Shiva Nataraja

India, bronze

gives tangible form to the unknown

Hinduist god - Shiva

engulfed in flames, dances to destruction and rebirth of world

end of one cycle, beginning of another - circle

small drum - summons up creation

flame of destruction

palm down - protection

palm forward - fear not, peace

stepping on figure of evil

Taj Mahal

(Mughal Art)

India

Ornamental dome (roman) - set high on a drum (circular base)

Muslim/Islamic/Persian influence

Seems fragile and weighless - exterior lines reach upward

four minarets/towers for prayer

pure white marble

no human figures or deities - can't depict image of god

uses arabic writing and floral patterns

geometric forms (like mandalas)

Corbelled Arch

looks like egyptian pyramid

Indian

as it goes up, it narrows interior space

no keystone

horizontally placed brickes - doesn't reduce wall weight

doesn't require height:width ratio like roman round arch

based on post-and-lintel construction

can create vault and dome forms like roman round arches

doesnt allow large, unobstructed interior spaces

Torso (from Harappa)

India

soft, rounded body - relaxed abdomen = breathing exercises, yoga, enlightenment

greatest export - buddhism, which travelers and missionaries brought over the Silk Road to China

South Asia

advanced engineering skills

didn't bury their dead with precious objects

Preached social equality, in opposition of social order + Brahmins

Direct and personal access to the spiritual realm

Siddhartha Guatama - Buddha

"awakening"

suffering comes from desires, solution - non-attachment

eightfold path of moral and ethical behavior

Detail of east gate with yakshi

The Great Stupa

India - yakshi is not directly Buddhist, comes from older Indian faiths

volumptious body - fertility and abundance

continuation of life - fruitful plants (mango tree)

narrates the story of Buddha without showing Buddha himself

The Great Stupa

India/Buddhism

stupas - memorial mounds with Buddha's remains, spiritually visited by walking around them

not to excited - get visitors to think

dome, circle - motion of time, reincarnation

Buddha Preaching the First Sermon

India/Buddhism

clothing modeled close to body

first sermon - at Deer Park (deer in seat)

The Beautiful Bodhisattva

India/Buddhism

mural depicting a saintly being of have delaed their own reliease in order to help others attain enlightenment

looking downward at world, eyes not closed

Encourages enjoyment

Would become the dominant religion of India

Empasis on ritual sacrifice

Cyclical nature of time, cosmic cycles of creation, destruction and rebirth, and our lives within them

Not one religion - many related faiths

Shiva, Devi (Shakti) and Vishnu

Not based on congregational workship - approach the diety individually with gifts as sacrifices

God radiates outward into the world

Vishnu Dreaming the Universe

relief panel

India/Hinduism

Sleeps on serpent of infinity

Wife, goddess, female side of energy at feet

dreams god Brahma into existence who creates space + time by thinking "may I become many"

surrounded by volumptious figures

Central Temple at Angkor Wat

India/Hinduism

Templed to diety Vishnu and the king

Based in a mandala - a diagram of cosmic realm = meaning and order

Enlightenment, remained a local religion

welathy individuals were followers as indicated by the temples and libraries

red + blue = typical colors

the Birth of Mahavira

opaque watercolor on paper

Jain/India

illuminated manuscript for library

bright colors - red and blue

no linear perspective

not proportional

unnatural twisted view of body

eyes are painted from another angle - painter moved

human eye = spiritual energy

Position and overlap are the primary clues to spatial depth

White Clouds of Xiao and Xiang

Chinese

hanging scroll, ink and color on paper

Landscape = more importanta nd honored subject in Chinese painting tradition

imaginary landscapes - allow viewers to wander through the mind's eye

Midair - a view we could only see if we were mobile like a bird

scrolls - convenient for traveling

can paint a horizontal scene on a hanging scroll

Dwelling in Funchun Mountains

Handscroll, Chinese

Ink on paper

Atmospheric perspective - broad vistas of receding landscape

Contour strokes

Commonly only a foot tall, but many feet in width

Kept rolled up, viewed only occasionally

optical effect caused by the atmosphere that interposes itself between us and the objects we perceive (suggests receiding landscape)

- blue scatters the most

Da Vinci, called it aerial perspective

developed during the Renaissance

We have a written history of 5000+ years

Invented ink, paper, movable printing, fire powder and silk making

Today - Communist since 1949

Since late 1970's - reforms and open up to West = market economy and economic take-off

Political decentralization

Ideological self-reflection

China

Shang to Qin

Bronze and terra cotta

(1500 BC - 2060 BC)

Jade, lacquer, precious metals

First emperor of China - Qin, ordered the Great Wall of China and unified the Chinese writing system, thus came calligraphy

