2. ANCIENT PERIOD
Venus of Willendorf.
The Venus of Willendorf, also known as the Woman of Willendorf is a
female figure estimated to have been made between 24,000 B.C. and
22,000 B.C.
It was found at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower
Austria near the city of Krems.
The figure has no visible face, her head being covered with circular
horizontal bands of what might be rows of plaited hair, or a type of
headdress.
The Venus is not a realistic portrayal but rather an idealization of the
female figure by exaggeration of feminine physique.
3. CLASSICAL PERIOD.
GREEK ART FORM
Bronzi di Riace
The Bronzi di Riace (Italian for "Riace bronzes") are two famous
full-size Greek bronzes of nude bearded warriors, cast about 460–
430 BCE.
The weight is on the back legs and is much more realistic than
archaic stances.
The musculature is clear yet not incised and looks soft enough to
be visible yet realistic.
The turned head not only represents movement but also adds life
to the sculptures.
The asymmetrical layout of the arms and legs serves to add to the
realism.
4. MEDIEVAL PERIOD
BYZENTINE ART
The Cambrai Madonna.
The Cambrai Madonna, c. 1340, it had been painted by St. Luke
himself.
The image shows Jesus squirming in his mother's arms. Mother
and child, doleful and shy, turn slightly toward us, as if they are
watching or waiting for something.
The Cambrai Madonna conforms to a type, "the Virgin of
Tenderness," an invention of the late Byzantine era.
5. ISLAMIC ART
Container in the shape of a horse and rider.
Since, Islam doesn’t allow the depiction of human and animal forms, so
the representation of living forms is indirect.
This figurine represents the relatively rare sculptural tradition within
Islamic art.
Here the overall symbolism conveyed is that of a warrior or hunter: the
rider holds a cup, carries a short staff, and bears what appears to be a
shield.
The small animal seated behind the rider may be a hunting cheetah, and
the hollowness of the object's upper section suggests a container-like
function.
6. RENASSANCE
Penitent Magdalene.
"She is portrayed as wasted away by her fasting and abstinence, and Donatello's expert
knowledge of anatomy is demonstrated by the perfect accuracy of every part of the figure."
Donatello's Magdalene has numerous allusions to help you make
metaphysical connections.
She stands in the contrapposto stance and her face is expressionless:
well-known signals of idealization.
She has long blonde hair, and wears a hair-shirt. It is very
uncomfortable, so it is a self-imposed punishment to wear it.
The connection between Mary Magdalene and Lust is that they are
traditionally said to have been reformed prostitutes.
The connection between all the Maries is their common name. The
whole statue therefore seems to present different aspects of love.
7. MODERNISM
The three dancers.
The painting shows three dancers, the one on the right being barely
visible.
A macabre dance takes place, with the dancer on the left having her
head bent at a near-impossible angle.
The jagged forms of Three Dancers convey an explosion of energy.
The image is laden with Picasso's personal recollections of a triangular
affair, which resulted in the heart-broken suicide of his friend Carlos
Casagemas.
Love, sex and death are linked in an ecstatic dance.
8. “The history of art is the history of
revivals”
- Samuel Butler.
