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4000 BCE
Metallurgy
Metallurgy was the shift in technology from stone and bone to metal. Different cultures specialized in different techniques. The Chinese used clay molds to make pieces that they would solder into elaborate vessels. They were used to hold food and water for the dead and would depict animals and dragons. -
2700 BCE
Standard of Ur
This Mesopotamian two-sided box depicts a battle and victory through mosaics made of lapis lazuli and red limestone. One side of the box depicts war, illustrating soldiers and chariots, and the other depicts the victory by showing a banquet and laborers working. -
2000 BCE
The Minoan Civilization
200 BCE-1400 BCE
The Minoans were an Aegean civilization. They were once a thriving seafaring culture that did not feel the need to fortify their land. Thanks to this sense of security they decorated their palaces with brightly colored frescoes and paint. -
460 BCE
Hippocrates
460 BCE-377 BCE
Hippocrates was a Greek physician who helped advance medicine.
He is attributed to the Hippocratic Oath that is undertaken by doctors to professionally heal the sick. This duty can be the difference between life and death for many people. -
547
Emperor Justinian and his Courtiers
This is a mosaic from San Vitale whose name describes what can be seen. The many finely colored stones border the mosaic in elaborate patterns. One could hardly differentiate the mosaic with a painting with how finely each piece shades and colors the figures. -
Matsuo Bashō
1644-1694
Bashō was poet and Zen monk. He wrote many haikus describing different facets of life, mostly the more natural aspects. Despite the seeming simplicity of haiku poems, they still evoke different emotions. -
Essay Concerning Human Understanding
In this essay by John Locke, he mentions tabula rasa. It means blank slate and refers to how our minds are blank at birth. This implies that our experience make us who we are and what we know, that anyone can be a good person if they have good experiences. -
Romanticism
Romanticism is a philosophy that revered nature and its aspects that humans do not fully understand through emotion. It turned a menacing lack of understanding into respect. -
Charles Dickens
1812-1870
Dickens was an English novelist whose writing followed realism. He would write about real issues you would find in society like slums, but he had optimistic themes. This would include staying cheerful and being kind in spite of the dreary aspects of life. -
La Sagrada Familia
A temple of architecture Antonio Gaudi’s design. The exterior is full of details and different figures. The interior is full of finely laid, light brick and vibrant stained-glass windows. -
The Starry Night
This is a painting by Vincent van Gogh of a French town at night. The sky is vibrant with the ambient black and blue contrasting the yellow, white, and orange that can be seen in the stars and moon. The brighter colors pop out and almost distract from the town visible below. -
Casa Batllo
This is another building designed by Antonio Gaudi. Its colorful and cheerful looking exterior contrasts with its dimmer interior in design and color. -
Akira Kurosawa
1910-1998
Kurosawa had an optimistic view of the world in that everything can be redeemed. He relayed this through his films that dove into the different aspects of modern life through samurai legends. -
Jackson Pollock
1912-1956
Pollock’s most well-known works are drip paintings. They may seem simple to make but require certain movements and gestures to create. The outcomes are not grandiose but are quite satisfying and appealing. -
Street, Berlin
This painting, by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, uses cooler colors and intense black to give the overbearing impression a city would. The striking turquoise and magenta are blended with strokes that invoke a sense of movement. The dozens of men in bold black suits and two women who seem to be approaching the viewer are imposing. -
The Road Not Taken
This well-known poem by Robert Frost describes how the narrator had the choice between traveling two roads. The narrator chooses the road least traveled which might inspire readers to make their own decisions even if others would not do the same. -
Harlem Renaissance
1920-1940
African-American culture bloomed during this time period in Manhattan. There, they unfortunately had to face racism and mistrust, but in response, they made amazing music genres, appreciated who they were through dance, and opened the doors to new forms of art. -
James Baldwin
1924-1987
Baldwin wrote about the dynamic African Americans had in society during his time to make change. He would explain that African Americans could connect with populations in poverty but were not welcome in the modern world due to their differences. -
Thunder Storm, Yosemite Valley
This photograph by Ansel Adams gives a mystical perspective of the landscape. The land is vast and is shrouded by mist that gives the photo an essence of wonder. -
Jadé Fadojutumi
Fadojutumi is a painter who reflects emotions, objects, and sound in her paintings. They might contrast bright colors with dark, bolder colors. Some are full of bright colors that are broken up with darker strokes.