Art History

By hodgeska
  • 25,000 BCE

    Venus of Willendorf

    Venus of Willendorf
    Austria
    This small but robust figure likely represented the power of female fertility and may have aided reproductive rituals in the Paleolithic era.
  • 1600 BCE

    The Goddess Hathor and the Overseer of Sealers, Psamtik

    Horns and sundisk represent royalty and divinity
  • 1323 BCE

    Tutankhamun’s Mask

    Tutankhamun’s Mask
    In memoriam of King Tut's Death
  • 1113 BCE

    Angkor Wat

    Angkor Wat
    Central Temple Complex, Cambodia. c. 1113–1150 CE.
  • 447 BCE

    Herakles or Dionysus

    Herakles or Dionysus
    Athens, Greece, c. 447–432 BCE, from the east pediment of the Parthenon, Acropolis. Marble.
  • 437 BCE

    The Temple of Athena Nike

    The Temple of Athena Nike
    Mnesicles. Athens. Demonstrates post-and-lintel construction in its two porches, and load-bearing construction in the solid wall in between.
  • 330 BCE

    The Marathon Boy

    The Marathon Boy
    Bronze.
  • 250 BCE

    Lion Capital

    Lion Capital
    erected by Ashoka at Sarnath, India,
  • 190 BCE

    Unswept Floor

    Unswept Floor
    Mosaic from emperor Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli Sosus of Pergamon
  • 175 BCE

    Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius

    Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius
    Bronze, approx. 11' 6" high. This sculpture was also meant to reinforce the ruler’s power, but in this case, in Ancient Rome.
  • 1 CE

    Glass Bowl with Fruit

    Glass Bowl with Fruit
    1st century, found in the Mt. Vesuvius region of Italy. Fresco wallpainting.
  • 685

    Main Shrine at Isle

    Japan
    Made of natural materials, primarily wood and thatch. It is rebuilt every twenty years to exactly the same specifications, so what we see in Figure 7.25 is both a new building and a structure that dates from c. 685. With each rebuilding, the builders observe careful rituals and express gratitude as they take wood from the forest. Boards taken from the same tree are placed together in the building of the shrine. The wood is left plain and unpainted to retain its natural character
  • 786

    Great Mosque of Cordoba

    Great Mosque of Cordoba
    Cordoba, Spain. The arches are a vast network of pattern, and the color banding adds to the intensity of the pattern.
  • 1000

    Nataja (Lord of the Dance)

    Nataja (Lord of the Dance)
    Shiva is one of the primary avatars of Brahman, the Unbounded, the universal spirit of all things.
  • 1100

    The Water and Moon Guanyin Bodhisattva

    The Water and Moon Guanyin Bodhisattva
    This image depicts a Buddhist living person who has attained Enlightenment but who has chosen to remain on earth to help others attain it.
  • 1185

    Detail of Deesis Mosaic in Hagia Sophia

    Detail of Deesis Mosaic in Hagia Sophia
    Believed to be 1185– 1204. Mosaic tile.
  • 1192

    Zen Stone Garden

    Japan. 1192–1333. This artwork is meant to provide a spiritual experience, but it is framed within Japanese culture and the spiritual tradition of Buddhism.
  • 1200

    Lotus Flowers and Ducks

    China. All artworks reflect the artists’ responses to their life experiences and to the world around them, 13th century.
  • 1285

    Duccio di Buoninsegna

    Duccio di Buoninsegna
    Madonna Ruccelai.
  • 1338

    Detail of the Effects of Good Govt. fresco in the City Hall of Siena

    Detail of the Effects of Good Govt. fresco in the City Hall of Siena
    Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
  • 1401

    Monumental Heads

    Monumental Heads
    Easter Island.c 15th century.
  • 1401

    Sacrifice of Isaac

    Sacrifice of Isaac
    Lorenzo Ghilbert
    shows the emotionally intense moment when the youthful Isaac is bound on an altar of sacrifice as his fiercefaced father, Abraham, aims the knife at his son’s throat. The curves of their bodies echo each other, with Isaac pulling away as Abraham is poised to lunge forward. The nude body of Isaac is idealized and perfect, increasing the merit of the sacrifice.
  • 1425

    Holy Trinity Masaccio

    Holy Trinity Masaccio
    Start to see clear perspective- a major technological advance.
  • 1427

