Art History Essay

The History of Art Essay
The History of Art
Art was the first written language and to study the history of art is to study the history of
civilizations and humankind. The Paleolithic cave paintings in France, when viewed in the modern
western perspective can only be speculated at as to the intent and/or purpose of the original artisans.
Perhaps the paintings of animals were the focal point of a religious ceremony or ritual, surveyed
before the hunt, to bring success or perhaps part of a celebration or documentation after the
successful hunt. It appears that art from the earliest history into the Renaissance focuses around
religious ceremonies of some type.
Plato believed art to be a form of communication on a metaphysical level. The modern western view
...show more content...
Without the scientific knowledge of later generations, it is assumed that these figures were
representations to invoke fertility.
Mesopotamia art was centered in what are now Iran and Iraq. The developing cultures (Assyrians,
Sumerians, Babylonians, etc) in the area, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which is
sometimes called the "Cradle of Civilization" or the "Fertile Crescent", are credited with the
invention of cuneiform writing which is shown to us in the Stele (law code) of Hamarabi. Within
these cultures, rulers often conferred with the religious leaders and religion was an important part of
their society.
The unique character of Sumerian art is exemplified by a group of votive statues from the Abu
Temple, at Tell Asmar. The identities of these statues are unclear. However, it is an educated theory
that they served Abu, God of vegetation, and they represent priests, and worshipers. There is no
indication that these figures were intended to represent a naturalistic scheme. It is important to note
that the symbolization is that of the human form and representative of some form of authoritarian
hierarchy. Tracking the human form and its relationship to art, history, and culture as the human
figure evolves through the centuries as artists perfect their
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Survey of Art History
Survey of Art History II
Man Ray like many other artists did not care to have his personal life shown in his art. He wanted
to be viewed and recognized for his work which included sculptures, paintings, and photography.
Man Ray was mostly influenced by Stieglitz's photographs. Man Ray used a similar style to
Stieglitz. He captured images that created an unvarnished look at the photos' subject. Man Ray
discovered a new way to create his photos; by accident in his work room he discovered how to
manipulate objects in his photos on pieces of photosensitive paper. In the year 1914, at a seminal
exhibition, Man Ray introduced himself to African art. Man Ray did this at the Alfred Stieglitz 291
Gallery. Man Ray's photograph Noire et Blanche became an icon for modern photography. Although
this was his most famous and widely known piece, Man Ray's less known work made a greater
impact and influence on African art. Photographs with African art pieces began to flourish greatly
after Man Ray's break through with his Noire et Blanche photograph. These photographs shed light
on many day to day issues such as: issues of race, identity, sex, separatism, and disenfranchisement.
Noire et Blanche shows Kiki –Man Ray's companion– with her eyes closed and her head sideways
on a table in a very relaxed manner. With her left hand, Kiki is holding, an Africanmask known as a
Baule Gba Gba mask. The mask is held straight above the table and right up next to her face. In this
time, it was

Art History Essay
Presenter: Welcome. Welcome, to the national radio, bringing you the latest news, and updates.
Today we have a special guest speaker, all the way from France... I am happy to present Mr.
Daumier, the famous 19th century painter.
Daumier: Bonum mane, hello... It's a pleasure to be here.
Presenter: Today our fans want to ask you a few questions about some of your paintings and the
media you have used.
Daumier: Well of course.
Daumier picks up his water and takes a small sip.
Presenter: The first painting our viewers are interested in, is your print Gargantua.
Daumier clears his throat.
Daumier: Ah yes, one of my finest caricatures.
Presenter: So, Mr. Daumier you are known as the Michelangelo of Caricatures, why is...show more
content...
At this time Charles X was dethroned because of attacks on freedom of press. The revolution then
brought to power King Louis Philippe who took a direct political role in the revolution, to my
surprise...
Presenter: Excuse me Mr. Daumier. You were in France during the time of the revolution, weren't
you?
Daumier: Yes I was, and what I saw really moved me, causing me to take the job of being a
political cartoonist. However even with the new king, Louis Philippe, the government's creeping
aggression on the freedom of the press influenced my caricatures, particularly after the conquest of
Democrat uprisings in 1834. In Gargantua I portray the king as a greedy political exploiter
referring to the corruption and ignorance of Louis Philippe. I have positioned the king on top of his
throne in the background, eating the taxpayer's dollars that are delivering then into his open mouth.
By using lithograph, it allows myself to leave strong flat white areas, which contrast against the
detailed hatched areas, which draws your eyes to the main protagonist, of King Louise, who is
sitting upon his throne, with working class men delivering taxpayers dollars to his open mouth. Also
by using outlines and darker areas of hatching on the peasant in the foreground and King Louis's
head in the background helps the king stand out. While I place the other citizens who gather around
the king's feet collecting coins and documents in mid–tones, allowing the king to stand out.
Presenter:

