Study Guide for Test 1

Note that the full list of Key Works and terms is in this document. 

Study guide made in class is here. 

The test will consist of artwork ID's, an 'unknown' slide, in which you use formal analysis to decide which culture the piece came from, short answer/multiple choice, and a Synthetic Writing Piece in which you bring together formal analysis, your knowledge of the culture/history, and interpretive work. This post contains examples of some past test answers.

Palette of Narmer, 3000-2920 bce, slate, 2'1"

The Palate of Namar which was created around 3150-3125 BCE. This is one of the first examples of Egyptian style art work and the first representation of social ranking. By showing social ranking on this piece they used size/scale to show the difference between the important and not so important people (bigger people being higher of social rank). This piece was created after Narmar conquered lower Egypt. It was created to show his great strength and gave honor to his ruling. His ruling of a new area created chaos. This piece provides historical context of culture and gave a good representation of useful objects. It was a propaganda piece of telling the story of King Namar. 

Great Pyramids of Giza, 2560-2510 bce; Menkaure, Khufu, Khafre

Piece: The Great Pyramids

Timeline: 2,601-2,515 B.C.E.

Era: Dynasty 4, Egyptian

Artist: Unknown

Analysis: The pyramids possess a strong vertical direction. It's very balanced compositionally, and has a common thread connection with the number three (three sides, three pyramids). The vertical lines come to a singular point at the top. The horizontal texture across the pyramids indicate that they have been weathered, however still withstood time. 

Historical Context/Significance: The strong vertical direction represents a connection to religion; the pyramids are reaching up toward the sky, reaching up towards the gods. The stable, massive forms also indicate permanence, immutability! The pyramids were used as burial sites, so that in the afterlife the kings that were buried there could continue living as they did before. The number of pyramids is also socially/politically significant(what does the #3 signify in Egypt?); each pyramid was created for a king who ruled; Khufu, Hemiunu, and Imhotep. They are symbols of power and influence in society, the pyramids stand strong against the outside surroundings. They appear minimalistic, however possess not only complex, mazelike passage ways, but also various beautiful pieces of artwork. 

Menkaure and Khamerernebty, greywacke stone, ~2475 bce

Menkaure and His Wife, Queen Khamerenebty
Artist Unknown
2500 BCE
Giza, Egypt; Dynasty 4
Shows the strength and unity of the rulers through their unity (carved from a single block of stone, the Queen's embrace) and symmetry (same height of all body parts, her hair mimics his headdress). Both depicted as youthful and idealistically beautiful. This one needs a great deal more detail and historical context! 

here's more from a test a few years' back; 

The pose of Menkaure and Khamerernebty represents the traditional qualities of Ancient Egyptian Statues and paintings.

Both King and his queen stand upright with one foot forward. Their body proportions are perfect. The queen is almost as tall as the king but she stands a little bit hehind him, supporting his shoulders.

The statue has a very official look. It was also found in Giza.

The pose emphasizes the strength and stability, readiness even. It shows the close connection of the husband and wife. They both look in the same direction, showing they both pursue the same goal.

Similar size shows the close equality of their power, maybe even dependence on one another.

Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut, ~1460 bce

The Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut

Dy. 18, 1478 bce

Ancient Egypt. 

Hatshepsut's Funerary Temple is historically significant due to its extravagance & well-preserved representation of Egyptian culture at the time. Politically , Egypt was experiencing a time of prosperity, allowing them to take on extensive building projects. The temple acted not only as a funerary temple, but also a commemorative tribute to favorite gods. MORE!!!! what does it say about power, about the status of the pharoah, about the relationship of egyptian art to other art of the ancient world? 

