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Art History

University, Art History

Art periods and movements from Prehistory to contemporary art. Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Definition, classification, and institutions of Art History

  • Definition: Human activity with an aesthetic or communicative purpose.
  • Historiography: Focuses on visual/plastic arts (painting, sculpture, architecture).
  • Relationship: The history of culture encompasses literature, music, science, and philosophy.
  • Related disciplines: Aesthetics and art theory.
  • Evolution of classification: Liberal/mechanical arts ightarrow Fine/applied arts ightarrow Human creativity.
  • Nine main arts (20th Century): Architecture, dance, sculpture, music, painting, poetry, cinematography, photography, and comics.
  • Other artistic forms: Design, graphic arts, fashion, gastronomy, advertising, animation, television, and video games.
  • Methodology: A multidisciplinary science based on periodization and cultural relativism.
  • Key institutions: Museums, galleries, biennials (Venice, São Paulo, Kassel), and UNESCO.
  • Prehistory: From the Stone Age to the Metal Ages.
  • Paleolithic: 25,000-8000 B.C.E. (hunting, gathering, and cave painting).
  • Mesolithic: 8000-6000 B.C.E. (transition period).
  • Neolithic: 6000-3000 B.C.E. (sedentism, agriculture, religion, and craftsmanship).
  • Metal Ages: 3000-1000 B.C.E. (proto-historic civilizations).

Evolution of art and culture in Prehistory

  • First artistic manifestations: Homo neanderthalensis 65,000 years ago
  • Peak of Homo sapiens art: Magdalenian period (±15,000-8000 BC)
  • Painting materials: iron oxide (red), manganese oxide (black), and clay ochre
  • Franco-Cantabrian cave painting: magico-religious and naturalistic character
  • Key sculptures: Venus of Willendorf, Oberthal Man, Vogelherd Mammoth, and Lady of Brassempouy
  • Music and dance: ritual origins (fertility, hunting, war) using objects such as bones and shells
  • Neolithic (8000 BC): sedentarism, agriculture, and the appearance of the schematic human figure
  • Neolithic portable art: Cardial pottery and the use of amber, rock crystal, and quartz
  • Early urban settlements: Jericho, Jarmo, and Çatalhöyük
  • Megalithism: monuments such as dolmens, menhirs, and cromlechs (e.g., Stonehenge)
  • Los Millares culture: Bell Beaker pottery and large-eyed figures
  • Balearic Megalithism: naveta, taula, and talayot typologies
  • Hallstatt culture (8th-5th century BC): mound tombs with wooden chambers and chariots
  • La Tène culture (5th-1st century BC): iron objects (swords, spears, fibulae) and three evolutionary phases

Art and Culture in Early Civilizations: Mesopotamia and Egypt

  • Origin: Writing in Egypt and Mesopotamia
  • River cities: Nile, Tigris, Euphrates, Indus, and Yellow
  • Cuneiform writing: Mesopotamia, 3500 BCE (clay tablets)
  • Hieroglyphic writing: Egypt, 3100 BCE (Narmer Palette)
  • Alphabet: Hebrew, 1800 BCE (one symbol per phoneme)
  • Mesopotamian architecture: Brick, arch, vault, and ziggurats
  • Palaces: System of terraces and gardens
  • Sumerian sculpture: Angular, hairless figures, hands on chest
  • Akkadian sculpture: Figures with long hair and beards (Naram-Sin Stele)
  • Amorrite sculpture: King Gudea of Lagash (cloak and turban)
  • Assyrian sculpture: Bulls and winged genies on doors
  • Sumerian literature: Epic of Gilgamesh (17th century B.C.E.)
  • Akkadian literature: Atrahasis (flood)
  • Babylonian literature: Enuma Elish (creation)
  • Sumerian music: Hymns (ersemma) with responsories and antiphons
  • Instruments: tigi, balag, lilis, algar, zagsal, and adapa