Women in Art Essay
Women in Art
Throughout history many artistic works have been deemed "great" and many individuals have
been labeled "masters" of the discipline. The question of who creates art and how is it to be
classified as great or greater than another has commonly been addressed by scholars and historians.
The last quarter of the 20th century has reexamined these questions based on the assertions that no
women artists have ever created or been appreciated to the level of "greatness" that perpetually
befalls their male counterparts. The position that society has institutionalized on women as unable to
be anything but subordinate and unexpressive is a major contributor to this claim. Giving a brief
history of gender discrimination in the art...show more content...
According to the Guerrilla Girls, art museums average 15% women in curated exhibits, and minority
women only .003%. On top of that, only 4% of museum acquisitions are of work by women artists
(Strawter).
The study of why women artists have systematically been erased from history and why currently the
exhibition of women's art is not valued as much as the male artists' continues. There have been many
theories behind the eradication of women artists from history. At the beginning of the Women's
Liberation Movement, an art historian by the name of Linda Nochlin published an article called,
"Why have there been no great women artists?" In here article, she addressed her own question
offering one of the first consciously feminist challenges to the established canons of art history. Her
query proved to be a rallying cry for women artists in the fervent days of the Women's Liberation
movement and offered fragments of a manifesto to women artists, and others, intent on reexamining
and ultimately restructuring the discipline (Morse, 1992). Nochlin argues that contemporary
feminists contend that there is a different "greatness" between men's art and women's art. This view
of art undermines the general discipline. It categorizes its value in order to give it a higher
classification among gender. Many women are trying to delve back into history and recapture any
trace of artistic women in order to document and arrange their

Essay on Art History
In the early 1700s, the monarchies failures at finance, national debt, involvement in multiple wars
with little care given to veterans and rising unemployment inflamed the people. When coupled with
the monarchies lifestyles of lavish spending on countless mistresses, flouting morals, excessive
parties at court, and political favors, the popularity of royalty was quickly disintegrating. The
irresponsibility of the aristocracy was no longer ignored, and a movement was beginning. This set
the stage for political change.
Writers such as Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and John Locke (1632–1704) of England experienced
these changes and began exploring the ideals of republicanism and liberalism through their writing.
Thus,...show more content...
It did not take long for the ideas to spread through Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain,
Portugal, and the American Colonies. The American Revolution began in 1775, and Thomas Paine
wrote Common Sense in January of 1776. Voltaire who had written thousands of letters, books, and
pamphlets finished his "Dictionnaire Philosophique in 1764, and the French Revolution began in
1789.
As these social, political, and moral views changed, so too did the style the arts used to
communicate life. It was during this Age of Enlightenment that the Neoclassical era in art history
began by reflecting these changing views using a style much less ornate and gilded than the
Baroque and Rococo styles that had previously dominated artistic endeavors. Strict adherence to
simple classical style with an aim to technical perfection was favored and borrowed heavily from
Greek and Roman pieces discovered earlier in the 1700s. Art was approached with the same logic
and reason of the age and with much less emotion and drama than Baroque or Rococo.
The subject matter was often dark and serious, morally and ethically upright, or heroic. Where the
aristocracy had valued drama, emotion, and grandeur, the people now valued self–denial and
self–sacrifice over self–indulgence. The colors were often dark or solemn and made use of
chiaroscuro,

