Western Art History Timeline

Prehistoric "Woman from Willendorf"

28,000 BCE

Originally called the “Venus” of Willendorf, this sculpture is one of the earliest forms of a human sculpture. The figure is small, and the woman shows abundance because of her larger physique, that potentially represents fertility. Since fertility is associated with the sculpture it was named after the Roman goddess Venus. The figure is faceless which gives it a sense of anonymity, which could indicate the figure is more symbolic than an actual depiction of a person.

Prehistoric "Hall of Bulls, Lascaux"

16,000 BCE

This painting is found in the valley of Vèzére, using the cave walls as a canvas. The painting represents the animals which they hunted, with the bulls being larger in scale and drawn in line form and other animals smaller in scale in silhouette. It is possible that the paintings represent sympathetic magic, where these drawings would yield a good hunt.

Prehistoric "Men Taunting A Deer"

6000 BCE

The mural was found in Catalhoyuk, Konya plain of central Turkey and it depicts what looks like humans hunting animals. The mural is on limestone and the animals are much larger in scale compared to the humans indicating the importance or difficulties of the hunt.

Egypt "Palette of King Narmer"

3500 BCE

The palette of King Narmer is so important that is not permitted to leave the country on exhibition. The palette is two sided represents the traditional Egyptian two-dimensional artwork and important iconic gods.

Egypt "King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and queen"

2490 BCE

The sculpture is of the king Menkaura and his queen both representing the ideal man and woman. His broad shoulders and physical psyche represent strength and her psyche and attire represent femininity.

Mesopotamia "Ziggurat of Ur"

2100 BCE

The Ziggurat at Ur and the temple were built by Ur-Nammu for the moon god Nanna, the divine patron of the city state. This building was likely the tallest building in the area. The building is composed of mud brick and the lower half is the only portion that survived.

Mesopotamia "Stele of Hammurabi"

1780 BCE

The upper part of the stele is around 7’ 4” and shows Hammurabi receiving the laws from Shamash the sun god. Shamash is clearly the figure of authority but Hammurabi receiving the laws from a god makes a statement on his power and the shows the laws are from the divine.

Greece "Bull-Leaping"

1200 BCE

Bull-Leaping was found in a palace from Knossos, Crete, Greece, and is a fresco of a man doing a handspring or flipping over a bull. There is some controversy if the bull leaping is metaphorical or represents some a religious or cultural event. The is fresco gives some insight into this old civilization, while bull leaping seems to have some similarity to modern day Landaise.

Mesopotamia "Ashurnasirpal II Lion Hunt Relief"

883 BCE

This motif depicts king Ashurnasirpal II hunting lions from his chariot demonstrating his power. This piece was is done in low relief on limestone.

Egypt "Rosetta Stone"

205 BCE

The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian stone that is inscribed in two languages Greek and Egyptian, and three writing systems, hieroglyphs, demotic script, and the Greek alphabet. Since it has both Greek and Egyptian text, the Rosetta stone has become an important key in translating ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. The inscription was composed by priests of Memphis during the rule of Ptolemy V Epiphanes.

Greece - "Laocoon and His Sons"

42 BCE

Laocoon and His Sons is considered one of the greatest Hellenistic art sculptures, which depicts the Trojan priest Laocoon and his two sons Antiphas and Thymbraeus being killed by snakes. It’s a marble copy of a bronze sculpture. Laocoon and His Sons influenced the works of Michelangelo and other Baroques and Neoclassical sculptures.

Roman "House of Vettii"

89

The House of Vettii is a demonstration on what a typical home during the Roman period would have been built like. The Vettii brothers seemed to rise from the status of slaves into wealthy freedmen, which speaks to the mobility of their society. The house has decorative schema (wall paintings) all around the house, that became influential on Christian mural paintings of the 14th century. This house gives historians a good understanding of the typical house layout and art of the time.

Rome "Augustus of Primaporta"

100

Augustus of Primaporta is sculpture of the emperor that demonstrates his power and ideology. Augustus is in contrappostos pose, wearing a military regalia with his right arm stretch-out commanding his troops. Augustus is portrayed as youthful, powerful, and nearly flawless, showing a resemblance to the statue Polykleitos Doryphoros. The cupid figure riding the dolphin by Augustus’ feet became the symbol of his naval power, after defeating Mark Anthony and Cleopatra.

Greece "Discobolus Of Myron"

125

The Discobolus is a very athletic and graceful sculpture of a young man throwing a disc. His position is exaggerated to the point that some people debate that the position is even feasible. The sculpture was originally sculpted in bronze by a man named Myron, an Athenian man. Some dark history surrounds Discobolus because Nazis drew great aesthetic inspiration from this art piece, becoming a poster boy for the Nazi cause.

Roman "The Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs"

300

This sculpture is made of igneous rock and represents the four Roman Emperors from around 300 AD. Currently it fixed to the corner of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. During Emperor Diocletian the Roman emperor was divided into a Tetrarchy, ruled by four people. All four emperors look the same without any individualist characteristics. Instead of showing individual power, they wanted to show cohesion and co-rule, so all four individuals look nearly identical.

Byzantine "Church of San Vitale"

547

The Church of San Vitale was built in Ravenna, Italy, considered a masterpiece of Byzantine art, and is most noted for the colorful mosaics that decorate the interior of the walls and ceilings. The church was dedicated to the martyr Vitalis and was began being built by Bishop Ecclesius. The octagonal structure is made of marble, while the mosaics depicts both New and Old testament characters, as well prominent Byzantine rulers with Justinian and Theodora featured.

