons usually have a wax and oil binder that’s
creamier in consistency than kids’ crayons. This is important for color blending. These
crayons are often referred to as oil pastels. Contè crayons, another well-known crayon for
artists, are mixed with clay and a greasy binder. They’re good replacements for natural
black and red chalks, but are available in a full range of colors.
Pastels are pigments that are mixed with a nongreasy binder and water. They’re then rolled
into sticks and left to dry. Like pencils, pastels can be soft or hard and come in a variety of
colors. Most artists use soft pastels unless they’re creating a special effect or adding in
detail, when they would use hard pastels. Pastels are easy to use because they blend
easily.
Chalk is used in art to refer to three soft, finely textured stones used for drawing:
Black chalk is made of carbon and clay.

Red chalk is made of iron oxide and clay.
White chalk is made of calcite or calcium carbonate.
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For all types of chalk, the material is mined and then cut into size for use. Most artists use
contè crayons and pastels instead of chalk. However, chalk is still available for purchase
and use by artists.
Liquid Media
Liquid media are generally less forgiving than dry media; that is, they don’t allow for as
many mistakes. The materials used in liquid media dry to the surface rather than leave dry
particles; therefore, erasing is difficult or impossible.
Pen and Ink
Inks have been around since around the fourth century BCE. Inks used for drawing are
usually made from ultrafine particles of pigment suspended in water. A binder is added to
keep the particles suspended and to help them stick to the drawing surface.
Although it’s not necessary to use a pen to apply ink to the drawing surface, it’s one of the
most widely used tools. Pens provide a controlled, sustainable, and flexible line. Traditional
pens designed for use by artists were first dipped into the ink and then used on the drawing
surface. The nib on the pen, the part that actually contacts the drawing surface, would
determine the quality and variation of the line. Most pens and nibs used today are metal.
However, it’s fairly easy to find reed, quill, and other more traditional pens.
A more recent ink pen developed for the use of artists is known as a rapidograph, a metal-
tipped instrument that has a reservoir of ink that creates a fine and even line quality. It’s
often used by architects as a drawing tool because of their need for precision.
Brush and Ink
Ink can also be used with a brush on paper. When a brush and ink are used on paper, it’s
defined as a drawing in Western culture; in many Eastern cultures, ink applied with a brush
is considered painting.
Drawing and Beyond: Paper as a Medium
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Paper doesn’t have to be the only medium used in drawing. In 1912, Picasso used a bit of
patterned oilcloth in a painting of a still life. But it was Picasso’s friend, Georges Braque,
who began to bring in more elements of glued paper into his drawings. See Image 6.13 of
your textbook, Still Life on Table: “Gillette.” The drawing includes the use of charcoal,
pasted paper, and gouache. Near the middle of the work, notice an image of Gillette
razors. The darkened area seems to suggest something being cut out. Braque’s work
created what we now call a collage, a piece of art created from different materials or
fabrics. Remember that while a collage commonly involves paper, it can use other
materials as well. Image 6.15 in your textbook is an excellent example of how different
elements can come together to create a mixed media collage.
Creating artwork with paper is something that we all learned to do as children. Think about
the time you spent making paper snowflakes. They are a form of silhouette creation. Yet,
abstract silhouettes (such as unique snowflakes) aren’t the only kind. In Image 6.16 in your
textbook, Untitled (cut-out 4) by Mona Hatoum, you’ll see some basic shapes, but you’ll
also see soldiers and references to explosions or gunfire. This work is created from a
single piece of tissue paper.
In Image 6.17 of the text, you’ll see that paper can be used to create sculpture. Mia
Pearlman created line drawings and cut out shapes from them. Then, she assembled the
sculpture on site. Although paper sculptures can be inexpensive to make, they take a lot of
skill since they’re so delicate.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 6: Drawing
https://courses.portal2learn.com/d2l/common/dialogs/quickLink/quickLink.d2l?
ou=18128&type=lti&rcode=ashworthtest-842471&srcou=18128
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Key Points
Drawing media are divided into two broad categories: dry media and liquid media. Dry
media are generally applied to a surface in stick form and leave particles on the drawing
surface as they’re used like colored pencils, chalks, charcoals, and crayons.
Liquid media are generally applied using a tool such as a pen or a brush. Ink and paint are
two common examples of liquid media.
Dry media that work in shades of grey and black include graphite, metalpoint, and
charcoal which are naturally occurring substances.
Graphite is mixed with a binder and clay and encased in wood to create a pencil.
Metalpoint uses a thin wire made from a soft metal to leave lines on a prepared surface
and charcoal is charred wood.
Crayon, pastels, and chalk provide artists a full range of colors. Crayons are made from
powdered pigments mixed with a binder such as greasy wax, oil, or clay.
Pastels are pigments that are mixed with a nongreasy binder and water then rolled into
sticks and left to dry.
Chalk is used in art to refer to three soft, finely textured stones that are mined and then cut
into size for use: black chalk, made of carbon and clay; red chalk made of iron oxide and
clay; and white chalk made of calcite or calcium carbonate.
Ink consists of ultrafine particles of pigment suspended in water with a binder to help
them adhere to a surface. In Western culture brush and ink are defined as a drawing in
many Eastern cultures, ink applied with a brush is considered painting.
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Practice: Summarize Drawing and the Dry and Liquid Media

Used With Drawing
ou=18128&type=quiz&rcode=ashworthtest-752763
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Painting
Throughout history, painting has awakened various opinions on the practice and its
purpose:
Akbar, a Muslim ruler during the sixteenth century, believed that painters possessed a
unique appreciation for the divine because “a [painter] must come to feel that he cannot
bestow individuality upon his work, and is thus forced to think of God, the Giver of Life,
and will thus increase his knowledge.”
Chinese painter and scholar Zhang Yanyuan stated that painting existed “to enlighten
ethics, improve human relationships, divine the changes of nature, and explore hidden
truths.”
Leonardo da Vinci stated that “painting embraces and contains within itself all things
produced by nature.”
Pedro Calderón de la Barca, a seventeenth-century playwright, stated that painting was
“the sum of all arts.”
Painting means many things to many people. Perception can change from person to
person even within the same culture.
Paint
Paint includes two common elements that you learned about in the last section: pigment
and a binder. Paint also needs a medium or a vehicle, a liquid that holds the pigment
particles together but doesn’t dissolve them. The binder ensures that the paint sticks to the
surface.
Acrylics are thick like paste and are often diluted with water so that artists can more easily
apply the medium to their work. Paints diluted with water are considered aqueous media.
Another aqueous medium is watercolor.
Oil paint is a nonaqueous medium. Nonaqueous media must be diluted before use, but not
with water. Oil paints are often diluted with turpentine or mineral spirits.
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The paint is applied to a support, which is the canvas, paper, wall, or other surface.
Sometimes, the support must first be prepared with a ground or a primer. You learned
about the ground in the discussion of metalpoint dry media; it works essentially the same
way with paint. A primer is a coat of paint applied before the actual painting begins to
create a better painting surface. The primer is generally white to avoid altering the look of
the colors applied.
Many types of pigment and binders have been used throughout the course of history. Two
ancient techniques still used today are encaustic and fresco. Other techniques were
developed only recently. The following paragraphs discuss many of the pigments and
binders available.
Encaustic
Encaustic pigments are mixed with wax and resin. When they’re heated, the wax melts and
the paint can be easily applied to the support. As the wax cools, the paint hardens. When
the work is complete, a heat source is passed close to the surface to fuse the colors
together in a process called burning in.
Encaustic was an important technique in ancient Greece—the word actually means

“burning in” in Greek. Encaustic paintings have been found that date back to 100–150 CE.
They were often used to memorialize the dead during the time when Egypt was under
Roman rule.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the encaustic technique faded out until the nineteenth
century when the Roman-Egyptian portraits were discovered. Image 7.1 in your textbook is
an example of a well-preserved encaustic painting.
Fresco
Fresco describes pigments mixed with water applied to a plaster support (such as a wall).
When the plaster is dry, the technique is known as fresco secco, which is Italian for “dry
fresco.” When it’s applied to wet plaster, it’s referred to as buon fresco, Italian for “true
fresco.” As the plaster dries, the lime in the plaster experiences a chemical transformation.
The lime becomes a binder and fuses the pigment to the plaster.
Fresco, primarily used for walls, creating large murals, takes a lot of time, careful planning,
and hard work. The plaster involved must be set, but not totally dry. The artist must spread
only enough plaster on an area that he or she can paint at that time. Many artists who use
fresco have a full-size drawing of their project called a cartoon. The artist will poke small
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holes on the lines on the cartoon and then transfer the cartoon to the surface by rubbing
damp plaster and pigment through the holes. When the cartoon is removed, the artist can
then follow the dotted lines that were left behind to recreate the image.
The only way that an artist can correct a mistake in fresco is to let the plaster dry so that it
can be chipped off. Then, the artist must start all over again.
Fresco work from the ancient Mediterranean, China, India, and Mexico still exists.
Michelangelo’s work on the Sistine Chapel ceiling during the Italian Renaissance is an
example of fresco.
Raphael created The School of Athens (Image 7.3 of your textbook). This naturalistic
representation, also a fresco, was created for Pope Julius II in the Vatican Palace. The
image includes both Plato and Aristotle, who represent the two schools of philosophy.
Tempera
Tempera is an aqueous medium. It shares some similarities with oil paint. When it’s dry, it’s
tough and insoluble. Unlike oil paints, tempera colors remain bright over time. Tempera’s
vehicle is an emulsion, or a stable mix of an aqueous liquid with an oil, fat, wax, or resin.
Egg yolk is the most commonly used emulsion in tempera paints. Tempera dries quickly, so
once a color is applied, it can’t be blended easily with others. Tempera is commonly used
by gradually building up fine hatching and cross-hatching. From a traditional view, tempera
was used on wood panels prepared with gesso, a mix of white pigment and glue that seals
the wood. Then, it could be sanded to a smooth finish.
Tempera was commonly used in the fifteenth century but fell out of use until around the
nineteenth century. Artists can now buy prepared tempera paints or they can make their
own using pigments and an emulsion. If you make your own tempera paints, make only
enough that you can use in a single sitting because the paints don’t keep well.
Oil
Oil paints are pigments that are compounded with an oil. In the past, the commonly used
oils were linseed oil, poppy seed oil, and walnut oil. Now, the oil chosen for commercially
manufactured oil paints depends on whether darker or lighter pigments are used. For
darker pigments, linseed oil is commonly used. For lighter pigments, poppy seed or
safflower oils are used because they don’t turn yellow over time. These oils dry at room
temperature. When the oil dries, the pigment particles are suspended in the clear, dry oil
film.
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In western Europe, oil was used as an artistic medium as early as the twelfth century, but
didn’t become popular until the fifteenth century. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the use of oil
paints was eclipsed by the invention of acrylic paint.
When you view and critique historic or older oil paintings, it’s important to remember that
over time, colors that were once vibrant may have dulled or become yellowed. Consider
the ways that time has changed the painting. That’s one reason why lighter pigments are
now mixed with only certain types of oils—so they won’t yellow.
When oil painting was initially introduced, the common surface used was wood. Over time,
people began to adopt the use of canvas. Canvas, when compared to wood, had two
distinct advantages:
1. Canvas was lightweight even when it was large. Large paintings were coming into style,
and canvas was lighter than wood and could be stretched to almost any size.
2. Canvas could be rolled up to ship to patrons easily after the painting was complete.
Oil paint dries very slowly, which makes it easier to manipulate and mix than some other
media. You can put colors next to each other and blend them. It’s also easier to scrape off
oil paint if there’s a mistake that needs to be corrected. Different thicknesses of paint can
be applied. An extremely thin application of paint is known as a glaze.
Often, artists who work with oil paints start by planning the composition in advance,
considering all of the details. Then, the image is built up methodically by applying layers of
opaque paints and glazes.
Of course, some artists use a technique known as alla prima, Italian for “at first,” which is
also known as direct painting or wet-on-wet. Opaque colors are applied to the white
ground. It’s a more spontaneous form of oil painting.
Watercolor, Gouache, and Similar Media
Watercolor is made up of a pigment, water, and gum arabic, which acts as a binder. Paper
is the most common surface used with watercolor. Historically, watercolors were used for
smaller works because they’re easy to transport and only require water; a person who
enjoyed this medium could use it practically anywhere.
Watercolors are known for their transparency. They’re used in thin, translucent washes. To
build up the darker colors, the artist must use several layers. This creates depth, but the
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colors don’t become completely opaque. If white is needed in a painting, it’s not usually
applied; rather, the white of the paper is used.
Gouache is a watercolor medium that also has an inert white pigment added to it. The
purpose of this pigment is to make the colors opaque rather than transparent. Gouache
dries fast with a uniform finish.
Traditional Chinese artists painted with black ink. Mixing an oily soot with animal glue
creates a doughy paste that’s molded and allowed to harden into an ink stick. This is then
ground into a powder and used with water. Other colors besides black can be created and
used. Some of the pigments create transparent colors like watercolors. Some create
opaque colors like gouache.
Traditional artists in India and in Islamic countries also use ink and colors. Ink is made in
the similar method as traditional Chinese art techniques. The paints are made by grinding
pigments into water and then using a binder like animal glue or gum arabic. Painters from
these traditions usually prefer opaque, gouache-like colors.
Acrylic
Acrylics use an acrylic resin vehicle that’s polymerized through emulsion in water. When it
dries, the paint is tough, flexible, and waterproof. Chemists first created acrylic paint in the
1930s. By the 1950s, acrylics had greatly improved and began to challenge oils as the
principal medium for Western paintings.
Acrylics can be used to mimic oil paint, watercolor, gouache, and tempera. They can be
layered heavily like oils (in a style known as impasto) or they can be diluted like
watercolors. Like tempera, they dry fast, so many artists who use acrylics keep their
brushes in water while they work. Without doing this, it can be close to impossible to get
the dried acrylic paint from their brushes.
Painting and Beyond: Off the Wall
An easel is a portable stand that helps artists prop up their work. Easel paintings became
prominent during the Renaissance and still dominate Western painting traditions. Yet,
easels aren’t a requirement for painting.
In the 1940s, Jackson Pollock created paintings without an easel. He put his canvas on the
floor as he splattered and dripped the paint onto it from above. In the 1960s, Lynda Benglis
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went further by just pouring pigmented latex directly onto the floor. You can see Benglis
using this method in Image 7.13 of your textbook. She referred to her work as “fallen
paintings.” Other artists paint on glass, wood, soil, and even Styrofoam.
Painting without Paint
Some artists challenge the idea that a painting is a painting because it uses paint. Image
7.15 of your textbook shows a work by Petra Cortright entitled 007 goldeneye_all
characters cheat. It's a digital print that's printed on a large piece of aluminum. Cortright’s
work demonstrates how digital mediums are evolving in a multimedia and digital format
that builds on the history of painting. In her work, the metal backing provides another level
of depth and brilliance to her color pallet. Cortright appropriates and pays homage to
Claude Monet’s water lily series. At the same time, she demonstrates a vibrant and
expressive abstract setting that creates a sense of motion.
Other types of painting that don't require paint are Mosaic and tapestry. An example of
mosaic can be seen in Image 7.16. This Mosaic is the interior of the Mausoleum of Galla
Placidia, dating back to ca. 425-26. In the Ancient period, Mosaics were common for
decorating floors, walls, ceilings, and mausoleums’ interiors.
Tapestries are another way that artisans created painting-like images without the use of
paint. Tapestries were created by weaving threads together on a loom, creating a detailed
image. An example of this can be seen in Image 7.18. The Battle of Granicus, by Charles
Le Brun, ca. 1680-87, was created using wool, silk, and glint metal-wrapped silk thread.
Tapestries gained popularity in the Middle Ages. These intricate fabric paintings would be
hung on walls for decoration or spiritual reflection and to serve as insulation for stone walls.
The Renaissance artists took tapestry design to the next level when fresco artists designed
large-scale works that were translated into tapestries for wealthy patrons.
Mosaic and Tapestry
With paintings growing in popularly during the Renaissance, there were two main
techniques for two-dimensional images: mosaic and tapestry. Mosaics are made of small,
closely spaced particles that are embedded in a binder like mortar or cement. The particles
are known as tessera (singular) and tesserae (plural). Each particle contributes a small
patch of pure color in the image. The farther away you stand from the image, the more in
focus it becomes. Mosaics are great for walls and ceilings, but are sturdy enough to be
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used on floors and outdoors, as they can stand up to the weather. In ancient Greece, floor
mosaics were made with small pebbles. Later, tesserae were made from natural materials
like colored marble. Some were manufactured from glass.
Tapestry is actually a weaving technique, but the term is also used to denote wall hangings
that are created using the technique. Weaving occurs when two sets of threads are held
perpendicular to one another and interlaced. One set of threads is known as the warp.
These threads are held tight by the loom and create the basic shape of the tapestry. The
thread that runs through the warp is known as the weft. The weft creates the image shown
in the tapestry.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 7: Painting
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Key Points
Paint includes pigment, a binder, and it needs a liquid “vehicle” that holds the pigment
particles together but doesn’t dissolve them.
Paints diluted with water are considered aqueous media like acrylics. Nonaqueous
mediums like oil paints are often diluted with turpentine or mineral spirits.
Encaustic and fresco have both been used since ancient times. Encaustic pigments are
mixed with wax and resin. When heated, the paint can be easily applied and as it cools it
hardens.
Fresco pigments are mixed with water and usually applied to plaster such as a wall. When
it is applied to dry plaster, its fresco secco and buon fresco when it's applied to wet plaster.
Tempera is an aqueous medium. It's tough and insoluble when it’s dry and colors remain
bright over time. Its vehicle is an emulsion, or a stable mix of an aqueous liquid with an
oil, fat, wax, or resin.
Oil paints are pigments that are compounded with an oil such as linseed or sunflower. Oil
paints are slow drying, easy to blend and can be applied in a range of consistencies.
Watercolor is made up of a pigment, water, and a binder and is known for its transparency.
While gouache is like watercolor but with an inert white pigment added to it to make the
colors opaque.
Ink used in painting is made from an oily soot with animal glue molded and hardened into
a stick then ground into a powder and used with water. Acrylics are synthetic and use an
acrylic resin that is polymerized in water and mimics other paint mediums.
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Practice: Describe Painting and the Importance of the Paint

Medium
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Prints
A print is the result of making an image appear on a surface. Many types of projects qualify
as prints. This section introduces the vocabulary and some of the processes that fall under
the category of prints.
How Prints are Made
A matrix is the surface on which a design is prepared before being transferred via pressure
to the receiving surface. For instance, a common craft made by small children is handprint
turkeys on paper. The art teacher coats the child’s hand in paint so the child can make a
print. The child’s prepared hand is the matrix, the object that makes the print. When the
child’s hand is pressed on the paper, an image of the hand appears. The image left by the
matrix is referred to as an impression. Because a matrix can create many impressions,
printing is referred to as an “art of multiples.”
When printing services were industrialized, it became easier to create multiple copies of a
single work. The ability to create mass productions made it easier for people to own
replicas of art and to purchase art books. Yet, this did something else for the art world: It
created value for original works versus reprints and mass productions. So, just how do you
distinguish between the original print of an artist and a commercial reproduction?
Sometimes it’s obvious. If you visit certain reproduction websites, they’re very clear that the
copies they sell are reproductions. If you go to a museum and visit the gift shop, it’s clear
that a poster on thin paper that costs you $19.95 isn’t the original work. It’s important to
understand the two principles differentiating originals and reproductions:
1. The artist performs or oversees the printing process and examines each impression for
quality. The artist will sign each impression that’s approved. The impressions rejected by
the artist must be destroyed.
2. There may be a limited number of impressions made. This number is known as an edition.
The artist will write that number on each approved impression. So, if there were 100
editions and the artist just approved the fifth print, it would be marked 5/100. When all
copies from the edition are created, the printing surface is either canceled (or destroyed.
When it is canceled, the surface is scratched so that it cannot be used to make more prints.
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Those signed and numbered editions are worth more than reprints that you might find
online from another merchant.
Printing has existed for hundreds of years. Three historical methods were used for creating
art prints: relief, intaglio, and lithography. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, screen-
printing and digital inkjets joined the ranks of printmaking.
Relief
In printing, relief is a method where the image to be printed is raised from the background.
Rubber stamps that say “Paid” or “Canceled” create relief prints. Besides rubber stamps,
the most common material used for relief printing is wood. Woodcut, wood engraving, and
linocut are all examples of relief printing.
Woodcut
A woodcut is created when an artist draws the image on a block of wood, then cuts away
areas that the artist doesn’t want to print. The image the artist wants stands out as a relief.
The block is inked and then pressed onto a surface to create the print.
Woodcut relief printing is a historical and impressive form of printing. In Image 8.2, you’ll
see the earliest surviving woodcut image. Made in China around 868 CE, the image is the
preface to the Diamond Sutra (a book revered in Buddhism). Only one copy of it exists,
and it’s 18 feet long.
Woodblocks were used in Europe to print patterns onto textiles as early as the sixth
century CE, but until the introduction of paper printing, it wasn’t a very practical use. Once
paper printing was used, around the fifteenth century, Europe went through its “information
revolution” with the invention of the printing press and movable type. It became much
faster and easier to collect, print, and give out information.
China took woodcut printing to the next level a century before Europe started printing with
paper in the fifteenth century. The Chinese began to print using multiple blocks, enabling
them to print images in full color. In the eighteenth century, the Japanese continued to
improve on the rudimentary printing and made some of the famous prints shown in Images
2.22, 3.26, and 19.34 in your textbook.
Woodblock prints have largely disappeared with advances in technology. Today,

photography and lithography have taken its place.
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Wood Engraving
Wood engraving uses a block of wood as a matrix. The matrix is created on the surface by
cutting into the wood. It’s then sanded smooth and worked with finely pointed engraving
tools to add detail. Wood engraving tools create fine, narrow channels that leave white
lines when the work is inked and printed.
Linocut
A linocut, also referred to as a linoleum cut, is similar in nature to a woodcut. However,

linoleum is much softer than wood, making it easier to cut, but limiting the number of good
impressions that can be produced. A linocut wears down much faster than a woodcut.
Intaglio
Intaglio, Italian for “to cut,” includes several methods. It’s the opposite of a relief in that the
areas that will be printed are cut into the printing plate. This is done by the use of a sharp
tool or acid to make the lines in the metal plate. When the plate is inked, the ink goes into
the depressions made. Then, the surface is wiped off, leaving the ink in the depressions.
Dampened paper is put into contact with the plate with pressure. The paper is pressed into
those depressions and the ink is lifted. There are six common types of intaglio printing:
1. Engraving
2. Drypoint
3. Mezzotint
4. Etching
5. Aquatint
6. Photogravure
Engraving. The oldest intaglio technique is engraving, which involves cutting lines and
designs into a surface. It was developed from the medieval practice of cutting linear
designs into armor and other metals. The burin is the sharp, V-shaped tool that’s used to
make cuts in metal. Shallow cuts produce a thin line. Deeper cuts create thicker and darker
lines. Engraving is closely related to drawing with pen and ink in both technique and the
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final visual product. In both drawing and engraving, shading and modeling are created by
the use of hatching, cross-hatching, and stippling.
Engraving was the primary way that works of art were reproduced until the nineteenth
century, when lithography and photography became more common. Professional
engravers were extraordinarily talented. They made copies of drawings, paintings, statues,
and even architecture.
Albrecht Dűrer was one of the greatest Renaissance printmakers. He considered himself a
painter, but it was his printmaking that gave him fame and produced most of his income.
Between 1513 and 1514, he created three prints that were so technically and artistically
sophisticated that they became known as the Master Prints. Image 8.8 in your textbook
depicts one of those engravings, Night, Death, and the Devil.
Drypoint. Drypoint is the same process as engraving, but the cutting instrument used is
called a drypoint needle. The artist uses the drypoint needle on the plate (usually made
from copper) almost as easily as using a pencil on paper. The needle scratches into the
plate, creating an incised line and a rough ridge that will hold the ink. The burr (the rough
ridge) can be kept in place for a soft, slightly blurred line, or smoothed away to create a
fine, delicate line.
Mezzotint. Mezzotint is a method that produces finely graded tonal areas in gray.
Mezzotint was created by a seventeenth-century artist in the Netherlands, Ludwig von
Siegen. He created a print and sent it to the king along with a letter that said, “there is not a
single engraver, a single artist of any kind, who can account for, or guess how this work is
done.”
Mezzotint works from dark to light as opposed to other methods that apply darker tones to
a lighter surface. First, the artist prepares the mezzotint plate by roughening it with a sharp
tool known as a rocker. If inked and printed at this point, the print would produce nothing
but a black print. This is because the rough parts of the plate hold all of the ink. Lighter
tones are created by the artist by smoothing out some of those rough spots with a
burnisher, so that the ink isn’t trapped in those areas. Artists can also scrape the burrs
from the surface to make it smooth. The lightest areas in the print are where the burrs were
smoothed away entirely.
Image 8.10 in your textbook shows a work created in 1787 by Charles Willson Peale titled
Benjamin Franklin. The look of mezzotint, as you will discover, can be very similar to chalk
on a blackboard.
Etching. Etching is performed with acid. The acid eats into the metal plate, creating lines
and depressions. First, the artist must coat the printing plate in an acid-resistant ground,
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usually made from beeswax, asphalt, and other materials. The artist uses an etching
needle to draw on the plate. Then, the plate is dipped into acid. The acid eats only into the
places not covered by the ground; that is, the area where the artist used the etching needle
to scratch away some of the ground.
Etching isn’t as precise as engraving because acid can often act in unusual ways.
However, as you can see in Rembrandt van Rijn’s Christ Preaching from 1652 (Image 8.11
in your textbook), the technique can be astoundingly beautiful.
Aquatint. Aquatint, a variation of the etching process, gives flat areas of tones, like grays
or other intermediate colors. The process was developed around 1650 by Jan van de
Velde, a Dutch printmaker. However, the technique wasn’t particularly well-known until two
French printmaking manuals included it more than 100 years after its creation.
An artist must first prepare a plate for aquatint by dusting it with a fine, powdered resin.
Then, the plate is heated to make the resin stick to it. Resin is acid resistant, much like the
ground mentioned for etching. Once dipped in the acid bath, the areas without the resin will
hold ink. The longer the plate is left in the acid, the deeper the impressions will be, the
more ink they’ll hold, and the darker the print will be.
Aquatints can create multiple tones, as you can see in Image 8.12. However, the artist
must work in stages. For areas that aren’t touched by the acid to be white on the paper,
they must be stopped out, which means those areas are painted with an acid-resistant
varnish. Then the plate is dipped into acid until the acid bites deep enough into the plate to
create the lightest tone. Those areas are stopped out and then the plate is returned to the
acid until the bite is deep enough for the second lightest tone. This is done over and over
again until all of the desired tones can be achieved. Then, the resin and the stop are
washed off with a solvent so that the plate is ready to be inked and printed.
One of the interesting facts about aquatint is that it doesn’t have to be used by itself. It’s
often combined with other intaglio techniques to create amazing works. Combining
techniques helps artists create any look they want.
Photogravure. Photogravure is an etching technique that was developed in the nineteenth

century. Similar to mezzotint, photogravure enables the artist to create several tones. It’s
commonly used in the creation of black and white photos, but is also used for color photos.
A full-size positive transparency of the photo is placed on a sheet of light-sensitized gelatin

tissue and then exposed to a UV light. The gelatin hardens. The more light it’s exposed to,
the harder the gelatin will become. The light passes through the blank area of the
transparency. As the gelatin hardens, it changes the exposure time. Light passing through
the gray area of the gelatin (as it hardens) will have a softer look to it.
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When the exposure is complete, the gelatin tissue is attached face down to a copper plate.
This reverses the image. The plate is placed in a warm water bath that causes the paper
backing to loosen and float off. The soft gelatin will dissolve. The hard gelatin will still be
attached to the plate. This creates a low relief of the image.
The gelatin is dusted with resin and the plate is heated to bind the resin to the surface. The
plate is immersed in acid. The bite of the acid will ultimately depend on the thickness of the
gelatin. Where areas are deeply etched (from lower layers of gelatin), you’ll get a darker
print. Where there’s barely any etching, you’ll get pale tones.
Lithography. Lithography, created by a German actor and playwright, Alois Senefelder, is

