Although the topic of this article is primarily related to anthropology and, in particular, to anthropogenesis, art and its manifestations have been an extremely important part of human society throughout its history. Art is an integral part of the human mind, and in primitive times it was it that formed what can be called the information space of those distant times. That's why I want to talk about the chronology ancient works art discovered on this moment archaeologists.
Pebbles from Makapansgat.
This archaeological find is among the oldest known evidence of “inappropriate actions.” It is natural that our ancestors were concerned only with purely utilitarian things, issues related to survival. The activities that we now call art do not help in survival. However, in the Makapansgat Cave in what is now South Africa, an amazing pebble was discovered - a red, round pebble with natural holes that looked like a face. The pebble was found among the remains of the so-called Australopithecus Africanus, which lived in South Africa from 3.5 to 2.5 million years ago. Australopithecines are the ancestors of humans so distant that they are united with us only by a common family - they and we are hominids (apes). Australopithecines were not even fully upright, not to mention intelligent, although they used the most primitive tools.
Australopithecus africanus. Reconstruction was carried out by Roman Evseev (1)
Scientists who examined the Makapansgata cave and, in particular, this funny stone, found that the rock from which it consists is not characteristic of that area, and was transported by ancient hominids to their site no less than 30 kilometers away.
Makapansgata Cave (2)
Although that pebble weighing about 250 grams cannot be called a work of art of the ancients, but in view of the fact that they moved it over such a significant distance, and its only natural feature is its resemblance to a face, we can conclude that this is what attracted our ancient ancestors. Despite the natural origin of the pebble, the representative of the ancient hominids treated it unnaturally and performed an inappropriate action with it, especially considering the fact that African australopithecus did not have bags and, especially, clothes with pockets in which all sorts of trinkets could be carried. Such a find shows the presence of a certain artistic vision, the emergence of imagination and abstract thinking. Appearance in hominids artistic perception, of course, is associated with the development of the brain and visual system. As noted by anthropologist and candidate of biological sciences Stanislav Drobyshevsky, in his work on brain development primitive people: “The occipital lobe is primarily responsible for vision. Obviously, it was the evolution of the occipital lobe (of course, together with the frontal lobe) that made the development of visual images possible.”(3)
Head stones.
During excavations of various sites of ancient people, archaeologists discovered many stone artifacts, resembling human heads or faces. The most famous are the stones from Olduvai (Tanzania, about 1.8 million years ago) and Pampau (Germany, about 400 thousand years ago). Of course, such finds could be considered simple pebbles that took this form by chance, but the abundance of artifacts of the same type near ancient sites allows one to judge that they were not accidental. Most likely, our ancestors saw in them the same thing as we do, so they were collected and, possibly, made. In addition, about 400 thousand years ago, literally manufactured monuments of symbolic thinking began to appear - various bones with notches applied to them in the form of parallel lines, and some kind of schematic ornament, sometimes reminiscent of human figures. All these finds, including the oldest from Tanzania, already date back to the time of the appearance of the first people, namely Homo habilis. Around the same time (about 1.9 million years ago), people began to use fire for cooking. It should be noted that there are so many finds from Olduvai and they were of such importance for science that an entire cultural layer was named after this place. The Olduvai culture is the most primitive stone-working culture and dates from 2.7 to 1 million years ago.
Stone heads from various places and times.
Bone with notches Paleolithic Venus.
In a later period (about 200 thousand years), the so-called Paleolithic Venuses appeared - the first man-made works of art, which were anthropomorphic stone figurines. These figurines depict women, hence the name “Venus”. The first figurine, Venus from Berekhat Rama (Dimensions: 3.5 by 2.5 by 2.1 cm) 150 - 280 thousand. The second - Venus from Tan-Tan (Dimensions: 5.8 by 2.6 by 1.2 cm .) has not yet been thoroughly analyzed, and giving its age would be risky. Although some incisions are clearly visible on both figurines, giving them a characteristic shape, their man-made origin is questioned by some archaeologists.
Venus of Berekhat Rama and Venus of Tan-Tan.
The first manifestations of art.
