How Did The Middle Ages Affect The Purpose Of Art?
As time has passed, the many events that make up world history have transformed society and subsequently the purpose of art. The birth of art occurred around 25,000 years ago and between that time and now, many historical events had caused the purpose of art to change throughout different eras. These different events prove to impact the art of the eras that they occur in, and often many events will happen and art will constantly be changing. One can draw similarities and differences between artists responses to the world around them from two separate eras. Artists responses to their world can be specific yet common, and the purposes of art from these artists change as time moves forward. Around 15,000 years ago, paintings as one would recognize
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today were first made in caves; they were depictions of animals such as horses, cattle, and deer. The theorized purpose for these paintings was that the artists were trying to assure a successful hunt. As the early humans and their societies progressed, art truly began to take shape through the ancient cultures with their various purposes for their creative works. For example, in the tombs of ancient Egypt, paintings and hieroglyphics were discovered that had illustrated the life of whomever the tomb belonged to in a form of instant replay. Ancient Egyptians believed that the spirit of a pharaoh was immortal, so those illustrations served the purpose of allowing the spirits to look back on their lives before they entered the afterlife. Moreover, portrait statues were made for the spirit to dwell in if their mummified corpse deteriorated. The Old Kingdom of Egypt collapsed around 2200 B.C. due to foreign invasion, civil war, and famines. In the tomb paintings and inscriptions that were made during that time period, the disappearance of plants and the appearance of sand dunes closer to river settlements had hinted at the change in the environment that was causing famine (Lawler). For ancient cultures, one of the most important purposes for art was record keeping, which helped to preserve their culture. Continuing, in Ancient Greece, artists told the stories of gods, goddesses, and heroes of Greek myths; in 800 B.C., the earliest vases of this kind were made. In African sculptures, the wooden figures that artists carved were believed to have the ability to wreak havoc or bestow blessings among the living. As one can see, art had very religious and spiritual connections among the earlier humans. The purpose of art has changed quite dramatically from its birth to the twentieth century and beyond. Hard Edge had become a prominent style in the 1950s and the purpose was very impersonal unlike the creations of the early periods. Karl Benjamin, John McLaughlin, Frederick Hammersley, and Lorser Feitelson had been the artists to start the Hard Edge style, which was calculated and abstract with very simple forms (Wolf). This style had the purpose of having visual sensations for the admirer, and that contrasts greatly with the spiritual and more practical purposes of the ancient peoples. Another example of modern art showing how the purpose of art has changed is the pop art style that peaked in the 1960s; artists took inspiration from consumer items and used shiny colors along with snappy designs to capture people’s attention (“Pop art”). Pop art was similar to hard edge in that it was also impersonal through its use of ordinary subjects, such as soup cans, and the purpose was for the art to look visually pleasing in order to potentially use it for marketing products. The reasoning for the purpose of art to be so different as time passes is that society has become less focused upon religion and more focused upon consumerism in the art world. Many factors have played into the transformation of the purpose of art from its birth to now, however, technology and the advancement of society seems to be the largest reason for the change. Art is largely influenced by the world that an artist lives in, and when events such as wars, natural disasters, and revolutions occur, the art created in those times reflects how they impacted society. For example, during the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation allowed for anatomy to become more prevalent through the ability of the reformation to lessen the influence of the church. Artists were then able to enhance their portraits, landscapes, and so forth through their knowledge of anatomy. Once the Renaissance had reached Northern Europe, in the early 1500s, Leonardo da Vinci had painted the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Raphael completed frescoes in the Vatican. Another style that emerged during the Renaissance was Mannerism, which was defined by distorted bodies, unreal lighting, and vivid colors (“Mannerism”). Mannerism is a disorderly style, and this fit the times in which it was started as Rome had just been devastated by the Germans and Spaniards. In the Baroque era, Sir Christopher Wren designed over fifty churches in England due to the Great London Fire