Lesson 3.4

Lesson 3.
4: Western View of Beauty

1. Classify the Western View of Beauty in Art According to its Time Period.
Introduction
The nature of beauty is one of the most enduring and controversial themes in Western
philosophy, and is—with the nature of art—one of the two fundamental issues in philosophical
aesthetics. Beauty has traditionally been counted among the ultimate values, with goodness,
truth, and justice. It is a primary theme among ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and medieval
philosophers, and was central to eighteenth and nineteenth-century thought.
The concept of beauty is also a complex topic since antiquity, and this is especially true
when tracing the cultural trajectory of our relationship with beauty. Western and Eastern artists
tend for instance to use different perspectives to represent the visual world, both in the geometric
and in a metaphorical sense.
Viewers from different cultures and social groups may have distinct aesthetic experiences
to the same visual displays. Cultural differences might explain why beauty is attributed to some
things, but not to others. Aesthetic processing can only be understood, if it is also seen as being
embedded in cultural contexts and being modulated by social conditions.
Key Concepts
Art of Ancient Greece

 The Greeks believed that Man was an ideal form. In their
estimation, Man is the measure of all things. Their works reflect an
interest in the naturalistic world.
 Art emphasizes the “ideal” figure.
 Kore (maiden) and Koros (youth) are terms to define the types of
marble statues carved and produced in large numbers throughout the
Archaic era. They were often funerary statues.
 Concerned more with geometry and symmetry that original
expression.
Ancient Greek Architecture

 The building of the Parthenon, when Athens was at the height
of her power, was the most ambitious enterprise in the history
of Greek architecture
 Dedicated to the goddess Athena
 Marble
 Perfect embodiment of
Classical Doric Architecture
 Colonnades surrounded it
Hellenistic Art, 323-331 BC

 Characterized by an emotional, active,
dynamic style.
 Reflected the attitude of despair that Athenians
shared after defeat at the hands of the Spartans
around 432 B.C.
 Often copied by and for Romans who loved
the style.
Ancient Roman Architecture

 The Romans worked on extensive building
programs.
 They used concrete, an innovation that allowed for
faster building, and a larger scale.
 The arch became the central tool in architecture,
from it was derived the barrel vault.
 The Colosseum, 72-80 AD. was dominated by
Greek orders of columns.
The Middle Ages: 476-1453

 In 410, Rome was conquered and the Roman Empire
fell.
 For the next 1,000 years, most of Europe was governed
by feudal states.
 Most art was created for the Church for a mainly illiterate population. Drawings were
renderings of Biblical stories.
 Artists were not concerned with form or depicting emotion.
 1350: Black Plague killed 50680% of Europe’s
population.
 The plague momentarily “stopped” the progress of
Giotto and other artists of the early 14th century
Early Renaissance
 Began in Florence, Italy in the year 1,500
 Milan was trying to bring all of Italy under its rule, and
the humanist leaders of Florence out up a vigorous and
successful defense.
 Florence was free to rule itself because it gave the pope
money; in turn, they were given freedom
 Secular renderings of art began.
 Humanism: rediscovering of classical philosophical texts; emergence of
the idea that humans could create and aspire toward godliness.
 Florence as the “new Athens” pushed the artists upon an ambitious
campaign to finish the great artistic enterprises which were begun a
century before, at the time of Giotto
Michaelangelo’s Contribution
 Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Pieta, David
 Difficult personality; received education in classical culture education, learned
mathematical systems of proportions used in classical art, preferred marble sculpture.
 Considered himself a sculptor. Believed that spirit was trapped in
stone, only to be set free by the sculpture. Through this, he
revolutionized the art of sculpture. He felt divinely inspired.
Baroque Art: 1600-1750