Subsequently, starting from about 85 thousand years ago, art began to firmly enter the life of ancient people (4). All kinds of jewelry in the form of beads made from shells, bones and teeth are found everywhere. These finds are mainly concentrated in South, North and East Africa, the birthplace of modern people, in particular, in Taforalt in Morocco and Blombos Cave in South Africa. It was then that the first burials of people with signs of ritual behavior were discovered - individual graves with certain symbolic things in them, for example, horns and jaws of animals in the hands of the dead from the burials of Qafzeh 11 and Skhul 5 (Israel, 90 thousand years ago). However, this is not a confirmed fact - there is no certainty that the dead were buried in this way, and not that these objects got there by accident, or that this was simply an error during excavations and further interpretation. In the same places, the first burial of two people in one grave, similar in antiquity, was discovered - a mother and child.
The first archaeological finds of ocher (a natural dye found in the form of stones of varying densities) in ancient caves date back to approximately 78 thousand years ago. And although, subsequently, ocher was widely used to make paint, there is no evidence that it was used for the same purposes even then. Ocher could also be used for tanning hides, and applied to the skin to protect against insects. But there are finds of pieces of ocher with primitive patterns applied to it. However, there are also wooden sticks with traces of powdered ocher, apparently they were used to paint something. For it is difficult to imagine any other use for them.
Shell beads from Blombos Cave 
Ocher with ornament
Modern use of red ocher by Namibian girls
Neanderthal jewelry.
It should be noted that the bulk of the finds of that time relate to Africa. Neanderthals who lived in Europe and Asia had practically no signs of artistic activity, although they also made scratches on bones and stones (4). In a later period, Neanderthals also began to make beads from drilled teeth, but this was very a rare event, and it dates back to about 30 thousand years ago, i.e. already during the period when they coexisted with the Cro-Magnons for quite a long time.
Neanderthal beads Of interest is the “mask” from La Roche-Cotard (France). It is a piece of stone with a natural hole and a fragment of animal bone planted in it. In principle, this design may resemble human face, but it is important to note that now we judge from the point of view of modern man, but it is completely unclear what the Neanderthals saw in this. Perhaps this find has nothing to do with artistic activity at all. Although it is hard to believe that this artifact appeared by chance as a result of some other action, since the bone inserted into the hole is fixed there with small stones.
"Mask" from La Roche-Cotard. In the left “socket” the same fixing stones are visible
But, despite the “neglect” of art, the Neanderthals developed their minds to a primitive understanding of ritualism and certain spiritual manifestations. Thus, at sites in the mountains of Switzerland and Yugoslavia, monuments called the “cult of bear skulls” were discovered - caches with skulls of cave bears. Meanwhile, Neanderthals still practiced burying their dead, although no utensils or burials of multiple people were found in their graves. The oldest burial was discovered at Sima de los Huesos in Atapuerca (Spain) about 325 years ago (5). It was simply a deep shaft where corpses were thrown. This burial is called “hygienic” - presumably the shaft was used to remove corpses from the home, because animal corpses were also dumped there. However, characteristically, only the bones of predatory animals and not a single herbivore were found in the mine. This hints that those who lived there associated themselves with predators. Neanderthals, in the period from 68-78 thousand years ago. they literally dug graves for each deceased (exclusively single ones) and sometimes even placed on them certain “monuments” in the form of stone slabs of uncharacteristic shapes or noticeable objects. But we cannot say that these were precisely monuments in our understanding. With the same success, these could simply be marks about the location of the grave, so as not to accidentally excavate it in the future. By the way, they were buried in some kind of cemetery - a specially designated place, at a distance from the parking lot.
The origin of ancient painting.
The most famous monuments artistic activities of ancient people are undoubtedly cave drawings. Of course, they look the most vivid and memorable, but at the same time, the oldest drawing from the Apollo 11 site in Namibia, in principle, is not that old. This small limestone slab with an image of some kind of animal, probably a predator, was originally dated to approximately 26-28 thousand years ago, but subsequent, more careful analysis showed that its age is 59 thousand years ago.
The oldest drawing from the Apollo 11 site in Namibia
Of course, looking at this drawing it is difficult to understand what exactly it depicts, but one cannot help but note the relatively good quality drawing - the artist clearly tried to maintain proportions and reflect the anatomical details of the depicted animal. Theoretically, the presence of some kind of painting in earlier periods cannot be ruled out, because ocher, the main dye of the ancients, was found at sites many tens of thousands of years earlier. But no material evidence of this has survived, or it has not yet been found.
