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War scene (detail), paintings in rock shelter 8, Upper Paleolithic period, Bhimbetka, India (photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0)

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These cave paintings are Prehistoric paintings found on rock shelters. These illustrations would depict scenes from the lives of hunters. Aditionally there could be different possible meaning for these paintings; they could represent battle/hunt stratagies, it could have been a way to preserve their strories, it was part of a religious ritual, etc. Even though there are different purposes of what they could mean, the true purpose/meaning behing them are yet not clear.

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‘Ram in a Thicket’ (also referred to as a goat and flowering plant), about 2600–2400 B.C.E., Sumerian, found in tomb PG 1237, Royal Tombs of Ur, southern Iraq.

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Historically, stone was not very affordable, but the kings and queens introduced trading, which lead to many new goods. We can see it in the materials used to create the Ram. It was made of wood but covered in gold leaf. The horns are made of copper and parts of the back and the face were covered with lapis lazuli.

Both the opened flowers and the goat represent deities, who are a symbol of the constant change of the seasons, giving this idea of fertility in the land. This sculpture also is a symbol of status due to the expensive and fine material they used to create it.

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The “Queen of the Night” relief, Old Babylonian, 1800–1750 B.C.E., fired clay, from southern Iraq

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This large plaque is made of baked straw-tempered clay, modeled in high relief. The main figure figure was originally painted red. She wears the horned headdress characteristic of a Mesopotamian deity and holds a rod and ring of justice, symbols of her divinity.

Her long multi-colored wings hang downwards, indicating that she is a goddess of the Underworld. The background was also originally painted black, suggesting that she was associated with the night.

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Lion Hunts of Ashurbanipal (ruled 669–630 B.C.E.), c. 645 B.C.E., gypsum, Neo-Assyrian, Mosul, Iraq

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Royal lion hunts were depicted on the bronze bands that decorated monumental gates, stone obelisks that recorded the king’s achievements and on the carved wall panels that adorned the interior rooms of Assyrian palaces.

They show the king hunting lions and wild bulls from his chariot, followed by a ritual scene where the king poured an offering of wine over the dead animals.

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Giza plateau, Menkaure circa 2490 B.C (photo: Ikiwaner CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Pyramid shape. We can see the power of Egypt was gaining by the type of material and effort they would use in their buildings. Stone is a representation of lasting or standing.

The pyramimds of Giza are tombs. The one in the right is for the grandfather, the midle one for the father and the pyramid in the left is for the son. This was also the first time were the body was barried inside of the building intead of under.

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Ra-Horakhti, Amun, the deified king, Ma’at, and Andjeti in the tomb of Ramses V/VI (KV9)

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The tomb consisted of a series of descending corridors that lead, in a straight line to the burial chamber. The painted relief walls are very well preserved.

The tomb’s decorative programme consists of various funerary texts to help the king in his successful transition to the afterlife. The first descending passages are decorated with the Book of Gates, Book of Caverns, and Books of the Heavens, ancient Egyptian books of the afterlife.

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Bull-leaping fresco from the east wing of the palace of Knossos (reconstructed), c. 1400 B.C.E.

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The body proportions are not very naturalistic. Found in Knossos' palace. It gives a lot of notion and mvement based on all the lines and the wavy shapes it has. The colors are marine inspired, so the colors and style it is inspired on their geography. On people in the left and in the right were woman, and the person over the bull is a man.This would show social and religious conotation, meaning that in this culture both men and women participated in these activities. Bulls were sacred to Manoan culture, so this might be depicting either a game or a sport event.

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Mask of Agamemnon, from shaft grave V, grave circle A, Mycenae c.1550-1500 B.C.E., gold

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This is a funeral mask of Agamemnon. This would be wrapt around te face. Mycenaen would bury a lot of treasure with their dead. They would hammer the gold to make it thin and then give shape to it. We also have a sense of individaly since every mask is different, having the concept of a portrait. Still, they would give artistic style to eacg mask, maybe denoting the personality of the person.

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Temple of Hera I, Paestum, Italy, c. 550 BC

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The concept of a Temple was a house of the statue dedicated to a God. The Temple ceremonies were to be donde outside instead of inside. People would go insisde more to just admire the beautiful sculptures and details of the building or to see the statue. They would use the post and lintel technique for this temple. The order of this temple is doric and it has 9 colums whis is very rare.

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The subject matter is an athlete. This is a copy of an ancient Roman sculpture. The original would be made out of bronze. It has a lot of motion, and contrast between pose and energy. It is high classica styled, it has a lot of musculature and a lot of naturalism.

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Great Altar of Zeus, Pergamon, c. 175-150 BC

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Lots of different sculpting. Most of the human-shaped sculpting are in the midle area of the building. At this period of time, Greek culture starts to experiment with different styles and methods in their architecture and art. This the entrance of the the place where Zeus was worshiped. This is also very unique because the frizz is at the base and made it huge, which made sapce for more sculptures. They had over 100 figures showing that the Gods and warriors were with you as you aproched to worship zeus and honored this Hellenistic era.