    The Expulsion

    The Expulsion
    Painted on wall of Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine - Florence, Italy
  • 1482

    The Birth of Venus

    The Birth of Venus
    Sandro Botticelli. The content of a work of art includes its imagery and its cultural references. Some content is obvious, but other is hidden.
  • 1501

    David

    David
    Michelangelo. Made hands and head bigger so they would seem normal looking up at them.
  • 1503

    Mona Lisa

    Mona Lisa
    Leonardo da Vinci. Oil on wood. Follows the Golden Ratio.
  • 1505

    Madonna of the Meadow

    Raphael Sanzio
    solemn composure and the cross they hold portends their roles of savior and prophet. All figures are totally human, but their dignity and serenity seem divine. The blues, reds, and greens add to the sense of harmony.
  • 1513

    Knight, Death, and the Devil

    Knight, Death, and the Devil
    Albrecht Durer. Engraving.
  • 1530

    Recumbent Female Nude Figure Asleep

    Recumbent Female Nude Figure Asleep
    Rosso Fiorentino. 1530-1540.
  • 1539

    Muhammad's Ascent into Heaven

    Muhammad's Ascent into Heaven
    1539-1543
    Depicted from a series of poems by Nizami Ganjavi
  • 1555

    Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed

    Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed
    1555-1561. Moscow. Originally served to glorify the Russian Orthodox church and the Czar, now is a secularized World Heritage site and tourist destination.
  • 1563

    Vegetables in a bowl (the Gardner)

    Vegetables in a bowl (the Gardner)
    Giuseppe Arcimboldo
  • 1570

    Tree, Bamboo and Rock

    Tree, Bamboo and Rock
    Mi Wanzhong. Calligraphy by Chen Meng. Ink. 1570-1628.

  • Gopura, Sri Meenakshi Amman Temple

    This artwork is also meant to provide a spiritual experience, but in this case within the culture of India and Hinduism.

  • The Milkmaid

    The Milkmaid
    Johannes Vermeer
    1657-1658

  • Badshahi Mosque

    Badshahi Mosque
    1672-1674. Lahore, Pakistan.

  • Gheordez Prayer Rug

    18th century. This rug is an example of an object that could be classified as fine art or as craft.

  • Optics

    Optics
    Sir Isaac Newton wrote the book and demonstrated the first use of the color wheel and the color spectrum.

  • Cathedral of Dubrovnik: Nave Groin Vault.

    Cathedral of Dubrovnik: Nave Groin Vault.
    Andrea Buffalini. Croatia.

  • Mr. and Mrs. Andrews

    Mr. and Mrs. Andrews
    Thomas Gainsborough.

  • A Pair of Lovers

    A Pair of Lovers
    Kitagawa Utamaro
    Lovers, frontispiece from Poem of the Pillow, Japan, 1788. Wood block relief print, 9¾" × 14¾".

  • The death of Marat

    The death of Marat
    Jacques Lois David
    A death portrait right after a murder. The women sent him a note and as he was reading it, she walks in stabs him and leaves.

  • Grande Odalisque

    Grande Odalisque
    Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.
    Oil on canvas, 35" × 64".
    Louvre, Paris, France

  • The Raft of the Medusa

    The Raft of the Medusa
    Théodore Géricault. Many writers did not consider this painting to be a work of art when it was first made, because it did not conform to the concept of fine art at that time.

  • The raft of the Medusa

    The raft of the Medusa
    Theodore Gericault
    He made a replica of the raft, interviewed survivors of the incident, and studied bodies at the morgue to make the painting.

  • The Gleaners, Brighton

    The Gleaners, Brighton
    John Constable

  • Potawatomi Male Figure

    Wisconsin
    Made betweeen 1800-1860
    Carved wood and adorned in wool fabric.
    Used as medicine.

  • The Course of Empire

    The Course of Empire
    Thomas Cole
    series
    1833-1836

  • Norham Castle, Sunrise

    Joseph Mallord William Turner "Like an elemental vortex"

  • Shoki the Demon Queller

    Shoki the Demon Queller
    Utagawa Kunisada. 1849.

  • The Potato Eaters

    The Potato Eaters
    Vincent VanGogh
    Depicts the lives of a lower class civilization.

