|
Art Movements:
Stone Age Art (c. 50,000 BC - 3500 BC):
Developed during the first known period of human culture in Europe, Stone Age art is characterized by the use of stone implements and is divided into three main periods: Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic. Similar cultures with broadly similar phases of art have occurred at different periods in other parts of the world. The earliest known artifacts in Europe date from c. 50,000 years ago during the Paleolithic period (Early Stone Age) and are of two main kinds: decorated or ornamental objects, usually small, directly associated with the stone and bone industries of the period (such as perforated bone or tooth pendants), and engravings and paintings, often very sophisticated found on the walls and ceilings of caves.
Sculptures, silhouettes, reliefs, and engravings all occur. They include the so-called Venuses, statuettes of women, often pregnant; they are found as far apart as Brassempouy in western France and on Lake Baikal in the Soviet Union and are made of many materials including stone, ivory, and occasionally even baked clay.
The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age period is well represented in northern and western European culture from about 8000 to about 3500 BC. Culturally and technologically it remained in many ways analogous to the Paleolithic period. Mesolithic art in the Baltic region includes geometric patterns and stylized human figures engraved on bone and antler, and animal figures carved in amber, sometimes as pendants.
The art associated with the Neolithic or New Stone Age period in Europe (5000 to 2500 BC) was characterized by important advances in technology; this was the period when settlers, who were farmers, learned how to weave, plait straw, and polish stone tools. Pottery began to be made by hand, usually decorated by simple techniques of impressing and incising. Another important feature of Neolithic cultures is its megalithic building and monumental structures used for ritual purposes, such as the menhirs (single upright stones), stone circles, and dolmens (chamber tombs). Some of the megalithic tombs include decorated stones, carvings of spirals or owl-like stylized faces. Architectural details from these structures can be found as far apart as the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines. Go to examples of Stone Age Art
Minoan: Minoan Art-- the art of ancient Crete, so named after the legendary King Minos--developed from c. 3000 BC to about 1100 BC. The evidence of early Minoan pottery suggest strong trade contracts with Egypt during the early Minoan period (c. 3000-2000 BC), though it is not clear whether the Minoan civilization originated with immigrants or grew from the previous Neolithic culture.
Minoan civilization enjoyed its greatest prosperity from c. 2200 to 1450 BC. It was a sophisticated society with the beginnings of a bureaucracy that used written tablets. Minoan palaces were of complex design, each centered on a large courtyard, with many staircases, smaller courtyards, and rooms for cult worship. Magnificent frescoes adorned the walls. Metalworking, gem-engraving, seal stones and jewelry-making reached high artistic standards. Pottery, sometimes of little more than egg-shell thickness, was adorned with formal but highly effective floral designs in color on a black ground.
The palaces at Knossos and Phaestus suffered destruction c. 1700 BC either through war or as a result of an earthquake, but were rebuilt. The exquisite freshness of the earlier painting was succeeded by a more grandiose style, which depicts, among other themes, the religious ceremonial of catching a bull by the horns and leaping over it. The delicate pottery was replaced by great wine jars and vases patterned with dark brown or red varnish on a light ground, with naturalistic floral or marine designs or running spirals. A further destruction occurred c. 1500 BC, and soon after that, the massive eruption of the volcano on Thera (Santorini), which overwhelmed much of Create. Invaders from Greece finally brought an end to the Minoan Empire. Evidence of its culture was first revealed by the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in 1900.
Go to examples of Minoan Fresco / Minoan Sculpture
|
