Because art history encompasses such a large period of time in the history of civilization, it is a topic generally split up into contextual eras of style. Most of these general art history classes begin with Ancient to Modern Art History, meant to illustrate the history of artistic representation from ancient times (3000 BC) to Modern art history in the 20th century. That is a 5,000 year old span of history to cover; that's a lot of time for one class!
Ancient Art
In art history, ancient art is a period of time that spans 3000 BC to 331 BC. That’s between 5,000 and 2,340 years ago. This time period includes the art of the following cultures: Egypt, Amarna, Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Assyria, Persia, Crete and Greece. One of the best places to see ancient art, and especially ancient Egyptian art, is the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Exhausting in scale and beauty, be sure to check out the Temple of Dendur at the Met, an original Egyptian temple that has been lovingly carted to NYC from Egypt.
Classical Art
Classical art is defined from between the time periods of 800 BC to 337 AD, and includes Hellenistic, Etruscan and Roman art. The Met also has an amazing collection of Greek and Roman art that includes sculptures, vases, bowls, armor and sarcophagi. (That's the plural of sarcophagus, an old coffin of sorts. Very cool and quite elaborate Egyptian-style!)
Art of the Middle Ages
The art of the Middle ages, or Medieval art, includes artworks from 373 to 1453 and includes the art of Celtic, Saxon and Hiberno, Byzantine art, Justinian art, Islamic art, Carolingian art, Ottonian Art, Romanesque style art and Gothic style art. The Celtic nations still exist today as Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. This site has a good article about Celtic art and culture.
The Renaissance
Human art and culture took a giant leap forward in the Renaissance period of art history that took place in Italy and Europe between 1400 and 1800. Because this was an artistic and philosophical rebirth that centered on Italy, the best place to see the art of the Italian Renaissance is the Vatican Museums in Vatican City, within the country of Italy. Magnificent and awe-inspiring, the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo is an example of Renaissance art that has no parallel.
Pre-Modern Art
The era of Pre-Modern Art is from 1800 to 1880 and encompasses Neo-Classicism, Romanticism, Realism and Impressionism. Neo-Classicism was an art and architectural style that drew upon the works of ancient Rome and Greece for inspiration. Romanticism is a musical, artistic and literary style that placed importance on emotion. Romantic music composers include Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Mozart, and Joseph Haydn.
Artists and painters such as Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Edwin Church, and Thomas Cole fell in love with American landscape and represented American Romanticism. Impressionism brought about a new way of painting that was meant to give the viewer an impression of a person or place rather than a realistic or photographic representation. Famous Impressionists include Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, and Mary Cassatt.
Modern Art
Which brings us all the way up to Modern Art, which many say was started by French painter Paul Cezanne. Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and many other artists contributed to the advent of Modern Art, which is heralded by Impressionism. (Insert trumpets heralding here, please, sound man.)
Don't be fooled by the dates of art history. The cave paintings at Lescaux and the rock carvings of the Birrup peninsula in Australia are among the oldest works of art and go back 15,000-20,000 years. It seems that mankind has had the need to create art of lasting value since time began.
Timeline source the Art History Guide.
TLE101
Mary Rayme - Mary Rayme is a graphic designer and arts educator with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
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