Virtually all cave paintings were created by sapiens; the oldest, of course, are in Africa. In Europe, they begin to be found approximately 40 thousand years ago, from the moment of the migration of the first sapiens. The Neanderthals who lived there previously had no artistic inclinations. The oldest Neanderthal drawing recently discovered in caves in Spain near Malaga dates back to 43 thousand years ago. So reports New Scientist magazine (6), and it is important to note that this is not the official Research Article, therefore the age data is not official.
Drawing from a cave in Malaga
The article says it depicts seals. However, looking at this extremely primitive drawing, it is difficult to understand what it is, although some resemblance to seals is still visible. But the aforementioned Drobyshevsky, in his commentary article, doubts the involvement of Neanderthals in the drawing. He recalls that the first sapiens appeared in Europe around 42 thousand years ago. and they could well have been in Spain. In addition, sapiens, unlike Neanderthals, loved the sea and seafood. Neanderthals practically did not use such food. (7)
From about 30 thousand years ago Cave paintings are beginning to become almost commonplace for ancient people. Now we can observe a huge variety of such monuments of varying quality. It is noteworthy that sometimes we see very good artistic works that now could be called paintings, such as images of animals from the Chauvet Cave, (France, about 30 thousand years ago) where the use of composition and perspective is clearly visible. Or color paintings from Font-de-Gaume (France, about 17 thousand years ago), in which the unique style used by the artist is visible. At the same time, there are also much more “simple” drawings that a teenager or even a child could easily draw now, as in Kapova Cave (Bashkiria, 36 thousand years ago).
Chauvet Cave
Cave of Font-de-Gaume
Kapova Cave
In the motives of the ancient rock art There is also an interesting trend. Thus, in Europe, images of animals predominate. Whereas in Africa, images of humans and geometric shapes. At the same time, the main motif of the images are hunting scenes. There are still prints everywhere human hands. There is also a ceremonial meaning in handprints, although perhaps this is only the simplest way to depict some relatively complex texture.
African cave paintings of hunting
Cueva de las Manos, Cave of Hands. Argentina, around 9000 BC
Of particular interest are those drawings that, oddly enough, were not intended for general attention. A lot of them were also found. Such drawings are made in deep and narrow crevices inside a cave, where sometimes a person can hardly fit.
Archaeologists Dirk Hoffmann and Alistair Pike. On the left is assistant Gustavo Sanz Palomera.
Photo: Department of Education, Culture and Sports of the Government of Cantabria, Spain.
The photo above shows researchers at the Arso Bi cave in Cantabria, Spain (8), studying one of these paintings. The photo clearly shows that the design on the vault would now be difficult to even photograph. It is completely unclear for what purpose such paintings were made. Perhaps they have to do with some kind of initiation rituals or something like that. Or it was really done “for oneself”, let’s say, as personal diaries are kept now.
Rock art existed actively for a very long time, until approximately the Bronze Age, and in some places until our era. However, even now, rock paintings are used in shamanic practices by various tribes of Indians and Africans.
Ships in the Laja Alta cave, Spain (estimated around 6000 BC)
Rock paintings from the Tassilien-Adjer plateau, Algeria. Dated to approximately 200-700 AD. These drawings belong to the "Camel Period" according to the periodization of rock art in Africa.
Man-lion and ancient sculptures.
But we must not forget about the development of sculpture, which was given very little space in this article. In general, its development progressed in a similar way, although it was associated with certain difficulties in processing hard materials, especially stone. Ancient sculptures, as well as drawings, were mainly carved images of animals, often made from mammoth tusks. Special attention It is worth paying attention to the figurine called “Lion Man” (9).
