ARTS 9

WESTERN CLASSICAL ARTS TRADITION

QUARTER 1

Department of Education ● Republic of the Philippines

PREHISTORIC ERA:
Pre-historic includes all human existence before the emergence of writing. Their art is of
interest not only to the art historians but also to archeologist and anthropologist, for whom
the art is only one clue- along with fossils, pollens and other finds to an understanding of
early human life and culture.
Paintings from the Pre-historic Era
Their paintings were found inside the caves which may have been their way
of communicating with each other. It may also be for religious or ceremonial
purposes. These paintings may be more an artifact of the archeological
evidence than a true picture of humans’ first created art. Prehistoric drawings
of animals were usually correct in proportion.
Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library
Cave of Lascaux, 15000-10000 B.C. – Stone Age, the dominant features in the painting
were large animals native in the region. It was discovered on 12 September 1940 and given
statutory historic monument protection. The painting has nearly 2,000 figures composed
mainly of animals, human figures and abstract design. Some sections have been identified
inside the cave such as: The Great Hall of the Bulls, The Lateral Passage, The Shaft of the
Dead man, The Chamber of Engravings, The Painted Gallery, and the Chamber of Felines.
Paintings from Ancient Egypt
The purpose of Egyptian paintings is to make the deceased afterlife place pleasant. With this
in mind, themes include journey to the underworld introducing the deceased to the gods of
the underworld by their protective deities. It emphasizes the importance of life after death
and the preservation of the knowledge of the past. Most paintings were highly stylize,
symbolic, and shows profile view of an animal or a person. The main colors used were red,
black, blue, gold and green taken derived from mineral pigments that can withstand strong
sunlight without fading.

The paintings of the walls on the tomb shows events of the life of the king
while he was still on earth and the scenes he expects to encounter in the
underworld after his death.

Paintings from Classical Greek Era:

Paintings during the classical era were most commonly found in vases, panels and tomb. It
depicts natural figures with dynamic compositions. Most of the subjects were battle scenes,
mythological figures, and everyday scenes. It reveals a grasp of linear perspective and
naturalist representation.
Most common methods of Greek painting:
1. Fresco- method of painting water-based pigments on a freshly applied plaster usually on
a wall surfaces. Colors are made with grind powder pigments in pure water, dry and set with
a plaster to become a permanent part of the wall. Ideal for murals, durable and has a matte
style.
2. Encaustic– developed to use by Greek ship builders, who used the hot wax to fill the
cracks of the ship. Soon pigments (colors) was added and used to paint a wax hull.
Judgement of Paris (370-330B.C.)
(Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library)

Vase painting:
Kerch Style also referred to as Kerch Vases are red-figured pottery named after the place
where it was found.
Shapes commonly found are:
1. pelike (wine container)
2. lekanis (a low bowl with two horizontal handles and a low broad foot)
3. lebes gamikos (with high handles and lid use to carry bridal bath)
4. krater (bowl use for mixing wine and water)
Most common motifs were mostly scenes from the life of women (often exaggeratedly
idyllic), mythological beings that were popular among the people of the black sea, or a scene
form mythical story or event. It used a technique called polycromy, combination of different
colors specially the brilliant one in an artistic manner.
Panel Painting:
There are paintings on flat panels of wood. It can be either a small, single piece or several
panels joined together. Most of the panel paintings no longer exist because of its organic
composition.
The earliest known panel painting is the:
Pitsa Panel (Archaic Period between 540 and 530 B.C.E.)
(Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library)

Tomb / Wall Painting:

Tomb or wall painting was very popular during the classical period. It uses the method
frescos either tempera (water-base) or encaustic (wax). It has a sharp, flatly outlined style of
painting and because it uses water-based materials, very few samples
survived.
Tomb of the Diver, Paestrum 480 BCE Image from Treasures of the
World, 1961 CCP Library.

The image was painted using a true fresco technique with a limestone mortar. It depicts a
symposium scene on the wall. In tomb paintings, artists rely on the shade and hues of paint
to create depth and life-like feeling.

