Themes of AP Art History

Western Tradition
and
Non-Western Tradition
 Power and Authority,
art (including architecture) that conveys
this concept
10-27: Portrait of Augustus as general, from Primaporta, Italy, copy of a bronze original of
ca. 20 BCE. Marble, 6' 8" high. Vatican Museums, Rome.
Idealized view of the Roman emperor, no individualized approach
Contrapposto, cf. Spear Bearer
Confusion between God and man intentional
On his breastplate there are a number of gods participating in the return of
Roman standards from the Parthians
Breastplate indicates he is a warrior; judge's robes show him as a civic ruler
Back not carved, to be placed against a wall
Characteristic of Augustus is the part in the hair over the left eye, and two locks over the right
May have carried a sword, pointing down, in his left hand
Right hand in Roman orator pose, perhaps held laurel branches
At base: Cupid on the back of a dolphin-a reference of Augustus's divine descent from Venus
Ivory Belt Mask, c. 1550, ivory, iron, Metropolitan Museum of
Art, New York
Worn by the king or "Oba" Esigie, King of the Benin, as belt>-buckle
May have been made to honor King's mother, Idia, at a
commemorative ceremony
Around the crown are stylized Portuguese heads alternating with
mudfish. Mudfish represent royalty because they" both land and sea,
as a king is both human and divine. '
On bottom: more stylized Portuguese heads
 Human Form in Art,
works that exemplify the idea of beauty
Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, 1485, tempera on panel, Uffizi, Florence
Venus emerges fully grown from the foam of the sea; faraway look in her eyes
Roses scattered before her; roses created at the same time as
Venus, symbolizing that love can be painful
Left: zephyr (west wind) and chloris (nymph)
Right: handmaiden rushes to clothe her
Figures float, not anchored to the ground
Crisply drawn figures
Landscape flat and unrealistic, simple V-shaped waves
A Medici commission
28-12: SUZUKI HARUNOBU, Evening Bell at the Clock, from Eight
Views of the Parlor series, Japan, Edo period, ca. 1765. Woodblock
print, 11 1/4" x 8 1/2". Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
Refined views of middle-class women in daily pursuits; women are
characteristically delicate: small feet and hands, shrouded in billowing
drapery ,Strong diagonal compositions. Ukiyo-e (floating world)
 Narrative Art,
how the work is adapted to emphasize
the function or symbolism of the
narrative
19-9: GIOTTO DI BONDONE, Lamentation, Arena Chapel, Padua, Italy, ca. 1305. Fresco, 6'
6 3/4" x 6' 3/4".
Arena Chapel built by Enrico Scrovegni to expiate the sin of usury through which his father had
amassed a fortune; some narrative scenes chosen for the chapel illustrate Biblical episodes of
ill-gotten gains
Lamentation: Shallow stage, figures occupy a palpable space pushed forward toward the picture
plane
Diagonal cliff formation points to main action daringly placed in lower left-hand corner
Modeling indicates direction of light, light falls from above right
Range of emotions: heavy sadness, quiet resignation, flaming outbursts, despair
Figures seen from the back seem to isolate the main action
Sadness of scene emphasized by grieving angels, barrenness of tree
8-17: Detail of The Burning of the Sanjo Palace, Kamakura period,
thirteenth century. Handscroll, ink and colors on paper, 1' 4 1/4" high;
complete scroll, 22' 10" long. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Painted 200 years after the civil war depicted in the scene
Look down from above onto the scene
Strong diagonals emphasizing movement and action
Swift active brushstrokes
Narrative read from right to left as the scroll was unrolled
Depersonalized figures, many with only one stroke for the eyes, ears,
and mouth
Tangled mass of forms accentuated by Japanese armor
Lone archer leads the escape from the burning palace with the
Japanese commander behind him
 Human Experience,
how the art represents or describes
human interaction with nature or the
perception of nature
violence/rituals/propaganda/social
classes
30-22: JOHN CONSTABLE, The Haywain, 1821. Oil on canvas, 4' 3" x
6' 2". National Gallery, London.
Landscape Painting in England
Because of its severe effects on the countryside, the Industrial Revolution had an
impact on the evolution of Romantic landscape painting in England.

Nostalgia for agrarian England:

