| Art and music has always been an integral | | | | linear perspective and their colors were |
| part of any society; no matter how basic and | | | | brilliantly polychromatic in their paintings. |
| primitive or complex and advanced. Art is the | | | | An important tenant held by many renaissance |
| cultural output of a society that reflects | | | | artists was that art must be true to nature. |
| its attitudes, values, morals, and what it | | | | The obsession these artists had with |
| considers ideal and beautiful. Art truly is | | | | accuracy, creativity and the aesthetic ideal |
| one of the great measures of a civilization | | | | led to one of the most important and |
| and is a window into what a particular | | | | beautiful artistic eras of history. |
| culture thought and valued. | | | | |
| | | | The Baroque and Rococo periods immediately |
| The first art forms that we have recorded go | | | | followed the Romantic era, and were full of |
| back to ancient times before the classical | | | | ornamentation and artistic excess. The term |
| eras of Greeks and Romans. Venus of | | | | baroque (from Portuguese barroco) translates |
| Willendorf is estimated to have been created | | | | into "pearl of irregular form". The Baroque |
| in 20,000 B.C. and is a crude statue which | | | | period produced such artists as Rembrandt and |
| probably represents female fertility. Five | | | | new uses of shadowing and color became very |
| thousand years later artistic drawings are | | | | apparent in paintings. The artistic excess of |
| created on a cave wall in what is now | | | | the Baroque was mostly seen in its |
| modern-day France. The art shows animals | | | | architecture which was thought of as an |
| moving in their natural environment. The | | | | inferior overly ornamentation laden copy of |
| first major artists in which we have an | | | | the Renaissance style. The music of the |
| extensive amount of work were the Ancient | | | | Baroque period emphasized "melodies that were |
| Egyptians. There construction of temples, | | | | broad and sing able, and harmonies which were |
| pyramids, sphinxes are all amazing for a time | | | | rich and full of Pathos. The Baroque period |
| 2500 years before Christ. Much of there | | | | saw the expansion of the Protestant |
| artistic accomplishments stand and can be | | | | Reformation and the Catholic |
| seen today in museums and the Desert. The | | | | Counter-Reformation. Artists such as |
| most recognized form of ancient art would be | | | | Rembrandt van Rign were Protestant and Peter |
| the Greek and Roman style which produced | | | | Paul Rubens was instrumental in the Catholic |
| stunning temples, coliseums. The ancients | | | | response. Great composers such as Handel and |
| were most noted for the architectural | | | | Bach came out of this period. |
| achievements. Not much is known about ancient | | | | |
| music because nothing survived as record of | | | | Following the excessiveness of the Baroque |
| there achievements. Speculation was that the | | | | came the Classical period which only lasted |
| music was probably folksy and lively | | | | about fifty years but produced some of the |
| depending on the area in which it was played. | | | | greatest musical talent in History. The |
| The ancients set the stage for artistic | | | | Classical period was in response to the |
| masters to come. | | | | excessiveness of the Baroque and stressed |
| | | | perfection of form. Great composers such as |
| With the coming of Christianity the arts has | | | | Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus |
| a new patron, and the Christian Church and | | | | Mozart came from this era. The classical |
| its theology will become the dominate subject | | | | ideal of perfection of form was exhibited in |
| of the majority of the artistic and musical | | | | art, architecture and music. The artistic and |
| creations over the next 1000 years. The | | | | architectural accomplishments of the period |
| influence of Christendom was first observed | | | | are not terribly significant other than it |
| in the Roman period but not until the | | | | inspired the Romantic period as a response. |
| Medieval and Romanesque periods did | | | | New instruments become commonplace such as |
| Christianity completely dominate Western art. | | | | the piano, the violin, viola, cello ect... |
| In music the Church put together different | | | | The Classical period's emphasis on |
| monophonic chants such as the Gregorian chant | | | | perfection, led to some of the most beautiful |
| to celebrate Mass. The composers are unknown | | | | music in history. |
| and there rhythms derived from Latin texts. | | | | |
| The Gothic period started in 1100AD and | | | | The Romantic period saw a great surge in |
| continued until 1400AD. The greatest | | | | creativity in the artistic realm and the |
| achievements of this period would be in | | | | music just kept on evolving into the |
| architecture. The Gothic Cathedral becomes an | | | | beautiful works of Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler |
| icon of the Church's power with its new style | | | | and Verdi. The romantic era was one of |
| including elements such as the pointed arch, | | | | emotion as the world was going through crisis |
| the pinnacle, flying buttress, nave, and | | | | and change. The Romantic artists emphasized |
| double aisle. Artwork is almost exclusively | | | | freedom and free expression. Many of the |
| controlled by the church and the era brought | | | | paintings showed revolutionary scenes such as |
| forth such masterpieces as The Annunciation | | | | Delacroix's "Liberty Leading People" painting |
| by Simone Martini, Lamination of Christ by | | | | created in 1831. Following the Romantic |
| Giotto di Bondone. The music of the Gothic | | | | period was the Impressionist period which was |
| era developed into polyphony and the organum | | | | mainly concerned with how light affected |
| was developed. The Gothic era brought to a | | | | color in painting. A lot of landscapes were |
| close the virtual total control the church | | | | painted and the artist tried to increase the |
| had over the arts. | | | | Romantic effort to create feeling. Famous |
| | | | impressionist artists include Monet, Manet, |
| Art reached completely new heights when it | | | | and Renoir. |
| was able to break away from the strict | | | | |
| controls of the Church in the Renaissance | | | | After the Impressionist movement the |
| period from 1400-1600. The greatest artists | | | | Modernistic movement starts the focus of the |
| and sculptors in history such as Michelangelo | | | | artist is on creating things that are new and |
| and Leonardo da Vinci came from the | | | | unique in both music and art. Much of the art |
| Renaissance. Much of the art was still | | | | is basic and tries to represent emotions and |
| religious in nature as shown in many of | | | | the events that are going on in our |
| Michelangelo's works but artists like | | | | technological society. |
| Leonardo were breaking away at times from | | | | |
| strictly religious painting as shown in his | | | | Art and music throughout the ages has gone |
| Mona Lisa. Artists used the same basics as | | | | through many different stages of development |
| the Gothic artists when it came to line, | | | | and has had its peaks and downfalls. This |
| space, color and formal organization but the | | | | class has given me a better understanding of |
| humanistic movement of the renaissance | | | | the history of the arts and what I consider |
| brought a whole new aspect to the arts. | | | | to be aesthetically pleasing. I look forward |
| Humanism brought a different organization of | | | | to learning more and will continue to develop |
| the basic elements of art as used during the | | | | artistic appreciation as I expose myself to |
| Gothic period. Renaissance artists used | | | | the arts. |