It is important to note that unlike Egyptian wall art the figures in Bull Leaping fresco seem to be floating with only a border and blue background to keep them from jumping right off the wall. The color blue is significant because it symbolizes divinity. And we see this same idea used in Early Christian art for example in the mosaic Christ as Good Shepherd. In Byzantian mosaics we see this idea evolve and gold is used in the background to represent a holy space. You will be seeing an example of this later in the exhibit. 

            Aniconic imagery is not only practiced in the Islamic faith for a short time early Christians experienced iconoclasm or the destruction of religious icon. Many icons of Christ were placed in churches with the intention of being used to help guide people to prayer. Instead, people started to worship the icons causing a lot of controversy. As a result, many Christ icons were destroyed, and the cross was the only Christian symbol used for quite a while.

Our journey begins with the Paleolithic cave paintings found on the ceilings of the Lascaux Caves. Paleolithic people lived in unstable nomadic societies, these people were constantly struggling to survive, and their art reflects this struggle. Hunting was a huge part of their survival which is why in Lascaux Caves - Hall of Bulls there are many depictions of animals such as bulls. They drew animals in order to try and control the uncontrollable aspects of the world around them. Nomadic people were on the move most of the time so the cave was a semi permeant place that they could return to and add to generation to generation. 

Overtime people are able to settle down in one place because of the domestication of land and animals. As a result, people had more time; with this extra time people felt inclined to start burying and caring for the dead. Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt is a relief sculpture that was created to honor the dead. This piece would have been buried with Ti and the Egyptian people thought that it could help guide him to the afterlife. More free time also meant that people had more times to experiment with new types of art. We start to see fresco used to create ornamental pieces for the interior of palaces. Fresco is the technique of adding water-based pigments to wet or dry plaster. Dolphin Frescos is an early example of this technique. Dolphin Frescos also introduces a stylistic change, for the first time we see an artist trying to accurately depict the world around them. Evidence of this is in the vein-like background that attempts to mimic the way that light passes through water. The Greeks and Romans master this and it is later called naturalism. In addition to changing media people also had the free time for recreational activities. Bull Leaping Fresco is one of the earliest depictions of recreational activities. It is important to note that the figures and bull in this piece are highly stylized in order to emphasis movement. Many figures at this time are elongated and depicted in profile to show the most descriptive view of the figure which will change in the near future.

The domestication of civilization brought its own challenges, instead of struggling with nature to survive people started to fight each other for resources. This led to an increase in militarization and a new purpose for art emerged: propaganda. The Ishtar Gate is a goliath brick structure that stands at the entrance of Babylon it is a visual and propagandistic way to show the political and militaristic strength of the city. The gate also stood as a warning to those approaching the city. Bulls as we have already seen in Hall of Bulls are very common subjects for art and they have come to represent strength and power. Putting the image of the bull on the gates is another visual way they show their power to visitors. 

The rise of Greek and Roman culture turned the focus toward the individual. The human figure became the focus of art and the introduction of the cannon of proportion and contrapposto make it possible for artists to achieve highly naturalistic sculptures. The human form became the muse for representing abstract ideas such as religious figures. The Elgin Marbles depict scenes from the life of the Greek Goddess Athena. And Female Personification (Tellus?) personify the ideas of Pax Romana, victory, prosperity and harmony. Sculpture has become the leading media for art allowing Romans to take naturalism to the next level with an interest in verism or hyper-realism. Until a new media emerged with early Christian art.

Increasing instability in the Roman Empire brought about the rise of Christianity when Emperor Constantine became a patron of Christianity at the beginning of the fourth century. Churches and Mausoleums began to pop up everywhere and with them art to decorate the walls. Mosaics became the most popular media to use inside churches because light would reflect off the mosaics and add to the heavenly quality of the space. Christ as Good Shepherd, has an other-worldly feel because of the striking blues and golds used to represent divinity. The interior of the Mausoleum of Galla Pacidia is covered with mosaics. What is interesting is that the outside of the Mausoleum is very plain with little ornament. This intentional choice is meant to create contrast between the unholy world outside and the divinity of heaven on earth. Justinian, Bishop Maxinianus, and Attendants, is another mosaic with a different purpose. This piece is meant to act as a surrogate for Justinian to establish his eternal presence at Christian mass.  Yet another use of mosaics is in Islamic mosques. Unlike Christian mosaics Islamic mosaics take an aniconic approach, meaning that their religious art rejects depictions of humans and animals. Mihrab (Prayer Niche) combines geometric patterns with calligraphy to create symbolic representations of their beliefs. 

Wall art has slowly evolved from this point to the modern wall art we know today as wallpaper or graffiti. Both of these modern examples have very different purposes just like the examples of wall art that influenced them. From this moment forward wall art will continue to change and evolve to conform to new purposes and desires, but it was the nomadic cave painting, Minoan frescos, Greek sculptures, and Byzantine mosaics that shaped the world we live in today.