Colossal Statue of Akhenaten, ~1350 bce

Tahtiana, Brett, Lauren

18th Dynasty Pharaoh

Significance is that it differs from most Egyptian art of the “classic” Pharaoh. His body is more feminine and he has a larger belly. He wears traditional garb, a shenti, the crook and flail as well as beard of Pharaoh, the Double Crown of Egypt to show it was unified during his reign. Highly detailed in pleats on shenti and the bracelets and symbols. He is 4 meters tall so there is some Hieratic Hierarchy going on because he is much taller than a normal human. Breaks with the traditional image of Pharaoh to actually depict his own features. Similar statue made of Nefertiti where she is also shown in relatively the same size and shape, so they mirror and balance each other.

Possibly a merging of masculine and feminine. (Akhenaten was a complete nutcase- well.... he was unique-- some say a creative and innovative thinker! ). All curvilinear, and there’s a vertical thrust, creating more of an illusion of power. Forcing people standing at the base of the statue to crane their heads back. Reinforces the ideal of Pharaoh also being a God among men. 

Bust of Nefertiti 
Formal Analysis

Title: Nefertiti

Artist: Unknown artist

Date: c. 1348-1336/5 BCE.

Period: Dynasty 18

Description: Smooth, chiseled features. Saturated hues of blue, green, red, and gold.

Refined bone structure. Detailed “jewel” necklace and beautiful head dress show hierarchy and

importance. High check bones, distinguished nose, and a thin elegant neck.

Significance: Possibly propaganda of the queens beauty, to make it well known that she

in fact was the most beautiful in all the land. It could be an absolute replica of her face, but it

could also be fabricated to hide all of her imperfections and make her seem naturally beautiful.

Also, in that time, many sculptures were of men, so the fact that this is a bust of a very strong

and powerful woman, is very significant. She stands tall and her head is arched upwards which

gives a feeling of arrogance and high importance. Though it is just a bust, and one of the eyes is

unfinished, she still has a beauty and grace that is incomparable.

Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Three of their Daughters, House Altar, Sunk Relief,  1350 bce. great source.

Relief of Akhenaten and His Family, artist unknown, c. 1348-1364/5 B.C.E.  Dynasty 18. 

This relief shows the king and queen of the now unified Egypt. We can see that it is a unified nation due to the stylized papyrus and lotus leaves. We also can see the diagonal lines coming from Aten (the circle represented in this relief) meaning that the god is giving a blessing to the royal couple as well as the fact that the line/ rays are ending in ankhs symbolizing everlasting life. In better terms Aten was wishing them everlasting life. The piece is very balanced with the king and queen being the same size meaning the same power; they have an equal amount of the blessing. The age difference in their children is also depicted, 2 seem to be a lot older than the infant. Looking closely at the hieroglyphics around the figures there are cartouches of the royal family and possibly of their lineage. There is beautiful detail in the figures as well; Nefertiti looks to be youthful and you can even see her bone structures in her collar bone area and cheeks, while Akhenaten is older with what looks to be brittle bones, wrinkles, and veins popping out. 

Unknown Artist, Indus River Valley Seal, 2500-1500 bce, indus river valley

This is significant because it is a seal, which indicates that the Indus River Valley was a systematic culture. Seals could have been used to mark documents, perhaps even used for trade. This means that the civilization was somewhat sophisticated and structured. At thhe top, there appears to be writing (although it has not been translated.) This would suggest that the Indus Valley was even more advanced.

Formal Analysis Examples from your Quizzes



Formal Analysis of Woman and Man from Cernavoda, Romania
Both the man and the woman are made out of a smooth, black, shiny material. It looks to me like graphite. The majority of the lines are curved, with rounded edges. However, some of the edges are sharp, creating details. For example, sharp brow lines, strange sharp lines on the woman's bosom (this strikes me as very odd), and usually where one body part is turning into another. The use of the same material and the similar lines in the faces/neck give these figures a sense of unity and harmony.
The man is sitting in an almost pensive position, with his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. This connection/continuation from the head all the way to feet creates a strong vertical line. The chair/stool, back, and neck also create an almost parallel vertical line. The horizontal line of the shoulders and the diagonal lines of the thigh and upper arm give the figure some variety and rhythm, even though, the overall movement is vertical.
The woman is sitting in sort of listening or waiting position. The lines of her shoulders and her broad rounded hips give her a more relaxed horizontal movement. Most of her form is very round and voluptuous in comparison to the man. Her lower body morphs together in a way the man's doesn't. His legs seem rectangular and distinct from his torso while her legs sort of pour out into little triangular stumps. Her arms are almost horizontal, but they are angled slightly downward giving the figure variety and not making it so rigid. The short vertical lines of her bent right leg and neck give her form variety and conversely, unite her form to the man's.

