Fourth Session

Ancient Greece is considered by many historians to be the fundamental foundation of Western civilization. Greek culture vastly influenced the Roman Empire, and its roots traveled to Europe, having an impact on their civilizations. It influenced education, language, politics, philosophy, and of course Art. The Renaissance period was the period that most reflects Greek influence.

Sculpture and architecture is the art medium that most influenced other cultures around the world. Ancient Greek art is sub categorized into three major categories: Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic.

Sculptures were usually made out of stone, marble, or other types of limestone. Statues predominated the sculptures, the bigger ones made of terracotta.
During the archaic period, artists were inspired by the works of Egyptians and Mesopotamians. They imitated carved sculptures from these civilizations, but incorporated their own additions, such as carving a smile into the figurines faces. This small detail is a way of making their figurines more human. The greeks did not produce these sculptures just for display, they represented the human body and form, and were offered to temples. Unlike mesopotamian sculptures, the greeks did not represent one individual with each sculpture, but they depicted human ideals such as beauty, purity, honor, sacrifice, among others.

Greek architecture still persists today as one of the most influential ways of building around the world. Roman architecture is the best example as to how impacting greek architecture was on their own designs. The most famous of greek structures are the columns. These widely used pillars are distinctive and are more or less the greek architecture's signature. There are three types of classic Greek pillars, which are the most important; Doric, ionic, and corinthian. Greek pillars are the most popular type of architectural design.

Third Session

It was once believed that the Nile River in Egypt was first invaded by the Mesopotamians, however this theory was later dropped when further investigation on the emergence of life in the Nile continued. Ancient Egypt is one of the earliest civilization with records of existence.

The way Egyptians represented their art was by following a strict code of rules and meanings, and is known for being highly symbolic. Their pyramids and tombs are a distinct form of art from Egypt, as well as their paintings and sculptures. Their art is linked to the representation of Gods and pharaohs. Both animals and colors were incorporated into their art, and played an important role in their symbolism. (Ex: blue and gold represented divinity. The falcon represented Horus, the sky god.) From sculptures to paintings, all of their form of art had as a purpose to represent man, nature, and the environment.

Egyptian sculpture played an important role in Egyptian symbolizing. It represented Egyptian gods, Pharaohs, and kings and queens. This symbolism was more direct than using colors and animals, because it was a physical representation of the being. Statues were created with the finality of giving eternal life to the kings and queens. The rules applied to the sculptures were more strict; male statues were darker, hands were placed specifically. They are known to be hierarchic and have little to no movement. Its structure is both symmetric and geometric. Because of these specifications the appearance of statues hardly ever changed, which was part of the intention.


Hyroglyphics are the writing system that the ancient Egyptians followed. More than 700 pictures and symbols make up the alphabet.

Second Session

Mesopotamian Art is considered the art that emerged around the Tigris and Euophrates rivers. The first Mesopotamian civilization were the Sumerians. They were known for building elaborate temples, and used marble, shell, and sandstone. They were also known for creating fancily decorated tombstones filled with furniture and art, due to their belief in the afterlife.

The Akkadian civilization emerged shortly after and easily adapted the Sumerians' style. They were known for their warlike way of living, and so they reflected this in their art.

The Assyrians had a different way of expressing themselves through art. They had large quantities f stone, and made good use of it by creating narrative art and carving into the stone to decorate places. Narrative art means their art told a story.

The Babylonians, the last of the Mesopotamian civilizations, adapted all of the previously mentioned methods of art, but they excelled in brightly colored glazed tiles. They used these tiles to create sculptures. One of their sculptures now resides in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

First Session

Prehistoric art is considered to be all art which was created before certain civilization had developed a language, alphabet, or any type of record-keeping. The most common type of prehistoric art is cave painting, which dates all the way back to 40,000 years ago. Figurines and small sculptures, as well as pottery, are also types of portable art that were very common during this time. These object were created with the same purpose, which was to decorate.

A significant theme for prehistoric art that is worth mentioning is The Woman of Willendorf. It is believed that this figure was created for three different purposes:
1. The venus figure was created to represent Fertility. For this reason she is rotund, has enlarged breasts and hips, and this means that she will have a healthy and successful reproduction.
2. A good luck token that the husband could take on his hunting trips to be reminded of his mate and home.
3. A type of goddess, which arose a lot of discussion on wether religion was already a very important part of society, and how the woman's role was evident in civilizations.