John Constable's large painting of The Haywain shows a placid, picturesque scene
of the countryside painted with attention to the texture that the atmosphere and state
of the weather gave to the landscape. The painting has a nostalgic, wistful air.
28-13: KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI, The Great Wave off Kanagawa, from Thirty-Six Views of
Mount Fuji series, Japan, Edo period, ca. 1826-1833. Woodblock print oban, ink and
colors on paper, 9 7/8" x 1' 2 3/4". Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Western Perspective in
Prints
Another subject, landscapes, often incorporated Western perspective techniques. One of the
most famous designers in this genre was KATSUSHIKA HOKUSAI (1760-1849). In The Great
Wave Off Kanagawa, the huge foreground wave dwarfs distant Mount Fuji. Hokusai places
the wave's more traditionally flat and powerfully graphic forms against the low horizon, typical
of Western perspective painting.
First time landscape is a major theme in Japanese prints
Part of series of prints called Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji
Personification of nature as it seems intent on drowning the figures in boats,
Mount Fuji, sacred mountain to the Japanese, seems to be one of the waves
Striking design contrasts water and sky with large areas of negative space
 Art in Context,
art that has a specific and
meaningful location or function
(31-41) LOUIS HENRY SULLIVAN, Carson
Pirie Scott Building, Chicago, 1899-1904.
Form follows function
13-2: Aerial view of the Dome of the Rock,
Jerusalem, 687692.
Domed wooden octagon
Influenced by centrally planned buildings,
Columns from Roman monuments
Sacred rock where Adam was buried, Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac,
Muhammad ascended to heaven, Temple of Jerusalem was located
 Art in Society,
art that describes or reflects societal
traditions
Michelangelo, Pieta, c. 1498, marble, Saint Peter's, Rome
Commissioned for Old Saint Peter's and originally intended as a funerary monument; scenes of
mourning over the dead Jesus appropriate for funerary monument
Pyramidal composition; little negative space; compact; monumental; frontal viewpoint preferred, the
work was meant to be placed against the wall of a chapel
Heavy drapery masks Mary's size as she easily holds Jesus in her lap
Christ is portrayed as serene
Mary appears to be too young to have a 33-year-old son.
Michelangelo claimed, "Don't you know that chaste women remain far fresher than those who are not
chaste? So much more the Virgin ... never has the least lascivious desire ever arisen that might alter
her body ... "
Signed on the sash across Mary's breast, the only work Michelangelo ever signed
Buddha Preaching the First Sermon, Fifth century, sandstone,
Archaeological Museum, Sarnath, India
Sitting in a yoga position, hands on a wheel in a preaching mudra
On predella: important narrative moment in Buddha's life-figures of
Sakyamuni's followers who returned to him at the sermon in Deer Park;
between the two groups of kneeling monks is the symbol of preaching, the
Wheel
Compact pose; epicene quality; tight-fitting garb
Bodhisattvas in nimbus behind him
 Artist is subject
-Artist includes himself/herself as a
witness to a narrative event
24-30: DIEGO VELAZQUEZ, Las Meninas, 1656. Oil on canvas, approx.
10' 5" x 9'. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Of art and royal life:
Velazquez's great masterpiece Las Meninas shows the painter at work on
a portrait with the King and Queen and members of the royal court
present. His style is now more "painterly" and is concerned with
producing more purely optical sensations through the manipulation of
light and color tones.
 Art of Making Art-
Revolutionary treatment of pictorial space, creation
of movement and tension in battle scenes, color
used to express an idea or a mood, dramatic
contrast of dark and light to enhance the dramatic
tension of a narrative, adaptation of a newly
discovered or invented medium or technique
24-18: CARAVAGGIO, Calling of Saint Matthew, Contarelli
Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome, Italy, ca. 1597-1601.
Oil on canvas, 11' 1" x 11' 5".
From tax collector to disciple:
Light also carries this double meaning in the dramatically lit
commonplace setting of Caravaggio's Calling of Saint Matthew.
28-12: SUZUKI HARUNOBU, Evening Bell at the Clock, from
Eight Views of the Parlor series, Japan, Edo period, ca. 1765.
Woodblock print, 11 1/4" x 8 1/2". Art Institute of Chicago,
Chicago
Refined views of middle-class women in daily pursuits; women
are characteristically delicate: small feet and hands, shrouded in
billowing drapery ,Strong diagonal compositions
 Places as Reservoirs of memories-Burial
grounds in a culture, sacred places such as
churches or temples, memorials to dead.
5-44: IKTINOS and KALLIKRATES, Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Parthenos (view from
the northwest), Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 447-438 BCE.
The centerpiece of Pericles's great building program on the Acropolis was the Parthenon, or the Temple
of Athena Parthenos, erected in the remarkable short period between 447 and 438 BCE.
The Parthenon may be viewed as the ideal solution to the Greek architect's quest for the perfect
proportions in Doric temple design.
Mathematics and optics:
For the Parthenon, the controlling ratio for the symmetria of the parts may be expressed algebraically as
x=2y + 1.
Mixing Doric and Ionic:
One of the ironies of the most famous of all Doric temples is that it is contaminated" by Ionic elements
Pericles used the extra funds in the Persian war treasury to build the Acropolis; Greek allies were
furious
 Taj Mahal, c. 1632-1648, Agra, India
Translated to mean "Crown Palace"
Named for Mumtaz Mahal, deceased wife of Shah Jahan; she died while giving
birth to her fourteenth child
Built to serve as Mumtaz Mahal's tomb. Shah Jahan was
interred next to her after his death
Symmetrical harmony of design
Typical Islamic feature of one large arch flanked by two
smaller arches
Square plan with chamfered corners
Onion-shaped dome rises gracefully from the square fac;:ade
Small kiosks around dome lessen severity
Intricate floral and geometric inlays
Grounds represent a vast funerary garden, the gardens found in heaven in the Islamic tradition
Minarets act like a picture frame, directing our view and sheltering the monument