Formal Analysis: Mimis and Kangaroo, Australia

The white kangaroo captures the viewers attention first because of it’s size, high value contrast

of the white paint against the muddy background, and the details within the shape of the animal.

Immediately we begin with the head of the kangaroo because of the concentration of detail, and

the eye follows the curvilinear shape forming the kangaroos back all the way down to the tail.

Along the way, the strong sense of repetition in the detailed lines following the curve create a

sense of rhythm, aided by the repetition of the organic line that forms the kangaroos back as

well. From there, the viewer is able to move out of the central shape and notice the nuances of

the background, as well as the other smaller kangaroo that is depicted in the lower left corner.

Because of the low value contrast between the shape and the background, it is hardly

noticeable at first, but the concentrated detail within the shapes helps to grab the viewers

attention. The detail in the small kangaroos back mimics the detail in the larger kangaroos back,

and strengthens the sense of repetition within the composition that was mentioned earlier.

Though most of the activity within the composition is concentrated in the lower left and center,

there is still sense of balance created by the intense details within the background. At first it is

easy to see the large brushstrokes of black, browns, and white that can be described as messy,

brash, and anxious, but upon further notice, it is evident that there are even more figures

perhaps representing human bodies covered by the larger shapes of the kangaroos. The high

energy brushstrokes in the background are contrasted by the organic shapes of the kangaroos

in the foreground, making it look as though there are two different scenes painted on top of one

another. However, there seems to be a pattern throughout the entire composition of the long

organic line with smaller lines attached to it. This is repeated three times in the painting on a

diagonal which creates a sense of energy and movement in the piece. The colors of the painting

are very earthy and natural tones, besides the pure white which creates a very stark contrast

throughout the piece. The lines that separate the shapes from the background aid in this strong

contrast as well.

For my formal analysis I am going to examine the last piece of artwork shown, the Cave of Hands.
The first thing that really stood out to me was the sense of direction. At a first glance it has a very strong horizontal direction, all the hands are facing upwards towards the sky, fingers as if they are reaching for something. However, when you look closer (more so around the middle center of the piece as well as along the top) you notice that some of the over lapping hands are vertical, fingers reaching out to the sides, which caused me to wonder if they were intentional from the artist so the piece possessed variety, or if it was done by another artist at a later time. The piece has a very geometric presence. The straight lines of the fingers, the slight angle where the finger meets the palm, it is a very strong aspect. Another thing that is very striking about the piece is the use of color. Majority of the hand outlines are done in a warm tone; rich reds and oranges that stand out against the rock color. However, in certain places (toward the outer corners, and some in the center) the artist(s) used white and black, which stand out against the opposing two colors. I feel that the saturation of the white and black is so significant that it kind of almost mutes the orange and red outlined hands. My eyes kept being drawn to the darker, blacker hand shapes, and I feel like it was acting as a "focal point" that kept drawing my attention in. It's interesting, because when I consider the orange and red colors alone I felt that they were very deep colors, high in saturation, with a deep hue, but when it's next to the black and white it feels knocked back a little. The redder rock tones allow the colored paint to blend in with the texture of the rock. It's interesting because the painting is done on a very textured surface; jagged, rough rock, but when I view the piece it feels very soft, almost delicate. I think that it feels delicate because of the way it was executed, taking the time to lay each hand against the wall, taking time to make sure that you really coated the outside, so that a strong print was left behind, it represents a lot of patience.

