Art History & Theory 1: Western Classical to Renaissance

For this course, I once again chose to read and discuss The Annotated Mona Lisa by Dr. Carol Strickland.  The information that I found in the prehistoric section was so impactful that I was excited to continue reading to see what I could find for the time period from Classical to the Renaissance.  In many of the cultures explored in this book, Dr. Strickland breaks art down into three areas: painting, sculpture, and architecture. 

Dr. Strickland begins her exploration of the Classical period in “Greece: They Invented a Lot More Than the Olympics.”  From 480-430 BC, ancient Greece saw a lot of growth in the creative arts, from architecture to poetry and philosophy.  Art in Greece during this time seems to encompass their philosophy and focus on a “respect for balance and harmony” (Strickland 12).  They perfected realistic paintings in their murals and vase paintings, where they told the mythic stories that we still know today.  These images can be seen as early as 800 BC, when we first begin to see figures painted in black on their red clay vases.  Their art evolved and changed over time, but that sense of balance seems consistent throughout the centuries.  It was the Greeks that also made huge strides in sculpting practices, viewing nudity as acceptable and creating beautiful sculptures of the human body.  They were also responsible for the innovation of “contrapposto,” or weight shift, which allowed for marble statues to stand on a single leg, showing a sense of motion (Strickland 13).  Greek architecture was unprecedented and has been incredibly influential on the way we design our buildings, even in modern times, with their columns and platforms. 

The next section of the book begins to describe the art of “Rome: The Organizers.” Ancient Rome was known for absorbing bits and pieces of different cultures into their own cultural practices.  They had strong talents in both organization and efficiency that allowed them to build upon the work of the Greeks and further progress the arts during their time.  Their art was based more on function than idealization when compared to the Greeks (Strickland 16).  For example, in their architecture they helped to develop the arch, vault, and domes that we utilize in modern construction.  Their largest building was the Colosseum, which opened in 80 AD and could hold 50,000 people.  In this structure they implemented ramps for access to seating, as well as “elevators” that would raise to the arena floor from cages that were hidden below (Strickland 18).  The design of this building helped to inspire many of the modern stadiums we build today.  In addition to their advances in architecture, Romans were huge contributors to sculpting practices.  They created assembly-line styled busts of their leaders, as well as death masks for ancestors that the people kept in their homes (Strickland 17).   The island of Pompeii at one time was filled with paintings and mosaics that are still being unearthed after it was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius.  I was able to actually visit a Pompeii exhibit recently to see not only some of the artifacts from this island, but also the cemented remains of some of those who perished in the explosion.  The exhibit was so intense and moving that I know I’ll never forget that experience.

After exploring Rome, Dr. Strickland moves into the Middle Ages, a time where art was ruled by Religion.  This covers the time period from the 5^th to the 15^th centuries.  During this time, Christianity was expanding and the Pagan influences in art seems to diminish.  In art, we also see a change in themes, focusing more on the afterlife than daily life. We also see the view of the human body shift from being beautiful and natural to being inappropriate and vulgar.  Dr. Strickland describes this as the time that “art became a servant of the church” (Strickland 24).  During this time period, this book covers many different styles including Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic art.

Byzantine art paid special attention to mosaics, specifically those created during the 5^th and 6^th centuries.  They used these mosaics to share Christian dogma. However, they also made contributions to architecture through their development of pendentives (Strickland 25).  The art of this style did not use methods that had previously been improved by earlier cultures, such as perspective. 

Romanesque art is a style of art that was created specifically for the Roman Catholics during 1050 to 1200 BC.  They used elements found in Roman architecture to again propagate information about Christianity.  Their buildings were often plain except for the art pieces that were used to share religious doctrine. This time period also saw the development of illuminated manuscripts, which were elaborately decorated books of religious teachings.  These books were often decorated with gold and gems, and were the only books available at this time  (Strickland 26-27).

Gothic art saw massive changes in architecture, transitioning from plain, horizontal buildings to vaulted buildings with pointed archways and stained-glass windows for decoration.  The church at this time believed that the beauty of these cathedrals would be an inspiration to their members and encourage their spiritual practices (Strickland 28).  

After exploring the different cultures of the medieval period, the book moves on to the renaissance period, where we see a rebirth of the Greek and Roman styles of art, as well as a huge growth in scientific discoveries.  There were many different artistic “breakthroughs” during the renaissance, including the use of oil on stretched canvas, better understanding of perspective and how to create it in flat images, improved use of light and shadow, and the so-called pyramid configuration (Strickland 32).  All of this change and development lead to an explosion of art.  Many of the artists that we are the most familiar with today came from the renaissance including Donatello, Botticelli, Davinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.  

From this point forward, Dr. Strickland continues to move through history exploring the art of the 19^th and 20^th centuries and beyond.  There is so much information in this book, but it is written in a way that is very easy to understand and stay engaged in.  I think it is a wonderful resource to have on hand for exploring different styles of art, and seeing how our ancestors may have approached artistic endeavors during a specific period of time. 

Works Cited

Strickland, Dr. Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern. Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel, 1992.