AP Art History

Aegean Art

INTRODUCTION

The three civilzations that flourished 5000-3000 years ago were the direct forerunners of the first true European civilization of Greece.

• Geographically,the Cycladic Islands, the Island of Crete and the region of Mycenae (on mainland Greece) comprise the region of the Aegean.
• Populations first settled in the region during the lower paleolithic and established village life during the early neolithic. The region reached its peak during the 2nd millenium BCE.
• The three cultures were dominated by the sea, that allowed them to develop with a wealthy trade economy, and acted as a natural defense against their enemies.

CHRONOLOGY

• Cycladic (Cyclades Islands) 3000-1600 BCE
• Minoan (Crete) 3000-1400 BCE
• Mycenean 1400-1100 BCE

Cycladic Art

 

Sculpture-Most examples date from the neolithic period and are female.

• Seated Man With Harp (fig.4-3), 3rd.millenium BCE
• Statuette of a Woman (fig.4-2), c2500-2000 BCE

Minoan Art

The people of the Minoan civilzation flourished on the island of Crete. They established a wealthy network of trade that enabled them to be economically self-sufficient. Minoans reached their peak c1600 BCE. Much of what we know about the Minoan culture is due to the archaeological work of Sir Arthur Evans.

Architecture-primary examples were built at the Temple Complex at Knossos.

• Palace of Knossos (figs.4-4 & 4-5), c1700-1400 BCE
• Queen's Megaron, Palace of Knossos, c1700-1400 BCE
• King's Apartment, Inner Court with peristyle, Palace of Knossos c1700-1400 BCE

Painting-artists worked on a large scale using the fresco technique. Typically, murals were views of nature and/or scenes of human activity and had painted geometric borders.

• Toreador Fresco (Bull Jumping) Palace of Knossos (fig. 4-16), 1450-1400 BCE
• Landscape with Swallows (Spring Fresco) Thera (presently Santorini) (fig. 4-18), c1630-1500 BCE

Sculpture-were primarily small religious subjects made in ivory, wood, precious metals and stone.

• Snake Goddess Palace of Knossos (fig.4-7), c1600 BCE
• Rhyton Palace of Knossos (fig. 4-10), c1500-1450 BCE

Mycenaean Art

The site of the ancient Mycenaean civilization was discovered in the late 19th century by archaeologist Heinrich Schleimann. The people of the Mycenaean culture were influenced by the Minoans. But unlike the peaceful Minoans, the culture of the Mycenaeans was dominated by military encounters and the building of fortifications and strongholds.

Architecture

• Corbeled Gallery Citadel at Tiryns (figs. 4-23 & 4-24), c1400-1200 BCE
• Lion Gate, Mycenae, (fig. 4-20), c1300-1250 BCE
• Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae (figs.4-21 & 4-22), c1300-1250 BCE