Last updated November 10, 2018
Who were the Babylonians? The ancient Romans? The Crusaders? This course will survey the art made in the Ancient Near East, Africa and Europe from the dawn of art-making in the Paleolithic period to the dawn of the Renaissance in 14th century Italy. We will focus on turning points in the historical narrative including the Neolithic revolution, the early river valley civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt, the great Greek, Roman, and Byzantine empires, the rise of Christianity, Islam, the crusades, pilgrimages and the early humanism that eventually leads to the modern world.
Introduction
Art history basics
Why look at art?
A brief history of Western culture
What is art history?
Common questions about dates
Introduction to art historical analysis
An introduction to art historical analysis with Goya’s Third of May, 1808
A brief history of representing of the body in Western sculpture
How to do visual analysis
What maps tell us
An introduction to major monotheistic religions
Judaism, an introduction
Christianity, an introduction
Islam, an introduction
Prehistory
Paleolithic, quiz
Paleolithic art, an introduction
Lion Man, c. 40,000 B.C.E.
Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf), c. 28,000-25,000 B.C.E., quiz
Lascaux, c. 15,000 B.C.E., France
Neolithic
The Neolithic Revolution
Jericho, beginning c. 9000 B.C.E, West Bank
Çatalhöyük, c. 7000 B.C.E., Turkey
Bushel with ibex motifs, 4200–3500 B.C.E., Susa (Louvre)
Anthropomorphic stele, Saudi Arabia, 4000-3000 B.C.E.
Stonehenge, beginning c. 3100 B.C.E., Salisbury Plain, England
Jade Cong, 2500 B.C.E.
Nuragic architecture at Su Nuraxi Barumini, Sardinia, beginning 18th century B.C.E.
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Ancient Near East
Getting started, quiz
The cradle of civilization
Sumer
Sumerian art
Cuneiform
Writing cuneiform
White Temple and ziggurat, Uruk, c. 3517-3358 B.C.E
Standing Male Worshipper (votive figure), c. 2900-2600 B.C.E., Tell Asmar
Standard of Ur, 2600-2400 B.C.E., quiz
Perforated relief of Ur-Nanshe, 2550–2500 B.C.E.
Akkadian
An introduction
Cylinder seal, c. 2250–2150 B.C.E.
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin, 2254-2218 B.C.E., quiz
Neo-Sumerian/Ur III period
Seated Gudea holding temple plan, c. 2100 B.C.E.
Ziggurat of Ur, c. 2100 B.C.E.
Cylinder-seals
Babylonian
An introduction
The Babylonian mind
Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi, 1792-1750 B.C.E., quiz
Neo-Babylonian
Neo-Babylonian culture, the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way, c. 575 B.C.E., quiz
Visiting Babylon
Assyrian
Assyrian art, an introduction
Lamassu, citadel of Sargon II, Khorsabad, Iraq, Neo-Assyrian, c. 720-705 B.C.E.
Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions, North Palace, Ninevah, c. 645-635 B.C.E., quiz
Persian
Ancient Persia, an introduction
Cyrus Cylinder, 539 B.C.E
Persepolis: The Audience Hall of Darius and Xerxes, c. 520-465 B.C.E.
Capital of a column, audience hall of the palace of Darius I, Susa, c. 510 B.C.E.
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Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt, an introduction
Egyptian art
Materials and techniques
Mummification process
Pre-dynastic
Palette of King Narmer, from Hierakonpolis, c. 3000-2920 B.C.E., quiz
Old Kingdom
Pyramids of Giza, quiz
Pyramid of Khufu, c. 2551-2528 B.C.E.
Pyramid of Khafre and the Great Sphinx, c. 2520-2494 B.C.E.
Pyramid of Menkaure, 2490-2472 B.C.E.
King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and queen, 2490–2472 B.C.E.
Seated Scribe, c. 2500 B.C.E.
New Kingdom
Temple of Amun-Re and the Hypostyle Hall, Karnak
Mortuary Temple and Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut, c. 1479-58 B.C.E.