The Lion-man (German Löwenmensch, English Lion-man) is a figurine carved from mammoth tusk, found in the Swabian Alb near the city of Ulm, Germany. The age of the figurine is approximately 40 thousand years. The interesting thing about it is that it is the oldest discovered zoomorphic image. The 29.6 cm tall figurine is a cross between a man and a lion - an almost human body with a pronounced lion's head. Initially, researchers regarded the Lion Man as a man, but further research conducted by Elisabeth Schmid suggested that it was a woman. However, there is no objective data indicating the gender of the figure; all these assumptions are mainly of an ideological nature. As with the vast majority artwork ancient people, it is now impossible to establish its purpose, although it is easy to assume some sacred meaning, the connection between man and nature, the mystical ideas of ancient people.
All these figures have one thing in common characteristic- pronounced genitals and breasts, as well as a large belly, possibly reflecting pregnancy; little attention is paid to the limbs and head, or they are absent altogether. Perhaps the most likely meaning of Venus is mystical - an amulet of fertility and fertility. Although, again, this is only an assumption, which may be contradicted by the fact that not absolutely all “Venuses” devote so much great attention feminine aspects.
It is also worth mentioning that during excavations in Hole Fels, next to the Swabian Venus, another interesting artifact was discovered - a bird bone with holes, most likely serving as a flute. The age of the flute is also about 35 thousand years. This is probably the most ancient musical instrument. However, this is a topic for a completely different story.
Swabian bone flute
In conclusion, it should be noted that, in principle, the title of this article is incorrect and is put here “for the sake of words.” Those monuments ancient culture, which were reviewed in this article, should not be called art. Art as such, in the form in which we understand it now. It would be correct to call it artistic activity. Now we can do no more than speculate about what they are, and most importantly, why they were made. Of course, they are the object of some kind of information plan, information exchange, development of perception and society. But if we talk about ancient monuments, then we do not have any confirmed data about what exactly it was. At the same time, many discoveries made quite a long time ago have not received confirmation. And others after detailed study turn out to be completely different from what they previously thought. Often just plain garbage.
Most likely, the origins of that art, which is akin to what we understand, should be sought around the period of the pre-ceramic Neolithic (about 12,000 years BC) and a little earlier, during the transition from hunting and gathering to a productive economy and settled life.
Despite the fact that we do not have a clear idea of the development of the imagination and culture of our distant ancestors, as well as the mind in general, even the existing picture is extremely interesting and vivid. Three million years ago, a humanoid creature found a small red stone with a face and carried it in his hand for thirty kilometers because it interested him.
And three million years later, we bring funny pebbles home from our walks. We also create amazing works of a wide variety of art, fly into space and develop artificial intelligence, actively seek ways to combat old age, and create amazingly destructive weapons.
Special thanks to Elena Marchukova for her help.
Materials:
1. http://other-worlds.ucoz.ru/
2. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/915
3. General trends in the evolution of the human brain. Anthropogenez.ru (online resource) http://anthropogenez.ru/zveno-single/156/
Updated: September 22, 2018 by: Roman Boldyrev
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All dates are approximate.
Prehistoric art
-2.5 million years BC - 800 BC
prehistoric art and culture - Mesolithic and Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages.
petroglyphs (rock paintings), cave painting
Paleolithic art. Lascaux Cave (France)
Antique art 800 BC - 450 AD
Art ancient period characterized by sculpture, frescoes and various pottery. Encaustic - wax painting - predominates in fine art.
Sculptural frieze “Pergamon Altar of Zeus”;
Sculpture “The Dying Gaul”;
Sculpture “Discus Thrower”;
Ancient Greek temple - Parthenon;
Army of Terracotta Warriors in China;
The beginning of Hellenistic art;
The beginning of Christian art;
Christian frescoes in Rome;
St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Dark Ages period /450-1450.
During this period, Byzantine and medieval art, Orthodox iconography and mosaic painting.
The trend towards creating works of religious content remains relevant long time. Many ideas of this direction influenced the masters of later times.
Kiss of Judas. Giotto.
European Renaissance
(Start)
The Proto-Renaissance era develops under the influence of the Gothic style.
Created big number architectural monuments. New gothic cathedrals, temples and churches are decorated with panos, stained glass windows and gabilenes.
Some masters begin to paint works in tempera on wood.
Synopsis:
Ceramic and porcelain tableware (China);
Altarpiece;
Works of Christian themes from unknown masters;
Portrait of the Arnolfini couple.