a planographic process, which uses a flat surface. It’s unlike other intaglio-based printing
processes that are raised or recessed.
First, the artist draws an image on a stone with a grease-based crayon or ink. Then, the
stone goes through several procedures, including treatment with acid. This binds the
drawing to the stone so that it won’t smudge. To print the image, the stone is dampened
with water. The water soaks into the areas that weren’t coated with the grease crayon.
When the stone is inked, the ink sticks to the greasy area. Lithographs don’t just use
stones; they’re also made with zinc or aluminum plates. Printing with multiple colors
requires multiple stones, one for each color.
Screenprinting. Screenprinting is like using a stencil. You place the stencil on the surface
and then fill in the holes. Of course, in art, it becomes a little more complex, but the
process is basically the same. A screen of some kind is used along with ink or paint. The
screen is made of a fine mesh blend of silk or synthetic fibers mounted in a frame. If silk is
used, the process is referred to as silkscreening or serigraphy (silk writing). The printmaker
blocks screen areas that shouldn’t be printed. This is usually done with some type of glue
that stops the ink from passing through. The screen is placed over the surface and ink is
forced through the mesh with a squeegee. The areas that aren’t stopped with glue will
have ink forced through to create the print.
For color screenprints, the artist must create a screen for each color. If the artist wanted a
blue area, the screen would stop all the areas except where the blue ink should go. The
process is repeated for each color used.
Monotype. A monotype is a printmaking process that, unlike the other techniques covered
in this section, creates only one print. The artist draws on the surface, usually using diluted
oil paints. The plate is run through a press to transfer the image to paper. The artist could
place the paper on the plate and hand rub it to transfer the image. The original is destroyed
or altered so that duplicates of the print can’t be created.
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Using a monotype has advantages and disadvantages. Artists can use an almost unlimited
range of colors. The artist doesn’t have to cut into wood or metal. It’s closer to drawing or
painting. The main disadvantage is that the artist can never be sure how the print will look
when it comes through the press. The colors could blend, contours may soften too much,
or brush textures could look flat.
Inkjet. Inkjet printers used for fine-art printing are more sophisticated than the printers that
most people have in their home. Inkjet printers create an image from a digital file by
spraying mists of ink onto the surface (such as paper). There is no matrix. With the higher-
quality inkjet printers used for art, better colors are used. The ink is fade resistant and
doesn’t alter in color over time.
Recent Directions: Printing on the World
Industrial versions of engraving, lithography, screenprinting, and inkjet printing are used to
create images on practically any surface: balloons, clothing, CDs, packages, wallpaper,
decals, and more.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 8: Prints
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Key Points
A print is the result of making an image appear on a surface. The image, referred to as an
impression, is left by a matrix, which is the surface that holds a design before being
transferred via pressure to the receiving surface.
Relief is a method where the image to be printed is raised from the background such as a
woodcut, wood engraving, or a linocut. With a woodcut, an image on a block of wood is
cut in relief along the grain then inked and pressed on a surface.
Wood engraving uses a block of wood as a matrix which is sanded smooth. The image is
carved into the wood across the grain using finely pointed tools. When inked and pressed
the image leaves white lines.
Linocut is similar to a woodcut but uses linoleum which is much softer than wood, making
it easier to cut but limiting the number of good impressions that can be produced.
Intaglio is the opposite of relief. The areas to be printed are cut into a printing plate and
ink is applied. The ink fills the depressions and when it is pressed onto damp paper the
paper lifts off the ink and an impression is left behind.
Lithography is a process that uses a flat surface and grease-based crayon or ink to print.
An image created with a greasy crayon is fixed to a flat surface by several processes. A
greasy ink is applied to the damp surface, the ink adheres to the greasy image but is
repelled by the damp areas.
Screen Printing is made with a screen of some kind, either silk or synthetic is used along
with ink or paint. Areas of the screen not meant to be printed are blocked with glue and
ink is forced through the screen with a squeegee to create the print.
A monotype creates only one print. The artist draws on the surface, usually using diluted
oil paints. The plate is run through a press or hand rubbed to transfer the image to paper.
The original is destroyed or altered so that duplicates of the print can’t be created.
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Practice: Describe the Techniques of Printmaking
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Camera and Computer Arts
Camera and computer arts are relatively new when you consider how long other art forms
have been around. A camera relies on a natural phenomenon that’s been observed for a
very long time: the reflection of light. Light reflected from an object can be used to project
an image onto a surface under controlled circumstances. It wasn’t until the nineteenth
century that photography was born. Photography later led to film and video recording.
Today, most photography and video recording is made and edited in a digital format, and
the Internet allows artists to share their work with a wider audience than artists of any
previous era.
Photography
The history behind photography is interesting. During the fifth century BCE, Mo Ti, a
Chinese philosopher, noted that light passed through a pinhole opening into a dark
chamber would form an exact view of the world outside, but that the view was upside
down. In the eleventh century, Arab mathematician and physicist, Abu Ali Hasan Ibn al-
Haitham, also known as Alhazen, conducted an experiment in a dark room. The light from
several candles went through the pinhole in a partition and projected images of the flames
onto the surface on the other side. Alhazen theorized that light travels in straight lines, and
that the human eye worked in the same way as the pinhole projection. Science has since
proven that his theories were correct. His theories were translated and spread through
Europe. Scientists continued to study the behavior of light, yet it wasn’t until the
Renaissance that a device was developed based on those principles: the camera obscura
(Latin for “dark room”). During the sixteenth century, artists used the camera obscura as a
drawing tool to help them make more accurate representations in their work.
Still Cameras
A camera is a light-tight box that has an opening at one end to allow in light, a lens to focus
and refract the light, and a light-sensitive surface to hold the image. These elements were
all present in the first camera obscura. Joseph Nicephore Niepce, a French inventor, began
to focus on improving the camera obscura by making it possible to preserve the image that
was projected onto the light-sensitive surface. In 1826, he used a specially coated pewter
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plate that was able to record a fuzzy version of the view from his window after he exposed
the plate to light for eight hours. This image is still referred to as Niepce’s “heliograph,” or
“sun writing.” It’s thought to be the first permanent photograph, despite its impractical
method.
Niepce—and his son, Isidore, after his death—corresponded with Louis Jacques Mande
Daguerre, who also wanted to improve the camera obscura. They communicated in code
to keep their progress a secret from others. In 1837, Daguerre had a breakthrough; he
recorded an image in his studio that was both clear and sharp. The method was much
easier to use than Niepce’s. Daguerre used a light-sensitive surface, a copper plate coated
with silver iodide. He named the surface the daguerreotype. You can see the image in your
textbook, Image 9.3.
Daguerre’s plate needed to be exposed to sunlight for only 10 or 20 minutes, which was
much easier than the 8 hours from Niepce’s heliograph. After Daguerre’s method was
made public, people began to improve on it. A method for fixing the final image so that it
didn’t keep changing in light was invented in England. A more light-sensitive plate coating
was created that reduced exposure time. Vienna birthed a new lens that collected 16 times
more light than previous lenses, which reduced exposure time by another 30 seconds.
Photography became an important way for people to capture portraits. Until the
refinements of the camera, only the wealthy could afford to have portraits, sitting in front of
a portrait painter. Entrepreneurs and businesses understood how the camera would
revolutionize access to portraits—more people would want them and they would be more
affordable.
There are some substantial differences between the daguerreotype and modern
photography. The daguerreotype produced a positive image. A positive image has light and
dark values that appear correctly, but the image can’t be reproduced. The plate itself is the
photograph. When film became the most common light-sensitive surface, it produced a
negative image. In a negative image, the light and dark values are reversed. When film is
developed, the film itself is called the “negative.” Negatives can be used over and over
again to print positive images on light-sensitive paper. Negatives were also created out of
glass during the middle of the nineteenth century.
One of the most celebrated portraitists of all time was an amateur English photographer
named Julia Margaret Cameron. Cameron photographed Charles Darwin, Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow, and Lord Tennyson. Despite all of the celebrated individuals with
whom she fellowshipped and photographed, the portrait she is most well-known for is that
of her niece, Julia Jackson. The portrait, shown in Image 9.4 in your textbook, was taken in
1867. Note the dramatic effects in the image. Instead of sharp focus and even lighting,
Cameron used light and shadow to soften the focus.
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The Instant Camera
Although photography improved on the time it took to have a portrait completed compared
to having a portrait painted, it was still more suited for special occasions. Equipment was
bulky and the exposure time could still be long. It wasn’t until the 1880s that exposure time
for photos became less than one second. This advancement enabled photographers to
capture life as it happened.
In 1888, George Eastman developed a camera called a Kodak that changed photography.
The cameras were lightweight and handheld and could be taken anywhere. Eastman’s
cameras were marketed with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest.” The
cameras used a roll of film that was large enough to hold 100 photos. The rapid ability to
take these images led to the images being known as “snapshots.” The development of the
Kodak and other easy-to-operate cameras turned photography into a popular hobby.
Serious photographers continued to develop and print their own work, although they
enjoyed the portable, lightweight cameras.
Bearing Witness and Documenting
One very important way that photography changed the world was in the number of photos
that could be created and put into circulation. A painter could take weeks, months, or even
years to create a single piece of work. A photo could be reprinted many times quickly
thanks to the use of negatives or, now, digital media. Photography provided a way to
record history as it happened.
When you pick up a newspaper or read a digital news site, you see lots of photos. These
photos bear witness to what happened. In the nineteenth century, newspapers were
illustrated with wood engravings or lithographs. Artists were sent out as reporters, and they
drew images after the event occurred. Their images were based on eyewitness accounts of
what happened. The first important conflict that was documented in photography was the
Civil War. Yet, the long exposure times limited the photos to posed portraits and photos of
the dead. Action shots still had to be drawn. Good photos of anything had to be reproduced
as engravings or lithography because, at that time, there wasn’t adequate technology to
print photos on regular paper. Around 1900, the first process for photomechanical printing
began. With this advancement came the field of photojournalism, literally documenting
through photography.
Photojournalism quickly morphed away from just taking a photo of an event to a way to
preserve history. In Image 9.6, you’ll see an image that you’ve likely seen many times,
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entitled Migrant Mother. The photo was taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936, during the Great
Depression. Lange was a photographer for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her job
was to take pictures to record the conditions present across the nation for the Farm
Security Administration. Lange focused her work on migrants who had lost their farms due
to the Great Depression and drought. Migrant Mother shows a worried mother with her two
young children. Lange never asked the mother for her name or her history. The FSA gave
photos such as Migrant Mother free to newspapers and magazines.
Photography and Art
The development of photography was important to the art world as well as the world of
journalism. Before photography, sculptors and painters often created artworks that
depicted events happening during their time. After photography was developed and in use,
Western artists were free to take on more abstract work. Now, more than 150 years later,
photography is just as much part of the art world as every other type of art.
Not everyone believes that photography is an art form. Some feel that the detailed
objectivity takes away from the personal expression seen in paintings and other forms of
art. Another reason is that photography is easy to start—anyone can point the camera and
press the button.
The Pictorialist movement, one of the most influential movements that wanted photography
accepted as an art form, disagreed with both arguments. Pictorialists used labor-intensive
printing techniques so that they could blur out unwanted details, enhance tonal range,
soften the focus, add highlights, and essentially make their images look more like paintings
than photographs. This movement grew from 1889 until World War I. It successfully proved
that photos could be just as wonderful and expressive as paintings.
The development of abstraction, Cubism, and nonrepresentation began to change both

photographs and paintings alike, morphing them in response to each other. Dadaism was
formed in 1916 as a reaction to the deaths involved in World War I. It rejected the logical
nature of the art of modern capitalism, instead focusing on the nonsensical and abstract.
Hannah Höch used multiple printed images to create Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada
through Germany’s Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch, shown in Image 9.10. She was
commenting on the chaos of modern city life at the time.
The term “dada” didn’t have a meaning in and of itself because its creators didn’t want to
make sense in traditional ways. In 1918, when the war ended, a dada manifesto was
released that called for art to be made “which has been visibly shattered by the explosions
of the last week, which is forever trying to collect its limbs after yesterday’s crash. The best
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and most extraordinary artists will be those who every hour snatch the tatters of their
bodies out of the frenzied cataract of life.”
Dada influenced Emmanuel Radnitzky, better known as Man Ray. A trained artist, Man Ray
got involved in photography to document his paintings. A year or two later, he began to
focus on the art of photography—although he didn’t actually use a camera. In fact, he
threw it away. He went into the darkroom and experimented with light-sensitive paper. He
learned that an object placed on paper would leave its own shadow in white when the
paper was darkened by light exposure. With this technique, he created what he called the
rayograph (also known as the rayogram). He would do simple things such as move objects
over time or suspend them over the paper. He would shift the light source. This allowed
Man Ray to create mysterious works that looked like photos, but didn’t fit the general idea
of what people considered to be a photograph.
Another early complaint against including photography as an art form was that the photos
were in black and white and not in color like paintings. Although there were coloring
techniques for photographers by 1910, it wasn’t until the 1930s that color was widely used.
Even then, it was only used for advertising. It’s partly for this reason that serious
photographers still preferred black and white photos, claiming that color lacked dignity and
was only suitable for advertising. The discourse between the two existed until around the
1960s and 1970s. Now, color photography is the primary means of making photos.
Many artists and photographers have welcomed the computer as a natural extension of art.
Digital cameras, developed during the 1990s, don’t use film; photos are stored as data.
Digital cameras enabled photojournalists to send photos to newspapers and magazines
using an Internet connection. Artists could get the images they needed and manipulate
them into a final image using photo-editing software.
Film
Artists have tried to create the feeling of motion through their still images all throughout
history. In 1878, Eadweard Muybridge created a solution. A former governor of California,
Leland Stanford, hired Muybridge after Stanford bet a friend $25,000 that a horse at full
gallop sometimes had all four feet off the ground. It’s not something that could be
answered by just watching the horse. Muybridge’s job was to photograph the governor’s
racehorses. Muybridge created a way to take the pictures using 24 cameras connected to
a black thread that stretched across the racecourse. As the horse ran down the track, it
snapped the threads, which triggered the cameras to take the photos. The photos proved
that at certain points, a galloping horse will have all four feet off the ground at the same
time.
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This encouraged Muybridge to continue to study motion. In 1887, he published Animal

Locomotion, which is considered his most important work. It had 781 plates of people and
animals in motion.
The Origins of Motion Pictures
A motion picture film isn’t really recording motion. Motion pictures show a series of still
pictures at a rate of 24 frames per second. The images appear to move due to persistence
of vision, which means that the brain holds on to an image for a fraction of a second longer
than the time that the eyes were looking at it. This is important because, without it, you’d
be constantly interrupted by momentary darkness when you blink your eyes. For motion
pictures, it means that the brain is holding on to the previous frames while seeing the
current frames, creating the image of full motion.
The motion picture relied on three major developments.
1888—George Eastman introduced celluloid film. Celluloid film made it possible for
pictures to be strung together.
1894—Thomas Edison’s lab technicians created the first genuine motion picture. It was
only a few seconds long and made on celluloid film. It was titled Fred Ott’s Sneeze. Yes,
it’s about a man who sneezes.
1895—Two French brothers with the last name of Lumière (which means “light” in
French) made the first working film projector.
Believe it or not, the interest in motion pictures actually predates the

development of the still camera. In 1832, a toy called the zoopraxiscope
was patented in Europe that used multiple still images in a wheel. Spinning
the wheel caused the images to appear to move.
Exploring the Possibilities
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Motion pictures were exciting because they provided a way to use visual arts to tell an
entire story. As early as 1902, film makers were looking for ways to include special effects
to tell fantastical stories. A Trip to the Moon, directed by Georges Méliès, was one of the
first science fiction films ever made. The cast creates a “space gun” and shoot themselves
into space in what looks like a giant bullet. They land in the moon’s eye. The travelers
battle with aliens and are taken prisoner. The movie is 14 minutes long and uses painted
scenery. Méliès created the film’s effects using a process called stop motion, where each
frame of the special effects sequence had to be meticulously set up and captured with a
photo before setting up for the next frame. When the film was watched at 24 frames per
second, however, it looked like smooth special effects.
Hand-drawn animation works on the same frame-by-frame principle as stop motion. The
difference is that the photos are taken of different cartoons and not of different physical
objects. Animation is time-consuming, taking between 12 and 24 drawings to create just
one second of animation in a movie. A 3-minute cartoon could use up to 4,320 individual
drawings.
Editing quickly became a necessity for effective filmmaking. Many filmmakers were
concerned with editing for clarity and continuity. Soviet Russian filmmaker Sergei
Eisenstein was more interested in how editing could be used to be more creative. He
looked at how editing could be used to do things like change the single action down to
several shots or alternating shots of different subjects so that the viewers would
understand that a symbolic connection between the subjects exists.
Using special effects, animation, and editing, the possibilities of film as a visual medium
were identified and explored by the first generation of filmmakers. Since then, there have
been huge technological advances in film, but the essential elements are still the same.
Film and Art
Just like photography, film wasn’t immediately accepted into the art community. During the
1920s, the term “art cinema” came into use. It indicated that an independent movie didn’t
use popular storytelling techniques designed to please an audience. The films were shown
by specialized theaters, cinema societies, and art museums. Yet, with these collaborative
efforts, questions remained:
Who was the artist?

Were the actors the artists?
What about the writers?
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What about the editor?
All were artists in their own way, but the best films, according to the viewers, were the ones
that seemed driven by a single vision. During the 1950s, French film critics determined that
the director was an auteur (French for “author”) when his or her films were marked by a
consistent, individual style, just like you’d see in a traditional artist’s work. The style came
about because of the director’s control.
One such auteur was Andy Warhol, who wrote and directed more than 60 films in addition
to his renowned painting career. Warhol’s films challenged viewers’ preconceived notions
of film as art, such as his Empire (1964), which is an eight-hour recording of the Empire
State Building.
Video
Video took images in motion and made them available to the general public. The ability to
make videos became incredibly popular with consumers in the 1960s. A video camera
converts a moving image into electronic signals. Those signals transmit to a monitor. The
monitor decodes them and puts them back together as an image to be displayed. The
television is the most famous monitor for video. The television was first demonstrated in
1939 at the New York World’s Fair. By 1950, it was a standard fixture in American homes.
Artists quickly took to video for several reasons:
Video can be recorded and immediately played back on a monitor.

It eliminates the wait for film to be developed.
Monitors work well for small spaces such as galleries.
Digital video became available in the 1990s. Later advances allowed digital video to be
stored on drives, tapes, or discs, and projected onto a surface. Digital video gives artists
the same tools for editing that are available to filmmakers.
The Internet
The Internet provides a way to create, store, and look at images without a material form.
Web browsers and apps allow viewers to look at video, film, photography, and other forms
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of art anywhere in the world.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 9: Camera and Computer Arts
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Key Points
The history of photography begins with the camera obscura (Latin for “dark room”). It
was a light-tight box with an opening at one end to allow in light, a lens to focus and
refract the light, and a light-sensitive surface to hold the image.
The camera was used as a drawing tool for making more accurate representations in
artwork until inventors made it possible to preserve an image that was projected onto a
light-sensitive surface such as the daguerreotype.
The Kodak camera changed photography. The cameras were lightweight, handheld, and
were loaded with a roll of film that held 100 “snapshot” photos. Soon photography
provided a way to record history as it happened through photojournalism, literally
documenting through photography.
A motion picture film isn’t really recording motion. Motion pictures show a series of still
pictures at a rate of 24 frames per second that appear to move due to the persistence of
vision, where the brain holds onto an image for a fraction of a second longer than the time
that the eyes were looking at it.
Major developments in motion picture were: celluloid film, which made it possible for
pictures to be strung together and the first working film projector. Special effects,
animation, and editing, the possibilities of film as a visual medium were identified and
explored by the first generation of filmmakers.
Video took images in motion and made them available to the general public. A video
camera converts a moving image into electronic signals which are transmitted to a
monitor. The television is the most famous monitor for video.
The Internet provides a way to create, store, and look at images without a material form.
Web browsers and apps allow viewers to look at video, film, photography, and other forms
of art anywhere in the world.
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Practice: List Camera and Computer Technologies From

Before and Throughout the Digital Revolution
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Graphic Design
Most forms of art leave interpretation of the art up to the audience. The intent of graphic
design is to limit the interpretation of the graphic as much as possible. A graphic designer
communicates a specific message; success of the design is measured by how well the
message is conveyed.
Graphic designers try to present information visually, in words or images. Book covers,
newspapers, magazines, advertisements, packaging, images on a website, CD covers,
even what you see on TV or in a movie are all examples of graphic design.
The practice of graphic design is as old as recorded history. The development of written
language is a form of graphic design. Letters are just designed symbols that represent
certain sounds.
The Industrial Revolution increased the use of graphic design as the public began to
purchase goods that were created in factories. Those factories needed to capture their
share of the market, so they made ads. As more and more brands hit the market, graphic
design remains a vital part of society.
Signs and Symbols
At the simplest level, humans communicate through symbols. Children often learn to read
not just with phonics, but with sight words. They simply memorize the look of certain letters
together and learn that it represents a certain word (that also represents an object). Letters
are also symbols that represent sounds. So, when people learn to read through phonics,
they’re still learning to read through the use of symbols, a type of visual communication.
Symbols convey information or ideas. For example, Image 10.1 in your textbook shows an
image of a "children at play" traffic sign. Some signs refer to simple concepts, while others
embody a history of complex associations. Image 10.2 shows the LGBT flag created by
Gilbert Baker, who turned to nature and used the rainbow as a positive symbol for the
community. This flag is now universally seen as a symbol of inclusion and acceptance.
But what idea does the swastika represent? In 3,000 BCE in Central Asia and India, a
swastika was used as a symbol meaning good luck. In Sanskrit, the symbol means “good
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fortune.” The symbol is still used in those two areas in the modern day. It wasn’t until the
1930s when it was used by the Nazis that the swastika took on its now infamous meaning
of fascism, hate, and atrocities. The history of the swastika teaches an important lesson
related to symbols: The ideas behind them can drastically change.
One of the most common jobs of a graphic designer is to create visual symbols. All of the
symbols that you see on street signs, at bus terminals, and even at airports were created
by graphic designers. Logos are other common visual symbols that graphic designers must
create. A logo on its own means nothing; the way that a company conducts itself ultimately
gives the logo meaning. Yet the logo is still a fundamental element. It’s how people
recognize a brand; it’s the brand’s visual presence.
Companies who hire a graphic designer to create a logo provide guidelines for typography,
colors, images, and even layout. Typography is the arrangement and appearance of
printed letter forms. Fonts are a good example of typography. When you open a Word
document and select Times New Roman, you’re choosing a certain form of type. When you
choose Comic Sans, you’re choosing a different form of type.
Most designs are centered on a wordmark or logotype, a standard text logo. Image 10.5 in
your book depicts several wordmarks, including those of Toyota and ABC News.
Typography and Layout
Calligraphy is a form of writing that’s used as an art in many countries and in many
cultures. The Westernized alphabet ultimately became mass-produced as a typeface, or a
style of type. Times New Roman and Calibri are two popular typefaces.
All sorts of typefaces are available for personal and commercial use. The typeface chosen
by graphic designers isn’t just for ease of reading by the audience (although that’s an
important factor). It’s also chosen to evoke a certain feeling in the viewer. Other
considerations include the size of the design and any other graphics that will be used. The
consideration of typefaces, sizes, and other design elements is collectively known as
layout. Layout isn’t necessarily done in just one round of design. Redesigns may have to
be done in order to clear up any issues. The layout is the designer’s blueprint for an
extended work in print, such as a book or magazine. For instance, the words in your
textbook are arranged in a column. Newspapers are arranged in multiple columns.
Word and Image
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Starting in the early fifteenth century, designs and printing were offered by printers.
Broadsides, printed on a single sheet, were often handed out to townspeople and posted in
public spaces. They could advertise political or religious arguments, festivals, or images of
civic or religious leaders. Broadsides are the direct ancestor to advertising, posters,
leaflets, brochures, newspapers, and magazines.
In the nineteenth century, color lithography was used to develop posters. They were quite
eye-catching, since it wasn’t practical to use color in magazines or newspapers at that
time. Now, there are all sorts of graphics, video, and music editing programs that allow
anyone to create their own advertisements that look highly professional.
Motion and Interactivity
Graphic design isn’t limited to still imagery. Words and images used in film titles, television
programs, and advertisements are all designed by graphic designers. With the
development of digital media, designers also began to design for interaction with a target
audience. This created part of the user experience. When it comes to interaction, one
challenge is how to create visual clarity from the amount of data that computers are able to
process.
Graphic Design and Art
Many art museums maintain collections of graphic design. Graphic design overlaps with
traditional art in many ways. Artists have sometimes worked as graphic designers, and
graphic designers may also make traditional art. Graphic designers continue the original
task that was assigned to the artist long ago: convey a message that’s clear and
convincing. Today, graphic designers have the technology to create a visual elegance that
portrays the desired message.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 10: Graphic Design
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Key Points
Graphic designers try to present information visually, in words or images to communicate

a specific message.
Humans naturally communicate through symbols. A graphic designer’s job is often to
create visual symbols such as logos which is how people recognize a brand even if on its
own the symbol means nothing; it’s the brand’s visual presence.
The design of typefaces continues to be an important and often highly specialized field.
Typeface is chosen not just for ease of reading but also to evoke a certain feeling in the
viewer.
The consideration of typefaces, sizes, and other design elements is collectively known as
layout. The layout is the designer’s blueprint for an extended work in print, such as a book
or magazine.
Broadsides are the direct ancestor of advertising, posters, leaflets, brochures, newspapers,
and magazines. Later, color lithography was used to develop posters. Now, all sorts of
graphics, video, and music editing programs allow anyone to create their own highly
professional looking advertisements.
Graphic design isn’t limited to still imagery. Words and images used in film titles,
television programs, and advertisements are all designed by graphic designers. Now as a
part of the user experience designers are designing interactions with a target audience.
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Practice: Explain Graphic Design and Its Goal of Conveying

a Specific Message
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Unit Review
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Definition: A coloring material made from various organic or chemical

Pigment substances. When mixed with a binder, it creates a drawing or
painting medium.
Definition: A drawing medium consisting of sticks of color made of

Pastel powdered pigment and a relatively weak binder. 2. A light-value color,
especially a tint
Definition: A drawing technique in which the drawing medium is a fine

Metalpoint metal wire. When the metal employed is silver, the technique is
known as silverpoint.
Cartoon Definition: A full-scale preparatory drawing for a fresco or mural
Definition: A synthetic plastic resin used as a binder for artists’ paints.

Acrylic
Also used in the plural to refer to the paints themselves: acrylics.
Definition: Paint in which the pigment is compounded with an

Tempera
aqueous, emulsified vehicle such as egg yolk
Definition: In printmaking, a surface (such as a block of wood) on

Matrix which a design is prepared before being transferred through pressure
to a receiving surface (such as a sheet of paper)
Definition: An image created from a master woodblock, stone, plate,

Print or screen, usually on paper. Prints are referred to as multiples,
because many impressions are made from the same printing surface.
Definition: 1. Sculpture in which figures are attached to a background

Relief and project from it. 2. Printmaking technique in which portions of a
block meant to be printed are raised.
Definition: A planographic printmaking technique based on the fact

that oil and water repel each other. The design is drawn in greasy
Lithography crayon or ink on the printing surface; the printing surface is
dampened, then inked. The oil-based ink adheres to the greasy
areas and is repelled by the damp areas.
Definition: The first practical photographic process. Invented by

Jacques Louis Mandé Daguerre and made public in 1839, it
Daguerreotype
produced a single permanent image directly on a prepared copper
plate. (9.3)
Still Camera Definition: A type of camera for taking photographs
Definition: French for “author,” the word describes a filmmaker,

Auteur usually a director, who exercises extensive creative control over his
or her films, imbuing them with a strong personal style. (9.19)
Definition: The recording, reproducing, or broadcasting of moving

Video
images
Definition: An image or sign that represents something else, because

Symbol
of convention, association, or resemblance. (10.1)
Typeface Definition: In graphic design, a style of type. (10.6)
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Practice Quiz: Two-Dimensional Media
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Three-Dimensional Media
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Overview
The previous lesson focused on two-dimensional media. While the history and types of
two-dimensional media alone are enough to fill entire encyclopedias, they account for only
one part of the entire catalog of art. Unlike a painting or drawing, you can walk around a
three-dimensional object and see it from various angles. In this lesson, you’re going to
learn about sculpture, installation, three-dimensional works of art that you see on a daily
basis, and architecture.
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Objectives
Summarize the methods, materials, and installations of sculptures

Recognize the art found in everyday objects and rituals
Describe the connections between art and architecture
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Sculpture and Installation
The word “sculpture” may immediately bring to mind famous sculptures such as
Michelangelo’s David, which depicts the human figure. Sculptures can be made to depict
other objects, made from other materials besides clay or marble, and can be any size.
Sculptures can be made and then transported to another location or created and displayed
in the same spot.
Image 11.1 of your textbook shows the sculpture Maman. The giant spider was created in
1999, but it wasn’t cast, or molded from liquid metals, until 2001. The bronze, marble, and
stainless steel spider is almost 30 feet tall and greets visitors to the Guggenheim Museum
in Spain. It’s an interesting piece, starting with its name. Maman is French for “mother.”
The artist, Louise Bourgeois, created it as a metaphor for her mother: tall, protective,
patient, and skilled. Bourgeois’ mother created and repaired tapestries to support her
family, just as the female spider spins a web in order to provide for her family. This
sculpture’s metaphorical association with the artist’s mother shows how inspiration creates
interesting works of art.
Maman is a sculpture created in the round, meaning that the work is freestanding and
finished on all sides so that people can view it from any angle. Yet a sculpture isn’t a
sculpture just because it’s finished on all sides. A relief sculpture has a raised image that
projects from the background; it’s meant to be viewed from the front. Image 11.2 depicts a
ninth-century, Middle Eastern, sandstone relief sculpture. Relief sculptures are still widely
used. Many buildings and bridges, for example, have relief sculptures worked into the
design of their architecture.
Some relief sculptures are considered to be in low relief (also called bas-relief), a
technique in which the figures stick out only a little from the background. Consider a coin
such as the penny. The images on both sides of this coin are low relief. They stick out from
the background of the coin but not by much.
In high relief, the forms project more from the background. Image 11.3 in your textbook is
an example of high relief. This work from seventh-century India is entitled Durga Fighting
the Buffalo Demon. Durga, a goddess, with eight arms and riding a lion, leads her army
into battle against the buffalo demon. The image belongs to an Indian tradition where entire
temples were cut into cliff sides or carved from giant boulders, forming giant walk-in
sculptures.
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The three categories for sculpture discussed so far—in the round, low relief, and high relief
—are considered traditional categories. Older works are often made from sandstone and
rock. Today, sculptures are commonly created using bronze, wood, stone, fiberglass,
fabric, and even fluorescent light.
Methods and Materials of Sculpting
Sculptures are made using four basic methods:
1. Modeling involves the creation of a form using an additive process.

2. Casting uses a mold that holds a liquid or semi-liquid material until it hardens.
3. Carving is a process in which the artist starts with a mass of material and then removes
material until the sculpture is complete. Carving is a subtractive process.
4. Assembling involves the creation of a sculpture by putting together individual objects.
Assembling is an additive process.
Modeling
Modeling as a sculpting process is something you’ve likely known since childhood.

Creating forms from a modeling compound, such as clay, mud and dirt, or even snow, are
all forms of modeling. In sculpting, clay is one of the most commonly used materials. Clay
is an earthen material that’s pliable when wet. Sculptors can add more clay to build up the
form, remove clay, pinch it out, scratch it down, or even smooth it with their hands. When
the clay dries and is fired, or heated to a high temperature, it becomes hard.
The Italian name for fired clay is terra cotta. Image 11.4 in your text shows a portrait vessel
of a woman, created by a member of the South American Moche people some time
between 300–450 CE.
Modeling is one of the most direct sculpture methods. The workable material responds to
the touch of the creator. Sculptors who use clay usually test their ideas before they allow
the work to dry. As long as the clay stays wet, the artist can work and rework the sculpture
until it looks exactly as he or she envisioned.
Casting
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Casting is an indirect method of sculpting. This is because, in some works, the artist won’t
touch the creation until it’s finished. Metal, specifically bronze, is the most common
material used in casting. Bronze must be heated until it pours freely into the form. As it
cools, it hardens. Image 11.5 in your textbook is an example of a cast bronze sculpture
from twelfth-century Central India. The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was made with bronze
and then gilded, or covered in a layer of gold. Look at all of the detail present in the
sculpture. You see detailed jewelry, a head-dress, flowers, and details in the clothing. This
shows that even with metal, an artist can create an amazing level of detail.
One of the most common methods for casting metal is the lost-wax process, illustrated in
Image 11.6 in your textbook. It dates back to the third millennium BCE and is a relatively
simple process. This type of casting is referred to as a replacement method because the
wax is replaced with metal.
Sculptures cast in this manner are unique because the wax original is destroyed in the
process. Today, indirect or investment casting is more commonly used.
1. The artist finishes the sculpture in clay, plaster, or other material.

