WESTERN
CLASSICAL ART
TRADITION
Daughter
Breastfeeding Her
Father
PRE HISTORIC ERA
Includes all human existence before the
emergence of writing. Their work of art is of
interest not only to the art historians but also
to archeologist and anthropologist, for whom
the art is the only one clue- along with fossils,
pollens and other archeological discoveries
that lead to an understanding of early human
life and culture.
3 PERIODS OF
PRE-HISTORIC ART
1.Paleolithic Era (Old Stone)
2.Mesolithic Era (Middle Stone Age)
3.Neolithic Era (New Stone Age)
Paleolithic Era
(Old Stone)
Mesolithic Era
(Middle Stone Age)
Neolithic Era
(New Stone Age)
PAINTINGS FROM THE
PRE-HISTORIC ERA
Paintings during the pre-historic era were found inside caves which
may have been the pre-historic people’s way of communicating with
each other. It may also be for religious or ceremonial.
These symbols for these people paintings may be considered more an
artifact of archeological evidence than a true picture of human’s first
created art.
Pre-historic drawings of animals were usually correct in proportion.
PAINTINGS FROM THE
PRE-HISTORIC ERA
The dominant features in the painting were large animals
native in the region. It was discovered on 12th of September
1940, and was given a statutory historic monument
protection. It was discovered by 18 year old Marcel Ravidat.
Ravidat returned to the scene with three friends, Jacques
Marsal, Georges Agnel, and Simon Coencas, and entered
the cave via a long shaft. The teenagers discovered that
the cave walls were covered with depictions of animals.
SIX SECTIONS IDENTIFIED IN THE CAVE:
1.The Great Hall of the Bulls
2.The Lateral Passage
3.The Shaft of the Dead Man
4.The Chamber of Engraving
5.The Painted Gallery
6.The Chamber of Feliness
The cave complex was opened to the public in
1948. by 1955, the Carbon Dioxide, heat,
humidity, and other contaminants produced by
1,200 visitors per day had visibly damaged the
paintings and introduced lichen on the walls.
The cave was closed to the public in 1963 to
preserve the art. After the cave was closed, the
paintings were restored to their original state
and were monitored daily.
PAINTINGS FROM
ANCIENT EGYPT
PAINTINGS FROM
CLASSICAL GREEK ERA
Paintings from the Classical
Greek Era were commonly found
in vases, panels and tomb.
-FRESCO-
method of painting
water-based pigments
on a freshly applied
plaster usually on a
wall surfaces.
-ENCAUSTIC-
developed to use by
Greek ship builders, who
used the hot wax to fill
the crack of the ship.
Soon pigments (colors)
was added and used to
paint a wax haul
VASE PAINTING
KERCH STYLE- is also referred to as Kerch
Vases are red-figured pottery named after
the place where it was found
Lekanis
-low bowl- Krater
-bowl use for
mixing wine
and water-
Pelike
Lebes Gamikos
-wine
-with high handles and lid
container-
to carry bridal bath-
PANEL PAINTING
PITSA PANEL
(Archaic Period between 540 and 530 B.C.E.)
(Image from treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library)
PANEL PAINTING
TOMB OF THE DIVER
(Paestrum 480 BCE)
(Image from treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library)
PAINTINGS FROM THE
ROMANTIC ERA
• Most of the paintings in this era were copied
or imitated from Hellenic Greek paintings.
Fresco technique was used in brightly
colored backgrounds.
• Roman paintings have a wide variety of
subjects, animals, everyday life, still life,
mythological subjects, portraits and
landscapes.
• The development of Landscape painting is
the main innovation of Roman painting from
Greek painting
MOSAIC
• An Art process
where an
image is
created using
an assemblage
HEAD OF ALEXANDER of small pieces
-Image from treasures of of colored
the World, 1961 CCP
Library- glass, stones,
or other
materials.
MOSAIC
• An Art process
where an
image is
created using
an assemblage
of small pieces
of colored
glass, stones,
or other
materials.
FRESCO FROM THE VILLA OF MYSTERIES
Pompeii 80 bc
MOSAIC
• An Art process
where an
image is
created using
an assemblage
of small pieces
of colored
glass, stones,
or other
materials.
BOSCOTRECASE, POMPEII
BYZANTINE PAINTING
THE COURT OF EMPRESS THEODORA
(6TH Century AD San Vitale, Ravena)
BYZANTINE PAINTING
THEODORA
-Asian Queen with Dark eyes and hair with fierce
expression-
ROMANESQUE PAINTING
• These are
largely placed
mosaics on
the walls of
the churches
that follows a
strict frontal
pose
CHRIST IN MAJESTY
-Asian Queen with Dark eyes and hair with fierce
expression-
PAINTINGS FROM THE GOTHIC ERA
LADY AND THE UNICORN TAPESTRY
1506-1513
PAINTINGS FROM THE GOTHIC ERA
ROSE WINDOWS FROM
THE NORTH TRANSCRIPT
About 1230
PAINTINGS FROM THE GOTHIC ERA
THE SHEPHERD DAVID
13TH Century, Gothic
manuscript illustration
SCULPTURES FROM THE
EARLY AGE
PRE- HISTORIC SCULPTURES
Materials used in sculptures vary accordingly to
region and locality. Archeologist believed that
their sculpture is a result of natural erosion and
not of human artistry.