"Madonna and Child and Anne." Leonardo da Vinci
Renaissance Italian Early Renaissance (1400-1490)
Three main centers of the Italian Renaissance:
Florence, Rome and Venice.
This stage of development was the first major expression of classicism in world art.
In the field of sculpture, it is worth noting the master Donatello, whom many experts recognize as the best.
Italian High Renaissance(1490-1530)
.
The further work of three great masters, who need no introduction, influenced the whole world visual arts. Synopsis:
A famous example of linear perspective:
Lamentation of the Dead Christ (Mantegna);
A masterpiece on a mythological theme:
Birth of Venus (Botticelli);
The first masterpiece of High Renaissance painting:
The Last Supper (Da Vinci);
Mona Lisa (Da Vinci);
Sculpture of David (Michelangelo);
Frescoes Sistine Chapel(Michelangelo);
Stanzas of Raphael.
The Golden Age of Netherlandish Painting
The heyday of art in the Netherlands is associated with the names of Jan Van Eyck (portrait of the Arnolfini couple, a man in a red turban)
and Hieronymus Bosch (seven sins, garden earthly pleasures and etc.).
Painting of Germany
Despite the rapid technological development of Germany at that time,
Festival of rose wreaths. Oil, poplar board (1506)
one of greatest artists Northern
The Renaissance is the German Albrecht Durer.
1530-1860.
Mannerist era (1530-1600)
Golden age Venetian painting came thanks to creativity
Giorgiana, Titian, Tintoretto and Veronese.
Greek artist El Greco moves to Spain, where he begins to paint, contributing to cultural code that time.
It was during this period that the outstanding art critic of the time, Vasari, published the famous work “Lives of the Artists”.
Baroque (1600-1700)
The Baroque era of painting and architecture became bold, dramatic and colorful thanks to
Caravaggio, Velazquez and Rubens.
The new style combines
naturalism, religious and mythological motifs,
and also generates a lot of imitators of leading masters.
Synopsis:
The first art academy in Europe appears in Florence;
Opening of the Academy of Arts in Paris;
Sculptures by Bernini;
Construction of the Taj Mahal and the development of Mongolian architecture; Allegorical still lifes (Vanitas).
American colonial art
(1700-1770)
Rococo era
And architectural design reflects the decline of the French government through its capricious and decorative style.
The emergence of neoclassical artists
(Goya, Ingres and Jacques-Louis David)
and similar architecture
(the buildings combined Greek-style columns and classical roofs, Renaissance bathhouses).
Important museums: Catherine the Great creates the Hermitage (St. Petersburg). Opening of the Louvre, one of the largest art museums.
Romanticism(1800-1860)
Romanticism is characterized by the ideas of the heroic ideals of the French Revolution.
Among the romantics, the leading ones were
Delacroix, William Blake, Thomas Cole, John Constable, Caspar David Friedrich
and others.
DELACROIX EUGENE Still life with lobster and trophies of hunting and fishing
The Nazarene movement is formed in Germany
(Originally, Friedrich Overbeck and Franz Pforr),
which is characterized by romanticism, realism and many other popular trends in German art 19th century.
Synopsis:
Painting “Liberty Leading the People”, Delacroix;
French artists lay the foundations of impressionism;
Start of photography; Pre-Raphaelite movement founded by Dante Rossetti.
Dante's Vision (about the death of Beatrice)
1870-1960
Lesser-known movements of the mid- and late 19th century included the Florentine style, Japonism, popular in Great Britain and France, French naturalism, symbolism, the mystical religious school of arts and crafts "Nabi" and others.
Impressionism
The era of impressionism, which originated in France, began with the works
Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Pissarro and many others.
Alfred Sisley Canal Loix in Saint-Mammes. 1885
The Impressionists focused on painting natural landscapes, however, after some time, most of them began to paint indoors and studios.
In the 1880s one can see the manifestation American impressionism
(Chace, Robinson, Cassatt). Synopsis:
The culmination of French painting;
"Impression. Rising Sun", Monet;
The Dawn of Australian Impressionism;
"Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat.
Expressionism and Post-Impressionism
The prolific period of the Dutchman Vincent Van Gogh greatly influenced Expressionism.