Art and civilizations of Egypt, Mesoamerica, and the Andean region

  • Egypt: Religious and symbolic art centered on the immortality of the pharaoh
  • Egypt: Beginning approx. 3000 B.C. until the conquest by Alexander the Great
  • Egyptian tomb typologies: mastaba, pyramid (stepped or smooth), and hypogeum
  • Egyptian temple structure: avenue of sphinxes, obelisks, pylons, hypostyle court, hypostyle hall, and sanctuary
  • Egyptian sculpture: law of frontality, hieratism, and geometrization
  • Egyptian sculpture: IV Dynasty mastery of granite and diorite
  • Ushabti: figurines of clay or wood depicting everyday scenes
  • Egyptian painting: overlapping planes, hierarchical scale, and profile canon
  • Egyptian literature: first to use the book format (Story of Sinuhe, Book of the Dead)
  • Egyptian musical instruments: sistrum, ser, ben, seba, sneb, and met
  • The Americas: beginning of agriculture (maize) in the 7th millennium BCE
  • Xochipala: first American artistic findings (1300 BCE)
  • Olmecs: colossal heads up to 3.5 meters tall
  • Chavín de Huántar (900 BCE): U-shaped structure, three levels of galleries, and a 4.5-meter monolith
  • Paracas: textile industry with threads in nearly 200 different colors

African art and Indian art

  • African art: magico-religious and animist character
  • African materials: wood, stone, and ivory
  • African canon: large head, straight torso, and short limbs
  • Nok Culture: naturalistic terracotta sculptures (1st millennium BCE)
  • Sudan: monumental mud-brick constructions (Kerma and Meroe)
  • Aksum (Ethiopia): monolithic funerary stelae up to 20 meters
  • Indian art: religious character and integration with nature
  • Indus Valley Culture: planned urbanization and burnt clay brick buildings
  • 6th Century BCE: emergence of Buddhism and Jainism
  • Alexander the Great: introduction of Hellenistic Greek art
  • Mauryan art: use of stone and the creation of the stūpa
  • Gandhāra art: Greco-Buddhist tradition with a dome over a cylindrical drum
  • Mathurā art: blend of Indian and Greco-Roman elements
  • Amarāvatī Stūpa: height of 50 meters

Literature, theater, music, and art in India and China

  • Beginnings of Indian literature: 2500 B.C. in Sanskrit
  • Vedic literature: divided into Samjitas (Rigveda), Brāhmaṇa (Upaṇiṣad), and Sutra
  • Mahabharata: 200,000 verses in 18 books; includes the Bhagavad-gītā
  • Ramayana: a work by Valmiki that synthesizes poetry and theology
  • Indian theater: origins in the Nāṭya-śāstra by Bharata Muni
  • Theatrical forms: Śakuntalā (7 acts) and Mricchakaṭikā (10 acts)
  • Vedic music: 2 notes (Vedas) and 5 to 7 notes (Sāma Vedá)
  • Intonations of the Ṛig vedá: udatta, anudatta, and svarita
  • Chinese art: integrated into philosophy with a strong religious focus
  • Shang Dynasty: specialization in bronze and cities with rectangular grids
  • Zhou Dynasty: development of lacquerware, jade, and Confucianism
  • Qin Dynasty: Great Wall (2,400 km long) and the Terracotta Army (210 B.C.)
  • Han Dynasty: introduction of Buddhism and Confucian-themed painting
  • Six Dynasties: colossal statues in Yungang and Longmen; six principles of Xie He

Culture and art in China, Japan, and Oceania

  • Five Chinese Classics: Li-Ki, I Ching, Shu-king, Shi King, and Ch'uen-tsieu
  • Ch'uen-tsieu: the first dated chronicle (722-481 BC)
  • Key philosophical works: Analects (Confucius), Tao Te Ching (Lao Tzu), and The Art of War (Sun Tzu)
  • Chinese music: pentatonic system (5 notes)
  • Chinese musical notes: king, shang, chiao, chih, yü
  • Chinese instruments: pien-ch'ing, pien-chung, sheng, p'ai-hsiao, and ch'in
  • Japanese art: Shinto syncretism (1st century) and Buddhist (5th century)
  • Jōmon pottery: the oldest produced by humans
  • Yayoi period: introduction of the potter's wheel and kofun (mound) burials
  • Kofun period: terracotta figures called haniwa
  • Japanese literature: Kojiki (mythical), Nihonshoki (chronicles), and Man'yōshū (poetry)
  • Shinto music: kagura modality (myth of Amaterasu)
  • Shinto instruments: yamate-bue, yamato-goto, hichiriki, o-kakko, and o-daiko
  • Lapita culture (1500-500 BC): pottery with dentate-stamped motifs and obsidian objects
  • Australia: schematic and geometric rock paintings