of 1666 destroying eighty-seven churches (Jenkins). Wren had designed St. Paul’s Cathedral during this time as well, and it is still one of the major churches of the world. As a result of Louis XIV’s death in 1715, the French Rococo style had began; it was a style of decoration in which artists used low relief, ivory white, and smooth surfaces to achieve a look of high fashion (Mills). With the death of King Louis XIV, the artists decorating Versailles had more freedom to invoke their Rococo style and it subsequently became more popular throughout France. From these two examples during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, one can see how separate events of an era can impact the art of that same era. Nineteenth century art has more examples of how events can influence the art of a particular era. The Revolution of 1848 was the time in which Louis-Philippe's monarchy was overturned and replaced by Napoleon III. Due to this revolution, the Realist movement in French art blossomed bringing about an honest view of contemporary life. In this movement, subjects were usually derived from the everyday lives of the working class, and this was due to the democratization of art as brought on by French society wanting democratic reform during the 1848 Revolution (Finocchio). Furthermore, in the nineteenth century, the Great Chicago Fire 1871 had caused a construction boom and consequently resulted in the world’s first modern skyscraper to be built in Chicago (“Home Insurance Building”). The construction of the Home Insurance Building in Chicago as well as the start of the Realist movement had been direct results of events of the nineteenth century, and this shows how art can be affected by two events of the same era. The Middle Ages and the Twentieth Century have many similarities and differences in regards to how artists respond to the world around them through the arts.
During the Middle Ages, the triumph of Christianity had caused the interest in the body and the world to vanish; salvation was the priority, so nudes became off limits. The focus of art became to teach religion and to adorn cathedrals. Donatello is considered one of the most famous artists of the Middle Ages, and his depiction of the youth of the biblical David in his sculpture David had been unlike most pieces created in that era due to its nudity (“Donatello’s David”). Donatello was still inspired by the religious attitude of the era, however. Another renowned artist of the Middle Ages is Giotto di Bondone, and one of his most famous works is The Last Supper. That painting is, as the name suggests, a depiction of the last supper, and is a very religious piece. Fra Angelico’s The Annunciation is another well-known painting of the Middle Ages, and, like Donatello, the piece was religious but had aspects that were not usual for the era, such as a vanishing point and a realistic depiction of archangel Gabriel and Mary (Glover). Although the pieces of the twentieth century were not nearly as religious as those of the Middle Ages, they did have some similarities, including how the flat, unrealistic figures of the Middle Ages being quite similar to the works of cubism in the twentieth century. Artists also had their own specific styles that caused revolutionary techniques to emerge; in the Middle Ages, the gothic style of architecture came about, and in the 20th century, dadaism, cubism, surrealism and many other styles
appeared.
The differences between the two periods certainly outweigh the odds, however, and the twentieth century was defined mostly by Modernism in which many different and specific styles arose. Religion is a major aspect of art in the Middle Ages, but in the twentieth century it has shown to have been much less prevalent due to the reformations that occurred between the two eras. World Wars I and II had played large roles in art during this era as well; most artists had addressed the conflicts through their art. Dadaism was a direct result of artists’ distaste for World War I, and it caused them to make works that cultivated absurdity. Marcel Duchamp was one of the leading artists of the Dada movement, and one of his most well-known works was “Fountain”, which was a porcelain urinal that he signed. Max Ernst was another dadaist that worked to defy authority and promote spontaneity, and his piece “The Elephant Celebes” was a mixture of surrealism and dadaism (“The Elephant Celebes, 1921”). The development of photography had also been a major contrast between the two eras because photography was non-existent in the Middle Ages. During the Second World War, many artists had painted images of the battle scenes in a gory, realistic fashion; if a biblical scene was to be gory, then artists in the Middle Age would depict that. A British surrealist painter named Paul Nash had been among the many to paint images of WWII, and his most famous piece in that category was entitled “Battle of Britain” (“Battle of Britain”). As one can see, the artists of the Middle Ages and the twentieth century had some similar responses and many different responses to the world around them through their art.