He has such masterpieces as
"Wheat field",
“Vase with sunflowers”, “Coffee terrace at night” and many others.
The post-impressionist style is rightfully associated with Gauguin and Emile Bernard.
Modern
Secession and modernity strive to break away from official rules and frames in art. Art Nouveau is characterized by the idea of combining fine art, sculpture and architecture.
Often, this ideology was perceived with skepticism by critics, and exhibitions of modernists caused controversy.
Development of poster art (1860-1980);
Classical Renaissance in contemporary art- reaction to the naturalism of the impressionists;
The Birth of Expressionism(Edvard Munch, Henri Matisse, “Favism”, German “Blue Rider”);
The emergence of primitivism in the West;
"Blue Period", "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" and Pablo Picasso's cubism;
Radiant landscape Mikhail Fedorovich Larionov 1912, 94.5×71 cm
Mikhail Larionov (Russia) invented the style "rayonism" (1912-1913).
English "Vorticism" (1913-1915),
developing the ideas of cubism;
Rene Magritte: Golconde
Dada style (1916-1924), which used shocking, banal imagery;
Abstract direction“Suprematism” (1913-1920), associated with Natalia Goncharova and Malevich;
Surrealism
Andrey Gorenkov
(1920s) In Europe, surrealism emerges under the influence of Dadaism, Cubism and communist philosophy.
The movement is characterized primarily by works
Salvador Dali, Joan Miró, Rene Magritte and Marcel Duchamp.
At this time, Pablo Picasso painted the famous “Guernica”;
Development of abstract expressionism (1940-1950)
and neo-expressionism.
Pop art (1960s)
The ideas of pop art were championed by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.
Pop artists tried to give banal objects and images the status of works of art.
The sixties were also characterized by the growing popularity of photorealism (aka superrealism) and minimalism.
since 1970.
Postmodernism
"Cordoba" Mimmo Paladino 1984 (postmodernism)
Art historians like to call the period after 1970 “postmodernism.” This style represents a triumph of style over substance, and the artists tend to use new means of communication, emphasizing the importance of communication between artist and audience.
Synopsis:
Conceptual art;
Video art;
Avant-garde works.
based on materials site
Ancient art is art Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and other countries and peoples whose culture developed under the influence cultural tradition these countries.
For the first time, people started talking about “ancient art” during the Renaissance, when the creations of the masters of Ancient Greece and Rome were considered the standard of beauty and became classics for all creators in Europe.
The ancient art of different countries had a lot in common due to the fact that it was based on a single aesthetic ideal. In sculpture applied arts and painting, the image of an externally beautiful, harmoniously developed person was actively used, good warrior, a patriot, a citizen with a rich inner world.
The masters of Ancient Greece spent a very long time studying the structure of the human body, the plasticity of movements and the proportionality of proportions. The main candidates to become the image for the next painting or statue were participants in the Olympic Games.
The main task of the artists was to realistically depict a true image of a person in sculpture and vase painting.
Myron "Discobolus"
Acropolis of Athens (Phidias statues)
It is impossible to appreciate the contribution that was made to world art architects of Ancient Greece. They were able to create majestic rectangular structures with logically based systems of relationships between the load-bearing parts of the building and those that are not supported.
All monuments of ancient art evoke aesthetic pleasure in people and bright image unity of architecture and sculpture of Ancient Greece.
At the end of the 4th century. BC e. classicism in ancient art is being replaced by interest in inner world person, the truthfulness of the transmission of dynamics. Thus, in the art of this period there is a fascination with huge sizes and multi-figure compositions.
Last 300 years of existence Greek civilization traditionally called the Hellenistic era.
Art of Ancient Rome
The heir to the culture of Ancient Greece was Ancient Rome. In a short period of time, Rome went from small town to the majestic capital of the most powerful empire of that time. The inhabitants of Rome highly valued art in its various manifestations (literature, architecture, sculpture, theater and science).
Their architects built beautiful bridges and water pipelines, roads and public buildings. In construction, they created a special system of arched construction, which made it possible to significantly increase the width of the floors. In the 2nd century the dome was used for the first time. By the beginning of the fourth century in art Ancient Rome a whole direction of construction of domed ceilings was formed. Two types of dome construction were used - central dome and basilica.
