Sydney Garrett

This week we read about Gothic Art. The term Gothic implies to the art produced in Western Europe from around the middle of the twelfth century to the sixteenth century.

The focal point of Gothic Art is quite clearly their architecture, namely, the cathedrals. Not only was the outside of the cathedrals a beautiful embodiment of the Gothic style, but the insides added a whole other level of beauty. The interior of the cathedrals typically consisted of more complex and intricate architectural features. Rib vaults, replacing the Romanesque barrel vaults, allowed more space for windows, reinforced ceiling vaults, and distributed their weight more evenly. Compound piers, large columnar supports, are connected to and support clusters of colonnettes. Flying buttresses, thin half-arches providing exterior structure, replaced the Romanesque thick wall style buttresses and support them all at the point where the driver of the arch or vault is the greatest. Pointed Arches, the junction of two arcs of concentric circles, are more flexible to build with than round arches because of their ability to be raised to almost any height despite the distance between their supports. The skeleton, the combination of all of these features, is what all of the nonsupporting components are attached to. Stained-glass windows, translucent colored glass cut to form a design, filtered light into the interior of the cathedral.

I thought these cathedrals were absolutely beautiful. I have never seen anything like this in person, so I think it would be amazing to visit! Along with witnessing their beauty, I find the skeleton to be very intriguing! I think it is so interesting to learn about each individual part of something, and then learn about how they all work together to create something totally new.

Going into this chapter I knew nothing about Islamic art, absolutely nothing. Even knowing nothing, I was still surprised with what I did learn. The Islamic religion follows the Koran and the people were forbidden from drawing representations of their God or their prophets. Therefore they were left to draw pictures of geometric shapes or floral patterns. I didn’t find this to be too odd, because I understood. I can see how the religion would want their followers not to draw what they feel Allah looks like due to the fact that nobody knows. In this case, no representation is better than a false one. What I thought was strange, and I have never heard of before is that they were extremely forbidden from sculpting. Sculptures were seen as the work of Satan. Which in my mind is a little extreme considering the fact that the Islamic nation had a lot of architecture throughout the land. The main piece of architecture that the Islamic people focused on was the mosque, this is where Muslims pray Within the mosque are several other architectural features that were given a lot of time and detail.

Under the yellow heading there is a description of what Islam is and what it means. I know a couple individuals both male and female that happen to practice Islam. They both just happened to start off as Catholic but later converted. I know around here Islam is not a very popular religion to follow, especially with the speculations placed around it. Such as terrorists are Muslims and should not be in this country, in today’s society I hear this statement quite often. Unlike the United States, across the sea Islam stretches through many different countries. Although they did this by aggressive take over, so did the Christians. One thing that did not surprise me, and may be a bit stereotypical is that women are supposed to be “subordinate” to men. According to Google dictionary subordinate means “lower in rank or position.” Which means that the women are less than men. I understand that in some cultures that women are seen still as only servants to the men, providing the cooking, cleaning, and childbearing when the men want it. This makes me sad that women are not allowed to live the life they want. Nobody wants to be a slave and in this day in age nobody should have to be.

The artwork on the walls of the Great Mosque in Córdoba reminds me of the drawings or paintings in optical allusions. If you look at the pictures long enough they almost seem to move. The book mentions that the colored arches were made to appear moving. The Great Mosque was ordered built by the first Muslim ruler of Spain, Abdar-Rahma-n I. But the building wasn’t just built and left, it was added onto to make bigger several different times. Renovations were done by the Christians when they took it over in the thirteenth century to make it a church. Then later it was damaged when King Charles approved of building a cathedral inside of it. If I was a part of the Muslim community I would have been quite upset. Not only did the Christians take over their beloved mosque but they damaged it. The beautiful Great Mosque was a part of the Muslim history and culture and based on what I read it didn’t seem like that was respected.