  • Woman in a coffeehouse, Madame Ginoux in the Cafe de la Gare in Arles,

    Woman in a coffeehouse, Madame Ginoux in the Cafe de la Gare in Arles,
    Paul Gauguin.

  • The Night Café

    The Night Café
    Vincent Van Gogh

  • Portrait of Mme. Ginoux

    Portrait of Mme. Ginoux
    Vincent Van Gogh. Rome.

  • Basket

    Basket
    Pomo Tribe
    1890-1910
    Clamshell disks, red woodpecker feathers, quail topknots, tree materials, 7" diameter.
    These baskets were made a ceremonial gifts that mark significant moments in a woman’s life. Women treasured the baskets and were cremated with them at death. ALthough they were so sacred, they were used in everyday life.

  • The Basket of Apples

    The Basket of Apples
    Paul Cezanne

  • Mother and Child

    Mother and Child
    Mary Cassatt.

  • Royal Linguist’s Staff

    Royal Linguist’s Staff
    Akan Culture. 1900s. Asante Kingdom, Ghana.

  • Two Marquesans

    Two Marquesans
    Paul Gauguin.

  • Carson Pirie Scott and Company

    Carson Pirie Scott and Company
    Louis H. Sullivan
    One of the first innovative tall buildings in twentieth century.

  • Landscape at Aix, Mount Sainte-Victoire,

    Landscape at Aix, Mount Sainte-Victoire,
    Paul Cezanne. When Cezanne made this painting, he broke with the traditional ways of depicting space and form.

  • Grand Mosque

    Grand Mosque
    1906-1907. Djenne, Mali.

  • Casa Milà

    Casa Milà
    Antonio Gaudí
    1906-1912

  • Les Demoiselles d’Avignon

    Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
    Pablo Piccaso. Artwork reflects the cultural moment when it was made, in this case, the modern era at the beginning of the 20th century.

  • Las bravisimas calaveras guatemaltecas de Mora y de Morales

    Las bravisimas calaveras guatemaltecas de Mora y de Morales
    JosÉ Guadalupe Posada. This poster, which was inexpensive and widely distributed at the time it was made, is now collected in libraries and museums.

  • Jüngster Tag (Last Judgment)

    Jüngster Tag (Last Judgment)
    Wassily Kandinsky. This painting is expressionistic in style, with its bold colors and the immediacy with which it was painted.

  • The Morning Anxiety

    The Morning Anxiety
    Giorgio de Chirico. Oil on canvas. In this example of multipoint perspective, the dark structure seems to be overly tall while the white building stretches back to the horizon, resulting in an unreal or illogical depiction of space.

  • Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2)

    Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2)
    Marcel Duchamp. Oil on canvas.

  • 0.10 Exhibition

    0.10 Exhibition
    Suprematist Exhibition
    Black square is just as good as the image

  • Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany

    Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the Last Weimar Beer Belly Cultural Epoch of Germany
    Hannah Hoch.

  • They’re Biting

    They’re Biting
    Paul Klee.

  • Yellow Calla

    Yellow Calla
    Georgia O’Keeffe. Oil on canvas, 9" × 12 3/4".

  • New York Crime

    Wee Gee
    NY, NY
    1930-1950s
    Showcases the Seedy side of New York City
    Wee Gee was a crime scene photographer and often was at the scene before the crime happened.

  • Object (Le Dejeuner en fourrure)

    Object (Le Dejeuner en fourrure)
    Meret Oppenheim.

  • The Weeping Woman (La Femme qui pleure)

    The Weeping Woman (La Femme qui pleure)
    Pablo Picasso. Etching, aquatint, and drypoint.

  • Veranda Post: Female Caryatid and Equestrian Figure

    Veranda Post: Female Caryatid and Equestrian Figure
    Wood, pigment. In Nigeria in Africa, this sculpture was meant to reinforce the power of the local king.

  • The Beautiful Bird Revealing the Unknown to a Pair of Lovers

    The Beautiful Bird Revealing the Unknown to a Pair of Lovers
    Joan Miró.

  • Nighthawks

    Nighthawks
    Edward Hopper.

  • The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly

    The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations Millennium General Assembly
    James Hampton. c. 1950–1964. Gold and silver aluminum foil, Kraft paper, and plastic over wood furniture, paperboard, and glass, 180 pieces in all; completed over time after Hampton worked his day job.

