Art History Timeline

  • Period: 2500 BCE to 2400 BCE

    Seated Scribe

    painting on limestone; Egyptian lower classes were depicted more naturally than were the members of the ruling class
  • Period: 2500 BCE to 1100 BCE

    Harp Player

    Musician and instrument seem combined in a simplified smooth forms
  • Period: 1550 BCE to 1450 BCE

    Bull Jumping

    wall painting of youthful acrobats leaping over the back and the horns of a bull
  • 1400 BCE

    Tacuinum Sanitatis

    Medieval handbook on good health
  • Period: 1200 BCE to 600 BCE

    Acrobat

    the head is disproportionate; the arms and legs create diagonals that frame the face
  • 1100 BCE

    Codex Gigas

    Original catholic bible elements and has section about the devil; latin for "trunk of a tree"; series of sheets of paper that are bound with a cover; Christians claim the use of the codex
  • 700 BCE

    Portrait of Ezra from the Codex Amiatinus

    limited group of all men have access to books and knowledge
  • Period: 450 BCE to 440 BCE

    Doryphoros by Polykleitos

    focused on proportions
  • 447 BCE

    Parthenon

    Parthenon
    Columns moved slightly which tricks the eye and creates an illusion. Greeks had some sense of linear perspective
  • 350 BCE

    Theater of Epidauros by Polykleitos

    Theater of Epidauros by Polykleitos
    set the standards for most Western theaters and auditoriums
  • 220 BCE

    Wood block printing

    The earliest for of wood block printing occupied in 220 AD in China. It was used for money and textile design
  • 206 BCE

    Construction of the Great Wall of China began

    war architecture that is a "wonder of the world"; new pieces are still being discovered
  • 190 BCE

    "Unswept House" or "Unswept Floor"

    mosaic from the Emperor Hadrian's villa at Tivoli Sosus of Pergamon. It was on the floor to express wealth, and a creature in the mosaic was common during this time
  • 81 BCE

    Arch of Titus

    Arch of Titus
    built along the Via Sacra in Rome, Italy by Titus's brother Domitian; the single passageway arch is a mini-barrel vault
  • Period: 70 BCE to 82 BCE

    Colosseum, Rome

    lavishing decorated and ambitiously engineered because of the political importance of the building and the events staged in it; dedicated to blood sports
  • Period: 200 to 600

    Spider

    large drawing was created when brown surface rocks were scraped away to reveal yellowing surface below
  • 547

    Emperor Justinian and His Attendants

    in the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy; Justinian dominates the image just as he dominated the Byzantine Empire; he wears purple, a jeweled crown and carries a golden bowl used in Christian ritual; halo indicates divine status
  • Period: 640 to 755

    Portrait Heads from Tomb 6

  • Period: 800 to 900

    Vessel in the Form of a Monkey

    the cup makes a rattling noise like the chattering of monkeys
  • Period: 900 to 1000

    Tula Warrior Columns, Mexico

    once held up the temple roof; "supported" the religion
  • Period: 900 to 1300

    Serpent Mound

    mound shaped into a snake that has eroded over time
  • Period: 990 to 1051

    Bi Sheng

    Northern Song Dynasty made moveable type with sticky clay to make characters
  • 1130

    The Last Judgement by Gislebertus

    The Last Judgement by Gislebertus
  • 1206

    Yuan dynasty created movable type with wood

  • Period: 1275 to 1225

    Temple of Ramses II

    In ancient Egypt, members of the rulers class were depicted in art in a formal, compact, frontal, idealized way
  • 1285

    Madonna Ruccelai

    example of hierarchy
  • 1310

    Christ and the Samaritan Woman by Duccio

    Christ and the Samaritan Woman by Duccio
    Perspective is not accurate
  • Period: 1338 to 1339

    Allegory of Good Government: The Effects of Good Government in the City and in the Country by Ambrogio Lorenzetti

    This work shows how common citizens prosper when Justice, Prudence, Temperance, and Fortitude reign. He contrasted the political turmoil in the Italian city-states with this piece.
  • 1350