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Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri, 3rd century BC

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This room was used as a tomb. The many relief sculptures show different elements of daily life and how the afterlife would look the same. Like the Greek culture, they would also paint their sculptures with vivid colors. Some of the differences were the material they used, which was terracotta, and the style of their pieces. We can also see a couple of pillows, that's where the deceased person would have been laid.

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Pompeii Amphitheater with a Brawl between Pompeians and Nucerini, fresco in the IV Pompeian style (59-79 C.E.

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Pompeii was one of the nations that was close related with Rome. Architecture is mostly made out of brick, stone, and other materials. They would have market places around the amphitheater which was mostly used for athetical contests. This round-styled building was the beggining of inspiration for the Colosseum later on.

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Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), Rome, AD 72-80

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The Colosseum is a double theater/arena building. It has lots of arches which depict the Roman culture and power. This building was mostly used for gladiator fights, violence for entertainmaint purposes. These competitions were war-like, which was part of Roman culture or identity. The bottom area was saved for the most important people, while on top were slaves and women. It is still used for modern-day events.

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Constantine the emperor at the time started to make coins like these. He sees a vision where he sees an “X” and a “P” which are the letters that represent Christ’s name in Latin. He sees in the vision that as he uses those symbols, he will conquer other lands and become powerful. These coins are part of that Christian influence. He is the first known Roman emperor becoming Christian. Christianity would later one-use same iconography later on.

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The Parting of Lot and Abraham mosaic, Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, c. 432-40Augustine, The City of God (Excerpt reading)

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In early Christian art, Christians create art to tell the stories in the Bible. Mossiac art is more expensive and during the early days of Christian era they were very poor so this meant that Christians were getting more resources and power to comission this kind of art.

They use style of ancient Rome in a very Christian context. This mossaic depics the separation of Lot and Abraham which also supports the idea of depicting Bible stories in art.

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Anthemius and Isidore, Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul), 532-37

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This building was a originally a Christian church that was used before. The shows some of the major innovations in architecture. The dome is supported by triangular-rounded pilars that also allowed to have a squared base. The type of support also allowed to have open spaces in the base of the building which was something new that would amaze visitors. The carvings in the borders and columns give details as if it was lace.

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The 'Fuller Brooch' (Anglo-Saxon, late ninth century) 

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This circular brooch is made from hammered sheet silver decorated with five figures who represent the five senses. The meaning of this brooch was given by King Alfred the great, a Christian scholar who wrote about gaining inner wisdom through the "eyes of the mind.

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St. Mark from the Godescalc Gospel Lectionary, folio 1v., c. 781–83

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Unlike the flat, two-dimensional work, Carolingian artists sought to restore the third dimension. They used classical drawings as their models and tried to create more convincing illusions of space.This development also included in tracing author portraits in illuminated manuscripts. The Godescalc Gospel Lectionary, commisioned by Charlemagn. The face and body feel long but it has elements that contribute to that three-dimensional effect.

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Entombment of Christ, Sant'angelo in Formis, c. 1085

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This is a representation of the entombment of Christ. Even in a painting, there is still an aptemnt to portrait proportions and perspective. We can also see halos that show holiness, and divinity. Romanesque era was all about Christianity and their art meant to tell stories from the Bible and its doctrine, as well as mission of Jesus Christ.

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Royal Portals, Cathedral, Chartres, France, c. 1145-70

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These royal portals depict Biblical kings and queens. It is very similar in style with Romanesque art as they adjusted the porpotions to adjust the space. These columnar figures are very streched which make them look architectonic and stiff.

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Abbey Church of St. Denis, near Paris, 1140-44.

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Thi chuch had been the burial place of the kings of France. The church is of major importance in the history of architecture, being the first major edifice marking the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic style. Advancements in architectural technologies allowed a great level of innovation.  For centuries, vaults and buttresses were employed to create monumental structures, and now were to be used in a different and beautiful way.

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Abraham and the Three Angels, from the Psalter of St. Louis, 1253-1270

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This is one of the ilusitrations of St. Louis' personal book of the gospels. It has beautiful vibran colors, and the bodies look longer in shape. We can even see gothic arches in the background which is a reflection of the architecture of the time. We can see Abraham and three Angels who represent the Holy Trinity. On the right, the subject matter is Abraham again with the Trinity in a sacrificial meal.

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Bamberg Rider, Cathedral, Bamberg, Germany, late 13th century

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This is a classical Ecuestrian statue but now in Christian contexts in Germany. It is believed that it represents a specific king, perhaps one who was a saint. It is considered the first monumental equestrian statue since classical antiquity.

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Giotto, The Crucifixion and Lamentation, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel, Padua, 1305-06

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This fresco goes with more naturalistic colors. The importance of Mary had a significant impact at this point of time. She was not only the mother of Christ, but of all menn kind. She became very popular among believers, specially in Italy.

More about the painting, we can see Mary and other saints lamenting Christ. There is a lot of expression and emotion in each person in the painting. It has dramatic poses that also contribute to the emotion of lamentation. Even though Christ is not in the center of the painting, all of the components around point to Him.