Ceramics 1
Ceramics 1
Unity-Principle of Design
Unity-Principle of Design
Unity-Principle of Design
Unity-Principle of Design
Unity-Principle of Design
Unity-Principle of Design
Line- Element of Art
Line- Element of Art
Classwork & assignments
Presentation slideshow
Presentation slideshow
Classwork & assignments
Classwork & assignments
Lines are everywhere. You can see lines in the grain of a piece of wood or in the cracks on a sidewalk.
In art, Line is an element of art that is the path of a moving point through space.
Lines are used to:
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Create boundaries between shapes
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Create boundaries between colors, textures or values
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Lead the eye from one space to another
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Create textures
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Suggest emotional qualities
Lines are everywhere. You can see lines in the grain of a piece of wood or in the cracks on a sidewalk.
In art, Line is an element of art that is the path of a moving point through space.
Lines are used to:
-
Create boundaries between shapes
-
Create boundaries between colors, textures or values
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Lead the eye from one space to another
-
Create textures
-
Suggest emotional qualities
Classwork & assignments
Grid drawing is a very old technique of transferring images (from sketches to a full size canvas or fresco, etc...)
Always make sure that the number of squares on the original picture and your working area are exactly the same (even if the size of the squares are bigger on the paper). This is because no matter how many times bigger (or smaller) you make the drawing, the proportions and dimensions can only stay the same if the number of boxes (squares) matches exactly.
Make sure you follow all steps below.
2.3.2 The Van Eycks and Rogier van der Weyden
The Greeks and the Romans
A Greek vase once inspired such passion in the Romantic poet John Keats that he wrote an ode about it. In the end, he concluded:
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty — that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."
In that vase, Keats glimpsed a moment of beauty that was captured by an ancient Greek artist and would be preserved long after both the artist and the poet were gone.
You will now study the ancient Greeks, who valued beauty in art. The influence of ancient Greece was so lasting, it persists today.
Then you will study the Romans and their 2,000-year stamp on the art world, much of which was influenced by the Greeks.
A circa 1819 sketch Keats did of the urn that inspired him.
Ancient Greece
Welcome to ancient Greece, the time period in Greek history lasting from 1100 BC – 146 BC. The art produced during this time was ever-evolving. It started as basic decorations on functional items like bowls. By the end it had turned into a factory-like process in order to beautify the many new city-states being built.
Ancient Greece is divided into several distinct art periods. Here, you will focus on the Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods.
The ancient Greek culture is often considered the foundation of modern Western civilization. Its influence extended far beyond 146 BC and is still alive today.
During this time period, different forms of art flourished. Move on to find out what they were.
Map of ancient or "classical" Greece
Early Greek Pottery
Early examples of Greek pottery dating from 1000 – 700 BC were decorated with geometric symbols and patterns.
Ancient Greeks used pottery in their everyday lives, so many of the earliest Greek paintings were done on household pottery items. Functional items such as bowls, jugs, and drinking vessels were the first canvases in ancient Greece.
An amphora (plural amphorae) was a vase with two handles and was the most common form of pottery at the time.
The sizes and shapes of these amphorae could range greatly depending on function, but the most common use was for storing and transporting goods, such as olives, oils, and wine.
This amphora vase, circa 750 BC, was found in Thebes, an area of ancient Greece.
Themes of Archaic Pottery
Beginning around 700 BC, ancient Greeks began painting human figures on their pottery. This was the start of the Archaic period.
So, what were the themes and characteristics of the Archaic period?
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Most art focused on religion.
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Showing motion was a common goal of Archaic pottery. Figures were often shown running, crawling, dancing, or wrestling.
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In addition to the religious themes, fighting warriors and competing athletes are common characters on vases from ancient Greece.
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Many paintings tell entire stories of Greek heroes and the glories of kings and their accomplishments.
Believe it or not, sometimes all of this would appear on a single vase.
Terracotta Panathenaic prize amphoraca. 500 B.C.
Attributed to the Kleophrades Painter This vase depicts the pankration, which combined wrestling, boxing, and kicking. The inclusion of the judge may highlight the particular danger of the event to the competitors.