A piece of artwork that I found interesting was the Sutton Hoo purse. My first thought was this isn’t like any purse I have ever seen before, this one was hard and make out of gold, enamel, ivory, and garnets. Although it was a purse cover protecting the gold coins that would have been inside, I would imagine it would have been quite heavy to carry. I looked up the purse to find out more information about it. Turns out it covered a leather pouch and was fastened with a gold buckle. Not only does it look interesting but it is the most expensive of its kind found to this day. Although not easily detectable, the mirrored image is a prey bird swooping in a duck type bird. But since it wasn’t recorded their significance will forever be unknown. Theories suggest they mean strength and courage. The purse cover was found in a shipwreck, and was said to be owned by a royal woman.

I was so excited when I read the first paragraph in chapter 10. I loved reading and finding new information out about the time period when Jesus was alive as well as right after he died. Although Jesus was a Jew the Jewish people have a different faith than Christianity due to the fact that they believe their savior has not come yet. At mass every Sunday we receive the holy eucharist, after Father blesses the body and blood of Christ. The wine and bread turn into his body and blood and he does this symbolically by reaching his hands outspread into the air. I remember clearly Father saying, “Take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body that will be given up for you.” This is my favorite part of mass and it is so historic too because it relates directly to what happened during the last supper. The book mentions that the Christians monotheism didn’t allow them to worship the rulers that ruled over the lands. This was because of the 10 commandments that Moses brought down from the mountain. The book also states that Rome was not safe for Christians, this was so true. Christians used to draw half a fish in the ground in front of them and if the person across from them drew it back then they were a friend, and if they didn’t they were an enemy. It was kind of like a secret handshake.

One thing I did not know related all the way back to the early B.C. was catacombs. I first learned about catacombs when reading The Cask of the Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe a couple years ago for my English class. Catacombs are a burial place for people’s families. What I did not know was that they were a safe place for Christians away from the Romans. Also, they were a popular place for Christian art to be found, but one thing’s for sure. With all  those bodies, that is the last place I would want to make art. The Good Shepherd is an art piece that comes from a wall in the catacombs, it was seen to represent compassion. The term shepherd is still used today very often in the Christian faith. I once had a small praying animal that would talk to me, and the first thing it would say was “The lord is my shepherd, he leads me along.” It was a very comforting prayer to hear before I went to bed every night.

The churches were a beautiful part of this time period. They were decorated from head to toe with angels, disciples, and images of Jesus. Before the churches were built Christians found time to pray to God in their own homes. There were many different styles of churches that were built. My personal favorite from those listed in the book is the Hagia Sophia. It was made using the designs from a basilica such as the dome that’s in the center of the church. The Hagia Sophia was an extraordinarily complex structural building that required much thinking in advance. There were many different arches and piers that blended together so smoothly. Not only was it blended smoothly but made rather thinly. The dome of the church was made out of only a single layer of brick, and to do so, they made it more structurally sound by putting buttstressings around the windows. Even though the outside of the church is immaculate, my favorite part is the dome on the inside. The gold dome truly shines in the pictures and I cannot imagine how beautiful it is to see in person.

From the time period 450-175 B.C. from the country of Peru, located in South America there is a particular piece of art that I find most inquisitive. This piece of art is described as a border fragment made from fabric. This was made with many different colors and seemingly abstract people. The colors are still vibrant due to the fact that the dry climate preserved it. It was discovered on the Paracas Peninsula. In the border fragment there are four backbent figures that look the exact same way shape wise but color wise they differ immensely. The four characters are seen as floating, flying, dancing, as well as drowning depending on how you look at it. Along with the bigger four creatures there are four smaller ones that all do not share the same color schemes even though they are all doing the same thing. The Peruvian culture uses many bright and bold colors in their artwork. I once had a girl in my grade that was from Peru and she had many different art pieces from her home country and they all were very bright and bold. Most of the art from Peru includes many abnormal animals, insects, and humans.  

Source Links:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/316945

Domestic architectures, which many were preserved due to the eruption of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius dated back in A.D. 79. This eruption covered many towns and villages. The two major ones include Pompeii and Herculaneum. Both these towns were lost and forgotten until 1592 when some Roman architect were digging and discovered some ancient ruins that was preserved by the ashes from the volcano.