St. Peter's Basilica in Rome
A sculptural portrait from this period deserves special attention. This art is characterized by the verisimilitude of its images. A huge number of monuments, ensembles, and baths were erected in honor of the Roman emperors. Speaking about the architecture of Rome, one cannot fail to mention, of course, the Colosseum, Trojan's Column and the Pantheon.
Ancient art had a huge influence on the development of all world art of subsequent eras.
In ancient Greece, people valued beauty extremely. The Greeks especially preferred sculpture. However, many masterpieces of great sculptors perished and did not survive to our time. For example, Discobolus by the sculptor Myron, Doryphoros of Polykleitos, “Aphrodite of Cnidus” by Praxiteles, Laocoon by the sculptor Agesander. All these sculptures perished, and yet... we know them very well. How could the disappeared sculptures be preserved? Only thanks to the numerous copies that were in the homes of wealthy ancient collectors and decorated the courtyards, galleries and halls of the Greeks and Romans.
Doryfor - “Spear-bearer” became a model of male beauty for many centuries. And “Aphrodite of Knidos” - one of the most famous nude female sculptures of Ancient Greece - became an example of female beauty. To admire Aphrodite, the ancient Greeks came from other cities and, seeing how beautiful she was, ordered unknown sculptors to make exactly the same copy to place Aphrodite in the city square or in the courtyard of their rich home.
Disco thrower - lost bronze statue of an athlete about to throw a discus, created by Myron around the 5th century BC. e. - this is the first attempt in Greek art to sculpt a person in motion, and the attempt is more than successful. The young athlete freezes for a split second, and the next moment he begins to spin up to throw the discus with all his might.
Laocoon is a sculptural group of suffering people, which is shown in a painful struggle. Laocoon was a priest who warned the inhabitants of the city of Troy - the Trojans - that the city could be defeated thanks to a wooden horse. For this, the god of the seas, Poseidon, sent two snakes from the sea, and they strangled Laocoon and his sons. The statue was found relatively recently, in the 17th century. A great sculptor During the Renaissance, Michelangelo said that Laocoon is the best statue in the world. If in ancient times there had not been lovers and collectors of examples of beautiful sculpture, modern humanity would not have known this masterpiece.
Numerous Roman and Greek herms have also reached us - heads and busts of people on stands. The art of creating hermas originates in the creation of ritual pillars of the worship of Hermes, on the top stand of which there was a molded head of the deity of trade, science and travel. After the name of Hermes, the pillars began to be called herms. Such pillars were located at crossroads, at the entrance to a city or town, or at the entrance to a house. It was believed that such an image scared away evil forces and unkind spirits.
From about the 4th century BC, all portrait images of people began to be called herms; they became part of the interior furnishings of the house, and the rich and noble Greeks and Romans acquired entire portrait galleries, creating a kind of exhibition of family herms. Thanks to this fashion and tradition, we know what many ancient philosophers, generals, and emperors who lived thousands of years ago looked like.
Ancient Greek painting has practically not reached us, however, surviving examples prove that Hellenic art reached the heights of both realistic and symbolic painting. The tragedy of the city of Pompeii, buried in the ashes of Vesuvius, has preserved to this day brilliant paintings that covered all the walls of public and residential premises, including houses in poor neighborhoods. Wall frescoes were dedicated to a variety of subjects; the artists of antiquity achieved perfection in painting, and only centuries later this path was repeated by the Renaissance masters.
Historians testify that in Ancient Greece, during Athens Temple there was an extension called the Pinakothek, and ancient Greek paintings were kept there. An ancient legend tells how the first painting appeared. One Greek girl really did not want to part with her lover, who had to go to war. During their overnight date there was full moon. The shadow of a young man appeared on the white wall. The girl took a piece of coal and traced its shadow. This meeting turned out to be the last. The young man died. But his shadow remained on the wall, and this shadow picture was kept for a long time in one of the temples of the city of Corinth.
Many paintings of the ancient Greeks were created according to the principle of filling the silhouette - first, the outline of the figure was drawn in the picture, almost the same as stated in the legend, and only then the outline began to be painted. At first, the ancient Greeks had only four colors - white, black, red and yellow. They were based on colored minerals and mixed with egg yolk or melted wax and diluted with water. The distant figures in the picture could be larger than the front ones; the ancient Greeks used both direct and reverse perspective. Paintings were painted on boards or on damp plaster.
