PALEOLITHIC

Venus (or Woman) of Willendorf,

This well known, mysterious, ancient, and exquisitely crafted human figure reveals definite ideas about posture, proportion, and symmetry. We will never know what she was originally intended for but this small sculpture could fit comfortably into the palm of your hand.

11 cm high

(25-22,000 BCE)

EGYPT

Queen Nefertiti,


Armana Revolution

Her name means “the beautiful one is here” and and this icon of feminine beauty and graceful naturalism shows it by overlaying canonical Egyptian geometric structure with an unmistakable humanity new to Egypt during the Monotheism that her husband Akenaten introduced. This admirable work is a sketch by the artist Thutmose, found in his studio.

(H 19”)
(1344BCE)
plaster over limestone

CLASSIC PERIOD GREEK

Myron’s Diskobolus,

(Marble Roman copy of Greek Bronze original)

Exacting example of classic period Greek sculpture, Myron built a noble, perfect and ideal form on a canonical structure. This body in motion pauses in tension before release, capturing balance, harmony, beauty, and the proportions of the human body in a structure that celebrates the divine in humanity.

(H 1.65 m)     (Greek = 460 – 450 BC)

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CLASSIC PERIOD GREEK

Parthenon on the Acropolis, Athens Greece,

Possibly the most referenced architecture in the world, this ingeniously designed classical building embodies what it meant to be a Greek during the classic period. From its curved (looks straight) lines to its (golden ratio) proportioning, to its marble figures, this building discusses the Greek belief of godlikeness in human form and the belief that man is the measure of all things

H 45’ x W 228’ x D 101’ (440BCE built in 9 years)

HELLENIST PERIOD GREEK

Nike of Samothrace, (250 BCE)

This emotionally charged monumental goddess of victory presses forward atop the prow of a stone ship. Like no work before it, with this masterpiece of realism, stone transforms into wind and spirit.

190 B.C.E. 3.28m high (Musée du Louvre, Paris)

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ROMAN

Pantheon, Early Roman Empire

An engineering marvel, this temple to all the gods, is an awe-inspiring structure, the largest dome to that point in time. Its “Dome of heaven” makes a perfect uninterrupted globe of space. If inverted, the open oculus would rest on floor. It has been one of the most influential structures from Renaissance through the Modern era.

(H 142’) (125 CE)

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BYZANTINE

Hagia Sophia, Constantinople

Church of “Holy Wisdom” was built by Emperor Justinian to surpass the glory of Solomon’s temple. This, the highest dome to that point in time, floats on a rim of light, resonating with the Byzantines interest in the spiritual over physical.

(H 142’) (535 CE)

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GOTHIC

Notre Dame de Chartres,

Built on a miracle so-to-speak, this cathedral is of the earliest and most unified examples of Gothic architecture.  (taller, thinner walls, more windows, more light) The proportioning of the building built on the golden ratio was intended, like so many other aspects of the structure, to incline the human soul to transcendence.

(H 371) Chartres France (1145-1513)

RENAISSANCE (southern)

Ghiberti Sacrifice of Isaac

This Bronze relief won the Florence Baptistery door competition (established Ghiberti’s career) and helped reintroduce the classical style to southern Europe.

( 45 x 38 cm)

(1401-2)

RENAISSANCE (southern)

Masaccio Holy Trinity

To make a physical realistic representation of Christ at this time was in its own right revolutionary. Additionally, however, Masaccio painted this completely illusionistic space, just 3 years after Brunelleschi published his discoveries in Alberti’s book Della Pittura. It is the earliest known example of true 1-point scientific linear perspective. The writing at the bottom says approximately “I once was what you are and what I am you also will be.”

(667 x 317 cm)

(1425) Florence, Italy

RENAISSANCE (southern)

Donatello, David

Once a student of Ghiberti, Donatello made this, the first life-size, freestanding nude statue since ancient Roman times. This focus and respect for the body is distinctly classical, although more natural than the Greeks, it clearly breaks with prior Christian artistic tradition. This sculpture worked as a civic symbol for both the Florentines and the Medici family.
(1430) (photo by Patrick A. Rodgers)

RENAISSANCE (southern)

Botticelli, Birth of Venus

This Byzantine and classically influenced painting dared to, in a Christian culture, reveal, not Mary or Eve but a nude pagan goddess at the center of the image. Possibly following the Greek goal of physical beauty that is meant to lead the viewer to divine beauty, the fresco is whimsical, poetic, and unforgettable.

(1486)

RENAISSANCE (southern)

Da Vinci, Last Supper

“A perfect representation of the high renaissance,” Leonardo visually and expressively walks the viewer through an intense story within a geometric interior. It is an excellent example of 1-point linear perspective used to reinforce Christ’s divinity and humanity as well as the disciples reactive humanity.

