THE HISTORY OF ART
Have you ever wondered how art has
evolved for millions of years? Have you ever thought about how art even started
in the first place? Well, the first humans to ever exist, one day decided to
decorate their cave walls. They painted primitive animals of various shapes and
colours. From then on, art has continued to evolve into many different forms.
Today, there are almost uncountable forms of art. Even though there are many
similarities, modern art is vastly different from the ancient art. The ancient
art was done to express joy, emotions and feelings about human life. When we
observe these works, we can clearly see the artist intentions and messages.
Modern art however is very diverse and can be complicated. There are many art
works in today’s world which have are obtuse to us. They are often bold and eye
catching in order to get a person’s attention.
ANCIENT ART
The
first man made his own paints out of berry juice and even animal blood. He had
barely a few colours to work with and they were all shades of rustic and earthy
colours. He used sticks and animal hair as paint brushes. His paintings were
simple animals and figures that can be easily recognized today. He also made
carvings on rocks and cave walls. These paintings and carvings, to this day,
can still be found in Africa and parts of Europe, dating back to 32,000 BC.
Today, paints are created out of chemical substances, colour pigment and resin.
Unlike ancient times, there are uncountable shades of colours that can vary
from dull to bright and rich metallic colours. These paints are used to create
very complex paintings which portray several messages.
ROMAN TIMES
In
100 BC, the large Roman Empire dominated the world and is considered as the
first republic. They copied the Greek art of sculptures and made it their own.
They made sculptures of their famous leaders and characters from mythology. The
sculptures were made from natural stones like marble. The Nobel romans
considered sculptures as the supreme form of art. They decorated their houses,
public areas, streets and pavilions with sculptures. Today we make sculptures
from modern materials like plastics and titanium. The sculptures range from
traditional figures to distorted and unrecognizable figures.
THE
RENAISSANCE TIMES
The
Renaissance (meaning re-birth) from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century,
brought great advances in the fields of exploration, science and of course art.
The renaissance artists broke free from the restrictions imposed during the
medieval period. The famous painting, “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo de Vinci is one
of the most famous paintings from this time. Michael Angelo, a renaissance
sculptor, created realistic sculptures of the human body using the knowledge of
human anatomy. The renaissance artists focused on the human beings as the most
important element in their paintings. They used delicate strokes to highlight
the interactions between the people. However modern artists sometimes omit the
people from the picture. They use contrasting colours and bold techniques to
grab our attention.
Art
has been evolving from the very start of humanity. Art at first in the form of
cave paintings has evolved to modern day graphics based paintings. The cave
man’s painting was a basic depiction of his environment. The modern day
painting is a depiction of the artist’s thoughts. Modern Art forms is a result
of art being practiced over thousands of years. It is bolder and is
delightfully colourful. It conveys unclear meanings and complex ideas. It uses
new materials to create distinct and unique masterpieces. Modern art and
ancient art are both different, but both are beautiful in their own ways.
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ANCIENT ART
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MODERN ART
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Sources
Dr Karen Eva Carr. “What is Art?” Quatr.us. Dr Karen Eva Carr, n.d.
Web. Jun 20th 2016.
“Art history facts.” Kidskonnect.com.
Kidskonnect, n.d. Web. Jun 20th 2016
“Art History Timelines.”Mhhe.com. McGraw-Hill,
2002. Web. July 16th 2016.
“Lascaux Cave Paintings.” Encyclopaedia of Stone Age art. Visual-arts-cork.com, n.d. Web. July 16th
2016
Leonid
Afremov. “The end of
patience.” afremov.com. Leonid Afremov, n.d. Web. July 16th
2016
“Adriano
in Siria.” Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. July 18th 2016
Cristen
Conger. “20 Contemporary (Women) Artists You Oughta Know.” stuffmomnevertoldyou.com. Cristen Conger, n.d. Web. July 18th
2016
“The Last Supper - A Study of the Painting by
Leonardo Da Vinci.”
Jaydax.co.uk. jaydax, n.d. Web. July 18th
2016
“The Persistence of Memory.” Wikipedia.org. Wikipedia, n.d. Web.
July 19th 2016
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