Public baths caught my attention, due to the fact that in this day and age, we like our privacy when it comes to our body. Plus I feel bathing together is a little unsanitary if you ask me. Yet is really fascinates me in the fact of how open and accepting people are to the point they can bath together without being ashamed. I like the idea of a community area to come together and do things as a community. I just feel bathing in the fame water together with a lot of people is not a good idea. I like the idea of swimming and wrestling, but I would pass on cleaning myself with a bunch of random people. I do find the fact that they had 953 baths by the fourth century. If you ask me that is a lot.

The Colosseum is an amazing building. Even if you don’t know much about Rome nine time out of ten people have heard of the Colosseum. It is now a huge tourist area. This was a huge amphitheater, which in Greek amphi means around. Which there were “seats” all the way around this building so everyone could enjoy the theater, or whatever event they hosted in this arena. The Colosseum was seen more as a death bed for those that enter the main level. It was used for battles or fights between gladiators and animals or man versus man. I think it is a little morbid, but things have changed from back then. Now I get entertainment from cats doing silly things on the internet whereas they got their joy from watching people fight to the death. Interesting how things have changed if you ask me.

The art of Etruscans in something I have not learned about in the past, I am finding a lot of what is in the textbook is new to me.  Something I found interesting about this chapter is they connected back to the chapter of Ancient Greece.  I thought it was interesting that each of them had a connection to each other.  While looking over chapter eight, there are lots of unique sculptures that was made during the time of Etruscans.

The sculpture that grabbed my attention the most was on page 118, figure 8.2.  When I look at it I do not see a wolf, as they say it is in the description.  I see it more as a very scared pig while baby humans drinking its milk.  This sculpture is called the Capitoline Wolf.  The statue shows the wolf protecting her cubs, she shows her teeth to the intruders.  The stature goes with the tale of Romulus and Remus, who are the founders of Rome.  This stature of the wolf nursing Romulus and Remus is the symbol of Rome.  The wolf was most likely suppose to be a guardian.  This statue was one of the few remaining sculptures of the bronze industry.  

On page 120 in figure 8.2 shows the back of a mirror with Uni nursing Herakles in front of other Gods. Herakles is an adult which shows he is accepting into the pantheon of gods and his attainment or immortality. The mirrors were decorated with mythological scenes and their names were carved into them showing who it belonged to. Women of Etruscan art were viewed more highly than women in Ancient Greece.  They enjoyed public life with their husbands and held higher positions than Greek women.  They went with their husbands to banquets.  Higher class Etruscan women wore jewelry to outing to show their ranking.  In Etruscan art women dominated over men by being older, more powerful, and higher in status.  You can see this in the picture of the mirror.

Tomb painting grabbed my eye, they always do. They tell a story shown out, unlike a sculpture which is only one scene, where a painting can be many.   Painting on page 124 in figure 8.12 grabbed my attention the most.  I think this is because of the leopards at the top and the people down below.  In the painting women are drawn in lighter skin and men have darker.  In the picture it shows men and women sitting and the servants are standing.  The colors shown are terracotta tones of brown, with wreaths, plants, and extra details in the background.  

The Ancient Origins of Modern Beauty Podcast:

I found the beginning very pleasing. The beginning with the music made it soft to make us feel beauty. Well…I felt it anyway. The man asked two questions that are commonly asked which is: What kind of things do people think are beautiful? and What does beauty do? “Is it the effects at which we admire or are attracted to?” that creates beauty. A Goddess statue is fit to describe the standards of beauty which we do not inherit today. Some may look at statues and simply fall in love, while others, may only look at it and think of themselves. The only meaning to beauty which the Greeks found to be true was through symmetry and thought up proportions, while the attractiveness may have some biological factor to beauty. Simple biological beauty for instance is around the time reproduction was possible or signs of health. Birth’s are said to be beautiful today because it’s another life that had been created, but only through the eye’s of God that biological factors reflect from the parents. “Beauty” comes from God. David Konstan, who was being interviewed in the podcast, investigates and suggests that cultural influences are described and further undermines the uses to which it is put, which was from a book “Survival of the Prettiest.” In more terms, to me, he based a lot of his findings and truths off of the book and Greek history.