Art of ancient civilizations: Hittite, Phoenician, Scythian, Iberian, Persian, Nabataean, and Hebrew

  • Hittite art: 3rd-2nd millennium BCE, monumental architecture with sphinxes and hunting/war reliefs.
  • Phoenician art: Diffusion of Eastern influence across the Mediterranean; sculptures with archaic rigidity.
  • Scythian art: Nomadic peoples (2nd-1st millennium BCE), portable and metallurgical art with animal motifs.
  • Iberian art: Rammed earth walls, cities on acropolises, and the sculpture of the "dames".
  • Achaemenid Persian art: Use of stone, appearance of the window, and the apadanas.
  • Sassanid Persian art: Squinch domes and iwans (influence on Islamic art).
  • Nabataean art: Rock-cut constructions (Petra) in the Hellenistic style.
  • Hebrew art: Ornamental art (rejection of images), synagogues with basilica plans.
  • Hebrew literature: The Bible was compiled between the 10th century BCE and 2nd century CE; the Mishnah, Talmud, and Kabbalah followed later.
  • Classical art: Based on mimesis, harmony, balance, and rationality (Greece and Rome).

Evolution and characteristics of Greek art

  • Periods of Greek art: Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic
  • Architecture: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders
  • Architectural elements: krepis (base), amphiprostyle (double portico), peripteral (columns surrounding the building)
  • Key works: Parthenon (Doric), Erechtheion, and Winged Nike (Ionic)
  • Archaic sculpture: archaic smile, kouros (men), and kore (women)
  • Classicism (5th century BCE): perfection of the canon and naturalism (Myron, Phidias, Polykleitos)
  • Late Classicism: tragic and anguished expression (Scopas, Praxiteles, Lysippos)
  • Hellenistic art: dynamism, sinuosity, and pathetic expression (Laocoön, Farnese Bull)
  • Ceramic painting: black-figure (until 6th century BCE) and red-figure (from 6th century BCE)

Literature, theater, music, and dance in Ancient Greece

  • Literary genres: epic, lyric, and dramatic
  • Narrative basis: religion and mythology
  • Greek alphabet: development around the 8th century BCE
  • Mythos: explained and credible story (oral tradition)
  • Epic: Homer (Iliad and Odyssey)
  • Lyric poetry: collective feelings (Hesiod, Pindar, Sappho, Anacreon)
  • Historical prose: Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon
  • Oratory: Demosthenes, Plato, and Aristotle
  • Fable: Aesop
  • Theater: dramatic art derived from rituals (komos)
  • Mimesis: the transition from rite to performance with words
  • Tragedy: educational function and catharsis
  • Comedy: political, social, and costumbrist satire
  • Tragedy playwrights: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
  • Comedy playwrights: Aristophanes and Menander
  • Scientific music: Pythagoras (relationship with mathematics)
  • First musical treatise: Aristoxenus (4th century BC)
  • Instruments: lyre, kithara, aulos, syrinx, tympanum, krotala, cymbals, sistrum
  • Dance: the first art with its own muse (Terpsichore)
  • Dance technique: rhythmic movements of the chorus in the tragedies of Aeschylus