2. A mold is formed around the sculpture, usually made of synthetic rubber.
3. The mold is removed from the sculpture in sections and reassembled.
4. Melted wax is painted inside the mold (a process referred to as slushing) to build up an
inner layer about 3⁄16" thick.
5. When it hardens, the wax cast is removed from the mold and compared with the original
sculpture for accuracy. It should be an exact duplicate (with the exception of it being
hollow).
6. The wax casting is fitted with wax rods and pierced with pins.
7. The casting is covered in solid plaster. This surrounds and fills it in. The plaster is referred
to as the investment.
From here, the process is the same as you learned in the last technique: it’s heated so the
wax melts and runs out; metal is poured into the mold; and when cool, the investment is
broken away. In this casting method, the mold is reusable.
While metal is historically the most common material used in casting, other materials can
be used as long as they can be poured and harden. Some sculptures are cast from
porcelain, a type of ceramic. Ceramic is a common material used to create sculptures. It’s
cast in a liquid form, known as slip. Slip is formed by mixing the powdered clay with water
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and a deflocculant, which stops the clay particles from sticking together. Slip, similar in
consistency to heavy cream, is poured into a mold made of plaster. The plaster absorbs
the water from the slip, causing it to solidify. Once a thick wall of clay has set, the excess
slip is poured out of the mold, creating a hollow clay casting. When the casting is dry
enough to be handled without damaging it, it’s released from the mold and allowed to dry
before firing and glazing.
Synthetic resins developed in modern chemistry have given sculptors new materials to
work with. Synthetic resin for casting is a clear liquid that cures, or permanently solidifies,
because of a chemical reaction that occurs when it’s mixed with another liquid—a catalyst
or curing agent. Pigments may be added to the liquid resin that give the finished casting
the look of another material. Before resin is cast, the rubber mold must be treated with a
release agent, a chemical that keeps the resin from sticking to the mold as it hardens. The
casting mixture is made up of liquid resin, the catalyst, and any pigments or fillers. It’s
prepared right before use because it immediately begins to cure.
Carving
Carving is more aggressive than modeling and more direct than casting. Carving starts
with a block of material. Cuts, chips, and gouges are made on the material until the
sculpture is created. Wood and stone are the principal materials used for carving.
Image 11.9 in your textbook, Virgin and Child on the Crescent Moon, was created in 1495
out of limewood by Tilman Riemenschneider. You can see the fine details and curves used
to create the sculpture. Limewood was native to southern Germany, where the artist lived
and worked. Artists often created their carvings from the material that was most available.
Image 11.10, the Colossal Head, created between 1500–1300 BCE, is around eight feet
tall. Scholars believe the material, basalt, was chosen not only because it was plentiful in
the area, but because of its symbolic value.
Assembling
Assembling is the process by which individual pieces, segments, or objects are brought
together to form a sculpture. Some people do make a distinction between assembling and
constructing. With assembling, the parts of the sculpture are placed on or near each other.
With constructing, the parts are joined together through welding, nailing, or a similar
procedure. In your textbook and in these lessons, the term assemblage is used for both
types of work.
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Image 11.11 shows a steel sculpture by American sculptor David Smith titled Voltri VI.
Before becoming a sculptor, Smith worked as a welder. In this sculpture, Smith used his
welding skills to assemble his work. His work broke new ground in the use of materials and
the creating of forms.
Steel has been produced in small quantities throughout history for things like weapons and
armor. In the second half of the nineteenth century, advancements in technology enabled
the world to mass-produce metal. Steel became widely available as an inexpensive
medium.
Roxy Paine also uses stainless steel to create outdoor sculptures. Image 11.12 in your
textbook shows Conjoined. The large stainless steel and concrete trees are 40¢ × 45¢ and
touch at the top. The trees are clearly artificial, but there’s something wonderful about the
look of the trees and the way that they meet.
Stainless steel isn’t the only material used in assemblage. The creator of C.F.A.O., Martin
Puryear (Image 11.13), used painted and unpainted pine and a wheelbarrow. It’s an
interpretation of the white mask used by the Fang civilization in Africa.
The Human Figure in Sculpture
One subject remains a central focus for sculptors regardless of their medium or culture: the
human figure. Almost all representational work in Chapter 11 of your textbook portrays
people—religious leaders, deities, and people whose identities are unknown. The human
figure is likely a key subject in sculpture because the materials used to create sculptures of
human figures will far outlast the subject of the sculpture.
Rulers throughout history have maintained images of themselves and of their

accomplishments. Image 11.15, Menkaure and Khamerernebty, is from Egypt and was
created somewhere between 2490 and 2472 BCE. This statue, found in the royal tombs of
Ancient Egypt, depicts the youthful bodies and features of the pharaoh, Menkaure, along
with his wife, Khamerernebty. The formal pose conveys their power along with their eternal
existence. Pharaohs were considered “junior gods” on earth. At death, it was believed that
they joined gods in the afterlife. This pose is seen in many excavated items from royal
tombs.
Sculptures are also used to create a sense of “presence.” In ancient times, statues were
believed to have a connection to life. In Egypt, the Opening of the Mouth ceremony was
believed to help a dead person awaken in the afterlife. It was performed not only on the
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deceased, but also on their statues. In China, the tomb of the first emperor was “protected”
by terra-cotta soldiers.
Sculptures also memorialize heroes and heroines. Sculptures of people in your town on
public display often include plaques that tell who the person was and what they did. The
purpose is to continue to pay homage to the contribution that the person made.
One of the most common uses of sculptors who focus on the human form was to depict
people related to religion and the spiritual realm. Think about the various images you’ve
seen in your textbook, not just in Chapter 11, but in earlier chapters as well. Many focused
on religious leaders or icons.
Rather than the human figure itself, sculptors focus on the spirits that people represent.
Image 11.19 shows Spirit Spouse, a sculpture of a seated woman who is carrying a child
on her back. The sculptor, Baule, believed that every person has both an earthly and a
spirit spouse. If the spirit spouse is happy, life is good; an unhappy or jealous spirit spouse
could cause trouble. The belief was that if you created a statue of the spirit spouse that
was as beautiful as possible, placed it in a household shrine, and gave it gifts and
offerings, the spirit spouse would live in the statue and be happy.
The human figure is often a subject of sculpture because of its beauty. This idea began
with the ancient Greeks, who greatly admired their athletes, whose bodies were honed
through physical activity, and created an idealized body type with harmonious proportions.
The perfected bodies can be seen in sculptures of gods and mythological heroes, who are
often nude. Greek artists created a particular stance for standing figures known as
contrapposto, or counterbalance. The stance includes an S-shaped curve through the
body, as shown in Image 11.21.
Working with Time and Place
The face of planet Earth is sculpted by the forces of nature. The Grand Canyon, for
example, was created primarily by the process of erosion from water and wind and is now
considered one of the most wondrous locations in the world. Some forces of nature take
thousands of years to change, while others happen suddenly.
People can also sculpt the landscape. Sometimes, these changes are practical, as in a
farmer’s irrigation ditches. A stone or gravel garden is a sculpted landscape, but these are
usually done for aesthetic reasons. Serpent Mound, shown in Image 11.24, is located near
Locust Grove, Ohio. It was created by the Hopewell people around 1070 CE and is
approximately 1,300 feet in length. It’s an example of an earthwork, a work of art made for
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a specific place using natural materials from that area. One archaeologist suggested that
Serpent Mound may have been created in response to a celestial event such as the
sighting of Halley’s Comet in 1066.
Earthworks can deteriorate because of the weather or vegetation growth. Artists who focus
on earthwork must accept that their work will change over the course of time.
Sometimes, earthworks and other sculptures are ephemeral, or lasting only a short time.
For instance, Image 11.25, Reconstructed Icicles, Dumfriesshire, made by Andy
Goldsworthy in 1995, had to be photographed to display in a gallery. The icicles could
never last in a gallery space and so were displayed only through photographs installed in
galleries.
The term installation means installing a show, or hanging an exhibit. Documenting an entire
gallery space in a photograph is called an “installation shot.” Installation begins when an
artist conceives of a space and everything in it as a single artwork, or installation art. With
this type of art, which modifies the existing space in some way, the audience is encouraged
to enter, explore, and experience the installation.
Light is also used in sculptures. Image 11.28, Dan Flavin’s Untitled (to Karin and Walther)
was part of a series known as European Couples. It’s a fluorescent light fixture comprised
of blue tubes. Flavin focused on using these lights to change how his audience perceived a
space. Flavin was associated with minimalism, an art movement from the 1960s claiming
that art should provide a pure and honest aesthetic experience instead of influencing
people through images or transmitting the artist’s ego through self-expression. Christo and
Jeanne-Claude, the focus of the Artists section of Chapter 11, embody the principles of
minimalism. Their public art installations were grand in scale—a large curtain between two
mountains in Valley Curtain and large pink ocean coverings in Surrounded Islands— yet
the artists themselves remained private and mysterious. The art they created was
designed to give a temporary, yet powerful feeling based purely on aesthetics, and the
public was encouraged to experience the art by being near it.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 11: Sculpture and Installation
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Key Points
Three traditional categories for sculptures include: in the round, a freestanding work that is
finished on all sides and can be viewed from any angle; low relief, a raised image that
projects from the background, meant to be viewed from the front; and high relief, the
forms project more from the background.
Sculptures are made using four basic methods: modeling, casting, carving, assembling.
Modeling is a direct method of sculpting and involves the creation of form using an
additive process.
Casting is an indirect method of sculpting. It uses a mold that holds a liquid or semi-liquid
material until it hardens. Carving is a subtractive process that starts with a mass of
material and then removes material until the sculpture is complete.
Assembling another additive process involves the creation of a sculpture by putting
together individual objects.
The human figure remains a central focus for sculptures regardless of medium or culture.
The human form was used to depict people related to religion and the spiritual realm,
memorialize heroes and heroines and was often a subject of sculpture because of its
beauty.
Contrapposto, counterbalance and the idealized body type made its way into Western art
during the Renaissance and is represented by a particular stance for standing which has an
S-shaped curve through the body.
People can also sculpt the landscape such as with earthwork, a work of art made for a
specific place using natural materials from that area are ephemeral, or lasting only a short
time.
Installation art begins when an artist conceives of a space and everything in it as a single
artwork. Existing space is modified and the audience is encouraged to enter, explore, and
experience the installation.
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Practice: Summarize the Methods, Materials, and

Installations of Sculptures
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Arts of Ritual and Daily Life
In the eighteenth century, European philosophers categorized painting, sculpture,

architecture, poetry, and music as fine arts. Textiles, ceramics, metalwork, pottery, and
furniture making were categorized as decorative arts, meaning they were primarily
decorative in nature, or applied arts, meaning they were mainly practical. Although that
was more than two centuries ago, this grouping feels natural in today’s culture. In this
section, you’ll look at art that was created with great skill, inventiveness, and meaning. The
art styles talked about in this section are made to be touched, handled, and used both in
daily life or rituals.
Clay
Ceramics comes from an ancient Greek word (keramikos) which means “of pottery” and is
the art of making objects from clay. Clay is a naturally occurring substance. When it’s dry, it
has a powdery consistency. When mixed with water, it becomes plastic, or able to be
modeled, pinched, rolled, or shaped using the hands. When the form is built and is dried,
the shape will stay, but the work itself will still be fragile. In order to make it durable, it must
be fired in a kiln between 1,200 and 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit. Firing the clay changes the
chemical composition so the form is solid, strong, and can no longer be returned to the
plastic state.
Almost every culture has used or currently uses ceramics. The earliest known use of
ceramics was in China 20,000 years ago. Ceramics approximately the same age have also
been found in Japan. For something to be considered a ceramic object, the inside must be
hollow and there must be thin walls around the hollow core. Most ceramic wares are meant
to hold something, which is why they’re hollow. For instance, ceramic bowls may hold food
or a liquid. Another reason why ceramics are hollow is because if a solid clay piece were
fired, it could explode from the heat.
One technique used to make ceramics hollow is slab construction. The clay is rolled out
into a sheet (or slab) and allowed to dry just a little so it can be handled more easily by the
ceramist. Soft slabs can be formed into curves and then fired to harden. Hard slabs can be
assembled as rigid sheets, almost like assembling with wood, and then fired to hold the
pieces together.
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Another technique for making a thin, hollow form is coiling. The clay is rolled out into rope-
like strands that are placed on top of each other and joined together. This technique
produces a ridged surface, although it can be smoothed by the ceramist to produce a flat
wall.
One of the fastest methods to create a hollow, rounded form is to use a potter’s wheel.
Potters in the ancient Near East used a rotating disk, which is now referred to as a slow
wheel. This wheel, used as far back as 4,000 BCE, made it faster to make coil pots. What’s
now referred to as a potter’s wheel, or fast wheel, is believed to have been invented in
China over a thousand years after the slow wheel. The principle of wheel construction
remains the same. The wheel is a flat disk mounted on a vertical shaft that can be made to
turn either with foot power or with electricity. The ceramist places a mound of clay in the
center of the wheel and as the wheel turns, the clay is lifted and shaped by hand. This
process, known as throwing, always produces rounded or cylindrical forms. After the
pieces are created, they can be reshaped, cut apart, or altered in other ways.
Porcelain is ceramic made by mixing kaolin, a fine white clay, with finely ground petuntse
(also called porcelain stone). When porcelain is fired at a high temperature, the elements
fuse into a glassy substance that’s hard, white, and translucent. Porcelain was discovered
and perfected in China long before it began to appear in other parts of the world.
Image 12.2 in your textbook depicts a porcelain bowl from fourteenth-to-fifteenth-century

China. After the bowl was shaped, it was dipped in glaze. Ceramic glazes are made up of
powdered minerals mixed in water. When fired, they fuse together in a nonporous, glass-
like coating that bonds with the clay of the vase. Glazes are generally formulated to apply
color to the ceramic form; however, the classic glaze for porcelain is clear.
The lotus flowers on the bowl in Image 12.2 represent purity or possibly the Buddha, who
is often depicted among lotus blossoms.
Glass
When people are presented with a glass creation, they often hold it at various angles in the
light to see how it changes. Glass can be made in many ways, but it almost always has
silica or sand in it. The other materials in the glass affect its color, melting point, and
strength. When glass is heated, it becomes molten. It can then be shaped by several
different methods. Glass never changes from a chemical perspective, even when it
becomes pliable. When the glass cools, it hardens; if it’s reheated, it can be reworked.
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Archaeological evidence suggests that glass was first manufactured in what is today
eastern Syria and northern Iraq. The technology spread from the ancient Near East,
including Egypt.
One of the most common ways of shaping a hollow glass vessel (like a bottle) is by glass
blowing. To accomplish this technique, the glass artist dips a long, metal tube into a mass
of molten glass. The artist then blows into the metal tube, producing a glass bubble that
can be shaped or cut while the glass is still hot.
The glass bottle in Image 12.3 from Egypt was created with another technique—sand-core
casting. A core of compacted clay and sand is made into the shape of the cavity for the
glass vessel. Then, it’s wrapped in cloth and set on the end of a long rod. The sand core is
placed into a vat of molten glass, removed, shaped, and decorated. Once the glass has
cooled, the core is scraped out.
Stained glass is another form of glasswork used for windows, lampshades, and other
structures where light will pass through. It’s made by cutting sheets of glass of different
colors into small pieces. The pieces are placed together to form a pattern and the
segments are usually joined by strips of lead. The twelfth and thirteenth centuries in
Europe were a golden age for stained glass. Many of the great cathedrals contain stained
glass windows, as light was viewed as a spiritually transforming substance.
Metal
Metal is a versatile family of materials. It can be used to create everyday mundane objects
such as a bridge (although bridges can be elaborately designed) or beautiful ornate works
such as crowns or rings. The composition of the material is the same, as are the methods
of working it.
Metal can be shaped by casting, as you’ve already learned. Another metalworking

technique is forging, wherein metal is shaped by hammer blows. Some metals need to be
heated to a high temperature before forging, known as hot forging. Some metals can be
worked at room temperature, known as cold forging.
Image 12.5 in your textbook shows a bracelet from Italy forged between 375 and 95 CE.
Wood
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Wood is widely available, renewable, and easy to work with. It has been used by almost all
peoples throughout history to make objects for ritual or daily use. Yet, wood is vulnerable.
Both heat and cold can warp it, water can rot it, and fire can turn it to ash. Some insects
eat wood. Historians believe that only a fraction of wooden objects created in the past have
survived.
The most common product made from wood is furniture. The basic forms of furniture are
extremely old. The chair in Image 12.7 was dated between 2575 and 2551 BCE. This chair
is interesting for its time because although there were huge thrones for rulers, this chair
stood around 31 inches tall and was clearly portable. The legs of the work show how even
in the early days of civilization, people thought about design and ornamentation.
Fiber
Fiber is a pliable, threadlike strand. Most naturally occurring fibers are from either animals
or vegetables. Animal fibers include silk, wool, and the hair of animals like alpacas and
goats. Vegetable fibers include cotton, flax, raffia, sisal, rushes, and even various grasses.
Fibers can be spun into yarn or woven into textiles, pressed into felt or twisted into rope,
twine, or string. Fibers are woven together to create things like baskets and hats.
Basketry is highly valued by many Native American communities, including the Pomo.
According to legend, a Pomo ancestor stole the sun from the gods to light the dark earth.
He hung it in a basket that he moved across the sky. The journey of the sun re-enacts the
event. Pomo baskets are now linked to ideas about the universe and knowledge. The
Pomo basket in Image 12.9 was made around 1895 and includes willow, bulrush, fern root,
feathers, shells, clamshell beads, and glass beads.
Basket weaving began as a woman’s art. Harvesting the materials was ritually significant
because ancestral paths were followed to find traditional roots, barks, woods, brushes, and
grasses. In Pomo basket weaving, a small imperfection—a dau, or a door for spirits—is
always included. Feathers were used in the creation of gifts for important or honored
persons. They were often destroyed in mourning when that person died.
Textile is the fiber art that most people know well. The clothes you’re wearing are textiles.
The first textiles were created through the process of felting, in which fibers were matted
and pressed together. This ancient technique is still used today.
Weaving is another fiber technique with ancient roots. Done on a frame, two sets of parallel
fibers at right angles to each other are interlaced. The first set of fibers are held tightly and
referred to as the warp. The other set that is woven through the warp is known as the weft.
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Image 12.10 is a tunic from Peru, created around 1500 by the Incas. Textiles were used by
the Incas for clothing, to drape on statues, and even as payment for taxes. The colors used
in an Incan tunic signaled the wearer’s ethnicity and social status. Image 12.10 depicts a
royal tunic. Scholars have yet to identify the meanings behind all of the various patterns.
Ivory, Jade, and Lacquer
Items made from ivory, jade, and lacquer are rare. Ivory and jade are considered precious
materials. Lacquer is unique to East Asia, where it has been the center of an important
artistic tradition for around 3,000 years.
Ivory
Ivory may refer to the teeth and tusks of several large mammals. Elephant tusks are the
most commonly used and sought-after source. Asian elephants once roamed from the
coast of Iran through the Indian subcontinent, southern China, and Southeast Asia, but
now are considered an endangered species. African elephants used to roam south of the
Sahara desert. Trade of elephant tusks went unchecked from ancient times through the
twentieth century. This brought ivory to other parts of the world where it wasn’t generally
found. In India, ivory trade is now banned, and it’s restricted in Africa.
Jade
Jade is a common name for two minerals: nephrite and jadeite. Jade is commonly thought
of as green, but it can be white, brown, or green. Jade is primarily found in East Asia,
Central Asia, and Central America. Jade is very hard, cold to the touch, and extremely
beautiful.
Lacquer
Lacquer is made from the sap of a tree that originally grew in China. It’s harvested,
purified, colored with dyes, and brushed in thin coats over wood. The sap hardens into a
smooth, glass-like coating. The original technique of lacquering requires a lot of patience. It
took up to 30 coats of lacquer to build up a substantial layer. Each layer must dry
completely before the next one can be applied. In ancient China, lacquer was used on
trays, bowls, storage jars, and other items that needed to be water resistant and airtight.
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These goods were often exported with other luxury goods through the Silk Road trade
route.
The knowledge of lacquer spread from China to Korea and Japan. Korean and Japanese
artists learned how to cultivate the sap-producing tree. Other techniques were developed.
Sometimes, layer after layer of red lacquer was applied. Eventually, it would be so thick
that it could support a relief carving. An example of this can be seen in Image 12.14.
The Japanese perfected the art of decorating lacquerware with inlays of mother of pearl
along with gold and silver powder, as shown in the writing box from eighteenth-century
Japan in Image 12.15. A writing box held writing implements, such as an inkstone, ink
sticks, brushes, a water dropper, a small knife, and an ink stick holder. Often, the inside of
the box was also decorated.
Art, Craft, and Design
Another grouping, minor arts, is today referred to as crafts. When something is a craft, it
means that it needs skill to complete it.
The Industrial Revolution transformed Western society, beginning in Europe. Things that
were once handmade were being mass-produced by machines. Workshops were being
replaced by factories. Social thinkers during the nineteenth century criticized the
development of industrialization. They thought it implied a loss of dignity. But people
determined to make room for handmade objects in the industrial age set up workshops and
studios. They taught each other different skills. They held exhibits and formed societies
such as the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society.
The Arts and Crafts movement, as it was called, even influenced the United States.
Though this movement gradually waned, it influenced modern fine arts and craft-making in
our culture. Images 12.17, 12.18, 12.19, and 12.20 are works from 1998 through 2012.
Although the items you see are crafts that can be used, you can also see the more creative
and conceptual approach.
Another legacy from the Arts and Crafts movement was the rebirth of the question, “Is
there a distinction between fine arts and craftwork?” After all, many items used in crafting,
such as clay, are also used in fine art (such as sculptures). The Arts and Crafts movement
gave the public an awareness of the value of handmade objects and traditional skills,
though industrialization persisted.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 12: Arts of Ritual and Daily Life
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Key Points
Decorative arts or applied arts are primarily decorative in nature such as textiles, ceramics,
metalwork, pottery, and furniture.
Ceramics is the art of making objects from clay. When dry, clay is powdery, when wet it's
able to be molded and when fired at high temperatures, it's durable and solid. A ceramic
object must have thin walls and a hollow core.
Glass almost always has silica or sand in it. Other materials in the glass affect its color,
melting point, and strength. When glass is heated, it becomes molten and then it can be
shaped using different methods.
Metal is a versatile family of materials. Metal can be shaped by casting, forging which
uses hammer blows, hot forging and cold forging.
Wood is widely available, renewable, and easy to work with. However, wood is vulnerable
and easily destroyed. The most common product made from wood is furniture.
Fiber is a pliable, threadlike strand. Most naturally occurring fibers are from either
animals or vegetables. Fibers can be woven and felted together to create things like
textiles and weavings.
Ivory and jade are considered precious materials. Ivory refers to the teeth and tusks of
several large mammals. Jade includes two minerals: nephrite and jadeite. Jade is very
hard, cold to the touch and extremely beautiful. It can be white, brown, or green.
Lacquer is made from the sap of a tree. It’s harvested, purified, colored with dyes, and
brushed in thin coats over wood. The sap hardens into a smooth, glass-like coating.
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Practice: Recognize the Art Found in Everyday Objects and

Rituals
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Architecture
Architecture is the design and construction of buildings. More than any of the arts
previously discussed, architecture demands structural stability. When a building is
physically stable, it adheres to the principles of the structural system that architecture is
based upon. This section covers the structural systems used in architecture, some of the
newer technologies and materials, and sustainability in architecture.
Structural Systems in Architecture
Since the beginning of history, human populations have needed a place to live out of the
elements. Solutions throughout history depended on several factors. One of the most
important factors was the materials that people had to work with and how well those
materials would stand up to the environment and weather.
The basic types of structural systems used in architecture are the shell system and the
skeleton-and-skin system.
With the shell system, one building material provides both structural support and the
outside covering (known as sheathing). Pre-nineteenth century wood buildings and
buildings made of brick, stone, or adobe fall into this category. The best example of a shell
system is a log cabin.
With the skeleton-and-skin system, a building has a frame made out of one material and a
different, often more fragile material is used as the sheathing. A tipi (or teepee)
constructed by the American Plains Indians is an example of a skeleton-and-skin system.
You can also see the skeleton-and-skin system in more recent buildings such as
skyscrapers, which have steel frames (their skeletons) as a supporting structure. The
sheathing is often glass or another light material.
The purpose of a structural system is to channel the forces that act on the building, called
loads, into the ground. Architects need to consider many loads:
The weight of the building materials
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The weight of the people entering the building

The weight of any furniture or items stored inside the building
The weight of snow on the building’s roof or structures
Wind blowing against the side of the building
The ground settling under the foundation of the building
Natural disasters such as floods or earthquakes
Regardless of the material or how complicated the structure is, a building handles load in
two ways: pushing and pulling. When an element is pushed, it becomes shorter in a
process called compression. When an element is pulled, it becomes longer in a process
called tension. You may not be able to see these changes with your eyes, but they still
happen.
To handle the stresses created by the various loads, the structural materials must possess
a certain tensile strength and compressive strength. The most common materials currently
used in building are wood, stone, concrete, and steel. They all contain both tensile and
compressive strength; however, these strengths aren’t always equal. Stone and concrete
have great compressive strength, but little tensile strength. Wood has almost equal
compressive and tensile strengths. Wood isn’t as strong as steel, which is the strongest
construction material.
Some of the structural systems and famous buildings that use them are described below,
presented in the order they were invented.
Load-Bearing Construction
Load-bearing construction is sometimes referred to as stacking and piling. This is the

simplest way to make a building and is good for use with brick, stone, adobe, ice blocks,
and modern building materials. The builders construct the walls layer by layer, starting at
the bottom and working their way up. The top of the building uses lighter materials, such as
thatch or wood, so that the building gets lighter the higher it goes. It’s stable since the
greatest weight is toward the bottom.
These structures have few openings, which are small in size. The method doesn’t allow for
support of material above an opening such as a window. The Great Friday Mosque (often
referred to as The Great Mosque of Dejenné), shown in Image 13.1, is located in Mali. This
amazing building is an example of what can be accomplished with load-bearing
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construction. The Great Friday Mosque is constructed from adobe, a sun-dried brick, and
coated with mud plaster. Notice that it looks almost plastic from the way it’s sculpted.
Post-and-Lintel
Post-and-lintel is a structural method with two uprights known as posts and a supporting
horizontal crosspiece known as the lintel. Because this type of structuring can continue
indefinitely, there can be one extremely long horizontal structure supported at critical
points, carrying the weight to the ground. The posts are compressed. The lintel is
compressed on its upper side and tension exists on the lower side.
This particular type of construction has been used for at least 4,000 years. It was a favorite
method for raising a roof with an open space underneath. It’s also used for windows and
doors on a smaller scale. In Image 13.2 you’ll see the ruins of the Egyptian temple of
Luxor; the remains are still beautiful. The lintels would have supported slabs of stone used
as a ceiling and roof. The posts are carved as stems that are capped by stylized papyrus
flower buds to support the heavy lintels. Luxor also had an area referred to as a hypostyle
hall. Hypostyle means “beneath columns.”
The post-and-lintel style began with the ancient Greeks, who standardized the look. Three
main styles of columns were used in a certain sequence known as an order. Each order
had certain types of columns that differentiated them from each other, as shown in Image
13.3:
The Doric column has no base, instead running straight into the floor. Its capital, the top
part of the slab between the shaft of the column and the roof, is a plain slab above a
rounded stone.
The Ionic column has a stepped base and a carved capital that has two spirals known as
volutes.
The Corinthian column has more detail at the base as well as stylized acanthus leaves at
the top.
Columns support other important elements of Greek architecture. Horizontal stone lintels,
referred to as entablatures, are illustrated in Image 13.5. Entablatures have three basic
elements:
1. Architrave is the simple, unadorned band of lintels immediately over the columns.
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2. The frieze is located above the architrave. Sometimes, this area has relief sculptures and
carvings.
3. The cornice is a shelf-like projection that caps the frieze.
The triangle shape atop the entablature is called the pediment.
Many great architectural designs in the world are based on post-and-lintel construction. It
was also used in China around the same time that it was used in Greece.
Post-and-lintel was used in Japan as early as the sixth century BCE. Byodo-in (Image
13.6) was a palace that was converted into a Buddhist temple. It has gracefully curved
roofs and slender columns. They’re interlocked with wood brackets and arms with crowns
for each column.
Despite its beauty, the post-and-lintel structural system has problems. When used with
wood or stone, the spanning of relatively large, open spaces is difficult.
Round Arch and Vault
The round arch was used by the ancient people of Mesopotamia. However, it was most
fully developed by the Romans, who perfected it in the second century BCE. An arch is a
compressive structure: the pieces of the arch push against each other to achieve stability.
It’s a good technique for stone since stone has a high compressive strength. During
construction, an arch must be supported from below using a temporary wooden framework
known as a centering. When the centering is in place, wedge-shaped blocks of stone are
set along the top, beginning from both ends at the same time. The topmost block is
referred to as a keystone. At the keystone, the two sides of the arch meet and lean against
each other. The arch becomes self-supporting and the centering can be removed. Arches
are used not only because of their beauty, but they also open up a large space in a wall
without affecting the structural soundness of the building. This also reduces the weight in
the walls and cuts down on the amount of materials needed.
The Pont du Gard in Nimes, France, pictured in Image 13.9, was built around 15 CE. It
consists of three arcades, which are rows of arches set on columns or massive piers. Pont
du Gard once functioned as an aqueduct and a footbridge.
When arches are built one behind the other, creating an interior space, it’s known as a
barrel vault. This look was refined by the Romans and was used in churches during the
Middle Ages.
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Image 13.10 shows you the church of Sainte-Foy in Conques, France. The style of the
church, known as Romanesque, was popular in western Europe from around 1050 through
1200. Earlier churches used the Roman round arch but there were no ceilings. Worshipers
looked up into the wooden trusses and the pitched roof. During the Renaissance, builders
set a stone barrel vault in the ceiling over the long central area, called the nave, hiding the
trusses. In the side aisles were groin vaults, which are formed when two barrel vaults are
crossed at right angles to each other. Groin vaults directed the weights and stresses of the
building into its four corners. The space was divided into segments known as bays. Each
bay contained one groin vault. These bays allowed architects to cover a long span safely.
Pointed Arch and Vault
The Romanesque round arch solved a lot of issues and created new possibilities, but it had
drawbacks. A round arch had to be one shape: a semi-circle. The height of it was limited
by its width. They were heavy. They created darkness on the inside of the building because
they had to be anchored to thick walls that weren’t weakened by openings or windows.
The Gothic period, which followed the Romanesque period, introduced the pointed arch
and vault, which solved a lot of issues that we saw with the round arch. It may not seem all
that different to have a pointed arch when compared with a round arch, but a pointed arch
has two specific advantages. First, the sides of the arch are pointed. This means that the
weight is channeled down to the ground at a steeper angle, allowing the arch to be taller.
Second, a pointed arch exerts less outward thrust at the base than a rounded arch. This
was great for the architects of the Gothic period. They didn’t need the heavy materials for
the curve of the vault as long as the points of intersection were reinforced by ribs.
Romanesque cathedrals were dark inside. They had small windows and openings. Gothic
cathedrals have larger windows and stained glass. The larger openings in pointed arch and
vault designs allowed more light into the cathedrals. You can see an example of a pointed
arch vault from the inside in Image 13.11 and on the outside of the same cathedral in
Image 13.12.
The walls were reinforced from the outside using buttresses, piers, and flying buttresses:
A buttress is an exterior support that counteracts the outward thrust of an arch, dome, or
wall.
A pier is a vertical support, often either square or rectangular, that is used to bear the
heaviest loads in an arched or vaulted structure. It may also resemble a bundle of columns.
A flying buttress is a strut or arch running from a freestanding pier to an outer wall.
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Image 13.12 of the east end of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims points out flying
buttresses and piers. The cathedral is one of the best-known examples of pointed arch and
vault structural systems.
Dome
A dome is a curved vault built to cover an interior space. The most common type of dome
is a shell of rotation. This form is made by rotating an arch on a vertical central axis. If it’s a
Roman arch then the shell of rotation will be a hemisphere, or a half-circle.
When you look at a dome from a vertical perspective, you’ll see an arch form. When you
look at it from a horizontal perspective, you’ll see an entire circle. The two aspects are put
together in a single, continuous surface.
Despite the dome’s similarities to the arch, they differ in two significant ways. First, a dome
can be much thinner in span than an arch. Second, a dome exerts less outward thrust at
the base. Circles, known as parallels, act like restraints to stop the hoops from opening.
The upper part of a dome is held in compression, and the lower portion is in tension.
Like many architectural concepts, the dome was perfected by the Romans. Image 13.14 in
your textbook gives you a cross-section of the Pantheon’s dome construction, while Image
13.15 allows you to see inside of the dome.
The Pantheon was a temple dedicated to all gods who were worshiped in ancient Rome.
The ceiling is coffered, meaning ornamentally decorated with recessed rectangles known
as coffers. Coffers, which you can see in Image 13.15, were more than just decoration;
they also helped reduce the weight of the dome.
The dome also has an oculus, which is an opening at the top of the dome. The oculus
provides light inside the Pantheon.
Visitors to the Pantheon enter through the portico, or porch. Visitors can see the
characteristics of post-and-lintel construction, Corinthian order, entablatures, and
pediment. The Pantheon is a rotunda, or round building, and the dome sits on a circular
drum, or base.
Images 13.16 and 13.17 show you Hagia Sophia, the Church of the Holy Wisdom in
Istanbul. Designed by two mathematicians, Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus, it
was built in the sixth century when Istanbul was called Constantinople. When the area was
conquered by the Turks in the fifteenth century, the church was converted to a mosque.
Four slender towers, known as minarets, were added. Today, the building is preserved as a
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museum. The dome of the building is made up of curved triangular sections known as
pendentives. The pendentives provide a smooth transition between the rectangle of the
base of the structure and the rounded dome at the top.
Domes may be used just for decoration. The Taj Mahal in India, shown in Image 13.18,
was constructed between 1632 and 1653 CE as the burial chamber for Shah Jahan and
his wife. It’s one of the best architectural examples of a decorative, curved dome.
Corbelling
When Islamic rulers settled in India, their architects brought their construction techniques
with them from an area once under Roman rule. One such technique is corbelling, an arch
involving rows of stones that each extend slightly beyond the one beneath it. Eventually, an
opening is bridged. Corbelling creates vaults and domes. Stone columns were often used
to provide additional support. Image 13.20 gives you an inside view of the Jain temple of
Dilwara. This is an example of a corbelled dome that includes many elaborate carvings and
decorations.
Cast-Iron Construction
The next major breakthrough in construction didn’t occur until the Industrial Revolution.
This is because although iron was available, it wasn’t as easily available as a building
material. The structural value of iron was shown in 1851 in London. The Crystal Palace,
shown in Image 13.21, was designed to house a great exhibition entitled “Works of
Industry of All Nations.” The structure covered more than 17 acres and was designed by
Joseph Paxton, a designer of greenhouses. The entire project was finished in less than
nine months. It had a solid iron framework and was covered in glass. This creation would
pave the way for twentieth-century architecture. The Crystal Palace showed that as long as
the skeleton of a building held up, the skin could be light and didn’t need to be load
bearing.
The Eiffel Tower, shown in Image 13.22, created by Gustave Eiffel in 1889, is another
testament to cast-iron construction. It rises on four arched columns that curve inward until
they meet as a single tower that goes up over the cityscape.
Balloon-Frame Construction
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We’ve looked at a lot of historical architectural styles used with famous churches and
monuments that highlight their use. Now, we’ll examine balloon-frame construction, which
is used for domestic structures.
Until the mid-nineteenth century, homes were built using shell construction. They were
made of brick or stone and were load bearing. Some were made via post-and-lintel, using
heavy timbers that were assembled by notching and joinery using wooden pegs. When
nails were used, they had to be custom made because they were too expensive to
purchase.
Balloon-frame construction, developed in Chicago around 1833, is a true skeleton-and-skin