    Nefertiti

    exemplifies the ancient Egyptian concept of female beauty
  • 1377

    Jikji

    first good example of metal type
  • 1415

    Rillip Brunelleschi created linear perspective

  • 1425

    Holy Trinity Masaccio

    Holy Trinity Masaccio
    More proportionate, initiated of new style of perception in paintings, figures are roughly life sized
  • 1434

    Arnolfini Wedding by Jan Van Eyck

    This piece utilizes space, realistic lighting, and symbolism. The lady is painted pregnant because that was the goal of marriage during the time (Northern Renaissance). It is also a successful painting of a mirror and perspective.
  • 1435

    Alberti's On Painting

    Example of color mixing; colors are formed from other colors, mixing darks and lights
  • 1436

    Lucca Madonna by Jan van Eyck

    Lucca Madonna by Jan van Eyck
    Mary becomes part of the architecture; drapery echoes structure of a throne; Lion symbolizes Solomon and oranges symbolizes paradise
  • 1440

    Johannes Gutenberg's Printing Press

    The press was made of metal with screw press and metal type to print at a greater speed. This created more copies
  • 1454

    Gutenberg Bible

    eventually made 42 lines per page; printed in black letter type
  • 1480

    Carlo Crivelli. Madonna and child

    Tempera and gold on wood; motif-cucumber and goldfinch are symbols of redemption; fly-evil; master of foreshortening
  • Period: 1488 to 1499

    Ryoanji Zen Garden of Contemplation

    garden that is meant to be contemplated from the side
  • Period: 1495 to 1505

    The Unicorn in Captivity

    emphasizes a fantastic creature; symbolizes Jesus or true love in the Age of Chivalry
  • 1504

    David by Michelangelo

    David by Michelangelo
    He did not sculpt it in perfect proportion. He made the head and hands much larger.
  • 1509

    Madonna of Loreto by Raphael

    Madonna of Loreto by Raphael
    Joseph in background; veil represents nativity and crucifixion; Mary depicted as young lady
  • 1533

    Jean de Dinteville and Georges de Selve by Hans Holbein the Younger

    The two people in the piece exemplify the humanistic influence in active and contemplative life
  • 1543

    The Fourth Plate of Muscles by Andreas Vesalius of Brussels

    art that also expresses anatomical science. Reflects attitudes about human nature that were prevalent during the time
  • 1562

    The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

  • 1563

    Vegetables in a Bowl or the Gardner

    Vegetables in a Bowl or the Gardner
    combined objects to look like something else when oriented; very contemporary for this time
  • 1567

    The Peasant Wedding by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

    Renaissance painter and printmaker who focused on peasant life
  • Period: to

    Baroque Period

    characterized by exaggeration, overstatement, and a flare for artifice and the theatrical
  • Period: to

    Still Life with Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber

    Baroque Period; symbolic fruit representing good vs. evil
  • Period: to

    A Stoneware Vase of Flowers by Jan Bruegel

    realistic in detail but not in the grouping of flowers because the blossoms shown come from various places and bloom in different seasons
  • Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits and Vegetables in a Market

    gesturing to God; the deer represents purity of the heart
  • Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus by Peter Paul Rubens

    Abduction of the Daughters of Leucippus by Peter Paul Rubens
    reflects culture's ideals on felinity and masculinity
  • Period: to

    Beyond the Solitary Bamboo Grove by Sheng Maoye

    landscape painting that made pristine nature once again available
  • Period: to

    The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

    pouring milk into dutch oven
  • The Kitchen Maid by Jan Vermeer Van Delft

    working class woman that appears dignified within a glowing space
  • Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, France

    connects the royal apartments with the chapel
  • Opticks by Sir Isaac Newton

    Sir Isaac Newton came up with the color wheel which experiments with prism and that white is the combination of all colors.
  • Breakfast Scene by William Hogarth

    Breakfast Scene by William Hogarth
    comedic painting; satires the English upper classes in 18th century
  • Prison by Giovanni Battista Piranesi

    metaphor for the dark side of the human mind
  • Period: to

    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

    Experimented with the psychological effect of colors, optical illusions, and the way pigments mix in a subtractive way
  • The Swing by Jean-Honore Fragonard

    expresses the upper class engaged in frivolity
  • Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David

    reflects masculinity and femininity in the 18th century
  • Period: to

    Michel Eugene Chevreul

    Physicists who believed colors have effects on other colors around them
  • The Death of Marat by Jacques Louis David