Art and literature in classical Rome and the transition to medieval art

  • Influence: Roman art is based on Greek art and Etruscan precedent.
  • Architecture: Practical and utilitarian character (roads, aqueducts, civil engineering).
  • Architectural innovation: Introduction of the arch and the vault over the post-and-lintel system.
  • Architectural order: Creation of the Tuscan order (smooth shaft, capital with collar and echinus).
  • Sculpture: Focus on realism and the representation of physical defects.
  • Imperial portraiture: Three versions: togata (patrician), thoracata (military), and apotheotic (divine).
  • Sculptural technique: Use of the drill for chiaroscuro and engraving of pupils.
  • Painting styles (Pompeii): Incrustation, architectural, ornamental, and fantastic.
  • Mosaics: Opus sectile (geometric) and opus tesellatum (figurative).
  • Literature: Innovation through the concept of "style."
  • Theater: Evolution from ludiones (dance) to histriones (song and mime).
  • Historical narrative: Introduced by Livy in the 3rd century BC.
  • Leisure: Division between ludi circenses and ludi scaenici (pantomime).
  • Medieval transition: Feudalization of the territory and the predominance of Christianity in art.

Paleochristian, Germanic, and Pre-Romanesque Art

  • Paleochristian art: official style following the conversion of Constantine
  • Paleochristian architecture: transition from catacombs to the religious basilica
  • Structure of the basilica: atrium, nave (3 aisles), and presbytery
  • Paleochristian sculpture: evolution from molded sarcophagi to narrative friezes
  • Painting: development of miniature painting with Hellenistic-Alexandrian and Syrian schools
  • Mosaic: significant development and influence on Byzantine art
  • Literature: didactic, propagandistic, and moralizing purposes
  • New Testament: 4 gospels, epistolary corpus, and Revelation
  • Vulgate: the Latin translation of the Bible by Saint Jerome
  • Gregorian chant: created by Gregory I (7th century)
  • Chant styles: syllabic (1 tone), neumatic (2-5 tones), melismatic (6+ tones)
  • Germanic art: use of the round arch and vaulting with reused materials
  • Visigothic art: use of ashlar masonry and the horseshoe arch
  • Types of Visigothic churches: 3-aisle basilicas, single nave with side chambers, and Greek cross
  • Visigothic goldsmithing: highlighted in the treasures of Guarrazar and Torredonjimeno

Artistic and cultural styles of the Early Middle Ages

  • Period: year 800 (Charlemagne) to year 1000
  • Carolingian art: use of piers, round arches, and barrel vaults
  • Carolingian art: sculpture in ivory and bronze; miniature painting
  • Ottonian art: heirs of Aachen and the Benedictine basilical model
  • Ottonian art: strong Byzantine influence in sculpture and painting
  • Celtic art: wooden churches and large Irish crosses in relief
  • Viking art: pyramidal and vertical wooden architecture; metalwork with fibulae and terminal buttons
  • Asturian art: three stages (pre-Ramirense, Ramirense, post-Ramirense) according to Ramiro I
  • Asturian art: sillarejo (rubble masonry) walls, fajón arches, and three-aisled basilical floor plans
  • Mozarabic art: Caliphal horseshoe arch, ribbed vaults, gallons, and overhanging eaves
  • Mozarabic art: Beatus miniatures
  • Medieval literature: production in Latin, theocentric, with Irish and Carolingian schools
  • Music: incorporation of instruments, creation of tropes and sequences, and use of neumes since the 8th century

Byzantine Art and Islamic Art

  • Byzantine Empire: endured until the fall of Constantinople in 1453
  • Byzantine Golden Ages: 6th Century (Justinian), 9th-1204 and 14th Century (Palaiologos)
  • Byzantine architecture: use of dome on pendentives and centralized plans
  • Byzantine iconography: use of hierarchical perspective and stylized figures
  • Islamic art: origin with the Hijra in 622
  • Islamic restriction: prohibition of public figurative images (predominance of abstract/geometric motifs)
  • Mosque elements: sahn (courtyard), minaret (tower), haram (hall), qibla (wall) and mihrab (niche)
  • Horseshoe arch in al-Andalus: Visigothic heritage with alternating red and white voussoirs
  • Great Mosque of Córdoba: eleven naves perpendicular to the qibla with superimposed arcades
  • Nasrid monuments: the Alhambra in Granada