Terra Cotta Horses and Qarriors

Formative Period - Qin dynasty

First emperor of China commissioned - obsessed with attaining immortality

Surround his tomb (protection), thousands

Originally painted life-like colors

all face east

Confuscius - human conduct and just rule

Life size

Very detailed and lively

Han and Six Dynasties

(206BC - 580AD)

Philosophies (Confuscianism and Daoism)

Painting (mural and court painting)

Calligraphy

Developing Period

Pragmatic (practical)

Pricipal concern - peaceful society

Correct and respectful relations among people, beginning with family, then extending outward

Kind of became a religion - linked social with cosmic order

Honor ancestors and Heaven

remained the official ideal over Daoism

Developing Period (Han)

Answers about what lie beyond the physical world

Concerned with bringing human life into harmony with nature

dao - "way" or "path"

Way of the Universe - a current flows through all creation

(dont fight it go along with it)

Somewhat also became a religion

 Search for immortality

Escape route for educated elite

Sui and Tang

(581-906 AD)

Poetry

Calligraphy

Paiting

Under Sui, virtually the entire country becomes Buddhist

Vast quantities of art were created for the thousands of monasteries, temples and shrines (much of which was later destroyed)

Most popular form of Buddhism - Pure Land

Song

(960-1279)

Water/Mountain ink art

continued to make Art for Daoism/Buddhism

Sculpture also played an important role - inside temples, tons of them to reflect hierarchy of paradise

A Solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks

Chinese

Song Dynasty/Rise of Landscape Painting

monumental landscape - people are tiny in comparison

mobile midair perspective

monochrome ink

vertical format (hanging scroll)

flowering water

shrouding mists

buildup of forms culminating in towering mountains

human presence is small but harmonious

Daoism ideas about harmony

Confuscian perspective of order of China (emperor at top, surrounded by officials)

Buddhist - Buddha flanked by bodhisattvas

Focus on nature and on man+his story

Disconnected from viewer, far away and timeless/engages viewer and action changes over time

Gloomy, but calm/joyful but clutter and claustrophobic

Subtle meaning/overtly religious

Learn art by copying - imitation

Water and mountain often as subject matter

Life as a journey

Paint an ideal place out of idealism for escapism

Suggestive; philosophy of life - Taoism

Hiararchy, manifestation of Confucianism

"Action Painting" - the artist throws himself into the painting act - his eyes, body (esp arm and hand) and mind move with the movement of the brush

Monochromic color to highlight spirituality and purity, or escapism

Aerial view (atmospheric perspective), conveying a sense of transcendence

Figure painting focuses on depicting the spirit rather than the appearance

Yuan, Ming and Qing

(1279-1911)

drama, play, painting and other arts

Split between scholars and government

Four Great Masters of Yuan - four scholar-painters

vivid color and silk were too pretentious, too provession

burshwork is spare and delicate

Calligraphy - admired above all other arts by scholars

the medium - four treasures

1. (hair) brush

2. ink

3. ink stone

4. (wrinkled) paper

Content of letters is considered unimportant

Red stamps - seals (personal stamps) Chinese concept of Authenticity/Originality

Use water to control intensity

Permanent

Right to left, top to bottom, in columns

Poetry

Painting

Calligraphy

(a tradition of literati painting)

Used to by the symbol for the emperor, and exclusively used by emperors in Chinese history

Empresses used the pheonix instead

The largest digit (9) could only be used by the emperor and his family

Forbidden city - 9 dragons on wall

No official or ordinary people have have 9 of something, possessing 9 of the same object would suggestion an intention to overthrow the emperor

- could warrant the death penalty upon his entire extended family

That hierarchical political structure was based and maintained by Confucian doctrine

Confucius did not invent or endorse that type of cruel regime

the Republic and Communist China

oil painting and art further diversified

(1911-on)

Formative Period (Shang-Qin)

Developing Period (Han & 6 Dynasties)

Influence of Buddhism (Sui & Tang)

Rise of Landscape Painting (Song)

Late Development and Achievement in Literature (Yuan, Ming and Qing)

Modern and Contemporary Period

Haniwa - figure of a horse

Japan

terra-cotta, earthenware with traces of pigment

simple forms and natural materials (common Japanese theme)

cylindrical shapes (simplified legs)

Saddle to show function

Visually pleasing

Inner Shrine (at Ise)

Japan

Rebuilt every 20 years

Humble - wood and dirt

Very orderly

Not modernized

Cylindrical shapes, left unpainted

Can only be entered by imperial family, certain priests

Houses a sword, mirror and jewel (three sacred symboles of Shinto - native religion)