Think About the Meaning-
Question
1.) Why do you think stories were told on Greek pottery or other artworks?
2.) How are visual messages communicated today?
3.) What other method of spreading a message is used today?
Terracotta aryballos (oil flask)ca. 570 B.C.
Black-Figure Pottery Painting
During the Archaic period of ancient Greece, a distinct style of pottery painting was developed, called the black-figure technique.
The black-figure technique originated during the early 7th century BC. This technique features black figures painted on a reddish-orange background.
They painted the figures onto the vase using a clay varnish that turned black after being fired or cooked under high heat in a kiln.
The more intricate details of the figures, such as clothing and facial features, were scratched into the black paint so that the red clay of the vase showed through.
White pigment was also often used to highlight hair, clothing, parts of weapons, and women's skin.
This black-figure vase was created circa 640 BC and shows two chariots beneath a rooster, as well as several geometric patterns.
Master of Black Figure: Exekias
One outstanding black-figure technique painter was Exekias. He is considered to be the most detail-oriented and original pottery painter of the era.
Exekias's Dionysus Cup, circa 525 BC
According to scholars, Exekias worked between 550 BC and 525 BC in Athens. He is renowned for his amazing attention to detail, grand compositions, and reinterpretations of mythological (make believe) stories. The Greeks believed in Myths. Myths are widely held but false belief or ideas.
Exekias the artist was also an innovator, experimenting with different colors and shapes.
One of Exekias's most famous surviving works is called the Dionysus Cup. The image on the bottom of the cup shows him sailing to Athens.
According to myth, the ship was held captive by pirates until Dionysus turned the mast into grape vines, scaring the pirates into jumping overboard, where they turned into dolphins.
The inclusion of smaller objects surrounding the main scene on the piece of pottery is very characteristic of Exekias's black-figure artwork.
Exekias's Dionysus Cup, circa 525 BC
This marble statue, created circa 520 BC, shows a standing, draped girl in keeping with one of the three common forms.
Early Archaic Sculpture
Along with pottery, the Archaic period is also characterized by impressive statues made of marble and bronze.
Archaic statues were often made in one of three forms: a standing, nude youth; a standing, draped girl; or a seated woman.
These statues were greatly detailed and represented the human anatomy accurately. Facial expressions and the clothing of women were carved delicately and carefully.
Sculptures of this time period were often commissioned by wealthy citizens, and most statues were not carved to represent real people. Instead, they were designed to represent the ideal human body.
Divine Perfection
So, the human form was used as a representation of the godlike beauty that mortal humans have.
Through sculpture, the beautiful details of the human body could be rendered better and more accurately than through any other art form.
Why do you think sculptures focused on the ideal of perfection?
Check Your Understanding
Make sure you understand what you just learned about the Archaic period before moving on to the next major movement in ancient Greece
Classical Art - Why the Transition?
After the Archaic period of ancient Greece came the Classical period, which lasted through the 6th, 5th, and 4th centuries. The Classical period saw the introduction of democracy, the rise of the powerful city-state Athens, and the bloody Persian Wars.
In art, things were also changing. Sculpture during this period featured more statues of real (rather than ideal) people.
Questions:
1.) Why do you think more real people started being shown in art during this time period?
2.) O.K., so they had democracy. But what is the most important part of a democracy? And what does that have to do with art?
Black-figure technique to the left, circa 580 BC; red-figure technique to the right, circa 480 BC
Classical Friezes
One important art form to develop during the Classical period was the frieze. A frieze is any decoration placed on the tops of walls near the ceiling. It is usually a relief carved from stone. However, friezes can also be created from plaster or painted directly onto the wall.
Red-Figure Pottery
The red-figure technique of pottery painting replaced the black-figure technique during the Classical period.
This technique was introduced around 525 BC. It reversed the earlier style to feature red or white figures on a black background in a slightly more complicated process.
First, artists gently outlined the figures they were going to include by etching them into the wet clay. These etchings would turn red after firing. They then painted the rest of the vase with a clay varnish that turned black after firing.
