Historical context

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Historical context refers to the moods,
attitudes, and conditions that existed in a
certain time. Context is the "setting" for an
event that occurs, and it will have an impact on
the relevance of the event. Context is an
important factor to consider when describing
something in history. Historical context is the
political, social, cultural, and economic setting
for a particular idea or event. In order to
better understand something in history, we must
look at its context--those things which surround
it in time and place and which give it its
meaning. In this way, we can gain, among other
things, a sense of how unique or ordinary an
event or idea seems to be in comparison to other
events and ideas. Consider this
statement "Sally hid her hands behind her back
and crossed her fingers before she
answered. Now imagine that your are reading
this statement from a transcript of court
documents in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692.
Religious fervor was at an extreme, and villagers
were nearly obsessed with the devil and
witchcraft. For a young woman to tell a lie--that
was fodder for hysteria and violent reaction. A
reader would assume that poor Sally was a
candidate for the gallows!
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Pentagrams were used symbolically in ancient
Greece and Babylonia, and are used today as a
symbol of faith by many Wiccans, akin to the use
of the cross by Christians and the Star of David
by Jews. The pentagram has magical associations,
and many people who practice Neopagan faiths wear
jewelry incorporating the symbol. Christians once
more commonly used the pentagram to represent the
five wounds of Jesus. The pentagram has
associations with Freemasonry and is also
utilized by a number of other belief systems.
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Earliest archaeological evidence of
swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus
Valley Civilization of Ancient India as well as
Classical Antiquity. Swastikas have also been
used in other various ancient civilizations
around the world. It remains widely used in
Indian Religions, specifically in Hinduism,
Buddhism and Jainism, primarily as a sacred
symbol of good luck. Following a brief surge
of popularity in Western culture, the swastika
was adopted as a symbol of the Nazi Party of
Germany in 1920. After Adolf Hitlers rise to
power in the 1930s, a swastika was incorporated
into the Nazi party flag, which was made the
State Flag of Germany. As a result, the Swastika
became strongly associated with Nazism and
related ideologies such as Fascism and White
Supremacism since the 1930s in the western world
and is now largely stigmatized.
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The tombstone of Abbot Simon de Gillans 1345 CE
who has been immortalized in stone and is wearing
robes ornamented with crosses, interspersed with
swastikas. The Abbot is on display at the Musee
de Cluny, Paris.
The cross being in partnership with the swastika
and possibly having become a simplification of
the swastika, as the swastika moved in ancient
times from its Vedic homeland the Indus Valley
across Persia to Europe and beyond. One question
that I am often asked is if the cross of early
Christianity was invented as a result of the
story of the crucifixion of Jesus? The answer is
no. The cross of early Christianity was already
in use in the Mediterranean world and beyond,
long before the time of Jesus. The Bronze Age
civilizations that flourished in Northern Europe
as early as 1,800 BCE, used the centered cross of
equal proportions as a regular part of their
symbolic script. It is this cross, of the Bronze
Age, that was first adopted by Christianity.
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Chronology is the science of arranging time in
periods and ascertaining the dates and historical
order of past events.
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Dating an artwork or recognizing the objects age
can be determined the following ways Physical
evidence materials used or manufacturing
technique Documentary evidence official
records, dated written document Visual evidence
identifiable person, hairstyle, clothing, or
furniture fashionable during certain
time. Stylistic evidence artist distinct way
of producing an artwork
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What is Style? Period Style refers to the
characteristics artistic manner of a specific
time, usually within a distinct culture. The
concept of period style first appeared in the
writings of the German scholar Johann Joachim
Winckelmann (1717-1768). Often called the father
of art history, Winckelmann developed a
historical framework for Greek sculpture that was
based on the way the objects looked. The Greeks
and the Romans also had written about the works,
but their histories and guides primarily
discussed specific masterpieces or great artists.
Winckelmann, on the other hand, created a
structure that relied upon visual
characteristics, which he defined with beautiful
ekphrastic passages about individual sculptures
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Regional Style term art historians use to
describe variations in style and geography.
Fowling scene, Nebamun tomb, 1400-1350 bc
Temple of Horus, Edfu 237 -47 bc
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Personal Style the distinctive manner of
individual artist or architect.
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Picasso Blue period, Rose period, Analytical
Cubism
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Piet Mondrian
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What is the Subject? Religious Historical Mytholo
gical Genre Portrait Landscape Still
Life Iconography (image writing) refers to
content (subject of work) the study of symbols
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Elements of Art Line Shape Color Texture
Value Space Form Principles of
Design Balance Unity Emphasis Rhythm Proportion
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Line the path of a moving point or continuous
mark, which may vary in thickness, length or
direction
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Shape an area enclosed within a defined border,
2D
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Form 3D objects in sculpture also called masses
or solids
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Texture How things feel or look as they would
feel. The way a surface is treated can be real
or implied
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Value Lightness or Darkness of
Hue Chiaroscuro Tenebrism
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Space Above, below, around, beside or beyond on
object. Trompe loeil Negaitive
Space Positive Space Linear
perspective Atmospheric Perspective
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Pozzo Trompe loeil
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Linear Perspective
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Atmospheric Perspective- Lorrain
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Color Hue pigment Primary Colors Secondary
Colors Tertiary Colors Analogous
Colors Complimentary Colors Neutral
Colors Monochromatic Warm vs Cool
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Symmetrical balance can be described as having
equal "weight" on equal sides of a centrally
placed fulcrum.
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Approximate Symmetry
There is a variant of symmetrical balance called
approximate symmetry in which equivalent but not
identical forms are arranged around the fulcrum
line.
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When the elements are arranged equally on either
side of a central axis, the result is Bilateral
symmetry. This axis may be horizontal or
vertical. It is also possible to build formal
balance by arranging elements equally around a
central point , resulting in radial symmetry
Radial Balance
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Proportion refers to the relative size and scale
of the various elements in a design. The issue is
the relationship between objects, or parts, of a
whole. This means that it is necessary to discuss
proportion in terms of the context or standard
used to determine proportions
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Our most universal standard of measurement is the
human body that is, our experience of living in
our own bodies. We judge the appropriateness of
size of objects by that measure. For example, a
sofa in the form of a hand is startling because
of the distortion of expected proportion, and
becomes the center of attention in the room.
Architectural spaces intended to impress are
usually scaled to a size that dwarfs the human
viewer. This is a device often used in public
spaces, such as churches or centers of
government. The same principle is often applied
to corporate spaces through which the enterprise
wishes to impress customers with its power and
invincibility.
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DominanceDominance is an object or color that
stands out in relation to the rest of the
painting aka- emphasis
Emphasis /Focal Point