Art History Essay
ART
__–history, __–theory, __–world
(Accounting for modern art with Dickie, Danto, and Weitz)
Up until the twentieth century art theorists had consistently sought for a definition of art–a
definition that would determine a set of necessary and sufficient conditions for something to be
called art. But artists in the 20th century did not want to be defined, and they deliberately tried to
create artworks that would not fit under some theorist's umbrella. We saw the Beatniks with their
free verse; we saw the pop art of Andy Warhol; we saw the rise of abstractionist and surrealist
painters; we saw "happenings", and we saw "ready–made" art, all of which combined to make the
finding of a definition of art almost...show more content...
If you try to think of a necessary condition for a game to be a game, there will always be some
game that refutes the condition, or some game that we could invent that would not fit that
condition, but could fit many others. The question of whether something is or is not art does not
require us to see if all its properties fit into some specific set of necessary and sufficient
conditions; rather, it requires us to ask whether or not we will make a decision to "enlarge the set
of conditions for applying the concept (Weitz, 188)." For both games and art there are no essential
properties, there are only "family resemblances", or relational similarities that allow us to recognize
whether a thing is close enough to be considered "art" or "a game". Weitz offers a great summation
of his argument concerning the "openness" of the concept of art:
"What I am arguing, then, is that the very expansive, adventurous character of art, its ever–present
changes and novel creations, makes it logically impossible to ensure any set of defining properties.
We can, of course, choose to close the concept. But to do this with "art" or "tragedy" or
"portraiture," etc., is ludicrous since it forecloses on the very conditions of creativity in the arts
(189)."
So, Weitz's

Women In Art History
I decided to do my analysis on why women have been excluded from the art history in the past. In
the past centuries, women were often kept away from the arts because of their gender and they often
faced many challenges. Also, one of the other reasons I think is that they usually had to take care of
their household and children and didn't really get the chance to pursue a career. They often didn't get
the opportunity to pursue an education. Although there were female artists in the past, they never
really got recognition for their work and they had a hard time selling their artwork. Also, women
probably either had to choose between their career or marriage. In that time period, women often had
a lot of pressure from the society. Women during

The History of Art Essay
The History of Art
When we think of history we don't often think of art. We don't realize how the history of art can help
us learn more about the people, the cultures, and the belief systems of those who lived hundreds and
thousands of years before us. Art has developed, influenced, and contributed starting from the great
Stone Age to the present day. Art gives an insight into the changes and evolution that man and
culture have gone through to become what is today. Art is culture, art is the essence of the people
who make it and the best way to appreciate art is to look at the history of it and it's evolvement
through time.
The Great Ages consists of four distinct ages: The Old...show more content...
The Great Goddess is the pivotal figure among the tribal people. She is worshiped and prayed to in
hopes that she is fertile and fruitful for, She is the lone creator of all that is. She is female in all
aspects, but yet she has male powers. Many consider the Great Goddess to be an androgyne because
she is self–created, self–fertilizing, and self–existent. She is both male and female. An Androgyne
was thought to have achieved "balance of reason and intuition, of wisdom and compassion"; they
are supreme beings. She is the creator of the universe, of life and of death and special rituals would
be carried out to insure that she would continue to create.
One of the first images of the Great Goddess is represented in Illustration 1–8 (Venus of Willendorf
(Australia), c 28,000–23,000 b.c. Limestone, approx. 4Вј" high. Naturhistorisches museum, Vienna).
She is only 4 inches tall, but a very sacred piece of sculpture. Her body is significantly voluptuous,
representing fertility. She appears to be pregnant and her breasts heavy with milk. She is faceless,
emphasizing that She is everything. She has no particularity, no image, because she is beyond
particularization, she is everything known to man in the universe.
As 10,000 BCE came around so came about the starting of the New Stone Age and the end of the
Old. In the Old Stone Age, the Great Goddess, alone made the universe, but as the New