The artist painted additional details after the firing. The red-figure technique allowed for much more detailed and realistic characters, since the artist didn't have to scratch them into the pottery.
Red-Figure Pottery
The red-figure technique of pottery painting replaced the black-figure technique during the Classical period.
This technique was introduced around 525 BC. It reversed the earlier style to feature red or white figures on a black background in a slightly more complicated process.
First, artists gently outlined the figures they were going to include by etching them into the wet clay. These etchings would turn red after firing. They then painted the rest of the vase with a clay varnish that turned black after firing.
The artist painted additional details after the firing. The red-figure technique allowed for much more detailed and realistic characters, since the artist didn't have to scratch them into the pottery.
Paris, Louvre G 105: Bowl with signature of Euphronios as potter, painting by Onesimos.
Euphronios and the Pioneer Group
Starting around 525 BC, Athens became the pottery-making center of the Classical period. An early group of pottery painters, nicknamed the Pioneer Group, were the first to use the red-figure technique.
The painter and potter Euphronios was one of the most important representatives of this new technique.
Euphronios is known for his great attention to the details of human muscles; his mastery of the clay slips (water with clay or other materials added) to produce lighter yellow or dark brown colors; and a tendency to depict scenes of everyday life.
The use of foreshortening to create more naturalistic figures, and the introduction of pathos, or emotion, into the painted scenes also appeared along with the red-figure painting technique.
After the Pioneer Group, artists focused on symmetry, harmony, and emotion. Many painters began signing their work as well, an addition previously unheard-of.
Paris, Louvre G 106: Neck amphora depicting a Scythian archer, c. 510–500.
Panel Painting in Ancient Greece
There were several different painting traditions in ancient Greece. What the red-figure technique was to three-dimensional pottery, panel painting was to two-dimensional works.
The techniques used include tempera paint and encaustic or wax paint, in which pigment is added to wax and then applied to the wood.
Panel paintings often depicted portraits and still lifes, as well as scenes of multiple figures interacting. The style of the figures is similar to the black-figure technique used on pottery.
Almost no examples of this type of art exist today. The Pitsa panels from circa 530 BC are the most important surviving panel paintings, although they are considered to be very low-quality work.
Why do you think the panels didn't survive?
"Panel 2" The Pitsa panels or Pitsa tablets are a group of painted wooden tablets found near Pitsa, Corinthia ( Greece ). They are the earliest surviving examples of Greek panel painting
What Happened to the Panels?
Why do you think most examples of panel painting didn't survive to present day?
Good-Bye, Panels
Question
1.) Think about the common artistic mediums of the time. What medium did most panel paintings use?
2.) Compare wood to another medium, like stone. Why does stone last longer than wood?
3.) Of course, some panels did survive. Why do you think some survived and others didn't?
The Hellenistic Period
Around the end of the 4th century BC, the Classical period gave way to what is known as the Hellenistic period. Thanks to the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek culture spread all the way to India, incorporating and adopting new peoples and new ideas along the way. Art from the Hellenistic period reflects these changes.
Subjects became more diverse. Sculpture also became more realistic and natural. Artists did not feel the need to portray ideals such as innocence and beauty. Instead, they painted scenes of domestic life and regular people.
This Hellenistic frieze from the 2nd century BC was found in Pakistan. It is a great example of the influence of Greece on other cultures during this time period.
Art as Industry
More examples of Hellenistic sculpture survive today than from any other time period. This is because Greece was undergoing a period of rapid expansion. Cities were springing up all over the place, from India and the Middle East to Africa and Europe.
New cities required new public decorations, and Greek sculptors had their hands full churning out statues for city squares and friezes for buildings. Sculpting in the Hellenistic period was almost an industry instead of an art.
Terracotta statuette of a draped woman 3rd century B.C. - Greek
The lady holds a fan in her left hand.
Artistic Developments
During the Hellenistic period, artists began to experiment with depth, shading, and color blending to create depth perception and even linear perspective. However, these techniques were used inconsistently.
