History of art

The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetic visual form. Visual art can be classified in diverse ways, such as separating fine arts from applied arts; inclusively focusing on human creativity; or focusing on different media such as architecture, sculpture, painting, film, photography, and graphic arts. In recent years, technological advances have led to video art, computer art, performance art, animation, television, and videogames.

For the academic discipline, see Art history.

The history of art is often told as a chronology of masterpieces created during each civilization. It can thus be framed as a story of high culture, epitomized by the Wonders of the World. On the other hand, vernacular art expressions can also be integrated into art historical narratives, referred to as folk arts or craft. The more closely that an art historian engages with these latter forms of low culture, the more likely it is that they will identify their work as examining visual culture or material culture, or as contributing to fields related to art history, such as anthropology or archaeology. In the latter cases, art objects may be referred to as archeological artifacts.

Giant deer bone of Einhornhöhle c. 49,000 BC; Megaloceros bone; Einhornhöhle, Germany

Löwenmensch; c. 41,000–35,000 BC; Hohlenstein-Stadel caves Swabian Jura, Germany

Painting of rhinoceroses; c. 32,000–14,000 BC; charcoal on rock; length: c. 2 m; Chauvet Cave (Ardèche, France)^[9]

Venus of Willendorf; c. 25,000 BC; limestone with ochre colouring; height: 11 cm; Natural History Museum (Vienna, Austria)^[10]

Prehistoric art includes a broad range of art made by painters and sculptors from illiterate cultures, including some of the earliest human artifacts. Among the first art objects are decorative artifacts from Middle Stone Age Africa.^[1]^[2]^[3] Containers from that period have also been discovered in South Africa that may have been used to hold paints dating as far back as 100,000 years ago.^[4]

A form of prehistoric art found all over the world, especially in Europe, small prehistoric statuettes known as Venus figurines with exaggerated breasts and bellies were made, the most famous ones being the Venus of Hohle Fels and the Venus of Willendorf, found in Germany and Austria. Most have small heads, wide hips, and legs that taper to a point. Arms and feet are often absent, and the head is usually small and faceless.

The Venus of Hohle Fels is one of the numerous objects found at the Caves and Ice Age Art in the Swabian Jura UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the oldest non-stationary works of human art yet discovered were found, in the form of carved animal and humanoid figurines, in addition to the oldest musical instruments unearthed so far, with the artifacts dating between 43,000 and 35,000 BC.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

The best-known prehistoric artworks are the large Paleolithic cave paintings that depict animals in continental Europe, particularly the ones at Lascaux in the Dordogne region of France. Several hundred decorated caves are known, spanning the Upper Paleolithic period (c. 38,000–12,000 BC). There are examples in Ukraine, Italy and Great Britain, but most of them are in France and Spain. Many theories have been suggested about the art's purpose, the most accepted being that it was part of religious rituals, possibly to evoke hunting success.

Standard of Ur (Sumerian); c.2600-2400 BC; shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli on wood; length: 49.5 cm; British Museum (London)^[14]

King of Akkad (Akkadian); c. 2250 BC; copper alloy; height: 30 cm; Iraq Museum^[14]

Stag rhyton (Hittite); c.1400-1200 BC; silver with gold inlay; height: 13 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)^[15]

Incense burner (Pre-Islamic South Arabian); c. mid-1st millennium BC; bronze; height: 27.6 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art^[16]

Winged bulls (Neo-Assyrian); c.710 BC; alabaster; height (max): 4.2 m; Louvre^[17]

Delegation bearing gifts (Persian Achaemenid); c.490 BC; limestone; c.260 x 150 cm; in situ, Persepolis (Iran)^[18]

Perfume box; 950–975; ivory; height: 11.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)^[53]

Mihrab; 961–976; stucco and glass mosaic; diameter (internal arch): c. 2.3 m; Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba (Córdoba, Spain)^[53]

Mosque lamp; c. 1285; glass, enamels and gold; height: 26.4 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art^[54]

Court of the Lions (Alhambra, Granada, Spain), 1362-1391^[55]

Ardabil Carpet; 1539–1540; wool pile on silk; length: 10.51 m; Victoria and Albert Museum (London)^[56]

Islamic art is well-known since the Middle Ages for the use of elaborate geometric patterns, colourful tiles, stylized natural motifs and detailed calligraphy. Rarely has lettering had such a profound impact on applied arts and architecture. Islam appeared in western Arabia in the 7th century AD through revelations delivered to the prophet Muhammad in Mecca. Within a century of Muhammad's death the Islamic empires controlled the Middle East, Spain and parts of Asia and Africa. Because of this, similarly with Roman art, Islamic art and architecture had regional versions. As the Islamic world extended into centres of late antique culture, it was enriched by philosophical and intellectual movements. The translation of Greek works into Arabic and advances in mathematics and science were encouraged by early caliphates. This is in contrast with the modern perception that Islamic art is dogmatic and unchanging. Human and animal representation wasn't rare. Only certain periods restricted it (similar with the Byzantine Iconoclasm).^[52]