Fine art has also penetrated into applied areas. Painted Greek vessels, amphorae and vases are kept in many museums around the world and bring to us the beauty of everyday life characteristic of ancient civilizations.
Special ancient art that brought all the beauty to us ancient painting, is a mosaic- colossal paintings laid out from pieces of colored stones and, in later periods, glass, were created from picturesque sketches and turned out to be a kind of eternal art. Mosaics decorated floors, walls, facades of houses, they played both aesthetic and practical role in creating a harmonious and beautiful living environment.
The era of antiquity became the heyday of the art of creating beauty and harmony in any manifestation. The decline and forgetting of ancient culture led to the return of humanity to the philosophies of negativism and the triumph of absurd prejudices. The loss of the aesthetics of admiring beauty, the denial of the natural beauty of the human body, the destruction of ancient temples and works of art became the most noticeable consequences of the collapse ancient world. It took centuries for the ideals of antiquity to return and begin to be creatively rethought by Renaissance artists, and then by modern masters.
We believe that ancient people were stupid and primitive. They knew nothing and could not do anything. But look at these drawings on the walls of the caves, they are several tens of thousands of years old (think about this figure!)!!! Think how many of us, so smart, advanced, knowledgeable and skilled, will be able to depict a wounded bison in this way, convey not only the correct structure and proportions, but also convey to the viewer his pain, show that he is still alive and feels everything! I think that people were no more stupid than us, but they did not have the experience, there were no textbooks and books to learn much. But they knew how to observe, draw conclusions, and based on these conclusions they learned themselves and taught others. This is probably how art arose.
People made the necessary tools, some kind of vessels, without really looking closely at what they looked like. But for some, these items turned out better, first of all, more convenient. They began to try to make it even more convenient, and then more beautiful. Those who couldn’t do it themselves were asked to do it better, more conveniently, more beautifully by those who knew how to do this work. This is probably how artists and objects of fine art appeared.
The oldest works of art that have survived to this day were created approximately 40-20 thousand years ago, in the Stone Age. People gave everyday objects - stone tools, clay vessels - an artistic appearance, that is, they decorated these objects. Paint and also carving on stone ancient people They depicted scenes of hunting and recreation on the walls of caves. These images are called cave or rock paintings.
People believed in magic; they believed that if they drew an animal pierced by an arrow, the hunt would be successful. Thus, a drawing of a wounded bison was found in the Altamira cave (Spain) on the ceiling, made with amazing skill, with knowledge of anatomy and proportions. And how talentedly, with what verisimilitude the running animals are depicted, and with what flexible lines the body is drawn! A modern artist would envy such a drawing.
In ancient times, paints were made from mineral dyes mixed with water, plant sap, and animal fat.
Along with cave paintings, at that time they created various figures of bone and stone, which were worshiped as deities. Dishes and other household items were made from clay, wood, and later from bronze.
No one can say exactly when, where and why art “began.” It did not begin at a strictly defined historical moment - it gradually grew out of “non-art,” shaped and video-changed along with the person creating it.
On the land of the present state of Iraq was located the ancient Sumerian state of Mesopotamia (Interfluve). The first states on Earth arose in Mesopotamia. From here arose a culture that came to Europe. In the cities of Mesopotamia, temples with towers were built. A custom developed there according to which each ruler built a new palace for himself. Sometimes it had about two hundred rooms. The inhabitants of Mesopotamia learned to create arches and vaults - semicircular ceilings. The walls were decorated with convex reliefs depicting victorious battles or scenes from court life. Also on the walls were patterns made of bright glazed bricks: bulls, lions, flowers, fantastic animals, designed to protect against evil spirits. Such images, for example, decorated the city gates of Ishtar in Babylon. In the countries of Mesopotamia, figurines of people and animals were also created, sculpted from clay or carved from stone. Stone for this purpose was brought from other places. Of course, the human figures in the most ancient paintings are somewhat constrained and awkward, and the sculptural images are rough, nevertheless, they were very expressive and truly artistic.