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20,000 BCE
Chauvet Cave
The cave was discovered in 1994 by Jean-Marie Chauvet and his team of speleologists. These paintings contain images of animals such as the ibex, mammoth, horses, lions, bears, rhinos and lions. Advanced techniques such as the use of perspective is clearly demonstrated in the ‘panel of horses’ which shows several animals on the same plane. -
20,000 BCE
Kakadu Rock Paintings
Located in the Northern Territory of Australia, Kakadu National Park contains one of the greatest concentrations of Aboriginal art sites in Australia. The Aboriginal painting from in age from 20,000 years to the recent present although most of the paintings are less than 1500 years old. The site at Ubirr has some of the finest examples of “X-ray art” in the world. The Aboriginals not only painted the outside but also the bones and internal organs of the animals. -
Period: 20,000 BCE to 8000 BCE
Cave Art
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17,000 BCE
Lascaux Painting Cave Art
The Lascaux paintings are estimated to be 17,000 years old. Most of the cave paintings are situated quite a distance away from the entrance and must have been created with the aid of candles. The most famous cave painting is The Great Hall of the Bulls where bulls, horses and deer are depicted. One of the bulls is 5.2 meters (17 feet) long and is the largest animal discovered so far in any cave. -
12,000 BCE
Tadrart Acacus
Changing environment of the Sahara desert which used to have a much wetter climate. Nine thousand years ago the surroundings were green with lakes and forests and with large herds of wild animals as demonstrated by rock paintings at Tadrart Aracus of animals such as giraffes, elephants and ostriches. a mountain range in the Sahara desert of western Libya. -
11,000 BCE
Laas Gaal
Laas Gaal is a complex of caves and rock shelters in northwestern Somalia that contain some of the earliest known rock art in the Horn of Africa and the African continent in general. The prehistoric cave paintings are estimated to be between 11,000 and 5,000 years old. They show cows in ceremonial robes accompanied by humans, domesticated dogs and even a giraffe. The cave paintings are excellently preserved and retain their clear outlines and strong colors. -
8000 BCE
Magura Cave
The Magura Cave is one of the largest caves in Bulgaria located in the northwest part of the country. The cave walls are decorated by prehistoric cave paintings dating back about 8000 to 4000 years ago. They are painted with bat guano (bat excrement) and represent hunting and dancing people as well as a large variety of animals. -
Period: 3150 BCE to 30 BCE
Ancient Egypt
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3100 BCE
Egyptian dance
A rhythmic dance was imprinted into the hearts of people, with workers working in a certain motion to the sounds of songs and percussions. The Egyptian era also saw the start of street dancers way back a few thousand years where they would entertain the passers by. The Egyptian dance was divided into different categories depending on the participants and occasion of dance. -
3100 BCE
Tomb Paintings
The Egyptians used to make the most elaborate and beautiful of the tombs for their pharaohs.But even more spectacular are the paintings engraved inside the tombs, often depicting the journey of the deceased into the afterlife. The tombs usually have a number of paintings, reflecting the lives of the deceased. The royal tombs are even more vividly carved with paintings and cartouches – reflecting their journey before their death and then into the afterlife. -
2500 BCE
Mummification in ancient Egypt
Mummification was an important part of the entire concept of an afterlife. A proper ritual had to be followed to mummify a dead person to ensure his or her resurrection in the future given they win the judgment for another life from the Egyptian gods. Before the old kingdom – the earliest of the Egyptian civilization, bodies buried in the deserts were naturally preserved by desiccation. -
2000 BCE
Egyptian Deities
The ancient Egyptian societies had a complex system of polytheistic beliefs meaning the Egyptians believed in and worshipped multiple gods, more often than not the being assembled in a pantheon along with their religions and rituals. It was told that different cities had different gods for them, and the followers worshiped their individual deities with a devoted fandom. -
1550 BCE
Book of Death
For those who have seen the popular pop culture movies based on ancient Egypt – The Mummy, the book of death is an ancient script that has texts on how to bring back the dead to the afterlife. The original name for the text is transliterated as “rw nw prt m hrw” which in plain English means “The book of coming forth by day” and also “The book of emerging forth into the light”. -
1323 BCE
Cartouche of Tutankhamun
Ever since the discovery of his nearly intact tomb in 1922, Tutankhamun, popularly referred to as king Tut.The cartouche of King Tut shown above depicts the moment of his birth among other events. In Egyptian hieroglyphics, a cartouche is an oval with a horizontal line at one end, that would indicate that the text within is a royal name. The two cartouches were between Sekhmet lioness warriors depicted as crushing several ethnic enemies while Nekhbet flies overhead protectively. -
Period: 1000 BCE to 200
Greek Art
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480 BCE
The Siren Vase
In Homer's Odyssey, one of the founding epics of Greek literature, Odysseus longs to hear the seductive yet dangerous song of the sirens that lure sailors to their deaths. So his crew plug their ears, and Odysseus has himself lashed to the mast. This powerful painting captures the tension as Odysseus strains at his bonds, his whole body agonised, his head raised in rapt listening. -