    The Death of Marat by Jacques Louis David
    image of him right after he was murdered; background looks unfinished; has skin disease but you can not see it
  • The Executions of May 3, 1808 by Francisco Goya

    Painted from sketches Francisco made at the actual event; a pivotal protest against Napoleon's occupational army in Madrid; guy in white is posed like the crucified Jesus Christ; dehumanized the soldiers with hidden faces
  • Presentation Pipe Tomahawk

    Peace offering made of hickory wood, silver, iron, and lead; may have been made by European, American, or Ottawan metalsmiths due to the engravings
  • The Haywain by John Constable

    illustrates a broad countryside that emphasizes an open-air quality but the painting was made in his studio
  • Joseph Nicephore Niepce

    created the first known photograph (view from the Window at Le Gras). The exposure took him days
  • Period: to

    Carolina Paroquet by John James Audubon

    Watercolor piece that is a valuable resource today
  • Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix

    Liberty Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix
    Liberty has been personified as a partially nude women but reminiscent of a Greek goddess in her profile and in her idealized body. She carries a rifle and the flag of the French Revolution
  • Period: to

    The Peaceable Kingdom by Edward Hick's

    Oil on canvas based on biblical passage from Isaiah that expresses peace
  • The Legislative Belly by Honore Daumier

    The Legislative Belly by Honore Daumier
    political cartoon
  • "Boulevard du Temple" by Louis Daguerre

    "Boulevard du Temple" by Louis Daguerre
    first known photograph of a person
  • The Fighting Temeraire Tugged to Her Last Berth to Be Broken Up by Joseph Mallord William Turner

    New technology regularly replaces the old but the artist asks whether this represents actual progress or mere innovation
  • Period: to

    Charles Sander Pierce

    The representamen- sign's form
    Interpretant- what the audience makes of the sign
    Object- what the sign refers to
  • Valley of the Shadow of Death by Roger Fenton

    documented Korean War as the truth; beginning of manipulation/propaganda
  • Period: to

    Ferdinand DeSaussure

    Signifier (physical existence) and Signified (mental concept)
  • Period: to

    Central Park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux

    a retreat from the bustling New York City
  • Mesquakie Bear Claw Necklace

    Made of otter pelt, grizzly claws, glass beads, and silk ribbon; represented the strength and tenacity of the grizzly bear which added to the dignity of its owner
  • first photoshop

  • Le Dejeuner sur L'herbe by Edouard Manet

    Le Dejeuner sur L'herbe by Edouard Manet
    It utilizes impressionism. Based on proportions, the lady is too big.
  • The Harvest of Death by Timothy H. O'Sullivan

    The Harvest of Death by Timothy H. O'Sullivan
    Union dead on the battlefield at Gettysburg; he moved bodies around to get the perfect photo
  • Dead Confederate Soldier With Gun by Mathew B. Brady

    taken during the Civil War which was the first war to be documented in world history
  • Woman with Parrot by Gustave Courbet

    Woman with Parrot by Gustave Courbet
    subject of male desire
  • Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 by James McNeill Whistler

    Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 by James McNeill Whistler
    reverence and respect for a mother
  • Entree du village de Voisins by Camille Pissaro

    Impressionism as a reaction to photography
  • Battle of Little Big Horn by Red Horse

    a Native American's point of view about this war; he stacked figures above each other to show both chaos and the detail of the battle
  • The Sick Husband by Vassily Maksimov

    working class home; icons of Christ depicted
  • Period: to

    La Grande Jatte by George Seurat

    illustrates the middle class enjoying leisure time in Europe
  • The Night Cafe by Vincent Van Gogh

    The Night Cafe by Vincent Van Gogh
    Utilizes conceptual point and thick paint
  • Period: to

    Josef Albers

    Artist and Educator; immigrated to US and taught at Black Mountain; head of design department at Yale, wrote an interaction of color book with illusions and color relativity
  • Portrait of the Artist's Mother by Marie Cassatt

  • Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent Van Gogh

    visual record of inner emotional state
  • The Three Stages of Woman by Edvard Munch

    The Three Stages of Woman by Edvard Munch
    representations of the female figure
  • Paul Cezanne

    "art is a harmony running parallel to nature
  • Jane Avril by Henri De Toulouse

    captures the expression of performance for theater or dance
  • Water Lily Pool by Claude Monet

    Water Lily Pool by Claude Monet
    captures the color and brilliance of natural light
  • The Outbreak by Kathe Kollwitz

    The Outbreak by Kathe Kollwitz
    illustrates an uprising in the Peasant War in Germany; emphasizes the destructiveness of war; shows a woman leading the revolt which goes against stereotypes during this time
  • Interior House Post by Arthur Shaughnessy

    prominent in ritual feasts when the leadership of the clan changed
  • Death and the Maiden by Marianne Stokes

    Death and the Maiden by Marianne Stokes
    female representation of the image of death
  • He that is Without Sin by Polenov

    He that is Without Sin by Polenov
    painting that was accepted in Russia during this time
  • Tote Mutter by Egon Schiele

    newborn baby died in childbirth
  • Unique Forms of Continuity in Space by Umberto Boccioni

    Unique Forms of Continuity in Space by Umberto Boccioni
    distorted human figure by external forces
  • The Banquet of the Starved or Comical Repast

    The Banquet of the Starved or Comical Repast
    evokes the Last Supper; Jesus and the disciples are replaced by grotesque characters; piece symbolizes famine
  • Fit for Active Service by George Grosz

    Pen and ink; exposes doctors and officers who sent the sick and elderly to the front lines to fight for Germany in WWI
  • The City by Fernand Leger

    Industrialism and modernism has produced forms and shapes that artists have found exciting and innovative
  • Period: to

    Watts Towers by Simon Rodia

    built by a working class man in his spare time
  • The Kiss by Man Ray

    creates unreal things that are real; questions the truth
  • Dia de los Muertos

    blending of aztec ritual and catholicism
  • Society Ladies by James VanDerZee

    Society Ladies by James VanDerZee
    promotes the status and creates a positive perception of a racial group; shows the confident, affluent people of the Harlem Renaissance in the US.
  • The Futurist Cookbook

    Futurist movement where people acted based on the way they ate
  • Period: to

    Wee Gee

    photo journalist who used a police scanner to wait for something bad to happen to be able to get photos
  • Votivhild by Meret Oppenheim

    strangling newborn child which was the most devastating image
  • The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

    Surrealism presents dreams, intuition, and visions as a kind of knowledge
  • Gasoline Alley by Frank King

    philosophical observations on the nature of life
  • Period: to

    The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti by Ben Shahn

    Tells the story of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian immigrants who were active in labor organizations
  • Goering the Executioner by John Heartfield

    Goering the Executioner by John Heartfield
    cover for AIZ magazine; depicts the Nazi Field Marshal as a butcher; news photographs are combined and manipulated with drawing
  • The Luncheon in Fur by Meret Oppenheim

    The Luncheon in Fur by Meret Oppenheim
    one of the few female artist during this movement
  • Migrant Mother with Three Children by Dorothea Lange

    poverty stricken mother during Great Depression
  • Migrant Mother, Nipomo Valley

    Gelatin silver print that originally appeared in a San Francisco newspaper and created an outpouring of food donations for the migrant workers
  • Echo of a Scream by David Alfaro Siqueiros

    Echo of a Scream by David Alfaro Siqueiros
    Enamel on wood; expresses the horrors of the Spanish Civil War; shows child sitting among debris and destruction from the war; colors emphasize the somber tone of the piece
  • Self Portrait with Monkey by Frida Kahlo

    surrounded her different portraits with symbols of her personal history and of Mexican history that were significant in her life
  • The Two Fridas by Frida Kahlo

    shows two halves of her life; connected by the removed heart and the replaced heart
  • Listen to Living by Roberto Matta-Echaurren

    Listen to Living by Roberto Matta-Echaurren
    surrealist painting
  • Maria Candelaria directed by Emilio Fernandez

    shared the prize for best film at the Cannes Film Festival
  • Lucifer by Jackson Pollock