Emphasis on imitation of previous masters, tradition

The Tale of Genji

Japan

Secular painting - court ladies + servants

Bird's eye view of interior, roof removed

Stylized

Emotion is never displayed by expression or gestures

Convey emotions through space

the "floating" torri

Japan

Heritage site

simple, orderly balanced

Intense and complementary colors = eye catching

Pretends to be simple but actually very sophisticated

Shinto shrine

Ryoan-ji Temple

Zen Buddhism (esp. popular among scholars)

Japanese

Plain, soothing colors, natural materials

Visitors go to see courtyard - stones, grass pebbles

Monks combs the pebbles over and over again - zen garden

Focus on life and nature

Tree - blossoms rapidly - opposing sudden change to otherwise suggested gradual change

Sesshu Toyo, Zen-monk

Japanese

Hanging scroll, ink

Tree on a rock or small hill, mountain way off in distance

Emphasizes sudden enlightenment

Splash technique - poured out lump of ink and then branched it out

Shape not organized or planned

Values are different

Hierarchy (society in past)

Kosho, Kuya Preaching

Japanese

Buddhist

Resembles market woman - more realistic/naturalistic

6 small figures represent phrase he said over and over

Hairdressing - Kitagawa Utamaro

Japanese

Woodblock print (well known, best in West Japan)

Everyday life, human activity

Can be repeated and reproduced

Very colorful

1st art form that came to win over Western audience

1400-1500, Florence - "new athens"

Growth of commerce and competition between cities

New merchant patrons, in addition to church and state

Revival of Classical antiquity: humanism

Focus on the natural world, on the individual, most perfect creation and on subject matter derived from Classical antiquity - mythology, nude etc...

Naturalistic or illusionistic style based on modeling, chiaroscuro, cast shadows, linear and atmospheric perspective, foreshortening, study of anatomy and proportions, expression of emotion: painting is a "window" through which we see the natural world

Painting, sculpture and architecture elevated from manual crafts to intellectual activities based on science and understanding

Artist gains new status, and modern concept of art emerges

Madonna in the Meadows

Raphael

Italian - High Renaissance

Subject: Virgin Mary, baby Jesus & John the Baptist

Implied triangle, Jesus divides it - creates a sense of order

Background didn't match Mary - forced, just for decoration

Oil on panel

The Birth of Venus

Botticelli

Italian - Early Renaissance

Tempera on canvas

Headed toward more realistic

Still on one plane - flat water

Does attempt to occupy space with contrast, but color is still solid in some parts

Too orderly, the patterns like the wave flatten the picture

Cloak pattern shows realism and detail

Water values are not gradual

No linear perspective

Movement comes from diagonal lines from god of wind, hair and falling flowers

Imitates the contrapasto

Implied triangle with color

Supernatural origin - long neck, cut-off shoulder

Revival of Ancient Greek and Roman Art - similar posture to Venus de Milo

Still popularly referenced today

First to see nudity since Classical times

Florence and Rome

1500-1525

"Renaissance" man and concept of artists as "genius"

Begin to see more 3D

Idealized perfection of human figure

Grandeur, balance, stability and harmony

Study of Human Proportions

Leonardo da Vinci

Italian - High Renaissance

Numerical relationships hold the key to beauty

Perfect Human Proportions - divine order

He wrote in mirror style

Tried to capture human emotion in truest form

Very meticulous

Someone who is very well informed about, or very good at doing, many different, often quite unrelated, things.

Jack-of-all-trades

The Last Supper

Leonardo Da Vinci

Italian - High Renaissance

Very realistic and 3D

Linear perspective

Focal point - Jesus's head

Incorporated physical exhibition into painting (the wall it was painted on)

Subject: Christ + 12 disciples

Foreshortening

Don't see the bodies because of the table

Lines radiate from Christs's head - all creation radiates from God

Mona Lisa

Leonardo da Vinci

Italian - High Renaissance

Sfumato - dreamy, veils the painting

The background doesn't connect and isn't usual for a portrait

No perceivable transition between colors and tones

No lines or borders

Dangerous beauty, fatal attraction, mysterious sphinx

Probably used to be larger

The subtle and minute graduation of tone and color used to blur or veil the contours of a form in painting

Example: Mona Lisa

Translucent layer that blocks the view

Sistine Chapel

"Creation of Adam"

Michelangelo's Ceiling

Italian - High Renaissance

He originally started as a sculptor, then hired as a painter

Took 4 years

Adam + Eve(naked)--> as God saw people

Dynamic and active

Figures are painted like sculptors

God's hand is direct, determined and powerful

Adam's hand is limp, passive and sloppy - spirit of life hasn't been breathed into him yet

