Western art

Western Art Timeline

Period: 40,000 BCE to 1700

Women of willendorf

25,000 BCE

The Woman of Willendorf or often called the Venus of Willendorf is a prehistoric female figurine. The statue was carved from limestone, and It measures 110 mm in height. This statue is used as a symbol of fertility. The statue has an enlarged stomach and breasts to emphasize procreativity.

The palette of Narmer

3200 BCE

This front and back tablet with relief artwork is thought to depict the unification of upper and lower Egypt.

Stele of Naram-Sin

2230 BCE

This sculpture was created to depict a battle. Naram-Sim leading his army to victory over the Lullubi people. He is portrayed as almost god like based off of his helmet and star like figures above him.

Head of Nigeria

500 BCE

This Figure has an expressive face with large alert eyes, flaring nostrils, and parted lips, these are all the characteristic of Nok sculpture. It is made of terracota, and is made by the sculptor carving some of the details of the head and modeled the rest. It is said that the bodies to the heads are still not discovered.

The Riace Warriors

451 BCE

There are two different names for these magnificent full sized warriors. They call them The Riace bronzes or the Riace warriors. These two bronze statues have the built of an idolized figure, and sets the scene for what beauty standards were in ancient Greece.

Pantheon

125

The Pantheon is located in Rome and took about 10 years to create. The great thing about this beautiful building is that it's not like most temples. The common people could enter the Pantheon, and only priests and rulers could enter in earlier temples. It's made by a series of arches criss-crossing each other in the middle and then it enclose a in circular area below.

Hagia Sophia

537

The beautiful church Hagia Sophia literally means holy wisdom. This Byzantine Empire continues some of the traditions of Roman art. The Amazing thing about the design of this church is that it was one of the biggest buildings during it’s time and that the architectural design of this building was very complex for its time. The dome rests not on a drum rather on pendentives, a spherical triangle that arise from four massive piers that carry the weight of the cupola.

Dome of the rock

691

The Dome of the rock is the third most holy site of Islam. It is where Mohammed ascended to the presence of God, site of the first and second Jewish Temples, also a holy site for Jews and Christians. This building imitates early Christian and Byzantine centrally planned churches and is made with a Central plan. Arcade with piers and columns.

Chasse with the Crucifixion and Christ in Majesty

1190

The beautiful box was made in Limoges, France. It is engraved and chiseled. The colors consist of dark, medium, and light blue; turquoise, dark and light green, yellow, red, and white, and It posses a wood core. The rectangular, boxlike shape of the medieval Chasse is similar to the sarcophagus shape. Such objects were often placed on altars, where the devout could venerate the relic held inside.

Virgin and child enthroned

1300

Giotto Di Bondone’s virgin and child enthroned is seen against a gold background, and it is the perfect example of symmetry. Giotto was the start of creating more realistic figures. As you can see both of the figures have greater depth and weight, hieratic scale is being used and as you can also see by the gold halos around their heads which means that the people in the paintings are holy in some way.

Leonarda da Vinci's Last Supper

1498

Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper is from the High Renaissance period. It is a large fresco style painting on the wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. This painting was made by Leonardo using an oil/tempera mix and applied on a dry wall. This is a type of painting which builds on painting traditions in areas such as composition and perspective. Emotional reactions and psychological states, all captured in a type of naturalism which was not seen in most Italian paintings.

Bernini’s David

1624

Bernini's statue of David was carved during the Baroque Era and this era depicts the subject in motion. It is in the process of using his sling in order to defeat the horrible Goliath. He is in motion and about to do a powerful blow with the rock that is about to be hurled from his sling. By exhibiting great force you can notice that his rope is about to slip off without showing any nudity.