method that aimed to become the new standard for homebuilding. It improved methods for
milling lumber and also required the use of mass-produced nails. The builder erected a
framework (the skeleton) by nailing together sturdy and lightweight boards. Then, a roof
was added and walls were sheathed in clapboard, shingles, stucco, or whatever else the
homeowner wanted. Glass was used in as many windows as desired because it didn’t
affect the skeletal structure. The term balloon framing was first used in sarcasm. People
who didn’t trust the method thought the buildings would fall (“burst like balloons”). Yet,
some of the very first homes constructed with this method are still standing.
Steel-Frame Construction
Steel-frame construction is another true skeleton-and-skin construction method. The

builders first create a steel “cage” that can sustain the entire weight of the building. Then,
the skin of the building (another material) is applied to the frame. The durability of the steel
used in the frame allowed the first skyscrapers to be erected. The invention of the
skyscraper necessitated the invention of the electric elevator, due to the number of stairs a
person would have to climb to reach the highest floors.
The Wainwright Building, shown in Image 13.24 in your textbook, is considered by most to
be the first genuinely modern building. It had a steel framework that was covered in
masonry. The building had lots of windows and the four corners are emphasized with
vertical piers. Many of the details seen in the construction are rooted in Classical history.
Toward the middle of the twentieth century, skyscrapers began to be more prominent. Two
problems had to be addressed: height and airspace. Laws were put in place to control how
high these types of buildings could be constructed. This caused some buildings to be
redesigned and narrowed. Some architects created new ways to meet the legal
requirements. During the 1950s and 1960s, skyscrapers with international style were
constructed. International style emphasized clean lines, geometric form, and an avoidance
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of decoration. Image 13.25 in your textbook shows you an example of a skyscraper with
International style.
Suspension and Cable-Stayed Structures
With suspension and cable-stayed structures, expanses are supported primarily from
above, hung from a higher point by cables. Image 13.26 of the Golden Gate Bridge is an
example of a suspension structure. Two thick, steel cables are strung over towers that are
set into the bed of the Golden Gate (the strait of water that links the Pacific Ocean to the
San Francisco Bay). They’re securely anchored on each shore. The main cables support
vertical suspender cables that are attached to the deck below. The deck hangs from the
main cables.
Suspension bridges were created in the nineteenth century when steel-rope wire was
developed. Peru has one of the oldest suspension bridges made out of fiber rope. It was
attached to stone anchors on each side of the chasm.
Cable-stayed structures look like suspension structures, but they work a little differently.
With a suspension bridge, the suspender cables rise vertically to the main cables. The
main cables are load bearing. With a cable-stayed bridge, the suspender cables rise on an
incline and attach to the towers directly. The towers are the load-bearing part of the
structure.
Reinforced Concrete
Concrete is a mixture of cement, gravel, and water. It can be poured and it will assume the
shape of any mold when it hardens, but it can be brittle and has a low tensile strength. You
can see this in sidewalks and patios when they crack.
In the late nineteenth century, a method was developed to reinforce concrete. It was done
by embedding mesh or rods of iron or steel before the concrete hardened. The rods or
mesh improved the tensile strength, while the concrete continued to provide the shape and
the surface.
Reinforced concrete has been used in many structures, including free-form and organic
shapes. Although it looks like skeleton-and-skin, it actually works more like shell
construction. The metal and concrete create a permanent bond to form structures that are
self-sustaining even if thin.
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The Sydney Opera House (Image 13.28), located in Australia, was created with precast
sections of reinforced concrete. It was a daring concept, as the shape and the necessary
technology had to be created as it was built.
A cantilever is a projecting concrete form that’s supported at only one end. Frank Lloyd
Wright, an American architect, was known for its use. The design could be used for many
purposes, but it definitely made a beautiful terrace with Fallingwater, shown in Image
13.29.
Geodesic Domes
The geodesic dome, designed by R. Buckminster Fuller, is basically a bubble formed by a

network of metal rods that are arranged first as triangles and then as tetrahedrons. The
metal framework is sheathed in a lightweight material.
The geodesic dome has several advantages that weren’t available in previous forms of
architecture. Though it’s incredibly lightweight compared to its size, it’s extremely strong
because it relies on the mathematically sophisticated use of the triangle. The entirety of the
interior space can be used because it relies on no interior support. It can be built in any
size. Image 13.30 shows the U.S. Pavilion, Expo 67 in Montreal, built in 1967. This
geodesic dome has a diameter of 250 feet.
New Technologies, New Materials, Current Concerns
Architecture, like most things in the world, is changed by the development of technology,
including digital technology.
Digital Design and Fabrication
Digital design and fabrication is also referred to as computer-aided design and

manufacturing (CAD/CAM). Some designs can be given to a computer-driven machine,
which then fabricates the object. This technique is known as computer-numeric-control
(CNC). It was the precursor to 3D printing, and it’s still in major use.
The first computers in the 1960s provided the first steps into the field of digital design.
Today, architects work with powerful three-dimensional modeling programs. Combined with
digital fabrication, the possibilities for the forms of architecture have increased. Image
13.32 in your textbook shows you the Centre Pompidou-Metz in France, completed in
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2010. You can get a good feel of just how much these new programs help architects
continue to expand their styles.
Fabric Architecture
The key to fabric architecture is tension. For fabric to bear weight and resist wind, it must
be pulled tight. One way that the fabric is made tense is by pulling it over a framework. An
umbrella is an example of this principle: when you open the umbrella, tension is placed
against the fabric.
Air pressure is another way to tense fabric, much like filling an air mattress. Air was first
used as a structural support in the nineteenth century when the inflatable rubber tire was
invented. Inflatable architecture is experiencing a revival in today’s culture.
Architecture and Community
Architecture is responsible for many of the public spaces that communities are built
around. Schools, hospitals, libraries, and town halls all use specific types of architectural
construction to create appropriate spaces for the services they provide.
A recent focus in architecture has been to decrease the negative effects that building
materials—particularly steel and plastics—have on the environment. Green architecture
addresses the materials, construction methods, technology, light, and even electricity and
water used in new construction. More people want to build “green” homes and commercial
spaces. This could involve creating a green roof like in Image 13.38. It can include using
energy-efficient materials. It can involve using glass to let in natural light that also helps the
building stay at a comfortable temperature. Green architecture can protect the environment
in many ways. Modern building techniques allow structures to be built with almost no waste
and almost zero carbon emissions.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 13: Architecture
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Key Points
Architecture is the design and construction of buildings. Architecture demands structural

stability. When a building is physically stable, it adheres to the principles of the structural
system that architecture is based upon.
The basic types of structural systems used in architecture are the shell system and the
skeleton-and-skin system. The purpose of a structural system is to channel the forces that
act on the building, called loads, into the ground.
A building handles load in two ways: pushing and pulling. When an element is pushed, it
becomes shorter in a process called compression. When an element is pulled, it becomes
longer in a process called tension.
Load-bearing construction is sometimes referred to as stacking and piling. Another
structural method called post-and-lintel uses two uprights known as posts and a supporting
horizontal crosspiece known as the lintel.
An arch is a compressive structure: the pieces of the arch push against each other to
achieve stability. It’s a good technique for stone since stone has a high compressive
strength.
A dome is a curved vault built to cover an interior space. The most common type of dome
is a shell of rotation. Corbelling, an arch involving rows of stones that each extend slightly
beyond the one beneath it, creates vaults and domes.
Two types of skeleton-and-skin methods of construction include balloon-frame and steel-
frame construction. Both methods use a framework either of wood or steel that then has a
skin of other material applied to the frame.
With suspension and cable-stayed structures, expanses are supported primarily from
above, hung from a higher point by cables. The main cables for suspension bridges and the
towers for cable-stayed bridges are the primary load-bearing structures.
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Practice: Describe the Connections Between Art and

Architecture
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Unit Review
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Definition: In low relief sculpture, also called bas-relief, the figures

project minimally, as on a coin. In high relief, figures project
Relief substantially from the background. In sunken relief, outlines are
carved into the surface. In printmaking, techniques in which portions
of a block meant to be printed are raised.
Definition: A pose that suggests the potential for movement, and thus
Contrapposto
life, in a standing human figure.
Definition: 1. In sculpture, a subtractive technique in which a mass of

Carving material such as stone or wood is shaped by cutting and/or abrasion.
2. A work made by this method.
Definition: In sculpture, manipulating a plastic material such as clay

Modeling
or wax to create a form.
Definition: The process of making a sculpture or some other object

by pouring a liquid into a mold, letting it harden, and then releasing it.
Casting
Common materials used for casting include bronze, plaster, clay, and
synthetic resins. (11.6)
Ceramics Definition: Made of baked (“fired”) clay. See also terra cotta. (12.1)
Plastic Definition: Capable of being molded or shaped, as clay
Definition: A ceramic ware, usually white, fired in the highest

Porcelain temperature ranges and often used for fine dinnerware, vases, and
sculpture. (12.2)
Definition: Creating images or decorations from precisely cut pieces

Stained Glass
of colored glass held together with strips of lead. (12.4)
Definition: The technique of shaping metal, especially iron, usually by

Forging
heating it until it softens and then beating or hammering it
Definition: In architecture, the ability of a material to withstand

Tensile Strength tension and thus to span horizontal distances without continuous
support from beneath
Definition: In ancient Greek architecture, three orders pertain: Doric,

Ionic, and Corinthian. Doric: the shaft of the column may be smooth
Orders or fluted. It does not have a base. Ionic: the shaft is fluted and rests
on a stepped base. Corinthian: the shaft is fluted and rests on a more
detailed stepped base.
Definition: An architectural structure invented by R. Buckminster

Geodesic Dome Fuller, based on triangles arranged into tetrahedrons (four-faceted
solids). (13.30)
Definition: In architecture, a construction technique in which each

course of stone projects slightly beyond the one below. Corbelling
Corbelling can be used to create space-spanning forms that resemble the arch,
the vault, and the dome, though they do not bear weight in the same
way. (13.20)
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Definition: In architecture, a structural system in which a horizontal

Cable-staying element is supported from above by means of cables that rise
diagonally to attach to a vertical mast or tower. (13.27)
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Practice Quiz: Three-Dimensional Media
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Ancient Mediterranean Cultures through the 18th Century
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Overview
In this lesson, you’ll explore art history, including the ancient Mediterranean world, how
Christianity affected art, the Renaissance era, and art during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. Learning about art history is an important part of appreciating art; it
helps us apply historical meaning and contemplate any new interpretations.
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Objectives
Explain how art evolved and moved throughout the early Mediterranean civilizations
Identify Christianity’s influence on late Roman and European art through the Middle Ages
Summarize the themes, subjects, and styles of art in various regions of Europe during the
Renaissance
Compare the Baroque style of seventeenth century European art to the Rococo style of the
eighteenth century
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The Ancient Mediterranean World
Questions to consider about how history helped shape artists and their work include:
What traditions did artists use or rebel against?

What did society expect out of artists during that time period?
What sort of tasks did artists perform at that time?
This section focuses on the ancient Mediterranean world, but also looks at traditions
developed in Islamic countries, India, China, Japan, Oceania, Australia, and in the early
Americas. In all of these areas, artists opened up to new ways of thinking about art,
showed us the role that art played in society, and created other formal directions for art.
Western artists are influenced not just by the West, but by other areas throughout the
course of history.
The Oldest Art
The area around the Mediterranean Sea, including Africa, the Near East, and Europe, is
where some of the oldest art in the world was found and where the story of Western art
begins, about 3,000 BCE. Ancient civilizations rose, overlapped, and interacted; they
began to conquer one another. Eventually, this area was renamed and became part of the
world as we know it today.
Of the societies before them, we know little; not much evidence remains from tens of
thousands of years ago. At the beginning of this course, you learned about the lion panel
discovered in a Chauvet cave (Image 1.3) in what is now France, one of the oldest known
paintings in Europe, estimated as created around 30,000 BCE. Image 14.1, also found in
France, is believed to be as old as 13,000 BCE.
During this time period, images were primarily based on animals, yet we can’t fully
ascertain the meaning of the images.
Almost as old as the Chauvet cave painting is a female statue, now called the Venus of
Willendorf, shown in Image 14.2, that dates back about 25,000 years. Found near
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Willendorf, Austria, the stone statue is only about five inches in height. Many statues from
the Paleolithic era have been found that depict women. The figures, made from wood,
ivory, stone, and clay, were believed by scholars to celebrate fertility, pregnancy, and
childbirth. However, more recent scholars doubt such a singular explanation.
Around 9,000 BCE to 5,000 BCE is referred to as the Paleolithic era (also known as the
Old Stone Age), followed by the Neolithic or New Stone Age. In this era, new types of
stone tools were developed (neo means new). These tools were just one development in
history that changed how people lived. Rather than hunt and gather, Neolithic people
learned how to farm. Instead of following herds as they migrated, they began to
domesticate animals. Dogs, cattle, goats, and other animals provided meat, milk, leather,
and even labor. Dugout boats, the bow and arrow, and hardening pottery through heat all
helped to improve life during this time. Communities began to settle and grow. Stone and
wood architecture was used. Stonehenge is the most famous Neolithic architecture in
Europe.
Objects discovered during the Neolithic period give us a glimpse of daily life in that era. In
Image 14.3, you can see a painting from the Tassili n’Ajjer region of Algeria (in northern
Africa). The painting, now referred to as Women and Cattle, was found on a rock and is
dated around 5,000 BCE. The area was a grassland during the time period in which the
painting was created, but now is part of the Sahara, one of the largest deserts in the world.
The five women in the painting are gathered together as cattle roam near them. Other
images found in the area show women harvesting grain or caring for children and men
herding cattle. Some images may depict homes and other buildings.
Art found during this period is isolated and fragmentary. Finding these pieces leads us to
wonder:
What came before this work?

What came after this work?
Where are examples of those works?
When we look at artwork from the past, the culture we see isn’t necessarily when most of
the art or the best art was made, but just a glimpse of what was found or preserved. Art
sometimes survives even when the culture or civilization behind it no longer exists.
Artists in ancient civilizations used durable materials like stone, metal, and fired clay. The
local conditions aren’t always destructive to artwork. For instance, Egypt has a hot and dry
climate, excellent for preserving the work. Great cities throughout history usually have the
most artwork because that’s where the rulers lived and where artists tended to congregate.
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Ancient civilizations tended to store artwork where access to it was limited. Much of the
discovered work was found in places like tombs and underground caves. So, our studies in
this section will focus on areas that met those criteria and gave us most of the ancient
artwork that’s known. We’re going to start our journey in Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamia
Ancient Mesopotamia occupied a large area that’s roughly the area we now know as Iraq.
It had fertile soil because it was between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. With no natural
boundaries, it was easy for other civilizations to invade. Each time it was conquered, the
new ruler would build on the existing culture’s achievements.
The first cities of Mesopotamia were in the southernmost area, a region called Sumer.
Around 3400 BCE, there were around a dozen Sumerian city-states. The Sumerians were
the first people to leave behind artifacts and written words. Cuneiform is thought to be how
the people tracked inventories. Formed of wedge-shaped marks pressed into damp clay,
cuneiform means “wedge-shaped” in Latin. This was the writing system used in
Mesopotamia for the next 3,000 years.
The Sumerians built their cities from sun-dried brick because they didn’t have access to
stone. The largest structure inside of a Sumerian city was the ziggurat, a temple or shrine
raised on a stepped base that could be seen for miles. The Nanna Ziggurat, in the ancient
city of Ur (Image 14.4), located in what is now Maqaiyir, Iraq, has been partially restored.
Image 14.5 shows us a more luxurious piece of Sumerian art. The figure of a gold-headed
bull makes up the base of this lyre, a stringed instrument. Beneath the bull's head is a
panel of shell, limestone, and the precious stone lapis lazuli.
Around 2300 BCE, Sumerian city-states were conquered by the Akkadians. Under the ruler
Sargon I, the Akkadians established their first empire in the area. It quickly fell, but some
interesting works of art have been found. The sculpture shown in Image 14.6 depicts
Sargon I’s grandson, Naram-Sin, in a victorious-battle scene. Crafted out of limestone, this
work was likely created between 2254–2216 BCE.
One of the longest existing Mesopotamian empires was established by the Amorites. They
took over around 1830 BCE and established Babylon as their capital. The Amorites
established the system of laws known as Hammurabi’s Code. The only complete legal
code to survive from the ancient world, it gives us insight into their society.
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Since Mesopotamia was a place of almost continual warfare, one of the major goals of
architecture was the building of citadels to protect the temples and palaces. Neo-Assyrian
ruler Assurnasirpal II built a citadel at Nimrud during the ninth century BCE. The palace
had gates with huge stone slabs carved into winged beasts with human heads. Image
14.7, a 10-foot statue of a winged lion with a human head, was created out of limestone.
The purpose of the statue was to both impress and intimidate visitors.
The walls of the palace were lined with alabaster reliefs showing Assyrian military triumphs
and royal power. Image 14.8 shows a lion hunt where the king is slaying a lion, a
demonstration of his power.
In the late seventh century BCE, the Babylonians came back to power; they were some of
the greatest architects of the ancient world. They developed the arch before the Romans
and became masters of decorative design for architecture. Their leader, Nebuchadnezzar,
loved art and Babylon became a beautiful capital city.
Babylon was a planned city. Built as a square, it was bisected by the Euphrates River; its
streets and avenues crossed at right angles. Stone was scarce in this part of
Mesopotamia, so architects used glazed ceramic bricks. It’s believed that the city was filled
with brilliant colors. The main road, Processional Way, stood by the Ishtar Gate (shown
restored in Image 14.9), built around 575 BCE. The restoration is almost 49 feet tall and is
held in the Pergamon Museum in Germany. Made from thousands of glazed mud bricks, it
includes two massive towers and a central arch.
Egypt
Located southwest of Mesopotamia, Egypt interacted with Mesopotamia on a regular

basis. Egypt had less political turmoil, had natural borders including the Nile River and
deserts, and didn’t have the constant threat of invasion that continuously challenged
Mesopotamia.
Egyptian art gives a seamless look into its history and culture. Plato’s claim that Egyptian
art didn’t change for 10,000 years is an exaggeration, but many features were used
throughout the long period of history.
Image 14.10, The Great Sphinx, is one of the best-known pieces of Egyptian art, showing
us just how well Egyptian art endures throughout history. Built around 2530 BCE, the
Sphinx is 66 feet tall.
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Image 14.11, the Palette of Narmer, shows us many characteristics of Egyptian art. Called
a palette because it looks like a slab used for mixing cosmetics, the carving shows a
victory by the military of Upper Egypt, led by Narmer, over Lower Egypt. Narmer is
represented as the largest human figure, indicating his status. The pose of Narmer is
typical in Egyptian art.
The sculpture of Queen Hatshepsut, Image 14.12, depicts this female ruler with physical
features similar to her male counterparts—including a false beard and a slim, almost
boyish physique. The pose in Image 14.12 is more relaxed than what we typically see in
sculptures of rulers.
While the most famous architectural creation in Egypt is the pyramid, architects also
created homes, palaces, temples, shrines, and other buildings. One of the best-preserved
temples (Image 14.13) is the temple of Hatshepsut. It was innovative for its time: there are
three broad terraces and the temple is built into the cliffs behind it. At one point, there were
more than 200 statues of Hatshepsut in the complex.
The painting from ancient Egypt in Image 14.14 is a fragment from a tomb chapel in
Thebes. It shows a man named Nebamun posed as if he is hunting. The painting shows
Nebamun as a young, handsome, and athletic man. This is the form that ancient Egyptians
believed that Nebamun would have in the afterlife. The woman standing behind him is
Hatshepsut, the Egyptian ruler and wife of Nebamun. The young girl is their daughter.
Around 1353 BCE, Amenhotep IV came to power. Amenhotep changed his name to
Akhenaten; he helped create new art styles for his reign. More relaxed, naturalistic, and
intimate portrayals of life began to emerge.
Image 14.16 gives you a peek into domestic life. Created around 1345 BCE, Akhenaten
and His Family is an image of the ruler with his family. This particular image is an example
of sunken relief. With sunken relief, the images aren’t raised from the surface, they’re
carved into the surface.
Despite the changes in art that came as a result of Akhenaten, the more traditional ways
prevailed once he died. Akhenaten’s son, Tutankhamun, succeeded him. Tutankhamun’s
golden burial mask, inlaid with blue glass and semiprecious stones, is shown in Image
14.17.
From their earliest times, Egyptians buried their best art in royal tombs. Rulers were buried
in their best clothes. Furniture, jewelry, chariots, artifacts, and clothing were all included in
the burial tomb because it was believed that the rulers would need all of these things
during the afterlife. Because grave robbers wanted the royal treasures, many of the burial
tombs discovered in recent times have been empty.
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Yet when Howard Carter, an English archaeologist, discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in

1922, practically everything that was buried with him was still in the tomb. Although many
wonderful things were found in his tomb, King Tut was considered a minor ruler. So, we
can only speculate about what greater rulers of Egypt may have had in their tombs.
King Tut’s tomb was full of objects crafted from alabaster, precious stones, and more gold
than most people could imagine. The gold coffin, gold burial mask, and the mummification
of his body were meant to convey his immortality.
The Aegean
The Aegean is an area located between the Greek peninsula and modern-day Turkey.
Greek culture began in this area that was referred to as the “sea within a sea.” Greek
culture includes the influence of several earlier cultures that were in the area.
The earliest Aegean works date back to around 3000 BCE. Three major Aegean cultures
were the Cycladic, centered on a group of small islands in the Aegean; Minoan, on the
island of Crete near the southern end of the Aegean; and Mycenaean, on the mainland of
Greece.
Cycladic art is a puzzle because we don’t know anything about the people who made it.
Image 14.18, a statute of a woman that dates to around 2600–2400 BCE, is made of
marble. Note the simplified shapes and lines and the way that it’s composed of geometric
lines, shapes, and projections. Almost every piece of Cycladic work found resembles this
one piece. Based on iconography, scholars suggest that they were used in rituals. Most of
the figures were found at burial sites.
The center of Minoan culture was the city of Knossos. The name is from a legendary king
named Minos whose queen gave birth to a half human, half bull creature we know as the
minotaur. A lot of the artwork recovered from the area are frescoes. Image 14.19 in your
textbook shows a wall fresco featuring the Minoans’ special animal, the bull.
Mycenaen culture got its name because they settled around the city of Mycenae on the
south coast of the Greek mainland from 1600–1100 BCE. They’re best known for their
elaborate burial customs and tombs, which they learned through contact with the
Egyptians. Master goldsmiths produced fantastic golden objects such as the drinking cup
made in the shape of a lion’s head (Image 14.20). Note the detail in the mane and the
snout.
The Classical World: Greece and Rome
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Classical, in this text, means the two cultures that highly influenced Western art: Ancient
Greece and Ancient Rome. “Classic” refers to the highest standard of quality. Art and
architecture were part of public policy.
Greece
One reason we respect the ancient Greeks is because they excelled in many areas. Their
political ideals became models for modern democracy. Their poetry, drama, and philosophy
continue to survive and are treated as classics by all serious scholars. Greek philosophers
were the first to speculate about the nature and purpose of art. Sculpture, painting, and
architecture were referred to as techne, meaning “things requiring a special body of
knowledge and skill to make.” This is where we get the idea behind technology and
technique.
Because so few paintings exist, we have to focus our attention on Greek pottery, which has
been found in large quantities. Image 14.21 shows Krater, created between 750–735 BCE.
It’s made from terra cotta. A krater is a vessel used for wine. The krater in the image is
from the Late Geometric period, when human figures began to appear throughout
geometric motifs. This krater also acted as a grave marker.
Greek and Egyptian cultures treated death differently. Lavish belongings were often
included in Egyptian tombs; for the Greeks, the afterlife was gray and full of shadows.
The sculptural tradition of Greece started with small bronze figures of horses and men in
styles like you see on the krater. Over time, changes in Greek sculpture suggest that they
worked with the Egyptians. You can see the Egyptian influence in Image 14.22. Entitled
Kouros, this marble sculpture was made around 580 BCE and is over six feet tall.
Remember the stern placement of the figures from ancient Egypt and the placement of the
feet. You see the same placement and stiff design in this Greek sculpture.
Cultural differences include:
Egyptian sculptures of people were partially embedded in the stone. In Greek sculptures,
human forms were totally released from stone. (Notice in Kouros the empty space between
the legs.)
Egyptian human forms are clothed; Greek sculptures are nude. The styling of the hair and
the fact that the Greek sculpture includes a neck ornament suggests that this isn’t an
absence of clothing as much as it’s simply making a positive statement.
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Egyptian sculptures depict specific individuals; Greek sculptures depict anonymous

figures.
Around 20,000 similar figures in Greece have been found. Kouros is the term used for
male sculptures. Female sculptures of maidens, kore, have also been found, but they were
fully clothed.
These sculptures are from the Archaic period of Greek art; it contains some of the earliest
characteristics that were ultimately used in other forms. As time went on, the sculptures
began to take on a more lifelike appearance. This led to the development of naturalism.
The amphora is a storage vessel. Shown in Image 14.23, you see a more naturalistic
representation compared to the earlier vessel. We also learn something about Greek
culture from this piece: The beauty of a well-developed male body was celebrated in
society. Women were mostly confined to home affairs and their bodies weren’t publicly
displayed in art or in life.
This work is one of the earliest examples of what we know as red-figure style that evolved
near the end of the Archaic period, The ground is painted in a black slip while the figures
remained red. The red comes from the natural color of fired clay.
Image 14.24, Warrior A., is made from bronze and emphasizes the Greeks’ concern with
lifelike representation. The image is that of the idealized Greek male body. Contrapposto is
used to suggest that he is ready to move at any moment. Bronze, a favorite material for
sculptures, was extremely expensive and many bronze sculptures were later melted down
to create weapons. Art created during this time period are some of the finest works
created.
Athens, one of Greece’s most important city-states, focused on art, culture, and the
military. Around 449 BCE, Athens’ general Pericles came to power and began to rebuild
the ancient temples destroyed in the Persian wars. He wanted to restore the past glory of
Athens and to bring the city-state into a new age of splendor and beauty.
The work lasted for decades, but consider the massive amount of work that needed to be
done. Image 14.25 shows you what the reconstruction would have looked like.
The crowning glory of the Acropolis was and is the Parthenon, shown in Image 14.26.
Dedicated to the goddess Athena, the Parthenon is a Doric-style temple, once painted in
bright colors, including red and blue.
For many generations, the Parthenon served as the ideal of European architecture. The
building includes repeating ratios for harmony and exaggerated lines. The columns use a
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phenomenon known as entasis, which uses a slight bulge to make them appear straight.
It’s believed that Phidias was an artist of extreme genius.
The sculptures in the Parthenon were the high point of a long period of Greek
experimentation with marble. Image 14.27 shows you a marble creation known as Three
Goddesses. They weren’t always headless.
The Hellenistic period refers to the spread of Greek culture east through Asia Minor, Egypt,
and Mesopotamia. The lands were conquered by the Macedonian Greek ruler Alexander
the Great. The beginning of this era coincides with Alexander’s death in 323 BCE.
Hellenistic sculpture used several stylistic methods. It continued to use Classical style to
emphasize balance and restraint. You can see this in one of the most famous Hellenistic
works shown in Image 14.28, Venus de Milo. Venus is the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite,
the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and fertility. During the last Classical period, sculptors
began to use female nudity in the public realm.
Hellenistic style began to include dynamic poses and emotions. One of the best-known
examples of this is shown in Image 14.29, Laocoön Group. The sense of drama and
tension created in this piece was unheard of three centuries earlier. Hellenistic sculptors
were very interested in how their subjects reacted to events, unlike the Classical style
where figures were presented as serene and dignified.
Rome
510 BCE is usually the date used as the beginning of the Roman era. Roman legions
moved through Greece and into Mesopotamia. They went as far as Britain and even to
Egypt and the rim of Northern Africa. The Romans were great admirers of Greek culture
and many Greek works were taken to Rome.
Roman art employed realistic portrayals of people instead of idealized types as seen in
Image 14.30, Funerary Portrait of Gratidia M.L. Chrite and M. Gratidius Libanus. While
there are traces of color in the marble work, the important part is the detail in the faces.
The Romans were also skilled in painting, but until the eighteenth century, we didn’t know
much about their paintings. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted and buried the nearby cities of
Pompeii and Herculaneum, the blanket of ashes acted as a time capsule, protecting items
for sixteen centuries. In 1748, excavations were started and archaeologists found well-
preserved frescoes, such as the one in Image 14.31. Pompeii wasn’t a very important city
in the Roman Empire, and it’s unlikely that the area was home to some of the more popular
artists. Yet, it was this discovery that gave us more information about Roman paintings.
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Image 14.31, a fresco from a dwelling known as the Villa of the Mysteries, shows what’s
believed to be a secret cult ritual associated with Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. The
Romans referred to him as Bacchus.
Romans were most well known for their architecture and engineering. The most familiar
monument is the Colosseum, planned during the reign of the emperor Vespasian. It was
dedicated as an amphitheater for gladiator games and public entertainment in 80 CE. The
Colosseum could hold around 50,000 people—about the size of a major league baseball
stadium.
The Colosseum is now in ruins, but we can still see the structure that highlights the genius
of its planners and builders. It was four stories, each story with its own seating. Archways
for the first three stories open to barrel-vaulted corridors. The upper two tiers of arches
once held statues. The street level arches were numbered entrances. The arches are
framed by ornamental half-columns. Tuscan columns are on the first level, Ionic columns
are on the second level, and Corinthian columns are on the third level.
To see how many of the Mediterranean cultures continued to influence each other, look at
Image 14.34. It’s a mummy case for Artemidoros from Fayum, Egypt. Egypt was part of the
Roman Empire during the time the mummy case was created. Artemidoros was from
Egypt, but he was a Roman subject with a Greek name. This is an example of a
commemorative funeral portrait (a Roman tradition) used on a mummy case (that was built
in Greco-Roman style).
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 14: Ancient Mediterranean Worlds
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Key Points
The area around the Mediterranean Sea, including Africa, the Near East, and Europe, is
where some of the oldest art in the world was found and where the story of Western art
begins.
The first cities of Mesopotamia were in the region called Sumer. The Sumerians were the
first people to leave behind artifacts, such as ziggurats or temples made from sun-dried
bricks and written words using cuneiform.
One of the longest existing Mesopotamian empires was established by the Amorites who
built Babylon as their capital and created the system of laws known as Hammurabi’s
Code.
Egyptian art gives a seamless look into its history and culture. The Great Sphinx is a
famous example of Egyptian art while other great artworks were buried in royal tombs for
the rulers to enjoy in the afterlife.
Three major Aegean cultures were the Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean. The Cycladic
are known for their geometric ritual statues; Minoan artwork centered around frescoes; the
Mycenaean are best known for their elaborate burial customs and tombs.
The tradition of Greek sculpture began with small bronze figures of horses and men. Over
time, Greek sculptures were influenced by Egyptian poses and the grid system of
proportions. Eventually, they began to take on more lifelike appearances leading to the
development of naturalism.
The Hellenistic period refers to the spread of Greek culture east through Asia Minor,
Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Hellenistic sculpture continued to use Classical style to
emphasize balance and restraint evolving to include dynamic poses and emotions.
The Roman legions moved through Greece into Mesopotamia and even into Egypt.
Romans were known for architecture, engineering, and painting. Roman art employed
realistic portrayals of people instead of idealized types.
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Practice: Explain How Art Evolved and Moved Throughout