Book Reading:

From the Women in Ancient Greece reading from a little side note mentioned a lot about beauty and most of it involved family, individualism and marriage. Family simply states that if one is not married, the parents of their children will choose who they marry. If a child does not have siblings or a relative close to them, the women will marry a man from her father’s side to continue their “preservation within their family.” While reading however, I compared their lineage and culture to today’s society. And doing so, I’ve come up with the fact that we choose who we want to live with. One individual chooses someone else to love without their parents choosing for them. 

While this may be fun and have an “amazing” feeling, there comes a time when in most cases, marriage ends in divorce. Back then, a man could divorce only through witnesses while a women simply could take a man to court with serious offenses or accusations. I compared this to today’s society simply stating that divorce could end because there is no love or “spark” between two people in a relationship and witnesses and accusations or not, you could still get a divorce.

 I have also seen and heard from many males (most of which I’ve been friends with for years now) have said that independence in a women is “hot” and makes them more attractive. Being independent and relying on little to zero people makes women stand out more and seem to make males think they are capable of living a life and is prepared for taking care of a family. Almost all of today’s society is pure beauty and I love how women have power over certain things, especially when it comes to our individualism. It makes us who we are and tend to be stronger. Who said you need an army to be strong?

From the other reading in Ch. 7 I picked out some pieces that I thought would help. Starting with the Trojan War. All in all, it was a sneak attack, but the first impression was a present. There were concerns, and when people realized it was an attack, they called it “barbaric.” In today’s society, we mostly look at it as uncivilized, “ridiculous” or “obs-herd.” Now, most women look at men having the same personalities, but with wrong intentions. Women call this ridiculous also, simply because we are more likely to think we are being used only for one thing. 

Their pottery is beauty. Going back to the Ancient Times, were told the symmetry is the main reason for beauty. But they also so this for clay and their pot making, so maybe that’s why we buy vases or have decoration. There is certain importance to beauty. Beauty is symmetric, but also having something of value to it. 

Whenever I think of or hear the word ‘Egyptian’ I automatically think of tombs, mummies, temples, and pyramids. That is exactly what Chapter 5 is all about. 

The purpose of the pyramids was for burials and the passage into the afterlife. They were also made out of mud-brick. This amazes me because it would have taken a lot of time and effort to build these pyramids out of mud-brick. Another major development was the design of the pyramids- a triangle. This reminds me of all of the times I learned geometry back in high school and the Egyptians were practicing the same type of math, but not knowing it. 

Pyramids reflected on death, and so does mummification. The purpose of mummification is to also ensure a good afterlife. To do so they used to bury the bodies in the dry sand, and then, later on, had coffins that insulated the bodies. This reminds me of how we embalm people in today’s society to preserve their body for a visitation and funeral. Preserving the dead back then took a lot more work and they removed the organs out of the body. The outside of the body is then wrapped in bandages of linen. Mummification reminds me of breaking a bone and having a cast put on. I have a friend that recently broke her arm and they had to put stuff on the skin and then proceeded to put the cast on, which is a lot of layers of bandages. 

The sculpture of Khafre represents his position as a king. He had a lot of power, therefore, there was a sculpture made of him. This sculpture reminds me of how we have the statue of liberty in New York, which represents freedom. Khafre’s statue represents his power and authority. 

Temples were in the form of huts back in the Neolithic period. A sanctuary, courtyard, and hallway were also added. When I hear of temples, I think of churches. People would go to the temples to worship the gods and today people go to church to worship. So it’s kind of like the same thing.

There were also paintings created among this time, and there were major uses of pigments. There are a wide variety of colors used in their paintings. The artwork Gypsum Plaster shows a man hunting birds with his wife and daughter alongside him. There is a great majority of blue in this picture coming from the pigment from lapis lazuli. Paintings created in the New Kingdom show shading and have a more naturalistic look to them compared to those in the Old Kingdom.

