An Introduction to the History of Architecture, Art & Design

By George T Gray

An Introduction to the History of Architecture, Art & Design chronicles the times in which major works of architecture, art and design were created, and is compact with features and images of major artworks from each art and design period. The best examples from each period are illustrated together with their famous creators, alongside timelines that track the evolution of the artistic disciplines throughout history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sunway University Press
• Release date: Oct 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9789675492587

Book preview

An Introduction to the History of

Architecture,

Art & Design

George T Gray

Copyright © 2022 by Sunway University Sdn Bhd

Published by Sunway University Press

An imprint of Sunway University Sdn Bhd

No. 5, Jalan Universiti

Bandar Sunway

47500 Selangor Darul Ehsan

Malaysia

press.sunway.edu.my

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) now known or hereafter invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

eISBN 978-967-5492-58-7

Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia              Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Gray, George T.

An Introduction to the History of Architecture, Art & Design / George T Gray.

Mode of access: Internet

eISBN 978-967-5492-58-7

1. Architecture--History.

2. Art--History.

3. Design--History.

4. Art and design--History.

5. Electronic books.

I. Title.

720.9

Edited by Hani Hazman, Sarah Loh

Designed by Rachel Goh

Typeset by Helen Wong

Ebook formatting by Teaspoon Publishing

Every reasonable effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and obtain their permission to reproduce copyright material. Any errors or omissions are not intentional and we would be happy to correct them if brought to our attention.

If you want the present to be different from the past, study the past.

Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677)

For Phoebe, Regina and Haley

CONTENTS

About This Book

Part I Prehistoric to Gothic

1 Prehistoric

2 Early Civilisations

3 Ancient Egypt

4 Ancient Greece

5 Ancient Rome

6 Early Asia

7 Byzantine Empire

8 Medieval & Romanesque

9 Islamic Era

10 Gothic

Part II Renaissance to 19th Century

11 Renaissance & Mannerism

12 Baroque & Rococo

13 Neoclassicism & Romanticism

14 Georgian & Regency

15 Victorian Era

16 The Arts & Crafts Movement

17 Art Nouveau

Part III 20th Century and Beyond

18 Early 20th Century Art

19 Suprematism & Constructivism

20 De Stijl

21 Bauhaus

22 Art Deco

23 The International Style (Pre-War): The Modern Movement

24 The War Years

25 Abstract Expressionism

26 The International Style (Post-War): Mid-Century Modern & Brutalism

27 Pop Art, Minimalism & Op Art

28 Postmodernism

29 Late Modern Architecture

30 Contemporary Art

Afterword

Further Reading

Acknowledgements

Picture Credits

Index

About the Author

ABOUT THIS BOOK

This book provides readers of all ages with an introduction to the history of architecture, art and design. It covers major works of architecture, sculptures, paintings, graphic design and, where appropriate, furniture and other product designs for each period in art and design history.

The book is in three parts, starting with the earliest periods of art and design since prehistoric times. The second part covers the periods from the Renaissance through to the 19th century, and the third looks at 20th century art and design until the early 21st century.

Each chapter represents one period of study and contains relevant background information of the period. Notable works of art, key people of each period and timelines are also provided for easy reference, with illustrations accompanying the text.

Notable Works are listed chronologically and have been typically divided into the following categories:

Architecture: Buildings and structures with the completion dates indicated

Art: Paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations

Design: Interiors, graphics, furniture, glass and other products

The Key People listed for each period include the most renowned practitioners of their respective fields, as well as some key historical figures who helped shape the era and influenced the future. This is particularly relevant during the periods of antiquity when the artists and builders were mostly unknown. The lists of Notable Works and Key People are not exhaustive, but aim to provide a convenient summary for each period of study.

Serving as an introduction to the subject, readers are encouraged to use this book as a starting point to commence their own research into the various subjects illustrated in the book. The book is not a comprehensive guide as it intends to provide readers with a general overview of the evolution of art and design through the ages.

Further reading suggestions are listed at the back of the book. It is hoped that this book will help kindle the spark of appreciation for the world’s glorious art and design heritage.

George T Gray

PART I: PREHISTORIC TO GOTHIC

Part I Cover Image

1 PREHISTORIC

Background

The prehistoric era is the earliest period from which there are surviving examples of art and design. These early examples include cave paintings, sculpture, tools, jewellery, pottery, domestic architecture and megaliths. Known as the Stone Age, this era was a time before metal tools, agriculture or the domestication of animals. It was a time when humans made their tools from stones or bones.

