Periods of Art History I
The history of art from Prehistory to Imperial Rome
Vladimir Ivanovici
Course structure
1. Prehistoric art
2. Mesopotamia
3. Hittite art
4. Egyptian art
5. The Greek bronze age: the Cyclades and Mycenae
6. Greek art: the archaic period
7. Greek art: the classical period
8. Hellenistic art
9. Achaemenid art
10. Etruscan art
11. Roman art: Republican Rome
12. Roman art: Early Imperial Rome
13. The functions of Roman art
14. The concept of art in Graeco-Roman antiquity
Course objectives:
The course offers an overview of artistic production from prehistoric times to imperial Rome;
from cave paintings to the late Roman empire, through the Greek revolution in art. Spanning
over 30.000 years, the timeframe covers a number of civilisations, whose art is discussed in the
socio-historic and religious context of the time. The concept of art and artist, the debates
artistic production stirred with regards to human creativity and perception, as well as its role in
human history are discussed.
Examination:
Main: Oral examination of the materials discussed in class.
Secondary: students will present one artefact in class,
discussing its historic context, form, function, and materiality.
Study trips: Moravské zemské muzeum, Brno
Ephesos Museum, Vienna
Literature:
Susan Alcock and Robert Osborne (eds.), Blackwell Companion to ClassicalArchaeology, 2nd ed., Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.
Joan Aruz, Ronald Wallenfels (eds.) Art of the First Cities: The Third Millennium B.C. from the Mediterranean to the Indus, New Haven:
Yale University Press, 2003.
John Boardman, Greek Sculpture: The Late Classical Period and Sculpture in Colonies and Overseas, London: Thames & Hudson, 1995.
John Boardman, Greek Sculpture: The Classical Period:A Handbook, London: Thames & Hudson, 1985.
Pierre Briant, From Cyrus toAlexander:A History of the Persian Empire, Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 2002.
Trevor Bryce, The Kingdom of the Hittites, New ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Trevor Bryce, Life and Society in the Hittite World, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
Ernest H. Gombrich, The Story ofArt, London: Phaidon Press, 2006.
Richard Neer, GreekArt andArchaeology c. 2500-c.150 BCE, Thames and Hudson 2012.
Jerome J. Pollitt, Art and Experience in Classical Greece, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972.
Jerome J. Pollitt, Art in the HellenisticAge, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel (eds.) Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs, Cologne: Könemann, 1998.
Salvatore Settis, The Future of the ‘Classical’, Cambridge and Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2006.
Graham Shipley, The Greek World afterAlexander, 323–30 B.C., New York: Routledge, 2000.
R.R.R. Smith, Hellenistic Sculpture:A Handbook, London: Thames & Hudson, 1991.
Marilyn Stokstad and Michael Cothren, Art History,AncientArt, Book 1, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2010.
Contact:
240953@mail.muni.cz
vladimir.ivanovici@yahoo.com
Spread of agriculture
African rock art
Pachmari Hills, India,
ca. 9000 t0 3000 BCE
Chauvet (ca. 30,000 B.C.)
Chauvet (ca. 30,000 B.C.)
Chauvet (ca. 30,000 B.C.)
Chauvet (ca. 30,000 B.C.)
Lascaux (ca. 25,000 B.C.)
Lascaux plan
Lascaux (ca. 25,000 B.C.)
Lascaux (ca. 25,000 B.C.)
Other caves
Venus of Willendorf (11cm, 30.000BCE).
Göbekli Tepe
Neolithic totem pole from Göbekli Tepe
Turkey, 8800-8000 BC
wild boar statuette
Çatalhöyük
Çatalhöyük
Twin goddess. Marble statuette, 17.2 cm,
Çatalhöyük, 6000-5500 BC
Plastered skull, Jericho,
ca. 8000 BCE
Ain Ghazal statues.