Overall, I believe that this piece demonstrates both unity and variety. It has unity because of the similar placement of the hands, all reaching in (mostly) the same direction, done in similar, complimenting colors. Yet it still has a hint of variety; some outlier hands in different directions, hands that are done in lighter or darker paint, some fingers more out stretched then others, some overlapping at different points. There's kind of a graceful balance to it, each outline is clean and crisp, each finger well defined (considering the method), all in unison working together with one of another. There is a good balance of hands in the sense that the overlapping kind of joins them all together, kind of in a communal way, if there was too much space in between them it would look unfinished, and too many prints wouldn't allow you to see all the features. This piece is also a strong example of pattern and repetition, again it's just hand after hand in the similar movements, all around the same size in a seemingly organized way. Although the handprint alone doesn't offer much depth, I felt that by having them touching, and overlapping it brought out a sense of depth to the piece overall. The hands in unison work really well at complimenting each other.

here's another analysis of the cave of the hands that has some of the most vivid descriptive sentences I read! 

Near the upper-left corner, a white handprint is silhouetted by a black, hazy circle; the installment is then contrasted by the tan hue of the coarse cave wall. This is where my eye is drawn to first, most likely because this specific handprint consists of the highly contrasted white and black, and is more isolated from the cluster of handprints than most any other.

Then my focus shifts to the central mass of hand silhouettes—a chaotic bloom of red, white

black and orange. The vertical ascension of the hands is energized by their varying angels. The form of the hands become heavier and more distinct as we follow the upward flow. Nearer the bottom, the

prints are eroded and distorted.

The bottom left portion of the wall, separated by a rigid, orderless, downward moving line and

by its darker value, stands out from the rest of the scene. Its prints melt together into a slurred mesh.

This sloppy, darkened portion of the wall is somewhat balanced by it’s horizontal partner, the brightest portion of the wall, consisting of less and less clutter as we near the right edge, revealing a granulated, sandy-white wall.

The mass of handprints breathes like an organic accident. but its unintelligible pattern makes it

chaotic, perhaps even disturbing. The culmination resembles a desperate and disarranged crowd,

reaching towards the sky, as if for some semblance of hope. Those unfortunate hands stuck at the

bottom will putrefy, trampled by the masses above

***Bust of Nefertiti

Mask of Tutankhamun

***Great Pyramids at Giza

Art and Magic: Etruscan Art

Goals for the day: 

• Gameify 
• Art and Magic: the Etruscans
• Final claymaking
• votive object
• amultet/protective object
• grave good
• or, if you prefer, design a tomb, temple, or necropolis (city of the dead)  inspired by one we've considered

Image source

image source-- 6th century, Greek colonies in south of italy, Roman's in Rome but ruled by Etruscan kings, in the north, about 12 Etruscan city states. 

Region of Tuscany, today

The Etruscan town Civita di Bagnoregio. image source

What do you know of ancient Rome and the Romans?

It's possible that they learned all of these from the Etruscans: 

• gladiatorial combat, 
• hydraulic engineering, 
• temple design, 
• bronze casting (which the Etruscans seemed to have learned from the Chinese
• and religious ritual

key work: Apollo from Veii (5-16), c. 500 bce, 5'10", painted terra cotta

Apollo from Veii (5-16), detail, c. 500 bce, 5'10", painted terra cotta

Appolo of Veii, profile

Etruscan Temple Design

Apollo confronting Herakles with the golden Hind

 Etruscan She-Wolf (5-19), (also known as Capitoline Wolf) likely: 500 bce, infants added in 15th century by Antonio Pollaiolo

Chimera of Arezzo, about 400 bce, image source

Lion of Venice.... not really of Venice

Hut urn, Etruscan, 8th century B.C.E., ceramics, 22 x 23 x 28 cm

Sarcophagus with Reclining Couple,  ~5500 bce, Caere, Italy. Etruscan Sarcophagus from Banditacchia, Cerviteri (5-18), Now in Rome, at Villa Julia. 
you might check out this Museum of Fine Arts post about the conservation of two other Etruscan sarcophagi. 