Tomb-chapel of Nebamun (paintings), c. 1350 B.C.E.
Amarna Period (18th dynasty)
House Altar with Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Three Daughters, c. 1350 B.C.E., quiz
Portrait Head of Queen Tiye with a Crown of Two Feathers, c. 1355 B.C.E.
Thutmose, Model Bust of Queen Nefertiti, c. 1340 B.C.E., quiz
Tomb of Tutankhamun (mask, coffin), 1323 B.C.E.
Hunefer’s Judgement in the presence of Osiris, Book of the Dead, c. 1275 B.C.E., quiz
Ptolemaic
Mummy portraits
Mummy portraits (Faiyum portraits)
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Aegean and Early Greece
Ancient Greece, an introduction
Ancient Greek Art, and introduction
Cycladic
Male harp player from Keros, c. 2600-2300 B.C.E.
Frescoes from Akrotiri, Thera (Santorini), 16th century B.C.E.
Minoan
The Palace at Knossos (Crete)
Kamares ware jug from Phaistos, c. 2000-1900 B.C.E.
Snake Goddess from the palace at Knossos, c. 1600 B.C.E.
Bull’s head rhyton from the palace at Knossos, c. 1550-1500 B.C.E.
Harvester Vase from Hagia Triada, c. 1550-1500 B.C.E.
Octopus vase from Palaikastro, c. 1500 B.C.E.
Statuette of a Male Figure (The Palaikastro Kouros), 1480 – 1425 B.C.E.
Hagia Triada sarcophagus, c. 1400 B.C.E.
Bull-leaping fresco from the east wing of the palace of Knossos, c. 1400 B.C.E.
Woman or goddess (“La Parisienne”) from the Camp-Stool fresco, c.1350 B.C.E.
Mycenae
The “Palace” and Grave Circle A, Mycenae, c. 1600-1100 B.C.E.
Mask of Agamemnon, c.1550-1500 B.C.E., quiz
Lion Gate, c. 1300-1250 B.C.E., quiz
The Treasury of Atreus, c. 1300-1250 B.C.E.
Greek pottery
Introduction to Greek vase painting
Geometric
Dipylon Amphora, c. 755-750 B.C.E., quiz
Terracotta Krater, 750-735 B.C.E.
Proto-Attic
Eleusis Amphora, 675-650 B.C.E.
Attic black-figure
Ancient Greek vase production and the black-figure technique
Exekias (potter and painter), Ajax and Achilles Amphora, c. 540-530 B.C.E., quiz
Attic red-figure
Euphronios (painter), Euxitheos (potter), Sarpedon Krater, c. 515 B.C.E.
Euthymides, Three Revelers, c. 510 B.C.E.
Niobid Painter, Niobid Krater, c. 460-50 B.C.E., quiz
Daedalic
Lady of Auxerre, 640-630 B.C.E.
Archaic ( -480 B.C.E.)
New York Kouros, c. 590–580 B.C.E., quiz
Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., quiz
Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., quiz
Introduction to Greek architecture
Temples at Paestum, 560-460 B.C.E.
Pan-Hellenic sanctuary, Delphi
Siphnian Treasury, Delphi, c. 530 B.C.E.
Early Classical (c. 480-448 B.C.E.)
East and West Pediments, Temple of Aphaia, c. 490-480 B.C.E.
Kritios Boy, c. 480 B.C.E., quiz
Charioteer of Delphi, c. 478-474 B.C.E.
Severe style (c. 490-448 B.C.E.)
Artemision Zeus or Poseidon, c. 460 B.C.E.
Riace Warriors, c. 460-450 B.C.E.
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Classical, Late Classical, and Hellenistic Greece
Classical (c. 448-429 B.C.E.), quiz
The Athenian Agora and the experiment in democracy
Polykleitos, Doryphoros, Roman marble copy of Greek bronze c. 450-440 B.C.E., quiz
Myron, Discobolus, Roman marble copy of Greek bronze c. 450 B.C.E.
Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, Athens, 447-32 B.C.E., quiz
Phidias, Parthenon sculpture, c. 448-432 B.C.E.