Through the passing of time, the purposes of art have changed greatly. In ancient times, art held a purpose of record-keeping and had spiritual connections to the dead, gods, and demons, however, the purpose has become much more open-ended. As society changes through reformations, revolutions, and so forth, the purpose of art changes as well. The events of an era largely impact the art that is created in that era, and certain periods have many similarities as well as differences in the way an artist responds to certain events and situations. Art has changed over time due to the many artists and the many events they have lived through.
today were first made in caves; they were depictions of animals such as horses, cattle, and deer. The theorized purpose for these paintings was that the artists were trying to assure a successful hunt. As the early humans and their societies progressed, art truly began to take shape through the ancient cultures with their various purposes for their creative works. For example, in the tombs of ancient Egypt, paintings and hieroglyphics were discovered that had illustrated the life of whomever the tomb belonged to in a form of instant replay. Ancient Egyptians believed that the spirit of a pharaoh was immortal, so those illustrations served the purpose of allowing the spirits to look back on their lives before they entered the afterlife. Moreover, portrait statues were made for the spirit to dwell in if their mummified corpse deteriorated. The Old Kingdom of Egypt collapsed around 2200 B.C. due to foreign invasion, civil war, and famines. In the tomb paintings and inscriptions that were made during that time period, the disappearance of plants and the appearance of sand dunes closer to river settlements had hinted at the change in the environment that was causing famine (Lawler). For ancient cultures, one of the most important purposes for art was record keeping, which helped to preserve their culture. Continuing, in Ancient Greece, artists told the stories of gods, goddesses, and heroes of Greek myths; in 800 B.C., the earliest vases of this kind were made. In African sculptures, the wooden figures that artists carved were believed to have the ability to wreak havoc or bestow blessings among the living. As one can see, art had very religious and spiritual connections among the earlier humans. The purpose of art has changed quite dramatically from its birth to the twentieth century and beyond. Hard Edge had become a prominent style in the 1950s and the purpose was very impersonal unlike the creations of the early periods. Karl Benjamin, John McLaughlin, Frederick Hammersley, and Lorser Feitelson had been the artists to start the Hard Edge style, which was calculated and abstract with very simple forms (Wolf). This style had the purpose of having visual sensations for the admirer, and that contrasts greatly with the spiritual and more practical purposes of the ancient peoples. Another example of modern art showing how the purpose of art has changed is the pop art style that peaked in the 1960s; artists took inspiration from consumer items and used shiny colors along with snappy designs to capture people’s attention (“Pop art”). Pop art was similar to hard edge in that it was also impersonal through its use of ordinary subjects, such as soup cans, and the purpose was for the art to look visually pleasing in order to potentially use it for marketing products. The reasoning for the purpose of art to be so different as time passes is that society has become less focused upon religion and more focused upon consumerism in the art world. Many factors have played into the transformation of the purpose of art from its birth to now, however, technology and the advancement of society seems to be the largest reason for the change. Art is largely influenced by the world that an artist lives in, and when events such as wars, natural disasters, and revolutions occur, the art created in those times reflects how they impacted society. For example, during the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation allowed for anatomy to become more prevalent through the ability of the reformation to lessen the influence of the church. Artists were then able to enhance their portraits, landscapes, and so forth through their knowledge of anatomy. Once the Renaissance had reached Northern Europe, in the early 1500s, Leonardo da Vinci had painted the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and Raphael completed frescoes in the Vatican. Another style that emerged during the Renaissance was Mannerism, which was defined by distorted bodies, unreal lighting, and vivid colors (“Mannerism”). Mannerism is a disorderly style, and this fit the times in which it was started as Rome had just been devastated by the Germans and Spaniards. In the Baroque era, Sir Christopher Wren designed over fifty churches in England due to the Great London Fire of 1666 destroying eighty-seven churches (Jenkins). Wren had designed St. Paul’s Cathedral during this time as well, and it is still one of the major churches of the world. As a result of Louis XIV’s death in 1715, the French Rococo style had began; it was a style of decoration in which artists used low relief, ivory white, and smooth surfaces to achieve a look of high fashion (Mills). With the death of King Louis XIV, the artists decorating Versailles had more freedom to invoke their Rococo style and it subsequently became more popular throughout France. From these two examples during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, one can see how separate events of an era can impact the art of that same era. Nineteenth century art has more examples of how events can influence the art of a particular era. The Revolution of 1848 was the time in which Louis-Philippe's monarchy was overturned and replaced by Napoleon III. Due to this revolution, the Realist movement in French art blossomed bringing about an honest view of contemporary life. In this movement, subjects were usually derived from the everyday lives of the working class, and this was due to the democratization of art as brought on by French society wanting democratic reform during the 1848 Revolution (Finocchio). Furthermore, in the nineteenth century, the Great Chicago Fire 1871 had caused a construction boom and consequently resulted in the world’s first modern skyscraper to be built in Chicago (“Home Insurance Building”). The construction of the Home Insurance Building in Chicago as well as the start of the Realist movement had been direct results of events of the nineteenth century, and this shows how art can be affected by two events of the same era. The Middle Ages and the Twentieth Century have many similarities and differences in regards to how artists respond to the world around them through the arts.
