The Evolution of Art from the Prehistoric Time (20,000 BC) to 15th Century Time (1401 AD-1500 AD).
By haley.neal
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Period: 35,000 BCE to 12,000 BCE
Paleolithic Age
Means "Old Stone Age" and is characterized by hunting and gathering for food. Sculptures were portable and cut from rock. They usually featured animals or humans, especially the female figure. -
30,000 BCE
Chauvet Cave Painting
The paintings found in Chauvet Cave destroyed the belief that artists of the Paleolithic Age became more sophisticated in their techniques as time passed. This painting shows naturalistically painted animals instead of the twisted perspective found in later years. These paintings hold the first narrative elements in the history of art. -
Period: 24,000 BCE to 22,000 BCE
The Venus of Willendorf
4 inches in length. Features exaggerated aspects of female fertility while obscuring facial features, which was common in that time period. Source -
23,000 BCE
The Venus of Willendorf
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12,000 BCE
Bison Painting in Altimira Cave
A bison painting found in Altamira Cave in northern Spain. This painting has been dated back to 12,000 BCE. This painting is represented in twisted perspective as well as most paintings from this time period. -
Period: 12,000 BCE to 8000 BCE
Mesolithic Age
Means "Middle Stone Age" and is characterized by intensified gathering and the domestication of dogs. -
Period: 8000 BCE to 1 CE
Neolithic Age
Means "New Stone Age" and is characterized by the domestication of plants and animals and the construction of dwellings. -
6000 BCE
Catal Huyuk
This Neolithic community was formed on the Anatolian Plain in modern-day Turkey. This community was constructed between 7000 and 5000 BCE. It is the first example of predetermined urban planning. Homes were designed the same, and there was a home to shrine ratio (3:1). Town had no streets, and the buildings did not have doors. Instead, the buildings were placed next to each other, and the people entered and exited through a hole in the roof. Protection was mud-brick walls reinforced with timber. -
Period: 2500 BCE to 1600 BCE
Stonehenge
One of the many megalithic structures in Europe and the world. Quite possibly the most famous one as well. Most scholars believe that the megaliths were solar calendar or an astronomical observatory of some kind, but no one really knows for sure what these huge structures were made for. -
Period: 753 BCE to 509 BCE
Regal Period
When ancient Roman civilization was characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories. -
Period: 509 BCE to 27 BCE
Republican Period
When classical Roman civilization began with the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom. -
500 BCE
The Golden Age of Greece
This age marks the change in standard of perspective in paintings of the human form. The twisted perspective which gives the viewer the most "informative" picture possible was changed out with a more realistic view. -
Period: 323 BCE to 31 BCE
Greek Hellenistic Period
"In 336 B.C., Alexander the Great became the leader of the Greek kingdom of Macedonia. By the time he died 13 years later, Alexander had built an empire that stretched from Greece all the way to India. That brief but thorough empire-building campaign changed the world: It spread Greek ideas and culture from the Eastern Mediterranean to Asia." The cause of the beginning of this period was Alexander's death in 323 BC. Source. -
235 BCE
The Dying Gaul
Often called "The Dying Gladiator," this sculpture is said to be a Roman marble coppy of a Hellensitic work from the late third century BC. Now it is located in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. -
127 BCE
The Basilica of Pompeii
This building was built somewhere inbetween 120BC and 130BC. A basilica was a place where buisiness matters and court matters would be discussed. Being a public place, this basilla was used as a court and as a venue for commercial negotiations. The Basilica of Pompeii was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD. -
101 BCE
Venus de Milo
Alexandros of Antioch created this marble statue of Venus. It is one of the most famous ancient Greek sculptures. It is now located in Louvre Museum, Paris, France. -
Period: 27 BCE to 96
Early Imperial Period
When the expansion of political and cultural influence influenced the Roman Empire. -
Period: 96 to 192
High Imperial Period
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192
Commodus as Hercules
This marble sculpture was discovered in 1874 in the underground chambers of Horti Lamian, a set of gardens ontop of Esquiline Hill in Rome. Commodus was a Roman Emperor, however, this sculpture of him is not him entirely. He is being portrayed as Hercules, a strong and looked up to Roman God. -
Period: 192 to 337
Late Imperial Period
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690
Dome of the Rock
More commonly though, religious art resulted in places of worship and important places tied in with the religion itself. This is noted from the Dome of the Rock. This was built by Raja ibn Haywah.
Building with ornate patterns and designs in blue, green and gold with a round arch doorway and a large gold dome on the top.
This monument surrounds the rock that Muslims believe where Muhammad ascended into heaven, and it has many different details about it that fascinate people still to this day. -
Period: 1000 to 1100
Romanesque Period
Romanesque period architectural works borrowed heavily from Roman construction techniques and also Byzantine, Islamic, and Early Medieval art and architecture. -
Period: 1100 to 1500
Gothic Period
The Gothic period was marked by great turmoil and prosperity. The Hundred Years' War happened in this time, as well as the Great Plague and the Great Schism, yet there was a large increase in urban life, intellectual growth and an economic boom that led to numerous determined building projects. -
1150
Catacombs of Priscilla
Religion influences artwork in many different ways. This is seen in the Catacombs of Priscilla (late 2nd century) as well as others.
Walls made of large stones frame an entry way
Catacombs featured galleries and chambers to hold people who have passed on. They are very large to hold all of this precious cargo, and people commonly believe burying their loved ones with works of art depicting their religion will allow them a better afterlife. -
Apr 26, 1248
Completion of the Sainte-Chappelle
This gothicesque chapel was built in just seven years! Located in France, it has "one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collections anywhere in the world". It was damaged during the French Revolution, however it has sense been restored. -
1300
Orvieto Cathedra
Orvieto Cathedral (ca. 14 century), designed by Lorenzo Maitani.
This building houses variances to the typical Gothic elements. The pointed ables over the doorways, the rose window, the pinnacles, and the division of the facade into three parts are typical of the Gothic style, but what truly separates the work to Italian Gothic is that the facade is on a single plane and the fact that it has painted and carved ornamentation similar to an altar screen.