Essay on Art History
The exhibition Degas: Form, Movement and the Antique at the Tampa Museum of art consist of
47 pieces from the French impressionist's Edgar Degas life. The exhibition focuses on Degas
fascination with motion, and shape and his influences from Greek and Roman art. It consists of
oil paintings, charcoal and pastel drawings, and bronze replicas of his works. Most of the pieces
are inspired by horses, ballerinas and everyday women. He traditionally used line, color and texture
in his paintings to convey the poise and grace of the figures. He also used asymmetry, imbalance and
dramatic angles to give the dancers a more naturalistic feeling. In his sculptures he typically used
shape and space to simulate movement, and used form to capture the...show more content...
In Rearing Horse he uses a dramatic poses to express the dynamic movement of the horse and to
capture the horse's wild and unrestrained nature. In this piece I believe Degas was trying to express
a sense of freedom and impulsiveness. In Thoroughbred Horse Walking the statue has an incomplete
and spontaneous feeling to it that is almost like a quick drawing. It feels as though Degas is trying to
communicate a feeling of defeat and resignation with this piece. In Horse with Jockey Degas is
trying to show the connection between a horse and its rider, it is meant to show how they both move
as one during a race and the relationship between man and nature.
Both Dancer Looking at the Sole of Her Right Foot and Dancer Holding Her Right Foot in Her
Right Hand are statues of Ballerinas balancing on one leg, cast in bronze. In these pieces Degas
manages to capture the poised nature of the dancer's movements. The pieces themselves have a
rough and unfinished quality to them like a sketch or gesture drawing. These pieces show Degas
love for sculpting bodies in motion, and by looking at these pieces it was easy for me to see why
Degas found dancers such an enchanting subject; he saw even their smallest gestures inspiring and
translated that beauty into sculptures that express their rhythm and movement perfectly.
In the statues Spanish Dancer and Grande Arabesque demonstrates Degas's ability to convey
dancelike rhythm and motion in his

Art History : Art Criticism
Jenessa Asch
Professor Caratzola
Art History 202
Term Paper Draft
Art History is the study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts. The
history of art, we feel, can sometimes be confused with art criticism. However, Art History is
concerned with finding the value of the artistic piece in respect with others in the same category
of art or movement, and art criticism is more of an evaluation of art. The art examined best
represents the culture during the time period, visions the artist imagined, and history behind an
event. It also represents society in a specific area, beliefs the people may have, writing that tells a
story, the natural world and environment, conflict between people and areas, and the human body.
With these representations, artwork overall represents the life in which we live (d). Each piece
has its own genre, design, format and style to it. This makes each piece extremely different, yet
pleasing to the eye. They also vary between paintings, sculptures and architecture. These different
types also make a variety of artwork to be seen by all people. The art pieces that I chose, Jar, Bottle
and Glass by Juan Gris, The Persistence of Memory by Salvador DalГ, and Starry Night by Vincent
Van Gogh, seemed interesting to me and I believe to best represent the context in which they were
created, along with the major artistic movements of the time. I went on to research them more
thoroughly to better understand the history behind them,

The Importance of Art Essay
Art is a form of human expression. Art can be seen as the artist sleight of hand on his mood. Art
is in various media from posters to public wall of which we call "graffiti". Art is elusive as the use
of colors shapes and the surface used adds a new dimension. Art portrays various ideas, feelings
such as triumph, love, happiness, sorrow and boredom in loss to mention a few. Art is beauty and
creativity. During man's evolution art has progressed over in its most primitive state up to its most
modernized versions today.
History shows that art has been used as a major tool for communication. Cavemen did art on their
walls using unsophisticated and blunt tools. The indigenous people of our country, the aborigines
such as Albert Namatjira...show more content...
Ancient Egyptians, Aztecs, Incas and Mayans created many meticulous pieces of art. Some of the
meticulous pieces of art are masks, pyramids, jewelry, wall paintings, tombs, sarcophagi. The
primal Romans and Greeks showed their appreciation of life through art. India used art to show
their dance and their religions. The African art is symbolic of their tribal cuffs as seen of their totem
poles.
Today, Art has gone through many changes. Abstract art dominates art today shows ambiguous life
a man lives, in contrast to the unambiguous art of the past. Modern does not have spirituality and
cultural values and beliefs in the past and is now a reflection of a materialistic life of today. Bill
Henson, a portrait artist used his 12 year old Olympia as a nude model for his portrait drawing. This
brought much controversy that he was exploiting the body of an under – age girl as his own gains.
This shows that art is used for popularity and financial gain. The message behind art is to show ideas
and ideas that are relevant to society. Art is meant to enliven life and things, thoughmodern art
shows more if life's negativeness. Galleries, parks and museums view to the public with
meaningfulness and with the appreciation for art. Art is still effective as hand written material was
seen in the walls of Ancient Egypt. Modern art stimulates the thought and fosters greater