    "gestural abstraction"-came from the movement of the artist
  • Yves Klein owns the color blue

  • Period: to

    I Love Lucy

    performed and filmed before a live audience; rated number one during this time
  • Period: to

    Montien Boonma

    sacred spaces in art; spiritual world and culture
  • Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus) by Salvador Dali

    fourth Dimension; surrealist landscape
  • USA Marine Corps War Memorial by Felix W. Weldon

    USA Marine Corps War Memorial by Felix W. Weldon
    commemorates the soldiers who died during the battle for Iwo Jima in WWII; soldiers form a triangle to represent strength and solidity; a real flag is raised and lowered everyday on the memorial
  • Pantone

    standardizes color
  • Period: to

    Opera House by Joern Utzon

    resembles billowing sails
  • Anthropometry of the Blue Period by Yves Klein

    The women didn't feel like they were being disrespected; they believed to be equals in the piece
  • Homage to New York: A Self-Constructing, Self-Destructing Work of Art by Jean Tinguely

    Homage to New York: A Self-Constructing, Self-Destructing Work of Art by Jean Tinguely
    It was designed to destroy itself in one evening in the gardens of the Museum of Modern Art in NYC
  • Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol

    Campbell's Soup Cans by Andy Warhol
    post war; Warhol produced fine art prints
  • Make a Salad by Alison Knowles

    performance art; shaped the future for art
  • Floor Burger by Claes Oldenburg

    Painting on canvas made into a sculpture
  • Cut Piece by Yoko Ono

    performance piece; audience members cut away pieces of her black dress
  • Current by Bridget Riley

    Current by Bridget Riley
    reflects how the human eye works
  • Household by Allan Kaprow

    Household by Allan Kaprow
    part of "Happening"; this piece started simple and eventually progressed in unexpected ways
  • "Twelve Electric Chairs" by Andy Warhol

    image of electric chair after he saw a plane crash in 1962
  • Cubi XXVI by David Smith

    geometric abstract sculpture that reflects some qualities of machines
  • One and Three Chairs by Joseph Kosuth

    photo of chair=icon/signifier
    chair=object
  • The State Hospital by Edward Kienholz

    The State Hospital by Edward Kienholz
    He criticizes the way society deals with people it deems incompetent. An installation that exposes the neglect and filth he found in a state mental hospital
  • Today by On Kawara

    series of date paintings; each painting is of that day's date; had magazine clippings on the back but can not see that when they are in the museum; there are 3,000 of them
  • "Eden" by Helio Oiticica

    thinks about space and ritual in a less religious way
  • Opening of "The Hakone Open Air Museum

    museum set in nature; cultural treasures and natural treasures mix in this park-museum
  • Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson

    dirt was shaped to create this massive earthwork
  • Period: to

    FOOD in Soho

    Carol Goodden, Tina Girouard, Gordon Matta Clark opened a restaurant in NY that was the first to make vegetarian dishes
  • The Holy Mountain by Alejandro Jodorowsky

  • Roden Crater

    Roden Crater
    naturally formed crater in Arizona
  • Komurasaki of the Tamaya Teahouse by Kitagawa Utmamaro

    woodblock print that is an example of the beautiful woman theme
  • Epa Headdress "Orangun" by Bamgboye of Odo-Owa

    has an image of the founder of the clan and is used in rituals to promote fertility and the well-being of the community
  • Period: to

    Backs by Magdalena Abakanowicz

    expresses the loss of self and individuality
  • Untitled Film Still #35 by Cindy Sherman

  • Sun Mad by Ester Hernandez

    This work exposes the dangerous chemical pesticides that are used in vineyards to grow grapes that eventually become raisins.
  • Portrait of George by Robert Arneson

    Portrait of George by Robert Arneson
    memorial to San Francisco's mayor
  • Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Maya King Lin

    black granite wall that contains the names of 58,000 men and women who died in the Vietnam War; located on the Mall in Washington D.C.
  • Sail Baby by Elizabeth Murray

    Sail Baby by Elizabeth Murray
    abstract painting about family life
  • Fertility Series B by Keith Haring