Arabic literature and music

  • Quran: finalized in 650 by Uthman Ibn Affan
  • Structure of the Quran: 114 chapters (suras)
  • Meccan revelations: short, poetic, and fervent
  • Medinan revelations: long, discursive, and prescriptive
  • Prose genres: philosophical, historical, narrative, and fantastic
  • One Thousand and One Nights: an anonymous work composed between the 9th and 15th centuries
  • Musical origins: huda’ chants with rajaz meter (six feet)
  • Parts of the chant: tarji’ (refrain) and jawab (antiphon)
  • Sacred music: the call to prayer (adhdan) and the chanting of the Quran
  • Secular music: promoted by the Umayyads with solo singing and the oud
  • Ibn Misjaḥ: creator of the zawa'id melodic system
  • Instrumental music: importance since the 10th century with the nauba
  • Theoretical study of music: termed al-musiqi
  • Instruments: oud (‘ud), lyre (mi'zaf), harp (jank), flute (gussaba), oboe (mizmar), recorder (shahin), drum (tabl), tambourine (duff), and castanets (gadib)

The Romanesque Art: Characteristics, Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, and Literature

  • Context: First international European style following the transition from Latin to vernacular languages
  • Chronology: Emergence in the mid-11th century, development in the 12th century, coexistence with Gothic style in the late 12th century
  • Architecture: Use of ashlar masonry, round arches, barrel vaults, and transverse arches
  • Ecclesiastical structure: One- or three-aisled churches, with transepts and ambulatories
  • Sculpture: Didactic, symbolic, and schematic character; primary location on the tympanums
  • Sculpture in Spain: Ripoll workshops, Pyrenean region, León ivory, and regional schools (Catalan, Aragonese, Navarrese, and Castilian)
  • Painting: Schematic and symbolic style with strong Byzantine influence (Benedictine order)
  • Mural iconography: Pantocrator (apse), Tetramorph, Virgin, apostles, and Last Judgment
  • Painting techniques: Mural, panel painting (tempera technique), and miniatures
  • Applied arts: Goldsmithing (gold and stones), enamel (Limoges), and textiles (Bayeux Tapestry)
  • Literature: Transition from Latin to vernacular languages and the emergence of secular literature
  • Literary genres: Troubadour poetry (fin'amors) and chivalric romance (Chrétien de Troyes)
  • Spanish literature: Glosas de San Millán de la Cogolla, Mozarabic jarchas, and Cantar de Mío Cid (1140)

Medieval theater, music, and dance, and Gothic art

  • Types of medieval theater: liturgical, religious, and profane
  • Theater funding: Church, guilds, and confraternities
  • Evolution of theater: from priests to professionals and from Latin to vernacular languages
  • Oldest text: Regularis Concordia (St. Æthelwold)
  • Romanesque musical innovations: staff notation and Guido of Arezzo's nomenclature
  • Troubadours (Juglares): wandering minstrels, poets, and acrobats (music, satire, lyric, and epics)
  • Troubadours: upper class, composers of rondeau, virelai, and ballade
  • Troubadours in Germany: minnesänger
  • Ecclesiastical dances: danse macabre (moralizing)
  • Folk dances: pasacalle, farándula, and Moorish dances
  • Gothic architecture: pointed arch, rib vault, buttresses, and flying buttresses
  • Mudéjar art: use of brick, plaster, and small-dimension timber
  • Gothic painting: transition from murals to altarpieces and canvas (tempera and oil)

Artistic styles, literature, theater, and music in the Late Middle Ages

  • Linear Gothic: 13th-14th centuries, linear drawing and naturalism in stained glass/miniatures.
  • Italic Gothic: 13th century, depth, anatomy, and light; Florentine and Sienese schools.
  • International Gothic: late 14th-15th centuries, curved lines, high detail, and symbolic naturalism.
  • Flemish Gothic: 15th century, oil painting technique, bright colors, and extreme meticulousness.
  • Applied Arts: cabinet making, tapestry (Arras), goldsmithing (Enrique de Arfe), enamel (Limoges), ceramics (Faenza/Manises), and stained glass.
  • Literature: transition from Latin to vernacular languages; rise of the canzone and Dolce Stil Novo in Italy.
  • Key Works/Authors: The Divine Comedy (Dante, 1304-1320), The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer, 1386-1400).
  • Theater: mysteries (Jesus Christ), miracles (saints), and morality plays (allegories); origin of secular theater.
  • Music: development of polyphony, counterpoint, imitation (14th century), and variation (16th century).
  • Composers: Leoninus (13th century), Ars Nova (Machaut and Landino, 14th century), Josquin des Prés and others (15th century).
  • Dances: carol, estampie, branle, saltarello, and tarantella.