Plaque of the Ergastines, c. 438-32 B.C.E.
Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?
The Erechtheion, 421-405 B.C.E., Acropolis, Athens
Caryatid (South Porch) and Ionic Column (North Porch), 421-407 B.C.E.
Temple of Athena Nike, 421-405 B.C.E.
Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, Temple of Athena Nike, c. 410 B.C.E., quiz
Grave stele of Hegeso, c. 410 B.C.E., quiz
Late Classical (c. 429-323 B.C.E.)
Alexander Sarcophagus, c. 312 B.C.E.
Lysippos, Apoxyomenos, Roman copy of Greek bronze c. 330 B.C.E.
Lysippos, Farnese Hercules, Roman copy, 4th century B.C.E.
Praxiteles, Capitoline Venus/Aphrodite of Knidos, Roman copy, 4th century B.C.E.
Hellenistic (323-31 B.C.E.)
Barberini Faun, c. 220 B.C.E., Hellenistic Period
Dying Gaul, c. 220 B.C.E., Hellenistic Period, quiz
Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace, c. 190 B.C.E.
Pergamon Altar, c. 200-150 B.C.E., quiz
Apollonius, Boxer at Rest, c. 100 B.C.E., quiz
Athanadoros, Hagesandros, Polydoros of Rhodes, Laocoön and his Sons, early 1st century C.E, quiz
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Etruria and Early Rome
Etruscan, quiz
The Etruscans, an introduction
Apulu (Apollo of Veil), Portonaccio temple roof, Italy, c. 510-500 B.C.E.
Sarcophagus of the Spouses, Banditaccia necropolis, Cerveteri, c. 520 B.C.E.
Tomb of the Triclinium, Tarquinia, c. 470 B.C.E.
The François Tomb, Vulci, 4th century, B.C.E.
Tomb of the Reliefs, late 4th-early 3rd century B.C.E., Necropolis of Banditaccia
Chimera from Arezzo, c. 400 B.C.E.
Mars of Todi, late 5th or early 4th century B.C.E.
Aule Metele (Arringatore), early 1st century B.C.E.
Rome, an introduction, quiz
Introduction to ancient Roman art
Introduction to ancient Roman architecture
Rome’s history in four faces at The Met
The Domus
The Insula
The conservator’s eye: Marble statue of a wounded warrior
Roman Republic
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Rome, 6th century B.C.E. – 5th century C.E.
Capitoline Brutus, 4th-3rd century B.C.E.
Tomb of the Scipios and Sarcophagus of Scipio Barbatus, early 3rd century B.C.E.
Temple of Portunus, travertine, tufa, stucco, Rome, c.120-80 B.C.E.
Veristic male portrait, early 1st Century B.C.E., quiz
Head of a Roman Patrician, c. 75-50 B.C.E.
Roman mosaic
Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii, c. 100 B.C.E., quiz
Roman wall painting
Painted Garden, Villa of Livia, fresco, 30-20 B.C.E.
Still life with Peaches, fresco, Herculaneum, Italy, c. 62-69 C.E.
House of the Vettii, Late Republican-Early Imperial domus, Pompeii, destroyed 79 C.E.
Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii, destroyed 79 C.E.
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Imperial Rome
Early Empire
Augustus of Primaporta, 1st century C.E., quiz
Maison Carrée, c. 4-7 C.E., Colonia Nemausus (Nîmes, France)
Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace), 13-9 B.C.E., quiz
Preparations for a Sacrifice, c. mid-first century C.E.
Colosseum (Amphitheatrum Flavium), Rome c. 70-80 C.E., quiz
Arch of Titus, Roman Forum, after 81 C.E.
Imperial Fora, an introduction
Apollodorus of Damascus, Forum of and Markets of Trajan, Rome, dedicated 112 C.E.
Column of Trajan, Rome, completed 113 C.E., quiz
Palmyra
Palmyra: the modern destruction of an ancient city
Temple of Baalshamin, 1st century C.E.