    Fertility Series B by Keith Haring
    Silkscreen on Rives paper
  • Period: to

    Immediate Family by Sally Mann

    collection of photographs of her children, husband, and herself
  • Period: to

    Baby Makes 3 by General Idea

    illustrates three men in bed in the clouds
  • Guerilla Girls

    underground activist group who noticed how exclusive the art world was; they call out galleries and museums and started protests
  • Fanny by Chuck Close

    fingerpainting
  • The Artifact Piece by James Luna

    The Artifact Piece by James Luna
    intended to debunk a simplistic image of Native Americans
  • Portrait (Futago) by Yasumasa Morimura

    contemporary art that reflects on art history
  • Bismullah by Rasheed Araeen

    photographs overlaid
  • Ignorance=Fear/Silence=Death by Keith Haring

    Ignorance=Fear/Silence=Death by Keith Haring
    offset lithograph
  • Buddha Duchamp Beuys by Nam June Paik

    Buddha Duchamp Beuys by Nam June Paik
    references various parts parts of the world and the consumption of culture through media, without direct contact
  • Dingoes: Dingo Proof of Fence by Lin Onus

    the dingo is able to walk through a fence made by humans
  • Breaking of the Vessels by Anselm Kiefer

    title refers to mystical Hebrew writings that tell of the Divine essence whose power filled and shattered the fragile vessels of the universe upon Creation
  • Portrait of Ross in LA by Fleix Gonzalez Torres

    175lbs of hard candy where visitors take a piece of candy representing a diminishing heart
  • Untitled image from "Faces" by Nancy Burson

    used a cheap camera to create a blurry but evocative double portrait
  • The Morgue (Hacked to Death I) by Andres Serrano

    The Morgue (Hacked to Death I) by Andres Serrano
    look at violent death
  • Light Sentence by Mona Hatoum

    emphasizes personal identity, the body, surveillance and control
  • Intra-Venus by Hannah Wilke

    art examines the beauty of her body even with disease
  • Faceless Women of Allah Series by Shirin Neshat

    represents the women in Iran
  • The Knot by Miguel Antonio

    The Knot by Miguel Antonio
    the two characters represent the country's police and politicians that conspired in the 1980s to create an oppressive regime in El Salvador
  • Leigh under the Skylight why Lucian Freud

  • The Chromatic Diet by Sophie Calle

    The Chromatic Diet by Sophie Calle
  • Mr. and M

    protest the colonial past and to show the complexity of world trade and culture
  • Period: to

    Pieta by Michelangelo

    death of Christ and Mary's mourning; no evidence of crucifixion; Mary's body gets bigger to look more natural to support full size human being
  • Monkey Magic--Sex, Money and Drugs by Chris Fill

    Monkey Magic--Sex, Money and Drugs by Chris Fill
    Monkey symbolizes human behavior
  • Dolorosa by Dill Viola

    video replayed slowly, so that the viewers have a chance to study the intense emotions
  • Holocaust Memorial by Rachel Whiteread

    concrete cast of a library
  • Walt Disney by Frank Gehry

    Walt Disney by Frank Gehry
    there is no single focal point in this concert hall design
  • Self Portrait Nursing by Catherine Opie

    Self Portrait Nursing by Catherine Opie
    body represents sexual identity that is not typically accepted
  • Comme Portrait Series by Latoya Ruby Frazier

    Gelatin silver photograph
  • 'untitled' Maurizio Cattelan

    taxidermies horse; Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews
  • King of Kings or Touchdown Jesus

    King of Kings or Touchdown Jesus
    struck by lightning; fire destroyed inner structure
  • Boy Controlling a Robot

    illustrates a boy controlling a robot; expresses the development of technology and art
  • No Seconds by Henry Hargreaves

    last meal on death row
  • Sunday Night Dinner by Nicole Eisenman

    Sunday Night Dinner by Nicole Eisenman
  • The Propeller Group

    The living need light, the dead need music; funeral traditions of South Vietnam
  • You Are My Sunshine by Wangechi Mutu

    female form is often central in her work
  • "Art Hoe" movement by Amanda Stenberg and Willow Smith

    teens started this movement; women of color in front of paintings