Pre-Columbian art and literature and African art

  • Teotihuacán: centuries I-VII, astrological layout, and pyramidal temples.
  • Mayas: 2nd-9th centuries, religious art, astronomical temples, and sculptures with hieroglyphs.
  • Toltecs: 7th-8th centuries, creators of the Chac Mool in Tula.
  • Aztecs: 13th-15th centuries, synthetic art of power and sacrificial temples in Tenochtitlán.
  • Incas: 13th century, polygonal ashlar architecture and trapezoidal doorways.
  • Camino Real de las Montañas: 6,000 km long and 9 meters wide.
  • Borgia Codex: religious and cosmological texts in Nahuatl.
  • Popol Vuh: sacred book of the Quiché people.
  • Ollantay: drama in the Quechua language (the only example of pre-Columbian theater).
  • Wood carvings: early vestiges in Tellem and Dogon peoples.
  • Bronzes in Africa: appeared around the 10th century (e.g., Igbo-Ukwu).
  • Great Zimbabwe: capital of the Monomotapa culture (11th-15th centuries).
  • Ife: naturalistic terracotta figures (12th-13th centuries).
  • Djenné: schematic terracotta figures (12th-15th centuries).
  • Benin: bronze sculpture school (15th-16th centuries).

Art and Literature in India and China (4th-13th Centuries)

  • Gupta Art (4th-8th centuries): Formal purism, harmony, and human idealization.
  • Vihara: Rock-cut sanctuaries (Ajantā, Ellorā, Elephanta).
  • Open-air temples: Bhitargaon, Bodhagaya, Deogarth, Sirpur.
  • "Post-Gupta" styles: Chālukya (Ahiōlē, Bādāmi, 550-750) and Pallava (Mahābalipuram).
  • Hindu Art (8th-12th centuries): Predominance of Brahmanical forms and śikhara sanctuaries.
  • Architectural typologies: "covered building and the pyramid" (Tanjore vimāna, 11th century) and "curvilinear roof building" (Gujarāt).
  • Khajurāh Art (10th-11th centuries): The ultimate expression of Indo-Aryan art.
  • Orissa: Architectural representations of Hindu gods in Bhubaneshwar and Kōnārka.
  • Drama: Bhavabhūti (Malatimadhava).
  • Epic poem: The mahakavya genre (Kalhana's Rajatarangini, c. 1150).
  • Lyric poetry: Bhartrihari's Sataka and Jāyādeva's Gītāgovinda.
  • Fable: Didactic tales by Narayana and Sivadasa.
  • Kama-sutra: Compiled by Vātsyāyana in the 6th century.
  • Theater: mahanataka (epics) and dutangada (recitation with mime/dance) modalities.
  • Music: 7 notes (svaras), 22 microtonal intervals (srutis), tonal cycles (ragas), and time measures (tala: vilambita, madhya, druta).
  • Kharaja: Drone sound to sustain the tonal center.
  • Tang Dynasty (618-907): Sculpture of Buddha/bodhisattvas (Guan Yin, 2.41 m) and pagodas.
  • Tang Painting: Landscape as an elitist sign (e.g., Li Cheng, 10th century).
  • Song Dynasty (960-1279): Woodblock printing, Ting-tcheu (white) and Kin-tcheu (pink/blue) ceramics.
  • Song Painting: Northern style (precise) and Southern style (rapid brushstrokes/misty).
  • Yuan Dynasty (1280-1368): Mongol origin (Kublai), decorative arts (carpets, metalwork), and religious painting (Yonglegong).