During the Middle Ages, the triumph of Christianity had caused the interest in the body and the world to vanish; salvation was the priority, so nudes became off limits. The focus of art became to teach religion and to adorn cathedrals. Donatello is considered one of the most famous artists of the Middle Ages, and his depiction of the youth of the biblical David in his sculpture David had been unlike most pieces created in that era due to its nudity (“Donatello’s David”). Donatello was still inspired by the religious attitude of the era, however. Another renowned artist of the Middle Ages is Giotto di Bondone, and one of his most famous works is The Last Supper. That painting is, as the name suggests, a depiction of the last supper, and is a very religious piece. Fra Angelico’s The Annunciation is another well-known painting of the Middle Ages, and, like Donatello, the piece was religious but had aspects that were not usual for the era, such as a vanishing point and a realistic depiction of archangel Gabriel and Mary (Glover). Although the pieces of the twentieth century were not nearly as religious as those of the Middle Ages, they did have some similarities, including how the flat, unrealistic figures of the Middle Ages being quite similar to the works of cubism in the twentieth century. Artists also had their own specific styles that caused revolutionary techniques to emerge; in the Middle Ages, the gothic style of architecture came about, and in the 20th century, dadaism, cubism, surrealism and many other styles
appeared.
The differences between the two periods certainly outweigh the odds, however, and the twentieth century was defined mostly by Modernism in which many different and specific styles arose. Religion is a major aspect of art in the Middle Ages, but in the twentieth century it has shown to have been much less prevalent due to the reformations that occurred between the two eras. World Wars I and II had played large roles in art during this era as well; most artists had addressed the conflicts through their art. Dadaism was a direct result of artists’ distaste for World War I, and it caused them to make works that cultivated absurdity. Marcel Duchamp was one of the leading artists of the Dada movement, and one of his most well-known works was “Fountain”, which was a porcelain urinal that he signed. Max Ernst was another dadaist that worked to defy authority and promote spontaneity, and his piece “The Elephant Celebes” was a mixture of surrealism and dadaism (“The Elephant Celebes, 1921”). The development of photography had also been a major contrast between the two eras because photography was non-existent in the Middle Ages. During the Second World War, many artists had painted images of the battle scenes in a gory, realistic fashion; if a biblical scene was to be gory, then artists in the Middle Age would depict that. A British surrealist painter named Paul Nash had been among the many to paint images of WWII, and his most famous piece in that category was entitled “Battle of Britain” (“Battle of Britain”). As one can see, the artists of the Middle Ages and the twentieth century had some similar responses and many different responses to the world around them through their art.
Through the passing of time, the purposes of art have changed greatly. In ancient times, art held a purpose of record-keeping and had spiritual connections to the dead, gods, and demons, however, the purpose has become much more open-ended. As society changes through reformations, revolutions, and so forth, the purpose of art changes as well. The events of an era largely impact the art that is created in that era, and certain periods have many similarities as well as differences in the way an artist responds to certain events and situations. Art has changed over time due to the many artists and the many events they have lived through.