transitions in art.

Cupids making Perfume, wall painting in the House of Vetti is a good example of Roman painting. Romans decorated their buildings with intricate paintings. Some of which that told a story. House paintings were very common in this time period, and we still have some-such as this- that we can still look at. This is because they were saved by the volcano. This piece in particular has very intricate details to it. There is a level of sophistication shown in the shading and realism of the piece. The cupids are given shape and form through the shadows and shading given to them. It is also seen in the tubs and cabinets. During the Roman period, people looked to depict the body in a real sense but still also connecting with the roots of idealism and mythology of Greece. The architecture in this building is filled with many volumetric creatures, such as these cupids, and it brings even more of a sense of three-dimensional spatial definition. 

The Good Shepherd, of Galla Placidia is an example of painting in the Early Christian Time Period. It is not actually made from paint but rather mosaics. During the Early Christian Period many of the works were made from mosaics rather than painted onto their surface. This piece is found in the church of Galla Placidia and is one of the  many works found adorning the church. Jesus is portrayed not as a boy but rather an adult emperor wearing royal robes. He was seen as royalty during this time period, as Christianity was the official state religion for 45 years. They chose to depict Jesus as royalty and proclaim his glory by adorning the walls with scenes of him rather than the rulers during that time period. There is not as much detail given to this piece. Shadows and form is created by changing of tile color but the figures appear more two-dimensional rather than life-like.

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Just by the appearance of these pieces you can see a significant change from Classical to Christian time periods. The sophistication and detail has greatly decreased throughout the time. One big transition, was the transition from using paint to mosaics. Both of these pieces of art were used to adorn a space where people resided. During Classical Rome, more of the figures appeared to be about everyday people and the mythological world. Whereas in Christian Rome, the figures depicted scenes from Bible Times and of the Christian religion. This was their way of continuing the remembrance of history because most of the population was illiterate. Many of the paintings and mosaics from the Christian period are found in churches and holy places, and many of the paintings (at least that still remain) are found in homes from the Classical period. The mosaics used during the Christian time period reflected light and gave the space a holy, heavenly feeling. There is still a perception of shading used to make the figures have volume and form during the Christian period but there is a visible decline in the sophistication of detail in the art from Classical to Christian Rome.

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parthenon project.

 

        

          

The Parthenon is made up of many classical elements. It was created in the order of Ionic and Doric. Athena Parthenos was the inspiration for this great piece of architecture. She was the goddess of war and also was the goddess of Athens. She got this role after competing with her uncle Poseidon to see who could give the most to Athens. Poseidon offered power of the sea, which would come in handy because they had a lot of mariners. But Athena offered the olive tree, and won. This became the main source of income for Athens, and thus it was named after her and the Parthenon built as a tribute to her. She was of great importance to Athens because she was the goddess of war and they needed her guidance when the Persian army attacked them.

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greek vases.

Panathenaic amphora, ca. 530B.C.; Archaic
Attributed to the Euphiletos Painter
Greek, Attic
Terracotta



The Panathenaic amphora's purpose was to hold oil from the groves of Attica. It would then be awarded to the victor of the Panathenaic Games. It is the best example of a vase to serve an official function. Each Panathenaic amphora was made to a standardized size and shape and to hold 42 quarts/ 1 metretes. It was also decorated with black figure technique- this was when artists silhouetted forms with slip against the unpainted clay of the background. They then cut through the slip revealing the bare clay. 


The principle decoration can be found in the panels of the body and typically has an armed Athena on the front and illustration of the competition on the back. This amphora depicts a foot race, with five men and a youth. The detail is seen on the insicion to show the musculature.This vessels paintings are attributed to the Euphiletos Painter. There is an inscirption on the front which gives this vase as an official prize and also (very rare) the potter signature, Nikias.

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egypt project.

Egypt Project on Prezi

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analyzing articles 3.