Sarcophagus with Reclining Couple, Now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. c. 550 bce believed to be by same artist.

images by Steven Zucker. 

Temple reconstruction at the Villa Giulia

Death Leaning into the Face of an Old Man, 2nd B.C. photo Death Leaning into the Face of an Old Marncredit here. 

Tomb of the Reliefs, Etruscan, 4th century BCE

Tombs at Banditaccia necropolis

The Etruscans, though preceding the Romans in enormous power and productivity on the Italian peninsula, and subsequent living inside the Greek and then Roman Empires, lived differently and looked a bit different from their Greek and Roman Neighbors. Their work demonstrates their riches in both goods and experience; the Etruscans traveled too and traded with the Near East, Egypt, Greece and elsewhere, borrowing both technologies and styles from those they met. Much of their history remains shrouded in mystery, as they were always considered a 'people apart' by their neighbors, though they traded and worked among the Greeks and Romans, and because their language has not been comprehensively translated. 

The art of the Etruscans shares as many traits with the art of Asia as with that of their own neighbors. 

source of above four images, a great resource on the Etruscans
from Oklahoma University. A different kind of source.

Image Source, The Getty Museum, a good resource.

We don't know the origins of the Etruscan people; some evidence suggests they emerged from the Near East (Lydia and Anatolia), but none suggests that they were connected to China-- I'm simply indicating that there are startling visual and technical similarities which makes it interesting to study them together. It is possible that trade along the routes of the future Silk Road would have brought Etruscans and Chinese into contact, but that's about as close as it seems to get!

The Beginnings of Chinese Empire
Only with Qin Shi Huang, in the 3rd century bce, did independent states become China. Exactly who Qin Shi Huang, first emperor of China, was continues to baffle historians. 

from wikipedia.

Perhaps because of the multiple assassination attempts, and according, remember, to biased historians, Qin became rather paranoid, as well as obsessed with immortality. He spent enormous energy searching for an elixer of life that would extend his life forever. 

""The great ships full of boys and girls sent in search of the immortal medicine (Hôraizan) by the Chinese Emperor Shih Huang Ti (Shikôtei), c. 219 BCE". A 19th century ukiyo-e by Kuniyoshi depicting the ships of the great sea expedition sent around 219 BC by the first Chinese Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, to find the legendary home of the immortals, the Mount Penglai, and retrieve the elixir of immortality." Image and caption from wikipedia

He also built one of the most extraordinary tombs in all of history, for which he again needed hundreds of thousands of men for his other major architecture project, the project which he hoped would help him live forever, but only after he died (ie live forever in the afterlife.). 

Rows of Highly realistic soldiers guard the Emperor in the afterlife. A fantastic color reconstruction here.

Tomb of Emperor Qin (3-1)

Terra Cotta Soldiers from the tomb of Emperor Qin, ~210 bce Source

Lothar Ledderose describes the discovery thus:

Of the many sensational archaeological excavations made since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the most sensational of all was the discovery of the terra-cotta army near the tomb of China's First Emperor. The First Emperor was one of the most powerful men in Chinese history and, indeed, in world history Originally the king of the state of Qin, he ruthlessly obliterated the other states of his day and unified the realm in 221 B.C., thereupon calling himself Qin Shihuangdi, the First August Emperor of Qin. The pattern of empire he established lasted for more than two millennia into the present century, and the name of his dynasty, Qin, is said to have given its name to China." ("A Magic Army for the Emperor", citation below)

In 1974, Farmers digging a well east of Xi-an found the head of a clay soldier. Since, authorities have excavated thousands of figures in what might be the world's largest jigsaw puzzle, and they now stand repaired and in battle ranks on display for thousands of visitors a day. This flood of admirers has not caused the harm we saw in our study of Lascaux cave, in part because those parts of the excavation beyond our current technical understanding have remained buried, hopefully safe, and beyond our gaze.  

