History of Art Timeline

Egyptian Art - 3,000 BCE - 350 CE

3000 BCE

Egypt provided the building blocks for the rest of the art, including Greek art and Roman art. The point of this art for the Egyptians was to idolize the deceased. Most of these medias are of elite, royalty, gods, or goddesses. The Egyptians used an odd stature for their people to be in. For example, they were front facing and the post is almost impossible to recreate. There were several different medias Egyptians used, such as three dimensional art, their hieroglyphics, and even the Pyramids.

Prehistoric Art - 2.5 million BCE to 800 BCE

800 BCE

Cave paintings, which are usually painted on cave or rock walls and ceilings, usually dating to prehistoric times. The time period dates from 2.5 million BCE to 800 BCE. Most cave art consists of paintings made with either red or black pigment. The reds were made with iron oxides, whereas manganese dioxide and charcoal were used for the blacks. These paintings had several different meanings. People at this time used their handprints as a signature on their paintings.

Greek Art - 800 - 323 BCE

800 BCE

As we learned, Greek sculpture was created to show the perfection of the human body. They however were very artistic, they were famous for their architecture, paintings and sculptures. The three different types of orders for architecture were Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

Roman Art - 300 BCE - 400 CE

300 BCE

Roman art also encompasses a broad spectrum of media including marble, painting, mosaic, gems, silver and bronze work, and terracottas. Greek heritage and it's art had a great impact on Roman art and how they portrayed their art. Some sculptures were created to idolize gods, goddesses, philosophers, and famous athletes. One of the most popular sculptures of the time was the "bust", this was sculpture of just the head. Just like the Greek, the Romans sculpted people in their perfect state.

Medieval Art - 500 - 1200 CE

450

Broadly speaking, the Middle Ages is the period of time in Europe between the end of antiquity in the fifth century and the Renaissance, or rebirth of classical learning, in the fifteenth century and sixteenth centuries. Many of the art during this time was heavily influenced by religion. As seen in this piece, this is a painting of the Last Supper. Other art medias in this time were cathedrals, churches, sculpture, painting, manuscripts, and jewelry.

Gothic Art - 1150 - 1450 CE

1150

Gothic art is considered primarily a form of Christian art. It first began in France and then spread throughout northern Europe. What it's most known for the architecture. We are able to recognize their architecture in buildings such as cathedrals. The architecture left room for the large, beautiful glass. As in this picture, another one of their passions was stain glass which is very common in churches and other religious areas. The stained glass is filled with Christian tales from the Bible.

The Renaissance Art - 1400 - 1530 CE

1400

Renaissance art had became popular in 1400 when the Italian Renaissance was taking place. During this time, the artists had perfected their usage of oil painting and also paid close attention to small details in their medias. Much like earlier art eras, a lot of their paintings depicted religious scenes. We can differentiate between this painting of the last supper and the other one shown earlier in the presentation. During this time, society was showing great interest in classical learning.

Michelangelo - Sistine Chapel - 1508 - 1512 CE

1508

This piece of media is a painting on the Sistine Chapel illustrated by Michelangelo. This was an important part of Renaissance art because it displays the shift of art during this time. All of the art on the ceiling is illustrated to show scenes from the bible.

Baroque Art - 1600-1700 CE

1600

At this time, art was very important to religion. Catholics embraced art and found it useful to teach those who were not literate at this time, as the pictures were just as persuasive if not more persuasive than the actual scripture. Artists at this time turned to powerful and dramatic realism. They used a bold sense of contrast, which utilized light and dark. The usage of this exemplified the physical and emotional immediacy of the depicted narrative.

Realist Art - 1850-present CE

1850

Due to the fact that the world was changing around them, the artists had to change their art as well. The Modern Era that we know had started with Industrial Revolution. They believed that painting religious scenes and gods/goddesses could not resonate with the audiences. At this time, the artist must be creating things that relate to the current time period, rather than dwelling on the past.

Surrealism Art - Mid-1920s - Present

1920

Surrealism was a cultural movement that united conscious and unconscious thoughts. Most of the pictures showed images of altered reality, like in the one shown. The images were used to provoke a psychological response from the viewers. The artwork rarely made sense as it was usually a result of dreams. The artists were usually poets, writers, etc. who were using art as a platform to show their theories.