Shading was used on an object-by-object basis, rather than by using a single light source for the whole painting.
Likewise, instead of a painting as a whole having one vanishing point, each object in a work had its own, which sometimes made the perspective look warped or distorted.
But, for the first time in history, painters moved from a flat, two-dimensional representation of humans and their world to a reasonably accurate, three-dimensional one.
Mosaic Form
Artists at this time also started experimenting with an art form known as mosaic. The earliest examples of mosaic date back to the 4th century BC, and the Romans would continue the trend after the Greeks.
It's amazing that artists were able to create dimensions and perspective using rocks and glass, but they did. Some are so accurate and detailed they almost look like paintings.
4th century Greek mosaic
4th century Greek mosaic floor design.
The Decline of Greece
Greece experienced its golden age of art during the Classical period. The 6th, 5th, and 4th centuries BC were the height of Greek culture and arts.
In contrast, the Hellenistic period was one of decline. Beginning with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and ending with the Roman conquest of Greek lands in 146 BC, this period marks the transition between Greek and Roman dominance.
However, the influence of Greek art never diminished, and most Roman artists found their inspiration in the work of their Greek counterparts.
What Do You Know?
Check what you know about each period of ancient Greece that you just studied. Match each item to its appropriate time period.
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Ancient Rome
The Roman Kingdom grew into what is called the Roman Republic and, later, the Roman Empire. For the purposes of this course, we will refer to these periods collectively as ancient Rome.
The period of ancient Greece overlapped significantly with ancient Rome. They were neighbors until Rome conquered Greece in 146 BC, at which point Greece was assimilated into Roman territory.
Beginning in 753 BC, ancient Rome grew and expanded until it controlled a huge region of what is now Europe and even parts of Asia and Africa.
During nearly 2,000 years of military and cultural domination, ancient Rome contributed greatly to Western civilization, especially in the areas of law, politics, philosophy, technology, language, and art.
This map shows the extent of Roman domination at the empire's peak around AD 116.
This is a classic example of an ancient Roman bust, located in the Musei Capitolini in Rome. It was likely commissioned by a rich man to be displayed in his home, around the 2nd century AD.
Compare and Contrast with the Greeks
People who lived in ancient Rome were influenced by their contemporaries, the Greeks. Roman artists revered and copied legendary Greek sculptors and painters such as Phidias, Exekias, and Euphronios.
However, there are some important differences between Roman and Greek art. In ancient Greece and especially in the Classical and Hellenistic periods, artists were highly respected. By contrast, in Rome, artists were more often unknown, low-paid workers who rarely signed their work.
Also, while Greek art was treasured for its beauty and grace, Roman art was used to indicate wealth and status. The materialistic ancient Romans would often decorate their houses with great statues and works of art.
Of course, most of those works of art were directly influenced by the Greeks.
Themes in Painting
So, what were the common characteristics and themes of painted art from ancient Rome?
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Ancient Romans painted a variety of subjects, including animals, portraits, still-life scenes, and mythical creatures.
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Ancient Romans also focused on scenes from mythological tales such as the Odyssey, a Greek story.
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The styles of painting range from great detail and precision to quick brushstrokes.
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Shading is used, although the light doesn't come consistently from one direction.
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Textures are carefully rendered so that a piece of fruit and a glass full of water are clearly distinguishable.
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Early attempts at aerial perspective can be observed. In a famous series of scenes from the Odyssey, the colors of the mountains in the background decrease in intensity to indicate that they are farther away.
This circa 60 BC Roman fresco from the mythological tale the Odyssey, shows an early attempt at aerial perspective.
Preserved by the ashes from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii, this 1st century AD fresco shows how the ancient Romans used shading, particularly on the clothing and bodies of the figures.
Refreshing Frescoes
One of the most important artistic legacies of ancient Rome is the fresco, a style they borrowed from the then-extinct Minoan civilization.
Roman fresco artists often used bright colors to lighten the interior of a wealthy citizen's house or painted fake windows that opened onto imaginary scenes of parks, lakes, and other nature scenes.