Evolution of literature, music, and art in China and Japan

  • Tang Dynasty: Golden Age of poetry (Li Bai, Du Fu) and simplification of prose.
  • Pienhuen: A Buddhist genre mixing verse and prose.
  • Song Dynasty: Invention of movable type printing by Bi Sheng.
  • Ts'e genre: The intimate relationship between poetry and music during the Song Dynasty.
  • Tang Music: Use of ch'in (5-string) and sê (26-string) zithers to define duration (tsao-man).
  • Hsüan-tsung Orchestra (713-756): Counted 1,300 musicians.
  • Recitation instrument: P'i-p'a (short lute).
  • Song Performances: Nan-ch'ü (Southern Songs) and Pei-ch'ü (Northern Songs).
  • Yuan Operas: Northern and Southern schools.
  • Asuka Period: Chinese influence, Hōryū-ji temple (607), and Kudara style.
  • Nara Period: Zenith of Buddhist art; Yakushi-ji, Tōdai-ji, Kōfuku-ji, and Shōsoin temples.
  • Kakemonos and makimonos: Paper or silk scrolls featuring stories and sutras.
  • Heian Period: Importation of Tendai and Shingon sects; meditation architecture.
  • Fujiwara Period: Return of temples to the city with palace-style decoration (Byōdō-in).
  • Yamato-e School: Independence of Japanese painting with vibrant colors.
  • Kamakura Period: Introduction of Zen, Kara-yo style, and the Nara School (Unkei).
  • Muromachi Period: Wash painting technique, Zen aesthetics, and aristocratic mansions (Golden/Silver Pavilions).
  • Seto Ceramics: Prominent during the Muromachi period.

Art and literature in Japan, Southeast Asia, and Oceania

  • Japanese Literature: Chinese influence on poetry and the revival of narrative in the Heian period
  • The Tale of Genji: Heian classic about the nobility with an erotic tone
  • Kokinshu: waka poetry anthology (31 syllables) focused on nature
  • Nō Theater: 14th-century lyrical-musical drama with roots in kakura dance
  • Nō Characters: protagonist (waki), traveling monk and intermediary
  • Japanese Music: 'left' (Indian/Chinese) and 'right' (Manchu/Korean) currents
  • Ancient Musical Styles: shōmyō and gagaku (sōgaku and instrumental; bugaku with dance)
  • Southeast Asia: transition of Hindu/Buddhist influences toward Islam (15th century)
  • Khmer Art: Angkor Wat (1113-1150) dedicated to Vishnu with universal floor plans
  • Thai Art: vertical architecture with reliquary towers (prang) and bronze Buddha statues
  • Cham Art: Hindu influence (8th-9th centuries) and Khmer (12th century)
  • Burmese Art: Chinese influence (rib vaulting) and the classical period of Pagan (10th-13th centuries)
  • Indonesian Art: Borobudur (the world's largest stupa) built by the Sailendra dynasty
  • Borobudur: 120 m long, 35 m high, 1500 bas-reliefs and 400 Buddha statues
  • Oceania: diversity in Melanesia (>1000 ethnic groups) and animist ritual art
  • Micronesia: stone complexes and megaliths
  • Yap: stone money with a central hole
  • Guam/Marianas: houses on stone columns (latte)
  • Hawaii: temples (heiau) with wooden sculptures up to 3 meters

Flashcard preview (6 of 40)

  1. 01

    In art historiography, which disciplines are traditionally considered visual or plastic arts?

    Painting, sculpture, and architecture.

  2. 02

    In the 20th century, how many "major arts" were listed?

    Nine.

  3. 03

    In the 20th century, which three disciplines were added to the overlap between plastic and visual arts?

    Design, graphic arts, and [____].

  4. 04

    In the Neolithic (6000-3000 BCE), what primary economic activity did humans adopt?

    Agriculture (sedentism).

  5. 05

    In the Paleolithic (25,000-8000 BCE), what were the main subsistence activities?

    Hunting and gathering.

  6. 06

    How many years ago were the first artistic manifestations of Homo neanderthalensis recorded?

    65,000 years ago

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