the Early Mediterranean Civilizations
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Christianity and the Formation of Europe
Read the following lesson. Then read Chapter 15 in your textbook.
Christianity, one of the major religions in the world, was such a popular religion that it
affected how we structured the calendar. According to common calendars, the birth of
Christ started “year 1.” BC stood for “Before Christ” and AD, anno Domini, “in the year of
the Lord.” Now, BCE (before the Christian era) and CE (Christian era) are more commonly
used.
Christianity spread quickly through the Roman Empire. The empire was overextended, had
grown weak inside its cities, and was invaded on a regular basis. Soon, it would fall apart.
The Western part of the Roman Empire would soon re-emerge as what we now refer to as
Western Europe. In the past, Western Europe was a portion of independent countries that
often went to war with each other. Their only commonality was Christianity. The Eastern
Roman Empire survived for a while as the Byzantine Empire. The Near East, Egypt, North
Africa, and most of Spain were Islamic countries whose influence on art will be discussed
in a later section. The focus in this section is on how Christianity influenced the arts of
Byzantium and the formation of Western Europe.
The Rise of Christianity
Christianity was sometimes tolerated in Rome because it was an attractive religion to the
wealthy and influential. Sometimes, Christians were persecuted officially or by the public
because they refused to worship the gods and goddesses of the official religion, which
included the emperor.
Little Christian art from these centuries exists. While it’s believed that Christians had areas
in the empire where they could gather, none of those areas survived. Most early worship
took place in private homes. Some early Christian art has been found in underground
burial chambers, such as the mosaic section that was found under St. Peter’s necropolis.
The mosaic, Christ as the Sun, is from the mid-third century— around the same time as the
mummy of Artemidoros mentioned in the last section. The work mixes two cultures, just as
we saw with Artemidoros. Greek influence includes the iconography of the Greek god of
the sun, Helios, who was worshiped in the Roman Empire as Sol Invictus. Vines that
surround the area are associated with the Greek god Dionysus (Bacchus, to the Romans).
He is a symbol of fertility and wine.
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Around 313 CE, the Roman emperor Constantine issued a policy of religious tolerance for
all religions. Architects built beautiful churches in key locations throughout the empire. Old
St. Peter’s was built in Rome where it was believed that Peter, the first apostle of Christ,
was buried. We have a good idea what Old St. Peter’s may have looked like; see Image
15.4.
Ordinary followers weren’t allowed inside early temples. But Christianity emphasized
congregational worship, so places of worship for Christians had to hold lots of people.
Roman architects relied on a meeting hall known as a basilica, a long, rectangular hall that
might have more than one entrance. The basilica has a curved section at one end called
an apse. To allow light in, an open center space (the nave) was built higher than the
surrounding aisles. The upward, windowed extension was called a clerestory. Image 15.5
portrays all of these features. A transept is the lengthwise section that runs perpendicular
to the nave. If you look at both the nave and the transept, you’ll notice that they form a
cross.
Before entering the basilica, there’s an atrium, an open area surrounded by a covered
walkway. It was a standard element in Roman domestic architecture. The entry porch for
the structure was called a narthex.
In 324, Constantine ordered his architects and engineers to rebuild Byzantio into the new
capital city called Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey). He believed that from
there he could better rule and protect the Empire, and in 330, he moved to the new capital.
Fragments of the 30-foot tall statue Constantine commissioned of himself have been
found, including the head.
Byzantium
While Constantine allowed his subjects the freedom to worship in their chosen religion,
emperors who reigned after him made Christianity the official religion. Beautiful artwork
was created that focused on Christianity and the afterlife.
The most famous piece of Byzantine architecture is the Hagia Sophia. Images 13.16 and
13.17 in your textbook show the splendor of this building. Another noteworthy architectural
creation in Byzantine style is San Vitale. Unlike the cross-shaped churches, San Vitale was
octagonal and had a central dome. The interior of San Vitale was decorated with glittering
mosaics that include Empress Theodora and Retinue (Image 15.8). Mosaics were a
favorite technique used in Byzantine. Image 15.9, Christ as Pantokrator, was found in a
twelfth-century church in Sicily, the Cathedral of Monreale. It’s set in a half-dome as a
crowning for the apse. Christ is painted as a pantokrator, Greek for “Ruler of All.”
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Pantokrators were common iconography that emphasized the divine, awe-inspiring, and
sometimes terrifying majesty of Christ instead of focusing on his gentle, approachable life
as Jesus.
From these images, you can see how Byzantine artists took on a flattened, abstract style.
They worked to present complex religious doctrines and beliefs in their art. Most have
golden backgrounds, a symbol for heavenly splendor.
Icons (from the Greek eikon) were heavily used in Byzantine art. An icon is a specific type
of image, representing either a portrait of a sacred person or the depiction of a sacred
event. They were commonly painted in tempera on gilded wood panels. Other materials
such as precious metals and ivory were also used. Image 15.10, a plaque made from ivory,
is titled Enthroned Virgin and Child. Ivory was a luxury material. Icons weren’t treated as
mere images; they were thought to be points of contact for the afterworld. Many believed
that they could cause miracles.
Within 150 years of the creation of the icon we just looked at, the western empire fell
because of a massive influx of Germanic people to the area.
The Middle Ages in Europe
The Middle Ages is the time period from around 476, when the last Roman emperor fell, to
the beginning of the Renaissance in the fifteenth century. During this time period, the
countries of Europe formed along with a specialized Christian culture. It was a time of
achievement.
The Early Middle Ages
The cities of the Early Middle Ages in Europe were inhabited by the descendants of
migratory tribes that traveled south and west during the fifth and sixth centuries. These
Germanic peoples were mostly from the north-central part of Europe—modern-day
northern Germany and Scandinavia.
By the year 600, the new kingdoms of what would eventually come to be Europe had
settled down. Slowly, the kingdoms began to convert to Christianity. Your textbook focuses
primarily on the people who settled in two areas: Angles and Saxons in Britain, and the
Franks in Gaul (France).
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Northeast of London is the grave of an unknown seventh century East Anglian king.
Objects found at the burial site include a beautiful gold and enamel purse cover (Image
15.11) with delicate designs and motifs. The animal style was prevalent in art in
northwestern Europe during that time. Some believe that this particular style shows
migratory herdsmen. Animal style, defined as a linear, stylized animal form, was often seen
with interlace. Interlace is a pattern formed by intricately interwoven ribbons and bands.
Some of the most important artistic productions from the early Middle Ages are copies of
Christian scriptures. Because there was no printing press at the time, books had to be
copied by hand. Copying of religious texts was done by monks in monasteries, the only
literate segment of the population. Monks copied the texts and sometimes illuminated
them. Illuminated means that they were illustrated and decorated. Image 15.12, an
illumination of the Gospel of Matthew from the Book of Kells, shows how the monks used
animal style and interlace in a Christian work.
In France, a different style of art, Carolingian, was developing under Emperor

Charlemagne (Charles the Great). Carolingian was a period in medieval European history
controlled by Frankish rulers of the Carolingian dynasty. For art, Carolingian meant artistic
flowering.
Charlemagne wanted to build a permanent capital in Aachen, present-day Germany. After

getting the permission of the pope, he sent marble, mosaics, and other materials from
buildings in Rome and Ravenna to Aachen. His chapel survived the test of time and was
ultimately converted to the Aachen Cathedral, pictured in Image 15.13. The plan behind his
chapel was likely inspired by San Vitale. The central plan also included Roman arches,
massive piers, and stone vaulting.
The High Middle Ages
The Middle Ages was a time of intense religious preoccupation in Europe. This was when
most of the great cathedrals were built. Much of the art found in monasteries, churches,
and cathedrals is associated with this time period.
Historians have divided the art and architecture from this time period between two periods:
Romanesque, from 1050 to 1200 (based on ancient Roman architecture), and Gothic, from
1200 into the fifteenth century (created in northern France). The term Gothic is from the
Goths, one of the many nomadic tribes that wandered through France.
The Romanesque period was a good time for building, partly because of the increase in
popularity of pilgrimages. Churches and lodging options were established along trails that
people took for their pilgrimages.
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The earliest Romanesque pilgrimage church still standing is the Abbey Church of Sainte-
Foy, pictured in Image 15.14 and Image 15.15, which shows how the architects modified
the design so that it could hold a large number of people who visited for their pilgrimage.
Pilgrims would come to Sainte-Foy to see the relics, such as Image 15.16, a reliquary
statue of Saint Foy. Known as Saint Fay in England, it’s believed that she was put to death
as a young girl because she refused to worship pagan gods. The reliquary is made of
hammered gold; it has a wooden core and is set with gems.
Another famous item that people traveled to see was the Bayeux Tapestry, a work of
embroidery. Twenty inches high and 231 feet long, it shows the conquest of England by
William of Normandy in 1066.
While we don’t know for sure when the Romanesque style first appeared, we do know a lot
about the Gothic style and how it originated. Suger, a French abbot, wanted to remodel
and increase the size of his church, the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis. He believed that the
ideal church should appear to reach up to heaven, have harmonious proportions, and be
filled with light. In response, architects created pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, flying
buttresses, and stained glass windows—the Gothic style.
During the Middle Ages, sculpture was often used to embellish architecture. More than
2,000 carved figures decorate the exterior of the Chartres Cathedral in France, mostly
around the main entryways. They are to help visitors transition between the secular world
and the sacred space.
Early Gothic style can be seen in the elongated and flattened bodies of the twelfth-century
carvings. In Image 15.21, the folds of the drapery are very flat, not referencing a figure
underneath, appearing merely incised with a chisel.
The time between images 15.21 and 15.22 is just a hundred years or so, but you can see
the changes that occurred in Gothic style. The bodies in Image 15.22 are more rounded
and natural, compared to 15.21, where the bodies take the shape of the column.
One of the things that make Gothic cathedrals stand out above all others is their stained
glass. Chartres has more than 150 stained glass windows with motifs that include Bible
stories, depictions of the lives of saints, zodiac signs, and donors to the church. You can
see some of the stained glass in Image 15.23. The diameter of the round window that you
see in Image 15.23 is 42 feet. Imagine how long that took to make.
While the art of the Middle Ages was certainly influenced by Christian culture, not all art
was made for religious purposes. Royal and noble households, along with wealthier
middle-class families, had paintings and carvings for their private devotion. They also had
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carved furniture, illuminated books, and other objects. Some of the most treasured
medieval possessions were tapestries. Created to tell a story or follow a theme, they were
found in great halls and in private quarters. Image 15.24 is a large woven hanging showing
the segment Smell, from The Lady and the Unicorn. It was woven for a member of a
wealthy French family, Le Viste. This image is just one in a series.
Toward the Renaissance
The Gothic style existed into the early sixteenth century, but there were other ideas about
art and architecture as far south as Italy. Living in the ancient Roman Empire, Italians were
near the ruins of the Classical world. They had more treasures, but they needed the right
climate to encourage their interest. The Renaissance wasn’t a sudden change; several
things prepared the way in thought, politics, and in art. Two artists who were influential in
the shift from the style of the Middle Ages to the Renaissance were Duccio and Giotto.
Duccio was an artist in Siena, Italy whose best-known work is Maestra Altar, a multi-
section panel for an altar at a church. Image 15.25 shows one of the panels: Christ
Entering Jerusalem. One of the most amazing things about this work is the artist’s creation
of the space of a large outdoor scene. He worked to create a sense of movement: a strong
diagonal thrust beginning at the left shifts to carry our attention to the middle right, and then
the upper left corner of the painting. The architecture in the image also defines the space
and directs movement. This was Duccio’s big contribution to the art of the time, using
architecture to clarify space rather than using it as a simple backdrop.
A Florentine artist, Giotto, also made a remarkable piece that broke with Middle Ages
traditions. You can see his fresco creation in Image 15.26: The Lamentation. The fresco is
on the walls of the Scrovegni Chapel. Giotto used decorative bands to create three
rectangular spaces. In each space, he painted something from the life of the Virgin Mary. In
the middle panel, Mary, St. John, and others mourn over Christ after he was crucified. The
first panel depicts part of her life before the crucifixion. A story told in pictures is something
that we commonly see now, but in the Middle Ages, it was revolutionary.
Giotto’s grouping of the figures is unusual and daring: Christ is half-figure and partially
hidden by another person, who is sitting. Giotto also worked to give the figures in the
painting emotions. That’s also part of what made his work uncommon for its time.
Sadly, neither Duccio nor Giotto had long careers. During their short times, though, art
continued to change. They helped usher in more naturalistic, human, and engaging work.
They helped pave the way for the Renaissance.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 15: Christianity and the Formation of Europe
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Key Points
Christianity spread quickly through the Roman Empire. The Western part of the Roman
Empire would soon re-emerge as what we now refer to as Western Europe. The Eastern
Roman Empire survived for a while as the Byzantine Empire.
Architects built beautiful churches in key locations throughout the empire. Christianity
emphasized congregational worship, so places of worship for Christians had to hold lots of
people. Two famous Byzantine churches are the Hagia Sophia and the San Vitale.
Byzantine artists moved away from naturalism and realism toward a flattened, abstracted
style and strove to portray complex religious doctrines and beliefs in their artwork such as
in icons representing sacred persons or sacred events.
Among the most important artistic products of the early Middle Ages were copies of
Christian scriptures. Copying of religious texts was done by monks in monasteries who
hand-copied and illuminated, illustrated and decorated them.
In France, a different style of art, Carolingian, was developing under Emperor
Charlemagne (Charles the Great). His chapel survived and was ultimately converted to the
Aachen Cathedral.
The High Middle Ages is divided into two periods, Romanesque and Gothic.
Romanesque, from 1050 to 1200, is reminiscent of ancient Roman architecture, including
an overall massiveness, thick stone walls, round arches, and barrel-vaulted stone ceilings.
Gothic architecture, from 1200 into the fifteenth century, was created in northern France
and it included pointed arches, ribbed vaulting, flying buttresses, and stained glass
windows.
Duccio and Giotto were influential in the shift from the style of the Middle Ages to the
Renaissance. Duccio used architecture to define space and direct movement while Giotto
was depicting the psychological and emotional reactions of his subjects.
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Practice: Identify Christianity's Influence on Late Roman

and European Art Through the Middle Ages
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The Renaissance
During the Middle Ages, painters were considered skilled crafts workers like goldsmiths,
carpenters, and other people with a trade. But by the middle of the sixteenth century,
Michelangelo claimed, “in Italy great princes as such are not held in honor or renown; it is a
painter that they call divine.”
Michelangelo lived and created during the Renaissance, the period from around 1400 to
1600. During this time period, the art world changed drastically. The look of art changed.
The subjects of art changed. The way people thought about art and the way artists were
treated in society changed. Sculpture, painting, and architecture began to earn prestige.
Renaissance means “rebirth.” In the context of art, it refers to the revival of interest in
ancient Greek and Roman culture. That interest was one of the key characteristics of this
period in history. Scholars sought to find and study as many Greek and Latin texts as they
could. They referred to themselves as humanists and believed that education shouldn’t be
limited to the study of Christian writers. They believed it should include grammar, rhetoric,
poetry, history, politics, and moral philosophy, and that knowledge should be pursued for its
own sake. They didn’t believe that humankind was worthless in the eyes of God, a belief
commonly taught by churches in the Middle Ages. Instead, they believed that humans were
God’s best creation, blessed with reason and creativity. They believed it wasn’t the job of
humans to tremble, but to realize their full intellectual and creative potential.
Those ideas began to change society. Artists began to observe the natural world so that
they could reproduce it as accurately as possible. They studied the effects of light. They
developed chiaroscuro. They realized that objects that were far away looked smaller than
ones that were closer. They developed linear perspective and the principles of atmospheric
perspective.
Another change was that nudity was reintroduced. The body was now believed to be one
of God’s best creations. To show the body with understanding, artists studied anatomy.
Some even dissected cadavers. Plato’s works had recently been reintroduced to society
and once again, beauty was equated with moral goodness. Renaissance artists created
their own idea of idealized beauty by combining different features. The German
Renaissance painter Albrecht Dürer said, “You, therefore, if you desire to compose a fine
figure, must take the head from some, the chest, arm, leg, hand, and foot from others…
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For from many beautiful things something good may be gathered, even as honey is
gathered from many flowers.”
Perspective and chiaroscuro, close observation of nature, the study of anatomy, and ideas
behind beauty and proportion established painting, sculpture, and architecture as
intellectual activities that were combined with science, rhetoric, music, and math. Artists
were now considered educated people with creative powers—almost miraculous in their
existence. The best artists were a class of their own, an elite part of society who lived in
courts with nobles and even with popes. Their company was highly sought and their
services were in high demand.
Before the Renaissance, only two groups of people could afford to purchase art: nobility
and clergymen. While they both continued to be active sponsors of art, the Renaissance
meant more people could afford to buy art. Merchant-rulers became new patrons of the
arts.
The Early and High Renaissance in Italy
The Renaissance began in Italy. Scholars believe this happened for several reasons. Italy
was one of the first areas to financially recover from the early Middle Ages. The Church, an
important supporter of the arts, was centered in Italy. Humanism arose there. Italy also
offered the first university position in Greek studies. Because Italians lived among the ruins
of Rome, they viewed themselves as direct descendants of the earlier civilization. They
believed that they had the ability to re-establish these glorious accomplishments.
Donatello was in the first generation of Renaissance artists. Considered one of the most
talented sculptors, one of his early works is shown in Image 16.1. This statue, David, gives
us a glimpse of the many changes that happened in art. One interesting difference
between Donatello’s David and some earlier sculptures from the Middle Ages is that
although it’s placed near walls, it doesn’t need an architectural framework for support.
Donatello’s creation stands on its own. His sculpture uses contrapposto, with the weight on
the right leg while the left leg is bent. Natural compensation is worked into the shoulders.
This is a naturalistic figure.
It’s another amazing thought to consider the age of many of the Renaissance creators.
Image 16.3, Trinity with the Virgin, St John the Evangelist, and Donors, was created by
Masaccio at age 24. He used linear perspective to construct a deep, convincing
architectural space as a setting for his painting.
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Masaccio arranged his figures in a stable triangle. The head of God the Father is at the
top, over Christ. Donors kneel on each side outside of the space. Triangular (pyramidal)
organization was a favorite technique of Italian Renaissance artists.
Besides Christian themes, Renaissance artists focused on Greek and Roman gods and
goddesses, as did many of the Renaissance poets. Image 16.6 is Sandro Botticelli’s
Primavera. Botticelli, born in 1445, belonged to the third generation of Renaissance artists.
A merchant-ruler family, the Medici in Florence, likely commissioned Primavera. Medici’s
Academy was like a discussion group, where humanist scholars and artists met to discuss
Classical culture and its relationship to Christianity. When these two belief systems were
brought together, a philosophy known as Neo-Platonism arose.
Botticelli’s unusual linear style and shallow modeling was an exception to Renaissance
norms. His rarefied work shows us the learned side of the Renaissance. This work wasn’t
for display to large masses. It was for a small group of people who would appreciate it.
The High Renaissance was a brief and yet glorious time in the history of art—barely 25
years. Nevertheless, some of the most celebrated works of Western art were produced.
Outstanding artists include Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
The term “Renaissance man” or “Renaissance woman” means a person extremely skilled
in several areas or educated on many subjects. Leading figures in the Renaissance were
artistic jacks-of-all-trades. Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, poet, and architect,
considerably gifted in all those fields. Leonardo was a painter, inventor, sculptor, architect,
engineer, scientist, musician, and all-around intellectual. Considered one of the greatest
geniuses on the planet, Leonardo didn’t believe in limits. He focused on how things work
and how they might work. Image 5.20 in your textbook shows his Study of Human
Proportions. Leonardo was attempting to establish the ideal proportions of the human body
by relating the body to a square and to a circle.
Leonardo was also interested in mathematics. In his work The Last Supper (Image 4.45),
you can see the one-point linear perspective used to organize the figures and to set them
within the space. Yet, he didn’t complete this work in the established fresco method. He
used a new method. However, his new method ultimately meant centuries of restoration of
the work.
Michelangelo, who also lived in Florence, was 25 years younger than Leonardo, but
already a rival. Michelangelo had established his reputation as a sculptor by the time he
was 25. At 26, he was commissioned to create David, depicted in Image 16.8.
Michelangelo’s study of anatomy allowed him to create a figure with believable muscles,
flesh, and bone in marble.
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Michelangelo’s best-known work is the ceiling frescoes in the Sistine Chapel (Image 16.9).
Despite his talent, Michelangelo didn’t enjoy painting, and was pressured to take the job.
The vaulted ceiling, 128 feet long and 44 feet wide, was originally a fresco of gilt stars on a
dark blue background with figures representing Christ, St. Peter, St. Paul, and 30 popes
who were named as saints on the sides. Pope Julius II wanted all of this removed and
replaced with a new fresco. Michelangelo began the work in 1508. A dozen assistants
brought supplies, ground colors, prepared the surface, prepared and transferred the
cartoons, and painted many of the decorative elements. For the next four years,
Michelangelo and his assistants painted on the ceiling.
The surface is painted to look like stone and includes lintels, cornices, and pedestals, Old
Testament scenes, Greek sybils (women gifted in prophecy), and scenes from the Book of
Genesis fill the separate grids. Smaller scenes are framed by nude youth known as ignudi
that may represent perfect beings or angels.
In 1546, Michelangelo was the official architect of the new St. Peter’s, one of the four most
important churches in Rome. Now in his 70s, Michelangelo’s creative mind was still active.
Michelangelo didn’t live to see the church finished or all his plans carried out.
Raphael was Michelangelo’s younger rival. His fresco, The School of Athens, shown in
Image 7.3, was in the private library of Pope Julius II. Raphael also painted Julius's portrait
in 1511–1512 (Image 16.12).
The third greatest artistic center in Italy was Venice, where Giovanni Bellini worked and
taught. His two best students, Giorgione and Titian, went on to become some of the
greatest Venetian painters of the High Renaissance.
Giorgione died in his early 30s. Titian, however, had a long, productive career. Image 2.34
shows his work Assumption, and Image 16.13 shows Venus of Urbino. As Titian got older,
his brushwork became freer and he used more subdued colors. Yet all of his works are
equally rich. The Annunciation was created when Titian was 75.
The Renaissance in the North
The northern countries of Western Europe, Switzerland, Germany, northern France, and
the Netherlands, experienced the Renaissance with less drama than in Italy. Artists
became more interested in the details of the visible world and began to better recreate
them in their work as is evident in the famous work, Les Trés Riches Heures (The Very
Rich Hours). The book was created by the brothers Limbourgs for the Duke of Berry,
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brother to the King of France. This book was used for daily religious devotion and had a
painting of a typical seasonal activity.
Image 16.14 shows daily life for a peasant in a hut. To appreciate the detail, note that this
painting is barely 9 inches tall.
Many Northern artists painted on panels with the newly developed medium of oil paint.
Robert Campin, a prominent artist in Tournai, present-day Belgium, was a master of using
oil paints. Image 16.15, Mérode Altarpiece, shows us another take on the Annunciation.
This one was created around 1426, but the principles of linear perspective discovered in
Italy didn’t come north for almost 75 years. Campin relied on intuitive perspective, with
charmingly inaccurate results.
Northern artists painted miniatures, manuscript illuminations, stained glass, and tapestries,
all with a lot of surface detail.
Northern Renaissance artists were unmatched when it came to capturing textures, the look
of silver and gold, and even skin quality. Italian Renaissance artists focused on structure—
accurate perspective and the underlying musculature of the body.
Image 16.17, Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece, is a panel work. The artist’s
interpretation of the crucifixion keeps with a common Northern practice to show extreme
physical agony.
Albrecht Dürer worked to fuse Italian ideas and discoveries with the Northern love of
meticulous observation more than any other artist. As a young artist, he visited Italy in
1494 and returned to Italy to stay in 1505. He developed the same preoccupation with
perspective, ideal beauty, and harmony that was so common with Italian artists. Dürer
believed that Northern art relied too much on instinct and didn’t have a firm grounding in
theory and science. Toward the end of his life, he summarized his philosophy regarding art
by writing and illustrating two important works, Treatise on Measurement and Four Books
on Human Proportions.
German painter Hans Holbein matured as an artist under the ideas that Dürer developed.
He wasn’t as intellectual as Dürer, but he recognized that the issues raised needed to be
addressed. Holbein studied Italian paintings and mastered perspective.
You can see his mastery of both perspective and detail in Image 16.18, The Ambassadors.
Holbein created this painting in England, where his skills as a portraitist earned him a
position as the court painter to King Henry VIII. The Ambassadors was commissioned by
Jean de Dinteville, the French ambassador to England (on the left side of the painting). He
is pictured with Georges de Selve, a French bishop. Objects on the table symbolize the
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four humanist sciences: music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. Their stance on the
imported Islamic rug symbolizes their contact with the wider world. If you look closely at the
bottom shelf, you see a lute with a broken string and a book that has a hymn by Martin
Luther. The broken string is a symbol of discord because Europe was no longer in
harmony, with the issues raised by Martin Luther’s recent accusations against the Church
in Rome. Luther started the Reformation that would permanently divide Europe into
Protestant and Catholic countries.
Amid all the detail, did you notice the skull? Jean de Dinteville’s personal motto was
memento mori, Latin for “remember you must die.” When the painting is viewed up close
and from an angle, the skull comes into better focus.
Protestant reforms of the sixteenth century included an attitude toward religious images
that ranged from wariness to outright hostility. From the view of the Protestants, the Church
in Rome had encouraged beliefs that amounted to idol worship. The walls in Protestant
churches were bare because Martin Luther declared, “The kingdom of God is a kingdom of
hearing, not of seeing.” Northern artists turned more to the everyday world for subjects;
many began to explore the landscape as their subject.
The Late Renaissance in Italy
Scholars generally give the date for the end of the High Renaissance as 1520, the year of
Raphael’s death. The next generation of artists lived and created under the heavy shadow
of the great Renaissance and two of history’s most intimidating artists: Titian and
Michelangelo, who were still alive.
One of the artistic trends that came out of the Late Renaissance was mannerism. From the
Italian maniera, which means style or stylishness, these painters practiced an art of grace
and sophistication. Critics characterized mannerism as a decadent reaction against the
order and balance of the High Renaissance. Now, most scholars agree that it actually grew
out of the possibilities suggested by the work of the High Renaissance artists, such as
Michelangelo, who had a large influence on the next generation of artists.
Agnolo Bronzino’s Allegory (Image 16.20) shows us some of the most fascinating and
unsettling characteristics found in mannerism. All the figures and objects stand for ideas
and concepts.
Elements of mannerism can be seen in less extreme examples such as Self-Portrait at the
Easel created by Sofonisba Anguissola (Image 16.21). Anguissola was the first woman
artist known to have achieved celebrity among her contemporaries. Well educated and
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trained as a painter, Anguissola brought something new to Renaissance portraiture—a

feeling for family interaction, tenderness, and affection. She worked in the court of Spain as
a portrait painter and drawing instructor.
The Roman Catholic Church saw art as something that should conform strictly to the
teachings of the Church. It encouraged art’s ability to appeal to emotions and to engage
the hearts and minds of the faithful.
The Last Supper, by Tintoretto (Image 16.22), exemplifies the art encouraged by the
Counter-Reformation. Tintoretto developed his style from the brushwork and dramatic
lighting effects of Titian’s late work. A dramatic diagonal composition moves the eyes of the
viewer to Christ, a lesser glow highlights the saints, while Judas is the only person without
a light. This focus on the emotional, exaggerated, and theatrical will drive the next
movement in art.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 16: The Renaissance
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Key Points
Donatello is one of the best sculptors of the early artists. He considered the body a
framework and used a full-scale model of a nude figure in clay to drape clay-soaked fabric
and arrange folds on the body before it dried. Then he created a marble statue.
Lorenzo Ghiberti’s was Donatello’s teacher. He used the newly discovered system of
linear perspective to bring clarity and order to his composition as well as created figures to
scale instead of using miniaturized, symbolic pieces.
Sandro Botticelli used the Greek and Roman goddess Venus for his subject matter.
Painting a large-scale female depicted nude had been virtually unknown since Classical
times. In the painting were subtle Neoplatonic overtones in the scene.
Leonardo was a painter, inventor, sculptor, architect, engineer, scientist, musician, and all-
around intellectual. He most embodies the term “Renaissance man”; Leonardo’s specialty,
sfumato, used layer upon layer of translucent glazes to produce a hazy atmosphere,
softened contours, and velvet shadows in his paintings.
Michelangelo was a painter, sculptor, poet, and architect, considerably gifted in all those
fields. He translated his knowledge of human bodies into his sculptures, imbuing them
with the tension, energy, and emotion that was missing from Greek art.
Italian Renaissance artists focused on structure—accurate perspective and the underlying
musculature of the body while northern Renaissance artists were unmatched in capturing
textures, the look of silver and gold, and even skin quality.
Mannerism was an artistic trend used by painters in the Late Renaissance. They practiced
an art of grace and sophistication. Figures and objects in paintings stood for ideas and
concepts, had elongated figures and twisting S-shaped poses, and used illogical picture
space.
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Practice: Summarize the Themes, Subjects, and Styles of