  • Crucifixion (Corpus Hypercubus)

    Salvador Dali

  • Pantone

    Pantone
    Big book of colors.

  • Suzy’s Sun ( for Judy Tyler),

    Suzy’s Sun ( for Judy Tyler),
    Joseph Cornell.

  • Blue Veil

    Blue Veil
    Morris Louis.

  • Blue is Created

    Blue is Created
    Yves Klein invents blue and patents it.

  • Habitat

    Habitat
    Moshe Safdie
    Designed for Expo '67 in Montreal

  • Retablo of Maria de la Luz Casillas and Children

    Retablo of Maria de la Luz Casillas and Children
    In this example we see Maria twice, both as a helpless and vulnerable patient on the operating table in a foreign land and as the supplicant with her children imploring the help of the Virgin. In the Retablo, the Virgin looms large in the bleak, gray room, with golden rays, miraculously intervening in a fearful episode. Extraneous details are omitted to better emphasize the victim’s helplessness and the Virgin’s power.

  • Floor Burger

    Floor Burger
    Claes Oldenburg
    Both Painting and Sculpture.
    Molded canvas.

  • Interaction of Color

    Interaction of Color
    Josef Albers. 1963. Starting to figure out color relativity.

  • St. Louis Gateway Arch

    St. Louis Gateway Arch
    Eero Saarinen and Associates. constructed 1963-1965; stainless steel.

  • Pie Counter

    Pie Counter
    Wayne Thiebaud
    Oil on canvas 30" x 36"
    Food as a visual display and a pop icon. This piece shows the plentifulness, standardization, and bright colors in mass production of cafeteria food.

  • Marilyn Monroe

    Marilyn Monroe
    Andy Warhol. One of a portfolio of ten screenprints on white paper.

  • A Bigger Splash

    A Bigger Splash
    David Hockney. Acrylic on canvas.

  • Abra III

    Abra III
    Frank Stella.

  • A Nonsite

    A Nonsite
    Robert Smithson

  • Mirror Image I

    Mirror Image I
    Louise Nevelson.

  • The Pack (das Rudel).

    The Pack (das Rudel).
    Joseph Beuys. Volkswagen bus made in 1961, 24 sleighs, each equipped with fat, felt blankets, belts, and torchlight.

  • Crinkly

    Crinkly
    Alexander Calder. Sheet metal, wire, and paint.

  • Bent Propeller

    Bent Propeller
    Alexander Calder. Sheet metal, bolts, and paint, 25' high, destroyed on 9/11.

  • Spiral Jetty

    Spiral Jetty
    Robert Smithson
    Made of stones, algae, and other organic materials.

  • Cube and Four Panels

    Cube and Four Panels
    Ronald W. Davis. Acrylic on canvas, support: 110 1/2" × 130 3/4".

  • Running Fence

    Running Fence
    Christo and Jeanne-Claude
    Veiled Fence running for 24.5 miles.
    18 ft high.

  • Golf Bag

    Golf Bag
    Marilyn Levine.

  • (Untitled) Fallen Angel

    (Untitled) Fallen Angel
    Jean-Michel Basquaise
    expressionist painting

  • Human/Need/Desire

    Human/Need/Desire
    Bruce Nauman. Neon tubing, transformer and wire,

  • Blind Man's Bluff

    Blind Man's Bluff
    Louise Bourgeois

  • The Binocular Entrance to the Chiat Building

    The Binocular Entrance to the Chiat Building
    Claes Oldenburg, Coosjevan Bruggen, and Frank O. Gehry.

  • There Is No Escape

    There Is No Escape
    Sue Coe
    Watercolor and Graphite 22' x 30'
    Part of a large series called Porkopolis. In this series shows living animals being turned into packages of meat. Coe emphasizes the carnage and sympathizes with the pigs.

  • Guarded Conditions

    Guarded Conditions
    Lorna Simpson
    18 color Poleroid prints, 21 engraved plastic plaques, and plastic letters.
    91x131

  • Deep Contact

    Deep Contact
    Lynn Hershman
    Interactive Computer Installation
    Viewer touches part of her body to unlock areas of the intimation. Not all areas are sexual.