 Characterized by a reaction against formulaic Mannerist style.
 Catholic Church was a big patron.
 A return to tradition and spiritually
 Flourishing, flowing style; artists fond of curbing forms full of
movement
Neo-Classicism: 1750-1880
 Originated as a reaction
to the Baroque, a
fanciful, flourishing
style that dominated from 1680-1750.
 Sough
and Roman Art
 Neoclassic
express their ideas about courage, sacrifice,
and love of country
 Monticello is perfect architectural
example in US
American Realism
 Courbet: under the impact of the
revolutionary upheavals then sweeping Europe,
had come to believe that the romantic emphasis on feeling and imagination was merely
an escape from the realities of the time.
 He said “I cannot paint an angel if I have never seen one.” For Courbet, realism was akin to
“naturalism”
Impressionism: Late 19th Century,

Early 20th Century
 Name was derived from Claude Monet’s
painting: “Impressionism, Sunrise.”
 Characterized by visible brush strokes
and an open composition.
 Emphasis on light and the changing
qualities of light reflecting the passage of time.
 Focus on ordinary subject matter.
 Paintings show movement and unusual vivid angles.
 Artists favored working in open air to capture changing light.
Post Impressionism
 Differ
ed
from
Impressionists in the artist’s desire to attain more form

and structure as well as more expression and emotion
into their paintings. The artist led away from the
naturalistic approach.
 Simil
arities
between Impressionism and Post Impressionism
include: both used a real-life subject, distinctive
brushstrokes, thick layers of paint and vivid colors. Still
used short brush strokes of broken color.
Cubism: 1907 - 1914

 Led by Picasso, also Duchamp
 Characterized by rejecting a single
viewpoint.
 3-dimensional subjects were fragmented and
redefined from several points of view simultaneously.
 New way of representing the world and new
theories.
 Influenced by Einstein’s “theory of relativity.”
Surrealism: 1920-1930’s
 Led by Dali, Duchamp, O’Keefe
 Artists’ interested in expressing
imagination as revealed in dreams and
beyond (sur=above) reality.
 Influenced by Freud’s idea of the subconscious self.
 Works show freedom of conscious control and reason.
 Loved the incongruous; familiar objects were presented in an
unfamiliar manner.
American Social Realism: 1930-1950’s

 Influenced by French Impressionism, and
Surrealism.
 Took as its subject the reality of American life.
 Depicts lonlieness and isolation of the time.









Hopper’s Nighthawks (1942) depicts urban life
reminiscent of the French Impressionist, but
the people are lost in thought, isolated, alone,
while the barman carries on his work. Though
they are out of the dark night, they don’t
appear to be offered by any shelter.
Abstract Expressionism: (1940-

1960’s)
 Jackson Pollock, Mark Rathko, deKooning.
 The painter expresses his feelings and
subconscious thoughts through his work.
 Marked by the use of brushstrokes and texture.
 Massive canvases were employed to convey
powerful emotions through the glorification of the act of painting itself.
 Painter paints abstract forms which do not directly represent a specific
object.
 Consider the “Golden Age” of American art.
Pop Art (1950-

1960’s)
 Led by Warhol and Lichtenstein.
 Reflected a fascination with pop culture reflecting the affluence of post-war society.
 Direct descendant of Dadaism in the way that it makes fun of the art world.
Straight Photography
 Focus on realistic and objective photography
 Photojournalism, telling the truth through
photes(Lange).
“Posing is forbidden!”
 Adams shows light and shadows, natural
landscapes
Post Modernism (1960’s – present)

 Led by Jasper Johns, David Hockney
 Characterized by a move away from high-
brow art and towards a more eclectic and
populist approach.

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Lesson 3.

4: Western View of Beauty

Art of Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek Architecture

Hellenistic Art, 323-331 BC

Ancient Roman Architecture

The Middle Ages: 476-1453

Baroque Art: 1600-1750

Impressionism: Late 19th Century,

Impressionists in the artist’s desire to attain more form

Cubism: 1907 - 1914

American Social Realism: 1930-1950’s

Abstract Expressionism: (1940-

Pop Art (1950-

Post Modernism (1960’s – present)

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