460 BCE
The Riace bronzes
These giant statues found in the sea off southern Italy in 1972 are important because so few original Greek bronze statues survive. Most of the classical nudes in museums were carved in marble in the Roman era, as reproductions of such rare, and now largely lost, originals. Here we see the true majesty of Greek art in its classical age, which occurred in the fifth-century BC. -
438 BCE
Marble Metope from the Parthenon
Violence is a favorite theme of ancient Greek artists. Reared on the myth of the Trojan war and experiencing the reality of wars with Persia and between Greek cities, classical artists found new ways to show conflict. This human fighting a centaur, carved for the Parthenon in Athens, is astonishingly real in its detail and dynamic energy. -
350 BCE
The Motya Charioteer
This is one of the most startling Greek statues to survive, and highly revealing about the erotic charge of the Greek nude. This youth is not technically nude, but wears a tight-fitting garment that instead of hiding his body, heightens every contour. Greek statues are portraits of human beauty that are meant to be arousing as well as noble. This athlete poses in sensual triumph. -
180 BCE
The Pergamon altar
Classical Greek art changed rapidly as Greece itself went through wars and imperial transformations. In what is called the Hellenistic age it became much more emotional, and even sensationalist. The furious sculptures on the Pergamon altar, which can be seen in its own museum in Berlin are full of passion and psychological drama. -
Period: 100 to 1500
Early Christan and Medieval Art
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101
catacomb of priscilla
The Catacomb of Priscilla are an archaeological site on the Via Salaria in Rome, Italy, situated in what was a quarry in Roman times. This quarry was used for Christian burials from the late 2nd century through the 4th century. -
480
Fallen Warrior from Temple of Aphaia
There is a tragic pathos to this mighty sculpture of a dying hero from a temple on the Greek island of Aegina. Tragedy is a Greek concept. The tragedies of Sophocles, Euripides and Aeschylus are still performed. This statue shows a strong man fallen, heroic to his last breath. -
Period: 1300 to
Renaissance
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1306
The Kiss of Judas
Many critics consider Giotto as the first genius of modern painting and some claim that no artist has surpassed him with only a handful coming close. His fresco cycle on the Scrovegni Chapel is one of the most important masterpieces of Western art and ‘The Kiss of Judas’ is the most famous painting of the cycle. The painting captures the moment of betrayal when Judas identifies Jesus to the soldiers by kissing him. -
1482
Primavera
‘Primavera’ means ‘the season of spring’ and the painting is sometimes also referred to as ‘Allegory of Spring’. There have been various interpretations of the painting but it is generally agreed that at some level it is “an elaborate mythological allegory of the burgeoning fertility of the world.” ‘Primavera’ is “one of the most written about and most controversial paintings in the world.” -
1486
The Birth of Venus
The ‘Birth of Venus’ depicts the classical myth of Venus rising from the sea. In the painting the goddess of love, Venus, born out of a seashell, a fully mature woman, is arriving at the sea shore. -
1512
Sistine Madonna
‘Sistine Madonna’ depicts the Madonna, holding the Christ Child and flanked by Saint Sixtus and Saint Barbara. Also there are two winged cherubs beneath Mary, who are perhaps the most famous cherubs depicted in any picture. -
1518
Assumption of the Virgin
The painting depicts the ‘assumption of the virgin’, which is celebrated every year on August 15 and commemorates the rising of Mary to heaven before the decay of her body. -
1541
The Last Judgement
The Last Judgement is the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art. Painted on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, it depicts the Second Coming of Christ (a future return of Jesus to earth) and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. Jesus is shown in the center of the painting and is surrounded by prominent saints. -
The Last Supper
Leonardo masterfully depicts the bewilderment and confusion that occurs among the disciples of Jesus when he announces that one of them would betray him. Leonardo’s detailed knowledge of anatomy, light, botany and geology; his interest in how humans register emotion in expression and gesture; and his subtle gradation of tone; all come together to make this painting among the most revered and famous works of all time. -
Share Narcissus
Narcissus is a painting by Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, painted circa 1597–1599. It is housed in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Rome. The painting was originally attributed to Caravaggio by Roberto Longhi in 1916. -
Period: to
Baroque Art
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The Elevation of the Cross
The Elevation of the Cross is the name of two paintings, a triptych painting, and an oil on paper painting, both by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens. The triptych painting was the first to be completed in 1610-1611. The second reproduction was completed by Ruebens around 1638. -
The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus
The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus is a 1618 painting by Peter Paul Rubens. It is now on show in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. -
Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius
Aeneas, Anchises, and Ascanius is a sculpture by the Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini created c. 1618-19. Housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the sculpture depicts a scene from the Aeneid, where the hero Aeneas leads his family from burning Troy. -