Lastly, Tutankhamon’s Tomb is in memory of himself. His tomb has a pretty shiny gold mask with blue glass all around. This tomb has a great amount of detail and there was a lot of work and time put into it. 

Reading

This week reading was very interesting and informative. I am not an expert to this art thing, yet I find myself learning more and more about its origins and meaning. I don’t know much about the ancient eastern world, just the fact that it was very influential on art culture and history. Through reading this chapter I can see how important art and culture played an important role together and in human history. I continue to gain more respect for the history of art and its true purpose. I feel that this was a lesson learned for me to get the knowledge and history of art and its significance in the world.

From the invention of writing being established in the ancient Near East to some of the most profound pieces of art that displays a sense of emotion and communication. Through the evolution of written communication became an advanced and well-developed part of human history. From the Neolithic Era where humans adapted to the hunting and gathering lifestyles, while learning to gain sustainability. I find this chapter intriguing for the simple reason of survival. It appears people were faced with some trails that were overcame by faith and creativity.

Carved art attributed to the Uruk period was images and/or words pressed against a soft surface leaving a depiction and an image that told one’s story. In this period, we find our clay and stone tablets. Through time art became more popular and relevant. These pieces have structure, detailed images, and a powerful emotional presence. I mean these images are detailed down to the hair. I find it very impressive, especially during that period and time. I find the art history of the Near East very interesting. Having knowledge of something so great and powerful is amazing. The carving and statues are phenomenal. The power that was created between man and material will forever play a major role in human history.

From the presence of divinity and worshipers from the Early Dynasty Period to the Sumerian site of gold items that can be found at burial site that display true craftsmanship. Art history was created in the ancient Near East were many different styles of artistry are developed. People lives being depicted, cities, kingdoms and empires are being worshiped and honored. Art that was created to communicate to other people of different lands, even to a divine being. Using some of the richest materials that could tell the story for centuries is what’s most interesting. I wonder, how did they know what materials to use, or even it the art work would manage? I figure they were some very intellectual beings themselves.

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/prehistoric/cave-painting.htm#cavepainting

Have you ever been to a cave? If so have you seen art or different pictures on the stones in the cave? For this blog, I have decided to research more about Cave paintings which are also known as cave art. Around 40,000 to 14,000 years ago, people first saw these painting in European caves and shelters. There are many more places that you can find cave art such as Italy and Germany. There are around 400 places that you could go see cave paintings.

One thing that I found interesting was that the meanings of some of these cave paintings are for religious meaning. This hits me in a good way because I am a very religious person, and I wanted to learn a lot about this. I thought it was cool because they made pictures of jesus and christian symbols such as the fish and the cross.    

The only thing that cave people painted were animals. They were the predator animals that they painted. Some of those animals were lions, bears, and more. They also painted the game animals. Many symbols were also drawn quite frequently. That was their primary way of communicating most times.

There are three stages of cave painting. First off, they need to get the outline of the animal or symbol they are creating. They can do this in many ways such as applying a sharp stone to the rock they are using. They also use charcoal to make the outline in black so they can see it. Second off, they draw and complete the drawing with detail in a red color. They would need to be precise and make sure everything is perfect. This part will be one of the most important. The third part of this project is the animals will be shaded with black or another pigment that someone could find. This process takes a long time. These people had to be very patient and creative to try to get what they needed, done.   

In my opinion, Venus of Willendorf represents a mother who is pregnant and carrying her child. One of the reasons I think this is, is because she looks like she is with child due to her round, and protruding stomach. She also looks like she would be a great mom even without a real description of her body.  

I feel like cave paintings are a good way for people to understand what people did back then. They learn about how you can use the resources you have around you to make something creative. People nowadays think they need to go out and buy new things to make art, and cave paintings can show them they don’t have to. Just have a creative mind and that’s all you need.