The Jigsaw

The sheer scale of the monument boggles the mind. Estimates indicate that upwards of 12,000 clay soldiers may exist; remarkably, each of them has an individual face, hair, and other details. Just over life sized, the soldiers are slightly smaller than their commanders, and they are divided into infantry, cavalry-- with their steeds, charioteers, archers, as well as dancers and musicians to entertain the leaders. Each clay soldier once held a weapon or weapons; legend suggests that these weapons were stolen before the emperor's body was cold, and the clay army's weapons turned against Emperor Qin's suppressive men. 

Once the men, in their leather armor and detailed uniforms, had bright paint on every surface. The pigment still appears as the excavation takes place, but archeologists have not yet discovered a way to remove the soldiers with the pigment attached, it most often stays in the surrounding soil, or peels off within seconds of exposure to the dry air of Xi'an. 

Archeologists continue to develop better techniques for removing the soldiers, that took several hundred thousand men to cast, assemble, paint, and then bury in their fighting ranks. What workers now excavate tediously is, in a way, more visible than it has ever been, for the forced laborers and prisoners of war who built the soldiers buried them as they went, so no one ever saw the army assembled in all its glory.

Even today, no one has seen the actual mausoleum of the emperor. Except that anyone can see it, for if it exists at all, it is under this mound of dirt at the center of the military ranks. Legend tells that the 700,000 workers on site when the Emperor died were tasked with burying the mausoleum, the wonders of which are only known through writing. The same legends say that the mound originally rose to some 350 feet, but it has eroded to a mere 225 or so. The chinese government has decided not to excavate the tomb, because they do not believe the knowledge exists to sufficiently protect a tomb buried for millennia from the ravages of modern life. Until they do, they will continue to carefully excavate soldiers, and learn, and wait. 

In a famous passage, the ancient historian Sima Qian tells us of the tomb's content:

"As soon as the First Emperor became King of Qin, excavations and building had been started at Mount Li, while after he won the empire more than seven hundred thousand conscripts from all parts of the country worked there. They dug through three subterranean streams and poured molten copper for the outer coffin, and the tomb was filled with models of palaces, pavilions and offices, as well as fine vessels, precious stones and rarities. Artisans were ordered to fix up crossbows so that any thief breaking in would be shot. All the country's streams, the Yellow River and the Yangzi were reproduced in quicksilver and by some mechanical means made to flow into a miniature ocean. The heavenly constellations were shown above and the regions of the earth below. The candles were made of whale oil to ensure their burning for the longest possible time.

The Second Emperor decreed, 'It is not right to send away those of my father's ladies who had no sons.' Accordingly all these were ordered to follow the First Emperor to the grave. After the interment someone pointed out that the artisans who had made the mechanical contrivances might disclose all the treasure that was in the tomb; therefore after the burial and sealing up of the treasures, the middle gate was shut and the outer gate closed to imprison all the artisans and laborers, so that not one came out. Trees and grass were planted over the mausoleum to make it seem like a hill. "(Ledderose 12)

Of course, one of my favorite elements of the tomb is the 'zoological gardens,' There, archeologists have found skeletons of rare animals buried in clay coffins, complete with feeding dishes. Ceramic zookeepers watch over them. 

Beyond and slightly to the south of the western gate of the inner wall, burials of thirty-one rare birds and animals in
The zoo animals are not the only living things buried in the pits. 300 horse skeletons with ceramic grooms, 17 graves of high status citizens with their jewels and possessions, and at least 100 skeletons of what archeologists believe were workers sentenced to death also inhabit the vast necropolis, or city for the dead. 

Prune Nourry, Terracotta Daughters, with Wen Xianfeng, 2014 source. More info at Prune Nourry's site. 

If you'd like more info on the terra cotta army of Emperor Qin, here's one great source: "A Magic Army for the Emperor"

Lothar Ledderose, Ten Thousand Things. Module and Mass Production in Chinese Art, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1998, pp. 51 - 73.