Palmyrene Funerary Portraiture, 1st century C.E.
Temple of Bel, 1st and 2nd century C.E.
Middle Empire
The Pantheon, Rome, c. 125 C.E., quiz
Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, c. 117-138 C.E.
Maritime Theatre, Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, c. 117-138 C.E.
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, gilded bronze, c. 173-76 C.E., quiz
Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus, c. 250-260 C.E., quiz
The Lullingstone Busts
Late Empire
Portraits of the Four Tetrarchs, c. 305
Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine (Basilica Nova), Roman Forum, c. 306-312
Colossus of Constantine, c. 312-15, quiz
Arch of Constantine, Rome, 315 C.E., quiz
Issues in Roman art
Looting, collecting, and exhibiting: the Bubon bronzes
Portrait Bust of a Flavian Woman (Fonseca Bust), early 2nd century C.E.
When there is no archaeological record: Portrait Bust of a Flavian Woman (Fonseca bust)
Trebonianus Gallus — emperor or athlete? Rethinking a modern attribution
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Early Christian & Byzantine
Introduction to the Medieval era, quiz
Standard scenes from the life of Christ in art
A new pictorial language: the image in early Medieval art
Early Christian
Early Christianity, an introduction
Classicism in the Early Middle Ages
Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome, late 2nd century through the 4th century C.E.
Santa Maria Antiqua Sarcophagus, c. 270 C.E.
Santa Maria Antiqua, Roman Forum, consecrated 6th century
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, 359 C.E., quiz
Basilica of Santa Sabina, Rome, 422-432, quiz
“Story of Jacob and Rebecca” & “Eliezer at the Well,” from Vienna Genesis, early 6th century
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, 425 C.E., quiz
Byzantine (Late Roman Empire), quiz
A beginner’s guide to Byzantine Art
A brief history of representing of the body in Western painting
Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles, Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (now Istanbul), 532-37, quiz
Theotokos mosaic, 867, Hagia Sophia
Deësis mosaic, c. 1261, Hagia Sophia
San Vitale and the Justinian Mosaic, Ravenna, begun in 526-27, consecrated 547, quiz
Sant’Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, c. 533-49 (apse mosaic, 6th century, arch mosaics,
- 7th-12th centuries)
The Emperor Triumphant (Barberini Ivory), mid-6th century
Paris Psalter, c. 900 C.E.
Saint Mark’s Basilica, Venice, begun 1063, Anastasis mosaic, c. 1180-1200
Horses of San Marco, originally Greek or Roman, n.d.
Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George, 6th or early 7th century
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Early Medieval, Anglo-Saxon, Carolingian, Ottonian
Manuscripts
Listening to the medieval book
An introduction to medieval scripts
Anglo-Saxon, quiz
Sutton Hoo ship burial, essay, video, quiz
Decoding Anglo-Saxon art, c. 700
Lindisfarne Gospels, early 8th century, quiz
Carolingian, quiz
Carolingian art, an introduction
Charlemagne: an introduction, Part 1, Part 2
Palatine Chapel, Aachen, dedicated 805
Matthew in the Coronation Gospels and Ebbo Gospels, c. 800-835
Saint Matthew, folio 18 verso, Ebbo Gospels, France, c. 816-35
Jeweled upper cover, Lindau Gospels, c. 880, quiz
Ottonian, quiz
Ottonian art, an introduction
Bronze doors, 1015, commissioned by Bishop Bernward for Saint Michael’s,
Hildesheim, quiz
Gospels of Otto III, c. 1000
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Islam
Introduction to Islamic art, quiz
Kaaba, pre-Islamic, rededicated by Muhammad, 631-32 C.E.