• Contrast
• Isolation
• Placement

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Dominance- Line Directions, Position (Center)
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Raphael School of Athens Linear Dominance, One
point Perspective
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Dominance Color Christo Jeanne Claude
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Contrast- Colors Value Straight Curved
Lines Angular Organic Shape Smooth Rough
Texture
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Movement - Repetition Progressive
Repetition Salvador Dali The Hallucinogenic
Toreador
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Movement Guide veiwers eye through picture
Direction boundary of a shape, positioning of
people, arrows, direction people are looking
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Movement---Line (the path of a line)
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Repetition - Same Element Repeated Andy Warhols
Marilyn
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Composition
In the visual arts in particular painting,
graphic design, photography and sculpture
composition is the placement or arrangement of
visual elements or ingredients in a work of art,
as distinct from the subject of a work. It can
also be thought of as the organization of the
elements of art according to the principles of
art. The term composition means 'putting
together,' and can apply to any work of art, from
music to writing, that is arranged or put
together using conscious thought. In the visual
arts, composition is often used interchangeably
with various terms such as design, form, visual
ordering, or formal structure, depending on the
context.
The failure to organize is a common beginners
error, and one that more experienced artists make
as well sometimes. Its easy to get caught up in
just painting what you see without realizing
that a painting is a statement about what you
think is important. If you dont create a
hierarchy, you make the statement that nothing in
your picture is important. Paintings without
hierarchy dont attract the eye and dont have
wall presence. Even big complex paintings, with
many figure groups doing various things, have a
clear sense of hierarchythe more complex the
composition, the more important the need for
making some things more important than others.
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• Include historical information.
• What country or region was it made in?
• Does it belong to a particular movement, age, or
  school of thought?
• Is this work typical or atypical of its period,
  style, or artist? What artistic influences can be
  seen in the artists work?
• Analyze the work itself.
• How does the art work? That is, what details in
  the piece are used to convey its meaning?
• Consider how these details function by themselves
  and together as a whole.
• Paintings, Drawings, and Etchings
• How does the artist use color? Are there stark
  contrasts or is it blended? Are there
• symbolic meanings behind the color choices?
• How does the artist use line? Are forms linearly
  arranged or disordered? Are there
• geometric shapes implied by the forms in the
  piece?
• Are the forms in the piece realistic or abstract?
  Are they fully one style or do they mix the two?
• Sculpture and 3-D Pieces
• What is the medium of the piece, and how does it
  affect the viewers impression?
• (For example, stone gives a sense of permanence
  and strength.)
• What was the purpose of this piece? In what
  setting was it originally placed?
• Is the piece unusually large or small?
• Is the piece representational or abstract? Is
  the artist exploring forms or space within forms?

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Manet, Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe 1863 The Luncheon
on the Grass
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1.
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Kandinsky, WassilyTransverse Line1923Oil on
canvas
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2.
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Dionysiac Mystery Cult, Villa of the Mysteries,
50 BC - wall painting frieze, Pompeii
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3.
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Master Hugo Majestas Domini (Christ in
Majesty) Bury St. Edmunds Bible (English)
circa 1135
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Titian, Bacchus and Ariadne, 1520-23 You see a
painting of Ariadne. Seated on a rock, she is
looking at her sister Phaedra...Ariadne was taken
away from Theseus by Dionysus, who sailed against
him with superior forces, and either fell in with
Ariadne by chance or set an ambush to catch her.
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Volume Space Perspective Proportions