Paintings from the Romantic Era

 Most of the paintings in this era were copied or imitated from Hellenic Greek paintings.
Fresco technique was used in brightly colored backgrounds; division of the wall into a
multiple rectangular areas (tic-tac-toe design); multipoint perspective; and a tropme-l’-oeil
effect. Roman paintings have a wide variety of subjects, animals, everyday life, still life,
mythological subjects, portraits and landscapes. The development of landscape painting is
the main innovation of Roman painting from Greek painting.
Mosaic:
It is an art process where an image is created using an assemblage of small pieces of
colored glass, stones, or other materials. This technique use for decorative art
or interior decorations.
Head of Alexander Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library

The full image is a Roman floor mosaic in the House of Fun Pompeii, dated100 B.C. The
whole mosaic depicts the battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of
Persia.
Fresco from the Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii 80 BC
This fresco painting was believed to depict ceremonial rites, either
marriage or an initiation of a woman in a mystery cult.

Boscotrecase, Pompeii

Paintings from the Medieval Era

Byzantine Painting:
The lively styles of paintings which had been invented in Greek and Rome lived on in
Byzantium but this time for Christian subjects. By the 11th century, the Greek and Oriental
styles seem to blend together in magnificent, imposing images, which adorned the churches
in large and small forms.
The court of Empress Theodora, mosaic 6th century AD San Vitale,
Ravena

Theodora was an Asian Queen with dark eyes and hair with fierce
expression;

(Images from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library)

Romanesque Painting:
These are largely placed mosaics on the walls of the churches that follows a strict
frontal pose. It has a remarkable variety of artistic traditions such as modeling and treatment
of faces and draperies that follow Byzantine convention while the refreshingly decorative
feeling comes from southern French styles. It also shows traces of Mozarabic influence
(Arabize influence) through elongated oval faces, large staring eyes and long noses, figures
against flat colored bands and heavy outlining.
Christ in Majesty, painting from the Church of Saint Clemente,
Tahull, Lerida Spain, c. 1123 Musue Nacional d’Art de Catalunya,
Barcelona Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library
Christ wears a greyish, white robe with a blue mantle.
Underneath the Mandorla (Italian word for Almond, in painting, it is
used to described an enclosure surrounding holy figures) is a black band with white writing.
Each side of the center window are three arches resting on columns of capitals in green, red
and black in between of figures of Virgin Mary and five saints are columns with wavy line
patterns going vertically. This mural painting has been moved to Barcelona and replaced by
a replica.
Paintings from the Gothic Era
Paintings have been confined in the illumination of manuscript pages and the
painting of frescoes on the walls of churches in cosmopolitan style, elegant, mannered and
sophisticated.
Lady and the Unicorn tapestry, 1506- 1513 Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP
Library
Subjects usually depicts popular legends and love stories, patterns like “mille
fleur” or thousand flowers show influence which may have been due to the
Crusades.

Rose window from the North transcept, about 1230 Image from Treasures of the World,
1961 CCP Library
Stained glass windows were created to transform the vast stone interiors
with warm and glowing color and at the same time to instruct Christians in
their faith.

The Shepherd David, 13th century, Gothic manuscript illustration Image from Treasures of
the World, 1961 CCP Library
The paintings show some realistic details and shows naïve naturalism.
Sculptures from the Early Age Pre-Historic
Sculptures Materials used in sculptures vary according to region and locality. Archeologists
believed that their sculpture is a result of natural erosion and not of human artistry.
Frequently carving may have mythological or religious significance.
Venus of Willendorf 28,000 B.C.E. – 25,000 B.C.E Image from Treasures of the World,
1961 CCP Library
It is carved from limestone with excessively heavy breast and abdomen
used as charm to ensure fertility.