  • The Kitchen Table Series

    The Kitchen Table Series
    Carrie Mae Weems
    Documentation of intimate moments in African American lives.

  • Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA)

    Untitled (Portrait of Ross in LA)
    Fleix Gonzales Torres
    175 pounds of candy that represent Fleix's boyfriend, Ross.
    Viewers are invited to take a piece of candy showing the loss of Ross.

  • Monywa Buddhas

    Monywa Buddhas
    1991 (Reclining) - 2008 (Standing) - Burma

  • Nara Convention Hall

    Arata Isozaki. Computer generated.

  • Puppy

    Puppy
    Jeff Koons. Stainless steel, soil, and flowering plants. References 18th-century formal European garden. Designed to relentlessly entice, to create optimism, and to instill "confidence and security", says Koons.

  • Mining the Museum

    Mining the Museum
    Fred Wilson
    This revolutionized the way museums are set up.

  • AIDS Memorial Quilt

    AIDS Memorial Quilt
    Tons of regular people helped create the quilt while raising money for AIDS research.

  • Genesis

    Genesis
    Jaune Quick-to-See Smith.

  • Untitled

    Untitled
    Rudolf Stingel

  • Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii,

    Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii,
    Nam June Paik. 49-channel, closed-circuit video installation, neon, steel, and electronic components, 15' ×40' × 4'.

  • Untitled

    Untitled
    Robert Gober.

  • Speechless

    Speechless
    Shirin Neshat.

  • That Profile

    That Profile
    Martin Puryear. 1997–1999. Stainless steel, bronze, 540" × 360" × 136".

  • Guggenheim Bilbao

    Guggenheim Bilbao
    Frank O. Gehry. Spain 1997. Represents art from the time it was built. The sweeping forms and refined surfaces resemble modern abstract sculpture.

  • Chromatic Diet

    Chromatic Diet
    Sophie Calle
    A part of a series where a novelists writes about Sophie's life and she turns the novel into her life.

  • 99 Cent

    99 Cent
    Andreas Gursky. Cibachrome print.

  • Easy to Remember

    Easy to Remember
    Lorna Simpson. Still from 16 mm film transferred to DVD.

  • Stone God Forbidden City

    Douglas Schlesier. Charcoal on paper with gold leaf and color.

  • Seaform Pavilion

    Seaform Pavilion
    Dale Chihuly.

  • Drawing for Transient Rainbow

    Drawing for Transient Rainbow
    Cai Guo-Qiang. Gunpowder on two sheets of paper.

  • Junk

    Junk
    Tony Oursler. Fiberglass sculpture and DVD projection.

  • One Hundred Lavish Months of Bushwhack

    One Hundred Lavish Months of Bushwhack
    Wangechi Mutu. Cut-and-pasted printed paper with watercolor, synthetic polymer paint, and pressure-sensitive stickers on transparentized paper.

  • Setting Cycles

    Dona Schlesier.

  • Küba

    Küba
    Kutlug Ataman. 40-channel video installation with tables and chairs; color, sound.

  • Bear

    Bear
    Tim Hawkinson.

  • Black Rainbow: Explosion Project for Valencia, Spain

    Black Rainbow: Explosion Project for Valencia, Spain
    Cai Guo-Qiang. An example of art that moves and changes in time with no fixed form.

  • The Matter of Time

    The Matter of Time
    Richard Serra. Eight steel sheet sculptures, each 12 to 14 feet in height and weighing 44 to 276 tons.

  • Napoleon leading the Army Over the Alps

    Napoleon leading the Army Over the Alps
    Kehinde Wiley

  • For the Love of God

    For the Love of God
    Damien Hirst. Platinum life-size cast of a human skull, human teeth, and diamonds, 6.75" x 5" x 7.5"

  • Aqueous

    Aqueous
    Margaret Lazzari.

  • Third Ear

    Third Ear
    Stelarc
    Grew his own third ear on his arm.

  • The New York City Waterfalls

    The New York City Waterfalls
    Olafur Eliasson.

  • RGB Color Atlas

    RGB Color Atlas
    Tauba Aurbach. Contains every color ever on the RGB scale.

  • Speak Louder

    Speak Louder
    Nick Cave
    Costumes for performance.

  • No Seconds

    No Seconds
    Henry Hargreaves
    Series
    Recreations of death row criminal's last supper.