Byzantine "Virgin and Child between Saints Theodore and George"

600

This painting is of the Virgin Mary in the middle, on her right St George, and on her left is St. Theodore. The image is flat but upon further examination we see small spatial recession in the throne. Mary does not make eye contact with the viewer. The Saints and Mary’s halo are darker in color, while the lighter tone of the angels’ halo gives a more celestial aura to them.

Islam "Dome of the Rock"

700

The Dome of the Rock was a shrine in Jerusalem built by the Umayyad caliph and is a shrine sacred to both Jewish and Islamic people. In Islamic culture it is believed that Muhammad ascend to heaven, while in Jewish tradition this is the site where Abraham was to kill his son Isaac. The beautiful golden dome is influenced by Byzantine architecture and helped influence early Islamic architecture.

Islam "Great Mosque off Kairouan"

836

The Great Mosque of Kairouan is a mosque built in Northern Africa and is an example of hypostyle mosque incorporating pre-Islamic and eastern Islamic art into their religious architecture. The mosque was rebuilt at least twice under the rule of Prince Ziyadat Allah to its current state. This mosque is built of stone, brick, and wood, while the dome was influenced by Roman and Byzantine architecture drawing to the mihrab.

Romanesque "Cathedral of St.James"

1075

The Cathedral of St. James was to honor St. James who was credited for bringing Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula. Bishop Diego Pelaez initially started the construction but was later carried on by Esteben. The Cathedral of St. James marks the end of the pilgrimage for Catholics, which was a 490-mile-long trip from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France to Saintiago de Compostela in Spain.

Romanesque "The Bury Bible"

1135

The Bury Bible was produced in the abbey of Bury St. Edmunds in around 1135. Hervey, the sacrist, commissioned a large Bible for his brother and it was of such importantance that they chronicled the commission of this book. There were originally two volumes, though all that remains is the Old Testament portions survived.

Gothic "Saint-Denis"

1144

The church of Saint-Denis is in the northern suburb of Paris and has been the burial place of kings of France. This cathedral marks the transition from Romanesque style architecture into Gothic style. The long pillars and vaulted roofs help draw the persons eyes to the top of the building. The beautiful stain glass windows are topped off by the two rose windows that are over 14 meters in diameter.

Gothic "Notre-Dame de Paris"

1160

Notre-Dame de Paris was initiated by bishop Maurice de Sully in 1160 on the ruins of two earlier churches. The building took over a 100 year to complete, with the high altar completed in 1189, the choir and the nave completed by 1250, and other parts of the cathedral were added over the next 100 years. The three large rose windows still retain their 13th century glass.

Gothic "Chartres Cathedral"

1260

The Cathedral contains huge amounts of sculptures, stain glass windows, large columns and beautiful pieces of work that mainly depict scenes and figures from the Old and New Testament. For example, the north transept is a portrays figures the Old Testament and south transept New Testament. The cathedral was made to be a pilgrimage for Catholics during the Middle Ages.

Romanesque "Arm Reliquary of Saint Pantaleon"

1300

This reliquary was made in honor of Saint Pantaleon who was a martyr in Asia around 305 CE. A bone from the arm of Saint Pantaleon is inside the reliquary. The piece is very realistic, and the design of the reliquary matches the body part that it was supposed to emulate. The two fingers extended represent the traditional gesture for giving blessing to someone else. This art was common in medieval times, with people believing that the remains of saints were blessed by God for living a holy life.

Byzantine "Deesis (Christ Pantocrator)"

1300

Deesis is a traditional Byzantine representation of Christ. This piece is found in the Hagia Sophia and made in the 13th century. This was made in the traditional two-dimensional symbolic figuration and is one of the most detailed mosaics in the Hagia Sophia. This mosaic is one of the apex pieces of mosaic art from the Byzantine Empire and before its fall to the Ottoman Empire.

Islam "Bibi-Khanym Mosque"

1404

The Bibi-Khanym Mosque has a beautiful blue dome, was the largest dome of its time and was meant represent reaching the heavens. The mosque was built very quickly in around 5 years, though Tamerlane the wife who ordered the mosque to be built for her husband was not satisfied with the dome. The exterior is decorated with rich geometric, floral and inscriptional designs. The materials used were not durable enough to hold the mosque and began to crack shortly after being built.

Renaissance "Gates of Paradise"

1425

The Gates of Paradise are a pair of gilded bronze door that was designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti for the North entrance of Bapistery of San Giovanni in Florence. There are five rectangles on each door and each rectangle represents a scene from the Old Testament. These 10 reliefs are some of the greatest work from the early Renaissance period and is a true display of linear perspective and idiom.

Renaissance "The Tribute Money"

1427

The Tribute Money is a fresco painted by Masaccio and is held in the Branacci chapel in Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. This fresco tells three separate scenes of St. Peter, which is referred to as a continuous narrative. The story tells of a Roman tax collector who demands tax money from Christ and his apostles. Christ tells Peter to go out fishing and the first fist you catch there will be four-drachma coins in its mouth.

Renaissance "Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom of St. Peter"

1481

Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom of St. Peter was one of the paintings commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV for the Sistine chapel in the Vatican. This painting was drawn by Pietro Perugino and depicts the moment when Christ gives the keys of the heaven to St. Peter. The painting has great balance, harmony, and is represented in three-dimensions, which was very typical of Renaissance art.