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35,000 BCE
Lion-man of the Hohlenstein-Stadel(Löwenmensch)
Artist: Unknown
Type: Sculpture(mammoth ivory)
Date: 40,000 - 35,000 BCE
Info: Discovered in a German cave in 1939. Oldest-known zoomorphic sculpture. Stands 12.2" tall. -
Period: 35,000 BCE to 800 BCE
Pre-History
Consists of all time before 800 BCE. Accented by cave paintings made from earth-tone 'paints' and simple sculpture. -
25,000 BCE
Venus of Willendorf
Artist: Unknown
Type: Sculpture(oolitic limestone)
Date: 28,000 - 25,000 BCE
Info: Found in 1908 during excavations in Austria, near Krems. Believed to be a fertility statue. -
15,000 BCE
Cave of Altamira
Type: Cave Artwork
Date: 36,000 - 15,000 BCE
Info: While the earliest artwork dates back to 36,000 BCE, many of the pieces are dated between 18,500 and 15,000 BCE. The cave has distinct definitions that show several different occupations separated by thousands of years. Paints made with ochre, charcoal, and hematite. -
Period: 800 BCE to 400
Classical Antiquity
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460 BCE
Terracotta column-krater
Artist: Pan Painter
Type: Terracotta Bowl
Date: 470-460 BCE
Info: A bowl made for mixing wine and water, standing 14 7/8" tall with a mouth diameter of 13 1/6". -
216
Farnese Hercules
Artist: Glykon
Type: Statue(Marble)
Date: 216 AD
Info: An enlarged reproduction of an original statue likely made in the 4th Century BCE. Stands 10.5' tall and depicts Hercules after killing the Nemean lion. -
400
Lycurgus Cup
Artist: Unknown
Type: Dichroic Glass cage cup
Date: 4th Century AD
Info: The only complete Roman glass object made from dichroic glass, exhibiting the most impressive color change. When lit from behind the glass shows red, but when lit from the front the glass shows green. -
Period: 450 to 1050
Dark Ages
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518
Consular Diptych of Magnus
Artist:
Type: Consular Diptych
Date: 518 AD
Info: Special commemorative objects commissioned by a new consul, distributed as a reward to his supporters. -
620
Sutton Hoo Shoulder Clasp
Artist:
Type: Armor
Date: 620 AD
Info: A shoulder clasp found at Sutton Hoo, the site of two cemetaries from the 6th adn 7th centuries. -
800
Oseberg Ship Prow
Artist:
Type: Viking Ship Decoration
Date: 800-834 AD
Info: The prow of the Oseberg ship, discovered in a large burial mound in Norway. Found with two female human skeletons on board. Prow made of metal and wood. -
Period: 1300 to
Rennaissance
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1427
Feast of Herod
Artist: Donatello
Type: Relief Sculpture(Bronze)
Date: 1427 AD
Info: One of Donatello's earliest reliefs, and his first done in bronze. Depicts the beheading of John the Baptist, and used to replace a piece designed to go on a baptismal font for the Opera del Duomo of Siena. -
1485
The Birth of Venus
Artist: Sandro Botticelli
Type: Tempera on canvas
Date: 1484-1486 AD
Info: A famous painting by Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, depicting the goddess Venus arriving at shore after being 'born' from the sea fully-grown. -
1512
The Creation of Adam
Artist: Michelangelo
Type: Fresco Painting
Date: 1512 AD
Info: One piece of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, illustrates the Biblical creation from the Book of Genesis in which God gives life to Adam. -
Period: to
Baroque
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Death of the Virgin
Artist: Caravaggio
Type: Oil on Canvas
Date: 1604-1606 AD
Info: A painting commissioned by a a papal lawyer for his chapel in the church of Santa Maria della Scala in Rome. Was rejected as unfit by the parish, as it was believed that Caravaggio modelled a prostitute as the virgin. -
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
Artist: Rembrandt
Type: Oil on Canvas
Date: 1632
Info: Painting of a doctor explaining the musculature of the arm to other medical professionals. Some of the spectators are doctors who paid commissions to be included. Possibly the first instance of Rembrandt signing a painting with his entire forename, as opposed to his normal RHL. -
The Art of Painting
Artist: Johannes Vermeer
Type: Oil on Canvas
Date: 1666-1668 AD
Info: One of Vermeer's most famous works, depicting an artist painting a woman in his studio. The painting depicted is thought to be a self-portrait of Vermeer himself and art historian Jean-Louis Vaudoyer suggests that the woman could be his daughter. -
Period: to
Romanticism
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The Third of May 1808
Artist: Fracisco Goya
Type: Oil on canvas
Date: 1814
Info: Painted to commemorate Spanish resistance to Napoleon's armies during the occupation of 1808 in the Peninsular War. It was commissioned by the provisional Spanish government alongside a companion piece, at the suggestion of Goya himself. -
View from the Artist's Window
Artist: Martinus Rørbye
Type:
Date: 1825
Info: Depicts the artist's view from his window at his parent's home. The view itself is of a naval dockyard, with one ship under construction. -
Period: to
Modern Art
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Road with Cypress and Star
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Type: Oil on Canvas
Date: 1890
Info: The last painting made by van Gogh in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France. One of several painting in which van Gogh uses cypresses, with many extending beyond the top of the canvas. -
Family of Saltimbanques
Artist: Pablo Picasso
Type: Oil on Canvas
Date: 1905 AD
Info: Depicts six saltimbanques, a kind of circus performer, in a desolate landscape. Critics have suggested that it a covert group portrait of Picasso and his circle symbolized as poor, independent, and isolated. -
The Soul of the Rose
Artist: John William Waterhouse
Type: Oil painting
Date: 1908
Info: -
No. 5, 1948
Artist: Jackson Pollock
Type: Oil on Fiberboard
Date: 1948
Info: While referred to as oil for terms of classification, the paint used was synthetic resin paints. One of Pollock's famous drip paintings.