Art in Various Regions of Europe During the Renaissance
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The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries
The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Europe are often referred to as “The Age of
Kings.” Some of the most powerful rulers in history sat on the thrones of various countries
throughout those two centuries. Not only did the monarchs govern, but they also affected
social and cultural matters.
This time period is also called “The Age of Colonial Settlement.” By the early seventeenth
century the Dutch, English, and French had set up permanent colonies in North America.
Spain and Portugal had colonies in Central and South America. While the colonists
endured the “starving time,” in Europe, an opulent art style took hold: the Baroque.
The Baroque Era
Baroque art differed from art created during the Renaissance for several reasons:
Renaissance art stressed the calm of reason. Baroque art is full of emotion, energy, and
movement.
Colors are more vivid in Baroque art.
Baroque architecture and sculpture included more ornamentation while the Renaissance
was about classic simplicity.
You can see many Baroque elements in the work of artist Gianlorenzo Bernini. As a
painter, dramatist, and composer for his own pleasure, Bernini was perfectly suited for the
Baroque era. However, his talents in architecture and sculpture showed his genius. Image
17.1 in your textbook depicts the funeral chapel of Cardinal Federigo Cornaro, where
Bernini worked on the architecture, painting, sculpture, and lighting.
In the center, and also shown in Image 17.2, is the sculpture, St. Teresa in Ecstasy.
Teresa, Spanish mystic and founder of a strict order of nuns, was an important figure in the
Counter-Reformation. The sculpture was created based on one of her visions. The stage
lighting was well planned and plays into the dramatic scene.
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Bernini also designed the colonnade that encloses the square in front of St. Peter’s (Image
17.4). Bernini’s architectural style was more conservative than that of his sculpting.
Borromini preferred subtler forms. San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Saint Charles at the
Four Fountains) features a domed interior and curves that create motion. The church
experienced immediate fame, and requests for the plans came from all over Catholic
Europe. The protrusion of the façade into the viewer’s space is typical of Baroque
architecture.
Baroque painters learned to create similar effects with dramatic lighting and background
shadows. Image 17.6, Judith and Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, shows how
shadows bring the subjects into the viewer’s space. Gentileschi took subjects from the
biblical story of Judith, who beheaded the Assyrian general Holofernes. The lighting
heightens the senses of urgency and danger.
In Caravaggio’s Entombment of Christ (Image 17.5), light falls on the subjects in many
ways, heightening the drama. The Raising of the Cross was painted by Peter Paul Rubens,
who studied the works of Italian masters, including Caravaggio. While both paintings
include the sharply diagonal composition and dramatic lighting, Caravaggio’s subjects
seem frozen in their anguish. Rubens’ subjects are full of movement and energy, seeming
to burst outside of the picture. In Rubens’ work, we see Italian musculature as well as the
S-curve that became a common Baroque tool.
Baroque artistic principles were adopted across Europe, yet each country had its own
version. France was more “classical” when it came to order and balance, just like during
the Renaissance, but they did include the grandeur of Baroque.
In Poussin’s The Ashes of Phokion, a general’s ashes are gathered up by his widow. Life’s
triumphs and sufferings were to be accepted stoically. Baroque style is indicated by the
light and shadow on the canvas.
To really understand Baroque in France, we must look at Louis XIV. An “absolute

monarch,” who reigned for 72 years, Louis XIV made France the artistic and literary center
of Europe as well as a political force. Each day, half his court made a ceremony of waking
the king up and getting him ready for bed.
Louis summoned Bernini from Rome to come to Paris to complete the Louvre Palace.
However, Louis loved the Palace of Versailles more. He rebuilt it and moved his court to
that palace in 1682. (Pierre-Denis Martin painted a work titled View of the Palace of
Versailles from the Parade Ground in 1722.) The palace itself, seen in Image 17.10, is
more than a quarter-mile wide and occupies an area of approximately 200 acres.
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The interior of the palace is fully Baroque. One of its famous rooms, the Hall of Mirrors,
was used for elaborate state occasions.
King Philip IV of Spain had a court painter—one of the geniuses of Spanish art: Diego
Velázquez. Velázquez’s masterpiece, Las Meninas (The Maids of Honor) was shown in
Image 7.2. Velázquez’ use of light to create drama and emphasis helps organize and unify
a complex space.
Dutch Baroque, sometimes referred to as the “bourgeois Baroque,” was centered in the
Netherlands. Sometimes, Dutch society’s main focus wasn’t on the church; they focused
on the home and family, business and social organizations, and the community. We see
this in the work of two Dutch artists who had different styles.
Rembrandt van Rijn used a new kind of dramatic lighting that was created by Caravaggio.
You can see how Rembrandt incorporated this lighting into his style in Image 17.12: Sortie
of Captain Banning Cocq’s Company of the Civic Guard (The Night Watch).
The elite militia portrayed in the painting played an important role in city defense, but
during the time of Rembrandt, these militias were primarily used for ceremonial purposes.
Rembrandt painted this group in a call to arms. The nested V shapes make it seem like the
picture will burst outward. The lighting is dramatic, although it wasn’t until the painting was
cleaned in the twentieth century that the light-filled areas of the painting were discovered.
During the seventeenth century, the great age of Dutch genre painting developed. A genre
painting focuses on a scene of everyday life. During her lifetime, Judith Leyster was highly
regarded as a genre painter. After her death, credit for her creations was often given to
other artists. Works once incorrectly attributed to Hals have been reattributed to Leyster.
Leyster’s Carousing Couple was created in 1630, and despite the appearance, may have a
moral theme.
The seventeenth century was a great period of landscape paintings in the Netherlands.
Jacob van Ruisdael’s View of Ootmarsum, shown in Image 17.14, is a typical Dutch
landscape painting.
Although we see a church in van Ruisdael’s work, it’s important to note that the work is still
a secular creation. Religious art would never dominate as it did during the Renaissance
and Italian Baroque periods. Wealthy merchants and the bourgeoisie became more
important patrons than the Church.
The Eighteenth Century
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The first half to three-quarters of the eighteenth century is defined as the Rococo period. A
play on the word “baroque,” rococo is a play on the French words for rocks (rococo) and
shells (baroque). These forms appeared in decorative motifs in architecture, furniture, and
even in painting. Rococo is another extravagant and ornate style. Rococo is more intimate
than baroque, more playful, smaller in scale, and its colors less intense.
The Rococo style of architecture was founded in France, but it was soon used in Germany
and in other countries. In Bavaria, the church of Vierzehnheiligen (Image 17.15) is an
elaborate display of Rococo that displays its sophistication. Designed by Balthasar
Neumann, the church's interior is a swirl of profuse decoration, with twisting, almost
growing decorative forms.
Sophistication was also the hallmark characteristic of Rococo style paintings. The worlds
are dreamlike, as shown in Image 17.17, The Progress of Love: The Pursuit. This is one of
four paintings commissioned by the king’s mistress, Countess du Barry. The Countess
found them old-fashioned and sentimental. Rococo was officially over.
Neoclassicism, literally “new classicism,” took its place. The work of neoclassical artists
emphasized order, clarity, and restraint.
Excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy had been uncovered to the fascination of
patrons and artists throughout Europe.
Jacques-Louis David was one of the young artists who went to Italy to be influenced
firsthand by the discoveries. When he returned to France, he quickly established himself as
an artist of great potential. King Louis XVI commissioned him to create The Oath of the
Horatii, shown in Image 17.18. An austere architectural setting and the shallow foreground
makes it look like the people are carved in relief.
King Louis XVI’s queen, Marie-Antoinette, enjoyed the new informality and natural design.
Royal models posed in white muslin dresses and with their hair loosely falling onto their
shoulders, which gave the public notion that the queen was frivolous and flirtatious. To
repair the queen’s reputation, Vigée-Lebrun painted a different type of portrait, seen in
Image 17.19, called Marie-Antoinette and Her Children. The queen is sitting in a formal
velvet gown with the Hall of Mirrors visible in the background.
The painting didn’t help the queen’s reputation. Popular opinion blamed the looming
financial disaster on the queen’s extravagant ways and believed that she had shocking
personal vices. Vigée-Lebrun fled France, and the queen was beheaded.
Revolution
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The leaders of the French Revolution continued to admire and promote Roman civic
virtues. Neoclassicism became the official style of the French Revolution and Jacques-
Louis David, its official artist, became the propaganda minister and director of festivals. As
a deputy to the Convention of 1792, he voted to send his former patron, Louis XVI, to the
guillotine. He also planned the funeral for revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat. David’s
painting, The Death of Marat, one of his best-known works, is shown in Image 17.20.
Marat, a major figure in the French Revolution, was the voice of a radical political faction
known as Jacobins. His bathtub, where he worked most of the time, was outfitted with a
writing desk. This helped treat a painful skin condition. Charlotte Corday, a sympathizer for
another political faction known as the Girondins, broke into his apartment and stabbed him
to death.
David sought to transform this man, whom many considered evil, into the image of a hero.
The American Revolution took place about 13 years before the French Revolution. The
United States had developed its own artistic styles. Their own master artist, Charles
Willson Peale, was born in the United States. Peale painted many people who ultimately
became Revolutionary heroes, including George Washington, shown in Image 17.21. You
can see the Neoclassical style is used.
The third revolution of the time was an economic and social one. Many would argue that
the Industrial Revolution, which began in the last half of the eighteenth century, is still
going. People who once worked on farms or from their homes or workshops began to work
in factories that created a new class: the industrial worker. Manufacturers became
overnight millionaires. This upheaval was reflected in art. At the start of the nineteenth
century, Western civilization became a brand new world.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 17: The 17th and 18th Centuries
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Key Points
Baroque art is full of emotion, energy, and movement. Colors are more vivid with greater
contrast between colors and between light and dark. In architecture and sculpture, the
Baroque favored ornamentation, as rich and complex as possible.
Baroque artistic principles were taken up across Europe, but each country developed them
in its own way. France was more “classical” when it came to order and balance but infused
with the new theatricality and grandeur of Baroque.
Dutch Baroque, sometimes referred to as the “bourgeois Baroque,” was centered in the
Netherlands. Dutch art’s main focus wasn’t on the church but on the home and family,
business and social organizations, and the community.
Rococo, the French words for rocks, is another extravagant and ornate style but more
intimate than baroque, more playful, smaller in scale, and its colors less intense.
Artists eventually became fascinated by the Classical past, Neoclassicism, took
hold.“Roman Family Values” such as patriotism, stoicism, self-sacrifice, and frugality
were admired. The work of neoclassical artists emphasized order, clarity, and restraint.
French Revolution leaders admired and promoted Roman civic virtues. Neoclassicism
became the official style of the French Revolution.
The United States had developed its own artistic styles. Their own master artist, John
Singleton Copley painted many people who later became heroes of the Revolution.
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Practice: Compare the Baroque Style of Seventeenth

Century European Art to the Rococo Style of the Eighteenth
Century
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Unit Review
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Definition: Literally “Greek-like.” Hellenistic art followed three broad

trends: a continuing classicism; a new style characterized by
Hellenistic
dramatic emotion and turbulence; and a closely observed realism.
(14.28, 14.29)
Definition: In ancient Mesopotamian architecture, a monumental

Ziggurat stepped structure symbolically understood as a mountain and serving
as a platform for one or more temples. (14.4)
Definition: Outlines are carved into the surface and the figure is
Sunken
modeled within them, from the surface down.
Definition: Most narrowly, the middle period of ancient Greek

civilization, beginning around 480 BCE and lasting until around 323
Classical BCE. Generally, any art that emphasizes rational order, balance,
harmony, and restraint, especially if it looks to the art of ancient
Greece and Rome for models. (14.24)
Definition: The slight swelling or bulge built into the center of a

Entasis
column to make the column seem straight visually. (14.26)
Definition: In Roman architecture, a standard type of rectangular

Basilica building with a large, open interior. Principal elements of a basilica
are nave, clerestory, aisle, and apse. (15.4)
Definition: In church architecture, a vaulted passageway for walking

Ambulatory
(ambulating) around the apse. (15.15)
Definition: A technique of needlework in which designs or figures are

Embroidery
stitched into a textile ground with colored thread or yarn. (15.17)
Definition: The period in Europe from the fourteenth to sixteenth

century, characterized by a renewed interest in Classical art,
Renaissance
architecture, literature, and philosophy. The Renaissance began in
Italy and gradually spread to the rest of Europe. (16.9)
Definition: From the Italian maniera, meaning “style” or “stylishness,”

a trend in 16th-century Italian art. Mannerist artists cultivated a
Mannerism variety of elegant, refined, virtuosic, and highly artificial styles, often
featuring elongated figures, sinuous contours, bizarre effects of scale
and lighting, shallow pictorial space, and intense colors. (16.22)
Definition: From the Italian word for “smoke,” a technique of painting

in thin glazes to achieve a hazy, cloudy atmosphere, often to
Sfumato
represent objects or landscape meant to be perceived as distant from
the picture plane. (16.7)
Definition: An Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High

Renaissance. Famous works include his frescoes on the interior of
Michelangelo Buonarroti
the Sistine Chapel (Image 16.9, 16.10) and the sculpture of David
(Image 16.8).
Definition: A short period of about 25 years (just before 1500 to 1520

High Renaissance
AD) denoting the height of visual art during the Italian Renaissance.
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Definition: The period of European history from the 17th through the
early 18th century, and the styles of art that flourished during it.
Originating in Rome and associated at first with the Counter-
Reformation of the Catholic Church, the dominant style of Baroque
Baroque art was characterized by dramatic use of light, bold colors and value
contrasts, emotionalism, a tendency to push into the viewer’s space,
and an overall theatricality. Pictorial composition often emphasized a
diagonal axis, and sculpture, painting, and architecture were often
combined to create ornate and impressive settings. (17.1)
Definition: A style of art popular in Europe in the first three quarters of

the 18th century. Rococo architecture and furnishings emphasized
Rococo
ornate but small-scale decoration, curvilinear forms, and pastel
colors. (17.15)
Definition: Literally “new classicism,” a Western movement in

painting, sculpture, and architecture of the late 18th and early 19th
Neoclassicism centuries that looked to the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome
for inspiration. Neoclassical art emphasized order, clarity, and
restraint. (17.17)
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Practice Quiz: Ancient Mediterranean Cultures through the

18th Century
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Arts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific and Americas
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Overview
You’ve seen how churches, such as those of the Roman Catholics and Protestants,
influenced art. In this lesson, you’ll learn about how the art of Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and
the Americas was influenced by the religions in those regions.
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Objectives
List characteristics of Islamic and African art up to the early twentieth century
Describe the styles and evolutions of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese art
Compare the art styles of the Pacific islands to those in South and Central America
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Arts of Islam and of Africa
Islam began during the early seventh century CE on the Arabian Peninsula by the Prophet
Muhammad, who was stunned by revelations claimed to have come from God. He began
to preach these revelations, the message of which was islam, which is Arabic for
“submission to God.” People who accepted these teachings were referred to as Muslims,
the Arabic for “those who submit.” Muhammad’s revelations were collected after his death
and assembled to form the Qur’an (which means “recitation”), the holy book of Islam.
Islam made its way to Europe and the Middle East, transforming constantly warring Arabic
tribes to a people united by faith who relied on the written word. This nurtured the growth of
a new artistic culture. Because the people needed places to worship and palaces for rulers,
works of monumental architecture were inspired; fine textiles and ceramics were created
for the palaces; the inspiration of the Qur’an led to the creation of calligraphy and
illustration in the area’s books. Islam created a spiritual and intellectual environment where
many cultures thrived.
Islamic Architecture: Mosques and Palaces
One of the first things that Islamic rulers did when they conquered a new land was to set
up a place for congregational prayer. These buildings were called mosques, from an Arabic
word meaning “place for bowing down.” Early architects took their inspiration from the
design of Mohammad’s home in Medina, which was built from sun-dried brick with a central
courtyard. An open porch was made from palm trunks that supported a roof of palm fronds
down one wall, which is where Muhammad preached to his followers.
Image 18.1 shows the Congregational Mosque at Kairouan, located in Tunisia. Entering
into the courtyard, one walks to the center aisle toward the mihrab, an empty niche set into
the far wall. This is known as the qibla wall, which indicates the direction of Mecca.
Muhammad instructed his followers to face Mecca during prayer. All mosques, no matter
where they are in the world, are oriented toward Mecca.
The minaret of the Kairouan Mosque was modeled from a Roman lighthouse. The
mosque’s columns, arch, and dome are based on both Roman and Byzantine architecture.
Image 18.3 in your textbook shows you the inside of the dome in front of the mihrab of the
Great Mosque at Córdoba in Spain. Eight intersecting arches are built on an octagonal
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base. It’s fluted and the dome itself is melon-shaped. Light comes in through the windows
that are opened up by the arches. Gold mosaics were standard in the Byzantine Empire. A
Byzantine ambassador went to the Great Mosque to oversee the installation of the golden
mosaics.
Islamic culture was influenced by Persia (present-day Iran). Persia was Byzantium greatest
rival before the empire fell to the Arab armies. During the twelfth century, Persian
architecture inspired the creation of a new form of mosque. Image 18.4 shows the Friday
Mosque, one of the earliest and most influential designs. Its large vaulted chamber, with a
pointed arch opening set in a rectangular frame, is the form known as iwan. The four-iwan
plan became standard in Persia and influenced people all the way to Egypt, Central Asia,
and even India.
The courtyard of the Friday Mosque is oriented toward Mecca. Two slender minarets rise
over the corners of the courtyard. The qibla iwan is a prayer hall. The other three iwans are
used for study, rest, and education. The back of the qibla iwan has a large domed chamber
that was built for the private prayers of the ruler and his court. The domed chamber
contains the mihrab.
During the fourteenth century, muqarnas—one of the most characteristic details of Islamic
architecture—were added. In the entry area to Iran's Shah Mosque, for example, tiers of
clustered muqarnas make the top look like a honeycomb.
One of the specialties of Persian artists was mosaics made of glazed blue tile. Glazed tile
was used to decorate buildings in the region since ancient Mesopotamia.
Image 18.5 shows the Court of the Lions in Alhambra Palace. The stucco screens are
more than decoration: they allow fresh air to come in.
Book Arts
Calligraphy, from the Greek for “beautiful writing,” became a highly respected art form in
Islamic lands. Calligraphers gained the same respect and popularity as painters and
sculptors received in Europe.
Since the Qur’an doesn’t permit the use of images based on scenes or individuals,
calligraphers created ornamental manuscripts and used geometric patterns and stylized
plant forms. Image 18.6 shows a page copied from Qur’an, by Ahmad al-Suhrawardi.
Books (other than the Qur’an) became a major artistic outlet for painters in Islamic culture.
Artists worked with the best pigments and brushes tapered to the width of a single hair.
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Arts of Daily Life
Islamic culture has generally held all objects produced with skill and taste to be equally
deserving of praise and attention. For instance, carpets and other textiles were extremely
important parts of Islamic art, as was ceramic art. Figure 18.9 shows the Bowl with Courtly
and Astrological Signs, a Persian piece that dates from approximately 1200 CE.
Arts of Africa
When Arab armies invaded Africa in the seventh century, their first victory was the province
of Egypt, which was part of the Byzantine Empire.
The Nile River supported kingdoms further to the south in Nubia, through which African
resources like ebony, ivory, gold, incense, and leopard skins flowed into Egypt. Kush, the
most famous Nubian kingdom, rose to prominence during the tenth century BCE, lasting
for more than 1,400 years. In Image 18.10, you’ll see an ornament found in the tomb of
Queen Amanishakheto, who ruled Kush. The ram’s head is a symbol of Amun, a solar
deity.
The Arab armies had to work hard to conquer the African people known as Berbers. After
the Islamic conquests, Berbers began to convert to Islam. Islamic Berber dynasties held
power in Morocco, Algeria, and Spain. Many Berber groups were involved in long-distance
trading across the Sahara. This linked the Mediterranean coast with the rest of the
continent. Islam spread peacefully through much of West Africa because of the trade
routes, resulting in the creation of African Islamic art.
More than any other area, the arts of Africa challenge viewers to expand their ideas about
what art is, what forms it can take, what impulses it springs from, and what purposes art
serves. Sadly, much of the history of these arts is lost because much of the art in Africa
was made from perishable materials like wood. However, excavations in the twentieth
century revealed many fascinating stone, metal, and terra cotta works and sculptures.
Image 18.12 is a fragment of a larger terra cotta figure. It’s the head of a sculpture created
between 500 and 200 BCE. The smooth surfaces and D-shaped eyes are known
characteristics of work from a culture known as Nok, named after a town in Nigeria where
the first examples of its art were found. The head itself is life-size. Scholars believe that
from the sculptured hairstyle, the complete figure would likely have included jewelry and
other ornaments.
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Two of the most sustained art-producing cultures of Africa came about a few centuries
later, near the Nok region. One of those kingdoms, Benin, was in southern Nigeria.
The rulers of Benin were seen as sacred beings, a common belief among African societies.
Image 18.13 shows a palace altar created for King Ovonramwen, who ruled toward the end
of the nineteenth century. It shows the importance of the king and is composed
symmetrically.
In Yoruba, rulers were also considered sacred. Artists made portrait heads to honor them.
Image 18.14 shows a photograph of the Yoruba ruler Ariwajoye I wearing his royal clothes.
The crown is decorated with abstract faces of the king’s ancestors, and birds refer to
female ancestors whose powers are drawn on by the king.
Image 18.15 shows a display piece commissioned by a Yoruba king in the early twentieth
century. Male power is seen as strength in this piece and female power is seen as more
mysterious, creating ritual and new life.
Image 18.16, a wood and metal creation known as Seated Couple shows complementary
gender roles among the Dogon people, who reside in present-day Mali.
In many African cultures, the roles of men and women played important parts. They had
organizations that helped the youth prepare for their roles as adults. A work known
as Gwandusu shows a wooden figure used by a Gwan or Jo society, embodying the
wishes of women who had trouble conceiving, bearing, or raising their children.
Art in Africa was often used to help people achieve their desires through the assistance of
the spirit world. Minkisi were used by the Kongo and other central African people to
summon powers of the dead to help the living (Image 18.17).
One of the greatest of African arts is the masquerade. Sculpture, costume, music, and
movement are involved in contacting spirit powers and bringing them back to the
community. African masks seen in Western art collections weren’t used as a static display;
they were always in motion.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 18: Arts of Islam and of Africa
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Key Points
Islam made its way to Europe and the Middle East, uniting people by a faith that relied on
the written word. This nurtured the growth of a new artistic culture.
Mosques are a place for congregational prayer. All mosques, no matter where they are in
the world, are oriented toward Mecca. Mosaics made of glazed blue tile were used to
decorate mosques and other buildings in the region since ancient Mesopotamia.
Calligraphy became a highly respected art form in Islamic lands. Calligraphers gained the
same respect and popularity as painters and sculptors received in Europe. Calligraphers
created ornamental manuscripts and used geometric patterns and stylized plant forms.
Islamic culture has generally held all objects produced with skill and taste to be equally
deserving of praise and attention. Carpets and other textiles were extremely important
parts of Islamic art, as was ceramic art.
Islam spread peacefully through much of West Africa because of the trade routes, resulting
in the creation of African Islamic art. Excavations have revealed fascinating stone, metal,
and terracotta works and sculptures.
Two of the most sustained art-producing cultures of Africa came about near the Nok
region. In Yoruba, rulers were considered sacred and artists made portrait heads to honor
them. Minkisi in the Kongo and other central African areas were used to summon powers
of the dead to help the living.
One of the greatest of African arts is the masquerade. Sculpture, costume, music, and
movement are involved in contacting spirit powers and bringing them back to the
community.
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Practice: List Characteristics of Islamic and African Art Up

to the Early Twentieth Century
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Arts of Asia: India, China, and Japan
You’ve seen some of the early Asian works from India, China, and Japan in previous
chapters. Mesopotamia was in contact with India. Akkadian writings from around 2300
BCE mention Indus merchants and ships present in Mesopotamia and what they brought
with them, namely copper, gold, ivory, and pearls.
During the days of the Roman Empire, the series of trade routes known as the Silk Road
enabled Roman citizens to get lacquerware and silk textiles from China. The Romans knew
very little about the area the goods were coming from. China, however, collected
information about Rome and other Western civilizations.
During the Renaissance, European explorers visited Japan. Japanese artists enjoyed
creating work that represented the foreign visitors because their customs were so different
from their own.
India, China, and Japan were also in contact with each other. China’s greatest exports
were writing, urban planning, administration, and philosophy. Japan adopted these from
China, along with its painting and architecture. India’s greatest export was Buddhism,
which travelers and missionaries brought to China. Buddhism later moved from China to
Japan.
Arts of India
India is often referred to as a subcontinent because of its size, or as South Asia. A number
of religions originated in India and, with those, a number of artistic styles.
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus River provided water for irrigation and was a central route for the transportation
of goods and travel. The engineering skills of the Indus architects were advanced; its most
famous city, Mohenjo-daro, was built on a stone foundation. It had straight, stone-paved
streets laid out in a grid. Houses were made from fired brick and were all connected to the
citywide drainage system.
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The Indus didn’t bury their dead with precious items, so there isn’t an extensive record of
their art. The sandstone torso shown in Image 19.1 has rounded forms, in contrast to the
musculature seen in ancient Mediterranean sculpture. Indian sculpture continued to use
rounded figures for quite some time. Scholars believed the relaxed abdomen was a sign
that the Indus practiced breathing exercises that are now collectively known as yoga.
A yogi is represented again in the broken seal presented in Image 19.2. Thousands of
similar seals have been found. Many were made from steatite stone. Their purpose was to
leave an impression in clay or wax when used as a stamp. In the example in Image 19.2,
there’s an inscription at the top of the seal, but scholars don’t know what it means.
Around 1900 BCE, Indus culture began to disintegrate. Scholars believe that Mohenjo-daro
was abandoned after the Indus River changed its course.
Buddhism and Its Art
Around 800 BCE, new cities began to flourish in northern India. Aryan religious practice
settled in. Brahmins, the priest class, played extremely powerful roles. They were the only
people who understood the complicated sacrificial rituals and extreme rules about social
order.
Sages and philosophers looked for other ways to live, teaching social equality and
personal connections to the spiritual realm. One of those people was Siddhartha Gautama,
or Buddha, who proposed the Eightfold Path for moral and ethical behavior.
Buddha gained followers from all walks of life. Image 19.3 shows a photo of the Great
Stupa in Sanchi, India, one of eight memorial mounds to Buddha.
Early Buddhist art used symbols such as footprints and parasols, rather than depicting the
Buddha directly. However, toward the end of the first century, images of the Buddha began
to appear.
Image 19.5, Buddha Preaching the First Sermon, carved during the fifth century, is typical
of Sarnath style.
Many of the Buddha’s teachings in Sarnath were attended by Gupta dynasty rulers. These
rulers had many regional kingdoms and turned the subcontinent into an empire. The Gupta
period lasted from around 320 to 647 CE, a high point in Indian culture. Buddhism had its
greatest influence as dynasty members were interested in Buddha’s teachings.
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Image 19.6, Green Tara Dispensing Boons to Ecstatic Devotees, is from a manuscript
painting made in the early twelfth century.
Hinduism and Its Art
The Gupta rulers who patronized Buddhist art were Hindu. Hinduism became the dominant
religion in India over the coming centuries, as Buddhism spread to China and Southeast
Asia.
Rather than worship as a congregation, Hindus offer individual gifts of flowers, food, and
incense. Image 19.10 shows a detail of the Kandariya Mahadeva temple exterior, with
Hindu gods, goddesses, and other figures visible.
Buddhism and Hinduism were adopted by Southeast Asian cultures. Those kingdoms
created their own styles of art. One of the greatest architectural treasures of Southeast
Asia is Angkor, the capital of Khmer, present-day Cambodia. Temples created for a deity
were also dedicated to the king because he was viewed as the deity’s earthly
manifestation.
The central temple complex of Angkor Wat, Image 19.11, was built in the early twelfth
century under the patronage of the god-king Suryavarman II and was dedicated to Vishnu.
The entire site reflects the meaning and order of the spiritual universe.
Jain Art
The Jain religion traces its beginnings to Mahavira, a sage who lived during the sixth
century BCE. When he received enlightenment, he became known as the Jina or “victor.”
He was considered to be the last of a line of 24 Jinas. Although Jain didn’t become a world
faith, it held an important presence in India.
There were hundreds of Jain temples built between the eleventh and sixteenth centuries,
showing the wealth of the merchants and traders involved in the Jain faith. Jains
commissioned thousands of illuminated manuscripts to donate to temple libraries. Image
19.12 is an illustration from Lustration of the Infant Jina Mahavira, which is from the
manuscript of the kalpasutra, a religious text of the Jain.
Mughal Art and Influence
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During the sixteenth century, Mughals, Islamic people from Central Asia, became
established in India. Persian forms mingled with Indian elements to create a unique form of
Islamic art. The Taj Mahal sits on a stone platform in the same way that we’ve seen Hindu
temples elevated from the world around them.
Arts of China
Although China had many peaceful trading contacts, the country was invaded over and
over again. The conquests from the north shaped Chinese thinking and art.
Advanced Neolithic cultures built settlements along the Yellow River as early as 5000 BCE.
Recent archaeological discoveries give a more complex picture of early Chinese culture.
The Formative Period: Shang to Qin
The history of China begins with the Shang dynasty (1500–1050 BCE). Their kings ruled
from different capitals along the Yellow River Valley. Archaeologists have discovered the
foundations of palaces and walled cities, along with thousands of other works. A jia, Image
19.15, is a ritual wine vessel. It was a valuable possession for an elite family.
The Shang were conquered by the Zhou, who ruled for the next 800 years.
China became a single empire for the very first time. The first emperor, Shihuangdi, was
infatuated with becoming immortal. Work on his underground burial site began before he
united China and continued until he died. Terra cotta figures excavated in 1974 are shown
in Image 19.16.
Confucianism and Daoism: Han and Six Dynasties
Ethnic Chinese refer to themselves as Han. This dynasty overthrew the Qin and lasted,
with one brief interruption, from 206 BCE to 220 CE. During that time, many features of
Chinese culture, including the philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism, began.
Confucianism, which focuses on a peaceful society, was adopted by Han rulers as the
official state philosophy and treated like a religion.
Daoism seeks to bring human life into harmony with nature. The first Daoist text, Dao De
Jing, dates to around 500 BCE.
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Daoism evolved into a religion that absorbed many folk beliefs, deities, and mystical
concerns, including the search for immortality. Image 19.17 is an incense burner found in a
tomb from the Han dynasty.
When invaders from inner Asia conquered the northern part of China, the imperial court
fled south. Kingdoms continued to rise and fall in the north, and six weak dynasties
continued in the south. While many in the south relied on Daoism as an escape,
Confucianism remained the official philosophy in China.
The Age of Buddhism: Tang
Buddhism was introduced to China through missionaries who traveled on the Silk Road.
During the first century of the Tang dynasty (618–906 CE), most of the country adopted
Buddhism. Art was created for thousands of monasteries, temples, and shrines.
Image 19.19, Bodhisattva Guide of Souls, is a fragment of a hanging scroll that shows a
Tang lady and her soul being led by a Bodhisattva.
Although much of the Buddhist art during this time was destroyed because of persecution,
the Nanchan Temple (shown in Image 19.20) remained. The same basic principles and
forms that we see in the Nanchan Temple continue to serve architects’ design of temples,
palaces, and even residential buildings.
The Rise of Landscape Painting: Song
China separated after the fall of the Tang dynasty and reunited under the Song dynasty.
Artists continued to create works for Buddhist and Daoist temples and shrines and
sculpture played an important role.
Bodhisattva Guanyin was believed to live high on a mountain and protect those who
traveled the sea. Image 19.21 shows a wooden carving depicting Guanyin. Calligraphy and
painting, “arts of the brush,” were valued above many other types of art. Paintings were
often preserved for future generations by the practice of copying. Many famous works from
the Tang dynasty are known to us only because they were copied by the Song. The Tang
dynasty was viewed as the great age of figure painting.
Image 19.22, A Solitary Temple Amid Clearing Peaks, is attributed to Li Cheng. Li built on
the work of his predecessors of the early tenth century when landscape first became a
subject of painting. Li’s work appears to be ordered by a higher force and clearly echoes
the ideas of Daoism.
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Scholars and Others: Yuan and Ming
During the Song dynasty, a new social class developed: scholars. Scholars were the
product of an examination system designed to recruit the best minds for government work.
The goal was to create the Confucian ideal—right thinking and right acting in all situations.
While the Mongol court sponsored art, scholars thought that everything connected with the
reigning dynasty was unlawful.
The Four Great Masters of Yuan include Ni Zan, who was best known for his Rongxi
Studio, which is shown in Image 19.23.
The Ming dynasty ruled from 1368 to 1644 CE and returned Chinese rulers to the throne.
The scholar-painter ideal continued to bask in prestige through the Ming and the Qing
(1644–1911 CE) dynasties.
The court itself was involved in the patronage and production of art. A beautiful example is
the painting Mandarin Ducks and Hollyhocks, created by Lü Ji (Image 19.24). Lü served
with other court painters in the Hall of Benevolence and Wisdom and was eventually
named a commander in the Imperial Guard.
Arts of Japan
Neolithic cultures were established on the islands of Japan around 10,000 BCE. The
ceramics found in the area are some of the oldest known pottery creations in the world.
Uncovered burial mounds from the early years have revealed earthenware figures such as
the horse in Image 19.26. Referred to as Haniwa, the figures are made from simple forms
and natural materials, two themes common to Japanese art. We also see these themes in
an early form of shrine architecture known as shinmei. The best example of shinmei is
seen in a shrine complex pictured in Image 19.27, built during the first century CE.
Only members of the imperial family and certain priests could enter the shrine. The
constant presence of nature in Japanese art along with the respect for natural materials
used in a simple way reflects the influence of Shinto beliefs.
New Ideas and Influences: Asuka
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Japan was transformed during the Asuka period (552–646 CE) when elements of Chinese
culture, such as Buddhism, architectural styles, and art styles, came to Japan through
Korea. In Image 19.28, you see Horyu-ji Temple, an example of early Japanese Buddhist
architecture.
A pagoda, the equivalent of an Indian stupa, is a slender tower with multiple roof lines. The
pagoda is the shrine for the relics of the Buddha. The kondo (golden hall) is used for
worship and is based on Chinese models.
Buddhism and Shinto existed at the same time. Japan’s ability to accept new ideas while
keeping older traditions is a vital part of Japanese culture.
Refinements of the Court: Heian
During the beginning of the Asuka period, Japan was ruled by powerful aristocrats that
controlled their own areas. The country moved toward unification under a central
government and the first imperial capital was established at Nara. During the eighth
century, the capital was moved to Kyoto, marking the beginning of the Heian period.
Kyoto developed a highly refined and sophisticated culture. Men and women who belonged
to the court were expected to be accomplished in several areas of art, especially poetry.
The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, is considered by many to be the greatest work of
Japanese literature, and contains some of the earliest examples of secular paintings found
in Japan (Image 19.29). The Genji illustrations and calligraphy were created by
professional artists who worked in teams.
Aristocrats favored Buddhism because it was intellectually challenging, and involved a

