Essay Titles/Questions

Choose ONE of the questions below and answer it in an essay that is between 3 and 4 pages long. Use specific examples of works of art and architecture which we have looked at in class and that are relevant to your argument.

(Typed, 12 pt font, double spaced, Times New Roman/Arial, 1 inch margins)

1. Ancient Official Portraiture: Choose three rulers (from Mesopotamia and/or Egypt) and discuss one portrait of each ruler. Analyze what the portraits convey about each ruler (as an individual and as a leader) and the images they wished to project of themselves (Consider form and function).

2. The Evolution of Egyptian Funerary Practices: Describe the evolution of funerary practices in Ancient Egypt with regards to art and/or architecture. Use between 3 and 6 examples to illustrate change over time and analyze what they reflect about the culture in which they were made.

3. Sculpture in Egypt and Greece: Using 4-6 works of art that we have examined in class, compare and contrast Egyptian sculpture with Greek sculpture. Through analysis of the works you have chosen, illustrate what each culture hoped to achieve through sculpture and how these works reflect the inherently different attitudes of the two cultures.

(40 points)

Due: Wednesday 8 April*

* If submitting electronically, essay must be received by midnight. Send to lauren.vaughan@rccd.edu

Chapter 7 Study Guide

The Roman Empire

Early Empire

• Augustus Caesar as General (Primaporta Augustus), early 1st century CE

• Ara Pacis Augustae (Altar of Augustan Peace), c.13-9 BCE
• Pont-du-Gard, Nimes, c. 16 BCE
• Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), c. 70-80 CE

High Empire

• Column of Trajan, dedicated 112 CE
• Portrait bust of Hadrian, c. 117-120 CE
• Pantheon, 118-125 CE
• Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, c. 175 CE

Late Empire

• Bust of Caracalla, c. 211-117 CE
• The Four Tetrarchs, c. 305 CE
• Arch of Constantine, 312-315 CE
• Colossal Head of Constantine, c. 315-330 CE

1. Who were the two legendary founders of Rome?

2. Which two cultures most strongly influenced the art of the Roman Empire?

3. What technological advancement allowed the Romans to build in a more innovative manner and on a grander scale (without the necessity for internal support) than other ancient civilizations?

4. What is verism?

5. Augustus ‘found Rome a city of __________ and transformed it into a city of __________.’

6. What event did the relief panels from inside the passageway of the Arch of Titus commemorate?

7. The Treasury of Atreus was the largest dome in the ancient world for over a thousand years. Which dome of Roman construction finally surpassed it?

8. What is a likely explanation for the dramatic increase in sarcophagus production in the second century CE?

9. Portraits of the Tetrarchs were very different from portraits of leaders from the Early and High Empire. Describe the differences and explain why this change occurred.

10. Who was the first Christian emperor of the Roman Empire?

The Vesuvian Sites

Pompeii and Herculaneum

• Atrium, House of the Vetii, 2nd century BC
• Dionysiac Mystery Frieze, Villa of the Mysteries, c. 60-50 BC

1. What catastrophic event allowed the preservation of the sites near the Bay of Naples, such as Pompeii and Herculaneum?

2. Describe each of the Four Styles of Roman painting.

3. What is a still-life painting?

Chapter 6 Study Guide

Etruscan

Etruscan

• Apulu (Apollo of Veii), c. 510-500 BCE
• Sarcophagus with Reclining Couple, Banditaccia Necropolis, c. 520 BCE
• Tomb of the Augurs, c. 520 BCE
• Capitoline Wolf, c. 500-480 BCE
• Chimera of Arezzo, first half of fourth century BCE

1. Pedimental sculpture was rare in Etruscan art. Where on the temple did they tend to place their statuary instead?

2. Our knowledge of early Etruscan houses is primarily derived from _________.

3. What is the major difference between the necropoleis of Cerveteri and Tarquinia with regards to tomb decoration?

4. Why did the Etruscan culture disappear?

Chapter 5 Study Guide

Ancient Greece

Geometric

• Dipylon Krater, c. 740 BCE

Orientalizing

• Lady of Auxerre, c. 650-625 BCE

Archaic Period

• New York Kouros, c. 600 BCE
• Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 BCE
• Peplos Kore, c. 530 BC
• Exekias, Achilles and Ajax, c. 540-530 BCE
• Euphronios, Herakles Wrestling Antaios, c. 510 BCE

Classical Period

• Kritios Boy, c. 480 BCE
• Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer), c. 450-440 BCE
• Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, 447-438 BCE
• Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos, c. 350-340 BCE
• Lysippos, Apoxyomenos (Scraper), c. 330 BCE

Hellenistic Period

• Nike of Samothrace, c. 190 BCE
• Alexander of Antioch-on-the-Meander, Venus de Milo, c. 150-125 BCE

1. Why is it often difficult to determine whether early Greek figural sculptures represent humans or gods? (ex: Mantiklos Apollo, Lady of Auxerre)

2. Define the following:

A. Kouros

B. Kore

C. Contrapposto

D. Caryatid

E. Pediment

3. What is the ‘Archaic Smile’ and what is a likely explanation for its consistent use?

4. Draw a diagram of a standard Greek temple. Include and label the following elements:

A. Cella/Naos

B. Stylobate

C. Peristyle

D. Pronaos

E. Opisthodomos

5. Describe the features of the columns of the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian Orders.

6. In the pediment sculpture of the Temple of Artemis at Corfu, how did the sculptor represent Medusa flying?

7. What was the Gigantomachy and what was the Centauromachy? What did they both represent symbolically?

8. What advantages did the red-figure painting technique have over the older black-figure technique?

9. What is remarkable about the representation of the figures in Euthymides’s Three Revelers Amphora?

10. What sculpture embodies the Classical ideal of human beauty and perfection? Who was the sculptor and briefly describe his treatise entitled The Canon.

11. Why was the rebuilding of the Athenian Acropolis necessary? How was it financed and under whose political leadership did the rebuilding take place?

12. What aspect of the Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles was unprecedented and shocking at the time? Why?

13. Who was Alexander the Great and why is he so important in the study of Greek art?

14. What is a possible explanation for the humanistic depiction of the ‘barbarian’ Gauls at the Altar of Zeus at Pergamon