The prehistoric era can be divided into three main periods: Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) at 2.5 million years ago, Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) at 15,000 years ago and Neolithic (New Stone Age) at around 11,000 years ago. During the Palaeolithic to Mesolithic periods, humans lived by hunting and gathering using sharp stones. People were nomadic and lived in caves or created temporary shelters from perishable materials such as tree branches, leaves and animal bones. Walls of the temporary tent-like shelters would be constructed using composite building materials such as wood or reeds padded with clay.

It is from the Palaeolithic period that the earliest forms of art had survived. Recent findings by Dr Dirk Hoffmann and Professor Alistair Pike in 2018 suggest that the origins of art may be credited to the now-extinct Neanderthals. Three cave locations in Spain have been discovered with depictions of animals, hands, dots and grid patterns on the walls. Preliminary analysis indicates that these depictions may date back as much as 65,000 years ago. If proven to be accurate, the analysis would establish that art was not exclusively a pursuit of the homo sapiens (i.e. modern humans).

The two early art forms of the Palaeolithic period were stationary art and portable art. Examples of stationary art are cave paintings, while portable art comprises small and compact items such as figurines or simple clay bowls. Hunting was a common theme in prehistoric art—it represented natural abundance and may have also served as protection against the dangers of the wilderness. Animals depicted in hunting scenes may have been created to induce a type of sympathetic magic to enhance the good fortunes of the hunt (this magical practice is still used in some societies today). Richly coloured portable figurines that depict humans gaining control over the natural elements, including animals, were also probably used for such rituals and would have been carried around during the hunt. Fertility was another common theme as it represented prosperity and expansion of the tribe. Figurines of pregnant women, that have been given the name of Venuses (1.01), are another common portable art form.

Venus of Willendorf

1.01 Venus of Willendorf (ca. 28,000–25,000 BC)

Common elements in cave paintings include human handprints (1.02), line patterns known as tectiforms and dotted art. Stone Age art uses a mixture of two-dimensional perspectives, including profile and frontal views, or sometimes a composite perspective. By blending perspectives, subjects in the paintings became more recognisable and allowed running animals to be realistically depicted. Paint was applied using hands or animal hair brushes and hollowed bones were used like blowpipes to spray paint the wall surface. The most common colours used were red and black, which were made by mixing various minerals, portions of animal bone and charcoal with water, animal fat, and even blood. This unusual amalgamation of materials may indicate that the production of the paintings was spiritual in nature and possibly served as aids in protection rituals, celebrations and religious rites. By examining the hand-painted art, it has been noted that men and women of all ages produced cave art.

Palaeolithic hand painting

1.02 Oldest Palaeolithic hand painting in the Cave of El Castillo, Spain (ca. 39,000 BC)

As the ice age receded in Europe, the main areas of habitation were found in the warmer southern areas such as present-day Spain, France, Germany, Turkey and around the Mediterranean. These locations are where the best examples of Palaeolithic artefacts can be found, such as the cave paintings in Lascaux (1.03, 1.04) and Pech Merle in France as well as in Altamira (1.05) and Monte Castillo (refer to 1.02) in Spain. Archaeologists have discovered more than 200 caves with similar paintings throughout Europe. Some of the earliest forms of sculpture have been discovered in Germany, such as the Venus of Willendorf (refer to 1.01) and mammoth ivory carvings from Hohlenstein-Stadel (1.06).

Buffalo cave painting

1.03 Buffalo cave painting in Lascaux, France (ca. 20,000–15,000 BC)

Deer and horse cave painting

1.04 Deer and horse cave painting in Lascaux, France (ca. 20,000–15,000 BC)

Bison cave painting

1.05 Bison cave painting in Altamira, Spain (ca. 21,000–11,000 BC)

Much of the subject matter of these early cave paintings and sculpture seems mysterious in origin. The likely religion of the time would have been Shamanism, which involves spirit worship and healing. A common school of thought is that many of the images painted on the cave walls may have been conceived during altered states of consciousness or ritualistic trance states when the shaman entered the spirit world. These types of altered states of consciousness may explain the otherworldly nature of the commonly found half-human, half-animal depictions—known as therianthropes—in both painting and sculpture (1.06), which are also often combined with entopic patterns. The ‘wounded man’ imagery in cave paintings, often depicted as a human figure shot through with spears or arrows, is thought to be representational of the physical and psychological torture that the shaman may have to endure in his passage to and from the spirit world.

Löwenmensch

1.06 Löwenmensch (Lion-man of Hohlenstein-Stadel) (ca. 38,000–33,000 BC)

The ice age ended during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, leading to warmer temperatures and a migration of people further north. Human culture slowly transformed from hunting and gathering to farming and herding and to eventual domestication. The advent of agriculture at around 10,000 BC and an increase in crop cultivation gave humans some time away from subsistence activities. This spare time allowed for the development of religion in society and a greater pursuit of art and philosophy. During the Neolithic period, artists began to paint on other types of surfaces including clay pottery, sculpture and even the new plastered buildings that they had made.