Stories of the modern pilgrimage
Introduction to mosque architecture
Common types of mosque architecture
About chronological periods in the Islamic world
Early Period
Arts of the Islamic World: the Early Period
Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra), Jerusalem, 691-92, quiz
Great Mosque of Cordoba, begun 786 and enlarged 9th and 10th centuries, Spain, quiz
Great Mosque of Kairouan, c. 836-75, Tunisia
Medieval Period
Arts of the Islamic World: the Medieval Period
Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran, quiz
Mihrab (niche), 1354-55 (A.H. 755), Isfahan, Iran
Pyxis of al-Mughira, AH 357/ 968 CE, quiz
Coronation Mantle, 1133/34
The Alhambra, begun 1238, Spain, quiz
Mohammed ibn al-Zain, Baptistère de Saint Louis, c. 1320-40, Egypt/Syria
Judaism in Muslim Spain
Sefer Musre Hafilosofim, 13th -15th century, Spain
Golden Haggadah, c. 1320, Spain
Medieval synagogues in Toledo, Spain
Late Period
Arts of the Islamic World: Later Period
Hagia Sophia as a mosque after Constantinople fell to the Ottomans in 1453
Court of Gayumars, c.1522, Shahnameh Shah Tahmasp I, Safavid, Iran
Mimar Sinan, Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, completed 1558
Mimar Sinan, Mosque of Selim II, Edirne, Turkey, 1568–75
The Ardabil Carpet, 1539-40 C.E., quiz
Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1632-53
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Romanesque and Gothic
Introduction to the Romanesque
A beginner’s guide to Romanesque art
A beginner’s guide to Romanesque architecture
Medieval churches: sources and forms
Pilgrimage routes and the cult of the relic
The Crusades
The when, where and who (of crusading)
Romanesque art and architecture, quiz
Tuscan Romanesque
The art of conquest in England and Normandy
The Bayeux Tapestry, c. 1070
Durham Cathedral, begun 1093
Cluny Abbey, Burgundy, France
South portal, Saint-Pierre, Moissac, c. 1115-30
Last Judgment Tympanum, Cathedral of St. Lazare, Autun, c. 1130-46, quiz
Church and reliquary of Sainte-Foy, late 10th-early 11th century, Conques
Tympanum, central portal of the narthex, Ste-Madeleine, Vézelay, 1120-32
The Wise and Foolish Virgins, Sant Quirze de Pedret, Spain, late 11th-early 12th century
Gothic art and architecture, quiz
Gothic architecture: an introduction
Stained glass: history and technique (essay from the Getty)
How stained glass is made (essay from the Getty)
France
Birth of the Gothic: Abbot Suger and the ambulatory at Basilica of Saint Denis, 1140-44, quiz
Chartres Cathedral, c.1145 and 1194 – c.1220, quiz
Reims Cathedral, begun 1211
Amiens Cathedral, begun 1220
Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, 1248
Saint Louis Bible (Moralized Bible or Bible moralisée), c. 1230
Virgin of Jeanne d’Evreux, 1324-39
Germany
Röttgen Pietà, c. 1300-25
England
Salisbury Cathedral, begun 1220
Lincoln Cathedral, begun 1088
Wells Cathedral, begun c. 1175
Henry VII Chapel, Westminster Abbey, London, begun 1503
Wilton Diptych, c. 1395-99, quiz
Czech Republic
Altneushul, Prague, begun 13th century
Italy
Bonaventura Berlinghieri, St. Francis Altarpiece, 1235, Church of San Francesco,
Pescia, quiz
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Late Gothic art in Italy
Introduction to Late Gothic art
Construction and conservation: Taddeo Gaddi, Saint Julian, 1340
Rome
Pietro Cavallini, The Last Judgment, c.1293, Santa Cecilia, Rome
Florence
Florence in the Late Gothic, an introduction, quiz
Cimabue, Maesta of Santa Trinita, 1280-1290
Giotto, Ognissanti Madonna, 1306-10, quiz
Giotto, Arena Chapel, Padua, c. 1305, overview, cycle, Lamentation, Last Judgment, quiz
Siena
Siena in the Late Gothic, an introduction, quiz
Duccio, The Rucellai Madonna, 1285-86, tempera on panel, quiz
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegory and Effects of Good and Bad Government, c.1337-40, quiz
Pietro Lorenzetti, Birth of the Virgin, c. 1342
Simone Martini, Annunciation, 1333, quiz
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