hierarchy of deities. As time moved on, a simpler version, Pure Land Buddhism, was
accepted.
Samurai Culture: Kamakura and Muromachi
During the last decades of the Heian period, regional warriors, known as samurai, began to
arise and civil war broke out. The victorious Minamoto clan installed a military government
with the shogun as commander-in-chief.
Heiji Monogatari Emaki, one of the greatest works of the Kamakura period, was created as
a set of handscrolls. Artists recreated the combat scenes through stories they were told.
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Image 19.31 is another dramatic painting. Raigo is a Buddha, arrived to escort the
believer’s soul to paradise.
When the Ashikaga family gained control of the shogunate, the military capital was moved
to the Muromachi district of Kyoto. Zen Buddhism became a cultural force in Japan. The
best-known Zen training was koan, asking irrational questions designed to cut out logical
thought patterns. Zen training appealed to highly disciplined samurai.
Zen priest-painters embodied the idea of sudden enlightenment by creating haboku,

splashed ink. Image 19.32, Splashed-Ink Landscape, highlights this technique.
Splendor and Silence: Momoyama
When the Ashikaga family fell from power in 1568, three leaders took control of the
shogunate. The time of their rule is referred to as the Momoyama period, a time of beautiful
artwork. Fortified castles and residences were built, and the insides of these properties
were decorated by the finest painters.
Image 19.34, Pine Wood, was created by Hasegawa Tohaku on a pair of six-panel folding
screens.
Art for Everyone: Edo
The Edo period was a shift in power to another shogunate. The capital became what we
now know as Tokyo. Decorative styles and ink paintings continued to thrive. Woodblock
prints, the great artistic development of the Edo period, made artwork available to almost
everyone.
Edo-era woodblock prints became known as ukiyo-e, images of the floating world. Image
19.35 shows you an image of a very popular woodblock print, The Great Wave of
Kanagawa.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 19: Arts of Asia: India, China, and Japan
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Key Points
Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, proposed the Eightfold Path for moral and ethical
behavior. He taught social equality and personal connections to the spiritual realm. Early
Buddhist art used symbols rather than depicting the Buddha directly. Eventually, images of
the Buddha appeared.
Mughals, Islamic people from Central Asia, became established in India. Persian forms
mingled with Indian elements to create a unique form of Islamic art like The Taj Mahal.
The history of China begins with the Shang dynasty. Artworks existed in jade, lacquer,
ivory, precious metals, and bronze. During the Han Dynasty, key features of Chinese
culture came into focus, including, Confucianism and Daoism.
During the Tang Dynasty, most of the country adopted Buddhism. Art was created for
thousands of monasteries, temples, and shrines. Chinese thinking about art valued above
all the “arts of the brush,” calligraphy and painting.
During the Song dynasty, a new social class developed: scholars. Scholars were expected
to write poetry and practice calligraphy and they took an interest in painting.
Japan was transformed during the Asuka period when elements of Chinese culture, such as
Buddhism, architectural styles, and art styles, came to Japan through Korea.
Zen Buddhism became a cultural force in Japan. Zen priest-painters embodied the idea of
sudden enlightenment by creating haboku, splashed ink.
The Edo period was a shift in power. The capital became what we now know as Tokyo.
Decorative styles and ink paintings continued to thrive. Woodblock prints, known as
ukiyo-e were the great artistic development of the Edo period.
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Practice: Describe the Styles and Evolutions of Indian,

Chinese, and Japanese Art
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Arts of the Pacific and of the Americas
The Pacific, Central America, and South America had very little contact with the rest of the
world in the early times of history.
Pacific Cultures
The lands included in the Pacific are the continent of Australia and thousands of islands
grouped together known as Oceania. The islands of Polynesia are the easternmost cultural
region of Oceania and include Hawaii and New Zealand.
The oldest examples of Pacific art are seen in the rock engravings of the Aborigines, some
of which date to 30,000 BCE.
Aboriginal art is deeply connected to religious beliefs known as Dreamtime or the

Dreaming. Dreamtime focuses on the distant past when they believe their ancestors
emerged from the Earth.
Humans and animals are often depicted in Dreamtime art. Image 20.1 shows a dot painting
of an emu, an animal that figures large in a Dreamtime story.
Some of the most well-known works in the Pacific are the stone figures of Easter Island.
Shown in Image 20.3, these monolithic statues are almost 1,000 years old. Scholars
believe they were carved as memorials to dead rulers or other important ancestors. The
stones were quarried and partially carved in the island’s volcanic mountains.
Many of the figures were destroyed during wars. The photograph of the statues in Image
20.3 was taken after the statues were restored in 1978.
Certain materials, such as feathers, were considered sacred to Polynesian peoples. It was
believed that rulers and other high-ranking society members were descendants of the
gods. Creating a feathered cloak, an example of which is shown in Image 20.4, was a ritual
activity performed only by high-ranking men. The feathers were collected by commoners
as part of their yearly tribute to their rulers.
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In Image 20.5, you can see the inside of a Maori meeting house in New Zealand. The
house represents the body of the sky father, the main deity of the Maori. Relief patterns in
the rafters are ancestors, who were believed to fully participate in the discussions.
The patterns that you see swirled over the surfaces of the rafters and the carved poles in
Image 20.5 are similar to the tattoo patterns that decorate the bodies of Maori men and
women. While all Polynesian cultures practiced the art of tattooing, nowhere was the art
more cultivated and revered than among the people of the Marquesas Islands in the South
Pacific. Your textbook provides an illustration (under the Body Art heading) of two
Marquesan men in two different stages of the tattooing process.
Tattooing was considered sacred by the Marquesans and performed ritually by a tattoo
specialist known as a tukuka. Prestigious chiefs and warriors were covered in tattoos.
The Americas
By 3000 BCE, there were developed cultures on the northwest coast of North America,
fertile plateaus and coastal lowlands of Mesoamerica, and the Pacific Coast of South
America. The people in these areas created rich and sophisticated artistic expression. Art
created during that time period is often referred to as “pre-Columbian” because it was
created before Columbus made his voyage.
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is the region that extends from north of the Valley of Mexico through the
western portion of Honduras. Civilizations in this area cultivated corn, built pyramids, used
a 260-day ritual calendar, worshiped similar gods, played an important ritual ball game, and
believed that human blood sustained the gods and the universe. The Aztecs were the most
powerful culture in the area at the time of the Spanish conquests in the sixteenth century.
Olmec civilization, often called the “mother culture” of Mesoamerica, was in a small region
near the Gulf of Mexico, but its cultural influence went much further.
The city of Teotihuacán, northeast of present-day Mexico City, was one of the largest in the
world. Its ceremonial center was a complex of pyramids and temples about three miles
long, and was known as the Avenue of the Dead.
The Temple of the Feathered Serpent is pictured in Image 20.7. Quetzalcoatl was the god
of windstorms that bring rain—essential to an agricultural society.
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One of the most fascinating Mesoamerican civilizations, the Mayans, settled in the
southeastern portion of Mesoamerica.
The Mayans knew about astronomy, biology, and the mathematical concept of zero; they
developed a sophisticated calendar and created writing systems.
Mayan architecture was impressive. Image 20.8 shows you the Palace and Temple of the
Inscriptions.
Stone relief carvings such as Image 20.10, Lintel 25 (The Vision of Lady Xoc), were
common in Mayan culture. Bloodletting and the visions experienced were a way that
Mayan rulers communicated with the gods.
The Aztecs, according to their own legends, migrated into the Valley of Mexico from the
area near the mythical Lake Aztlan. Their capital, Tenochtitlán, grew to be a magnificent
city. Little remains of Tenochtitlán; Mexico City was built on the same site.
Image 20.12 shows a ceremonial shield created by feather work. A specialized group of
weavers in Tenochtitlán made feather work headdresses, cloaks, and other garments for
nobles and high officials. The coyote is the Aztec god of war.
South and Central America
Many different cultures developed in the central Andes on the Pacific Coast of South
America. The oldest works of architecture were found in this region.
The Moche left behind a substantial record of art; they were exceptional potters and
goldsmiths. Molds for mass producing ceramics have been found.
Moche ceramics often featured kneeling warriors; you can see an example in Image 20.13.
A lot of the pottery takes the form of a stirrup vessel, named thus because of the U-shaped
spout. The spout for the vessel in Image 20.13 is on the back of the warrior.
Image 20.14 depicts Machu Picchu, Peru, one of the most spectacular archaeological sites
in the world. By 1500, Incas ruled an area about 3,400 miles along the Pacific Coast. Incan
textiles are considered some of the finest. Incas also excelled in sculptures, other objects
of silver and gold, and notably, stonework. 20,000 miles of stone-paved roads helped
speed up travel and communication in the large empire.
Machu Picchu is set high in the Andes Mountains. Builders leveled off the site to create a
plateau and constructed terraces for houses and agriculture. The Inca believed that stones
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and people were equally alive and could change into each other; this belief affected their
approach to architecture.
Image 20.15 is a gold pendant that depicts a ruler of the Tairona people. Made from gold
and copper, this type of pendant was known as tumbaga. The Tairona were expert
goldsmiths. This pendant was created using the lost-wax technique. The addition of copper
made the piece more durable.
North America
The ancient arts of our own civilization are less available to us than in other parts of the
world; early settlers worked with perishable materials like wood and fiber.
Arts of later North American peoples—things like baskets, clothing, and tools—were used
in daily life.
The first identifiable culture group of North America lived in the Eastern Woodlands (parts
of present-day Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia). Some were
“mound builders.” Image 20.16, a platform pipe shaped as a beaver, was found during the
excavation of a burial mound.
When Europeans arrived in North America, new materials such as glass beads were
introduced. Indian beadwork became famous.
While the Eastern Woodlands cultures practiced a more stationary way of life, the Plains
culture was a nomadic group organized around herds of buffalo that roamed the Great
Plains. Buffalo hides were used for clothing and for shelter. Spanish colonists introduced
horses to the area, and the use of horses spread through Native cultures.
The Anasazi lived in the southwestern part of the continent in a communal fashion. Image
20.17 shows you Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde, Colorado. The planning and execution of the
entire site is so harmonious that experts believe it was likely the work of a single architect.
Kivas are large, underground chambers used for religious or ceremonial purposes.
The Mogollon culture lived in modern day New Mexico in the Mimbres Valley. They’re best
known for their ceramics (Image 20.18). Most examples of Mimbres ceramics work were
recovered from burials. The vessels often seem to have been ritually “killed,” either by
shattering or by piercing them with a hole to symbolize release of the soul.
The Pueblo cultures of the Southwest believe in supernatural beings known as kachina.
More than 200 kachina have been identified; each has a name, a mask, a character, dance
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movements, and powers.
Hopi and Zuni cultures made doll-size versions of kachina as educational toys so that their
children could identify and understand the spirits. You can see a kachina doll in Image
20.19.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 20: Arts of the Pacific and of the Americas
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Key Points
The lands included in the Pacific are the continent of Australia and thousands of islands
grouped together known as Oceania.
The oldest examples of Pacific art are seen in the rock engravings of the Aborigines.
Aboriginal art is deeply connected to religious beliefs known as Dreamtime which focuses
on the distant past when they believe their ancestors emerged from the Earth.
Some of the most well-known works in the Pacific are the stone figures of Easter Island
which are almost 1,000 years old. Scholars believe they were carved as memorials to dead
rulers or other important ancestors.
While all Polynesian cultures practiced the art of tattooing, nowhere was the art more
cultivated and revered than among the people of the Marquesas Islands in the South
Pacific.
The Mayans settled in the southeastern portion of Mesoamerica. They knew about
astronomy, biology, and the mathematical concept of zero. They developed a sophisticated
calendar and created writing systems. Mayan art is almost entirely concerned with history.
The Aztecs migrated into the Valley of Mexico from the area near the mythical Lake
Aztlan. Their capital, Tenochtitlán, grew to be a magnificent city. Featherwork was greatly
prized and a specialized group of weavers produced featherwork headdresses, cloaks, and
other garments exclusively for nobles and high officials.
In Peru, the Incas created the largest empire of its time in the world. Incan textiles are
considered some of the finest. Incas also excelled in sculptures, other objects of silver and
gold, and notably, stonework.
Arts of later North American peoples—things like baskets, clothing, and tools—were used
in daily life. The Pueblo cultures believe in supernatural beings known as kachina. More
than 200 kachinas have been identified; each has a name, a mask, a character, dance
movements, and powers.
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Practice: Compare the Art Styles of the Pacific Islands to

Those in South and Central America
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Unit Review
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Definition: From the Greek for “beautiful writing,” handwriting

Calligraphy considered as an art, especially as practiced in China, Japan, and
Islamic cultures. (Image 19.22)
Definition: A town in Nigeria where terracotta figurines were found

Nok
dating from possibly 500 BCE to 200 CE
Definition: A rectangular form that serves to mark the entry to a royal

Iwan
reception hall in Persian palaces
Definition: A shrine, usually dome-shaped, associated with Buddhism

Stupa
(19.3)
Definition: Japanese for splashed ink, a style of ink painting

Haboku
developed by Sesshu Toyo
Definition: A mythological nature spirit of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain

Yakshi
mythology. Yakshi embody ideas of fertility and abundance.
Definition: The innermost sanctum of a Hindu temple where resides

Garbhagriha
the icon of the primary deity of the temple
Definition: A philosophy, from 6-5th century BCE China, concerned

Confucianism
primarily with family and social harmony
Definition: Any large-scale wall decoration in painting, fresco,

Mural
mosaic, or some other medium (20.10)
Definition: Large, underground chambers used for religious or

Kiva
ceremonial purposes
Definition: A fifteenth-century Inca citadel set high in the Andes

Machu Picchu Mountains. Considered to be one of the most spectacular
archaeological sites in the world.
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Practice Quiz: Arts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific and

Americas
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Modernism, Postmodernism, and World Art
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Overview
In this lesson, we’ll explore more recent changes in the art world as well as some notable
artists and art pieces. Keep your previous lessons in mind so that you can truly appreciate
the changes in art that have occurred.
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Objectives
Describe the characteristics of various genres of art from the nineteenth century to the end
of World War II
Explain how art styles evolved following World War II and up to the twenty-first century
Identify noteworthy contemporary artists and pieces of art from around the world
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The Modern World: 1800–1945
During the nineteenth century, art and society earned the title of “modern.” It was vastly
different from life and art that existed before the French, American, and Industrial
Revolutions. The progression of technology created the industrialized middle-class culture
of mass production, mass advertising, and mass consumption. Mass consumption included
leisure activities such as visiting art museums.
Art museums were developed in the nineteenth century and made art available to more
people. The first national art museum, opened in 1793, was the Louvre in Paris; it
showcased art collections that were once the private property of kings.
Although art became available to everyone, it birthed an important question: what type of
art did everyone want? Society was no longer dominated by the Church or by nobility, but
by the middle class and leaders of finance and industry.
Debates about art and modernity continued into the twentieth century, creating many
familiar art terms: Realism, Impressionism, Pointillism, Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, and
Surrealism. Each of these has a different theory of what constitutes art.
No longer did images have to be created by hand; photography was revolutionizing the
world. Photography caused the world to question what media were considered artistic.
Neoclassicism and Romanticism
France’s most admired Neoclassical painter was Jacques-Louis David. His paintings
focused on Revolutionary heroes. As Napoleon’s official painter, David had immense
power over artistic life in France.
Jean-Auguste-Dominque Ingres was David’s student. Image 21.1 shows his Jupiter and
Thetis, a scene from Homer’s Iliad.
Ingres believed that great art depended on great subject matter—Classical mythology and
biblical scenes. This viewpoint and the polished style were taught in art schools and
institutions.
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Romanticism portrayed more tumultuous events and struggles, exotic cultures—the

opposite of neoclassicism. This type of art urged people to use emotion, intuition, individual
expression, and imagination in their works.
Europeans thought of North Africa as part of “the Orient,” sensual, barbaric, and cruel.
Eugène Delacroix, a leading painter of the Romantic movement in France, spent time in
North Africa, which resulted in paintings such as Image 21.2, The Women of Algiers.
Delacroix’s technique differed from the clean lines of Ingres. Paint was built up, contours
blurred, and colors broken.
Realism
Realism, the first art movement of the nineteenth century, is a reaction to both
neoclassicism and romanticism. It portrays the natural world, everyday people, and events
realistically.
Gustave Courbet’s subject matter was the people and landscapes of his town. A Burial at
Ornans (Image 21.4) was called by some a masterpiece; others criticized its lack of beauty
and sentiment.
Manet and Impressionism
In nineteenth-century France, the mark of artistic success was acceptance at the annual
Salon. In 1863, the Salon judges rejected close to 3,000 submitted works. This caused an
uproar by rejected artists and their supporters. A second official exhibition known as “Salon
des Refusés” (“showing of those who had been refused”) began. Among the rejected
artists involved in Salon des Refusés was Edouard Manet and his painting Le Déjeuner sur
l’herbe shown in Image 21.5.
Manet had two goals for this painting. He wanted to join Courbet and other artists who
painted scenes from modern life. He also wanted to prove that modern life could produce
eternal subjects worthy of the great masters in the museums. So, he “updated” two famous
Renaissance images in his painting: Titian’s Fête Champêtre and Raphael’s The Judgment
of Paris. The public understood Manet’s goals since the Titian hung in the Louvre Museum
at this time, and Raphael’s work was routinely copied by art students. However, they didn’t
like it. They felt as if he was making fun of the original paintings. They felt Manet had taken
Titian’s idealized and dignified nudes and replaced them with a common woman who had
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no morals: why else would she be sitting there without clothes and looking straight at the
viewer? The men were also considered undistinguished.
Manet focused on the highest and lowest values while modeling his figures. He practically
eliminated the middle, transitional values. A painting could no longer be as simple as
recreating what we see in the world around us. It would be increasingly conscious of itself
as a painting.
In 1874, realists created an exhibition known as The Anonymous Society of Artists,

Painters, Sculptures, Printmakers, etc. One of the works, a painting by Claude Monet
titled Impression: Sunrise caught the attention of a critic named Jules-Antoine Castagnary.
Castagnary used the title to explain what the artists had in common: they weren’t aiming
for perfection, but to capture an impression. He titled his review “The Impressionists.”
Impressionism moved art to the outdoors. Up until this point, paintings were done in
studios because the materials were often too hard to transport. Newly invented tubes of oil
paint made painting less cumbersome out of the studio. Impressionism followed realism in
portraying daily life. It was especially focused on the leisure activities of the middle class.
Landscapes were a favorite subject. Impressionists favored alla prima painting, which was
a blending of oil paint in one sitting, not allowing the paint to dry, but blending colors while
they were still wet.
Monet painted Impression: Sunrise, Image 21.6, from a hotel-room window overlooking the
harbor of Le Havre, France. Little dabs and flicks of paint indicate the reflections of boats
and masts, while small dashes of orange and red capture sunlight on the water’s
surface.The small dabs and flicks of paint show us fall foliage. This work was shown
alongside Autumn Effect at Argenteuil at the 1874 exhibition.
In Image 21.7, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Le Moulin de la Galette, we see an enchanting use

of light that wasn’t seen before this moment in art history. The dappled, shifting light is
filtered through leaves that are moving because of a breeze. The traditional use of
chiaroscuro needed a steady, even source of light for modeling form. Yet light in nature
doesn’t always stand still; it moves. Renoir worked to capture these optical sensations
through his brushwork, a light palette, and colorful shadows. Later, Renoir would modify his
style to fit more rigorously-planned compositions with fully modeled forms.
Berthe Morisot was another founding member of the Impressionist movement. Morisot
received private art lessons to prepare her for a life as an accomplished amateur painter
and as the wife to a husband whose career would presumably be more important. In her
early 20s, she took up the new practice of “open air” painting. She began to exhibit
successfully in the official Salon. In 1874, she contributed nine paintings to the first
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Impressionist exhibit and remained a dedicated member of the group for the rest of her life.
Image 21.8 shows Morisot’s Summer’s Day.
Post-Impressionism
Famous post-impressionist artists include Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Paul
Gauguin, and Paul Cézanne.
Seurat’s study of color theory led him to develop pointillism. Pointillism uses small dots and
dashes of pure color that blend together in the eyes of the viewer.
Van Gogh’s agitated brushwork, intense colors, and emotions influenced later artists. See
Image 1.10: The Starry Night.
To escape “the disease of civilization,” Paul Gauguin visited the islands of the South
Pacific. Image 21.10, Gauguin’s Te Aa No Areois (The Seed of the Areoi) looks pieced
together like a quilt. He turned to the art of Egypt, Islam, and Asia for inspiration.
Paul Cézanne appreciated some aspects of Impressionism, but not the use of transitory
subjects in casual compositions.
One of Cézanne’s favorite subjects was nearby Mont Sainte-Victoire. See Image 21.11.
Cézanne’s style grew increasingly abstract.
Bridging the Atlantic: America in the Nineteenth Century
American artists often traveled to Europe for training in art. There, they could absorb art
history, see the great collections, and explore Roman ruins. European artists came to
America for more opportunity and less conflict over style.
Romanticism was a many-sided movement. In America, landscape was treated as an

almost mystical thing. An example of American Romanticism can be seen in Image 3.23 in
Thomas Cole’s The Oxbow.
American Realism was best demonstrated by the painter Thomas Eakins. His creation The
Biglin Brothers Racing is shown in Image 4.6. Also noted as a teacher, Eakins’s student,
Henry Ossawa Tanner, was among the first well-known African American artists. Tanner’s
work, The Banjo Lesson, is shown in Image 5.13. Tanner moved to Paris and regularly
exhibited in the Salon.
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Mary Cassatt also moved to Paris. Trained in America, Cassatt painted intimate domestic
scenes, a subject male artists rarely used. Edgar Degas invited her to show with the
Impressionists. Image 21.14 of Cassatt’s Woman Bathing demonstrates an influence of
Japanese prints.
Into the Twentieth Century: The Avant-Garde
Avant-garde is French for “vanguard”. It originally applied to the group of soldiers that went
first into battle. Applied to art, it means those who develop innovative and surprising ideas.
In the 1880s, young artists used the term to refer to themselves; newness and change
became ideals.
Freeing Color: Fauvism and Expressionism
In 1903, a group of young artists founded the alternative Salon d’Automne (“autumn
salon”). It featured the work of artists such as Cézanne and Gauguin. Their own exhibit in
1905 prompted one critic to call them fauves (wild beasts).
Although Fauvism didn’t last long, it influenced the development of modern art, freeing
artists in their use of color.
The leader of these “wild” artists was Henri Matisse. Image 21.15, The Joy of Life, is one of
his major works and demonstrates the freedom to use arbitrary colors for the natural world.
Fauvism was part of a larger trend in Europe known as

expressionism. Expressionism uses a subjective perspective of reality, often distorting it to
evoke moods or thoughts. Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, who lived in Berlin, was an
important painter in the movement.
Die Brücke (The Bridge), an important expressionist group in Dresden, sought to use art as
a “bridge” to a more enlightened future. Erich Heckel was one of the founders
whose Fränzi Reclining (Image 21.16) shows the use of intense colors and wavering
contours. The influence of Munch is visible, and this piece of art links Fauvism to
expressionism.
Russian painter Vasili Kandinsky organized another expressionist group: Der Blaue Reiter,
“the Blue Rider.” His paintings involved Russian mystical themes, using lines, forms, and
colors to communicate power. He was one of the first painters to embrace
nonrepresentational art. Image 21.17, Black Lines No. 189, is Kandinsky’s work.
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Shattering Form: Cubism
In 1907, Pablo Picasso, a young Spanish painter, was already known for some of his work.
See Image 21.19, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, “the young women of Avignon.”
Picasso used flat and angular planes and experimented with several ideas:
An inclusion of nontraditional elements

The merging of figure and ground
The fragmenting of the figures and other elements into flat planes
Cubism, created by Picasso and Georges Braque, used abstract forms of the visible world,
and fragments drawn from multiple points of view. The palette of early Cubism was
restricted to black, white, and brown.
Picasso is considered one of the most naturally gifted artists in history. Like Braque, he
identified with Cézanne and their styles were nearly identical. Objects were represented
through broken geometric forms, a reinventing of form and space.
Futurism
Many innovators believed that art would move forward only through exploring new
subjects. Umberto Boccioni is one of the artists referred to as Futurists. Futurism
concentrated on the dynamic quality of modern technological life and emphasized speed
and movement. Image 21.21 is an example of futurist sculpture.
World War I and After: Dada and Surrealism
In 1916, a group of artists was waiting out the war in Zurich, Switzerland. Switzerland was
neutral during the war. These artists banded together and created a protest art movement
known as Dada. Dada protested war, art, middle-class society, politicians, business-as-
usual, and anything they felt brought people into war. Provocative and absurd, it wasn’t
meant to make sense or be defined.
In Germany, Dada developed a political edge in the work of Hannah Höch. In France, it
was absurd and included philosophical outlets. Picabia’s work showed similarities between
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humans and machines.
Dadaist Marcel Duchamp created “ready-made” art—art that has been designated rather
than created, such as Fountain, (see 2.2). It raised interesting questions when it was
exhibited. Does art have to be made by an artist? Is art a form of attention?
Surrealism grew out of Dada. Surrealism is less an art style than it is a way of life. It
emphasized imagery from dreams and fantasies. Surrealists’ use of incongruous elements
is disconcerting. How would you feel about using a teacup and spoon made from fur as
seen in Image 21.24, Object (Luncheon in Fur)?
Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory, which is sometimes called “The Melted
Watches,” is shown in Image 21.25. Dali’s forms are precise and meticulous, and yet some
we know couldn’t exist. Some believe that this work represents the idea that time can be
conquered.
Image 21.26 of Joan Miró’s Carnival of the Harlequin is a Surrealist view of the famous
Spanish painting, Las Meninas. Miró’s fantasy world has odd creatures (animals, fish,
insects, and snakes) and other nameless abstract forms.
Between the Wars: Building New Societies
Surrealism gave society and artists a different focus in the years following the trauma of
World War I. Artists, designers, and architects together created a new environment for
living.
Bauhaus was a school of design founded in Germany in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius,
and is another example of collective artistic endeavor. The word Bauhaus translates
roughly as “building house.” New guiding principles of design included clean lines without
superficial embellishment. Both Bauhaus and De Stijl strived to create harmony between
individuals and modern industry and technology.
In the United States following World War I, art was dedicated to building a better society.
Harlem drew some of the greatest talents including artists, musicians, composers, actors,
writers, poets, scientists, and educators. There was so much creative energy that it came
to be known as the Harlem Renaissance.
Much of the Harlem Renaissance merged three experiences:
1. Rich African heritage
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2. The terrible legacy of slavery