The development of agriculture changed the architecture of the time from temporary shelters and caves to more permanent village dwellings of timber and thatch. Small villages were first created using circular structures while rectangular huts were used later. In large communal dwellings, wooden posts and lintels were used to support the ridge pole and rafters while thatch was used for the roof structure. Walls were made of various materials such as clay, wattle and daub, tree bark, and thatch. Wattle and daub are good insulating materials for walls; wattle is created by weaving flexible branches together into a lattice panel while daub is a slurry of clay, animal dung and straw that is used to plaster the wattle structure.

Eventually, stone was used in the construction of simple houses. An excellent example of this is the Neolithic village of Skara Brae in Orkney, Scotland, that was occupied around 3180 to 2500 BC. The simple structures in Skara Brae formed a village of seven small dwellings located beside the sea. The perishable roof structures made of timber and thatch have long disappeared but many of the stonework interior fittings remain. Storage cabinets, bed enclosures and fire hearths remain in place until today (1.07). To make the beds comfortable, straw was likely used as a mattress and animal hide or sheepskin as covers.

1.07 Skara Brae in Orkney, Scotland (3180–2500 BC)

The quarrying and use of stone for domestic architecture was evident in other types of structures built around this time such as temples, monuments, towers and tombs. The megalith of Stonehenge (1.08) was built around 3000 to 2000 BC using the post and lintel construction method on an enormous scale. The exact purpose of this massive structure remains unclear, but the layout of the stones is related to planetary movements and the passage of time and seasons as first noted by William Stukeley in 1720. While the original ritual use of this structure is ambiguous (whether it was used as a meeting or celebration site or as an astronomical calendar), it has been used by the Druids since the 17th century for solstice celebrations. There has been much speculation and research into how this ancient structure was actually built, with some exotic theories ranging from sonic levitation to otherworldly assistance. The more generally accepted theory is that the construction involved the digging of pits to allow the posts to be dropped in and hoisted vertically. Thereafter, huge compacted earth ramps would be formed reaching to the top of the posts to allow the horizontal lintel stones to be pulled—on timber rollers—into position on the top. It is known that 42 of the smaller stones, known as ‘bluestones’, were quarried from the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire in West Wales, some 290 kilometres away. These stones would have been transported on timber sleds or rollers by rope teams. It is an interesting point to note that the ‘bluestones’ have an intrinsic acoustic quality that allows them to ‘ring’ when struck. The full significance of this acoustic application in the structure is still under investigation.

Stonehenge

1.08 Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England (3000–2000 BC)

A place of worship that predates Stonehenge by 6,000 years is Göbekli Tepi, an archaeological site in the Anatolian region of Turkey. This site was first discovered by a goat herder who came across large carved stones protruding from the land. The site was further excavated by a German archaeological team in the mid-1990s to reveal what is believed to be only the first part of a huge stone structure dating from 10,000 to 8,000 BC. It is also believed that to sustain the workers who built this monument over an extended period of construction, the farming of wheat for bread was undertaken. This theory can help to identify roughly when the advent of agriculture occurred in the area. Like Stonehenge’s mystery, it is not fully understood why this huge structure was made and what it was used for. Theories range from it being a sacred burial site to the world’s first temple, but there is yet a conclusive answer to the question of what religion was practised or what deities were worshipped. The site is being carefully excavated and restored by both Turkish and international teams of archaeologists and it is hoped that the site may soon be granted ‘World Heritage’ status by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Judging by the amount of time and energy invested in the production of prehistoric art, it was obviously of great importance and significance to the people who created it. The settlement of farmers and the growth of villages, early religions and places of worship during the Neolithic period led to the development and progress of the first civilisations. These early civilisations paved the way for architecture, art and design to flourish and reach startlingly new heights of sophistication.