Essay on Cultures Influences on Art
Cultures Influences on Art With changes in culture, come changes in art. Throughout history,
artworks have been produced as an imitation of the culture and society in which they were created.
The cultural frame examines the meaning of artworks in relation to the social perspective of the
community from which it grows. A reflection can be seen in Manet's realist artwork of Olympia, and
similarly, Umberto Boccioni's Unique forms of Continuity and Space reflects different beliefs and
conventions merely as a result of societal changes. Pop Art works such a Andy Warhol's Marilyn x
100 and Post – modern works, such...show more content...
These particular artists chose to focus their interests on worldly, real, raw and pure subjects. They
wished to create simple art, painting exactly what they saw and how they saw it. Among these
artists was Edouard Manet. Manet was known as a rebel for his time most likely because of his
rebellion against Classic and Romantic traditions and his confronting and stirring painting of
Olympia. Manet takes Titian's Venus of Urbino as his model, yet instead of following accepted
French art practices of depicting historical, biblical or mythical themes, he paints a woman of his
time. The subject is a real female courtesan lying nude on a bed in a provocative position, with
one hand covering her genitalia. He paints in his own manner of quick, rough, visible brushstrokes
and replaces deep perspective with two flat frames. Olympia was a very confronting artwork to
society as although many middle and upper class gentlemen of the time were frequent customers of
courtesans and prostitutes, but being confronted by one on a canvas in a gallery was something
different. Manet has broken away from traditional practices of art in the 1860s, and created a unique
realist artwork depicting a common scene.
Dramatic events such as the Industrial Revolution, World Wars, and changes in the social world,
influenced new ideas and technology which revolutionized the way artworks

Essay about Art Movements
Cubism was one of the strongest art movements in the 20th century that gave birth to many other
movements such as futurism and suprematism. The Forefathers of this revolutionary way of
painting were Pablo Picasso and George Braque. Although it may have seemed to be abstract and
geometrical to an untrained eye, cubist art do depict real objects. The shapes are flattened onto
canvas so that different sides of each shape can be shown simultaneously from many angles. This
new style gave a 3 dimensional look on the canvas. The cubist movement gave rise to an
extraordinary reassessment of the interaction between form and space changing the course of
western art forever.
The groundbreaking Demoiselles d'Avignon was controversial not only...show more content...
One of it's innovator's was Umberto Boccioni who said "We want represent not the optical or
analytical impression but the physical and total experience" (Futurism 101). "They now pinned less
faith on the power of new subject matter and strove to complement their colour divisionism with
fragmentation of the cubist sort" (Futurism 101).
Suprematism was influenced by cubism because of it geometric shapes but "suprematism was not so
much a movement in art as it is an attitude..." (Suprematism 138). This non–movement was created
by Kasmir Malevich's , "His elemental forms were designed both to break the artist's conditioned
responses to his environment and create new realities 'no less significant then the realities of nature
herself'" (Suprematism 138). A suprematist work, banishes every trace of subject, it used color and
form and there interaction to form a subject. While cubism had definite subject it was also the
interaction of color and shape that made the subject.
Constructivism was influenced by suprematism, this movement swept away traditional notions about
art, believing that it should imitate the forms and processes of modern technology. "Often
constructivism was overtly propagandist in nature: sometimes by the placement of simple geometric
forms in the kind of literary context which turns such forms into representations..." (Constructivism
161). De Stijl was mostly influenced by painters Piet Mondrian, Theo Van Doesburg and

Art History Essay

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