Colossal head; c.1050 BC; steatite; height: 2.2 m; Museo de Antropología de Xalapa (Xalapa, Mexico)^[60]

Seated shaman in ritual pose-shaped pendant (Olmec); 9th-5th century BC; serpentine and cinnabar; height: 18.5 cm; Dallas Museum of Art (Dallas, Texas, US)^[60]

Bat effigy (Zapotec); c.50 BC; jadeite and shell; height: 28 cm; National Museum of Anthropology (Mexico City)^[61]

Portrait of K'inich Janaab Pakal I (Maya; 615–683; stucco; height 43 cm; National Museum of Anthropology^[62]

Vessel with a throne scene (Maya); late 7th–8th century; ceramic; 21.59 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

Yaxchilán Lintel 24 (Maya); 702; limestone; 109 x 74 cm; British Museum (London)^[63]

Warrior columns (Toltec); c.1000; basalt; height: c.460 cm; Tula de Allende (Mexico)

Double-headed serpent (Aztec); c. 1450–1521; cedar, turquoise, shell and traces of gilding; length: 43.3 cm; British Museum^[64]

Coyolxauhqui Stone (Aztec); c. 1469–1481; stone; diameter: 3 m; Templo Mayor Museum (Mexico City)^[64]

Tlāloc effigy vessel (Aztec); c. 1440–1469; painted earthenware; height: 35 cm; Templo Mayor Museum^[64]

Seated figurine (Bactrian); 3rd-2nd millennia BC; chlorite and limestone; height: 9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)^[74]

Belt buckle; 3rd-1st centuries BC; gold; height: 7.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art^[75]

Goblet showing The Rape of Europa and of Ganymede, part of the Bagram Treasure; 1st century AD; painted glass; height: 16 cm, diameter: 10 cm; Guimet Museum (Paris)^[76]

Goddess and celestial musician (Buddhist); 7th century; pigments on plaster; height: 2.03 m; Museum of Asian Art (Berlin, Germany)^[77]

Gur-i Amir Mausoleum (Samarkand, Uzbekistan), 15th century^[78]

Seated figure; by artists of the Nok culture; 5th century BC-5th century AD; earthenware (central Nigeria); height: 38 cm; Musée du Quai Branly, Paris^[97]

Pot; from Igbo-Ukwu (Nigeria); 9th century; bronze; unknown dimensions; Nigerian National Museum, Lagos

Head of a king or dignitary; by artists of the Yoruba people; 12th-15th century; terracotta; 19 cm; discovered at Ife (Nigeria); Ethnological Museum of Berlin, Germany

Seated figure; by artists of the Djenné-Djenno culture (Mali); 13th century; earthenware; width: 29.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City^[97]

Pendant mask; by artists of the Edo people (Nigeria); 16th century (?); ivory and iron; height: 24.5 cm; British Museum, London^[98]

N'dop, king Mishe miShyaang maMbul; by artists of the Kuba Kingdom (Democratic Republic of the Congo); 18th century; wood; 49.5 cm; Brooklyn Museum, New York City^[99]

Mandu Yenu (throne of Nsangu); by artists of the Kingdom of Bamun; c.1870; wood, beads of glass, porcelain and shell; height: 1.75 m; Ethnological Museum of Berlin^[100]

Royal mask; by artists of the Bamum people (Cameroon); before 1880; wood, copper, glass beads, raffia and shells; height: 66 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art^[99]

Ngaad-A-Mwash mask; by artists of the Kuba people; late 19th-early 20th centuries; wood, shells, glass beads, raffia and pigment; height: 82 cm; Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, US^[99]

Headrest; by artists of the Luba people; 19th century; wood; height: 18.5 cm; Musée du quai Branly (Paris)^[101]

Sub-Saharan African art includes both sculpture, typified by the brass castings of the Benin people, Igbo Ukwu and the Kingdom of Ifẹ, and terracottas of Djenne-Jeno, Ife, and the more ancient Nok culture, as well as folk art. Concurrent with the European Middle Ages, in the eleventh century AD a nation that made grand architecture, gold sculpture, and intricate jewelry was founded in Great Zimbabwe. Impressive sculpture was concurrently being cast from brass by the Yoruba people of what is now Nigeria. In the Benin Kingdom, also of southern Nigeria, which began around the same time, elegant altar tusks, brass heads, plaques of brass, and palatial architecture were created. The Benin Kingdom was ended by the British in 1897, and little of the culture's art now remains in Nigeria. Today, the most significant arts venue in Africa is the Johannesburg Biennale.

Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by a high density of cultures. Notable are the, Dogon people from Mali; Edo, Yoruba, Igbo people and the Nok civilization from Nigeria; Kuba and Luba people from Central Africa; Ashanti people from Ghana; Zulu people from Southern Africa; and Fang people from Equatorial Guinea (85%), Cameroon and Gabon; the Sao civilization people from Chad; Kwele people from eastern Gabon, Republic of the Congo and Cameroon.

The myriad forms of African art are components of some of the most vibrant and responsive artistic traditions in the world and are integral to the lives of African people. Created for specific purposes, artworks can reveal their ongoing importance through physical transformations that enhance both their appearance and their potency. Many traditional African art forms are created as conduits to the spirit world and change appearance as materials are added to enhance their beauty and potency. The more a work is used and blessed, the more abstract it becomes with the accretion of sacrificial matter and the wearing down of original details.

Hoa Hakananai'a, an example of a moai; c. 1200 AD; flow lava; height: 242 cm; British Museum (London)^[102]

Statue of A'a from Rurutu; probably 18th century; wood; height: 117 cm; British Museum^[103]

Taurapa (māori canoe sternpost); late 18th-early 19th century; wood and sheel; height: 148 cm; Musée du Quai Branly (Paris)^[104]

Australian painting of a kangaroo totemic ancestor; c. 1915; painting on bark; 92.5 × 35.5 cm; Musée du Quai Branly

Oceanian art includes the geographic areas of Micronesia, Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand, and Melanesia. One approach treats the area thematically, with foci on ancestry, warfare, the body, gender, trade, religion, and tourism. Unfortunately, little ancient art survives from Oceania. Scholars believe that this is likely because artists used perishable materials, such as wood and feathers, which did not survive in the tropical climate, and there are no historical records to refer to most of this material. The understanding of Oceania's artistic cultures thus begins with the documentation of it by Westerners, such as Captain James Cook, in the 18th century. At the turn of the 20th century the French artist Paul Gauguin spent significant amounts of time in Tahiti, living with local people and making modern art — a fact that has become intertwined with Tahitian visual culture to the present day. The indigenous art of Australia often looks like abstract modern art, but it has deep roots in local culture.

The art of Oceania is the last great tradition of art to be appreciated by the world at large. Despite being one of the longest continuous traditions of art in the world, dating back at least fifty millennia, it remained relatively unknown until the second half of the 20th century.

The often ephemeral materials of Aboriginal art of Australia makes it difficult to determine the antiquity of the majority of the forms of art practised today. The most durable forms are the multitudes of rock engravings and rock paintings which are found across the continent. In the Arnhem Land escarpment, evidence suggests that paintings were being made fifty thousand years ago, antedating the Palaeolithic rock paintings of Altamira & Lascaux in Europe.

Christ as the Good Shepherd; c. 425–430; mosaic; width: c. 3 m; Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (Ravenna, Italy)^[114]

Feeding of the Five Thousand; c.520; mosaic; unknown dimensions; Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy

Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, unknown architect, c.530^[115]

Diptych Leaf with a Byzantine Empress; 6th century; ivory with traces of gilding and leaf; height: 26.5 cm; Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna, Austria)^[116]

Collier; late 6th–7th century; gold, an emerald, a sapphire, amethysts and pearls; diameter: 23 cm; from a Constantinopolitan workshop; Antikensammlung Berlin (Berlin, Germany)^[117]

Page of the Gospel Book with Commentaries: Portrait of Mark; 1000–1100; ink, tempera, gold, vellum and leather binding; sheet: 28 × 23 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, Ohio, US)

Ladder of Divine Ascent; late 12th century; tempera and gold leaf on panel; 41 x 29.5 cm; Saint Catherine's Monastery (Sinai Peninsula, Egypt)^[118]

Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne; c.1280; tempera on panel; 81.5 x 49 cm; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.^[119]

Newton's Cenotaph, exterior by night; by Étienne-Louis Boullée; 1784; ink and wash, 40.2 × 63.3 cm.; Bibliothèque Nationale

The Dog; Francisco de Goya; ca. 1819–1823; mural transferred to canvas, 131.5 × 79.3 cm.; Museo del Prado

Death on a Pale Horse; J. M. W. Turner; c. 1830; oil on canvas, 60 × 76 cm.; Tate Britain

Toothless Man Laughing, Charles Philipon form Célébrités du Juste milieu; Honoré Daumier; 1832–33; painted clay, 6.12 high; Musée d'Orsay

Still life with statue of Jupiter Tonans; by Louis Jacques Daguerre; c. 1839; daguerreotype

– The Dictionary of the History of Ideas

History of art

"Art: The history of ideas in literature and the arts in aesthetic theory and literary criticism"

Art History resources

Ars Summum Project