Venus of Brassempouy Museed’ArchéologieNationale at Saint-Germain-enlaye

25,000 years old Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library

A sculpture of a lady with the hood. It is a fragmentary ivory figurine from

the Upper Paleolithic era that realistically represen

Sculptures from the Egyptian Era

Symbolic elements were widely used such as forms, hieroglyphics, relative size, location,
materials, color, actions and gestures. Their tombs required the most extensive used of
sculpture. The most common materials used for sculptures are wood, ivory and stones.
Characteristics of the sculptures:
1. Symbolisms were heavily used to represent the gods. They were represented as
composite creature with animal heads on human bodies
2. Relief compositions were arranged in horizontal lines to record an event or represent an
action.
3. Most of the time the gods were shown larger than humans, the kings larger than their
followers, the dead larger than the living.
4. Empty space were filled with figures or hieroglyphics
5. All individual components were all brought to the plane of representation and laid out like
writing.

Queen Nefertiti, painted limestone 18th Dynasty, 1375-1357 BC Image from

Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library

∙ Realistic, with heavy lidded eyes, slender neck, determined chin and pure
profile under her heavy crown.
∙ Queen, refers to the Great Royal wife of the Egyptian pharaoh.
The Pharaoh Menkaure and his Queen, stone 4th Dynasty, 2548 - 2530 B.C.E. Image
from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library
∙ An example of portraits presented in rigid postures, and were simple and
powerful with very little show of private emotion.

Sculptures from the Classical Period Greek

Sculptures Early Greek sculptures were tense and stiff, their bodies were hidden within
enfolding robes. After three centuries of experiments, Greek sculptures had finally evolved
and showed all the points of human anatomy and proportion. One of the most popular styles
of the Greek sculptures was the Hellenistic style. Hellenistic denotes a preference in
sculpture for more elaborated patterns, mannered arrangement of figures and groups, and
an emphasis on the representation of movement for dramatic effects.

Myron; The Discobulus, 450 BC Image from Treasures of the World,

1961 CCP Library
Shows an attitude of maximum tension, full of compressed energy, and
about to explode an action.

Roman Sculptures:
Most Roman sculptures are made of monumental terra-cotta. They did not attempt to
compete with the free standing Greek works of history or mythology but rather they produced
reliefs in the Great Roman triumphal columns with continuous narrative reliefs around.
The Portonacio Sarcophagus between 180-190 BCE
Museu Nationale Romano Image from Treasures of the World, 1961
CCP Library

- Used for the burial of Roman General involved in the campaign of

Marcus Aurellius - ---The best known and most elaborate of all
“sarcophagus”(It is a box liked funeral receptacle for a dead body.
Comes from a Greek word “sarx” meaning flesh and “phagein” meaning
“to eat”)
-It depicts battle scenes between Romans and Germans
- Carved in marble.

Sarcopagus, from cervetiri, c. 520 BCE, Museo Nazionale de Villa

Giulia, Rome Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library
- A sculpture of a lady with the hood. It is a fragmentary ivory figurine from
the Upper Paleolithic era that realistically represents the human face and
hairstyle.

Byzantine Sculptures:
The dominant themes in Byzantine sculptures are religious, everyday life scenes, and motifs
from nature. Animals were used as symbols (dove, deer, peafowl) while some had acrostic
signs (form of writing in which taking the first letter; syllable or word of different lines and
putting them together it can be read a message) that contained a great theological
significance.
The Barberini Diptych
http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Barberini_Ivory

-an early example of Byzantine Ivory work

Romanesque Sculptures:
Some of the famous sculptural pieces are reliquaries, altar frontals,
crucifixes, and devotional images. Small individual works of art were
generally made of costly materials for royal and aristocratic patrons. These
lightweight devotional images were usually carried in the processions both
inside and outside the churches.
Last Judgement, tymapnum (an architectural element with in the arch or pediment) of the
west portal, Cathedral of SaintLazare, Autun Burgundy France, c. 1120-35 by Gislebertus
Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library