The most complete and majestic examples of Roman frescoes are found in the houses at Pompeii and Herculaneum, the cities that were buried and preserved under 15 – 20 feet of hot ash and debris when Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79.
Astounding landscapes, complex vistas of architecture, scenes from mythology, and even still lifes decorate the walls of these destroyed cities.
Roman Landscapes
A major distinction between ancient Greek and Roman art is the Romans' focus on landscape painting. In fact, ancient Romans are credited with creating the landscape style, though some would argue that it, too, came from the Greeks.
The Roman Empire was constantly conquering new lands, so there was constantly new land to be studied and observed. As a result, Roman painters depicted many scenes of natural landscapes (gardens, hills, rivers, coastlines, fields, flowers) as well as scenes of ancient mythology, such as the Odyssey.
Most landscapes were painted in pastel colors and conveyed an image of tranquility and peace, brought to the empire by the Emperor Augustus after years of war.
While the Romans still did not understand mathematical perspective, early attempts at creating depth and scale are present in their renderings of landscapes. Shading and the application of color were familiar techniques, and their attention to detail is impressive.
A 1st century BC fresco features a pastel landscape. The original painting was located in Pompeii and preserved in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
Cave Canem or "Beware the Dog" is the warning found on this mosaic from a well-preserved 2nd century BC house in Pompeii.
Mosaics
Around the 4th century BC, ancient Romans began using the mosaic style to decorate the floors and walls of their homes, and incredible examples can be found throughout ancient Rome.
According to historians, the best and largest collection of Roman mosaics can be found at the Villa Romana de Casale in Sicily. The mosaics were preserved for hundreds of years by a mudslide in the 12th century, similar to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the preservation of Roman frescoes.
The themes featured on ancient Roman mosaics include hunting scenes, athletic competitions, and even "Beware the dog" signs!
All Aqueducts Lead to Rome
While architecture is not a traditional form of art, the ancient Romans made significant advances that are worth mentioning.
Combining elements from the various regions they conquered, the Romans developed both the dome and the curved arch, which later served as the basis for their huge network of aqueducts or waterways.
The use of the arch and dome in conjunction with durable concrete allowed the ancient Romans to construct buildings with vaulted ceilings.
These innovations are a testament to Roman intelligence and creativity, and served as the inspiration for many artists later on.
Still standing after thousands of years, this Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain, illustrates the simple perfection of the curved arch.
Check Your Understanding
Make sure you understand what you just learned about the Archaic period before moving on to the next major movement in ancient Greece
In Review
Before moving on, review what you have learned in the study. Go over the notes you wrote on the study sheet. Ask your teacher any questions you might have.
If you have not filled out your study sheet, do it now before moving on to the next activity.
Study sheets are a very useful tool to help you study for quizzes and tests.
What Did You Learn?
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The Archaic period of ancient Greece marks the first black-figure pottery painting.
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Exekias decorated many pots with reinterpretations or retellings of mythological events.
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In addition to ceramics, ancient Greek artists made statues from marble and bronze for wealthy citizens or for public display.
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Archaic figural sculpture aimed to represent the ideal human body. During the Classical period, sculpture shifted from the ideal to the real.
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The frieze developed as a popular medium (art material) for adorning buildings.
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Red-figure pottery painting gained popularity. Euphronios pioneered this technique.
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Early attempts to create a sense of three-dimensional space on two-dimensional surfaces involved foreshortening.
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Artists began taking credit for their work by signing it.
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As the Greek empire grew, large building projects were commissioned.
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The Hellenistic period was a time of expansion that took Greek art to distant places such as India. Despite the expansion, this was also a period of decline.
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Subject matter was more realistic and natural. Artists depicted regular people in domestic scenes, and began to experiment with depth through shading and blending.
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Ancient Romans were interested in law, politics, philosophy, technology, language, and art.
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Roman art had a wide variety of subject matter, but Classical mythological stories like the Greek Odyssey were still popular.
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There were early attempts at aerial perspective and creating depth through shading.
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Major building projects included the Colosseum and the aqueducts.
Take this opportunity to check your work.