Nazi-era ART

In this article, they are talking about the new database which contains artwork from the Nazi-era which was looted and taken from many Jewish families. This database allows the family to search through thousands of art pieces and get the chance to reclaim artwork that was once stolen from them. Many of these families thought that this artwork was resold, repatriated or restituted. This database shows the artwork and who it was seized from (or at least the based off of the Nazi records.) "The database combines records from the U.S. National Archives in College Park, Md.; the German Bundesarchiv, the federal archive in Koblenz; and repatriation and restitution records held by the French government." They say that almost 650,000 pieces were taken from the Jews and many of them are still missing. 


I think that it is cool that they have been able to establish a database which may allow many art pieces to be returned to the rightful owners. It is also very historically interesting that these pieces are still around after being plundered. I would have thought many of these pieces would have been sold to museums or burned because they had no interest in being nice to the Jews. This online database is a wonderful opportunity and an interesting step in the art world. When many pieces are found they are not normally returned to their owner but put into a museum to be gazed upon. This is also a wonderful opportunity to create a new art community by connecting people who have a common interest and have gone through a common experience. 

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analyzing art 3.

In class this week we focused on Ancient Greece. One of the most well known pieces of architecture is the Parthenon. Although when we go to the Parthenon today it has been remodeled once and is falling apart it is still an incredible piece of art and is just as powerful. Not only in the book did we discuss the Parthenon, but also in the Pollitt reading. The Parthenon is a fusion of Doric and Ionic Orders. This is because of Greece showing their power of taking over the two regions. The Doric style came from the Doric Mainland and the Ionic style comes from Herackles in Peloponnesos. One thing I did not know before reading Pollitt, is that the Parthenon is curved which gives the illusion that it is straight to the human eye. There are three reasons for why this may be: 1) that if a stylobate was to remain level it would look hollowed out, therefore by curving it it looks thick, 2) It was curved upward to intensify the optical illusion with your eyes and make it look more immense than it actually was, or 3) to create tension in the mind of the viewer by going against regularity.

The Parthenon was originally more inspired by the Archaic Greece art which was inspired by Egypt and Minoan art. When it was taken down by the Persians, Periclean decided to rebuild it and it appeared more of the Classic Greece as we know it today. Pollitt also talks about how Greeks sought to find order in everything and deviated from chaos. You can see by the math and the style of the Parthenon that everything was put into a specific order and was precise. By the order of the temple and the curvature of the building this could not have appeared out of pure chaos. 

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egyptian scenery in the church.

In the Downtown Presbyterian Church. The interior is decorated as if you were standing on the veranda of an Egyptian building. When we walked in I could hear everyone near me talking about how they weren't expecting the church to look like this. I agree. I was quite astonished when I walked in. I don't think i have ever seen a church so extravagantly decorated, except during VBS for the kids. Most church try to make the interior of the building aesthetically pleasing and beautiful, but not to distracting, so that it does not take away from worship and the purpose of church. 


Although this is not typical for a church. The decoration and building of the church does resemble Egypt. There are columns built into the walls, which resemble the hypostyle hall. The capitol is decorated with papyrus, which represented wealth. The colors are very representational of Egypt. The blues in the building represented the flowing waters of the Nile. The gold, yellows represented the sand/desert and royalty. The very geometric shapes decorating the columns were similar to ancient Egypt. The church attempts to transport you into Egypt with the painted receding columns, which make the space vast and feel like its really in Egypt. The ceiling is painted like the sky, to give the open air, patio feeling.  Every decoration was intricate and precise, they were truly trying to capture the essence of Egypt. The ryhthm of the columns opens the space and gives the feel of the hypostyle hall. By the placement of the pews and the vaulted ceilings along with the lighting it gives the space a grandeous feel. The lighting in the space is created by ceiling lights along with the colorful stained glass windows. Many materials used were paint and columns but papyrus and sand were represented in the art. Every piece has been truly thought about to create an Egyptian site.


This building was controversial, when they decided to do this to the interior. The building could still be controversial today, because it does not follow the typical mainstream church decor. Everyone was so shocked when we walked in. The vibe of the group was very perceptive, but yet confused. I fall into that place to, even after three days. I am not sure how I feel about the decor in the church. It was done very well and truly gives the vibe of Egypt, but setting of it being in the church still confuses me. 

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