Notable Works

Architecture

Göbekli Tepi, Turkey (ca. 10,000–8,000 BC)

Çatalhöyük, Turkey (ca. 7400–5200 BC)

Knap of Howar, Scotland (ca. 3700–2800 BC)

Ġgantija Temples, Malta (ca. 3600 BC)

Ħaġar Qim, Malta (ca. 3600–3200 BC)

Newgrange, Ireland (ca. 3200 BC) (1.09)

Skara Brae, Scotland (3180–2500 BC) (refer to 1.07)

Stonehenge, England (3000–2000 BC) (refer to 1.08)

Burial mound

1.09 Burial mound in Newgrange, Ireland (ca. 3200 BC)

Art

Cave of El Castillo, Spain (ca. 39,000 BC) (refer to 1.02)

Lubang Jeriji Saléh, Indonesia (ca. 38,000–33,400 BC)

Löwenmensch (Lion-man of Hohlenstein-Stadel) (ca. 38,000–33,000 BC) (refer to 1.06)

Fumane Cave, Italy (35,000 BC)

Chauvet Cave, France (ca. 31,000–28,000 BC)

Venus of Willendorf (ca. 28,000–25,000 BC) (refer to 1.01)

Pech Merle, France (ca. 25,000 BC)

Cave of Altamira, Spain (ca. 21,000–11,000 BC) (refer to 1.05)

Lascaux, France (ca. 20,000–15,000 BC) (refer to 1.03, 1.04)

Tassili n’Ajjer, Algerian Sahara (ca. 10,000–7,000 BC)

Ain Ghazal, Jordan (ca. 7200–6500 BC)

Key People

Unknown

Timeline

Timeline

2 EARLY CIVILISATIONS

Background

As humans began to settle into community life, small villages slowly grew into towns. Many of these towns became the start of today’s thriving cities. For practical reasons such as agriculture, trade and utility, the early civilisations tended to grow around fertile river valleys.

The earliest river civilisations grew in the Fertile Crescent that ran from the Nile Delta in Egypt up through Syria to Mesopotamia. A name that means ‘between two rivers’, Mesopotamia was located in present-day Iraq between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Other river civilisations that flourished during this era can be found at the Yellow River, China in 2205 BC and at the Indus River, India/Pakistan, where the ancient cities of Mohenjo-Daro (2.01) and Harappa grew around 2500 BC. Mohenjo-Daro was one of the largest cities of the ancient Indus Valley civilisation, also known as the Harappan civilisation. It was the most advanced city of its time, with remarkably sophisticated civil engineering and urban planning. The city’s buildings were rectangular, laid out in a grid pattern and were constructed of sun-baked mud brick and wood. Infrastructure included heated water systems, public baths, wells, assembly halls and markets. The civilisation developed the Harappan or Indus script (2.02) and produced many artefacts, sculptures, jewellery and ceramics that have been discovered by archaeologists at the site (2.03, 2.04).

Mohenjo-Daro stupa

2.01 Mohenjo-Daro stupa in present-day Pakistan (ca. 2500 BC)

Pashupati Seal

2.02 Pashupati Seal, Harappan script and Shiva carving discovered at Mohenjo-Daro (ca. 3500–1900 BC)

Priest King

2.03 Priest King sculpture of Mohenjo-Daro (ca. 2200–1900 BC)

Dancing Girl

2.04 Dancing Girl bronze sculpture of Mohenjo-Daro (ca. 2300–1750 BC)

Mesopotamia is considered to be ‘the cradle of civilisation’. There were great artisans and architects and their civilisation was one of the longest lasting. The Mesopotamian civilisation lasted for more than 3,000 years (4000–539 BC), beginning with the Sumerian civilisation in 4000 BC, followed by the Akkadian in 2330 BC and the Amorite around 2000 BC until 1500 BC, after which the civilisation went into decline following the fall of Babylon in 539 BC. The area was subdivided geographically into Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylon. Trade and social order flourished in the areas around the Fertile Crescent of the Tigris and Euphrates and the earliest form of writing called cuneiform was also developed here.

Cuneiform writing was created by impressing carved sticks of various shapes into clay tablets (2.05), which were used to keep an inventory of grain and livestock. The Egyptians would later adapt this to their own system of hieroglyphics on papyrus. A mathematical system based on multiples of 60 was also developed, which still has its influence on today’s measurement of time and degrees. The Mesopotamians could also be credited with the invention and development of the wheel, codified laws, irrigation, metalwork and tools, trade, transportation, and large-scale agriculture. Such inventions led the region to prosperity and have had a lasting effect on modern development.

Cuneiform writing tablet

2.05 Cuneiform writing tablet (ca. 2400 BC)

Mesopotamian art was created primarily for worship, the government or personal use. It included everyday items like pottery and weapons and also the status symbols of jewellery. Common characteristics of Mesopotamian art are the repetition of simple patterns and characters with natural and religious symbolism. Popular materials used to create art were clay, precious metals, precious stones and shells. One fundamental intention of Mesopotamian art was to honour the gods and goddesses who ruled over the different aspects of nature and important life events like love, war and fertility. One of the best-known and surviving examples of Mesopotamian architecture, art and design is the Ishtar Gate (2.06), which was built around 575 BC during the reign of King