VENUS OF WILLENDORF VENUS OF BRASSEMPOUY
-it is carved from limestone with excessively -sculpture of a lady with the hood. It is a fragmentary
heavy breast and abdomen used as charm ivory figurine from the Upper Paleolithic era that
to ensure fertility realistically represents the human face and hairstyle
SCULPTURES FROM THE
Egyptian era
Symbolic elements were widely used such
as forms, hieroglyphics, relative size,
location, materials, color, actions and
gestures. Their tombs required the most
extensive used of sculpture.
Characteristics of Sculpture:
1. Symbolisms were heavily used to represent the
gods.
2. Most of the time the gods were shown larger
than humans, the kings larger than their
followers, the dead larger than the living
3. Empty space were filled with figures or
hieroglyphics
QUEEN NEFERTITI THE MENKAURE AND HIS QUEEN
-queen, refers to the Great Royal wife of the -an example of portraits presented in rigid postures ,
Egyptian Pharoah and were simple and powerful with very little show or
private emotion.
SCULPTURES FROM THE
classical period
Early Greek sculptures were tense and stiff, their
bodies were hidden within enfolding robes. One
of the most popular styles of the Greek
sculptures was the Hellenistic style.
MYRON;
THE DISCOBULUS
-Shows an attitude of maximum
tension, full of compressed energy,
and about to explode an action
ROMAN SCULPTURE
Most Roman sculptures are made of
monumental terra-cotta. They did not attempt
to complete with the free standing Greek works
of history or mythology but rather they
produced reliefs in the Great Roman triumphal
columns with continuous narrative reliefs around
THE PORTONACIO
SARCOPHAGUS
-The best known and most elaborate
of all “sarcophagus” (It is a box liked
funeral receptacle for a dead body
(SARX- Greek word means “Flesh”
PHAGEIN- means “to eat”)
SARCOPHAGUS from
cervetiri, c.
-a husband and wife are shown
reclining comfortably, as if they were
on a couch
byzantine SCULPTURE
The dominant themes in Byzantine sculptures
are religious, everyday life scenes, and motifs
from nature.
Animals were used as symbols (dove, deer,
peafowl) while some had acrostic signs (form of
writing in which taking the first letter; syllable or
word of different lines putting them together it
can be read a message) that contained a great
theological significance
THE BARBERINI DIPTYCH
-an early example of Byzantine Ivory
work
Romanesque
SCULPTURE
Small individual works
of art were generally
made of costly materials
for royal and aristocratic
patrons
LAST JUDGEMENT
-tympanum (an architectural element with in the arch of
pediment)
gothic
SCULPTURE
They have a greater
freedom of style. They
no longer lay closely
against the wall, but
begun to project
outward.
RESURRECTION OF THE VIRGIN
ARCHITECTURE FROM
THE EARLY AGE
PRE HISTORIC ARCHITECTURE
Man has developed a form of architecture
based on Megaliths (a big rock) from the Greek
word Lithos (stone) and Megas (Big). This
architecture is made of huge stone blocks
which were probably intended for burial.
Megalithic monuments have always
ignited man’s imagination. It provided plenty of
legends and superstition. During this Era,
stones and rocks were associated with divinity,
3 MAIN TYPES OF
MEGALITH STONE
MENHIR
A huge stone
standing vertically
on the ground,
usually standing in
the middle of the
field or arranged in
rows.
dolmens
Originated from the
expression taol, which
means “stone table”.
These structures are in a
form of table consisting
of two huge standing
stones supporting a
horizontal giant stone.
CROMLECH
a Brythonic word
where “crom” means
bent or curved and
“llech” which means
slab or flagstones.
Literary it is a circle
of standing stones.
STONEHENGE
Best preserved
megalithic site in
Europe, a group of
stones arranged in
concentric circles with
large external circle of
triliths.
EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE
PYRAMIDS
It is the most substantial ancient
structure of the world. The three
pyramids are the funerary structures
of the three kings of the fourth
dynasty (2575 to 2465 BC) namely:
EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE
KHUFU (Cheops)
- whom the Great Pyramid was
attributed
KHAFA (Chepren)
- whom the Pyramid next to the
great pyramid is attributed
KAURA (Mycerinus)
- the smallest is attributed to men
MASTABA
A type of Egyptian
tomb in the form of
a flat roofed,
rectangular structure
with outward
sloping sides. It was
made of mud bricks
or stone
GREEK ARCHITECTURE
PARTHENON
The Greatest
Classical temple
ROMAN
ARCHITECTURE
THE
COLOSSEUM
The emperors
erected huge
halls and arenas
for public
games, baths
and procession.
BYZANTINE
ARCHITECTURE
Mosaic decoration
was perfected by
the Byzantines, as
was the use of
clerestory o bring
light in from high
windows.
HAGIA SOPHIA
ROMANESQUE
ARCHITECTURE
The doorways of
Romanesque’s
churches are often
grand sculptured
portals. Wood or
metal doors are
surrounded by
elaborate stone
sculpture arranged
in zones to fit
architectural The groin-vaulted crypt of
elements Worcester Cathedral
GOTHIC
ARCHITECTURE
This design
included two new
devices: pointed
arch which enabled
builders to
construct much
higher ceiling
vaults and stone
vaulting borne on a
network of stone
ribs supported by
piers and clustered
pillars Cathedral of Chartres
(Notre Dame Cathedral)
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