Central focus - hands

Frescoes

Architectural framework of squares, rectangles and triangles

School of Athens

Raphael

Italian - High Renaissance

Subject: All the scholars of that time

Linear perspective with round arches to mimic setting - walls within walls

Plato, hand pointing up - metaphysical world

Aristotle, looking left - earthly, physical world

Foreshortening

Well balanced - like Last Supper

Vatican Palace

Renaissance ideals of perfection, beauty, naturalistic representation, noble principles

Idealized, more perfect than life, full-bodied and dynamic bodies

Golden Age of Renaissance + Golden Age of Greece

David

Michelangelo

Marble

Italian - High Renaissance

Muscular, Strong (he knows body from inside out)

Right before David killed in the enemy

Suspenseful

Contraposto

Naked - Classical, spear bearer influence

Focused - wrinkles + eyebrows

Other hand is very tense

God is on his side

Hands are too big - out of proportion, probably intentional

David

Donatello

Italian - Early Renaissance

Younger, already killed enemy (head under foot)

More relaxed

Sant Andrea - Alberti

Italian Renaissance

Faux columns, not functional - more decorational

Did borrow the traingle on top of the square, the idea behind the columns and the arches

Renaissance ideal - grandeur

Rhythms to articulate facade

Learned to use color in oil

Focus on common everyday Christians (Protestants)

Mirror: reflect God

Obsession with minute detail

Originals of painting in manuscripts illumination

Merode Altarpiece

Campin

Northern Renaissance

Left side - the couple who commissioned it, onlookers

Angel + Virgin Mary reading precious bible

Salvation story - The Annunciation

Lily = purity, candle, smoke - life of christ (details)

Intuitive perspective (not linear) - receding parallel lines unsystematically done

Light and shadow = jewel like quality

Northern qualities of precise outer appearance of subject

Double Portrait

Jan van Eyck

Northern Renaissance

St. Francis in the Desert

Nothern Renaissance

Light symbolizes God

Donkey = community

Clearly divided into foreground, middle ground and background

Good illusion of depth

Landscape = necessary

God = sheppard, believers = sheep

19th century

ex: Green house, Eiffel Tower

Metal can make beautiful architecture

Metal can provude a solid framework for a very large structure, self-sustaining and permanent

Geodesic Dome

Industrial style

A bubble, formed by a network of metal rods arranged in triangles and further organized into tetradomes

Can be covered in serveral lightweight materials (wood, glass, plastic)

Very light in weight relative to size

Very strong

Requires no interior support, lots of available interior space

Individual segments can be prefabricated to allow quick assembly

Endless options of climate and light control

Skeleton and skin

First erect a steel "cage", then apply skin

Usually requires an elevator

Proto-international and international

Transparent, or easy to transport

Skeleton and skin construction

Cast iron

Glass

Prefabrication

Key indicator - use of industrial materials (nails, iron, steel)

Geodesic dome

Came with start of urbanization

Universal/basic geometric form

Skeleton and skin

Steel frame construction

Elevators

Skyscrapers

Key indicator - capped roof and terra cotta frieze decorations

Native materials

Architecture blends into natural environment

Interior and exterior visually and physically integrated

Open floor plans - reduce the number of interior walls

Colors mimic nature

Can see inside from outside

"Less is more"

Form follows function

Stripped to bare essentials

Steel and glass

Simple geometry

Key indicators - no decoration, no capped roof

Straight even lines

Fast, economic and spacious

Eccentric, complex, irregular, decorative, colorful

Breaks the rules - curvy lines, irregular shapes, difficult construction, unnessecary parts

Stops looking forward - looks to the past and anything else

Plays with architecture of the past and with motifs from variety of sources

Industrial/Engineered

Proto-International

Organic

International

Postmodern

A horizontal structural element supported at one end only, with the other end projecting into space.

Often made with reinforced concrete

Used in Organic style Fallingwater house

Concrete reinforced internally with iron rods or steel mesh

Often used with free-form, organic shapes

Not really like skeleton-and-skin, more like a shell

Italian for "light-dark"

In 2-D, representational art, the technique of using values to record light and shadow, especially as they provide information about 3-D form

Often used by Leonardo da Vinci

A painting medium in which colors are applied to a plaster ground, usually a wall (mural) or a ceiling.

Buon fresco/true fresco - applied before the plaster dries, bonds with surface

Fresco secco/dry fresco - colors applied to dry fresco

Used in Sistine Chapel, very tedius

In Hinduism, and especially Buddhism, a diagram of a cosmic realm, from the Sanskirt for "circle"

Serves to focus meditation in the goal of acheiving enlightenment

Clear geometry and symmetry = we live in a universe that makes sense, even if its logic and order are hidden from us during our brief lifetimes

Religious Art

Having only one color

Descriptive of work in which one hue - perhaps with variations of value and intensity - predominates