(1495-8)

RENAISSANCE (southern)

Da Vinci, Mona Lisa

This, the most famous painting in the world is viewed for 15 sec on average. It is a mysterious work painted by a most intriguing character for the last years of his life. For that point in time it’s a rare ¾ pose, done in oil, in Italy with flawless chiaroscuro and attention to anatomy yet exhibits idealized proportions.

(1504)

RENAISSANCE (southern)

Michelangelo, Pieta

At the age of 23, for his first major commission, Michelangelo turned marble into flesh, depicting Christ’s limp and lifeless, body in the arms of his resigned mother who presents him to us. Utilizing naturalism with ideal /classical harmony he plays with proportion enough to make Christ full-grown body fit gracefully into his mother’s lap.

(1499)

RENAISSANCE (southern)

Michelangelo, David

The ambitious size, powerful pose, and classical inspiration worked by the artist at the age of 27, relays inner feeling amidst heroic physique. Michelangelo’s application of anatomical knowledge reinforces the idea and content of the sculpture which resonate with the values of Florence. The sculpture ended up as a symbol for Florence.

(1501-4)

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RENAISSANCE (southern)

Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel Ceiling

The sculptor, in a 4-year project, created a dizzyingly ambitious and successful fresco of sibyls and prophets surrounding scenes from Genesis. The figures are powerful, elegant and graceful, arrayed in dazzling color.

(1508- 12) (12,000 sq ft)

The Last Judgment is a different fresco on end wall of the same room. Michelangelo loaded the image with rich and thoughtful symbols. Christ turns as the axis in the center, “separating the blessed and the damned.”

(1534-41)

RENAISSANCE (southern)

Raphael, School of Athens,

In this symbolically loaded and ambitious composition, Raphael gracefully relays Renaissance values (science, philosophy and art) and divides between Plato and Aristotle, the other contributors to western culture. The architecture he renders contributes to the magnitude of the aura.

(1510-1)

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St Peter’s Basilica,

“One of the most magnificent spaces on the face of the earth.” Designed by, decorated by, and filled by some of the most talented artisans for 1.5 centuries spanning the Renaissance and Baroque. Large and ornate it is the center of the Roman Catholic Church.
(Dome designed by Michelangelo)
(Piazza's Colonnade is by Bernini, Baroque) 1506-1628

RENAISSANCE (northern)

Jan Van Eyck,


Giovanni Arnolfini and His Bride

The quality of paint is mesmerizing and the subjects are arranged with masterful taste. Some of the cultural knowledge has been lost, so this painting remains somewhat mysterious, nevertheless, this symbolically rich and exquisitely detailed 33” x 23” image showcases the precise rendering abilities of its most gifted masters. He signed the painting on the wall in the back between the two heads “Jan Van Eyck was here”

(1434)

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RENAISSANCE (northern)

Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece

This painting displays a earth-bound and human perspective counter to that of the classically idealized religious images of the Southern Renaissance. On the front a definitively human crucified Christ reveals his ability to identify with humanity in their suffering. However, when the panels were opened on Sunday the Risen Lord unveils his power, defeating sin and death.

(1515)

BAROQUE(southern)

Bernini, Ecstasy of St. Theresa (+noteworthy: David & St Peter's Colonnade)

After nearly ruining St Peters Basillica by adding on an oversized and unwieldy bell-tower, Bernini came to near ruin. His redemptive sculpture was the most daring body-drama to that point in time. It intertwines the physical with a sensuous spirituality, enveloping the viewer with carved marble, cast bronze, fresco painting, stained glass and architectural design… an all encompassing experience about miracles, faith, and knowing God.  At the front of a chapel, a cherub plunges an arrow in and out of St Theresa’s breast as her habit and face metaphor the spiritual ecstasy she experiences amidst her relationship with God.

(1645-52 During the counter-reformation)

BAROQUE(northern)

Rembrandt, De Nachtwacht (The Night Watch)

The pride of the Netherlands, this enormous (11’ x 15’) image with incredible composition, drama and attention to symbol and detail depicts a men’s club as if they were the legitimate the guards of the city.

(1642)

BAROQUE(northern)

Velazquez, Las Meninas

Ichnographically rich, this painting plays some smart visual riddles while challenging the hegemony of royalty. Velazquez deftly, but with a painterly ease and flare, depicts himself, the court painter, a little person and others along-side the princess, La Infanta. The king and queen show up only on the reflective mirror on the wall behind the artist who could be painting either them or this painting Las Meninas(1656)

BAROQUE(northern)

Rembrandt, The Return of the Prodigal Son

This earthy and warm image depicts a New Testament parable taking place in front of several witnesses. In it a repentant impoverished son finds a forgiving father who welcomes him home in an unforgettable embrace. His father is wealthy, but stoops to gather his son to himself.

(1669)

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ROCOCO

Louis 8-16, Versailles, (1682-1789) Above image, Hall of Mirrors

This sprawling mansion (700 rooms) that began as a hunting cottage typifies the excessively opulent Rococo style and its emphasis on luxury while neglecting the poor.