3. The realities of modern urban life
Aaron Douglas’s From Slavery Through Reconstruction from Aspects of Negro Life (Image
21.31) shows us the spirit and aspiration of that time.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 21: The Modern World: 1800–1945
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Key Points
Art museums were developed in the nineteenth century and made art available to more
people. Birthing an important question: what type of art did everyone want? Debates about
art and modernity created different theories about what constitutes art.
Romanticism portrayed tumultuous events and struggles, exotic cultures—the opposite of
neoclassicism. This type of art urged people to use emotion, intuition, individual
expression, and imagination in their works.
Realism was a reaction to both neoclassicism and romanticism. It portrayed the natural
world, everyday people, and events realistically.
Impressionism moved art to the outdoors and worked to capture the shifting light. Tubes
of oil paint made painting less cumbersome outside. Impressionism followed realism in
portraying daily life, the leisure activities of the middle class, and landscapes.
Post-impressionist artists include Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and
Paul Cézanne. Seurat developed pointillism, using small dots and dashes of pure color that
blended together in the eyes of the viewer. Van Gogh’s agitated brushwork, intense colors,
and emotions influenced later artists.
Avant-garde in art means those who develop innovative and surprising ideas. In Fauvism
color was freed from its supporting role in describing objects to become a fully
independent expressive element. This was part of a larger trend in Europe known as
expressionism.
Expressionism uses a subjective perspective of reality, often distorting it to evoke moods
or thoughts. Kandinsky a member of the group Der Blaue Reiter discovered the power of
nonrepresentational art and was one of the first painters to take the decisive step of
eliminating representation altogether.
Cubism, created by Picasso and Georges Braque, used abstract forms of the visible world,
and fragments drawn from multiple points of view. The palette of early Cubism was
restricted to black, white, and brown.
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Practice: Describe the Characteristics of Various Genres of

Art From the Nineteenth Century to the End of World War II
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From Modern to Postmodern
Following World War II, the most lethal conflict in history, artistic life began again, but this
time in New York, not France. Several developments advanced art in America, notably the
opening of the Museum of Modern Art. Peggy Guggenheim opened a gallery known as Art
of This Century.
New York had keen and engaged critics, forums for viewing and discussing art, collectors
who wanted to purchase, a national press prepared to announce artistic achievements,
and the ability to attract talented young artists.
The New York School
Painters associated with the first major postwar art movement are referred to as the New
York School. Not a traditional school, the New York School was the term for artists known
as Abstract Expressionists. This movement was characterized by spontaneous and
subconscious expression and large-scale nonrepresentational imagery.
Two famous Abstract Expressionists are Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Pollock
used his “drip technique” to create images such as Number 1, 1949 shown in Image 22.1,
which is nonrepresentational.
Image 22.2, De Kooning’s Woman IV, is abstract.
Orange and Yellow in Image 22.3, by Mark Rothko, is an example of color field painting, a
type of Abstract Expressionism.
Image 22.4 is a wood assemblage known as Sky Cathedral. Nevelson’s work was also
associated with Abstract Expressionism. Her wood assemblages are often referred to as
wall sculptures.
The next set of artists explored and extended the possibilities of action painting. Helen
Frankenthaler created Mauve District, shown in Image 22.5, by pouring thin paint onto an
unprimed canvas and manipulating the paint flow.
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Into the Sixties: Assemblage and Happenings
After 15 years of Abstract Expressionism, many artists were ready for a change.
Image 22.6, Canyon, created by Robert Rauschenberg, is a combine. Combine means

combining found objects with paint and collage. Jasper Johns, an assemblage artist,
preferred to use identifiable symbols in his art. Image 22.7, Target with Four Faces, was
created by Johns.
John Cage suggested that visual art should look to the lively art of theater for renewal. His
friend, Allan Kaprow, staged happenings—events staged or directed by artists. An example
is Kaprow’s Courtyard, seen in Image 22.8.
Happenings were successors to Dadaism.
Art of the Sixties and Seventies
During the sixties and seventies, directions for art were continued, questioned, and
complicated by new trends.
Pop Art
Pop is short for popular. Pop Artists found a wealth of material in mass-produced objects
and images. Art drew closer to life, transformed by advertising and the media.
Gold Marilyn Monroe is a silkscreen created by Andy Warhol (Image 22.10). It reproduces
a black and white photograph of Marilyn Monroe, an image Warhol used in dozens of other
creations, as he recognized her as an icon of popular culture.
Image 22.11, Blam, by Roy Lichtenstein, is based on comic-book imagery.
Photorealism
Artists explored other areas of nonrepresentational art. In Photorealism, artists tried to

imitate the wealth of detail in photography. A painting of a person would actually be a
painting of a photograph of a person.
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Minimalism and After
Frank Stella was an artist whose work reflected the idea “what you see is what you see.” In
other words, he wanted the work to speak for itself and not have a heavy concept or
distracting complexities. Sculptors agreed with that focus. This style of art is called
Minimalism.
Image 22.12, Donald Judd’s Untitled (Stack), is constructed with a common industrial
material, galvanized iron.
To appreciate minimalist art, it was suggested by Judd that different skills for looking were
required. “A work of art needs only to be interesting. It isn’t necessary for a work to have a
lot of things to look at, to compare, to analyze one by one, to contemplate. The thing as a
whole, its quality as a whole is what is interesting.”
Minimalism created strong reactions among critics, the public, and artists. Postminimalism,
most popular in the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, expanded the idea that many objects and
activities could be offered and interpreted as art.
Process Art. Process art focused on what the work was made of and how it was made.
Often unconventional and unpredictable, Image 22.13, Contingent by Eva Hesse, is an
example of process art. While its composition of repeating rectangular units links it to
Minimalism, the work is casual and varied.
Minimalist sculptures were often carefully positioned in architectural spaces where viewers
became aware of their own presence in the space. Dan Flavin’s pink out of a corner (to
Jasper Johns) (Image 22.14) is such an example.
Body Art and Performance. Body art, in which artists use their own body as a material, is
part of the broader category, Performance art. In Performance art, the artist appears in
person, creating an experience for viewers.
Land Art. Sometimes referred to as Earth art, Land art is generally large scale, can be
simple or elaborate, and is made in a landscape of natural elements, like dirt and rocks.
The purpose of Land art was to separate art from issues such as money and ownership.
Conceptual Art. In Conceptual art, ideas are the focus; form is secondary. Another
descendant of Dada, Conceptual art is indebted to Marcel Duchamp, whose goal was to
eliminate the “retinal aspects” of art. He wanted people to engage with ideas.
Conceptualism is less a style than it is a way of thinking about art.
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Conceptual art also has strong links to Minimalism. Sol LeWitt, a Minimalist sculptor,
preferred to refer to his work as Conceptual. He wrote, “The idea becomes a machine that
generates art.” His work was often temporary and looked a little different each time it was
installed.
New Media: Video
Only weeks after portable video cameras became available to the public, video art
debuted. Andy Warhol was one of the first to produce this new type of art.
Reconsidering Craft
During the 1960s, people once again began thinking about what made art, art. Clay was
used by both potters and sculptors. Could other “craft” materials make the transition to fine
art? Fiber would become the next craft medium of fine art. Long associated with two-
dimensional imagery, such as tapestry, three-dimensional fiber creations also caught the
attention of the art world.
Feminism and Feminist Art
The work of Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Judith Leyster, and many other women was
often left out of art history. Due to the feminist movement, more women artists and their
diversity was seen. The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago, depicted in Image 22.22, was a
collaborative work of hundreds of women and a few men.
Art of the Eighties and Nineties: Postmodernism
The term “Postmodern” was first used to describe architecture. It referred to industrial
materials, clean lines, and rectilinear forms.
The notion that there’s really no such thing as progress in art is one of the ideas in
Postmodernism. Image 22.24 is a sculpture by Sherrie Levine entitled Fountain (after
Marcel Duchamp: A.P.). Levine’s shiny bronze version is one of a number of “after” works
appropriated from other artists. In art, appropriation means artistic recycling of existing
images.
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The Painterly Image
To many, art history seemed to stop in the mid-1970s as artists returned to painting
recognizable, expressive images.
In the 1980s, some artists became known as Neo-Expressionists because the sincerity and
emotional intensity of their work recalled the Expressionists. Anselm Kiefer’s work recalled
the horror of Nazi Germany.
In New York, young artists were influenced by street life, the punk scene, hip-hop, and
graffiti images.
Words and Images, Issues and Identities
During the 1960s, conceptual art often took the form of words as artists addressed political
and social issues like AIDS, feminism, the struggles of the LGBT community, and race.
New Media: The Digital Realm
Almost as soon as the Internet and websites were available, artists began to use them.
They sent emails, created websites, and wrote software programs for art. Coding was
recognized as a new medium.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 22: From Modern to Postmodern
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Key Points
Following World War II artistic life began again, but this time in New York, not France.
Several developments advanced art in America, notably the opening of the Museum of
Modern Art.
The New York School was the term for artists known as Abstract Expressionists. This
movement was characterized by spontaneous and subconscious expression and large-scale
nonrepresentational imagery.
Young artists began mixing art back up with life as they found it, critics called the trend
Neo-Dada (“new Dada”). These artists created assemblages, using different media,
elements, and objects in one work as well as staged happenings—events staged or directed
by artists.
Pop Artists found a wealth of material in mass-produced objects and images. Art drew
closer to life, transformed by advertising and the media.
Hard-edge painting was a variation of the color field. Flat areas of color were separated by
sharp, precise edges while Photorealism tried to imitate the wealth of detail in
photography. A painting of a person would actually be a painting of a photograph of a
person.
Postminimalism dramatically expanded the ways in which art could be made, the materials
that were used, and the kinds of objects and activities that could be offered and interpreted
as art including body and performance art, land art and conceptual art.
In the 1980s, some artists became known as Neo-Expressionists because the sincerity and
emotional intensity of their work recalled the Expressionists.
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Practice: Explain How Art Styles Evolved Following World

War II and Up to the Twenty-First Century
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Contemporary Art around the World
Advancements in transportation and communication during the nineteenth and twentieth

centuries made us a “global village.” Introduction and reliance on the Internet brought
about the term “globalization,” an intensified awareness that the world is becoming a single
place.
During those same centuries, Western ideas about art were taken up and modified by
other cultures.
At the close of the twentieth century, the art world (artists, curators, dealers, collectors,
journalists, critics, and other professionals) was international. Galleries, museums, and
artists had an online presence. Exhibition spaces began to open all over the world, creating
an expanded network for circulating art.
Nigerian British artist Yinka Shonibare, MBE, created installations that feature headless
mannequins dressed in colorful African cloth. Image 23.1 shows you Cake Man.
Image 23.2, Armed Innocence II from Cairo Year One, was created by Nermine Hammam.
Hammam took photos of Egyptian soldiers during unguarded moments. She called this
series of photographs Upekkha, alluding to the Buddhist practice of maintaining mental
serenity.
Along with installations, digitally enhanced photos, performance, video, and conceptual
projects, artists also continued to work with traditional forms.
Students at the National College of Arts learn techniques and visual conventions of Mughal
court painting by copying examples from the past. They’re taught to make brushes and
paper and how to process their own paints. Image 23.3, Blessings Upon the Land of My
Love, by Imran Qureshi, uses the conventional techniques of Mughal painting. Upon closer
examination, the red areas are seen to be flowers.
The concept of abundance appears in art from historical times. Indian artist Subodh Gupta
created Dada, shown in Image 23.4, with a focus on secular items. Gupta makes his art
using everyday Indian objects, and believes his sculpture has universal appeal.
Long March: Restart (Image 23.5) is an interactive video game installation based to some
degree on the Long March, a famous event in Chinese history.
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Sopheap Pich and his family fled Cambodia and came to the United States where he
studied art, earning a master’s degree. After returning to Cambodia, Pich began to use
common materials found in Cambodian village life in his art. Image 23.6, Fertile Land, is
made from bamboo, rattan, and other materials.
In Japan, Kohei Nawa created PixCell-Deer#24 (shown in Image 23.7). Nawa covers
Internet auction buys with glass, crystal, and acrylic spheres. His work often incorporates
Japanese culture and spiritual practices.
Mexican artist Damián Ortega uses pieces from dismantled items to make his creations.
Image 23.9, Harvest, is made from pieces of steel and lamps, positioned to create
shadows of alphabet letters.
Willem de Kooning once said that “flesh was the reason oil painting was invented.” Young
British painter Jenny Saville admired de Kooning’s work and focused on flesh in her work,
seeking an element of in-betweenness as well. Image 23.10 shows you Rosetta 2.
Brazilian sculptor Ernesto Neto claimed his ideal interior in which to create a work was a
cave. Image 23.11, Leviathan Thot, is a sculpture created by Neto.
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Reading Assignment
Living with Art

Mark Getlein
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Chapter 23: Contemporary Art around the World
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Key Points
Between the nineteenth and twentieth century, Western ideas about art were taken up and
modified by other cultures as well as advancements in transportation and communication
made the world a “global village.”
At the close of the twentieth century, the art world (artists, curators, dealers, collectors,
journalists, critics, and other professionals) was international.
Along with installations, digitally enhanced photos, performance, video, and conceptual
projects, artists also continued to work with traditional forms.
Contemporary artists of the globalizing world include works of art from Africa, Egypt,
India, China, Japan, Cambodian, Brazil, and Mexico, just to name a few.
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Practice: Identify Noteworthy Contemporary Artists and

Pieces of Art From Around the World
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Final Examination
Your final examination includes questions covering every chapter of your textbook. Be sure
to refer back to your notes or reading materials from the entire course as you study for the
final exam.
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Unit Review
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Definition: A movement in Western art of the late 18th and early 19th
century. Romantic works are marked by intense colors, turbulent
Romanticism
emotions, complex composition, soft outlines, and sometimes heroic
or exotic subject matter. (21.2)
Definition: Originating in the 1860s in France. Portrays daily life,

Impressionism
especially the leisure activities of the middle class and landscape.
Definition: Any style where the artist’s subjective feelings take

Expressionism
precedence over objective observation
Definition: Movement developed during the early 20th century by

Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. In its most severe “analytical”
Cubism phase, Cubism abstracted the forms of the visible world into
fragments or facets drawn from multiple points of view, then
constructed an image from them which had its own internal logic.
Definition: A movement of the early 20th century that emphasized

Surrealism
imagery from dreams and fantasies. (21.22)
Definition: American art movement of the mid-20th century

characterized by large (“heroic”) scale and nonrepresentational
Abstract Expressionism
imagery. Emphasized the artist’s spontaneous expression as it
flowed from the subconscious.
Definition: An art style of the 1960s that focused on the familiar

Pop objects of daily life to give them new meanings as visual emblems.
(22.9)
Definition: An event or action carried out as art. In widespread use

since the 1970s, performance art is an umbrella term that embraces
Performance Art
earlier practices such as the happenings of the 1960s and the events
staged by Dada artists in the 1920s.
Definition: Nature spirits and natural phenomena that are worshiped

Kami as sacred beings. Kohei Nawa’s PixCell-Deer#24 (23.7) is significant
because in Shinto belief deer appear as messengers of kami.
Photocopy Definition: A photographic reproduction
Definition: A biblical sea monster, used to refer to something of

Leviathan
immense size and power.
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Practice Quiz: Modernism, Postmodernism, and World Art
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HUM102 Graded Project
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Overview
Throughout this course, you were exposed to various artists, movements, and media,
looking at art from around the world throughout history. For this project, you’ll continue
your study of artists throughout the major periods of art history, from the 1700s through the
1900s.
Your textbook covers the most renowned artists of each period. However, there are other
artists who changed the landscape of art and added a significant number of other well-
known works that your textbook doesn’t cover thoroughly. You’ll now be tasked with
researching some of these artists to see how they influenced their respective movements.
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Objectives
Analyze the work of 10 artists from various art movements studied throughout this
course
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Your project must be submitted as a Word document (.docx, .doc). Your project will be
individually graded by your instructor and therefore will take up to a few weeks to grade.
Be sure that each of your files contains the following information:
Your name
Your student ID number
The exam number
Your email address
To submit your graded project, follow these steps:
Log in to your student portal.

Click on Take Exam next to the lesson you’re working on.
Find the exam number for your project at the top of the Project Upload page.
Follow the instructions provided to complete your exam.
Be sure to keep a backup copy of any files you submit to the school!
Assignment
For this project, you’ll answer seven questions about artists from ten of the art movements
you studied throughout your course. You must select one artist from each of the following
movements to research:
1. Neoclassicism
Benjamin West
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Angelica Kauffman
Antonio Canova
2. Romanticism
Caspar Friedrich
Henry Fuseli
Théodore Géricault
3. Impressionism
Berthe Morisot
Mary Cassatt
Alfred Sisley
4. Post-Impressionism
Pierre Bonnard
Paul Sérusier
Emilé Bernard
5. Expressionism and Fauvism

Franz Marc
Georges Rouault
André Derain
6. Cubism and Futurism

Sonia Delaunay
Alice Bailly
Gino Severini
7. Dada and Surrealism
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Max Ernst
Hannah Höch
Yves Tanguy
8. Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art

Cy Twombly
Joan Mitchell
James Rosenquist
9. Minimalism and Post-Minimalism

Robert Ryman
Robert Morris
James Turrell
10. Postmodernism and Deconstructivism

Yasomasa Morimura
Daniel Libeskind
David Salle
Questions
Once you’ve selected the 10 artists you would like to focus on, you’ll need to research
answers to the following seven questions or question groups:
1. What’s the year of the artist’s birth (and, where applicable, death)?
2. Where was the artist born? Where did he or she create the majority of his or her
work (if at a different location than this place of birth)?
3. What medium did the artist use? Did he or she use more than one main medium?
4. Which art movement did the artist contribute to? If he or she contributed to more
than one movement, where did this artist make the greatest impact?
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5. What are some of the artist’s most famous works of art? Choose one of these
works. In what ways is the piece characteristic of the movement specified above?
(Include an image of the chosen piece.)
6. What challenges, if any, did the artist face that may have affected his or her
work? What was happening in the world at that time that influenced the artist’s
work?
7. What’s innovative about the artist’s work for that time period?
You'll then write an APA-formatted essay that contains a title page, a brief introduction and
conclusion, in-text citations supporting your research, and a reference list. Answer each
question using complete sentences. The essay should be a minimum of 1,200 words.
However, most students finish the project in about 2,000 words.
Answer the questions in essay format; do not answer them in list format.
You’ll need to find at least one source for each artist from the internet, a library, or
elsewhere. Be sure to use reputable sources when searching for information on your
selected artists.
Writing Guidelines
1. Your essay should be a minimum of 1,200 words.

2. Your essay should be double-spaced, with 1" margins and 12-point Times New
Roman font.
3. Your entire project should be contained in one (1) Microsoft Word or Rich Text
Format file.
4. Your essay should include a cover page and works cited page using APA
formatting.
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Grading Rubric
Skill
Skill Skill Skill
Not
Realized Developing Emerging
Shown
A B C
F
Artist Identification
The student clearly identifies which 10
artists are discussed in the project.
30–27 26–23 22–19 18–0
Student has included correct information
about each artist supported by accurate
research.
Essay Organization, Citation, and

Documentation
The student applied APA format, including
APA title page, APA formatted in-text
citations, and an APA formatted reference 15–14 13–12 11–10 9–0
page. The essay is organized according to
the project outline. Reputable sources are
used, and all cited sources are listed on
the reference page.
Content
The student answers all parts of the seven 30–25 24–20 19–16 15–0
required questions for each selected artist.
Grammar and Mechanics

The student uses correct grammar,
spelling, punctuation, and sentence
structure. The student makes correct word 15–14 13–12 11–10 9–0
choices, defines unfamiliar terms, and
conveys a clear message. The student
has edited and proofread the essay.
Format
The student met the required essay length
(1,200–2,000 words), used the assigned 10–9 8 7 6–0
font and margin requirements, and
included a title page and references page.
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References
As you read and research for this project, gather your sources’ information. Bookmark and
save all URLs.
List all sources cited in your essay (including images). Begin your list on a new page after
your conclusion paragraph. List sources alphabetically by author’s last name (or title if
author is unknown). Capitalize the first word of the title plus all major words except articles
and prepositions.
Titles of books and websites are in italics while articles, postings, or smaller works are set
in quotation marks. You’ll need to list your course textbook, any other texts that you used,
pieces of art you referenced, and websites you consulted. Below are four basic formats to
work from:
Author last name, first initial. Middle initial. (Year published). Title of work. Location:
publisher.
Author last name, first initial. Middle initial. (Year published). Title of article. Title of
periodical, volume (issue), page range.
Author last name, first initial. (Year, month of date published). Title of webpage. Retrieved
(date) from URL.
Artist. (Year). Title [Description of material]. Retrieved (date) from URL.
For example, your works cited page might look like this:
References
Art Movements. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2018 from

https://artsandculture.google.com/.
Evans, Heather. 2011. Cairo [graphite on paper]. Retrieved April 17, 2018
from https://walldogmurals.weebly.com/.
Getlein, M. (2016). Living with Art (11th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
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PF Blue + Charcoal
To help guide you in addressing all of the required questions for HUM102’s final project, here are some tips
and guidance for best using your time and efforts in the research process.
AVOIDING OVERTHINKING THE PROJECT

Not overthinking may sound counterintuitive, but a common mistake that students make on projects is
getting too wrapped up in biographical details and then forgetting to answer the required questions.
PF Blue + White
Here are some tips to consider before starting your research:
Keep it simple, and stick to the questions. Answer the questions one by one in sentence format.
Don’t include biographical details that aren’t required of the questions. The project doesn’t require
you to explain everything about the artists’ lives. By sticking to the questions and staying on point, you’ll
save time.
Break the project down artist by artist. Don’t get overwhelmed by looking at the entire project at once.
Try doing one paragraph at a time to avoid burnout.
Use your own words.
It doesn’t have to be fancy to be correct. Do your best to relate what you’re learning in your unique voice,
and then make sure to use in-text citations for paraphrased material.
BREAKING DOWN THE SEVEN

REQUIRED QUESTIONS
When answering the seven required questions, make sure you’re providing what’s required. Here are some
tips to help you respond to and receive credit for all of the required questions using an artist that isn’t on
the project:
1. What was the year of the artist’s birth (and, where applicable, death)?
Example: Barbara Kruger was born in 1945 and is still living today.
a. This question should be easy to address since most sources will have the information.
b. Birthdates and death dates are a common fact that won’t require a citation.
c. Make sure to note if an artist is still living; this may be the case for artists that you discuss
toward the end of your project.
LS8016(2103)
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2. Where was the artist born, and where did he or she complete the majority of his or her work?

Example: Barbara Kruger was born in New Jersey, and she created the majority of her work in
California and New York (Wolf, 2021).
a. If your answer to this question is very specific and includes a lesser-known fact you had to
research, it will need an in-text citation.
b. For the first part of the question, make sure to include a location.
c. For the second part of the question, make sure also to include a location.
d. If you state that an artist was born in France and say nothing about him or her creating the
majority of their work in France, you won’t earn full credit.
e. This answer may require a citation if you’re listing specific cities or dates of residence.
3. What medium did the artist use? Did he or she use more than one medium?

Example: Kruger primarily used the medium of graphic silkscreen prints. She is also known for
photocollage and site-specific installation (Wolf, 2021).
a. For the first part of the question, note the medium that was most common to the artist.
This information is observational and can be identified by looking at the attributions with
their artwork titles.
b. Mediums used by artists are a common fact that won’t require a citation.
c. Answering this question requires you to use the skills used in Lessons 2 and 3 of your course.
Refer to your study guide if you need help identifying mediums.
d. If you’re citing or paraphrasing a fact learned from your research, it’s perfectly OK to use
another citation behind this question.
4. Which art movement did the artist contribute to? If he or she contributed to more than one movement,
where was his or her greatest impact?

Example: Kruger is known for her contributions to postmodern conceptual art and for her contributions
to the feminist art movement (Wolf, 2021).
a. This answer can require an in-text citation if an art movement not listed on the assignment
outline is mentioned.
b. Make sure to identify which of the movements the artist is associated with based on the
assignment sheet.
c. This answer should be relatively easy since the art movement is listed above the artist’s name
on the project outline.
5. Question five is a four-part question: What are some of the artist’s famous works of art? Please
choose one of these works and describe it in one to two sentences. In what ways is the piece
characteristic of the movement? Include an image of the chosen piece with attribution.

Example: Three of Krueger’s most famous works of art are Your Body is a Battleground, 1989,
It‘s all about me, I mean you, I mean me, 2010, and You Are Not Yourself, 1981. In the print, Your
Body is a Battleground, 1989, Kruger presents a woman‘s face divided down the middle, one side
in negative. Over the top of her face in red print, she places the words “Your body” over the woman‘s
forehead, “is a” over her nose, and “battleground” over the chin. This image promotes feminist ideals.
The woman in the image looks out to meet the viewer’s gaze and challenges the viewer to think
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about the concept of equality for women and the ongoing struggle for women’s health to be
recognized as valid. Your Body is a Battleground is an example of postmodern art in how it
addresses identity and the concepts of otherness.
a. Question five will be answered in your own words and shouldn’t use a quote.
b. The first part asks you to list two to three works of art by the artist.
c. Next, describe the artwork you’ll include an example of. Use your own words. Describe what
you see.
d. Identify how that artwork is typical of the movement. Use your study material to help you with
this if necessary.
e. Lesson 6 defines all of the movements you’re identifying for this project.
f. Make sure to include an image.
6. This question requires you to think analytically: What challenges did the artist face that may
have affected his or her work? What was happening in the world at this time that influenced
the artist’s work?

Example: Krueger’s artwork was significantly impacted by the topics of identity and social
ridicule. According to Wolf (2021), Kruger notes how the 1970s and 1980s were a time in which
discrimination and ridicule for identity were paramount and juxtaposed to the glamour and excess
of the period.
a. This answer will almost surely require an in-text citation.
b. Make this response about the artwork. Focus on how the experience may have impacted
the art.
c. The experience can be either an overt challenge the artist faced (such as having a physical
handicap or illness) or a social experience that changed how the artist interacted with his or
her art form.
7. What was innovative about the artist’s work for the period?

Example: What was innovative about Kruger’s perspective was that she drew attention to identity
from her perspective but in a format that allowed the audience to view and question their own
experiences with identity, media, and popular culture (Wolf, 2021).
a. An in-text citation most often supports this question.
b. Avoid pointing out how the artist is seen as innovative in contemporary terms. Think about
how he or she was innovative at that time.
c. How did the artist influence other artists?
d. Did he or she create new movements or techniques in art?
e. Was there anything the artist did that notably influenced the history of art around the time he
or she was living?
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Here’s what the parts answered above will look like when placed together as a whole:
Barbara Kruger was born in 1945 and is still living today. Born in New Jersey, she created the
majority of her work in California and New York (Wolf, 2021). Kruger primarily used the medium of
graphic silkscreen prints. She is also known for photocollage and site-specific installation (Wolf, 2021).
Kruger is known for her contributions to postmodern conceptual art and for her contributions to the
feminist art movement (Wolf, 2021). Three of Krueger’s most famous works of art are Your Body is a
Battleground, 1989, It‘s all about me, I mean you, I mean me, 2010, and You Are Not Yourself, 1981. In
the print, Your Body is a Battleground, 1989, Kruger presents a woman’s face divided down the middle,
one side in negative. Over the top of her face in red print, she places the words “Your body” over the
woman’s forehead, “is a” over her nose, and “battleground” over the chin. This image promotes fem-
inist ideals. The woman in the image looks out to meet the viewer’s gaze and challenges the viewer
to think about the concept of equality for women and the ongoing struggle for women’s health to be
recognized as valid. Your Body is a Battleground is an example of postmodern art in how it addresses
identity and the concepts of otherness.
Krueger’s artwork was significantly impacted by the topics of identity and social ridicule.
According to Wolf (2021), Kruger notes how the 1970s and 1980s were a time in which discrimination
and ridicule for identity were paramount and juxtaposed to the glamour and excess of the period.
What was innovative about Kruger‘s perspective was that she drew attention to identity from her
perspective but in a format that allowed the audience to view and question their own experiences
with identity, media, and popular culture (Wolf, 2021).
Here’s what the corresponding reference list entry will look like:
Wolf, J. (2021). Barbara Kruger Artist Overview and Analysis. The Art Story. Retrieved from
https://www.theartstory.org/artist/kruger-barbara/life-and-legacy/
Now that you’ve reviewed how to complete the questions, remember that there are many resources
available to you at Penn Foster. One resource many find helpful is the Art Appreciation page in the
Learning Resource Center of the Penn Foster Library. On this page, you can find essential course
resources, including tutoring appointments and research materials.
As indicated, the title page, in-text citations, and reference page are to be in APA format. You’re greatly
encouraged to use the resources on the Writer’s Block page on the Penn Foster Library site and/or the
Perdue OWL.
And remember, don’t use a lot quotes or copy from outside sources for this project. Your authentic and
unique perspective in looking at art is what this project is about.
If you’re struggling at any time, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
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Watch this video for tips on completing your graded project.
This content is not loaded in PDF please visit this link (https://courses.portal2learn.com/d2l/le/lessons/18128/topics/520379) for more info
Page:297 of 297

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Course Name:Art Appreciation College (eBook)

By the end of this course, you'll be able to

Demonstrate effective written and interpersonal communication skills

Course Number HUM102

Course Materials Textbook: Living with Art

Explain what features make up a piece of art

Describe the basic structures within the many themes of art

Discuss the visual elements manipulated by an artist

Summarize the principles of design including emphasis, unity, variety,

Describe painting and the importance of the pain medium

Describe the techniques of printmaking

Explain graphic design and its goal of conveying a specific message

Summarize the methods, materials, and installations of sculptures Unit 3 quiz

Recognize the art found in everyday objects and rituals

Describe the connections between art and architecture

Unit 1: The Language of Art 25 hours 26 minutes 3 hours 12 minutes

Unit 2: Two-Dimensional Media 18 hours 44 minutes 3 hours 21 minutes

Unit 3: Three-Dimensional 15 hours 40 minutes 2 hours 33 minutes

Unit 4: Ancient Mediterranean 20 hours 2 minutes 3 hours 17 minutes

Unit 5: Arts of Africa, Asia, and 13 hours 4 minutes 2 hours 16 minutes

Unit 6: Modernism, 22 hours 14 minutes 7 hours 15 minutes

Unit 7: Final Quiz 20 minutes

Total 115 hours 30 minutes 21 hours 54 minutes

Estimated Exam Time

Unit 1: The Language of Art 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

Unit 2: Two-Dimensional Media 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

Unit 3: Three-Dimensional 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

Unit 4: Ancient Mediterranean 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

Unit 5: Arts of Africa, Asia, and 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

Unit 6: Modernism, 5 hours 2 hours 30 minutes

Unit 7: Final Quiz 5 hours 10 hours

Total 35 hours 25 hours

Grade (Percent) Letter Equivalent Rating QPA

90–100 A Excellent 4.0

80–89 B Good 3.0

70–79 C Average 2.0

Below 70 F Failing 0.0

Items contributing to your grade:

Graded Item Percentage

Unit 1 Graded Quiz: The Language of Art 8%

Unit 2 Graded Quiz: Two-Dimensional Media 8%

Unit 3 Graded Quiz: Three-Dimensional Media 8%

Unit 6 Graded Quiz: Modernism, Postmodernism, and World Art 8%

Final Quiz 22%

Graded Project 30%

The Language of Art

Read the following section. Then read Chapter 1 in your textbook.

Art and You

Where to See Art

Collecting versus Buying Art

Using the Internet to View Art

ARTnews (http://www.artnews.com/) is the oldest art magazine in the world. It

Living with Art

Analyzing an artistic work involves the following elements:

Why Artists Create Art

They want to express personal ideas.

They have the impulse to create.

How Perspective Affects Art

The Elements of Art Criticism