Gothic Sculptures:
Gothic sculptures have a greater freedom of style. They no longer lay closely against the
wall, but begun to project outward. Figures were given their own particular attitudes instead
of being set into particular patterns and are more lively and realistic.
Resurrection of the Virgin, end of the 12th century Cathedral Amiens
Image from Treasures of the World, 1961 CCP Library

Architecture from the Early Age Pre-Historic

Architecture Man has developed a form of architecture based on megaliths (a big rock) from
the Greek word lithos (stone) and megas (big). This architecture is made of huge stone
blocks which were probably intended for burial. Megalithic monuments have always ignited
man’s imagination. It provided plenty of legends and superstition. During this era, stones and
rocks were associated with divinity.
Three main types of megalith stones:
1. Menhir: a huge stone standing vertically on the ground, usually
standing in the middle of the field or arranged in rows.

2. Dolmens: the word dolmen originated from the expression taolmaen,

which means “stone table”. These structures are in a form of table
consisting of two huge standing stones supporting a horizontal giant stone. It is believed that
it served as grave or as an altar.

3. Cromlech: a Brythonic word where “crom” meansbent or curved and

“llech” which means slab or flagstones. Literary it is a circle of standing
stones.
Stonehenge: best preserved megalithic site in Europe, a group of
stones arranged in concentric circles, with a large external circle oftriliths
(Greek word meaning three stones) , two internal circles built in a similar
manner and altar shape stone in the center. It is a temple where rituals
were held. The structure and the movement of the sun in the sky has a relationship in terms
of identifying the change of the seasons which helped the primitive man on their rituals and
on their agricultural practices
Egyptian Architecture:
This architectural style was developed during the pre-dynastic period 4,000BC.
Characteristics of Egyptian Architecture:
1. The structure has thick sloping walls with few openings to obtain stability.
2. The exterior and interior walls along with columns and piers were covered with
hieroglyphics and pictorial frescoes and carvings painted in brilliant colors.
3. Ornamentations were symbolic including scarab (sacred beetle), solar disk and vulture,
common motifs (palm leaves, buds, flower of lotus, and papyrus plants)
4. Temples were aligned with astronomically significant events like solstices (comes from the
Latin word Sol, meaning sun and stitium meaning stoppage, as the sun appears to stand still
on the first day of winter) and equinox (a time or date when day and night are of equal
length) with precise measurements required in determining the moment of that particular
event.
Pyramids of Giza It is the most substantial ancient structure of the
world. The three pyramids are the funerary structures of the three
kings of the fourth dynasty (2575 to 2465 BC) namely: Khufu
(Cheops) whom the Great Pyramid was attributed to; Khafa
(Chepren) whom the pyramid next to the Great Pyramid is attributed;
and the smallest is attributed to Menkaura (Mycerinus).
These pyramids were made highly confusing and with many tunnels to create confusion for
grave rubbers.
Egyptian Temples were built to serve as places of residence for the
gods. They also served as key centers for economic activity. Ancient
temples were made of perishables materials like wood, reed matting
and mud brick. Their walls were covered with scenes that were carved
onto the stone then brightly painted. Pharaoh fighting in the battles and performing rituals
with the gods were the scenes found on the walls.

Mastaba
 It is a type of Egyptian tomb in the form of a flat roofed, rectangular structure with outward
sloping sides. It was made of mud-bricks or stone.

Greek Architecture
Temples consisted of a central shrine or room in an aisle surrounded by rows of columns.
These buildings were designed in one of three architectural style or orders:

