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Period: 40,000 BCE to 800 BCE
Prehistoric Art
The term prehistoric refers to events that happened before humans were able to document them and keep records. Artwork within the prehistoric era include: Cave art, Egyptian art, Stone Age art -
39,000 BCE
The Oldest Cave Painting
The Cave of El Castillo is located in Spain. This Cave contains the oldest cave drawings which consist of abstract signs, mostly red stenciled hand prints. -
30,000 BCE
Chauvet Cave
This cave is located in Vallon-Pont-d'Arc, France. This cave is best known for its panel of horses and images of rhinoceroses. -
Period: 30,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE
Paleolithic Art (Old Stone Age)
Paleolithic art is focused mostly on images of food and hunting. -
12,000 BCE
Paleolithic Portable Art
During the Paleolithic period, humans created small pieces of art by using clay. The pieces were meant to bring good luck. For example, the piece shown in the picture below would be given to a woman who is pregnant to ensure good luck for her and her baby. -
Period: 10,000 BCE to 8000 BCE
Mesolithic Art (Middle Stone Age)
Mesolithic Art is characterized mostly by the creation of rock paintings. People in this period no longer found use for portable art because they began to settle. -
9000 BCE
Rock Painting during Mesolithic Era
Rock paintings were popular during the Mesolithic time period. The paintings began to show gatherings of people instead of only animals. -
Period: 8000 BCE to 3000 BCE
Neolithic (New Stone Age) Art
The Neolithic Era is characterized by the creation of architecture. During this time, art was made mostly for a functional purpose. -
Period: 3500 BCE to 30 BCE
Egyptian Art
Egyptian Art focuses on mainly on the idea of after life. Egyptian tombs held corpses that were prepared in a special way for the afterlife. Egyptian Art also focused on honoring the kings of the time. -
3000 BCE
Stonehenge, Salisbury Plain, England
This is an example of Neolithic architecture. As people settled into their civilizations, they put effort into their environment. The use of the Stonehenge is unclear, but it shows that humans creativity was evolving and that people were willing to create art that would stick around for a long time. -
3000 BCE
Egyptian Pyramids
The man made Egyptian Pyramids were a significant achievement of this time period. The shape of the pyramids represents solar rays. The Egyptians believed that the pyramids were steps a ruler could take to the sky. -
2000 BCE
Composite View
The Egyptians used composite view to represent an ideal human figure. Composite view is an unnatural pose that shows the profile of a person and also a frontal view. -
1332 BCE
Tomb of Tutankhamen
The tomb of Tutankhamen consists of three coffins. The outer two coffins are made of wood and some stones such as turquoise. However, the inner coffin is made of solid gold.
This finding was significant to the whole world because when it was uncovered thousands of years later, it was still very much in tact. This shows the dedication and accuracy the Egyptians put into preserving their tombs. -
Period: 800 BCE to 31 BCE
Greek Art
Greek Art is characterized by humanism which is the belief that humans were the measure of all things. Greeks were also known for democracy which is shown throughout artwork in the time period. Greeks focused on the human body. Many of the sculptures made during showed humans in contraposto view which is when one body part is turned in opposition to the other. The Greeks thought that this counter balance was characteristic of an ideal human figure. -
580 BCE
Early Classical Art
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550 BCE
Medieval Manuscripts
Manuscripts were hand made books that included religious material that guided teachings of Christianity. -
480 BCE
Kritos Boy
This Greek sculpture was made during the Early Classical Era. It represented a complete understanding of the human body. -
Period: 480 BCE to 448 BCE
Early Classical Art
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Period: 450 BCE to 400 BCE
High Classical Art
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447 BCE
Parthenon
The Greek Parthenon was created in during the High Classical Era. It consisted of ninety two metopes of scenes from mythical battles. The image below is one of those metopes. -
Period: 323 BCE to 31 BCE
Hellenistic Period
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320 BCE
Defeated Boxer Sculpture
This is a prominent sculpture created during the Hellenistic Era. This Greek sculpture portrays a boxer sitting, hunched over, looking up. This statue gives off a feeling of sadness and defeat. This was the first time Greek sculptures failed to express victory and strength. -
Period: 450 to 1000
Medieval Era
This Era is characterized by the Dark Ages which included a low point in learning and intellectual darkness. -
Period: 1400 to 1530
Renissance
This time period is characterized by a revival in paintings, sculptures architecture and so much more. This was also during the end of feudalism where people began to stray from God centered artwork and focus more on reality. The artwork during this period took humanism to a new level and focused on the worth of individuals. -
1503
Mona Lisa
A classic Renaissance painting. There are many inferences on what is going on in this painting. -
1512
Sistine Chapel
The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was a huge accomplishment of Michelangelo who spent hours each day laying on his back painting this revolutionary piece. The ceiling shows visuals from each book in the Bible. -
Period: to
Baroque Period
Paintings during this time are characterized as bold, dramatic and colorful. -
Baroque Art Painting
Many paintings during this period reflected political and cultural changes emerging across Europe during this time. -
The Stone Breakers
This is an example of a painting during Realism. It is showing and average everyday man working which is very realistic. -
Period: to
Realism
Realist artwork portrayed images of everyday life and sometimes brought controversy. -
Civil War
With the help of photography, for the first time, people were able to see the horrors of battle. -
Modern Art Painting
Winslow Homer, Croquet Scene, oil on canvas. -
Period: to
Modern Art & Photography
Modern Art was focused mainly on the people of the middle class. Photographs were often used as propaganda and allowed people to better visualize and understand events like war.