Apollo and Daphne
Apollo and Daphne is a life-sized Baroque marble sculpture by Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini, executed between 1622 and 1625. Housed in the Galleria Borghese in Rome, the work depicts the climax of the story of Daphne and Phoebus in Ovid's Metamorphoses. -
The Surrender of Breda
La rendición de Breda is a painting by the Spanish Golden Age painter Diego Velázquez. It was completed during the years 1634–35, inspired by Velázquez's visit to Italy with Ambrogio Spinola, the Genoese-born Spanish general who conquered Breda on June 5, 1625. -
Period: to
Realism Art
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A Burial At Ornans
Is a painting of 1849–50 by Gustave Courbet, and one of the major turning points of 19th-century French art. The painting records the funeral in September 1848 of his great-uncle in the painter's birthplace, the small town of Ornans. -
The Stone Breakers
The Stone Breakers was an 1849 painting by the French painter Gustave Courbet. It was a work of social realism, depicting two peasants, a young man and an old man, breaking rocks. -
The Gleaners
The Gleaners is an oil painting by Jean-François Millet completed in 1857. It depicts three peasant women gleaning a field of stray stalks of wheat after the harvest. The painting is famous for featuring in a sympathetic way what were then the lowest ranks of rural society. -
La rencontre
The Meeting or "Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet" is an 1854 painting by Gustave Courbet. The painting is traditionally interpreted as Courbet greeted by his patron Alfred Bruyas, his servant Calas, and his dog while traveling to Montpellier -
Period: to
Modern Art & Photography
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Period: to
Impressionism Art
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Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe – originally titled Le Bain – is a large oil on canvas painting by Édouard Manet created in 1862 and 1863. It depicts a female nude and a scantily dressed female bather on a picnic with two fully dressed men in a rural setting. -
Impression, Sunrise
Impression, Sunrise is a painting by Claude Monet first shown at what would become known as the "Exhibition of the Impressionists" in Paris in April, 1874. The painting is credited with inspiring the name of the Impressionist movement. -
Bal du moulin de la Galette
Bal du moulin de la Galette is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is one of Impressionist's most celebrated masterpieces. The painting depicts a typical Sunday afternoon at the original Moulin de la Galette in the district of Montmartre in Paris. -
Paris Street; Rainy Day
Oil painting by the French artist Gustave Caillebotte, and is his best known work. It shows a number of individuals walking through the Place de Dublin, then known as the Carrefour de Moscou, at an intersection to the east of the Gare Saint-Lazare in north Paris. -
Luncheon of the Boating Party
Luncheon of the Boating Party is a painting by French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Included in the Seventh Impressionist Exhibition in 1882, it was identified as the best painting in the show by three critics. -
A Bar at the Folies-Bergère
Painted and exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1882, is considered the last major work of French painter Édouard Manet. It depicts a scene in the Folies Bergère nightclub in Paris. The painting originally belonged to the composer Emmanuel Chabrier, who was a close friend of Manet. Chabrier hung it over his piano. -
The Agnew Clinic
The Agnew Clinic is an 1889 oil painting by American artist Thomas Eakins. It was commissioned to honor anatomist and surgeon David Hayes Agnew, on his retirement from teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. -
Family of Saltimbanques
Family of Saltimbanques, 1905, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection 2012 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York -
One of many youngsters working in Carolina cotton mills
American photographer and sociologist Lewis Hine used his camera to spark social change. In fact, his work helped ensure American child labor laws were enacted in the early 20th century. -
Dance Hall Bellevue
Dance Hall Bellevue, 1909/1910, oil on canvas, Ruth and Jacob Kainen Collection, Gift in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art Ingeborg and Dr. Wolfgang Henze-Ketterer, Wichtrach/Bern -
Italian steel worker
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Hine continued to photograph workers, giving us a window into the backbreaking labor needed to build up the American economy. He also documented the building of the Empire State Building, showing strength and tenacity of the laborers who constructed this epic monument and culminating in the classic photography book called Men at Work. -
Tenement family
A family are shown in this photo poor, dirty and living in poor living conditions and working hard to support the family -
Localization of Graphic Motifs II
Frantisek Kupka, Czech, 1871 - 1957, Localization of Graphic Motifs II, 1912/1913, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund and Gift of Jan and Meda Mladek -
Water Lilies
Painting by impressionist Claude Monet, one of his Water Lilies series. The painting depicts a scene in Monet's French pond showing light reflecting off the water with water lilies on the surface. -
1920s Flapper
Woman poses for photographer wearing the flapper clothing -
American Photographers
Photo of two women driving while looking at photographer -
The 1940s
Soldier crashed tank into a ditch and is leaning against the tank smoking a cig. -
1950s Pittsburgh
Crowd at Armistice Day Parade, Pittsburgh, November 1950