The Parthenon 447-432 BC, Athens .The Greatest Classical temple,

ingeniously engineered to correct an optical illusion. The columns were
slightly contorted, swollen at the center and leaning inward to correct
what would otherwise have been an impression of deadness and top
heaviness.
Roman Architecture:
The Colosseum
They built sturdy stone structures both for use and to perpetuate their
glory. The emperors erected huge halls and arenas for public games,
baths and procession. They built them of gigantic arches of stone, bricks
and concrete or with barrel vaults.
Byzantine Architecture:
Hagia Sophia
It has a lot in common with the early Christian architecture. Mosaic
decoration was perfected by the Byzantines, as was the use of clerestory
to bring light in from high windows. Byzantine's advancement in
developing the dome created a new style in global architecture.
Hagia Sophia means “Holy Wisdom”. It narrates how a magnificent
construction transformed from being a church, into a mosque and what is now known as the
Hagia Sophia museum. One of the biggest domes ever created with 108 feet in diameter
and because of its grand size it can still be seen from miles away.
Romanesque Architecture:
The doorways of Romanesque’s churches are often grand sculptured portals. Wood or
metal doors are surrounded by elaborate stone sculpture arranged in zones to fit
architecturalelements.
The groin-vaulted crypt of Worcester Cathedral

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Worcester_cathe
dral_031_crop.JPG/165px-Worcester_cathedral_031_crop.JPG.
 Romanesque architecture displayed solid masonry walls, rounded arches and masonry
vaults. It is the period of great building activities in Europe, castles, churches, monasteries
arose everywhere.
Gothic Architecture:
This design included two new devices: pointed arch which enabled
builders to construct much higher ceiling vaults and stone vaulting borne
on a network of stone ribs supported by piers and clustered pillars.
Cathedral of Chartres, also known as the Notre dame Cathedral (1145- 1260)
- Has rich architecture and design - Splendid stained glass windows
- Thousands of sculptured figures
PERFORMANCE TASK:
You can become a Roman artist too!
Create a mosaic using any available materials like colored magazines, newspapers,
recycled candy wrappers, eggshells, buttons, sand soil, leaves, glue, scissors, recycled card
board or folder, etc.
Procedure:
1. Draw your own design using a black marker.
2. Cut the chosen materials into small squares, rectangles, or circles.
3. Start pasting your small pieces materials into your drawing.
4. Mount your artwork to any used card board or canvass.
5. Write a unique title of your artwork.

Criteria:
Originality 10
Craftsmanship 15
Creativity 15
Neatness 10
Total 50
Assessment :
MULTIPLE CHOICE: Read each of the following statements carefully. Write the letters of
the correct answers in a separate sheet of paper.
1. What stone coffin often inscribed or decorated with a sculpture?
A. Megaliths B. Pyramid C. Sarcophagus D. Tomb
2. What is the purpose of Egyptian painting?
A. to communicate with each other B. to develop the landscape
painting
C. to reveals a grasp of linear perspective D. to make the deceased afterlife
place pleasant
3. It is a huge stone found in Europe standing vertically on the ground during the
Middle Bronze Age.
A. Giza B. Menhir C. Dolmens D.
Cromlech
4. In this period, the temples were designed in one of the three architectural styles or orders.
A. Gothic B. Byzantine C. Ancient Egypt D. Greek
Classical
5. It shows an attitude of maximum tension, of full compressed energy?
A. Queen Nefertiti C. Myron: The Discobulus
 B. Venus of Willendorf D. Sarcopagus from cervetiri
6. It is a process where an image is created using an assemblage of small pieces
of colored glass, stones, or other materials.
A. Collage B. Mosaic C. Stained glass D. Tropme-l’-oeil
7. They developed a form of architecture based on megaliths.
A. Byzantine B. Prehistoric C. Ancient Egypt D. Greek
Classical
8. What is the method of painting water-based pigments on a freshly apply
plaster usually on wall surfaces?
A. Acrylic B. Encaustic C. Fresco D. Tropme-l’-oeil
9. The emphasis of their arts depicts the importance of life after death.
A. Byzantine B. Prehistoric C. Ancient Egypt D. Greek
Classical
10. Their sculptures show perfect human anatomy and proportions.
A. Byzantine B. Prehistoric C. Greek Classical D. Roman Classical

STRIVE FOR PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION.

-UNKNOWN

Prepared by:
MAPEH Teacher GRACE T. BETONIO
JULIUS A. MENDEZ
EMMA AMOR P. DUBLADO
GRADE 9- MAPEH TEACHER